Latest California Healthline Stories
Doctors Academy Addresses Lack of Diversity Among Providers in Central Valley
A new program for high school students is designed to provide an educational pipeline to increase the number of homegrown health care workers in the Central Valley.
They Annoy Patients. They Scare Docs. But Narrow Networks Might Be a Good Thing.
With legal challenges, new market entrants and recent CMS regulations, narrow networks may be a little less narrow in year two of Affordable Care Act enrollment. But there are benefits to limited networks, experts say, and patients and doctors’ frustrations with the model may have been overstated.
New, Private Inland Empire Medical School Could Open in 2016
A new, private medical school in Colton, San Bernardino County, could open as early as 2016. But first, the school must hit a number of targets, from building a new campus to receiving accreditation.
Poised for Growth, Commercial ACOs Also Face Considerable Challenges
Accountable care organizations formed by private insurers and health systems face different requirements and challenges than those regulated by CMS. As commercial organizations increasingly jump on the ACO bandwagon, other private entities will be watching from the sidelines to see if they find success.
Nurse Practitioners: ‘Wait Till Next Year’
Armed with new data — including a report last month that suggests California could save $1.8 billion by expanding nurse practitioners’ scope of practice — nurse practitioners are hoping next year they’ll prevail in a campaign to expand their authority to provide primary care services in California.
Committee OKs Pricing Transparency Bill
The Assembly health committee yesterday approved a bill to establish an all-payer claims database in California, a move toward what one expert called the ‘missing piece’ of health care reform — pricing transparency.
Cost Containment Bill Goes Down
A Senate proposal to limit in-office physician referrals failed in committee yesterday. The bill was aimed at cost containment, according to its author, Sen. Ed Hernandez.
Assembly Health Committee Votes for More Primary Care Residency Slots
One response to the problem of too few primary care physicians in California is to increase the number of residency slots in underserved areas, according to a bill approved unanimously by the Assembly Committee on Health yesterday.
Changes Coming in California Medical Labs
California’s new partnership with a private accreditation organization — believed to be the first of its kind in the country — is one of several changes in store for clinical laboratories.
Committee Backs Measure To Regulate Billing in Emergency Room Settings
Despite opposition from emergency physicians, the Senate health committee approved a bill this week designed to curb emergency department costs.