Latest California Healthline Stories
Surveys Show Unbalanced Supply, Demand in California Nurse Labor Market
Four years ago, there was a shortage of nurses in California hospitals but by 2013, the landscape had flipped. Now, despite the new surplus, many hospitals are having difficulty finding nurses with sufficient experience, according to new surveys.
Statewide Rural Health Association Returns
After a year in the dark, the familiar voice of policy and advocacy for California’s rural health communities is coming back. With no staff, no office and technical framework still under construction, the California State Rural Health Association is trying a different, less costly approach to connecting and advocating for the state’s disparate rural health care providers.
Bill Requiring Paid Sick Leave Headed for Floor Vote in Senate
State legislators will decide in the next couple weeks whether California should follow Connecticut’s lead and become the second state to require employers to provide paid sick leave for workers.
Price of Passage High for Optometrist Bill
A Senate bill to expand the scope of practice for optometrists was reduced to a shadow of its former proposal — but it did pass committee and will be up for a floor vote.
UC Program Aims To Increase Number of Health Care Professionals in Central Valley
San Joaquin Valley PRIME, one of six University of California programs recruiting medical students committed to working with underserved populations, focuses on boosting the number of Central Valley physicians.
Unions Oppose Bid by Health Care Chain
Prime Healthcare’s possible purchase of six not-for-profit hospitals in California has drawn opposition from labor unions that warn for-profit Prime may cut worker benefits and shred safety-net services. Prime officials would neither confirm nor deny negotiations are under way.
Loma Linda University Health Plans $1.2B Inland Empire Expansion
Loma Linda University Health officials expect a proposed $1.2 billion expansion to position the health system as one of the leading health care providers in the Inland Empire region. Unaffiliated health care analysts agree.
Hospital Mergers Are Out. ‘Strategic Alliances’ Are In. Is Obamacare Responsible?
Dignity Health and Kaiser are helping lead a new wave of deal making that focuses less on traditional mergers and more on quality alliances and joint ventures, as providers come together in the wake of the Affordable Care Act.
Judge Delays Alameda County Ruling
A Superior Court judge in Alameda County has put off making a decision about who should be running the finances following a state takeover of an East Bay local-initiative health plan.
Calif. Latino Webinar Series Goes National
A series of Spanish language webinars designed to inform and engage Latino businesses in California is going national this month with a broader, less state-specific message about health insurance opportunities for small businesses through the Affordable Care Act.