Latest California Healthline Stories
CBO: After Court Ruling, Health Reform Law To Cost Less, Cover Fewer
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act will lead the law’s overall cost to decline by $84 million and the number of residents gaining coverage under the law to drop by three million. The Hill‘s “Healthwatch” et al.
U.S. Pledges $157M To Help Curb Spread of HIV/AIDS
In a speech during the International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C., on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pledged $157 million in new funding for the global effort to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS. The funding will be used for several programs to prevent or lower infection rates, including initiatives to end mother-to-child HIV transmission by 2015 and circumcise about 500,000 men in South Africa. AP/Sacramento Bee et al.
Two California Health Systems Rank Among Best IT Workplaces
A Computerworld list ranking the nation’s best places for information technology staffers to work includes Kaiser Permanente and Cedars-Sinai Health System in California. Criteria for the list included percentage of IT workers promoted and training opportunities. Computerworld.
Monning: Federal Law a Big Step in Promoting Health
In a Santa Cruz Sentinel opinion piece, state Assembly Committee on Health Chair Bill Monning writes that the federal health reform law “represents a monumental step forward in the promotion of health and health care access for all.” According to Monning, for those “who would have otherwise been denied health treatment coverage, the [law] has indeed been transformative, and for some, life-saving.” He writes that he and his colleagues plan to “develop policies that will assist consumers and advance health promotion and wellness in our state.” Santa Cruz Sentinel.
San Francisco General Hospital ED Pushes HIV ‘Test and Treat’ Strategy
San Francisco General Hospital’s emergency department offers patients HIV tests to foster early diagnosis and treatment of the infection. A nurse at the hospital said that about half of people who test positive do not consider themselves at risk. NPR’s “Shots.”
Editorial Says Young Adults Could Benefit Most From ACA
According to a Sacramento Bee editorial, “The aim of the Affordable Care Act is to make sure that people are not priced out of [health insurance] coverage by life transitions.” It continues, “Young adults tend to be most affected by that and, thus, stand to” benefit most from the reform law. In addition, the inclusion of young adults — many of whom are healthy — in the insurance marketplace “should reduce cost shifting and drive costs down” for all residents, the editorial states. Sacramento Bee.
House GOP Introduces Resolution Saying Health Law Is Unconstitutional
A new resolution introduced in the House by Rep. Louie Gohmert and 10 other Republicans states that the federal health reform law violates the Constitution because it is a revenue-related measure that did not originate in the House. The Hill‘s “Floor Action Blog,” Washington Post.
Judge To Consider Stockton Retirees’ Health Benefits Suit
Following a hearing on Monday, federal Judge Christopher Klein told a group of retired Stockton city employees that he will consider their lawsuit seeking an injunction against a Stockton city bankruptcy protection plan that would cut their health benefits. Klein did not indicate a timeline for when he would issue his ruling. Stockton Record.
Facing Fiscal Crisis, El Monte Mulls Sugary Beverage Tax
On Tuesday, the El Monte City Council will consider a plan to declare a fiscal emergency as the city faces a combination of low revenues, high labor costs and reduced state funding. City Finance Director Julio Morales said the declaration would allow the city to hold a special election this fall for a proposal to implement a one-cent-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, which could generate as much as $7 million in total annual revenue. Los Angeles Times.
Medical Pot Advocates Rally During Obama’s Oakland Visit
In advance of a re-election fundraiser for President Obama in Oakland on Monday, hundreds of medical marijuana patients and advocates rallied against federal efforts to shut down the city’s regulated dispensaries. Protestors urged Obama to block federal efforts to close medical marijuana dispensaries until he clarifies his administration’s stance on dispensaries that abide by state and local laws. San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times.