Search: 05/2010

In 2007 there were 400 general acute care hospitals in California. The number declined 4 percent between 2001 and 2007. The number of licensed beds also declined by 4 percent from 2001 to 2007. During the same time, the state’s population increased by 9 percent.

A government analysis of the new healthcare law by chief Medicare actuary Richard Foster says it will not slow the overall growth of health spending because the expansion of insurance and services to 34 million people will offset cost reductions in Medicare and other programs. The Medicare cuts “could become unsustainable,” according to Foster, because they may drive some hospitals and nursing homes into the red, “possibly jeopardizing access to care for beneficiaries.”

Two separate studies reveal that consumers' confidence in their ability to access and pay for healthcare is dropping. In one study from Thomson Reuters, consumer confidence appeared to slide from the beginning of the year, while uninsured medical expenses appeared to be a pressing financial concern, according to a survey conducted for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).