Latest California Healthline Stories
CMS: Premiums Will Rise for 11M Small Business Workers Under ACA
A CMS Office of the Actuary report found 65% of small businesses will experience higher premiums, while 35% will have lower premiums as a result of the Affordable Care Act. The report said businesses with younger employees will see premiums increase. AP/Modern Healthcare, Wall Street Journal.
County Initiatives Aim To Boost Latino Enrollment in Covered Calif.
California counties are ramping up their outreach efforts to help Latinos obtain health coverage through Covered California. In Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties, advocates and enrollment counselors have begun visiting community centers, public libraries and schools to educate Latinos about their health insurance options. HealthyCal.
Covered Calif. Broker Payments Delayed by Data Problems
Some commission payments have been delayed to brokers who have assisted consumers signing up for coverage through Covered California. The delays were caused in part by the exchange’s failure to properly transfer sales data to health insurers, including Blue Shield of California. Sacramento Business Journal.
New Assembly Bill Would Continue ACA Pay Parity ‘Indefinitely’
A bill introduced by Assembly member Richard Pan would codify the Affordable Care Act’s parity provision equalizing Medicare and Medicaid payments for primary care services. The American Academy of Family Physicians also is calling for the parity provision to be extended indefinitely. Modern Healthcare, Family Practice News.
Covered California Enrollment Portal Back Online
The enrollment portion of the Covered California website was back online as of 4 a.m. yesterday after being taken offline last week to fix software glitches. The five-day outage forced some consumers and insurance agents to use paper applications to apply for health coverage through the exchange. KPCC’s “KPCC News,” Los Angeles Times‘ “Money & Co.”
Calif. Senator Pleads Not Guilty to Charges of Alleged Involvement in Health Insurance Fraud Case
On Monday, state Sen. Ronald Calderon was arraigned in federal court and pleaded not guilty to 24 counts of various forms of fraud for his alleged involvement in a health insurance fraud case. State Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg said Democrats have given Calderon until Monday to resign or take an indefinite leave of absence before they issue a suspension. AP/Washington Times, Capital Public Radio’s “KXJZ News.”
GOP, Democratic Governors Say ACA Repeal Unlikely
During a National Governors Association meeting over the weekend, some governors from both parties agreed that the continuing efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act will be complicated, if not impossible, as implementation of the law and the distribution of benefits outpace those efforts. Many of them noted that millions of their states’ residents are seeing the benefits of the ACA as they enroll in the law’s federal and state insurance exchanges. AP/ABC News.
DPH Highlights Cases of Unknown Illness With Polio-Like Symptoms Afflicting California Children
During an upcoming American Academy of Neurology meeting, the head of the California Department of Public Health will present the cases of five children in the state who contracted an unknown illness with similar symptoms to polio. In all five cases, the children experienced paralysis of one or more limbs and did not recover function in those limbs after six months. Los Angeles Times‘ “L.A. Now,” AP/Sacramento Bee.
Study: Oral Hygiene Problems Could Be a Factor in Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia
A yearlong study by California State University and Sutter Medical Center findsthat 10 patients who were not on ventilators contracted pneumonia while in the hospital, possibly in part because of bacteria buildup in their mouths. Non-ventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia has been largely unreported because patients who are on ventilators are more at risk for the illness. Sacramento Bee.
CMS Proposes Reductions to Medicare Advantage Payments
Last week, the Obama administration proposed a reduction in payments to Medicare Advantage plans in 2015. Insurers and Republican lawmakers criticize the proposed cuts, which they say will boost beneficiaries’ premiums and reduce their benefits. New York Times et al.