Latest California Healthline Stories
California Lags in Nurse-to-Resident Ratio Despite Increase in Nursing School Graduates
Deloras Jones of the California Institute for Nursing & Health Care, Pamela Lassetter of the Fresno Regional Workforce Investment Board and DeAnn McEwen of the California Nurses Association’s Council of Presidents spoke with California Healthline about the state’s nurse-to-resident ratio.
Health Reform Shifting From Planning to Action
California’s Health Benefit Exchange is about a year from testing, and the state is pushing ahead with changes to Medi-Cal, Medicare and Healthy Families. Participants at a conference last week in Sacramento tried to put all the health care reform action into perspective.
Health Care May Play Part in California Political Makeover
With retirements on both sides of the aisle, new congressional districts and new voting rules, California’s political makeup is headed for change in both Washington, D.C., and Sacramento. A couple of health care issues — a controversial Medicare plan in Congress and a state ballot proposal to regulate health insurance premiums — could play a part in how those changes happen.
Do Long-Term Care Patients Need a Stronger Advocate?
Change may be coming to the state ombudsman’s office for long-term care, whether it likes it or not. Proposed legislation to strengthen advocacy and increase the independence of that agency has been greeted with stern resistance from the agency itself.
UC-Merced Students Tap Telehealth Tools To Treat Diabetes
Business students at UC-Merced are embarking on a telehealth initiative to monitor patients with gestational diabetes in the Central Valley. The project aims to target women without adequate access to medical care.
Center for Democracy & Technology’s McGraw Discusses Health Data Privacy Challenges
Deven McGraw, director of the Health Privacy Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology, spoke with California Healthline about the challenges of protecting health data privacy.
L.A. Senior Advocates Stand Up to Budget Cuts
Advocates for senior health programs in Los Angeles are working on remedies to situations many thought couldn’t get any worse — until now. The governor’s proposed budget prescribes more cuts for state-supported programs for low-income, vulnerable elderly residents.
Bill Would Explore New Tier of Dental Provider for California
This week, the California Senate is considering a bill that would create a statewide office of oral health and launch a research project aimed at creating a new tier of dental professionals who could provide care for nearly one million underserved children in California.
Financial Flexibility Could Be Key to Helping Seniors
California health officials have struggled with how to handle the state’s burgeoning and expensive elder population — the largest in the nation and growing quickly. One program in San Mateo County wants to take an unusual approach by launching a different financial structure that could benefit seniors and save money.
Newly Enacted State Legislation Looks Toward Implementation of Federal Health Reform Law
John Arensmeyer of Small Business Majority, Diana Dooley of California’s Health and Human Services Agency and Anthony Wright of Health Access spoke with California Healthline about California’s efforts to prepare the state for changes under the federal health reform law.