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President Barack Obama's executive order to spare some immigrants from deportation has galvanized Democrats, immigration groups and health care advocates in California to push for expanding health coverage to a segment of the population that remains uninsured. The president's action excludes immigrants who came to the country illegally from qualifying for federal health benefits. But California has its own policy of providing health coverage with state money to low-income immigrants with so-called "deferred action" that allow them to avoid deportation. Immigrant and health care advocates say that means Obama's executive order will enable hundreds of thousands of low-income immigrants in California to apply for Medi-Cal, California's version of Medicaid. (Lin, 11/30)

The costs per patient for hospital-owned physician groups are higher than in groups owned by physicians themselves, according to a new UC-Berkeley study. (Norberg, 11/26)

It’s been almost a year since federal regulators approved a new hepatitis C treatment that costs about $1,000 per pill. But time hasn’t done much to ease concerns of state officials who worry about the drug’s budget-busting potential. Missouri officials estimate the new drug therapy cost the state $30 million through October of this year. Illinois says it spent $16 million during the last fiscal year that ended in July. (Shapiro, 11/30)

What began more than seven years ago as an experiment to more efficiently tackle Mesa's increasing numbers of medical calls is now a well-oiled system. In July, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced it would hand the city $12.5 million to get a more formal, data-driven trial of its "Community Care units" off the ground, in the hopes that Mesa's concept could revolutionize the efficiency of emergency-response systems nationwide. (Polletta, 11/28)

A controversial trend in health care may make its first appearance in the Milwaukee area, with Froedtert Health proposing to convert its urgent care clinic in New Berlin to a free-standing emergency department. The move will enable Froedtert Health to charge patients much higher rates — two to three times higher by some estimates — than its urgent care clinic receives for the same care. (Boulton, 11/29)

New York state health officials have stopped a nonprofit group from providing free medical care to thousands of patients lacking health insurance during a four-day dental conference that starts Friday. The nonprofit, Remote Area Medical, had raised $3 million and enlisted hundreds of volunteer doctors and other medical workers to offer a range of health services, including dental care, new eyeglasses and other services. The group had planned to treat about 7,000 patients at the New York Sate event. (Brodsky, 11/28)

In the green-painted basement of a former parish school, old church pews serve as waiting-room seating and long fluorescent tube lights hum quietly overhead. Cast-off office cubicle dividers separate medical exam rooms. In one of them, Dr. Teresa Tallon of Fort Wayne is busy trying to decipher the medical situation of a first-time patient. A man, who says he's homeless, tells her, in no particular order, about problems with poison ivy, injuries from old bicycle and construction accidents and a swollen leg. He also says he could use a flu shot, after being offered one. It's not a particularly busy Wednesday at Clinica Madre de Dios in Fort Wayne. A half hour into the weekly no-appointment session between 12:30 and 3 p.m., only four patients have appeared. (Rodriguez, 11/30)

Some of Florida’s most influential health care groups are urging state lawmakers to expand the use of telehealth — web and videoconferencing technology that allows doctors and other healthcare specialists to treat patients — as a way to save money and deal with a growing shortage of doctors. (McGrory, 11/28)

Health care giant Kaiser Permanente is facing mounting criticism about the care it provides mental health patients in California. A union is accusing the company of understaffing its mental health unit, causing patients to face excessive delays before treatment. Last year, state officials fined the Oakland company $4 million for numerous violations related to patient access to mental health services. (Pfeifer, 11/27)

About a year ago at a Miami-Dade County school board meeting, superintendent Alberto Carvalho was happy to announce the district and the teacher’s union had just ratified a new contract. 'I believe that this contract honors and dignifies what you do every single day,' he told the school board members. It included bonuses for most teachers and it settled how to handle health care expenses after yet another year of rising costs. (Mack, 12/1)

Beginning Dec. 1, seniors living in three states will need prior approval from Medicare before they can get an ambulance to take them to cancer or dialysis treatments. The change is part of a three-year pilot to combat extraordinarily high rates of fraudulent billing by ambulance companies in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and South Carolina. (Gillespie, 12/1)

A surge in baby boomers has driven up the number of elderly people abusing drugs or alcohol, bringing more attention to the sometimes-delicate problems involved in treating addiction in the aging. Last summer, the Jewish Home Lifecare nursing home in the Bronx set out to address those issues. Patients 60 and older who come in for rehab after a hospital stay are also screened for addiction and offered a chance at recovery. (11/30)