Latest California Healthline Stories
Calif. Supreme Court To Review Governor’s Line-Item Vetoes, Furloughs
Last year, Gov. Schwarzenegger used line-item vetoes to cut an additional $316 million from health care and social service programs. The state Supreme Court plans to consider whether the governor’s vetoes exceeded his constitutional authority. San Francisco Chronicle.
After Strike Cancellation, Calif. Nurses To Rally To Highlight Staffing Issues
Today, thousands of nurses represented by the California Nurses Association plan to rally at University of California hospitals and health centers after a Superior Court judge issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the UC nurses from striking. Sacramento Bee et al.
Editorial: GOP Should Not Hold Up Berwick Nomination
Republican charges that Donald Berwick, President Obama’s choice for CMS administrator, supports health care rationing is “misdirection at best,” a Los Angeles Times editorial states. The editorial adds that lawmakers have control over budget decisions for Medicare and Medicaid, not the CMS administrator. Berwick is a good choice for an agency that has been without a leader for too long and his “nomination shouldn’t be held hostage while the GOP tries to refight old battles over the new health care reform law,” the editorial concludes. Los Angeles Times.
Delay on ‘Extenders’ Bill To Affect Physician Payments
Physicians across the country are likely to face payment complications because of delayed Senate action on a bill that would address a scheduled 21% cut to physicians’ Medicare payments. Doctors who treat Medicare patients could file their claims immediately to receive the reduced payment rate and wait to collect the rest until the bill is implemented, or they could wait to file until the bill is passed. Each strategy would result in a delay of full payment. The Hill.
Medical Home Pilot Project in Penn. Achieves Mixed Results
A pilot program in Pennsylvania testing the so-called “patient-centered medical home” concept has elicited mixed results, prompting some to praise its effect on patient health and others to question its sustainability. A medical home is managed by a primary care provider and a group of health professionals who closely coordinate resources within a specific medical community. An analysis of the Pennsylvania pilot project recently appeared in a supplemental issue of the Annals of Family Medicine. Wall Street Journal.
New Health Reform Law Most Politically Feasible, Best Option, Study Finds
A RAND study examining more than 2,000 possible policy scenarios concludes that the new federal health reform law is the best and most politically feasible option if the goal of reform is to cover the most U.S. residents at the lowest cost. Wall Street Journal‘s “Health Blog” et al.
Blue Shield Grant To Help Small Firms With Reform
The Small Business Majority has received a $400,000 grant from the Blue Shield of California Foundation to help small businesses understand the new health reform law and provide insurance to their workers. The foundation distributed $6 million in grants during the second quarter, most of which went to groups working to address domestic violence. San Francisco Business Times.
Medicaid Funds Restored to ‘Extenders’ Bill, More Changes in the Works
A substitute amendment to the so-called “extenders” bill would restore about $24 billion in Medicaid assistance to states. Senate Democrats also are expected to add a provision to the bill that would delay scheduled Medicare physician payment cuts through 2013. CQ Today et al.
Report: COBRA Might Be Out of Reach Without Subsidies
Many families might be unable to afford COBRA coverage without an extension of federal subsidies to purchase the coverage, according to a new report from Families USA. Last week, House Democratic leaders secured the passage of a so-called “extenders” bill partly by eliminating a provision that would have extended COBRA subsidies. Without the extension, Families USA estimates that unemployed workers would have to spend an average of 84.3% of their monthly unemployment insurance checks on COBRA premiums. HealthLeaders Media.
Opinion: Reform Law Raises Taxes, National Deficit
The new health reform law raises the risk of higher taxes and creates incentives for employers to drop workers’ health coverage, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum and a presidential election adviser to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), writes in a Politico opinion piece. A Health Affairs study by Holtz-Eakin argues that the law will increase the national deficit by more than $500 billion in its first 10 years. Politico.