Latest California Healthline Stories
Patient Advocates, Pérez Want L.A. Officials To Encourage Brown To Sign Medi-Cal Interpreter Bill
At a recent Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meeting, Assembly Speaker John Pérez and members of the advocacy group Interpreting for California asked that county supervisors encourage Gov. Brown to sign a bill that would improve Medi-Cal beneficiaries’ access to interpreters and allow such workers to join a union. The bill also would require the State Personnel Board to determine appropriate testing, training and certification of new Medi-Cal interpreters. Los Angeles Times.
Obama Reiterates Commitment to ACA Implementation, Law’s Benefits
During his weekly radio address on Saturday, President Obama underscored his administration’s commitment to implementing the Affordable Care Act on time and criticized Republicans who are “working hard to confuse” the country about the law. Meanwhile, former White House adviser David Axelrod said he expects the administration to continue to make more changes to the law as it is implemented. AP/Modern Healthcare et al.
Review Finds Inconsistent Collection of Fees for Care of Disabled Kids
A Sacramento Bee review of agency data and worker correspondence finds that the California Department of Developmental Services in recent years has inconsistently collected fees from parents whose children with disabilities require state-funded out-of-home care. Sacramento Bee.
Poll: Half of Calif. Voters Report Higher Health Care Costs in 2013
A recent Field Poll finds that 50% of California voters say their health care costs have increased in the past year and that such costs are difficult to afford. The poll also finds that 41% of respondents say they are paying about the same in health care costs as they did last year, while 5% say they have lower health costs than last year. Sacramento Bee.
Calif. Lawmaker Calls for Audits of Prop. 63 Mental Health Funding
Assembly member Dan Logue is seeking bipartisan support for a measure that would require regular audits of county mental health funds raised under Proposition 63. Logue’s announcement follows the release of a state audit finding that California agencies have not properly overseen how Prop. 63 funds are spent. AP/U-T San Diego, Logue release.
State Nearly Done Training 2,200 Health Law Educators
California has almost competed training about 2,200 individuals who will educate consumers about the Affordable Care Act and collect contact information for those interested in signing up for health insurance under the ACA. However, such individuals will not enroll consumers in health insurance policies. The state in September will begin training an estimated 20,000 enrollment counselors and 10,000 licensed insurance agents who will be certified to recommend and sell polices through California’s insurance exchange. San Francisco Chronicle.
California Has Nation’s 11th Lowest Obesity Rate
A new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Trust for America’s Health finds that California has the nation’s 11th lowest rate of obesity at 25%. The report finds that obesity rates generally are higher in the South and the Midwest, while Northeastern and Western states have lower rates. Louisiana had the highest obesity rate at 34.7%, while Colorado had the lowest at 20.5%. Sacramento Bee‘s “Capitol Alert.”
Bonilla Calls Brown’s Veto of Egg Donation Bill ‘Regressive’
Last week, Assembly member Susan Bonilla criticized Gov. Brown for vetoing her bill that would have lifted a ban on allowing women across the state to be paid for donating their eggs to research. Bonilla said Brown’s reasoning — that “not everything in life is for sale nor should it be” — was “regressive” and took “an extremely conservative stance around issues of disclosure and whether women can adequately assess their own risks and sign disclosures for themselves.” Sacramento Bee.
House GOP Leaders Reiterate Subpoena Threat To Obtain Information About ACA Subsidies
In a recent letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, two GOP House committee leaders expressed their discontent with the Internal Revenue Service’s response to their requests for information on how the agency is handling the Affordable Care Act’s tax subsidies. Reps. Darrell Issa and James Lankford said they would “consider use of compulsory process” if the agency did not submit the documents by Aug. 29. The Hill‘s “Healthwatch,” Washington Times.
HHS OIG: Most Critical Access Hospitals Not Meeting Current Criteria
A new HHS Office of Inspector General report released Thursday finds that nearly two-thirds of critical access hospitals would not meet current standards if required to reapply for certification. The report calls on CMS to seek to re-evaluate and remove certain CAH facilities’ status, but an American Hospital Association official warned that doing so would be detrimental to rural health care. Kaiser Health News‘ “Capsules” et al.