Latest California Healthline Stories
California Insurers Gear Up for New Language Assistance Regulations
Insurers are working to comply with new California rules that will require them to provide interpreters to members and translations of documents. Blue Cross of California is expected to spend about $20 million to meet the requirements. Los Angeles Times.
Support Grows for Bill Seeking To Freeze Medicare Audit Program
The American Hospital Association and hospital officials in New York and Florida are supporting federal legislation by California representatives that would place a one-year moratorium on a Medicare claims auditing initiative while it undergoes a federal probe. Sacramento Bee.
Proposed Funding Cuts Could Limit Services for Medi-Cal Beneficiaries
Under a 2005 federal law, CMS is proposing rules that will cut funding for states’ Targeted Case Management programs. The initiatives provide supplemental services for pregnant women, infants, people with mental disabilities and other at-risk beneficiaries. Sacramento Bee.
Medicare Prescription Drug Plans Face Wider Scrutiny
Paying higher premiums for Medicare prescription drug benefit plans that offer coverage during the so-called “doughnut hole” coverage gap might not be worth the extra up-front expense for some seniors. Meanwhile, some experts believe the doughnut hole might cause a positive trend toward increased use of generic equivalents. New York Times.
Aetna President Pushes for Individual Mandate in Speech
Aetna President Mark Bertolini said the best path to health care reform would be through a public-private system where all individuals are required to obtain health insurance. Bertolini also called for expanding Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and changes on the state level. Charlotte Observer.
California Hospital News Roundup for November 21, 2007
The Department of Public Health is investigating a serious medication error at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, while UC-Davis Health System reports a drop in earnings despite higher patient volume. Meanwhile, Sharp HealthCare won a Malcolm Baldridge Award for the second consecutive year.
Affordable Individual Coverage Unattainable for Some Older Adults
U.S. adults ages 50 to 64 are too young for Medicare but at an age when health problems typically escalate. Health insurers are marketing policies toward the demographic, but applicants who are less healthy can find the coverage hard to qualify for or too costly. San Francisco Chronicle.
New York, UnitedHealth Agree on Doctor Rankings
UnitedHealth accepted New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s recommendations that the insurer adopt a physician ranking system based on nationally recognized standards for measuring care quality. Aetna, Cigna and Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield also have agreed to shift their ranking systems toward Cuomo’s model. AP/Albany Times Union.
Controlled-Substance Laws Could Limit e-Prescribing
Karl Williams, an associate professor at St. John Fisher College, writes in a letter to the editor that adopting electronic prescribing could be “a half-measure that may actually result in decreased efficiency within a practice environment” because of laws restricting electronic transmission of controlled-substance prescriptions. Wall Street Journal.
Advocacy Groups Seek To Overturn California Workers’ Comp Rule
Advocates argue that reforms to the California workers’ compensation insurance system have let insurers unfairly reduce benefits for work-related injuries because certain pre-existing risk factors, such as bone-density loss in women, helped cause the injury. AP/Los Angeles Daily News.