Latest California Healthline Stories
Department of Managed Health Care Probes Blue Shield About Rate Hikes
The Department of Managed Health Care has sent a letter asking Blue Shield of California to justify why it imposed an average cumulative rate hike of 37.5% on about 70,000 individual policyholders. DMHC is seeking a response within seven business days. San Francisco Chronicle.
Updated Guidelines on Alzheimer’s Disease Call for Earlier Diagnosis
The Alzheimer’s Association and NIH have unveiled new guidelines recommending that physicians diagnose risks for Alzheimer’s disease at earlier stages. The update to the guidelines is the first since 1984 and could lead to more diagnoses of the disease. AP/USA Today et al.
Sacramento County Nabs Grant for STI Awareness
Sacramento County has received a $30,000 grant from the national Get Yourself Tested collaborative to help launch a campaign encouraging residents to get tested for sexually transmitted infections. According to the state Department of Public Health, Sacramento County has California’s second-highest rate of gonorrhea and the fifth-highest rates of chlamydia and syphilis. Sacramento Bee.
Report: Effect of Ryan’s FY 2012 Budget Plan on Health Reform Unclear
A new Congressional Research Service report states that Rep. Paul Ryan’s proposed fiscal year 2012 budget plan for the U.S. government does not provide sufficient detail to determine what kind of effect it could have on the federal health reform law. The Hill‘s “Healthwatch.”
Supreme Court Holds Off on Reviewing Antireform Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued an order list that omits an appeal by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli for an expedited review of a federal judge’s ruling in the state’s lawsuit against the federal health reform law. In that ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Henry Hudson concluded that the reform law’s individual mandate is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court is expected to release more orders next Monday. Bloomberg.
Alameda County Plans To Use Fire Stations as Health Clinics
Health officials in Alameda County are planning to launch basic primary and preventive health care pilot programs at fire stations in an effort to reduce emergency department visits and improve access to safety-net services. The county board of supervisors has allocated $750,000 for the project, which could launch in July 2012. Officials are working out the details of the program. Oakland Tribune.
HHS To Use Department of Labor Survey To Help Set ‘Essential Benefits’
The Department of Labor has released a report on employer-sponsored medical benefits that HHS will use to determine what services should be covered under the health reform law. The survey included information on how often employers cover certain benefits. The Hill‘s “Healthwatch.”
San Francisco Labor Coalition Offers Benefits Overhaul Plan
A group of San Francisco city employee unions has come forward with a pension overhaul proposal. The plan would raise the maximum retirement age for new hires and includes an undetermined increase for workers’ health care contributions. According to the city controller’s office, San Francisco owes $4.36 billion in health care benefits to employees and retirees. San Francisco Chronicle.
Study: High Deductibles Have Similar Effect on Plan Enrollees
A new RAND study finds that high-deductible health plan enrollees with low incomes or chronic illnesses are not at a greater risk for cutting back on necessary health care than non-vulnerable enrollees in high-deductible plans. Modern Healthcare et al.
School Districts Straining To Fund Student Mental Health Care Services
Many California school districts are struggling to pay for mental health care for special education students. Last fall, then-Gov. Schwarzenegger used his line-item veto power to shift responsibility for such services from counties to school districts. Sacramento Bee, Fresno Bee.