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Roundup: Patient dies after medical error during Calif. nurses strike; grocery workers ratify contract that had partially hinged on health care

Veteran nurses locked out of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland said Sunday that the death of a patient due to a medical error by a replacement worker wouldn't have happened if they had been allowed to do their jobs. The hospital's management countered that it was a freak accident that could have happened at any time -- with or without the replacement nurses. At the center of the dispute is a cancer patient, a woman who has not been identified but whose tragic death on Saturday has inflamed an already tense labor dispute.

27 Sep 2011

State roundup: N.Y. to pay $5 million to end suit over autistic teen's death

The State of New York has agreed to pay $5 million to settle two civil suits brought by the family of a boy with autism who died in state care, among the larger wrongful-death settlements ever paid by the state.

23 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: Progressives relish fight for 'shared sacrifice;' Desmond Tutu seeks to renew battle against HIV

To get our books in order, Obama would raise taxes on the rich while gaining savings by ending the wars abroad and reducing Medicare and Medicaid's unnecessarily high payments to drug companies. Republicans rise in defense of tax cuts for the wealthy and insist that deficit reduction come solely from cuts in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and other "entitlements." The president stands for shared sacrifice; the Republicans for sheltering the privileged few. Progressives will have no problem standing with the president in this fight.

22 Sep 2011

Roundup: HIPAA enforcement; Brownback blasted for rejecting federal grant; nurses strike in Calif.

Only two state attorneys general have pursued the authority Congress gave them two years ago to prosecute privacy and security breaches of health information -; despite training from federal agencies and a consensus among privacy groups that enforcement needs to improve. The expansion of jurisdiction to state attorneys general was awarded in concert with a $27 billion stimulus program initiated in 2009 to reward health care providers for switching from print to computerized health records.

21 Sep 2011

Roundup: Calif. woman's death at nursing home probed; Minn. orders counseling before patients get long-term care

Johnnie Esco died after a 13-day stay at the El Dorado Care Center in Placerville. Her death on March 7, 2008, led to a contentious civil lawsuit, investigations by California's Department of Justice and Department of Public Health – and the exhumation of her body from Arlington National Cemetery. Last week, amid inquiries from The Bee, the state Department of Justice reopened its criminal investigation into Johnnie Esco's treatment at the facility.

20 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: NY Times on uninsured; Wilensky's 'sobering reflection'; caring for aging parents

Nearly one million more Americans went without health insurance in 2010 than in 2009. ... The only consolation was that government insurance programs were able to mitigate some of the damage. ... The new health care reforms will expand Medicaid coverage for the poor and provide subsidies to help middle-income people buy private health insurance.

16 Sep 2011

Roundup: Ga. rejects rule to curb dental hygienists' work; Ohio high-risk pool faces higher than expected costs

The Georgia Board of Dentistry on Friday rejected a proposed rule that public health officials feared would have restricted dental hygienists' work with low-income patients. Several health groups had said the provision, if approved, would require a dentist to examine a patient before a hygienist can apply sealants, clean teeth and perform other preventive dental services in a public health setting.

13 Sep 2011

Feds' push for Medicaid 'transparency' irks states; Minn. chips away at fraud; Kansas seeks more assisted living

A federal push for more transparency in how states run their Medicaid programs is pitting patient advocates and medical providers against state officials who fear being hamstrung. The transparency effort comes as states seek ever greater flexibility in how they manage their Medicaid programs to cope with historic budget woes.

7 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: States' anti-abortion laws; unproven cancer therapy; paying for retirees' health benefits

Since last year, 13 states, including Kansas, have enacted laws banning insurance coverage of abortion in the health insurance exchanges created by the federal health care reform law. Some states have gone even further, aggressively restricting abortion coverage even in private insurance plans sold outside the exchanges. ... These cases, some of which are being appealed, are testing whether the antiabortion movement will get its way. It shouldn't.

31 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: Spotlight on insurance industry; local health costs rising; obesity debate

The GOP candidate's positions are not a vision of the future for the U.S. but of a discredited past. ... Perry's proposed fixes for the healthcare system -; tort reform, individual ownership of health insurance, portability of plans for people who move or change jobs -; would do nothing to slow the growth of healthcare costs or reduce the number of uninsured Americans.

30 Aug 2011

Roundup: Calif. ruling may extend mental health coverage; Conn. dropping early intervention program; Alaska clinic focuses on Medicare patients

A Northern California woman's treatment for anorexia at a residential facility was medically necessary and must be covered by her healthcare plan, a federal appeals court has ruled in a case that could lead to more extensive benefits for those being treated for mental illnesses.

30 Aug 2011

Roundup: Virginia's abortion rules; Calif. rate regulation bill; Georgia's spending plans for disabled

Virginia health officials are planning to release draft emergency regulations for abortion clinics as soon as Friday that reproductive-health activists say could impose strict physical, staffing and equipment requirements and could force many of the state's clinics to close.

26 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: Rational, not rationing, Medicare cuts; Paul Ryan's future; hospitals' clout

Congress needs to make sure that lobbying -; and every dollar of campaign contributions to the super committee's members -; is fully and immediately disclosed. ... The American Hospital Association has vowed a "full-court press" on the committee, as have defense industries and others.

24 Aug 2011

News highlights: Calif. ruling limits medical damages; appeal filed in case challenging Ariz. Medicaid cuts

The state Supreme Court handed insurers and business groups a major legal victory -- and personal injury lawyers an equally big setback -- on Thursday by imposing limits on medical damages in one of the era's closest watched civil cases. The issue in the case, Howell v. Hamilton Meats & Provisions, was whether an injured party could collect the full medical care costs billed by doctors and hospitals, or the lesser amount that the medical providers accepted from an insurance company.

20 Aug 2011

State roundup: Opposition to Calif. health insurance regulation bill

Supporters of controversial legislation to give state regulators power to approve, deny or modify changes in health insurance rates have returned from their summer recess to find added opposition as they push for its passage before the session wraps up. Gov. Jerry Brown's finance officials came out against Assembly Bill 52 at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing this week, raising concerns about the costs of the rate-regulation proposal.

19 Aug 2011

States move forward with creating health exchanges

In Minnesota, though, party-based challenges are emerging to Gov. Dayton's exchange plan. Also, Politico reports that, even though the health law allows for a federal exchange as a fallback plan if states don't develop their own, no funding exists for these federal activities. On the other hand, the law provides almost unlimited resources to support states' efforts.

18 Aug 2011

Worries in Neb. about exchange deadlines; federal grant for Conn.

Nebraska officials raised concerns Monday about the state's ability to meet upcoming federal health care reform deadlines. At a briefing for state lawmakers, the officials said they face challenges with the amount of work to be done and the lack of answers on key matters.

17 Aug 2011

Roundup: Report finds Calif. fails to discipline 710 doctors; GOP takes 4 of 6 races in Wis.; obesity and poverty in Miss.

California's medical board failed to discipline 710 troubled doctors even as they were disciplined by hospitals, surgical centers and other health care organizations in the state, according to a report released Tuesday.

11 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: Emanuel on cancer care; George Bush - 'health reformer?'; Hiassen on Fla. 'trolls'

Right now cancer care is being rationed in the United States. Probably to their great disappointment, President Obama's critics cannot blame this rationing on death panels or health care reform. Rather, it is caused by a severe shortage of important cancer drugs.

9 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: Birth control decision fallout; docs on Medi-Cal reimbursement; cutting out middlemen insurers

The most important financial matter for members of Congress when they return from their vacation is to figure out what is essential and what should be reduced or eliminated. … Medicare and Medicaid are absolutely justified for all of us at all ages.

6 Aug 2011