Bernard J. Wolfson

Author's posts

Providence-KP Team Up to Attract Patients in California’s Growing High Desert Region

Providence, the country’s 10th-biggest hospital chain, says it’s too expensive to upgrade an older hospital, so it will join forces with giant Kaiser Permanente to build a new one.

Effort to Decipher Hospital Prices Yields Key Finding: Don’t Try It at Home

Your dutiful columnist tried to make use of a federal “transparency” rule to compare the prices of common medical procedures in two California health care systems. It was a futile exercise.

Being Vaccinated Doesn’t Mean You Must Go Maskless. Here’s Why.

It won’t hurt to remain cautious, even as California reopens for business in response to mass vaccinations and diminishing cases of covid.

Can a Subscription Model Fix Primary Care in the US?

Medical subscriptions, a $199 million CEO payday and the race to fix primary care in the U.S. One Medical is betting big that a subscription model can fix primary care. But the firm faces competition from CVS, Target and large hospital systems.

Covered California Says Health Insurance Just Got Too Cheap to Ignore

Californians who passed up health coverage in the past may be pleasantly surprised by the lower prices available thanks to the new federal relief act.

Some County Jail Inmates See Vaccination as Ticket to a Better Life — In the State Pen

In the Los Angeles County Jail system, many inmates hope being vaccinated will get them transferred more quickly to state prison. Some just want to protect themselves against covid, while others are distrustful and refuse vaccination.

Orange County Hospital Seeks Divorce From Large Catholic Health System

Frustration with the standardization of care across 51 hospitals, loss of local control and restrictions on reproductive health care have pitted Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian against the Providence chain.

So You’re Vaccinated Against Covid. Now What?

The vaccination rollout has been unsteady, but the vaccines seem very effective, raising hopes that the pandemic will subside by later this year if enough Americans get their shots. Meanwhile, remain cautious.

Kaiser Permanente, Big Player in California Vaccine Effort, Has Had Trouble Vaccinating Own Members

Older patients in several states where the California-based managed care giant operates complain they’ve had difficulty scheduling appointments and spotty communication from the health system. Some report it’s getting better, though.

Learning to Live Again: A Lazarus Tale From the Covid Front Lines

The staff at L.A. County’s public rehabilitation hospital is helping mostly Latino, low-income patients recover the basic functions of daily life robbed from them during weeks or months of critical covid illness.