Latest California Healthline Stories
GOP Pushes for Transparency in State Budget Process
Republican lawmakers are pushing a proposal aimed at increasing transparency in the state budget process. The plan would require budget bills to be available to the public for three days, give the governor the authority to cut spending when the Legislature fails to quickly address a fiscal emergency and establish a series of hearings every other year to evaluate government programs. Because the proposal is a constitutional amendment, it requires two-thirds approval in both chambers of the Legislature and then would need voter approval in November 2014. Los Angeles Times.
Diverse Coalition Unveils Ideas To Boost Health Care Quality, Cut Costs
A new “unlikely” coalition of five diverse health care groups — including an insurance trade group, a consumer advocacy organization and an employer coalition — has released five recommendations aimed at improving health care quality and reducing costs. Modern Healthcare et al.
Judges Deny Calif.’s Bid To Cancel Court Orders To Cut Prison Population
Yesterday, three federal judges denied Gov. Brown’s request to cancel court-mandated cuts to the state’s prison population, ruling that the population caps are necessary to address unconstitutionally poor inmate care. The state plans to appeal the ruling. Bloomberg et al.
Editorial Calls on California To Improve Prison Health Care
A New York Times editorial argues, “The only way for California to satisfy constitutional standards for its prisons is to reduce the number of inmates and improve the mental health care in those institutions without delay.” It argues that a case over the mental health care provided to California inmates “is closely intertwined with the long-running litigation over unconstitutional overcrowding in California’s prisons.” New York Times.
Bill Would Fine Large Businesses With Employees on Medi-Cal
A new bill in the Assembly would fine large employers that do not pay their workers enough to keep them off Medi-Cal. Funds raised from the penalty would go toward boosting Medi-Cal reimbursements and subsidizing state costs for the program. Sacramento Bee.
DMHC: Insurers Cannot Deny Care to Transgender Patients
The California Department of Managed Health Care this week issued guidance reminding health plans that discrimination against transgender individuals violates anti-discrimination laws. DMHC urged insurers to review health plan documents — including coverage limitations based on gender — to ensure they are in compliance with the laws. KQED’s “State of Health.”
California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of April 12, 2013
Kaiser Foundation Hospitals plans to use $1.9 billion in tax-exempt bonds approved by the California Health Facilities Financing Authority to build six new hospitals across the state. HealthSouth, an Alabama-based rehabilitation hospital operator, plans to build a facility in Modesto.
White House Budget Includes Spending Jump for Exchanges
In its budget proposal released this week, the White House said it expects to spend about $606 billion from 2014 to 2021 on insurance exchange subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. The figure is a nearly 27% jump from an estimate in the fiscal year 2013 budget proposal and a 65% jump from the FY 2012 proposal. Experts cite the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling allowing states to opt out of the ACA’s Medicaid expansion as the main reason for the increase. Politico.
California To Identify BPA as Reproductive Toxicant
On Thursday, the California Environmental Protection Agency announced that the state will identify the chemical additive Bisphenol-A, or BPA, as a reproductive toxicant under Proposition 65. BPA has been linked to a variety of health problems, including birth defects. San Francisco Chronicle.
California’s Per Capita Health Care Spending Below National Average
California health care spending in 2009 was $6,258 per resident, about $600 less than the national average, according to Wall Street Journal data. Overall, the state in 2009 spent $225 billion on health care from public and private funds. Sacramento Bee‘s “Capitol Alert,” Wall Street Journal.