Latest California Healthline Stories
Nursing Home Disaster Plans Often Faulted As ‘Paper Tigers’
Too often enforcement of rules for dealing with crisis is lax, advocates for nursing home residents say.
Shedding New Light On Hospice Care: No Need To Wait For The ‘Brink Of Death’
Hospice care often prompts fear and misunderstanding, but the services provided can lead to less pain and trauma at the end of life.
5 Outside-The-Box Ideas For Fixing The Individual Insurance Market
As lawmakers look for ways to stabilize the health law marketplaces, a number of ideas — such as expanding who can “buy in” to Medicare and Medicaid or pushing young adults off their parents’ plans into the marketplaces — might come into play.
End-Of-Life Advice: More Than 500,000 Chat On Medicare’s Dime
In the first year of payments for advance-care planning sessions, once decried as ”death panels,“ use is higher than expected, new data show.
Under Trump, Hospitals Face Same Penalties Embraced By Obama
Federal records show that 2,573 hospitals around the country will have their Medicare payments reduced because they have too many patients readmitted.
Fraud And Billing Mistakes Cost Medicare — And Taxpayers — Tens Of Billions Last Year
At a hearing Wednesday, federal health officials pointed to billing errors, fraud and overcharges that led Medicare to overpay by staggering sums.
Medicare’s Financial Outlook Slightly Improved, Trustees Say
The assessment pushes back the date for the hospital insurance trust fund to go bankrupt by one year. It also says Part B premiums next year will be stable.
Half The Time, Nursing Homes Scrutinized On Safety By Medicare Are Still Treacherous
Of the 528 nursing homes that graduated from special focus status before 2014 and are still operating, more than half — 52 percent — have harmed patients or operated in a way that put patients in serious jeopardy within the past three years, a KHN analysis finds.
As Seniors Get Sicker, They’re More Likely To Drop Medicare Advantage Plans
Medicare Advantage plans offer good value and aim to keep patients healthy but sicker people are far more likely to quit because they can’t get the care they need.
Hospitals Ramp Up Hyperbaric Therapy For Diabetics, Despite Concerns
Medicare is trying to deter overuse of hyperbaric therapy, and some experts question its effectiveness for healing diabetic wounds, one of the treatment’s fastest-growing uses.
