09/02/2010
Before the end of the legislative session, lawmakers passed a bill to create a structure for a hospital fee to draw down federal Medi-Cal funds and another bill that relates to lease agreements between hospital operators and districts. Payers & Providers.
09/02/2010
The 2009 economic stimulus package provided NIH with more than $8 billion to fund biomedical research, but that program will stop at the end of September. NIH's yearly grant budget may drop by 15%, and scientists and university officials are concerned that some research programs will be affected. Bloomberg/San Francisco Chronicle.
09/01/2010
California employers are paying an average of $2.47 for every $100 of payroll to cover workers' compensation policies written this year, according to a report released last week by the Workers' Compensation Rating Bureau of California. The rate is about 5% higher than last year's average workers' compensation premiums, according to the report. Sacramento Business Journal.
09/01/2010
Obama administration officials have asked a federal judge to lift a temporary ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, saying that it could jeopardize millions of dollars for such research and prevent scientific breakthroughs. Washington Post's "The Checkup" et al.
09/01/2010
California's public employee pension accounts -- CalPERS, CalSTRS and the UC retirement system -- might face a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into whether the state misled investors through legislation that affected the pensions' funds, former Assembly member Joe Nation writes in a San Francisco Chronicle opinion piece. Citing a recent case involving pension funds in New Jersey, Nation, who is currently a professor of public policy at Stanford University, writes that California could face similar fraud charges. San Francisco Chronicle.
08/31/2010
Roughly 1,900 companies have qualified to receive reimbursement from a $5 billion fund established under the health reform law to help businesses, unions and other employers cover health care costs for retirees ages 55 to 64 who do not qualify for Medicare. The large number of qualified groups is raising concerns that HHS will not be able to keep the program solvent until 2014 as planned. Wall Street Journal.
08/31/2010
Next month, more than 44,000 employees of Kaiser Permanente will decide whether to keep the incumbent Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West as their union or switch to the National Union of Healthcare Workers. Observers say the vote has implications both statewide and nationally because SEIU could lose clout in the health care sector if it fails to retain Kaiser membership. Other large California facilities are expected to vote after Kaiser. San Francisco Chronicle.
08/31/2010
The Maryland-based company Doctors Express has announced plans to open six urgent care clinics in the Sacramento region over the next 18 months. In November, the firm expects to open its first clinic in Fair Oaks. According to Doctors Express CEO Peter Ross, urgent care visits typically cost between $115 and $140 per visit, compared with between $500 and $700 for an average emergency department visit. Sacramento Business Journal.
08/30/2010
The Fallbrook Healthcare District has leased its hospital to a for-profit private operator since 1998, but the district still is collecting up to $1.5 million annually in property taxes to run the hospital. The district's total income is approaching $9 million, which district officials say is necessary in case the private operator opts out of the arrangement to run the hospital. Taxpayer advocates and not-for-profit executives say the district is improperly accumulating public assets. San Diego Union-Tribune.
08/30/2010
Tricia West -- a registered nurse who was president and CEO of P.J. West & Associates, a legal consulting firm that reviewed cases involving Medicare fraud -- has been named CEO of the California Board of Registered Nursing. Part of West's duties will be to ensure timely reporting of investigations involving alleged medical violations. West's new position begins Sept 15. Ventura County Star.
08/27/2010
The California Department of Public Health has reversed its ruling issued earlier this month that the nursing home run by the Motion Picture and Television Fund broke state law by failing to provide discharge notices to residents before transferring them. Ralph Montano, a DPH spokesperson, said the decision was changed because a formal closure process was never initiated. Los Angeles Times' "Company Town."
08/27/2010
On Thursday, Gov. Schwarzenegger met with legislative leaders of both parties to discuss the state's ongoing budget crisis. According to Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg, no progress was made during the meeting, which was the first such gathering since June 14. Meanwhile, the governor still is planning a trip to Asia next month to improve business prospects for California companies. AP/San Francisco Chronicle et al.
08/26/2010
U.S. District Judge Royce Lambert's recent ruling to block federal funding of embryonic stem cell research "could not only jeopardize American medical science but the health of millions of patients worldwide" because the ruling "omits the fact that embryonic stem cells have great promise in treating diseases for which there is otherwise little hope, and his ruling will seriously delay the quest for cures," a Los Angeles Times editorial states. Meanwhile, a San Francisco Chronicle editorial argues that the Obama administration is rightly "planning an appeal" and that Congress should "easily clarify things by simply passing a stem cell funding bill." Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle.
08/26/2010
Kentucky-based Kindred Healthcare has announced plans to acquire five long-term acute care hospitals owned by Southern California's Vista Healthcare. Kindred will pay Vista $180 million for the four freestanding hospitals and one hospital-in-hospital facility. Kindred also plans to acquire three nursing homes in Texas. The acquisitions are expected to close this year. HealthLeaders Media.
08/26/2010
This month, UC-San Francisco received an anonymous letter that makes several allegations concerning the planned $1.6 billion UCSF Mission Bay Medical Center. Among other claims, the letter states that UCSF officials issued improper contracts. Susan Desmond-Hellmann, UCSF chancellor, said that the letter is being treated as a whistle-blower complaint and that an investigation has been launched. San Francisco Business Times' "Bay Area Biz Talk."