Latest California Healthline Stories
State Begins Verifying Citizenship for Medi-Cal
Gov. Schwarzenegger has allocated $50.4 million to cover the cost and maintenance of verifying Medi-Cal applicants’ citizenship and has sent a letter to Congress asking that the requirement to be optional for states. Fresno Bee.
Congress Considers CDC Role in Recent Tuberculosis Case
A patient with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis said that CDC was aware of his condition before he traveled by airplane to Europe and that he was told he was not contagious. However, the CDC director said the agency was unaware of the patient’s identity until six days after his outbound flight. New York Times.
Deregulation Could Lead to Effective Health Care Reform
An editorial reviews new research from the Pacific Research Institute finding that overregulation of the health care industry accounts for more patient deaths than a lack of health insurance. Authors of the study hope it will lead to market-based health care reform. San Francisco Examiner.
Study: Low Medicare, Medicaid Pay Drives Up Insurance Costs
A study by an arm of the California Chamber of Commerce says that Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement levels have more to do with rising health insurance premiums than the cost of treating the uninsured does. At least one academic sees the research as an attempt to shift the focus of the health care reform debate. San Francisco Chronicle.
Proposal Offered for Renewal of Kids’ Insurance Program
A bipartisan model for legislation to renew the State Children’s Health Insurance program calls for simplifying enrollment and renewal processes, and increasing funds for outreach. It recommends raising the federal tobacco tax to help finance the program. CongressDaily, CQ HealthBeat.
California Counties Challenge Medicare Payment Categories
The lawsuit alleges that Medicare unfairly classifies the counties as rural, which results in lower reimbursements than urban areas. Inadequate Medicare payments have prompted physicians in those counties to drop out of the program, the suit maintains. Ventura County Star et al.
Gay Rights Groups Oppose Surgeon General Nominee
Some gay rights groups say that James Holsinger, Bush’s nominee for surgeon general, in 1991 wrote that gay sex is unnatural and unhealthy and helped found a Methodist congregation that believes homosexuality is a choice and a curable condition. AP/Boston Globe.
County Supervisors Examine Health Care Costs, Coverage
Fresno County is considering downsizing its mental health services in an effort to reduce million-dollar budget deficits, while Los Angeles County is examining Medicare prescription drug policies. Fresno Bee, Los Angeles Times.
California Senate OKs Move To Single-Payer Health Care System
State Sen. Sheila Kuehl’s effort to create a single-payer health care system in California now heads to the Assembly for consideration, but Gov. Schwarzenegger has indicated that he once again will veto the bill if it is passed out of the Legislature. Los Angeles Times, Mt. Shasta News.
House Panel Ups Veterans’, Military Health Care Funds
The measure exceeds President Bush’s proposed spending for veteran’s and military projects by $4 billion, including a $600 million increase over spending requests for mental health and traumatic brain injury initiatives for veterans and service members. CQ Today, Congress Daily.