Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Ga., Calif. Hospitals Sue Blue Cross Plan For Sending ER Reimbursements To Patients
The lawsuits allege that the practice costs the hospitals money because the patients often spend the funds.
As Marijuana Legalization Initiative Heads For Calif. Ballot, Health Groups Weigh In
Health experts remain divided on legalizing marijuana for recreational use.
Old Motels Get New Life Helping Homeless Heal
Using run-down motels to care for and temporarily house homeless people recently discharged from the hospital helps stabilize them inexpensively, preventing unnecessary and costly returns to ERs and hospitals.
‘Digital Health’ Not Just For Well-Heeled Fitness Fiends
A small group of advocates and entrepreneurs is using mobile phones and digital scales to make a difference in the health of poor people, too.
California Drug Price Measure Fiercely Opposed By Pharmaceutical Industry
Proposed legislation would require drugmakers to disclose and justify price hikes. The industry has taken to Facebook and Twitter, warning that the proposal could lead to medication shortages in some regions of the state.
California Insurance Commissioner Weighs In Against Aetna-Humana Deal
Commissioner says $37 billion deal would stifle market competition, raise health insurance rates and reduce access to care.
A pioneering program in southern California provides ongoing care and housing to homeless people who are “super-utilizers” of hospital emergency rooms. The effort is reducing ER visits and saving a lot of money.
California Insurance Commissioner Urges Feds To Block $54 Billion Anthem-Cigna Deal
Commissioner Dave Jones says the deal would further reduce competition in the state’s health insurance market and harm consumers.
Report From Key Calif. Agency Raises Concerns About Proposal To Cut Drug Prices
Staff researchers at California’s largest public buyer of health benefits say the goal of reducing drug costs for the state is appealing but might not work in the real world.
As Hospital Chains Grow, So Do Their Prices For Care
The average patient stay costs $4,000 more at Sutter and Dignity hospitals than at other California medical centers, study shows.
A New Sort Of Consultant: Advising Doctors, Patients On California’s Aid-In-Dying Law
A Berkeley doctor begins an unusual practice as a law takes effect this week permitting doctors to prescribe lethal medications to terminally ill patients who request them.
Calif. Senate Nixes Bill Requiring Disclosures From Disciplined Doctors
The proposal would have required physicians and other medical clinicians to tell their patients if they were on probation for serious offenses.
Regulators Probing Whether Health Net Is Stiffing Drug Treatment Providers
Insurance officials in California have received widespread complaints that the insurer has not paid rehab centers for months, as the company sifts claims for fraud.
How And Where To Dump Your Leftover Drugs — Responsibly
With the nation’s opioid crisis worsening, officials want you to dispose of unwanted or expired prescription drugs. But finding a convenient take-back site requires time and patience.
UnitedHealth To Exit California’s Obamacare Market
Though United’s presence was small, its departure from the nation’s largest state underscores insurers’ ongoing dissatisfaction with Obamacare exchanges.
California’s Glaring Shortage Of School Nurses
A new national pediatric guideline proposes that every school have a nurse on staff. In California, 57 percent of school districts do not employ nurses.
Blue Shield ‘Lifts The Veil’ On Executive Pay
Consumer advocates say the nonprofit’s disclosures come too late for policy holders and the public.
CVS MinuteClinics: A Cure For Long Wait Times At Veterans Affairs?
The experiment in private partnership begins in Palo Alto, Calif.
Rushing To Move Excluded Immigrants Into Obamacare — Before Obama Exits
In California, backers of a plan to allow adults living in the country illegally to buy coverage on the state’s exchange hurry to get federal approval — fearing opposition or inaction under a new administration.
Inspectors Find Calif. Hospital’s Pharmacy Posed Infection Risk
Thousands of patients at the San Diego-area hospital may have been exposed to infection last year because of unsanitary conditions in the compounding lab where IVs were mixed, officials found.
