Latest California Healthline Stories
ACA To Lower Costs for Small Businesses, Raise Costs for Larger Firms
An Urban Institute study finds that if the Affordable Care Act was fully implemented this year, health care costs for small businesses would have declined, while costs for mid-sized and large firms would have increased. Kaiser Health News‘ “Capsules,” The Hill‘s “Healthwatch.”
Blue Shield’s Ties to Unions Could Pose Conflict Issues
Close ties between Blue Shield of California and labor unions could give the not-for-profit insurer an unfair advantage in securing multimillion-dollar insurance contracts for public employees, according to experts. A recent Los Angeles Times probe found that two people with leadership and consulting roles at Blue Shield of California have connections to two large workers’ unions. Los Angeles Times.
Report: More Consumers Use Mobile Tools for Health Care
A new report from Manhattan Research finds the number of U.S. adults using mobile phones for health-related activities grew from 61 million in 2011 to 75 million this year. The report also found that the number of U.S. adults using tablet computers for health-related activities nearly doubled from 15 million in 2011 to 29 million in 2012. MobiHealthNews, Healthcare IT News.
Kaiser Permanente CEO To Retire in December 2013
On Thursday, George Halverson — chair and CEO of Kaiser Permanente — announced that he will retire in December 2013. According to a Kaiser news release, Halverson is announcing his retirement over a year in advance to give the board of Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plan time to find a successor. Halverson is 65 and has held the position since 2002. Modern Healthcare.
Ventura County OKs Worker Health Insurance Rate Hikes
On Tuesday, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to increase rates in various health insurance plans for county government workers. The increases — all of which are less than 10% — will affect a total of three health plans, offered through Health Net and Ventura County Medical Center. Ventura County Star.
Lawmakers Urge HHS To Halt Payments for EHR Incentive Program
Several GOP House members are asking HHS to suspend incentive payments for Stage 2 of the meaningful use program. They claim that certain criteria in Stage 2 of the electronic health record incentive program are insufficient. Modern Healthcare, Cardiovascular Business.
Jones Asks Exchange To Allow Sale of Certain Eye Care Plans
Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones is urging the California Health Benefit Exchange board to reconsider a decision preventing the sale of stand-alone vision plans to individual customers in the exchange. Sacramento Bee.
California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of October 5, 2012
Apollo Medical Holdings will provide hospitalists in about 22 Los Angeles County hospitals through an agreement with L.A. Care Health Plan. El Camino Hospital and the Professional Resource for Nurses have reached an agreement for nurses’ retirement plans.
Medicare Fraud Strike Force Charges 91 People With Improper Billing
Ninety-one individuals in seven cities — including Los Angeles — have been charged with fraudulent Medicare billing totaling $429 million. Officials say that the fraudulent charges included billings for home health care and mental health services. Modern Healthcare et al.
UnitedHealthcare Gives Critical Access Hospitals $20M for Health IT
UnitedHealthcare is providing $20 million in grants to help 11 critical access hospitals in California adopt electronic health records. Grant recipients are smaller facilities in rural locations that treat large numbers of uninsured, elderly and Medi-Cal patients. Payers & Providers.