Latest California Healthline Stories
Retail Clinics Make Inroads in California, Despite Some Hesitation
California insurers are taking a cautious approach to retail clinics as they open more locations throughout the state, underlining some of the lingering questions over how retail clinics will affect the health care system.
Proposed Changes in Medicaid Rules Could Cost California Millions in Federal Funding
Officials from CMS, Medi-Cal, the hospital industry and patient advocacy groups spoke with California Healthline about how proposed changes to federal Medicaid rules could affect hospitals, patients and the state budget.
Costs Push Americans To Look Abroad for Health Care Services
With health care costs on the rise, more U.S. residents are considering traveling overseas to undergo medical procedures, often at a fraction of the cost the operation would cost stateside. Health care advocates say the trend highlights shortcomings in the U.S. health care system.
California Grapples With Questions Over Kids’ Health Insurance
Given the stalemate between Congress and President Bush, California has taken steps to adopt waiting lists and begin dropping children from programs funded through the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. However, some advocates are questioning the legality of such moves.
Study: California To Face Critical Shortage of Allied Health Care Workers by 2020
Abdi Soltani of the Campaign for College Opportunity, Jose Millan of the community college system and Marilyn Chow of Kaiser Permanente spoke with California Healthline about the lack of allied health workers and what can be done about it.
California Could Become National Model for Telemedicine
Given California’s size, large percentage of rural residents and policymakers’ willingness to find innovative ways to boost health care quality, the state is well positioned to become a model for telemedicine adoption and use. To seize this opportunity, the state must first alleviate some of the economical, regulatory and behavioral barriers preventing providers from deploying the technology.
New Laws Aim To Build State’s Cord Blood Supply Through Public Donations, Education
Assembly member Anthony Portantino, Burt Lubin of the National Advisory Council on Blood Stem Cell Transplantation and David Carmel of Stemcyte spoke with California Healthline about new state laws on umbilical cord blood collection.
California Researchers Say New VA Policy Hurts Cancer Studies
The Department of Veterans Affairs maintains that new restrictions on cancer data are intended to shore up patient privacy protections. Researchers argue that the rules will stymie data collection efforts in California, the source of about half of cases reported to a U.S. registry.
HMOs Make Few Gains in Patient Care in Annual State Report Card for Consumers
John Zweifler of the Office of the Patient Advocate and representatives from Aetna, the California Medical Association and Health Access spoke with California Healthline about OPA’s latest Healthcare Quality Report Card.
Aging Californians Challenge State Health Care System
California policymakers are struggling to deal with the implications of a dramatic increase in the number of elderly Californians. Some of the major issues: a shortage of geriatric health care specialists, limited long-term care options and increasing numbers of Alzheimer’s patients.