01/05/2009
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has given the state Department of Health Care Services 120 days to report on steps it has taken to implement a 2002 state law that aimed to expand Medi-Cal to people who are HIV-positive but have not developed AIDS. Modern Healthcare, Bloomberg.
01/05/2009
HHS Secretary-designate Tom Daschle attended community meetings aimed at gathering public input on the health care system. The meetings are part of a larger effort intended to build public support for health care reform as President-elect Barack Obama prepares to take office. New York Times et al.
01/05/2009
Democratic leaders in Congress now say an economic stimulus package that is expected to include provisions for Medicaid funding and health information technology will not be ready until mid-February. Democrats had hoped to have Congress approve the bill by the inauguration. Washington Post et al.
01/05/2009
The legislative campaign for a single-payer health care system is moving into its second decade in California with newly elected state Sen. Mark Leno ready to deal with same governor who opposes the plan and a weakening economy. by George Lauer
01/05/2009
California is one of several states considering changes to its Medicaid program. So far, 19 states have cut payments to hospitals and nursing homes, eliminated coverage for some treatments and excluded some beneficiaries from the program completely. Washington Post.
01/05/2009
In an opinion piece, Rose Anne DeMoro -- executive director of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee and a vice president of AFL-CIO -- criticizes the U.S.'s "reliance on charity rather than a public safety net." She calls for "a streamlined, more effective system than our current nightmare, based on care not insurance, by expanding and extending Medicare to cover everyone." Contra Costa Times.
01/05/2009
Two California laws permit insurers to take into account a member's gender when determining premiums for individual health insurance policies. San Francisco's city attorney has pledged to sue the state if the laws are not repealed. San Francisco Chronicle.
01/05/2009
A report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected that a plan to permit Americans ages 62 to 64 to buy into Medicare would reduce costs and expand coverage more effectively than private health insurance. In most cases, people become eligible for Medicare at age 65. Sacramento Business Journal.
12/23/2008
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to meet today with Democratic leaders in hopes of reaching a deal on the state budget. Last week, the Legislature approved an $18 billion budget plan that included $7.3 billion in cuts to health care, schools and other programs. San Diego Union-Tribune et al.
12/23/2008
An eight-month Baltimore Sun investigation looked into the aggressive efforts by Maryland hospitals to step up debt collection. The hospitals' trade group successfully defeated lawmakers' efforts to impose stricter oversight of hospitals' collection practices. Baltimore Sun.
12/22/2008
The California Endowment has selected Del Norte County and 13 other sites statewide to participate in its "Building Healthy Communities" program. Over the next decade, the 14 sites will receive up $1 billion in grants from the endowment for health-related initiatives. Daily Triplicate.
12/22/2008
Negotiations continue after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger rejected Democrats' budget proposal, which included $7.3 billion in cuts to health care, schools and other programs, because he said it did not go far enough to address the budget gap. The governor plans to order layoffs and mandatory unpaid time off for state workers in response to the growing deficit. Sacramento Bee et al.
12/22/2008
States are asking the federal government to increase Medicaid spending by $40 billion over two years to address increases in Medicaid enrollment and lower-than-projected tax revenues. Governors say additional funding will help states balance their budgets. AP/San Francisco Chronicle, NPR's "News & Notes."
12/19/2008
Two reports from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimate that plans offered by President-elect Barack Obama and other Democrats to reduce health care costs would yield moderate savings. CBO evaluated more than 100 plans for the reports. Bloomberg/Philadelphia Inquirer et al.
12/19/2008
On Thursday, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it has corrected a computer glitch that wrongfully denied benefits to an estimated 600,000 widows of veterans for the past 12 years and that it will issue retroactive benefit checks. Washington Times.