Latest California Healthline Stories
Primary Care Direct Model: ‘Neither Insurance nor Health Plan’
Accessible, high-quality primary care is a mantra of the Affordable Care Act, which promotes the development of patient-centered medical homes and accountable care organizations. A new direct primary care model attempting to deliver all of those things is being vetted in California, albeit slowly.
Homegrown Program Addresses Inland Empire Doc Shortage
A training program through UC-Riverside’s School of Medicine hopes to steer local high school and college students onto paths that will lead them to become doctors in the Inland Empire, the region experiencing the worst shortage of primary care physicians in California.
David Goodman of Dartmouth Discusses Efforts To Study Care Quality Across Patients’ Lifetimes
David Goodman — professor of pediatrics and health policy at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and co-director of the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care — spoke with California Healthline about efforts to study variations in care quality from the beginning to the end of life.
Why Basic Health Plan Failed and Why COOPs May Succeed
The legislative demise of the Basic Health Program and the legislative progress of Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans are clear signals of support for California’s Health Benefit Exchange, consolidating the new entity’s power and reach.
Health for Sale as Retail Clinics Expand in California
The retail clinic sector is experiencing healthy growth in Los Angeles and could grow throughout the state as health care reform comes into play, according to a new study from the RAND Corporation.
Legislators, Advocates Urge Care in Healthy Families Transition
State Senate President Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John Pérez have joined children’s health advocates in urging state officials to be careful and cautious in their dismantling of the Healthy Families program.
Tulare Hospital Takes Big Steps To Promote Breastfeeding
Tulare Regional Medical Center has quadrupled the number of new mothers exclusively breastfeeding in the hospital, moving from one of the lowest rates in Tulare County to the highest in just four years.
University of California Campuses Gear Up To Implement, Enforce Upcoming Smoking Ban
UC-Berkeley student Irene Cheng, Kevin Confetti of the University of California, Colleen Stevens of the California Department of Public Health, Kim Homer Vagadori of the California Youth Advocacy Network and a scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory spoke with California Healthline about the upcoming smoking ban at UC campuses.
Standards Open Exchange Doors for Qualified Health Plans
Insurers, often overlooked in the discussion about who benefits from health care reform, came one step closer to participation and potential profit when the California Health Benefit Exchange released its 263-page definition of a qualified health plan.
Safety-Net Hospitals Face Funding Cuts on Two Federal Fronts
Safety-net hospitals are facing a double-whammy of funding cuts: The Affordable Care Act lowers Medicaid payments to hospitals for uncompensated care and changes in Medicare reimbursements could mean further reductions in payments to safety-net hospitals.