Daily reports on health care policy and medicine from newspapers and around the nation.

Looking to 'Budget Nun' for truth on health plan
Los Angeles Times - 12-20-2007 - Who knows? Twenty years from now, Californians may look back at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez as courageous visionaries for championing healthcare reform.

The politics of the health care vote
Capitol Weekly - 12-20-2007 - Assembly’s partisan passage of a health care plan has been described in historic terms. But things are not necessarily what they seem.

Weintraub: Governor, allies insist health plan fits GOP ideals
Sacramento Bee 12-20-2007 - Fresno Mayor Alan Autry says, he got a call from a fellow Republican suggesting that the proposal the governor was backing violated their party's principles.

Governor promotes health reform
San Diego union-Tribune - 12-20-2007 - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited a local Kaiser Permanente hospital yesterday to implore Californians to rally behind his efforts.

NOTE: Most online news sites now require registration. To simplify the process, CMA's Communication Center has created a generic log in that can be used on most sites that require registration. (This does not apply to sites like the Wall Street Journal that require a paid subscription. The generic log in will not work on those sites.)

Some sites require an e-mail address and password to log in, others require a username and password. For sites that require an e-mail address use johnnewsman@yahoo.com. For sites that require a username, use johnnewsman as the user name. In both instances, the password is cmaclips1. If you need assistance, contact CMA at 916/551-2072.

Daily reports on health care policy and medicine from newspapers and around the nation.

Planned Medicare Cuts Weigh on Primary Care
Wall Street Journal - 12-11-2007 - While presidential candidates are beating each other up about their plans for the uninsured, they've taken their eye off another big issue.

Staffers tweak Medicare bill; measure's fate still uncertain
The Hill.com - 12-11-2007 - Congress is approaching zero hour in its mission to cobble together a Medicare package this year, and its contents are as fluid as they have been all year.

Medicare audit firm faulted
Sacramento Bee - 12-11-2007 - Medicare officials told Congress that policy "inconsistencies" were found in nearly 40 percent of the company's decisions.

California allows hospitals to delay seismic upgrades
Los Angeles Times - 12-11-2007 - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has approved new rules allowing many facilities to bypass the extremely costly building reinforcements...

NOTE: Most online news sites now require registration. To simplify the process, CMA's Communication Center has created a generic log in that can be used on most sites that require registration. (This does not apply to sites like the Wall Street Journal that require a paid subscription. The generic log in will not work on those sites.)

Some sites require an e-mail address and password to log in, others require a username and password. For sites that require an e-mail address use johnnewsman@yahoo.com. For sites that require a username, use johnnewsman as the user name. In both instances, the password is cmaclips1. If you need assistance, contact CMA at 916/551-2072.

Daily reports on health care policy and medicine from newspapers and around the nation.

Deficit looms over health care reform
San Jose Mercury News - 12-14-2007 - Democratic leaders in the Assembly and Senate were at odds Thursday about the prospects of passing an ambitious health care reform plan...

Schwarzenegger sued over veto of funds for mentally ill homeless
San Francisco Chronicle - 12-14-2007 - Mental patients and advocates sued the state Thursday over Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's veto of funding for a $55 million program for mentally ill...

State insurance chief wants $12.6 million penalty against Blue Shield
San Francisco Chronicle - 12-14-2007 - The state's insurance commissioner is seeking a $12.6 million penalty against Blue Shield, claiming the health insurer unfairly canceled members' medical coverage and improperly processed claims.

Hospitals' charity work hard to assess
Los Angeles Times - 12-14-2007 - For-profit hospitals in California provide free care to indigent patients at rates equal to nonprofit hospitals that receive income and property tax exemptions...

NOTE: Most online news sites now require registration. To simplify the process, CMA's Communication Center has created a generic log in that can be used on most sites that require registration. (This does not apply to sites like the Wall Street Journal that require a paid subscription. The generic log in will not work on those sites.)

Some sites require an e-mail address and password to log in, others require a username and password. For sites that require an e-mail address use johnnewsman@yahoo.com. For sites that require a username, use johnnewsman as the user name. In both instances, the password is cmaclips1. If you need assistance, contact CMA at 916/551-2072.