Latest California Healthline Stories
FAQ: Hospital Observation Care Can Be Costly For Medicare Patients
A guide to help Medicare patients receiving observation care.
Government-Protected ‘Monopolies’ Drive Drug Prices Higher, Study Says
Researchers at Harvard University examined thousands of studies to determine why drug prices have climbed and what might be done about it.
Sen. Hernandez Pulls Bill On Drug Price Transparency
The legislation would have required drug companies to notify the state and insurers about expensive new treatments or price hikes.
Drug Price Transparency Bill Clears Key Hurdle in California Legislature
The end of August is the deadline for lawmakers to make a final decision on the measure, which would require pharmaceutical companies to provide advance notice of large price increases and introduction of expensive new drugs.
Should Big Insurance Become Like Walmart To Lower Health Costs?
Evidence shows dominant insurers hold down hospital prices. Big insurers seeking to get bigger want to take that idea to the extreme.
California’s Public Hospitals Face New Medi-Cal Mandate
But the mandate doesn’t go far enough to improve access to care, health advocates say.
Montana’s ‘Pain Refugees’ Travel To California To Get Prescribed Opioids
With rising awareness of opioid abuse, some pain patients say doctors are less likely to prescribe them. One Montana sufferer goes to great lengths to get his prescription — he flies to California.
Medicare’s Readmission Penalties Hit New High
Medicare will withhold an estimated $528 million in 2017 from more than 2,500 hospitals — including 225 in California — that have too many patients returning within 30 days.
Long-Term Care Is An Immediate Problem — For The Government
Medi-Cal has become the payer of first resort for many Californians unable to afford the long-term care they need.
Obamacare Expansion A Bumpy Ride For Rural Health Clinics
A Northern California clinic network is overwhelmed with Medi-Cal patients after the Affordable Care Act rollout.