Latest California Healthline Stories
Boehner: House GOP Is Committed to Repeal of Health Reform Law
Yesterday, House Speaker John Boehner said House Republicans are committed to repealing the entire federal health reform law if the U.S. Supreme Court upholds all or part of the overhaul. According to Boehner, a full repeal of the law would boost the troubled economy. Politico et al.
CalPERS Increases Contributions for State Employee Pensions
CalPERS has approved a 5.7% increase in payment rates for state worker pensions in the next fiscal year. The cost increase will be implemented over two years, a strategy that Gov. Brown calls “not a prudent decision.” Sacramento Business Journal et al.
Richmond City Council OKs Soda Tax Measures for Ballot
On Tuesday, the Richmond City Council voted 5-2 to put on the November ballot a pair of soda tax measures that seek to curb the city’s high child obesity rate. The first measure proposes a 1-cent per ounce tax on sugar-sweetened drinks, while the second would advise the city council to use the tax revenue for sports and health education programs for local youths. If approved, the soda tax would be the first of its kind in the U.S. Contra Costa Times, KQED’s “State of Health.”
HHS Launches Tool Tracking U.S. Health Care Trends
On Tuesday, HHS launched a new online tool called the Health System Measurement Project to help health care professionals, policymakers and the public track U.S. health care trends. The website provides data on access to care, disease prevention, health IT and other issues. In addition, users can view various health indicators by certain demographic characteristics. Modern Healthcare.
Calif.’s Nursing Homes Face Deep Medicare Payment Cuts
In early 2013, California’s skilled nursing facilities could face Medicare payment cuts totaling $75.9 million — the largest amount of cuts among all states — if Congress fails to overcome an ongoing budget stalemate, according to a recent study commissioned by the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care. Those cuts would come on top of a state proposal to rescind a recent payment hike to close California’s $16 billion budget deficit. Payers & Providers.
LAO: Oversight of Prison Health Care Could End Without Construction
A Legislative Analyst’s Office report finds that federal oversight of California’s prison health care system could end without the state expanding certain health care facilities. LAO says California would assume $76 million in debt by completing construction. KPCC’s “KPCC News.”
Steinberg Rebuffs S&P’s Criticism of Accessing Budget Reserves
Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg continues to support using state budget reserves to avoid making deep cuts to social services programs, despite Standard & Poor’s call for lawmakers to avoid the strategy. Sacramento Bee‘s “Capitol Alert.”
HHS Issues Guidance, Releases New Details on Health Plan Exchanges
Yesterday, HHS said states have until Nov. 16 to submit plans for operating health insurance exchanges under the federal health reform law. HHS also released guidance on how it will facilitate exchanges for states that opt not to administer their own marketplaces. Reuters et al.
Opinion: Tobacco Tax Increase Initiative Will Not Aid Budget
In a Sacramento Bee opinion piece, former California Department of Finance Director Michael Genest argues that Proposition 29 — a June ballot initiative that would increase California’s tax on cigarettes by $1 per pack to raise funds for cancer research — “will not help” resolve the state’s budget crisis. He writes that Proposition 29 would use tax revenue “to create yet another unaccountable, out-of-control bureaucracy.” Sacramento Bee.
Senate Rejects Several Republican-Supported FY 2013 Budget Plans
The Senate voted down five different Republican-backed fiscal year 2013 budget resolutions yesterday. Lawmakers noted that Congress is unlikely to approve any budget proposals that include changes to Medicare and Medicaid until 2013. The Hill‘s “Floor Action Blog” et al.