Latest California Healthline Stories
Obama Touts ACA in SOTU, While GOP Response Criticizes Law
In his State of the Union address last night, President Obama highlighted various Affordable Care Act success stories and challenged Republican lawmakers to offer “specific plans” to cut health care costs. Meanwhile, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers in the GOP’s official response criticized the law. Modern Healthcare et al.
Covered Calif. Releases Quality Ratings for Exchange Health Plans
Yesterday, Covered California unveiled quality ratings for health plans sold on the exchange. The ratings — which are based on data from the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems — come two years before they are required under the Affordable Care Act. Sacramento Bee‘s “Capitol Alert” et al.
CDC: Many Residents Had Trouble Paying Medical Bills in 2012
A CDC report finds that nearly 27% of survey respondents in 2012 said they faced difficulty paying their medical bills in the previous year. According to the report, difficulty paying bills varied based on income, insurance status and whether respondents had children. Modern Healthcare, Los Angeles Times‘ “Science Now.”
California Endowment Provides $23M for Medi-Cal Enrollment Efforts
On Tuesday, the California Department of Health Care Services announced that the California Endowment has provided $23 million in grant funding to be used for Medi-Cal enrollment and outreach efforts. The grants will be distributed to 36 counties or county groups across the state. San Jose Mercury News, DHCS release.
On Monday, UC-Davis Health System announced that emails containing the personal or medical records of 1,800 patients might have been compromised by a phishing scam discovered last month. According to hospital officials, the scam compromised the email accounts of three doctors, potentially providing scammers access to emails that contained patients’ names, medical record numbers and personal information. Sacramento Bee, Sacramento Business Journal.
Majority of Physicians Use EHRs, but ‘Digital Divide’ Remains, Research Finds
Primary care physicians’ adoption of electronic health records increased from 46% in 2009 to 69% in 2012, but there continues to be a “digital divide” between large and small physician practices, according to a new study by the Commonwealth Fund. The study found that 90% of practices with 20 or more physicians had adopted EHRs, compared with just 50% of solo physician practices. FierceHealthIT.
UC-San Diego Scientists Develop New Method To Derive Potential Drugs From Ocean Bacteria
A group of scientists at UC-San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography has developed a method of finding potential medications from bacteria found in the ocean by identifying gene clusters. To prove that the concept is effective, the scientists published a study in which they used the process to develop a new drug to fight MRSA. U-T San Diego.
On Monday, the Assembly passed a bill that calls for a five-year plan to distribute condoms to inmates in an effort to reduce the rate of sexually transmitted infections among the state prison population. The bill still must be approved by the state Senate, and faces another hurdle in obtaining approval by Gov. Brown, who vetoed a similar measure last year. Reuters, AP/U-T San Diego.
Poll: Two-Thirds of U.S. Residents Still Think Rollout of ACA’s Insurance Exchanges Not Going Well
Sixty-six percent of U.S. residents still do not believe that the implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges is going well, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. In a December 2013 poll, 76% of respondents expressed the same concern. Meanwhile, 17% of respondents in the new poll said the launch was going somewhat well and 4% said it was going extremely or very well. AP/U-T San Diego.
ACA Pressures Could Be Causing Calif. Hospitals To Merge, Sell
Observers say Affordable Care Act provisions aimed at reducing health care costs and improving care quality have led several California hospital systems to make changes in order to adapt to the new requirements or to sell their facilities. San Jose Mercury News.