ALSO NOTED: Calif. drops plan for Medi-Cal managed care; Judge tosses bias claim against Mobile Infirmary; and much more...

> The Schwarzenegger administration has decided it's not politically or logistically feasible to shift a half-million elderly and disabled Californians on Medi-Cal to managed-care plans, even though the state will forgo $360 million in federal Medicaid funds by abandoning the plan. The federal timetable for the shift was too strict, administration officials said. Article

> A federal judge has ruled that Mobile Infirmary (of Mobile, AL) was not guilty of religious bias in its dealings with a Seventh-Day Adventist who refused on religious grounds to work from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday. The hospital had allowed her to swap shifts with another worker, or to transfer to another job; the judge ruled that those were reasonable accommodations. Report

> Children's Healthcare of Atlanta has increased this year's fundraising goal to $265 million from $230 million, fearing that it can't otherwise keep up with the growth in metro Atlanta's pediatric population. Article

> Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana is going to use unexpectedly strong 2005 profits to keep premium increases low and help rebuild the state's shattered healthcare infrastructure. Report

> United Healthcare's profits jumped 26 percent in the second quarter, aided by strong enrollment in its Medicare drug plan. Revenues climbed 57 percent. Article (WSJ sub. req.)

And Finally... It may cost a fortune to live in San Diego, but strangely, individual health insurance policies are a relative bargain there. In a recent survey, San Diego registered the ninth-lowest monthly premium in the country for a child, at $51, and the 15th-lowest premium for a family of four, at $236. Article

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