Latest California Healthline Stories
Hospital Giant HCA Fends Off Accusations of Questionable Inpatient Admissions
The nation’s largest private health system, HCA Healthcare, has faced years of scrutiny over its share of emergency room patients who are admitted to the hospital. And now U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, a Democrat from New Jersey, is calling for a federal investigation, prompting an escalating defense by the hospital system, based in Nashville, Tennessee.
Centene Showers Politicians With Millions as It Courts Contracts and Settles Overbilling Allegations
Centene, the largest Medicaid managed-care company in the U.S., has thrown more than $26.9 million at political campaigns across the country since 2015, especially focused on states where it is wooing Medicaid contracts and settling accusations that it overbilled taxpayers. Among its tactics: Centene is skirting contribution limits by giving to candidates through its many subsidiaries.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: ACA Open Enrollment Without the Drama
The Affordable Care Act’s 10th annual open-enrollment period began Nov. 1 and runs through Jan. 15, 2023, in most states. But for the first time, the health law seems to be enrolling Americans with far less controversy than in previous years. Meanwhile, as Election Day approaches, Democrats are focusing on GOP efforts to cut Social Security and Medicare. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Julie Appleby of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Arthur Allen, who wrote the latest KNH-NPR Bill of the Month, about an old but still very expensive cancer drug.
Haven’t Seen Your Doctor in a Few Years? You May Need to Find a New One
Some primary care physicians will drop seldom-seen patients. That’s a particular problem for those who postponed doctor visits during the pandemic.
¿No has visto a tu médico en años? Es posible que tengas que buscar un nuevo doctor
Muchas personas han estado postergando citas médicas, en especial durante la pandemia de covid, sin saber que corren el riesgo de perder a su doctor.
Cash for Colonoscopies: States Try to Lower Health Costs Through Incentives
Colorado state employees could receive checks ranging from $50 to thousands of dollars if they choose the right provider. One alliance of California school districts has been using a similar system for years.
Medicare Fines for High Hospital Readmissions Drop, but Nearly 2,300 Facilities Are Still Penalized
Federal officials said they are penalizing 2,273 hospitals, the fewest since the fiscal year that ended in September 2014. Driving the decline was a change in the formula to compensate for the chaos caused by the covid-19 pandemic.
Listen: Valley Fever, Health Worker Pay, and Ambulance Rides
California Healthline journalists report on the intersection between drought and valley fever, a union’s campaign to boost the minimum wage for some health care workers, and an ambulance company’s decision to stop providing some nonemergency services.
‘Fourth Trimester’ Focus Is Pushed to Prevent Maternal Deaths
Public health investigators found that 53% of maternal deaths happened well after a mother left the hospital — from seven days to a year after the birth.
Readers Boo Medical Debt and Viral Threats in Winning Halloween Haikus
We unmask the winner and runners-up in KHN’s fourth annual Halloween haiku competition — plus the original artwork they inspired as a special treat.