Word: reformations
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Given the state's lack of traction on prison reform, a federal three-judge panel recently ordered California to come up with a plan in the next 45 days that reduces the inmate population by nearly 43,000 prisoners. Seth Unger, press secretary for the CDCR, says they will appeal any final ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. "Congress passed the Prison Litigation Reform Act to limit the power of the federal courts to take control of state prison systems and to order population caps or early release of inmates and we certainly believe the court has overstepped its bounds...
...deliberated on by legislators, that would reduce the average daily prison population by 27,300. Of course, politicians, particularly state Republicans, are loath to endorse any measure that smacks of releasing prisoners early or that could be viewed as being soft on crime - which has been a roadblock to reforming the system in the past. Prison-reform advocates are hoping the ruling by the federal court will inspire political will for their cause...
...that added up to $12,000 is an object lesson in how health care expenditures have run amok in this country, and how critical it is that whatever reform bill comes out of Washington this year tackles this economy-wrecking mess. That's especially true in a market like Miami, which holds the dubious distinctions of having one of the nation's lowest median incomes yet its highest medical costs. According to a study released Thursday by Families USA, a Washington-based healthcare watchdog, family health insurance premiums for Florida workers doubled over the past decade, rising four times faster...
...slight the care I received, which was excellent. And fortunately, the total cost for my insurer was about $7,100 after its discount, a small part of which was my co-payment. But had I not been insured, I would have been stuck with the entire $12,000 bill. Reform advocates say charging even $7,100 for something as ordinary as a kidney stone just doesn't make sense and points up what they call the rampant U.S. practice of "defensive medicine": ordering excessive treatment out of fear of being sued for malpractice, which in turn points up how important...
...possible remedy, which could get funding in a federal reform bill, is a healthcare delivery model called Patient-Centered Medical Homes. PCMH links patients up with personalized healthcare teams in their communities, which in turn provide more focused, efficient and less costly medical services. An important PCMH feature is making non-emergency care - like less expensive urgent care - more 24/7 accessible to patients who really don't require emergency-level attention. (My kidney stone hit me at night, when my local urgent-care clinic was closed, leaving me with little choice but an E.R.) PCMH "is something we need...