Latest California Healthline Stories
Voters More Optimistic About Lawmakers, State’s Future
Californians are feeling more optimistic about the future, with 44% of adults saying the state is heading in the right direction, up 30 percentage points from July 2009, according to a new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California. Gov. Brown’s approval rating stands at 48% among all respondents, while the Legislature received a 34% approval rating. Sacramento Bee‘s “Capitol Alert.”
Southern California Spared From Early Start of Flu Season
Unlike other regions across the U.S., Southern California so far has been spared from the early start of the flu season, according to experts. However, Kalvin Yu — chief of the infectious diseases department for Kaiser Permanente in Southern California — noted that there are cases of “cold-like viruses” that some may mistake for the flu. KPCC’s “KPCC News.”
California Stakeholders Discuss Implementing Affordable Care Act
This week, various California officials spoke at a symposium on Affordable Care Act implementation. The Brown administration questioned the availability of federal funding for the Medi-Cal expansion, while lawmakers encouraged work on ACA-related legislation. KQED’s “State of Health.”
Calif. Lawmaker Unveils Bill To Boost Mobile Health
A new bill introduced by Rep. Mike Honda aims to promote innovation in mobile health technology in part by establishing a new office of wireless health technology at FDA. Honda said the office would bring new expertise to FDA and help mobile health technologies get to market faster. The bill also calls for the creation of loan, grant and tax incentive programs. Modern Healthcare et al.
UnitedHealthcare To Bring New Plan to Northern California
This week, UnitedHealthcare announced that in 2013 it will offer its “Signature Value Alliance” plan in Northern California. The plan is designed to provide businesses with at least 51 employees access to “high performance care provider networks.” UnitedHealthcare launched the plan in Fresno County and Southern California earlier this year. Sacramento Business Journal.
Stakeholders’ Views Mixed on OIG’s Meaningful Use Report
Health care industry stakeholders have offered different reactions to a recent HHS Office of Inspector General report that recommended that federal officials strengthen oversight of the Medicare portion of the meaningful use electronic health record incentive program to prevent fraud and abuse. Many stakeholders said they agree with OIG’s recommendations, but some groups said they oppose the idea of prepayment audits. Healthcare IT News.
Jones Proposes Workers’ Compensation Rate Hike
On Friday, California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones recommended that insurers providing workers’ compensation coverage raise average base rates for 2013 by 2.8%. According to Jones, workers’ compensation insurers are paying out 116% more in claims than they are collecting in premiums. While Jones does not have the authority to set premiums, insurers generally follow his recommendations. Sacramento Bee, Sacramento Business Journal.
Federal Judges Disagree on Sexual Orientation Conversion Treatment
One day after a federal judge in Sacramento blocked a California law banning sexual orientation conversion treatment, a second federal judge upheld the law. Experts say that the Ninth District Court of Appeals will have to resolve the case. Sacramento Bee, Los Angeles Times.
Medicare Beneficiaries Saved $5B Under ACA Rx Provision
Last week, HHS announced that since 2010 5.8 million Medicare beneficiaries have saved a total of $5 billion under an Affordable Care Act provision that requires drugmakers to provide discounts to those who reach the “doughnut hole” in the prescription drug benefit. According to HHS, the discounts helped beneficiaries save $1.86 billion on prescription drugs in the first 10 months of 2012, compared with $1.51 billion during the same period last year. USA Today.
Study Finds Medical-Loss Ratio Provision Saved Consumers $1.5B in 2011
A Commonwealth Fund study finds that consumers saved nearly $1.5 billion in 2011 under the Affordable Care Act’s medical-loss ratio provision. The provision helped reduce premiums in the individual market but had less of an effect in the small- and large-group markets. Los Angeles Times et al.