Latest California Healthline Stories
California Hospital News Roundup for Week of May 28, 2010
A recent CMS investigation of Loma Linda University Medical Center identified two “immediate jeopardy” cases in which inadequate care conditions put patients at risk. Meanwhile, a group of former workers have filed a class-action lawsuit against Redlands Community Hospital.
Health Plan Rate Increases Need Review, Editorial Says
The Assembly Appropriations Committee should approve AB 2578 — by Assembly member Dave Jones, a candidate for insurance commissioner — to allow the insurance commissioner to review health plan premium increases. The bill would “fix a hole in an important consumer issue” and it “deserves approval,” the editorial adds. San Francisco Chronicle.
New College Grads Could Face Gap in Insurance Coverage
The new health reform law requires health plans to allow young adults to stay on their parents’ health plans up until age 26. However, it still is unclear when health plans and employers will begin offering the new benefit, and new college graduates may face a multimonth insurance coverage gap. NPR’s “Morning Edition.”
Federal Government To Bear Brunt of Medicaid Expansion, Study Finds
The study finds that the federal government will take on the bulk of the cost for the health reform law’s Medicaid expansion. It predicts that California will need to spend $3 billion to $6.5 billion over six years to cover its share of the expansion. Washington Post, San Jose Mercury News.
House Democrats Scale Back Measure To Delay Medicare Payment Cuts
Yesterday, House Democrats released a scaled-back version of the so-called “extenders” package, which would raise Medicare physician payment rates by 2.2% for the rest of 2010 and by 1% in 2011, before payments revert back to the current formula in 2012. CQ Today et al.
Reform Law Might Not Allot Enough for High-Risk Insurance Pools
An analysis from the Center for Studying Health System Change finds that the $5 billion allocated for high-risk insurance pools in the new health reform law might not cover the costs of all U.S. residents who will qualify for the program. New York Times, Kaiser Health News.
‘Academic Detailing’ Boosts Rx of Cost-Effective Drugs
A study published recently in the Archives of Internal Medicine finds that a practice known as “academic detailing” can increase the number of physicians who prescribe cost-effective medications instead of the more costly drugs often marketed by drugmakers’ salespeople. The NIH study found that the number of patients who received prescriptions for certain cost-effective medications increased 23% in targeted counties after a two-year campaign in which a group of academic researchers met with physicians across the country to promote the less expensive drugs. Reuters.
Anthem Blue Cross Accounts for Largest Share of State Penalties
During the past decade, California’s Department of Managed Health Care has levied nearly 1,200 enforcement actions against health plans and other entities for violating state law and other regulations. Anthem Blue Cross has received more than 479 of the penalties, or about 40% of the state total. Anthem officials attributed the high number of enforcement actions to its large size. Payers & Providers.
Calif. Small Businesses Brace for Major Health Insurance Rate Hikes
Five major insurers that serve California’s small business market plan to raise average premiums by 12% to 23% this year, according to a recent survey. Advocates are concerned that the higher health costs might hurt small firms’ business prospects. Los Angeles Times.
Whooping Cough Resurgence Prompts Concern in Calif.
Nearly 350 cases of whooping cough have been reported in California from Jan. 1 to April 30, more than double the 129 cases reported during the same time period last year. Four California infants have died from the disease so far this year. Because infants are too young to be vaccinated against whooping cough, experts recommend that anyone who will be in contact with infants be vaccinated instead. Los Angeles Times.