Latest California Healthline Stories
Obama Expected To Warn GOP Against ACA Defunding Plan
During a speech on the U.S. economy today, President Obama is expected to deliver a warning to Republicans against the party’s continuing efforts to defund the Affordable Care Act and delay implementation of the law. Last week, White House press secretary Jay Carney said that Obama would veto any legislation that delays or defunds the measure. AP/U-T San Diego et al.
Calif. Employers Consider Strategies for Complying With ACA Mandate
California businesses are considering various methods to comply with the Affordable Care Act’s employer insurance mandate, such as dropping spousal coverage, offering workers a stipend or reducing benefits for part-time workers. Sacramento Bee.
Insurers in Calif. Health Exchange Limiting Number of Providers
A Los Angeles Times analysis finds that insurers selling health plans through Covered California have limited the number of doctors and hospitals available to policyholders in an effort to lower premiums. Health providers are concerned that the limited networks will make it more difficult for patients to access care. Los Angeles Times.
White House Nixes Unions’ Request for ACA Tax Subsidies Fix
Last week, the Obama administration denied labor unions’ request to issue regulations under the Affordable Care Act that would allow workers in multiemployer benefit plans to receive tax subsidies under the law. The announcement followed a meeting between White House officials and several labor union representatives. New York Times et al.
Geography Could Affect U.S. Residents’ Coverage Options
Where U.S. residents live could affect their health care coverage eligibility, according to health care experts. Lower-income residents of states that oppose the Affordable Care Act or reject the ACA’s Medicaid expansion could have difficulty obtaining health coverage. Sam Karp of the California HealthCare Foundation said, “We are going to have a new environment where consumers may be the victims of geography,” adding, “If I’m a low-wage earner in California, I may qualify for Medicaid. With the exact same income in Texas, I may not qualify.” AP/Washington Post.
UCLA Survey Finds About 72% of Sacramento Baby Boomers Are Overweight or Obese
About 72% of baby boomers, or people ages 49 to 67, in the four-county Sacramento region were overweight or obese in 2012, according to a new survey from the UCLA Center of Health Policy Research. In comparison, 61% of Sacramento-area baby boomers were overweight or obese in 2003. According to the data, Sacramento baby boomers were more likely to be overweight than Californians living in every other region of the state except San Joaquin Valley, where nearly 80% of boomers were overweight. Sacramento Bee.
Opinion: ACA Designed To Create ‘Culture of Coverage’
Daniel Weintraub — editor of HealthyCal — writes in an opinion piece that the developers of the Affordable Care Act operated on the principle that if they “built a more accessible health insurance system … consumers would come and use it.” He continues, “The hope is that over time, Americans will come to accept the idea that everybody should be covered” — resulting in a “culture of coverage” — just as “every homeowner now has home insurance.” However, health insurance experts do not know “how long it will take before society embraces the idea, or even if the marketing campaign as now envisioned will ever work.” HealthyCal.
House Bill Seeks To Boost Telehealth in Medicare
A bill introduced last week in the House would allow Medicare providers to treat patients across state lines using telehealth technology without having to obtain medical licenses in multiple states. Rep. Devin Nunes — sponsor of the bill, called the Telemedicine for Medicare Act — said the measure accounts “for rapid technological advances in medicine” and reduces “bureaucratic and legal barriers between Medicare patients and their doctors.” FierceHealthIT.
White House Highlights ACA Benefits for LGBT Individuals
Last week, the White House hosted a summit to highlight the coverage options that will be available in the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges to individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. LGBT advocates also launched the Out2Enroll education and outreach initiative, which they say is particularly important because individuals who are LGBT are more likely to lack health insurance. Kaiser Health News‘ “Capsules,” Washington Post‘s “Wonkblog.”
Rep. Graves Introduces Alternative Spending Bill To Defund ACA
On Thursday, Rep. Tom Graves introduced an alternative spending bill for fiscal year 2014 that would keep the federal government running and defund the Affordable Care Act. The measure comes two days after House leaders proposed a short-term spending resolution that would force the Senate to vote on a bill defunding the ACA. The Hill‘s “Healthwatch” et al.