As the state health department prepares to implement stringent new abortion facility regulations approved by lawmakers in July, abortion rights advocates continue to voice concerns that the rules will endanger women.
Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) are a form of insurance-financed managed care. In a managed care system, a health insurance plan pays a closed network of doctors and hospitals an annual rate for each enrollee regardless of how much health care that enrollee uses. If a group of enrollees uses less health care than the insurance company paid for in advance, the doctors and hospitals keep the difference as a bonus.
Peter Long is the president of the Blue Shield of California Foundation. Previously, he was senior vice president for executive operations at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. He also was the director of research and planning at The California Endowment. He was promoted to that position after serving as senior program officer for the Endowment's Access to Health program, the arm of this grant-making organization that works to increase access to quality, affordable health care and services for the state's underserved populations.
Dr. Mark D. Smith is president and CEO of the California HealthCare Foundation, or CHCF, an independent philanthropy committed to improving the way health care is delivered and financed in California and to helping consumers make informed health care and coverage decisions. Since CHCF's formation in 1996, Smith has led the California HealthCare Foundation in developing research and initiatives aimed at improving California's health care financing and delivery systems.
