Latest California Healthline Stories
100K Not Enrolled in Medicaid, CHIP Because of HealthCare.gov Glitch
A persistent glitch in the federal health insurance exchange website has left more than 100,000 U.S. residents who were deemed eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program without coverage. In related news, state and federal officials are concerned that U.S. residents who shift between the health insurance exchanges and Medicaid will suffer coverage gaps or inconsistent care. Washington Post, Kaiser Health News/Washington Post.
CMS Report To Show Health Spending Growth Rate Slowed in 2012
Today, the Obama administration is expected to release an updated report on health care spending, which will show a slowdown in the growth rate in 2012. The report comes less than two months after the White House Council of Economic Advisers reported that annual spending between 2010 and 2013 grew at its lowest rate on record. The Hill‘s “Healthwatch,” Modern Healthcare.
Covered Calif. Extends Payment Deadline After Enrollment Surge
After a spike in enrollment last month, Covered California has extended the deadline for consumers to pay their first month’s premium. The extension is intended to ease burdens on consumers who are just now receiving invoices for their plans and to give insurers more time to process paperwork. AP/U-T San Diego et al.
New Law Eases Burden of Prop. 65 on Businesses
In October 2013, Gov. Brown signed into law a bill to amend Proposition 65 to ease the burden on businesses. Prop. 65 requires manufacturers, retailers and property owners to post warning signs if goods or premises are contaminated with chemicals known to cause birth defects or cancer. The new law gives businesses a 14-day grace period to comply with Prop. 65 and allows business owners to pay a small fine to avoid certain legal actions under Prop. 65. NPR’s “All Things Considered.”
Calif. Insurers Partner With Health-Screening Kiosk Companies To Find Potential Customers
In an effort to find potential customers, health insurers are partnering with companies that operate health-screening kiosks that allow individuals to check their weight or blood pressure. For example, Anthem Blue Cross made an exclusive agreement with Atlanta-based SoloHelath, which sells names, email addresses and phones numbers to insurers, to be the sole insurance company featured on kiosks in California. More than 12,000 Californians use such kiosks every day. KQED’s “The California Report.”
California Health Care Personnel Roundup for December 2013
Susan Desmond-Hellman will step down from her position as chancellor of UC-San Francisco to become CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Former state Sen. Bill Emmerson has been named senior vice president of the California Hospital Association. Scott Reiner has been named president and CEO of Roseville-based Adventist Health.
Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley has proposed a county ordinance that would require drugmakers to design and pay for a comprehensive prescription drug disposal program. The proposed ordinance would be the first prescription drug take-back program in the country that puts the responsibility of disposing medications solely with drug manufacturers. Capital Public Radio/NPR’s “Shots.”
FDA Approved Fewer New Drugs in 2013 Than in 2012
In 2013, FDA approved 27 first-of-a-kind medications, compared with a 15-year high of 39 approvals in 2012. Over the past five years, FDA has approved an average of 28 first-of-a-kind drugs annually. Experts said the decline in approvals from 2012 was the result of fewer drugs submitted for review. AP/ABC News.
11 GOP AGs Call White House’s Changes to ACA Illegal
In a letter sent last week to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, 11 GOP state attorneys general argued that the Obama administration is acting illegally by repeatedly modifying the Affordable Care Act without congressional consent. For example, they challenged an administrative action allowing insurers to continue offering plans for one year that were canceled because they did not meet the law’s minimum coverage requirements. The Hill‘s “Healthwatch.”
Oregon Pilot Finds Expanding Medicaid Led to Increase in ED Use
Affordable Care Act advocates have argued that expanding coverage to low-income earners will reduce costly emergency department visits. However, a new analysis finds that low-income residents who enrolled in Medicaid coverage through an expansion-like program in Oregon visited EDs 40% more often over an 18-month period than other residents. Los Angeles Times‘ “Science Now” et al.