Bee News and Research

RSS

California single-payer system has another go before Senate committee

A proposal to institute a single-payer health care system in California has found its way to a key state Senate committee. The proposal, which would cover all Californians through a state-run health insurance program, died in the Senate Appropriations Committee in California last year.

18 Jan 2012

State roundup: State lawmakers, governors planning health legislation; Some Pa. kids losing Medicaid

Iowa House and Senate Republicans could support legislation requiring lawmakers to contribute to the cost of their state-provided health-care benefits, party leaders told the Des Moines Register's editorial board this morning. The health-care packages now offered by the state -; in which most employees, including legislators, are not required to make contributions from their salaries -; are "out of touch" with the plans available to average Iowans, ... House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, said.

18 Jan 2012

State Roundup: Iowa mental health budget tussle; Calif. orders Anthem to pay docs, hospitals

Anthem Blue Cross has been ordered to pay doctors and hospitals for outstanding services dating back to 2007 after the insurer failed to remediate violations revealed by a state audit, California regulators said Thursday. It's unclear how much money the medical providers would get if Anthem complies with the order from the Department of Managed Health Care.

13 Jan 2012

2010 health spending grew slowly

This slowing of health spending brought the rate of growth in line with that of the U.S. economy. The Obama administration pointed to the new figures as evidence that the health law isn't making health care more expensive.

11 Jan 2012

Blacklisted British doctor sues journal

A British doctor who lost his medical license in the U.K. in 2010 and who was accused in a journal last year of publishing bogus research filed a defamation suit this week in state District Court in Travis County.

9 Jan 2012

Medicaid news: Provider leaves Wash. State; Lawsuits in Calif., Iowa

Regence BlueShield is leaving Washington's Medicaid market and several news outlets analyze Medi-Cal lawsuits.

7 Jan 2012

State roundup: Colo. reports 'record' number of Medicaid recipients; Hollywood nursing home stymied by Congress?

Nearly 615,000 Coloradans were on Medicaid in November, by far a record high, officials said Wednesday, attributing the vast bulk of the growth to economic hard times rather than recent eligibility expansions. ... the 614,146 Coloradans enrolled in Medicaid in November represented a 57.7 percent increase over January 2007. ... roughly 13 percent of all Coloradans are covered by state health-insurance programs.

6 Jan 2012

Employment issues: A hot topic among health care workers

In Connecticut, the issue of unionizing home care attendants has sparked charged debate. Meanwhile in California, nurses -; in the midst of contract negotiations -; plan to picket at Sutter Health's Sacramento headquarters and nine of its hospitals; and, in Texas, nurses filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board regarding Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center's sick leave policy.

23 Dec 2011

Roundup: Texas members oppose state's MLR waiver; Calif.'s disability case takes unusual turn

If you want to know what a Tea Party America might look like, there is no place like Kansas. In the past year, three state agencies have been abolished and 2,050 jobs have been cut. Funding for schools, social services and the arts have been slashed. The new Republican governor rejected a $31.5 million federal grant for a new health-insurance exchange because he opposes President Obama's health-care law. And that's just the small stuff.

23 Dec 2011

Calif. gets $118 million for high risk pool; Mo. legislator urges suspension of health exchange plans

The federal funds will help California provide coverage to residents with medical problems. In Missouri, a state senator suggests that officials not make any more plans on the state health exchange until the Supreme Court rules on the legality of the federal health law.

22 Dec 2011

What 2012 holds for state reform efforts, health law implementation

Vermont, Oregon and Georgia are considering what the new year will bring for their efforts to implement health reforms, including formation of insurance exchanges. In California, the state's pool of money for the pre-existing health condition plan is getting a new infusion of funds.

21 Dec 2011

State roundup: Financial issues threaten N.Y.'s Brookdale Hospital

On two separate occasions this year, Brookdale Hospital Medical Center-;a once-venerable institution that serves some of the city's most impoverished patients-;has been threatened with expulsion from public-health insurance programs after flunking multiple government safety inspections. The hospital relies heavily on Medicaid and Medicare for financial support.

20 Dec 2011

Roundup: Ohio lawmakers consider abortion bill; Aetna sues Mich. Blues

An Ohio lawmaker on Wednesday touted the importance of the fetal heartbeat as an indicator of life as he urged a legislative panel to support a bill that would impose the nation's most stringent abortion limit. The measure would outlaw abortions at the first detectable fetal heartbeat. That's sometimes as early as six weeks into pregnancy.

9 Dec 2011

Roundup: Ariz. examines complaints of prisoners' medical health care; Calif. settles suit on kids' mental health services

To stave off a lawsuit, Arizona's Department of Corrections has agreed to investigate scores of complaints by inmates that they are routinely denied medical care for weeks or months even for severe, life-threatening conditions. Inmates who have lost sight, had body parts amputated or been severely disfigured, among other gruesome examples, say proper medical care could have prevented needless suffering.

6 Dec 2011

Competition among institutions for doctors, scientists grabs headlines

Some big name health facilities sometimes draw entire physician or research groups from other institutions.

5 Dec 2011

Just a few days left for Medicare open enrollment

Seniors and persons with disabilities have only days left to enroll in or make changes to their Medicare coverage. Open enrollment, known as the Annual Election Period (AEP) began a month earlier this year, on October 15, and will end three weeks earlier than usual, on December 7. The open enrollment period is when recipients may change their Medicare health plan and/or make changes to Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage.

5 Dec 2011

Hospital mergers with health systems, insurers and other hospitals trigger disputes

The legal back and forth over public records continues in Kentucky as the Jefferson County attorney's office, which represents Louisville, filed a lawsuit against the University of Louisville demanding the release of documents related to the pending three-hospital merger involving the university's hospital.

2 Dec 2011

Ariz. hospitals file suit to stop cuts in Medicaid reimbursements

Arizona hospitals on Tuesday filed suit to block a 5 percent reduction in the rates they're paid to care for Medicaid patients. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix, argues that the rate cut will reduce patient access to health-care providers, in violation of federal law.

1 Dec 2011

New hospital clinic in Michigan seeks to reduce traffic to ER; Minneapolis doctors and hospital merge operations

The Grand Rapids clinic is reaching out to people who have been to the hospital's emergency department at least 10 times in the past year.