Latest California Healthline Stories
Judge: State Has Not Monitored Prison Inmates With Disabilities
A judge has ruled that California has failed to monitor and protect parolees with disabilities. The judge ordered the state to give counties lists of such parolees and to contact inmates to ensure they receive accommodations. San Francisco Chronicle.
S.F. Makes $1.8M Funding Request for HIV/AIDS Care
Last week, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and members of the Board of Supervisors announced that they have requested to use $1.8 million from a city reserve fund for HIV/AIDS care and treatment services. The funds would be used to maintain primary care, hospice services and housing assistance for residents with HIV/AIDS through June 30. Lee and the supervisors made the request after Congress eliminated about $5 million in federal funding from the most recent budget package that would have gone toward HIV/AIDS programs in the city. The supplemental request is expected to gain final approval from a majority of the board. Bay Citizen, San Francisco Chronicle‘s “City Insider.”
Calif. Senate Panel To Review Single-Payer Health Care Bill
On Tuesday, the California Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider a bill by Sen. Mark Leno that would create a single-payer health care system. The California Universal Health Care Act would establish a California Healthcare Agency to run the single-payer system, which would pool employer and employee payments, administer finances and negotiate rates with health care providers. The cost of the measure has not yet been determined, but a similar bill that was introduced during the 2009-2010 session was estimated at $200 billion annually. Sacramento Bee.
GOP: HHS Skirted Legal Rules When It Issued Essential Benefits
Five leading Republican lawmakers have sent a letter claiming that HHS sidestepped certain legal requirements because it issued a bulletin — rather than a proposed rule — outlining essential health benefits under the federal health reform law. Modern Healthcare et al.
Consumer Advocates Push for Greater Health Plan Rate Regulations
Last year, a state law took effect that gave regulators greater power to review health insurers’ plans for premium hikes. However, consumer advocates are seeking expanded regulations that would let the state reject rate increases deemed excessive. Contra Costa Times.
S.D. Supplement Firm Suing Walgreens for Coupon Fraud
In a federal lawsuit filed Nov. 18, 2011, Imagenetix, a San Diego-based nutritional supplement company, accused Walgreens of coupon fraud. According to the lawsuit, Walgreens billed the company for $533,000 “for coupons purportedly redeemed” by consumers for discounts on a new health-joints supplement product, as well as $188,000 for scanning fees. However, the stacks of coupons submitted by Walgreens for reimbursement had no marks or creases. The lawsuit is seeking class-action status and damages that could exceed $5 million. U-T San Diego.
Public Health Plans To Compete With Private Plans in California
Under the state’s insurance exchange mandated by the federal health reform law, public health plans will compete with private health plans. Currently, county-administered public health plans provide coverage to 2.5 million California residents. KQED/Kaiser Health News.
Analysis Highlights Rates of Stroke Prevention Procedure
Residents of Santa Maria in Santa Barbara County have the highest rates statewide of a stroke prevention procedure called carotid endarterectomy, according to an analysis of hospital data by Stanford University professor Laurence Baker. Residents of the Clearlake area in Lake County have the second highest rates of the procedure in California, the analysis found. The procedure carries risks that include heart attack, stroke and death. San Francisco Chronicle, KQED’s “The California Report.”
Calif. Attorney General Joins High Court Brief Supporting Reform Law
California Attorney General Kamala Harris and 12 other attorneys general have filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the federal health reform law. Business, health care and women’s groups also filed briefs supporting the law. Los Angeles Times‘ “PolitiCal” et al.
Study: Premiums Would Rise Without Individual Mandate
Insurance premiums would increase by as much as 25% if the federal health reform law is implemented without an individual mandate, according to a new study from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The study found that premiums could increase because young, healthy people would be less likely to purchase coverage. Premiums would increase by about 10% in states with high levels of participation in new health insurance exchanges, and between 20% to 25% in states where fewer individuals use the exchanges, according to the study. The Hill‘s “Healthwatch.”