Latest California Healthline Stories
California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of September 21, 2012
Community Regional Medical Center plans to use a $200,000 donation from Humana to increase space and add staff members at the facility. The St. Rose Hospital Board of Directors has signed a letter-of-intent to allow Lex Reddy’s newly formed Alecto Healthcare Services to acquire the hospital.
ACA Saved Medicare Beneficiaries $4.5B in Rx Drug Costs, HHS Says
Today, HHS announced that the health reform law has saved Medicare beneficiaries nearly $4.5 billion in prescription drug costs since January 2011. The agency said that the average beneficiary with traditional Medicare will save $5,000 from 2010 to 2022. USA Today, HHS release.
Brown Signs Bill To Limit Disability Access Law Abuse
This week, Gov. Brown signed into law a bill that sets restrictions on disability access lawsuits. Under the new law, potential damages for disability access violations will be reduced from a minimum of $4,000 to $1,000 if the defendant corrects the violations quickly. It also bars lawyers from issuing pre-litigation “demands for money” and regulates complaints involving construction-related violations. Sacramento Bee‘s “Capitol Alert.”
Study: 31% of Calif. Surgery Residents Need Remediation
Between 1999 and 2010, 31% of general surgery residents at six California medical schools had to undergo remediation programs before they could take the board exam to graduate, according to a study published in the Archives of Surgery. The researchers said the remediation rate is concerning because it is several percentage points higher than the rates found in similar studies. HealthLeaders Media.
Report Aims To Guide States on Using IT in Insurance Exchanges
A new report from the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the National Academy of Social Insurance offers recommendations to help states use technology to support the infrastructure of their health insurance exchanges. Health Data Management, NASI release.
CBO: In 2016, Nearly 6M U.S. Residents To Face Reform Law Tax Penalty
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that in 2016, nearly six million U.S. residents will pay a penalty under the Affordable Care Act for not buying health insurance. CBO says the penalty could generate about $7 billion in federal revenue that year. The Hill‘s “Healthwatch” et al.
Opinion: Politicians, Pension Boards Caused Rising Costs
In a Sacramento Bee opinion piece, David Crane — president of Govern for California and a pension reform advocate — argues that the reason “cities and states are being hit hard by fast-rising pension and retirement health care costs for public employees” is that “politicians and pension fund boards … made retirement promises without setting aside sufficient funding to meet those promises.” He writes that residents can help curb rising pension costs “by requiring voter approval of retirement promises and populating pension fund boards with citizen-interested rather than self-interested members.” Sacramento Bee.
MA Enrollment Will Climb by 11% in 2013, CMS Projections Show
New CMS projections indicate that Medicare Advantage enrollment in 2013 will increase by 11%, while MA premiums will hold steady. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says that the Affordable Care Act has strengthened the MA and Medicare prescription drug programs. Reuters et al.
Report Ranks Popular Types of Employer Health Plans
Consumer-driven health plans have surpassed HMOs to become the second-most common health plans offered by U.S. employers following preferred-provider organizations, according to a survey by Aon Hewitt. The report — which surveyed more than 1,800 employers — found that 79% of employers offered PPOs, 58% offered some version of a CDHP and 38% offered HMOs. Modern Healthcare.
Judge Orders DPH To Disclose Uncensored Patient Abuse Records
A state judge has ordered the Department of Public Health to disclose uncensored patient abuse records from certain state institutions. DPH previously released the records but blacked out most of the data, the Center for Investigative Reporting said. California Watch.