Simi Valley (CA) Hospital has terminated its state contract to accept Medi-Cal patients and will now treat such patients only on an emergency or outpatient basis. The state's Medi-Cal reimbursement rate was too low, so the 153-bed hospital ended its contract, said hospital representatives.
California's top insurance regulator has accused Blue Shield of 1,262 violations of claims-handling laws and regulations that resulted in more than 200 people losing their medical coverage. Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner is seeking a $12.6-million fine.
A fight in Georgia over the state's healthcare regulations has erupted again this week. The standoff largely pits Gov. Sonny Perdue, who backs an overhaul of state healthcare regulations, against House leaders. The fight also renews the long-running legal and lobbyist battle between hospitals and general surgeons over the right to open surgery facilities.
High-cost and high-volume conditions helped drive the national hospital bill up 7 percent in 2005, to $873 billion. The record high nearly doubled 1997 spending when adjusted for inflation, according to a report from the federal Agency for Health Care Research and Quality.
Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine proposed an expansion Wednesday of the state's effort to subsidize healthcare for the uninsured, but a tight budget forecast kept the governor from expanding the proposal to hundreds of thousands of residents who lack coverage.
For the second time, President Bush has vetoed a bipartisan effort in Congress to expand government-provided health insurance for children. Bush said the bill was unacceptable because it allows adults into the program, would cover people in families with incomes above the U.S. median and raises taxes.