Latest California Healthline Stories
Farewell To theWeekly, Hello Daily Capitol Desk
California Healthline’s Friday feature, theWeekly, has evolved to become Capitol Desk.
Where theWeekly provided a rundown of the week’s legislative news and an update on individual, health-related bills making their way through the political process, this page aims to provide a daily report from Sacramento. Since things change so quickly in the halls of power, I will be posting items here in a notebook format, everything from the news of the day to examinations of health policy issues that fall below the radar of most other media.
There is already plenty of health policy news to follow, but there will soon be even more as California begins to implement federal health reform. I hope to give a strong sense of what’s going on in the daily world of political wrangling over key issues while adding context and explanation to help make sense of it all.
Helipad Bill Hits Turbulence in Senate
Assembly member Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) says some hospitals in California face a particularly frustrating obstacle when they fly in far-away patients by helicopter.
“In Riverside, they land on the roof of a parking garage across the street. Marin General has to use a park nearby to land helicopters, and then drive them to the hospital.”
In the transport of trauma patients, saving those few extra minutes could also save a life, Hill said.
Why Small Businesses Aren’t Embracing Reform
The health reform law was supposed to help small businesses. So why have some turned against it?
Task Force Issues Plan for Saving $305 Billion in California
The plan by the California Task Force on Affordable Care is not likely to help the state close an estimated $20 billion budget gap, but it could be an important step in helping the state implement national health reform.
Alternative Providers Could Help Bridge Gap in Primary Care
Physician assistants and nurse practitioners could help California deal with the dramatic rise in primary care patients expected when federal health care reform kicks in. A new bill in the state Senate outlines greater PA responsibilities and reflects increasing reliance on “alternative” providers.
California Gears Up for Reform Provisions Taking Effect This Year
More than a month after President Obama signed health reform into law, California lawmakers, health providers, insurers and patients are gearing up for the slew of provisions set to take effect this year.
Expert Touts Need for Quality Reporting To Produce Data for Patients, Not Just Practitioners
R. Adams Dudley, a professor of medicine and health policy at UC-San Francisco, shared his thoughts about health care quality reporting initiatives and strategies for improving these efforts.
Is California Ripe for Global Payment, ACOs?
Reworking the health care payment system has been a key aspect of health care reform proposals in Congress. A major Massachusetts insurer has pushed ahead and adopted a global payment system, raising questions about whether California is ready to make a similar move toward global payments and accountable care organizations.
Shift in Economic Conditions Diminishes Job Prospects for Nursing School Graduates in Calif.
Kathleen Dracup of the UCSF School of Nursing, Jan Emerson of the California Hospital Association, Deloras Jones of the California Institute for Nursing & Health Care and Brandy Logue of Samuel Merritt University share their thoughts on the situation.
Health Advocates, Legislators See Little To Like in Governor’s Proposed Health Program Cuts
Carla Kakutani of the California Academy of Family Physicians, Wendy Lazarus of the Children’s Partnership, Assembly member Jim Nielsen and Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg discussed the governor’s plan.