- California Healthline Original Stories 4
- A Safety-Net Medical Center Wrestles With What ‘Repeal’ Might Mean
- GOP Fix To Insurance Markets Could Spike Premiums For Older Customers
- Health Law’s 10 Essential Benefits: A Look At What’s At Risk In GOP Overhaul
- Facing Pressure, Insurance Plans Loosen Rules For Covering Addiction Treatment
- Covered California & The Health Law 2
- A Not-So-Fun Recess: Hostile Crowds Confront GOP Lawmakers Over Repeal Plans
- LA Takes Preemptive Steps To Preserve Gains Made Under Health Law
Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
A Safety-Net Medical Center Wrestles With What ‘Repeal’ Might Mean
San Mateo Medical Center is among hundreds of safety-net hospitals in California and across the country that stand to lose big if the federal government slashes support for Medicaid and insurance exchanges. (Anna Gorman, )
GOP Fix To Insurance Markets Could Spike Premiums For Older Customers
As Republicans consider how to bring down costs for younger people, lawmakers may relax or eliminate the restrictions on how much more insurers can charge older consumers. (Jordan Rau and Julie Appleby, )
Health Law’s 10 Essential Benefits: A Look At What’s At Risk In GOP Overhaul
The woman set to run the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services told senators last week that maternity coverage should be optional in individual and small group plans. But other services could also be left on the cutting room floor. (Michelle Andrews, )
Facing Pressure, Insurance Plans Loosen Rules For Covering Addiction Treatment
Aetna will be the third major insurer to remove prior authorization requirements for patients who seek medication-assisted treatments such as Suboxone. (Shefali Luthra, )
More News From Across The State
Covered California & The Health Law
A Not-So-Fun Recess: Hostile Crowds Confront GOP Lawmakers Over Repeal Plans
A town hall meeting held by U.S Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Westlake Village, focused on constituents' concerns about the future of their health coverage.
Ventura County Star:
Town Hall Brings Drama, Fears On Health Care
More than 200 people filled every inch of a library conference room in Camarillo, standing in doorways and lined up four deep in the back. Some carried signs to a Tuesday night town hall meeting held by U.S Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Westlake Village. “Patients Over Politics,” said a placard at the back of a gathering that at times became a rally for an Affordable Care Act that Republicans have pledged to repeal. A few people wore pink cat hats. (Kisken, 2/21)
KPBS:
Town Hall On Health Care To Go Ahead With Or Without Issa
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) may not attend a town hall meeting on health care in Vista on Tuesday, but organizers said they will go ahead without him. A coalition of local and statewide groups, including faith leaders, community health advocates and labor groups have called the town hall. They invited Issa and took out a full-page advertisement in The San Diego Union-Tribune after they did not hear back from him. (St. John, 2/21)
LA Takes Preemptive Steps To Preserve Gains Made Under Health Law
The county's board of supervisors is asking staff to figure out how to protect or extend health care coverage in case the federal law is dismantled.
KPCC:
LA County Moves To Play Role In Protecting CA's Obamacare Gains
Amidst uncertainty about the future of the Affordable Care Act, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors moved Tuesday to position the county as a leader in the effort to figure out how California can maintain the gains of Obamacare in case the state loses federal health care dollars. ... While the supervisors did not discuss specific ideas, Dr. Mitchell Katz, director of the county's Department of Health Services, mentioned a couple of possibilities in an interview with KPCC and in testimony before the board. For example, he told KPCC that California could pass a law saying that if Congress eliminates the federal mandate that everyone have health insurance, the state will institute its own mandate. (Plevin and Lavender, 2/21)
In other health law news —
KPCC:
South LA Clinic 'A Microcosm' Of Nation's Anxieties
Lourdes Flores Valdez says she got her diabetes under control after she was able to sign up for Medi-Cal under the Affordable Care Act's expanded eligibility rules. Sitting in an exam room at the UMMA Community Clinic's Fremont Wellness Center in South Los Angeles, she suddenly veers away from discussing the health law and starts talking about her husband, who's in the U.S. illegally. ... Clinic staff say they're hearing these types of concerns a lot these days from their mainly Latino clientele, about one-third of whom are unauthorized immigrants. Many patients are worried about losing their access to health care and about possible deportation. (Plevin, 2/22)
San Diego Union-Times:
Issa Bill To Replace Obamacare Doesn't Address Subsidies
Under pressure from constituents in and outside of his congressional district, Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista on Tuesday released a draft bill that would repeal and replace Obamacare. Titled the “Access to Insurance for All Americans Act,” it is the first measure that suggests all Americans should be allowed to enroll in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, a system that offers access to hundreds of health plans for more than 8 million federal employees, retirees and their dependents. Issa has brought up the idea in health-care debates since at least 2009, and he cast the plan in a bipartisan light Tuesday morning while addressing supporters and protesters outside his Vista office. (Sisson, 2/21)
Hospital That Served Low-Income Patients Closed Unnecessarily, Bidder Claims
Gardens Regional Hospital officials, however, said Le Summit Healthcare LLC didn’t provide enough proof that it would financially be able to carry out the purchase.
The Wall Street Journal:
Bidder Says Los Angeles-Area Hospital Didn’t Need To Close
A health-care firm that offered to buy Gardens Regional Hospital and Medical Center Inc., a Los Angeles-area hospital that cared for low-income residents before shutting down, told a bankruptcy judge that its purchase efforts were unfairly ignored. In court papers, Le Summit Healthcare LLC officials told Bankruptcy Judge Ernest Robles that they are still willing to operate the nonprofit hospital while they obtain the new licensing and permits to restart its operations. They say Gardens Regional Hospital’s lawyers closed the 137-bed hospital unnecessarily. (Stech, 2/21)
Bill Would Boost Funding For Valley Fever Vaccine Research
“Valley fever has been reported from almost every county in California, but 75 percent of cases have been found in people who live in the Central Valley and that is alarming,” Assemblyman Rudy Salas, D-Bakersfield, said.
The Bakersfield Californian:
Assemblyman Seeks Valley Fever Funding, Overhaul Of Reporting Guidelines
Responding to a surge in cases and inconsistent reporting practices, Assemblyman Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield) introduced legislation Tuesday that would allocate millions of dollars to valley fever vaccine research and streamline information sharing. Assembly Bill 1279 would bring $2 million to an already-established state fund for valley fever vaccine research and create guidelines for how local, state and federal agencies report cases...he bill’s introduction comes in response to the Center for Health Journalism Collaborative's years-long reporting series “Just One Breath,” which has exposed inconsistencies in how valley fever cases are tallied among local, state and federal health care agencies and highlighted the lack of attention and funding the disease receives compared to others. (Pierce, 2/21)
CEO Under Fire For $89,000 Drug Says It Will Cost Patients Only $20
But experts say the arguments that insurance will cover much of a drug’s cost and that patient assistance programs will decrease out-of-pocket expenses don’t always reflect the reality patients face when it comes to pricey drugs.
San Francisco Chronicle:
Pharma CEO Insists $89,000 Drug Will Be Affordable For Patients
When Marathon Pharmaceuticals’ $89,000 price for a year’s supply of its newly approved muscular dystrophy drug sparked outrage this month, the company’s CEO responded with another figure: $20. That’s how much he expects Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients to pay per prescription of the drug, he wrote in a letter posted on the company’s website. Insurers would cover the medication, and patients would pay only their typical co-pays. He touted the company’s patient assistance program to help patients defray out-of-pocket costs. (Schencker, 2/21)
In other pharmaceutical news —
Orange County Hospitals To Offer Focused, Specialized Care For Transgender Children
“Our job is to understand who these children and adolescents really believe they are and help them become the person they see themselves as, not what other people see them as,” said Dr. Mark Daniels, chief of endocrinology at Children’s Hospital of Orange County.
Orange County Register:
Transgender Children Now Have Access To Specialized Care At 2 Orange County Hospitals
Transgender youth no longer need to travel long distances to have their health needs met with the opening of two Orange County hospital programs offering medical and psychological services. Last month, Children’s Hospital of Orange County launched the Gender, Puberty and Sex Development Program. In the fall, UC Irvine Medical Center opened the Pediatric Gender Diversity Program. California insurers are required by state law to cover gender transition services for children and adults. Both Orange hospitals offer coordinated, focused care that ranges from family counseling and social support to hormone treatment. (Perkes, 2/21)
In other news from across the state —
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento Clinics Offer Free Dental Screenings For Sacramento Children
Free dental screenings for those up to 18 years in age will be held Tuesday and through April in Sacramento as part of efforts to provide early dental health to more California kids. The free screenings will check for any obvious signs of cavities or signs of tooth decay, said Danielle Cannarozzi, community outreach representative for Liberty Dental Plan, a Medi-Cal dental care provider and an event sponsor. Those screened will also receive a preventative coating of fluoride varnish to strengthen their tooth enamel, she said. (Buck, 2/21)
The Health Law's Two Americas: Those Who Qualified For Help And Those Who Didn't
For those who were able to get federal subsidies, the health law was a blessing. The ones who didn't were left feeling angry and short-changed.
The Associated Press:
Health Law Created Winners And Losers When Buying Insurance
Michael Schwarz is a self-employed business owner who buys his own health insurance. Subsidized coverage through "Obamacare" offers protection from life's unpredictable changes and freedom to pursue his vocation, he says. Brett Dorsch is also self-employed and buys his own health insurance. But he gets no financial break from the Affordable Care Act. "To me, it's just been a big lie," Dorsch says, forcing him to pay more for less coverage. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 2/22)
In other news —
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Seeks Delay In Lawsuit Over Health-Law Subsidies
The Trump administration and House Republicans on Tuesday asked a court for a further delay in a lawsuit over certain Affordable Care Act subsidies, a move that may help assuage insurers debating whether to participate in the health law’s 2018 exchanges. In May, a federal district court judge ruled that the government was improperly reimbursing insurers to help them cover discounts they were required to give some low-income consumers, potentially a major blow to the insurers. (Hackman, 2/21)
The Hill:
Two Tax Issues Dividing Republicans On ObamaCare
Republican lawmakers are objecting to two key elements of their party's plan to replace ObamaCare, creating obstacles in the road to repeal. Conservatives worry a tax credit to assist people with the cost of insurance, which would help people maintain or get coverage, will be too costly and that recipients might abuse the government help...Objections also are being raised against a proposal to open up some employer-sponsored health insurance plans to taxation. Some Republicans worry that proposal is essentially a new version of ObamaCare’s much-reviled “Cadillac tax." (Sullivan, 2/21)
The Associated Press:
'It Saved My Life': Talk Of Obamacare Repeal Worries Addicts
While the Affordable Care Act has brought health coverage to millions of Americans, the effects have been profound, even lifesaving, for some of those caught up in the nation's opioid-addiction crisis. In Kentucky, which has been ravaged worse than almost any other state by fentanyl, heroin and other drugs, Tyler Witten went into rehab at Medicaid's expense after the state expanded the program under a provision of the act. Until then, he had been addicted to painkillers for more than a decade. "It saved my life," he said. (Beam and Johnson, 2/22)
Modern Healthcare:
Doctors, Payers May Dislike Changes To Primary-Care Model
A tweak in the way some providers are reimbursed under a new primary-care payment model could deter providers from joining the Medicare initiative. The CMS is looking to expand its ambitious primary-care model known as Comprehensive Primary Care Plus. But there hasn't been as much interest in the pilot as anticipated, and now the agency wants to pay incentives only to some participating providers and not others. (Dickson, 2/21)
The Washington Post:
U.S. Life Expectancy Will Soon Be On Par With Mexico’s And The Czech Republic’s
Life expectancy at birth will continue to climb substantially for residents of industrialized nations — but not in the United States, where minimal gains will soon put life spans on par with those in Mexico and the Czech Republic, according to an extensive analysis released Tuesday. South Korean women and Hungarian men are projected to make the largest overall gains (with South Koreans second among males). There is a better-than-even chance that South Korean women will live to an average of 90 years old by 2030, which would be the first time a population will break the 90-year barrier, according to the research published in The Lancet. (Bernstein, 2/21)