Latest California Healthline Stories
Competition Spurs Northern Expansion in San Diego
Health care providers are expanding their reach in San Diego’s wealthier northern communities as declining reimbursements and changes to the delivery system under the Affordable Care Act alter the economic environment for health care.
Telehealth Project Brings ‘Virtual Dental Home’ to Patients
A “virtual dental home” project from the University of the Pacific’s school of dentistry is using telehealth technology to bring dental services to nearly 800 low-income and special needs children in San Mateo County.
Medi-Cal Cut Could Force Some Rural Hospitals To Close Nursing Units
Medi-Cal providers are anxiously waiting to see if federal courts uphold a 10% reimbursement cut. Some skilled nursing facilities face even deeper cuts that might be enough to put some rural hospitals out of business.
California’s School-Based Health Centers See Promise, Challenges in the Affordable Care Act
Claire Brindis of UC-San Francisco, Alex Briscoe of the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency, Serena Clayton of the California School Health Centers Association and Zena Harvill of the Native American Health Center spoke with California Healthline about how the Affordable Care Act is affecting school-based health centers in California.
Palliative Care Key Part of Berkeley Forum’s Prescription
Heath care organizations in Northern California are in step with a recent report from the Berkeley Forum suggesting that improvements in palliative care could help California save $110 billion over the next decade.
Changes Set Stage for ‘Shakeout’ of Medical Suppliers, Services
Experts predict changes in contracting practices might shrink the number of businesses supplying medical products and services in California by as much as 50% over the next few years.
Douglas Updates Legislators on Health System Changes
California’s health care system is undergoing its biggest changes in almost 50 years. Toby Douglas, director of the agency at the eye of the health care storm, updated legislators on the progress of some of the changes in a hearing last week in Sacramento.
California Rural Health Association Closes Shop
The California State Rural Health Association laid off staffers and closed its Sacramento office, leaving a void after serving as the statewide voice in rural health policy for almost two decades.
Fresno Family Funds Pharmacy College in Central Valley
A new, private, four-year college offering post-graduate degrees in pharmacy is taking shape in the Central Valley. California Health Sciences University officials hope the school will help address the shortage of health care professionals in the region.
Legislature Will ‘Look Carefully’ at UC Medical System After Report
California legislators will “look carefully” into allegations raised in a union report accusing officials at University of California medical centers of understaffing and mismanaging the system’s five teaching hospitals.