Archived California Healthcare News

The federal government has approved Indiana’s plan to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, increasing the number of expansion states to 28, plus the District of Columbia. With enrollment starting Feb. 1, Indiana’s plan could add an estimated 350,000 low-income adults to the nearly 5 million expected to enroll in the 27 states that expanded Medicaid last year. In accepting Indiana’s plan, the Obama administration demonstrated its determination to increase the number of expansion states, even if it means waiving traditional Medicaid rules. For example, under Indiana’s plan, people with incomes above the federal poverty level ($11,670 for an individual) must contribute to a health savings account or be locked out of coverage for six months.

Chinese-American immigrants in California with limited English language proficiency and low health literacy are much less likely to undergo crucial cancer screenings, according to a new study. The study focused on more than 1,400 Asian-American women and men. Although many large swaths of Asian-Americans are well assimilated into the U.S., up to 58% of immigrants from China have issues with English language proficiency, according to the study.

The California Department of Public Health issued a scathing report on electronic cigarettes Wednesday, calling them unsafe, overtly tempting to children and woefully underregulated. The agency, which also issued a formal health advisory on electronic cigarettes -- commonly known as e-cigarettes -- warned that their increasing popularity threatened to undo decades of successful smoking cessation efforts in California.

At the Cleveland Clinic’s sprawling main campus, patient Morgan Clay is being discharged. Clay arrived a couple of weeks ago suffering from complications related to acute heart failure. He’s ready to go home. But before Clay can leave, pharmacist Katie Greenlee stops by the room.

Chief executives with the managed care companies charged with running the state’s Medicaid program on Friday assured a legislative oversight committee that they’ve fixed most of the new system’s operational problems. “We feel very good about our performance,” said Tim Spilker, health plan chief executive officer with UnitedHealthcare. Testifying during a meeting of the Robert G. Bethell Joint Committee on Home and Community Based Services and KanCare Oversight, Spilker said consumer satisfaction surveys and claims and payment data show that the company is meeting national performance standards.

A new study by the University of California at San Francisco paints a fairly bleak picture of one of the healthcare sector\'s fastest-growing workforces: Long-term care employees.

CDPH Fines Sylmar Nursing Home $75,000

A skilled nursing center in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles has been fined $75,000 by the California Department of Public Health for the death of a resident.

It was a heck of a Christmas for David Fairchild and his wife, Clara Peterson. They found out they were about to lose their new health insurance. “Clara was listening to the news on Iowa Public Radio and that’s how we found out,” Fairchild said. They went to their health plan’s website that night. “No information. We still haven’t gotten a letter about it from them.”

As the Feb. 15 deadline for Attorney General Kamala Harris to make a decision allowing Prime Healthcare Services to purchase six hospitals from the Daughters of Charity Health System draws near, charges about the chain\'s business practices have intensified. The most recent missive from a major labor union opposed to the pending deal includes accusations that Prime has slashed women\'s healthcare services at properties it has acquired in the past.