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Insured patients using ER for primary care
San Francisco Chronicle - 08-07-2008 - Hospital emergency departments, typically the medical providers of last resort, are becoming the only option for insured as well as uninsured people who are unable to get care elsewhere, leading to a record rise in emergency room visits over the past decade, a federal government report found.
Governor, lawmakers must protect sick children
Capitol Weekly - 08-07-2008 - California’s sickest children are experiencing unacceptably long wait times to see specialists and the situation is quickly worsening as a direct result of the 10% mid-term state budget cut to CCS (California Children’s Services) reimbursement rates... Unlike Medi-Cal, eligibility for CCS is based on a child’s medical condition, not on family income alone.
Money for health clinic loans grows as California budget impasse continues
Sacramento Bee - 08-07-2008 - More money is pouring into a special fund to provide low-interest loans to allow community health clinics to stay open while California tries to pass a budget. "It's not called a safety net for nothing," said Kim Dempsey, vice president for NCB Capital Impact, which is overseeing the crisis fund. "In a lot of cases, the only other option people have is an emergency room."
3 Southern California hospitals accused of fraud
Los Angeles Times - 08-07-2008 - Facilities in Los Angeles and Tustin allegedly churned thousands of indigents through their sites and billed Medicare and Medi-Cal for costly and unjustified medical procedures.
California Healthcare Foundation kicks in $10 million to clinic loan fund
East Bay Business Times - 08-07-2008 - The California HealthCare Foundation will contribute $10 million to a low-interest loan pool created to help clinics for the low income and uninsured provide care during the state's budget crisis. The fund now totals $24 million. Other contributors include Catholic Healthcare West, Sutter Health, the Nonprofit Finance Fund, NCB Capital Impact, the California Primary Care Association Loan Fund, and the Mercy Partnership Fund.
To Be Old, Frail
And Evicted:
Patients at Risk
Wall Street Journal - 08-07-2008 - Since Jasmine Nguyen collapsed nine years ago, apparently from a seizure, the 32-year-old has lived in a nursing home in Lodi, Calif., dependent on a ventilator to breathe and the facility's staff for her daily needs.
But since early this year, the nursing home has been seeking to evict Ms. Nguyen and a dozen other residents in similar situations, potentially replacing them with shorter-term residents likely to bring more revenue.
Average ER Waiting Time
Jumps to Nearly an Hour
Wall Street Journal - 08-07-2008 - The average time that hospital emergency-room patients wait to see a doctor has grown to almost an hour from about 38 minutes over the past decade, according to new federal statistics released Wednesday.
