Latest California Healthline Stories
HHS Awards $20M Contract To Promote Reform Law
HHS has awarded a $20 million contract to public relations firm Porter Novelli to launch a multimedia advertising campaign designed to promote the federal health reform law. The campaign, which was mandated by the overhaul, aims to educate the public about how to stay healthy and prevent illness. The Hill‘s “Healthwatch.”
California’s 2010 Infant Mortality Rate Hits Record Low, Data Show
Department of Public Health data show that California’s infant mortality rate fell to 4.7 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2010, a record low for the state. Officials attribute the decline in part to lower rates of premature births. U-T San Diego et al.
More U.S. Medical Students Seeking Dual Degrees
A growing number of U.S. medical students are pursuing dual degrees in public health, academic medicine and other fields, such as law and business. According to educators, the students seek to develop interdisciplinary skills for working under health care reform and global health care initiatives. Recent data from the Association of American Medical Colleges show that the combined enrollment in dual programs in medicine and academic medicine; medicine and law; and medicine and business increased by 36% between 2002 and 2011. San Francisco Chronicle.
Opinion: Rate Regulation Plan To Lead to ‘Political Clash’
In an Orange County Register opinion piece, columnist Dan Walters discusses a proposed November ballot measure that would give California officials greater regulatory authority over health insurance rates. He notes that the measure will trigger an “immense political clash” in which the “warring factions will be spending untold millions of dollars on the fall campaign over this complex and contentious issue.” Orange County Register.
Democrats Likely To Spurn Four Key Proposals in Brown’s Budget
Democratic lawmakers likely will disagree with four key proposals in Gov. Brown’s revised budget plan that call for cutting CalWORKs, In-Home Supportive Services, child care subsidies and financial aid for certain college students. San Francisco Chronicle.
GAO Report: Overhaul’s Tax Credit Not Appealing to Small Businesses
A new Government Accountability Office report finds that the health reform law’s small business tax credit is not large enough to incentivize employers to offer health benefits. According to the report, the credit was claimed by 170,300 employers in 2010, far short of estimates. The Hill‘s “Healthwatch” et al.
Judges Rule Medical Pot Not Protected by Federal Act
On Monday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that medical marijuana users cannot use a federal disability law to argue against the shuttering of medical marijuana dispensaries. Medical marijuana advocates had alleged that the cities of Costa Mesa and Lake Forest in Orange County violated the Americans With Disabilities Act by closing the dispensaries. Judge Raymond Fisher wrote, “We recognize that the federal government’s views on the wisdom of restricting medical marijuana use may be evolving,” but “for now Congress has determined that, for purposes of federal law, marijuana is unacceptable for medical use.” Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle.
Database Aims To Help Researchers Analyze Medical Care Costs
The Health Care Cost Institute is compiling a database containing more than 3 billion de-identified medical claims from more than 33 million individuals. The project aims to help researchers conduct large-scale analyses of information on medical costs. Washington Post, Politico.
Poll Finds Most Voters See Health Care Costs as Important Concern
A poll finds that 84% of U.S. voters say the cost of health care is an extremely or very important concern. When asked about which presidential candidate would be better able to control health care costs, 51% chose President Obama and 44% chose Mitt Romney. Politico et al.
Calif.’s HealthCare Partners To Be Acquired in $4.42B Deal
DaVita, the second-largest provider of dialysis services in the U.S., has confirmed a $4.42 billion deal to acquire Torrance, Calif.-based physician group HealthCare Partners. The deal is the latest in a string of similar acquisitions by large health care companies as a strategy to rein in rising health costs. HealthCare Partners has more than 50 medical offices that serve 550,000 patients across Southern California. Los Angeles Times.