By Barbara Feder Ostrov for California Healthline A health care startup made a wild pitch to Cara Waller, CEO of the Newport Orthopedic Institute in Newport Beach. The company said it could get patients more engaged by “automating” physician empathy. It “almost made me nauseous,” she said. How can you automate something as deeply personal as empathy?… Continue reading Hospitals Employ Email ‘Empathy’ To Help Doctors And Patients Keep In Touch

California Hospitals Will be Required to Rope in Family Caregivers By Michael Sandler for Modern Healthcare A California state law that takes effect in the new year aims to help hospital patients better transition home with the aid of informed family members and friends, a move that could improve quality of care, prevent readmissions and cut costs.… Continue reading California Hospitals Will be Required to Rope in Family Caregivers

By Tracy Seipel for the San Jose Mercury News In a new strategy to force the state to spend more on health care for the poor, civil rights activists on Tuesday alleged that millions of California’s Latinos — who make up the bulk of the state’s 12.6 million Medi-Cal enrollees — are being denied timely access… Continue reading Latinos, Other Medi-Cal Recipients Denied Access to Health Care Activists Allege

By Chad Terhune for The Los Angeles Times California’s biggest health insurers are among a select few to show a profit selling Obamacare policies. In the first year of the massive coverage expansion, California’s three largest health insurers bucked the national trend of heavy losses and accounted for half of the gains reported under the… Continue reading California’s 3 Largest Health Insurers among Few to Show Obamacare Profit in 2014

Published on California Healthline Facilities across California that offer services to individuals with developmental disabilities temporarily closed Wednesday in the wake of a mass shooting at Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, the Sacramento Bee‘s “Capitol Alert” reports. Background on Centers Inland Regional Center is the largest of 21 such facilities that operate under a… Continue reading Calif. Developmental Disabilities Centers React to Shooting

by George Lauer, California Healthline Features Editor The moral of the story about a disagreement over what Blue Shield of California is expected to do in return for approval to enter the Medi-Cal managed care market appears to be “pay close attention to how things are worded.” Consumer advocates and state officials thought the agreement this… Continue reading Disagreement Over Charity Contributions Simmers in Blue Shield’s Care1st Deal

By Lauren McSherry, California Healthline Regional Correspondent for California Healthline Medicare beneficiaries throughout the state are weighing their options during Medicare Advantage open enrollment season, but residents in Riverside County may have more choices to consider than others elsewhere in the state. “In Riverside County and surrounding counties there are far more insurance companies competing… Continue reading Medicare Advantage Competition Rated Strongest in Southern CA

By Stephanie Stephens, California Healthline Regional Correspondent for California Healthline LOS ANGELES — Adults ages 50 and older who live in South Los Angeles now have help to get healthy and “HAPPI.” Instead of waiting for seniors to access and receive no-cost preventive health services, the new Healthy Aging Partnerships in Prevention Initiative meets them “where… Continue reading New Preventive Health Program Helps South L.A. Seniors Get ‘HAPPI’

The duals experience was supposed to be different in Orange County. Orange County was the last of seven counties to roll out the state’s duals demonstration project, also known as Cal MediConnect, which combines the resources and services for people dually eligible for Medi-Cal and Medicare. One of the concerns in the previous six counties’… Continue reading Orange County Seniors Opting Out of State’s Duals Demonstration Project

By David Gorn for California Healthline California Department of Insurance officials have announced a new website that will enable consumers to comparison-shop for health insurance. It’s a collaborative effort between the CDI, UC-San Francisco and Consumer Reports, a not-for-profit magazine that conducts consumer product testing and research. The project is federally funded through the Affordable Care… Continue reading Website Will Compare Health Insurance