Latest California Healthline Stories
Network Nightmares: When Your Doctor And Hospital Don’T Mix
What good is it to have a health plan if you can’t find doctors and hospitals to accept it? That question rushes to mind every time a frustrated reader writes in to describe his or her Kafkaesque quest to find care. I’m also hearing from frustrated medical providers, including Dr. Nelson Branco, a pediatrician in […]
Panel Takes on State Health Care Issues
An impressive lineup of speakers assessed the state of health care reform in California at a panel discussion yesterday in Sacramento staged by the Public Policy Institute of California.
High-Priced Drug Could Be Deal Changer
Sovaldi, a drug for treating hepatitis C, has the potential to be a canary in the coal mine of drug policy. Government officials, insurance companies and consumers in many countries are grappling with the problem of how to pay for the effective but costly medication.
Developmental Center Plan Outlined
An Assembly subcommittee last week heard details of a plan to spend $13 million to restructure California’s developmental centers.
Judgment Delayed on Potential State Takeover of Alameda Alliance for Health
The fate of an Alameda County health plan remains in legal limbo until next week when a judge is scheduled to hear the case on whether the state will be allowed to take control of it.
Rate Regulation Battle Lines Drawn
Strategies are taking shape in the battle over a ballot initiative to give California officials regulatory authority over health insurance rate increases. Two days after proponents staged a rally denouncing huge cash reserves held by Kaiser Permanente, opponents released a study finding that such regulation could throw a wrench in reform efforts.
Almost One-Third of Hospital Patients in California Have Diabetes, Study Says
The dramatic rise in diabetes translates into a $1.6 billion annual hospitalization cost in California, according to a new UCLA study.
From Leaders to Laggards: Why Some States Are Giving Up on Exchanges
Several states that wanted to lead on Obamacare implementation have conceded that they failed at the crucial task of rolling out their health insurance exchanges, and they are beginning to turn operations over to the federal government.
Hospitals, Providers, Advocates Irked by What’s Left Out of Budget Revision
Some numbers may be stronger in his May budget revision, but Gov. Brown is resisting calls to restore many of the cuts made in previous bad budget years.
High-Profile Ballot Measure Hopes To Curb Health Insurance Rate Hikes
Businesswoman Marti Conger, Jamie Court of Consumer Watchdog, R. Adams Dudley of UC-San Francisco, physician Ted Mazer, Dylan Roby of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and Robin Swanson of Californians Against Higher Health Care Costs spoke with California Healthline about an expensive and controversial November ballot measure that would give enforcement power to the state Insurance Commissioner to regulate health insurance rate hikes.