Healthcare

Gene Patent Case Fuels U.S. Court Test of Stem Cell Right

January 6, 2014 · Mark Reback

<div class="clearfix" id="story_content"> As scientists get closer to using embryonic stem cells in new treatments for blindness, spinal cord injuries and heart disease, a U.S. legal debate could determine who profits from that research.

Op-Ed Commentary: Hospital Incentive To Bury Mistakes Must Be Rectified

January 6, 2014 · Mark Reback

<div id="text-pages"> <div class="page" style="display: block;"> The following Op-Ed commentary was published in the <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/Hospital-incentive-to-bury-mistakes-must-be-5115986.php">San Francisco Chronicle on Monday, January 6, 2014</a>. --------------

Jahi McMath Case Is Rife With Tragedy And Politics

January 5, 2014 · Mark Reback

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: Should damages for pain and suffering in a medical malpractice case be capped at $250,000? To write a letter, go to <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/sendletter">sacbee.com/sendletter</a>. Or comment on our Facebook page at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sacramentobee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">facebook.com/sacramentobee</a>. Jahi McMath could be any parent’s daughter.

Family Of Girl Left Brain Dead At Children’s Hospital Oakland Demands Medical Records

December 19, 2013 · Mark Reback

OAKLAND -- A family still outraged by a routine surgery that left a 13-year-old girl brain dead now says hospital officials have refused to release the girl's medical records to them -- a charge hospital officials dispute -- and a consumer advocacy group is calling for criminal and medical investigations to assess fault in the girl's death.

High Deductibles Fuel New Worries of Health-Law Sticker Shock

December 8, 2013 · Mark Reback

Some Lower-Cost Plans Carry Steep Deductibles, Posing Financial Challenge As enrollment picks up on the HealthCare.gov website, many people with modest incomes are encountering a troubling element of the federal health law: deductibles so steep they may not be able to afford the portion of medical expenses that insurance doesn't cover.

Special Interest Groups Look To Shape 2014 California Ballot

December 7, 2013 · Mark Reback

Propositions on malpractice lawsuits and tobacco taxes, among other issues, could lead to multimillion-dollar campaigns. SACRAMENTO — While much of the country is gearing up for the holidays, political forces in Sacramento are girding for battle. Already, special interests are lined up with plans that could shape next year's general election ballot. They are considering propositions to increase medical malpractice awards, hike tobacco taxes and give local governments the right to scale back public employee pensions, among other ideas.

Healthcare Union Abusing Initiative Process, Critics Say

December 6, 2013 · Mark Reback

Union's filing of two ballot measures after talks stalled shows how the initiative process can be used as a weapon, critics say. SACRAMENTO — Duane Dauner, president of the California Hospital Assn., emailed the group's board in September with a warning: The leader of the state's largest healthcare workers' union had told him that if hospitals did not pave the way for the organizing of 20,000 workers, the union would launch ballot measures taking aim at hospital pricing and executive pay.

Health Measures To Dominate 2014 Voter Ballot

November 17, 2013 · Mark Reback

A ballot teeming with health measures next November may prompt hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign spending. <div id="story-body-text"> SACRAMENTO — <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/health/healthcare-laws/affordable-care-act-%28obamacare%29-EVGAP00039.topic" id="EVGAP00039" title="Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)">Obamacare</a>'s troubled rollout — and its more successful California start — may be dominating the news now. But wait till next year.

Insurers Limit Consumer Choice To Reduce Costs

November 13, 2013 · Mark Reback

Squeezed between Obamacare's twin goals of containing health care costs and upgrading medical benefits, insurance companies are squeezing back. Welcome to the "skinny" medical provider network. The insurers say they are pressured to keep premiums in check but have been left with fewer tools to do it. Health plans that applied to sell their wares in Covered California, the state-run insurance exchange, competed largely on price.

Initiative Would Raise Cap on Medical Malpractice Damages

November 11, 2013 · Mark Reback

<a href="http://www.capradio.org/articles/2013/11/11/initiative-would-raise-cap-on-medical-malpractice-damages/">Click here to listen to the audio of this radio broadcast</a>. California’s high-stakes battle over medical malpractice damages could move to the ballot box next year. The initiative campaign seeking to increase the cap on “pain and suffering” awards will pit trial lawyers against doctors.

Medical Malpractice Initiative Could Kick Off Huge Political Battle

October 31, 2013 · Mark Reback

SACRAMENTO - Buoyed by a favorable ballot title and summary prepared by Attorney General Kamala Harris, backers of an initiative that would increase California's 38-year-old cap on medical malpractice awards are ready to gather signatures that could lead to a colossal political battle between doctors and attorneys next fall.

To the Ballot for Alana and Troy

October 29, 2013 · Consumer Watchdog

<img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2708" alt="" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/images_packmemorial_0.jpg" style="width: 211px; height: 295px; float: right; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px;" width="857" height="1200" />Yesterday, at the 10th memorial of my children’s death, we started a march to the ballot for patient safety. <a href="http://www.packact.org/#action">I hope you will join us</a>. My seven year old, Alana, and ten year old, Troy, died because an addict got thousands of pills she never should have been prescribed since she had no physical symptoms.

Fairness for Injured Patients

Medical Board of California Announces Maternal Mortality Task Force

Patient Voices