Latest California Healthline Stories
Discrimination Protection Extended to Workers’ Comp
A three-judge appellate panel ruled that insurers and doctors cannot use age, race or gender in determining permanent disability benefits for injured workers. The ruling is not legally binding for future cases. Sacramento Bee.
Obama, Clinton Charges on Health Plans Spark Analysis
Media outlets and political analysts are monitoring claims by Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama as they challenge one another’s health care proposals in their campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination. Includes other election news. New York Times.
White House Advisers Object to Medicare Changes in Bill
A Senate Finance Committee bill is expected to include a reversal to a scheduled 10% cut in Medicare physician payments. Bush advisers said the president would veto any measure that alters Medicare’s fiscal status, changes the Medicare drug benefit or make cuts to Medicare Advantage plans. CQ Today et al.
Democrats Hope Omnibus Bill Draws Republican Support
Congressional Democrats are combining the fiscal year 2008 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill with 10 other unapproved spending bills in the latest attempt to reach a compromise with President Bush. Bush said he will veto the package because of increases in discretionary domestic spending. CongressDaily et al.
Insurers Look to Medicare Plans To Increase Sales
Slower sales in the private sector have led UnitedHealth Group and Humana to target enrollment in private Medicare plans, including Medicare Advantage. Reimbursements for MA plans are higher than traditional Medicare, but political scrutiny of the payments could make the market a risky investment for the insurers. New York Times.
Ruling on Policy Cancellations Could Spur Class-Action Suits
A three-judge panel in California ruled that canceling individual health insurance policies for omissions or mistakes on applications after claims are submitted is “flatly prohibited.” Insurers long argued that state law permitted the practice in some cases. The decision could open the door to class-action lawsuits and changes in insurers’ practices. Los Angeles Times.
Harvard Policy Experts Recommend Steps for Improving Health Care
Seven Harvard University professors outlined strategies to address various policy issues in the U.S. health care reform debate, including health insurance, quality and costs. The experts also weighed in on disparities, information technology and prescription drugs. Newsweek.
Political Analysts See Prospects Dimming for Health Care Reform
Legislative leaders and Gov. Schwarzenegger continue to work toward a compromise on health care reform, but campaign experts warn that time is running out to approve a plan and qualify its financing mechanism for the ballot next year. San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee.
California Union Leader Calls for Compromise on Health Care Reform
Tyrone Freeman, leader of a Service Employees Intentional Union affiliate, called on the SEIU to help pass a health care reform plan in California, a move that breaks from the previous stance of the union’s outgoing statewide leader. Sacramento Bee’s “Capitol Alert.”
California Group Says CMS Nursing Home List Excludes Problem Homes
The California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform said a CMS list of the nation’s poorest-performing nursing homes could mislead consumers because it excludes some facilities on a federal watch list, including up to five homes in California. Riverside Press-Enterprise.