Latest California Healthline Stories
Op-Ed: Budget Deal Ignored Health Care-Related Issues
The newly enacted fiscal year 2012 budget and deficit-reduction agreement “targets spending that isn’t a significant problem” and “ignor[es] the chief driver of deficit growth: health care costs,” Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik writes. Over the next 10 years, “government health care spending, including on Medicare, Medicaid and the [Children’s Health Insurance Program], will expand to nearly 7%” of the U.S. gross domestic product, “up from 5.6% today” and “rising sharply to 9.4% of GDP by 2035,” he writes. Hiltzik notes that the debt deal’s “only treatment of the health care programs at all is to protect spending on anti-fraud measures,” adding that it “bows to another deathless Washington shibboleth, which is that spending on anything can be restrained by ferreting out fraud.” Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles County Clinics Deploy E-Consultation Tool
Los Angeles County health clinics are starting to roll out a new Web-based system called eConsult that aims to reduce costs and improve efficiency by making it easier for physicians to communicate online with specialists about a patient’s care. L.A. Care Health Plan is funding the project, which is expected to be in place in 47 Los Angeles County safety-net clinics by next year. KPCC’s “KPCC News.”
Opinion: Calif. Should Lead in Creating Basic Health Plan
Sen. Ed Hernandez has introduced a bill that would help California “lead the nation in the offering of the basic health program option,” John Ramey — executive director of Local Health Plans of California — writes in a Capitol Weekly opinion piece. Ramey notes that the low-cost basic health insurance plan would serve as an alternative to the statewide health insurance exchange established under the federal health reform law. He continues, “Putting a basic health plan into place now — as opposed to waiting years after the exchange is up and running — would put the state in a strong position to provide health care to a population that needs it most.” Capitol Weekly.
President Signs Budget Deal; Concerns About Health Care Cuts Persist
Yesterday, President Obama signed a federal budget and debt-reduction measure, ensuring that the U.S. will not default. The deal shielded Medicare and Medicaid from immediate cuts, but a new congressional panel could propose future reductions to the programs. New York Times et al.
Pharmacy Groups Dispute Express Scripts-Medco Merger
The Independent Specialty Pharmacy Coalition has called on the Federal Trade Commission to reject a proposed merger between Express Scripts and Medco Health Solutions because of possible conflicts of interest and increased drug costs. Last month, Express Scripts and Medco announced that they would merge in a deal worth about $29.1 billion, pending approval from regulators and shareholders. The Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute and the National Community Pharmacists Association also have publicly opposed the merger, citing concerns that the two pharmacy benefit management companies could “unfairly dominate the market.” The deal is expected to close in the first six months of 2012. Modern Healthcare.
California Lowers Expenses for Pre-Existing Condition Insurance
State officials have announced that premium costs in the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan have been cut by an average of 18%. In addition, applicants for the plan no longer will have to prove that they have been denied coverage by an insurer. HealthyCal et al.
City Council Members Surpass Salary Caps by Forgoing Health Benefits
Some California city council members are exceeding base salary cap rules by accepting cash in place of health benefits, a Los Angeles Times analysis finds. According to the analysis, council members in 116 cities exceeded state-mandated salary limits. Los Angeles Times.
S.F. Supervisors Table Bill To Close Loophole in Health Law
On Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 9-2 to shelve legislation that would have closed a loophole in the city’s universal health care law. The measure, by Supervisor David Campos, would have required employers to roll over unused funds from health reimbursement accounts into the next year. Supervisors said they tabled the proposal because of concerns that the measure would affect jobs or threaten the city’s health care program. Board President David Chiu asked the San Francisco city attorney to draft a new proposal to close the loophole. San Francisco Chronicle.
Medical Center Reports Worker Removed About 1,500 Patient Records
Mills-Peninsula Medical Center recently fired a mailroom employee for taking home about 1,500 patient records over the course of nearly a year. Health system officials say they do not believe the information in the files was used improperly. San Mateo Daily Journal et al.
Editorial: Federal Debt Deal To Reverberate in California
On Tuesday, President Obama signed a debt-limit bill into law, meaning that the federal government “must now decide how to live within its means,” an Orange County Register editorial states, adding, “Any hope that California’s beleaguered state budget will be propped up by Washington now seems far-fetched.” The editorial continues, “Moreover, as federal funding is diminished, long-term state health care spending will increase” as a result of the federal health reform law. It adds, “Further cuts in federal health and welfare spending could shift even more burdens to the state.” Orange County Register.