Latest California Healthline Stories
Documents Show ‘Chaos’ in the Days Before HealthCare.gov’s Launch
Yesterday, a House panel released another round of documents depicting the behind-the-scenes “chaos” leading up to the launch of HealthCare.gov on Oct. 1. Republicans criticized the Obama administration for trying to hide the site’s technical issues, while a White House spokesperson called the release of the documents a “partisan political strategy.” Washington Post et al.
Nearly 80K Sign Up for Health Plans Through Covered California
Data unveiled during a Covered California board meeting yesterday show that nearly 80,000 state residents have signed up for exchange plans. Of the 30,000 individuals who enrolled in October, 56% were over age 45 and 23% were between ages 18 and 34. Kaiser Health News et al.
Covered Calif. Rejects Obama’s Health Plan Cancellation Fix
Yesterday, the board of Covered California unanimously voted against allowing insurers to sell policies in 2014 that do not meet the Affordable Care Act’s minimum coverage requirements, as proposed by President Obama. The board said that extending the sale of such policies “offers no benefit” to consumers and “may create confusion” in the marketplace. USA Today et al.
California Failed To Collect $1M in Fines Against Assisted-Living Facilities, Data Review Finds
The California Department of Social Services has collected less than half of the $2 million in fines it levied against assisted-living facilities in the state between 2007 and 2012, according to a review of department records by ProPublica. Meanwhile, California officials were unable to provide data on the department’s regulatory operations, such as how many inspections it conducts annually or how many incidents the facilities report to the state. ProPublica/Contra Costa Times.
Anthem Notifying 5,800 Doctors About Data Breach
Anthem Blue Cross of California is notifying about 5,800 physicians that PDF documents containing their Social Security or tax identification numbers were accidentally posted online for more than 24 hours in October. The documents were designed to help consumers find information about doctors in certain provider networks. Anthem is offering no-cost credit monitoring to affected physicians. Healthcare IT News.
Social Media Can Boost Disease Outbreak Monitoring According to San Diego State University Study
Monitoring social media websites like Twitter could help health officials and providers identify in real time severe medical outbreaks, allowing them to more efficiently direct resources and curb the spread of disease, according to a San Diego State University study published last month in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. For the study, lead researcher and San Diego State University geography professor Ming-Hsiang Tsou and his team used a program to monitor tweets that originated within a 17-mile radius of 11 cities. According to the study, nine of the 11 cities exhibited a statistically significant correlation between an uptick in the number of tweets mentioning the keywords and regional outbreak reports. Medical News Today.
California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of November 22, 2013
The National Labor Relations Board has dismissed a request by Corona Regional Medical Center to reject a January vote by hospital nurses to unionize. Redwood Memorial Hospital has announced that it lost an unencrypted thumb drive that might have contained identifiable information on more than 1,000 patients.
Physicians Worry About Lower Pay Through Exchanges
Many physicians say they are concerned about the reimbursement rates for insurance plans sold through the federal and state health insurance exchanges, which are expected to pay them less to care for millions of newly insured patients. According to doctors, it is unclear how much they will be paid to treat patients enrolled in exchange plans, or even which plans they are included in, because insurers have not all clearly defined proposed rate reductions. Kaiser Health News.
Federal Officials, Navigators: HealthCare.gov Is Improving
Federal health officials and navigators helping consumers enroll in health plans say the federal health insurance exchange website is improving, particularly in the first steps of the application process. Some navigators also have reported ease in helping consumers browse their coverage options. However, officials note that not all parts of the site have seen improvements. New York Times.
Obama, State Insurance Officials Discuss Policy Cancellation ‘Fix’
During a meeting at the White House yesterday, state insurance commissioners discussed their concerns with President Obama’s recent directive to allow insurers to continue selling certain policies even if they do not meet minimum coverage requirements under the Affordable Care Act. Washington Post et al.