Latest California Healthline Stories
Editorial: Eliminating MRMIB Should Be Done With Care
“Gov. Jerry Brown is on the right track in wanting to ax 43 state boards, commissions, task forces and offices” as “part of his revised budget plan unveiled this week,” a Sacramento Bee editorial states. However, “the functions of some boards on the chopping block are essential,” such as the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, according to the editorial. The “functions” of MRMIB — which oversees “health problems for more than 850,000 children in working poor families” — should be “transferred with care so that they don’t get lost in an even bigger bureaucracy,” the Bee writes. Sacramento Bee.
Lab-Testing Firm Finalizes Settlement in Overbilling Suit
New Jersey-based Quest Diagnostics has agreed to pay California $241 million to settle a 2005 whistle-blower lawsuit alleging the medical laboratory testing company overcharged Medi-Cal for more than 15 years. The lawsuit also contended that the company gave illegal kickbacks to health care providers who referred Med-Cal beneficiaries and other business to its labs. The settlement is the largest in the history of California’s False Claims Act, according to the state attorney general’s office. Quest Diagnostics has denied the allegations in the complaint and said it agreed to the settlement “to put the lawsuit behind us.” Sacramento Bee et al.
Thousands of Kaiser Permanente Employees Hold One-Day Strike
As many as 2,500 Kaiser Permanente health workers in Southern California walked off the job yesterday to protest proposed changes to their retirement and health benefits. Workers also called attention to staffing issues. Sacramento Business Journal et al.
Public Hospital District Gave Severance Pay to CEO Prior to Retirement
Records obtained by the Los Angeles Times show that Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System gave then-CEO Samuel Downing nearly $1 million in severance pay in 2008, about three years before he retired. SVMH already is under scrutiny for Downing’s retirement package. Los Angeles Times.
Health Care New Issue in Southern Calif. Labor Talks
Negotiations over health care benefits are the latest hurdle in labor talks between Southern California’s large grocery chains and the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which represents 62,000 employees. The grocery chains presented a proposal on Wednesday that includes changes to workers’ health and welfare plans. Negotiators are attempting to reach an accord on a contract that was set to expire in March but has been extended day to day. Los Angeles Times‘ “Money & Company.”
Opinion: Medi-Cal Waiver Is ‘Unprecedented Opportunity’
“Two major developments in health policy have opened a transformational window of opportunity to dramatically expand coverage and improve health care in California communities”: the federal health reform law and “California’s ‘Bridge to Reform’ Medicaid waiver,” Anthony Wright — executive director of Health Access and editorial board member of Payers & Providers — writes in a Payers & Providers opinion piece. The Medicaid waiver, “which will help California prepare for and implement” the reform law, should be seen by counties as “an unprecedented opportunity for investment” to “get new federal dollars,” extend insurance coverage and “shore up safety-net institutions,” Wright continues. He concludes, “Let’s make sure California takes a lead on this.” Payers & Providers.
Department of Justice Defends Health Reform Insurance Provision
On Wednesday, the Department of Justice filed an appeals court brief defending the individual mandate in the federal health reform law. The brief argues that U.S. residents who do not purchase medical coverage pass on billions of dollars in costs to taxpayers. CQ HealthBeat et al.
Brown Allows Hiring at OSHPD To Speed Review of Hospital Construction
Gov. Brown recently exempted the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development from a hiring freeze affecting state government agencies. OSHPD now plans to expand its work force and accelerate its approval process for hospital construction projects. Payers & Providers.
States Encountering Obstacles in Setting Up Insurance Exchanges
Many state legislatures are struggling to decide whether to establish health insurance exchanges as called for under the federal health reform law. Meanwhile, Delaware and Indiana have applied for waivers from the law’s medical-loss ratio requirements. CQ HealthBeat, Modern Healthcare.
Lawmaker Seeks Details on Social Services Chief’s Salary
Assembly member Brian Jones (R-Santee) is calling for Gov. Jerry Brown (D) to explain why William Lightbourne — the new director of the state Department of Social Services — will receive about $343,000 annually in salary and benefits for his position. Jones also plans to ask the state auditor to investigate Lightbourne’s compensation package. San Diego Union-Tribune.