Latest California Healthline Stories
Insurance Department OKs Health Net’s Plan To Increase Premium Rates
The state has approved Health Net’s plan to raise premiums by an average of 16% for about 38,000 individual policyholders. The decision follows the state’s recent approval of rate increases by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of California. Los Angeles Times et al.
State Regulators Seeking Up to $9.9B in Fines From PacifiCare
California officials allege that PacifiCare violated state law about one million times between 2006 and 2008 after its acquisition by UnitedHealth Group. The insurers refute the allegations and say they are fighting the proposed fines. Los Angeles Times.
State To Audit Sacramento County Mental Health Plans
The California Department of Mental Health plans to conduct an audit of Sacramento County’s mental health care program because the county has failed to detail how it would use state funding to overcome growing budget cuts, according to Cynthia Rodriguez, the department’s chief counsel. State officials said they could withhold $40 million from the county until it demonstrates the ability to effectively serve residents with mental health issues during the budget strain. Sacramento Bee.
Study: Many ED Visits Could Be Handled by Urgent, Retail Clinics
A new RAND study estimates that roughly 16.8% of patients who visit emergency departments could have obtained care from urgent care centers or retail clinics, a move that would reduce U.S. health care spending by as much as $4.4 billion annually. HealthLeaders Media et al.
Editorials Press for Increase of Funding To Combat AIDS
At a United Nations conference later this month, President Obama “has a chance to make a clear and unequivocal message” on the fight against HIV/AIDS by pledging “$6 billion over three years” to the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a San Francisco Chronicle editorial states. A Los Angeles Times editorial adds that Obama “should commit to generous annual funding increases to the Global Fund,” which directly finances “health systems in poor countries.” San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times.
Health Insurers Request Premium Increases, Cite Health Reform Law
Several health insurance companies have announced plans to raise premium rates for some individual and small-business policies as a result of national health care reform. Combined with other adjustments, premium increases could be as high as 20%. Wall Street Journal.
Editorial: Sacramento County Public Health Cuts Go Too Far
“Sacramento’s public health program has been cut so deeply that officers have lost track of details proving what they know to be true — communicable and sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise” across the county, a Sacramento Bee editorial states. It continues that “state and local leaders place us all at risk” when they cut public health programs, which are “a matter of public safety, every bit as vital as keeping cops on the beat.” Sacramento Bee.
Judge Upholds Ruling Limiting Federal Funds for Stem Cell Research
The Obama administration’s request to lift a temporary ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research has been denied. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said the government failed to make the case that his previous ruling will cause significant harm to researchers. Washington Post et al.
Opinion: Alcohol Fee Would Recover Health Care Costs
The proposed Alcohol Cost Recovery Fee — which would charge alcohol wholesalers and distributors “the equivalent of three to five cents a drink” would ensure that San Francisco has “stable funding to directly support fire department emergency transport, prevention, treatment and medical services to people whose lives are shattered by alcohol,” John Avalos, a member of the San Francisco board of supervisors, writes in a San Francisco Chronicle opinion piece. Avalos, who proposed the fee, adds that the fee is a “strong remedy” to “recoup previously un-reimbursed costs for alcohol-related services.” San Francisco Chronicle.
State Calls for More Vigilance in Detecting Whooping Cough
California health officials are encouraging health care providers to look for pertussis, or whooping cough, when evaluating infants younger than six months old who have trouble breathing. John Talarico, an immunization official with the state Department of Public Health, said doctors failed to quickly diagnose whooping cough for many of the eight California infants who died as a result of the disease this year. Los Angeles Times, San Diego Union-Tribune.