01/05/2009
Aides to Gov. Schwarzenegger rolled out a proposal aimed at closing the state's more than $40 billion budget deficit over the next 18 months. The plan would cut Medi-Cal and calls for shifting funds from special accounts for mental health services and early childhood health care and education programs to other state efforts. Sacramento Bee et al.
12/19/2008
Some California nursing home industry and patient advocates argue that CMS' new five-star nursing home rating system is flawed because the agency uses data that is up to three years old and rates nursing homes on incomplete data. Riverside Press-Enterprise.
12/18/2008
Data for the ratings come from state inspection reports, and overall ratings will focus largely on staffing and facilities' performance on 10 quality measures. Nursing home officials have criticized the effort, arguing that state inspection data will not provide an accurate view of care. USA Today et al.
12/15/2008
More than 85% of voting Service Employees International Union members favor reorganizing three local unions and creating a single union for long-term care workers in California. Fewer than 8% of eligible members participated in the vote. Sacramento Business Journal, Los Angeles Times.
12/11/2008
Officials from Sacramento and Yolo counties held a press conference to support United Healthcare Workers-West's opposition to Service Employees International Union's plan to consolidate UHW with two other unions. Union members have until today to vote on the plan. Sacramento Bee.
12/03/2008
Conseco has transferred its long-term care policies to a new trust supervised by the state of Pennsylvania as part of an effort by the insurer to focus on more lucrative lines of business. Analysts warn that policyholders could see benefit cuts or premium hikes. Wall Street Journal.
12/01/2008
An increasing number of men are taking the lead role in providing primary care for their elderly parents. The Alzheimer's Association and the National Alliance for Caregiving estimate nearly 40% of family caregivers are men, up from 19% in a 1996 study by the Alzheimer's Association. New York Times.
11/26/2008
On Tuesday, the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors approved a round of mid-year budget cuts for the county Human Services Agency and Department of Public Health. The cuts will eliminate a program intended to keep seniors out of nursing homes and reduce staffing for the long-term care ombudsman program. Stockton Record.
11/24/2008
California health care workers represented by unions under the umbrella of the Service Employees International Union are being asked whether they would prefer to consolidate three locals. Leaders of the United Healthcare Workers-West oppose plans to merge the locals. Los Angeles Times.
11/20/2008
Budget shortfalls are pushing many states to cut home care services for the elderly and disabled. Because of the home care service cuts, moving to a nursing home is the only option for some individuals. Wall Street Journal.
11/17/2008
On Friday, the Department of Labor issued new rules under the Family and Medical Leave Act, including regulations allowing military family members to take up to 26 weeks off from work each year to care for an ill or injured member of the armed services. The new rules also allow relatives to take up to 12 weeks off to care for active-duty National Guard members and military reservists. New York Times.
11/07/2008
More than 97% of Horizon West workers represented by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers-West voted to approve a contract that would increase wages and provide defined benefit pensions. Sacramento Business Journal.
10/29/2008
In an opinion piece, Barbara Coombs Lee -- president of Compassion and Choice, a not-for-profit that focuses on end-of-life care and choice -- defends the recently enacted Terminal Patients' Right to Know End-of-Life Options Act. She writes, "The Right to Know Act specifically ensures that patients who ask will become aware of their condition and receive the most appropriate care for whatever time they have left." Los Angeles Times.
10/29/2008
Hospice care has grown into a $10 billion a year industry, fueling demand for volunteers because of a law that requires hospices to use volunteers for at least 5% of staffing to qualify for Medicare reimbursements. The number of volunteers has more than tripled since 1980. Riverside Press-Enterprise.
10/28/2008
In Ventura County on Monday, senior advocates warned that state budget cuts could threaten senior programs -- leaving residents at nursing homes and senior care facilities vulnerable to health care problems, abuse and neglect. Ventura County Star.