A Southern California hospital known for treating a large number of indigent and homeless patients has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The 137-bed Gardens Regional Hospital and Medical Center filed for bankruptcy earlier this week, claiming more than...
Archived California Healthcare News
Hospitals, Patients May Not Be Prepared For New Aid-In-Dying Law
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Jun 1, 2016
A week from today, physician-assisted suicide will be legal to perform in California. But researchers have concluded that many providers...
Feds Join Prime Healthcare Billing Suit
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Jun 1, 2016
The federal government late last month joined a civil false claims lawsuit against Prime Healthcare Services, accusing the Ontario-based hospital chain of engaging in questionable business practices intended to maximize its bottom line.
The U.S. Justice Department...
Blue Shield of California Discloses Pay Of Top Execs
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Jun 1, 2016
Under pressure from consumer
activists and other critics, Blue Shield of
California has released compensation data
for its top executives...
In Brief: Kaiser Grants Another $6.2 Million For HEAL Initiatives
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Jun 1, 2016
Kaiser Permanente\'s Southern California division has invested an additional $6.2 million in its Healthy ...
In Brief: Stanford Children\'s Health Opens Up Specialty Services Center
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Jun 1, 2016
Stanford Children\'s Health has opened a new 80,000 square-foot specialty ...
VITALS: California Health Plan Total Enrollment as of 12/31/2015
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Jun 1, 2016
California Health Plan Total Enrollment as of 12/31/2015
Kansans Concerned About Rising Cost Of Healthcare
Free
May 23, 2016
NPR, Harvard University and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation partnered to survey Americans last year about their perceptions of healthcare.
Kansas was one of seven states — Florida, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Texas and Wisconsin were the others — singled out for a closer look. And the thing that stood out about Kansans was the degree of concern they expressed about the cost of healthcare.
Community-Based Recovery Initiatives Take Hold
Free
May 23, 2016
Every movement needs a champion, and in the largely rural counties of western North Carolina, Richie Tannerhill is a champion of the recovery-oriented care movement for people with mental health and substance abuse issues.
Recovery-oriented care is founded on the belief that people with behavioral health problems need guideposts to help them find their own routes back to a productive life — that medication compliance and symptom control aren’t ultimate treatment goals.
States That Are Outliers In Death Rates Look Inward
Free
May 23, 2016
Drinking is more likely to be the cause of death in much of the Southwest than in other parts of the country. In parts of Appalachia and New England, it’s a drug overdose. Suicide by gun stands out as disproportionately lethal in parts of the Upper Midwest and Alaska.
Although the top causes of death are similar for most states, many states have their own peculiar hard cases —types of deaths whose rates are higher than the national norm, a Stateline analysis of 2014 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows.
Paradise Valley Hospital Pharmacy Cited
Free
May 18, 2016
More than 7,300 patients at a San Diego-area hospital may have been exposed to infection from contaminated medications last year, state records show.
The problems were traced to the compounding pharmacy lab at Paradise Valley Hospital in National City where inspectors found “dust, stains and foreign material†in a supposedly sterile environment in which thousands of intravenous medications were prepared over eight months — from Jan. 1 to Aug. 18.
Dignity Part Of New Greenhealth GPO
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May 18, 2016
San Francisco-based Dignity Health is one of several major healthcare chains that has started up a group purchasing organization for providing environmentally friendly products to hospitals and other providers.
DMHC Fines Aetna $125K For Denials
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May 18, 2016
Aetna Health of California was fined $125,000 last week by the Department of Managed Health Care for systematically denying payments for emergency care.
Asthma Study Illuminates Disparities
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May 18, 2016
When it comes to asthma research, apparently all bets are off when it comes to African-American children.
In Brief: Theranos Issues Thousands of Corrected Tests; Sharp Grossmont Admits Privacy Breach
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May 18, 2016
Theranos Issues Tens Of Thousands Of Corrected Tests
Palo Alto-based lab startup Theranos continued its descent into complete dysfunction by apparently issuing thousands of corrected laboratory tests, the Wall Street Journal reported this week.
Autism coverage mandates fall short
Free
May 16, 2016
Forty-four states and the District of Columbia have laws on the books requiring health insurers to cover autism treatments. But new research evaluating the so-called “insurance mandates†suggests these efforts are failing in key ways to help people — especially children — get needed therapy.
These findings, which were to be presented Wednesday at a major conference on autism spectrum disorder and will appear this summer in JAMA Pediatrics, highlight the consequences of this shortfall.
Tuberculosis May Be Making A Comeback
Free
May 16, 2016
A year ago, Laura Hall felt tired all the time, was losing weight and had a bad cough.
The 41-year-old Spanish teacher from Shelburne, Vt., went to doctors for three months before they finally nailed the diagnosis: active tuberculosis.
“I was scared. I was horrified. Oh my gosh, how did I get this? Where did I get it?†Hall said in a video about TB survivors’ experiences. “I didn’t think that I could get TB, ever.â€
More Kids Getting Healthcare Coverage
Free
May 16, 2016
Bolstered by the federal healthcare law, the number of lower income kids getting health coverage continues to improve, a recent study found.
Exchange Could See Big Premium Bump
Free
May 11, 2016
California’s health insurance exchange estimates that its Obamacare premiums may rise 8% on average next year, which would end two consecutive years of more modest 4% increases.
The projected rate increase in California, included in the exchange’s proposed annual budget, comes amid growing nationwide concern about insurers seeking double-digit premium hikes in the health law’s insurance marketplaces.
Small Smoking Drop Is Big Cost-Cutter
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May 11, 2016
One solid way to compel a dramatic drop in healthcare costs is to get Americans to stop smoking, according to a new study by researchers at UC San Francisco.
The study compared the 50 states to the nationwide smoking average in 2009.
