From hospitals to home health services, Sacramento’s medical industry has become an economic powerhouse. It surged when practically every other sector of the economy stalled, and now employs more people here than state government. And it’s poised for an even greater expansion. President Barack Obama’s overhaul of national health care, having survived a challenge in the U.S. Supreme Court, is expected to usher in a fresh demand for health care workers. Joanne Spetz, a health care economist at the University of California, San Francisco, foresees booming demand for a whole host of occupations: primary care doctors, nurses, physical therapists, home health aides and more. Much of the increase will likely begin in 2014, when major provisions of the Affordable Care Act take effect. Driving the growth is the law’s insurance mandate, which aims to bring a flood of Americans into the health care system, including 4 million Californians. Simply put, “they’re going to need care,” Spetz said. That could mean more hiring at companies like Rx Staffing Home Care, a Sacramento firm that deploys nurses, home health aides and other caregivers t Read more text

In discussions of America’s high health care costs, surprisingly little attention is paid to salaries and wages. Yet the fact that medical jobs simply pay more than those in other sectors is beyond dispute. A physician practicing in a primary care setting, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, earned Article source: http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/sunday-commentary/20120727-eli-lehrer-your-doctor-makes-too-much-money.ece Read more text

Comments (…) Buy Northwest Herald videos → HUNTLEY –The impact a new Huntley hospital will have on the McHenry County job market has yet to be determined, but officials from several county agencies are optimistic it will be a boon to the local economy. A state regulatory panel Tuesday approved a Centegra Health System plan for a $233 million hospital in Huntley on a 6-3 vote. The 128-bed hospital is expected to create 800 construction jobs and 1,100 permanent jobs at the Centegra campus at Haligus and Reed roads. Officials anticipate breaking ground on the project in about a year and treating patients at the hospital in 2016. The permanent jobs include nonclinical services such as food service and housekeeping, among others, creating a large impact on an otherwise sluggish economy, Centegra Vice President Susan Milford said. “We’re not just hiring people who are professional clinical workers,” Milford said. “There are a lot of other positions you need to fill to run a hospital.” The hospital will be built on an existing Centegra campus that includes an immediate care facility, physician offices, a back and spine center, and the Health Bridge Fitness Cent Read more text