Thousands of employers in California and nationwide are opting for ‘narrow network’ HMOs, which offer notable savings on insurance premiums but also offer fewer medical providers. By Duke Helfand April 3, 2011, Thousands of employers in California and across the country are slashing expensive doctors and hospitals from their insurance rosters in a move to hold down rising healthcare costs — a trend that is gaining favor with corporate bosses, if not the rank and file. The savings on insurance premiums — nearly 25% in some cases — are gained when companies switch their health plans to “narrow network” HMOs that offer fewer choices of
Budget cuts devastate health care providers
BUDGET CUTS BY THE NUMBERS Sample budget cuts imposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger using the line-item veto: $80 million: Child welfare programs $61 million: County funding to administer Medi-Cal $52 million: AIDS prevention and treatment $50 million: Healthy Families, a low-cost health insurance program for poor children San Diego County health care providers say they are outraged and devastated by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s line-item veto of $394 million in state spending for health and welfare programs. The cuts will affect programs including those for child abuse and neglect, AIDS prevention and treatment and poor children without health insurance. “They’re eroding the safety net in San