Latest California Healthline Stories
HHS Extends Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan Until March 31
Yesterday, HHS announced that about 30,000 U.S. residents who still are enrolled in the high-risk health insurance pools will have an additional two months — until March 31 — to shop for and purchase new coverage through the federal and state-operated health insurance exchanges. Wall Street Journal et al.
Anthem, Kaiser Extend Premium Payment Deadlines Amid Delays
Two insurers selling plans through Covered California — Anthem Blue Cross and Kaiser Permanente — have opted to further extend their deadlines for consumers to pay their first month’s premium. However, the exchange’s other insurers are sticking to the Wednesday deadline. Sacramento Bee, Sacramento Bee‘s “Capitol Alert.”
Calif. Infant Mortality Rate Reaches Record Low, Report Finds
A new report by the California Department of Public Health finds that the state’s infant mortality rate dropped to an all-time low in 2012, with 4.5 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. According to the report, the leading causes of infant death were congenital malformations, short gestation periods and low birthweight. HealthyCal, Lake County News.
CMS To Begin To Release Medicare Physician Payment Data
Under a new policy, CMS will respond to Freedom of Information Act requests for Medicare physician payment data, a change that comes after a federal judge last spring lifted a 33-year-old injunction that barred the government from giving the public access to such data. Modern Healthcare, CMS blog post.
Calif. Union Begins Collecting Signatures for Ballot Initiatives Aimed at Reducing Health Care Costs
This week, the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West began collecting signatures for ballot initiatives aimed at reducing health care costs. One measure would ban hospitals from charging more than 25% above the actual cost of care, while another would bar not-for-profit hospital executives from collecting annual salaries greater than $450,000. Supporters must collect 505,000 valid signatures for each measure to qualify for the November ballot. San Francisco Chronicle.
In-Home Workers Protest Brown’s Plan To Ban Overtime
Home health advocates are protesting a provision in Gov. Brown’s fiscal year 2014-2015 budget proposal that would prohibit individuals employed by California’s In-Home Supportive Services program from receiving overtime time. The proposal would circumvent a new federal rule that requires additional overtime pay for domestic workers. Currently, IHSS caregivers can work more than 40 hours a week but are paid straight time for working the extra hours. Sacramento Bee‘s “Capitol Alert,” San Francisco Chronicle.
BART’s Largest Union Ratifies Labor Contract, Health Care Leave Provision Dropped
On Monday, the Bay Area Rapid Transit’s largest employee union — a chapter of the Service Employees International Union — voted to approve a ratified a four-year contract that will include a series of new and extended worker benefits but eliminates a paid health care leave provision. BART said the provision — which would have provided up to six weeks of paid family medical leave — was dropped because it was included in the contract in error. Contra Costa Times, AP/Sacramento Bee.
CalPERS Reports 16.2% Return on Investments in 2013
On Monday, CalPERS reported a 16.2% return on investments in 2013, up from 13.3% in 2012. The rate is more than double the 7.5% minimum that the pension fund’s board has said it needs to meet obligations to retirees. Los Angeles Times‘ “Money & Co.,” Sacramento Bee.
Last week, California lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill that would allocate $1 million from the state’s general fund to launch a new medical school at UC-Merced in an attempt to address a statewide physician shortage. The project received conceptual approval from the University of California regents in 2008, but it has not yet been approved or funded. Sacramento Business Journal.
ACA Exchange Enrollment Among Young Adults Lower-Than-Expected
Only about 24% of U.S. residents who purchased coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges during the first three months of open enrollment were between ages 18 and 34. The data have prompted some concern that the online marketplaces might not be attracting the mix of young and older enrollees needed to keep premiums affordable. New York Times et al.