Latest California Healthline Stories
DMHC Warns of Rising Number of Medicare Advantage Plan Scams
State Department of Managed Health Care officials have issued a public warning about the growing number of illegal marketing tactics being used to sell Medicare Advantage plans. DMHC also barred a private insurer from selling MA plans. HealthLeaders Media et al.
Health Industry Workers Contribute Millions to Candidates, Campaigns
Employees at California’s hospitals, medical groups and health plans contributed millions of dollars to political action committees and federal candidates during the 2008 and 2010 election cycles. CEOs made most of the largest contributions. Payers & Providers.
Senate Votes To Block Debate of Obama’s Job-Creation Proposal
Last night, the Senate voted to block consideration on President Obama’s job-creation plan. All Republicans who were present and two Democrats voted against the measure. Administration officials say they will work to divide the plan into individual bills that are more likely to pass. The Hill, Roll Call.
Law To Bring In Medical Workers From Outside State Facing Delays
The state has failed to adopt regulations to implement a law that allows out-of-state medical workers to provide health care to Californians on a short-term basis. Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the measure in September 2010. Los Angeles Times.
Presidential Hopefuls Say Health Reform Law Adding to Fiscal Issues
During a debate Tuesday night, Republican presidential candidates said the federal health reform law is contributing to the country’s financial problems. Several candidates also questioned former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney about his state’s health care law. New York Times et al.
Patient Care, Service Workers at UC Ratify New Contracts
Last week, members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 voted to ratify new contracts covering more than 20,000 University of California patient care and service workers. The vote ended a nearly yearlong dispute between the union and university over workers’ wages, health care benefits and retirement plans. Under the contract agreements — which expire in September 2012 for patient care workers and in January 2013 for service workers — union members will continue to receive health care benefits and pay the same rates as the general university population. UC will pay an average of 87% of health care premium costs. Sacramento Business Journal, Los Angeles Times.
UC-Davis Nabs $4M Grant for Poverty Research, Education
HHS has awarded UC-Davis a five-year, $4 million grant to establish a center to promote poverty education and research. The Center for Poverty Research will focus on health and education programs, generational poverty trends and other research areas. UC-Davis joins two other U.S. poverty research centers at Stanford University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Sacramento Bee, Sacramento Business Journal.
HHS Begins Listing Insurers’ Rate Hike Proposals Online
Last week, HHS began listing on the federal HealthCare.gov website information about proposed health insurance rate increases categorized by state. Previously, such information was available only in a few states. The federal health reform law requires all insurers to alert HHS if they wish to raise rates by 10% or more for individual and small group plans, and provide justification for the proposed increases. The website also provides a platform for consumers to comment about the proposed rate increases. USA Today, Washington Times‘ “Inside Politics.”
Community Colleges To Receive $7M for Mental Health Training
The California Mental Health Services Authority has awarded community colleges nearly $7 million to help train faculty and staff on how to respond to students who have mental health conditions. Santa Clarita Valley Signal, Los Angeles Times‘ “L.A. Now.”
Florida Program Resembling Exchange To Launch in 2012
Florida is preparing to launch a health insurance marketplace in 2012, two years before it is mandatory under the federal health reform law. Details about the program — called Florida Health Choices — indicate that it will not resemble the insurance exchanges being established in other states. State health officials have declined to acknowledge the program as an exchange partly because the state is part of a multistate lawsuit against the reform law. In addition, the program includes differences from the insurance exchanges mandated by the law. For example, it will not require plans to offer “essential health benefits”; it will be open only to small businesses with 50 or fewer employees, not individuals; and it will not offer tax credits to businesses that provide coverage to workers. Kaiser Health News.