Latest California Healthline Stories
GOP: HHS Donation Requests Illustrate Conflict of Interest
In a letter sent Monday to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Republican leaders on the House Ways and Means Committee said Sebelius’ requests for private donations to a campaign focused on implementing and raising awareness about the Affordable Care Act illustrate “a clear appearance of a conflict of interest.” In separate letters, GOP leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee also asked Sebelius and the CEOs of 11 large insurers — including Aetna, Cigna, Coventry Health Care, Humana, UnitedHealth Group and WellPoint — to provide information about the funding requests. The Hill‘s “Healthwatch.”
CBO Revises Projections Related to ACA and Health Care Spending
The Congressional Budget Office has lowered its estimates for the number of individuals and businesses likely to be affected by the Affordable Care Act’s taxes and mandates. CBO also reduced its projections for U.S. spending on Medicare and Medicaid. The Hill‘s “Healthwatch” et al.
Calif. Health Exchange Announces Recipients of $37M in Outreach Grants
Covered California has revealed the 48 recipients of $37 million in federal grants to help promote the insurance exchange. Recipients of the grants — which range from $250,000 to $1.25 million — include health foundations and not-for-profit organizations. Los Angeles Times et al.
89 Individuals Charged With About $233M in Alleged Medicare Fraud
HHS and the Department of Justice have announced that 89 medical industry professionals have been charged with allegedly defrauding Medicare of about $233 million. In Los Angeles, 13 individuals were charged with various scams totaling $23 million. AP/Washington Post et al.
Dignity Health To Lay Off 148 Sacramento Area Lab Workers
Dignity Health will lay off 148 lab workers at 18 lab sites in the Sacramento area, effective June 24. The layoffs — which are part of more than 400 at Dignity Health facilities statewide — come after Quest Diagnostics announced a definitive agreement to acquire Dignity Health’s lab-related clinical outreach service operations. Sacramento Bee.
Brown’s $96.4B Revised Budget Expects More Medi-Cal Spending
Gov. Brown has released his revised fiscal year 2013-2014 spending plan, which is a $1.3 billion reduction from his initial proposal. The new plan anticipates $1.2 billion more in Medi-Cal spending to implement health reform provisions. New York Times et al.
House Vote on Bill That Would Repeal the ACA Expected This Week
This week, the House is expected to vote on a bill that would fully repeal the Affordable Care Act. A House GOP spokesperson says the timing of the vote partially is intended to provide freshmen Republicans with a chance to formally weigh in on the issue. New York Times, Roll Call.
AB 880 Will Harm California Businesses, Opinion Piece Says
In an Orange County Register opinion piece, Bill Dombrowski — president of the California Retailers Association — write that a bill in the state Legislature that would “require larger businesses to pay the state a fine for each employee who is enrolled in the state’s Medi-Cal program” does “nothing to reduce rising health care costs.” According to Dombrowski, all that the bill does “is assess fines on businesses that are already struggling to meet the [Affordable Care Act’s] requirements while recovering from the devastating effects of the recession.” Orange County Register.
1,500 Take Written Exam for Fresno ACA Call Center Jobs
On Saturday, 1,500 job seekers in the Fresno area took written exams as part of the hiring process for the Covered California state insurance exchange call center. Saturday’s applicants, as well as 1,300 people who took the exam in April, are vying for 500 jobs at the call center. Fresno Bee.
National Labor Board Certifies SEIU’s Election Win at Kaiser
On Monday, the National Labor Relations Board certified the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West’s recent election victory over the National Union of Healthcare Workers to represent 45,000 nursing aides and other employees at Kaiser Permanente. Sacramento Bee.