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  • BRIEF
    Sep 8, 2010 — The Sacramento Bee
    ...rates that comply with the standard. The new rates will go into effect Oct. 1, according to Health Net spokesman Brad Kieffer. The company had planned to raise rates July 1, but delayed the hikes until the Department of Insurance could analyze the filing. Health Net's increases will range from 8 percent to 24 percent, depending on the specific plan purchased by consumers, according to the insurer's rate filing. ------ Call The Bee's Bobby Caina Calvan,...
  • California governor defends Asian trip
    Sep 8, 2010 — The Sacramento Bee
    At a rally at the Capitol on Wednesday, Democratic women lawmakers called for any budget deal to protect services for women and children. A Hong Kong-based eCommerce company, Alibaba, Inc., donated $550,000 for the trip.
  • California health officials lack mandated report on hospital employee vaccinations
    Sep 8, 2010 — The Sacramento Bee
    Sutter Roseville with a 56 percent vaccination rate in 2008-09, and Sutter Davis with a 45 percent rate. Rates for two Mercy hospitals that year were 51 percent at Mercy San Juan and 58 percent at Mercy General, the group calculated. Catholic Healthcare West, which operates the Mercy hospitals, could not immediately provide vaccination rates for any of its hospitals, said spokeswoman Melissa Jue. McGiffert's Safe Patient Project pushes for more disclosure of medical flaws,...
  • Hiring process for local Medi-Cal leader debated
    Sep 8, 2010 — Ventura County Star
    It will set benefits for patients and negotiate reimbursement contracts with hospitals and doctors. That was narrowed first to about eight candidates and now to four finalists, scheduled for their second interviews today. "We did a national search," said Dr. Two companies bid on the service and several others turned down invitations to make proposals.
  • New Alameda County court aims to help mentally ill
    Sep 8, 2010 — The Oakland Tribune
    This is what we should do." Alameda County is by no means the first county in the country or state to house a mental health court. The district attorney's office donated a DA. The public defender's office donated a public defender.
  • Placer employees' pension, health contributions to double
    Sep 8, 2010 — The Sacramento Bee
    Most Placer County employees will see their pension and health care costs rise dramatically after the Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to impose its "last, best and final" contract offer on its largest union. The 4-1 vote -- saving the county $3.8 million a year -- affects the 1,850 members of the Placer Public Employees Organization. Union members will see their pension contributions doubled to 2 percent of salary. Their share of health insurance costs also will double to 20...
  • Sacramento County mental health program faces state audit
    Sep 8, 2010 — The Sacramento Bee
    Meetings between the county and the state are scheduled for next week, he said. "Of course they can't withhold that money forever. It will only add to the overall problem," said Wagstaff. "It's very important that we get this resolved, and we will. From Day 1, our concern has been how do we continue to provide quality service in the face of a fiscal crisis.
  • UTLA head A.J. Duffy fights to make union part of reform
    Sep 8, 2010 — Daily News (Los Angeles, Calif.)
    ...of his union's governing bodies. That earned Duffy some enemies within UTLA and uncovered real divisions within the union's leadership. "I felt like we were trying to get the district to implement teacher-led reforms, and they were not treating us like partners," Duffy said. Looking back, Duffy refers to that period as "my Clinton-era health care debacle." From that point on the challenges haven't ceased. LAUSD's massive financial issues have threatened -- and...
  • California seeks $10 billion in fines against UnitedHealth unit
    Sep 7, 2010 — Los Angeles Times
    Doctors said PacifiCare failed to acknowledge their claims or to enter correct payment contract rates into its computer system, resulting in lower reimbursements.
  • Consumer Confidential: Health reform doesn't go far enough::
    Sep 7, 2010 — Los Angeles Times
    Her turning 45 was nothing more than an arbitrary blip on the calendar.Vaisnys is now 46. To lower her monthly premium, she boosted her annual deductible to $3,500 from $2,400.In other words, she's had to accept less coverage to keep her insurance costs manageable. And she's not alone.A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 16 percent of individual policyholders nationwide have switched to less-comprehensive plans to keep costs down.
  • Frank conversation can set limits on college spending
    Sep 7, 2010 — The Sacramento Bee
    Maybe: College students and credit cards have long been a hot topic. They're like a credit card, but you can't overdraft or spend beyond your limit. Check on fees for transferring funds online to your student.8. Overdraft protection.
  • Health Net rate hikes will move forward after state review
    Sep 7, 2010 — The Sacramento Bee
    An outside actuary reviewed the filing and found numerous mathematical mistakes.
  • Kaiser wants its employees to practice healthy living
    Sep 7, 2010 — The Sacramento Bee
    When you look at our employees, they're a reflection of the rest of the community," said Dr. Fewer sick people means greater productivity in the workplace. Sick days can cost a company $3,600 per employee each year, according to studies cited by Kaiser officials. Brian Wipperman, who works in the emergency room, now rides his bike part of the way to work -- partly motivated, he said, by his employer's wellness push.
  • Los Angeles Times David Lazarus column
    Sep 7, 2010 — Los Angeles Times
    Her turning 45 was nothing more than an arbitrary blip on the calendar. Vaisnys is now 46. And she's not alone. A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 16% of individual policyholders nationwide have switched to less-comprehensive plans to keep costs down. Why so many conservatives feel threatened by such an idea is beyond me. In the meantime, insurance costs will continue rising.
  • R&D tax credit prized by tech firms held hostage in Washington
    Sep 7, 2010 — San Jose Mercury News
    It was the 13th time since the credit was established in 1981 that lawmakers and the president allowed it to lapse. The R&D credit has been allowed to lapse repeatedly, even though it has broad bipartisan support on Capitol Hill. Some senators have said it should be realigned to benefit more small businesses. Whatever its flaws, Atkinson said extensive economic research shows the credit works.
  • Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif., Rob Young column
    Sep 6, 2010 — Appeal-Democrat
    ...district. A: YCUSD Deputy Superintendent Baldev Johal said the California Education Code allows "all or some" parents to be charged a portion of transportation costs, but the charge can't be more than the statewide average of $8.36 per day. YCUSD charges $160 per year for full-fare riders, Johal said. That appears to put the district well below the state average. Only 275 students out of 1,500 who ride the bus daily pay the full fare, with 274 paying a reduced rate of...
  • More county residents are overweight
    Sep 6, 2010 — Ventura County Star
    About 57 percent of the state's residents were obese or overweight in 2007, slightly higher than in 2001. In some regions, the numbers are especially alarming. The statistics trigger stories from doctors of the surge in adult onset diabetes in young adults and adolescents. xxxxxxxxxxxx Dr. Diamant said people in the overweight category should see it as a warning sign.
  • New after-hours clinic opens in Los Gatos
    Sep 6, 2010 — Los Gatos Weekly-Times
    It's just down the street from where Bascom intersects Highway 85 near the Los Gatos-Campbell border. Whooping cough is often passed from mother to child. Adrouny also performs screenings for sickle cell trait. The NCAA mandated the screenings for Division 1 college athletes last spring.
  • Valley unions feel strain of recession
    Sep 6, 2010 — The Fresno Bee
    We know the economy is going through bad times.
  • Calaveras labor pact calls for 4.6% pay cut
    Sep 5, 2010 — The Record (Stockton, Calif.)
    For the moment, however, the new agreement is good until Aug. 31. One selling point was that employees will have choices in scheduling half of the furlough days.
  • California paralyzed by government
    Sep 5, 2010 — Ventura County Star
    Why can't the government tackle big issues? In the year after Proposition 13 passed, state spending increased by 39 percent. Since 1998, Mathews and Paul write, voters have rejected only two such bonds, approving $97 billion in borrowing since 2000 alone.
  • Medical prison pact no end to debate
    Sep 5, 2010 — The Record (Stockton, Calif.)
    ...health care," Fama said. A related lawsuit taking aim at California's lack of mental health care for prisoners is Coleman v. Schwarzenegger. Attorney Michael Bien, who leads that case, said the Stockton facility can't open fast enough to help inmates who are his clients. "As Californians, we should be ashamed of what we're doing now in our prisons," Bien said. "It's disgusting." Prison health care workers aren't to blame for a lack of care, he said.
  • Millions of young adults to regain parents' health coverage
    Sep 5, 2010 — The Sacramento Bee
    ...-- Millions of 20-somethings who became uninsured after falling off their parents' health plans can regain coverage soon as a key provision of the federal health care overhaul law takes effect. As the open enrollment season begins, parents will be able to include grown children up to age 26 on their coverage. The new law goes into effect Sept. 23 and requires insurers and companies to offer the coverage as part of the open enrollment period, the time of year when health plan...
  • Push to enroll uninsured kids in health coverage under way in California
    Sep 5, 2010 — The Sacramento Bee
    ...a travesty when children who are eligible for health coverage programs fall through the cracks," said Suzie Shupe, executive director of the California Children's Health Initiatives, a coalition of 29 county-based children's health initiatives. "California can't afford to ignore the health of a generation of children," Shupe said. Health policy researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, estimate that California has 1.5 million uninsured children. The tally...
  • County seeking major retirement, health care concessions
    Sep 4, 2010 — The Bakersfield Californian
    ...variables. --That all members begin paying 20 percent of their health-care premiums. Those two items constitute the county's last, best and final offers, which negotiators for the Service Employees International Union, Local 521 presented Thursday night to members of the three county bargaining units they represent. SEIU is by far county government's largest employee union. Regina Kane, president of Local 521's Kern County chapter, said county negotiators...
  • Free mammograms, education offered
    Sep 4, 2010 — Ventura County Star
    FILLMORE -- Community Memorial Health System's Healthy Women's Program will offer free mammograms and healthcare education to the first 35 women who qualify as part of a community outreach day at the Center for Family Health in Fillmore on Sept. 25. The women, who are to arrive early at the Center for Family Health office, 852 Ventura St., will be taken to The Breast Center at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, then back to the center's office. In 2009, an estimated 194,280...
  • San Jose Mercury News, Calif., Scott Harris column
    Sep 4, 2010 — San Jose Mercury News
    Better point-of-care IT systems could help a doctor pick a cheaper and just-as-effective treatment for a patient. The reality is that step one will cost more than we think it will. I think the real battle in health reform is going to occur at step two.
  • Workers paying more for less health insurance
    Sep 4, 2010 — The Record (Stockton, Calif.)
    From a consumer perspective, the cost of health insurance just keeps going up faster than wages. The employee shouldn't have to worry about it." What Tavakoli offers his workers amounts to catastrophic coverage. It's a Health Savings Account plan, or HSA, through Kaiser, and it costs him an annual $110,000 premium plus a $55,000 "contribution" to his workers' health-savings accounts.
  • 184,000 uninsured in county last year
    Sep 3, 2010 — The Record (Stockton, Calif.)
    That 7 percent increase is bigger than what we saw in most of the state. San Mateo County's July unemployment rate was 9.4 percent, third lowest in the state, and 66 percent of its population younger than 65 had job-based health insurance in 2009. Every effort should be made to help families in need even sooner than 2014," Lavarreda said. Mary Lee of Manteca could use some of that help.
  • Crowd raises economic concerns at Farr's Santa Cruz town hall meeting
    Sep 3, 2010 — Santa Cruz Sentinel
    Taylor of Salinas, stepped up to the mic Thursday to voice opposition to raising taxes through the health care reform and concerns that such legislation would push jobs out of the state and the country. When Taylor asked whether Farr would support campaign reform limiting representatives to raising money from their own district, Farr replied: "I have; I authored that bill." By the end of the two-hour town hall meeting, Farr encouraged community members to stay involved, get in...
  • EDITORIAL
    Sep 3, 2010 — San Jose Mercury News
    Elaine Alquist's SB 890 helps consumers navigate the complex world of shopping for an individual insurance policy. It forces insurance companies to provide apples-to-apples comparisons of policies based on their actuarial value. The bill conforms to federal reforms by ensuring that insurance providers spend a higher percentage of premium dollars on patient care than on administrative costs.
  • GOP PUSHES FOR NO-TAX BUDGET
    Sep 3, 2010 — Daily Press (Victorville, Calif.)
    The Democrats pitched a budget using a combination of cuts and tax hikes, while Republicans insisted on only cuts. Sen.
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