Aging

Latest California Healthline Stories

‘Pre-Hospice’ Saves Money By Keeping People At Home Near End Of Life

A San Diego program helps chronically ill people avoid the hospital by teaching them how to better manage their diseases and telling them what to expect in their final years. Other health providers and insurers around the country are trying similar approaches.

Medicaid Caps Pitched By GOP Could Shrink Seniors’ Benefits

Advocates for the elderly worry that GOP plans to end Medicaid’s open-ended spending and replace it with per-capita limits could pose a risk for low-income older people who rely on the federal-state program for nursing and other long-term care.

California Hospitals Get A Second Law On Notifying Observation Care Patients

A new federal law requires that hospitals give Medicare patients notice after placing them under observation, along with the reason why they were not officially admitted. In California, it comes on top of a state law that requires quicker notice for all observation patients but does not oblige hospitals to explain their decision not to admit.