Latest California Healthline Stories
Obama Touts ACA as Foundation for Middle-Class Financial Security
During a speech that focused on improving the U.S. economy on Wednesday, President Obama cited the Affordable Care Act as a tool to help middle-class families feel more financially secure. Obama criticized House Republicans for attempting to repeal all or parts of the law and challenged them to develop a better plan to provide quality, affordable health care nationwide. Wall Street Journal et al.
California Could Spend $300M To Promote Affordable Care Act
California could spend more than $300 million to highlight certain provisions in the Affordable Care Act. The state is expected to receive about $174 million of the total $684 million allotted to U.S. states to promote the law. Meanwhile, the California Endowment plans to spend about $130 million on enrollment and advertising efforts aimed at Hispanic residents. AP/U-T San Diego.
S.F. Board Approves Kaiser Rate Hike, Calls for More Transparency
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has approved Kaiser Permanente’s 5.25% rate hike for city workers’ health insurance. The board also has secured a commitment from Kaiser executives to take steps to increase transparency and implement a multi-year plan to reduce costs for beneficiaries. Los Angeles Times‘ “L.A. Now.”
Health Care Advocates Work To Revive Tobacco Tax Bill
Representatives of the American Cancer Society and other health care groups — including the American Heart Association and American Lung Association — are meeting with lawmakers in an effort to revive a bill — by Sen. Kevin de León — that would add a $2-per-pack tax on cigarettes in California to fund health care and smoking prevention programs. If lawmakers are unwilling to move on the measure, the coalition likely will push for a ballot initiative. Sacramento Bee‘s “Capitol Alert.”
EPA OKs Calif.’s Revised Drinking Water Spending Plan
On Tuesday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the state’s revised drinking water spending plan, which requires California to distribute at least $878 million to water system projects by mid-2016, more than double the amount of funding disbursed during the last four years. The revised plan came after EPA issued a noncompliance notice to the state for failing to distribute in a timely manner a large portion of federal funds allocated for safe drinking water projects. Los Angeles Times.
Nevada Mental Health Facility Could Lose Accreditation
A psychiatric hospital in Nevada that bused patients with mental illnesses to California and other states has received a preliminary denial of accreditation from the Joint Commission. The commission says it issued the denial because the hospital placed “patients at risk for a serious adverse outcome.” Sacramento Bee, AP/U-T San Diego.
GOP Wants More Information on Employer Mandate Delay
On Monday, three Republican leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew requesting more information about the Obama administration’s recent decision to delay the Affordable Care Act’s employer coverage mandate by one year. In the letter, Committee Chair Dave Camp, Oversight Subcommittee Chair Charles Boustany and Health Subcommittee Chair Kevin Brady asked for the exact date the administration began considering the delay. They also asked for the names of all personnel involved with the final decision — including officials at the Internal Revenue Service, HHS and the White House — and the dates those individuals were consulted. Finally, the lawmakers asked for a detailed analysis of the delay’s effect on federal spending, tax revenues, job creation, employer-based health coverage and projected enrollment rates in the law’s health insurance exchanges. The Hill‘s “Healthwatch.”
Prison Sterilizations Are Just the ‘Tip of the Iceberg,’ According to Editorial
An Orange County Register editorial argues that allegations of the forced sterilization of female prisoners in California — which were reported by the Center for Investigative Reporting earlier this month — “sugges[t] deep ethical and oversight problems within the state’s massive prison system,” adding that the “new scandal” is “really only the tip of the iceberg.” It states, “The sterilization issue is a symptom of an unaccountable government bureaucracy that does not operate in a humane and cost-effective manner.” Orange County Register.
CalPERS Grants Exception for Previously Married Same-Sex Couples Seeking To Enroll in Health Plan
CalPERS officials say they are allowing a “one-time exception” for beneficiaries married to someone of the same sex to enroll their spouses in the pension fund’s health plan. Although the U.S. Supreme Court last month struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, employees who married a member of the same sex in previous years were worried that they would be unable to enroll their spouses in the health plan because of a requirement that newlyweds only have 60 days to sign up family members for health coverage. However, Amy Norris — CalPERS spokesperson — said, “Now that DOMA has been struck down, we’re going to offer this opportunity” to same-sex married couples until enrollment ends on Dec. 31. Sacramento Bee.
House Subcommittee Advances ‘Doc Fix’ Legislation
On Tuesday, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee advanced a draft bill that gradually would repeal the sustainable growth rate formula, which determines Medicare physician reimbursement rates. The measure now moves to the full committee, but the bill is unlikely to see a full House vote before the August recess. The Hill‘s “Healthwatch” et al.