Latest California Healthline Stories
Deadline Looms for States To Decide on High-Risk Pools
State officials have until Friday to tell HHS whether they want to participate in the high-risk insurance pool program created under the health reform law. A bill in the California Assembly would create a new high-risk pool that would operate alongside the state’s current pool until 2014. The national high-risk pool program must be established within 90 days of the reform law’s enactment. Politico.
DOJ Will Not Challenge Calif. Hospital Pricing Exchange Initiative
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice said that it will not challenge a proposal to share cost information at more than 300 California hospitals. DOJ said the Hospital Value Initiative proposal could increase competition and help reduce health care costs. HealthLeaders Media.
San Diego VA Seeing Backlog for Patient Appointments
The Department of Veterans Affairs’ San Diego-based health care network has placed about 200 new patients on a waiting list for appointments because the system has seen a surge in patient demand at the same time it has experienced a shortage of health care providers. Officials said they expect to resolve the scheduling delays within the next week by hiring three additional primary care physicians and one nurse practitioner. San Diego Union-Tribune.
WellPoint Blasts News Story on Breast Cancer Rescissions
WellPoint, parent company of Anthem Blue Cross of California, has denied allegations in a recent Reuters story that it rescinded health insurance for women with breast cancer. WellPoint said Reuters inaccurately stated that the company used computer algorithms to identify women with breast cancer, adding that the software finds medical claims codes to unearth pre-existing conditions members had when they applied for coverage. WellPoint CEO Angela Braly requested a meeting with HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to discuss the issue. Indianapolis Star, The Hill.
Calif. Hospitals, Insurers Trying Out New Bundled Payment Pricing System
More hospitals and insurers are experimenting with lump-sum pricing systems in which facilities negotiate fees for a group of services tied to a single procedure. The move could shed new light on the future of efforts to reduce health care spending. Los Angeles Times.
Survey: 40% of Respondents Want Reform Law Repealed
A recent poll from Indiana University’s Center for Health Policy and Professionalism Research found that about 40% of respondents want the new federal health care reform law repealed and new legislation enacted. However, a majority of respondents said they favored some elements of the law, including a provision that bans insurers from denying coverage to patients with pre-existing conditions. Los Angeles Times‘ “Booster Shots.”
Opinion: California’s Nursing Home Staffing, Wages Up
California Watch’s story on nursing home staffing and wages “selectively ignored aggregate data and singled out a small number of facilities where staffing fluctuated and where wages may have legitimately declined and added the numbers together to reach an incorrect and misleading conclusion, ignoring the positive trends taking place in the profession,” Jim Gomez, CEO/president of the California Association of Health Facilities, writes in a Contra Costa Times opinion piece. According to Gomez, overall nursing home staffing and wages, salaries and benefits increased between 2004 and 2008 and quality of care continues to improve. Contra Costa Times.
Funds Needed for Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, Advocates Say
Advocates are urging California lawmakers to pass a bill that would sustain funding for ombudsman services that investigate complaints at long-term care facilities. Previous budget agreements have cut funding from the program. Vallejo Times Herald.
Anthem Blue Cross Once More Postpones Planned Rate Hikes
Anthem Blue Cross of California has announced that it will delay planned premium increases that were scheduled to take effect next month. The insurer initially aimed for the changes to take effect in March, but delayed the hikes following significant public outcry. Anthem has not indicated how long the latest postponement will last. Los Angeles Times, AP/San Francisco Chronicle.
Cost Questions Could Lead to Further Debate on Health Care Reform
Although the new health reform law is just over a month old, important questions remain about its costs and cost-control mechanisms. Some observers have predicted that cost-control issues could surface in the form of a second debate on health reform. AP/San Francisco Chronicle.