Latest California Healthline Stories
Senators Ask Obama To Help Curb Veterans Claims Backlog
On Monday, a bipartisan group of 67 senators sent a letter to President Obama asking for “direct and public involvement” to resolve the Department of Veterans Affairs’ large backlog of medical disability claims. In their letter, the senators noted that the backlog has grown by 2,000% during the last four years. Washington Post‘s “Federal Eye,” NextGov.
Columnist: Lawmakers Should Not Select Scope of Practice
Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters writes that a state Senate committee’s recent approval of a series of bills that would expand the scope of practice for non-physicians overrides doctors’ concerns about the measures and implicitly concludes that physicians “are just trying to protect their turf and their incomes.” According to Walters, “we should all be afraid” when lawmakers determine “which medical practitioner can perform which procedure.” Sacramento Bee.
HHS Issues Shorter, Simplified Version of ACA Application
On Tuesday, HHS released a revised Affordable Care Act application form for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program or subsidies to purchase coverage through the ACA’s health insurance exchanges. The form was reduced from 21 pages to three pages after the initial version was criticized for being too complex. USA Today, AP/Huffington Post.
State, Local Gov’ts Could Be $1.1T in Debt, Report Finds
A new report from the California Public Policy Center estimates state and local governments are at least $648 billion in debt and the total could exceed $1.1 trillion depending on how pension liabilities are calculated. CPPC also calculated unfunded public retiree health care obligations at $136.9 billion, while official state and local pension unfunded liabilities stand at $128.3 billion. Sacramento Bee‘s “Capitol Alert.”
Proposal Would Raise Medicare Payments for Hospice Care Services
A new proposed rule from CMS would raise Medicare payment rates for hospices by 1.1% for fiscal year 2014. The proposal comes amid a rise in CMS spending on hospice care and an increase in Medicare enrollees’ use of hospice services. Modern Healthcare, CQ HealthBeat.
New Guide Details ACA’s Effect on California’s Health Insurance Market
A California Association of Health Plans guide describes how the Affordable Care Act will affect insurance in the state. The guide forecasts more comprehensive coverage in the individual insurance market and higher premiums for certain individuals. Sacramento Business Journal.
Obama Acknowledges Possible ‘Glitches’ in ACA Implementation
During a news conference, President Obama acknowledged that there would be some “glitches and bumps” in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act but added that such issues would affect only a “small group of people.” Los Angeles Times et al.
Calif. Lawmakers Seek Federal Probe of Nevada Discharge Policies
A group of 21 California lawmakers has sent a letter asking HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate a Nevada mental health hospital’s practice of busing patients with mental illnesses to California and other states. Sacramento Bee.
Stanford Professor Warns of Negative Effects of ACA
In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece, Daniel Kessler — a professor of business and law at Stanford University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution — writes that when the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented next year, “[w]e’ll hear about innocent victims who saw their premiums skyrocket, who were barred from seeing their usual doctor, who had their hours cut or lost their insurance entirely.” He adds that the “narrative is likely to prove irresistible to the media, raising the pressure on Washington to repeal or dramatically modify the law.” Wall Street Journal.
Rising Health Care Costs To Widen Local Budget Gaps, GAO Report Finds
According to a report from the Government Accountability Office, state and local governments should anticipate widening budget gaps in part because rising health care costs for residents and public employees are likely to surpass improvements in government revenues. Reuters.