Latest California Healthline Stories
10.2M Enrolled in, Paid for ACA Plans in Second Enrollment Period
HHS says more than 10 million U.S. residents who enrolled in exchange coverage during the Affordable Care Act’s second open enrollment period have effectively completed the enrollment process by paying their first month’s premiums. According to HHS, 8.7 million of those enrollees received subsidies to help them purchase coverage. Washington Times et al.
Training Physicians To Talk About Vaccines Fails To Convince Parents
A new study finds that training physicians on how to discuss vaccines with parents does not appear to affect whether parents vaccinate their children. In California, parents can opt out of school vaccine requirements only by first consulting with a licensed health care provider or by claiming religious objections. KQED’s “State of Health,” Group Health Foundation release.
S.F. Officials Advance Measures Targeting Sugary Drinks
On Monday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Land Use Committee passed three ordinances that would require warning labels on advertising for soda and other sugary beverages, ban such ads on city property and prohibit city departments from buying or selling sugary beverages. The ordinances were approved with a “positive recommendation,” meaning they believe the full board should pass the measures. KQED’s “State of Health.”
Mail Error Leaves Thousands of Los Angeles Home-Care Workers Without Paychecks
More than 20,000 home-care workers in Los Angeles have gone weeks without being paid after their paper time sheets never arrived in the mail, according to a California Department of Social Services official. The unpaid workers are part of a statewide program that provides care to low-income elderly and disabled Californians. A spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service said the issue is being investigated. Los Angeles Times‘ “PolitiCal.”
UCLA’s Operation Mend Receives $15.7M Grant
On Tuesday, UCLA announced that the Wounded Warrior Project had awarded a $15.7 million grant to Operation Mend, a partnership of UCLA Health, the U.S. Military and the Department of Veterans Affairs that aims to help wounded veterans. The grant will help expand the program and create a new, intensive structured treatment program for service members with mild traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder. KPCC’s “KPCC News.”
Liability Insurer Moves To Recoup $4.13M in Claims Paid to Santa Barbara-based Cottage Health System
A liability insurance company is seeking to recoup $4.13 million in insurance claims paid to a California-based health system that suffered a health data breach in 2013. In December 2013, Cottage Health System in Santa Barbara, Calif., notified 32,755 patients that their health data might have been compromised after a third-party vendor removed security protections limiting outside access to patient records without notifying the hospital. Cottage Health System was hit with a class-action lawsuit that resulted in a $4.13 million settlement, which the health system’s liability insurer — Columbia Casualty Company — had agreed to pay. In May, CCC filed a complaint alleging the health system “provided false responses” to a risk control self-assessment in its liability policy application. Healthcare IT News.
Studies Suggest Pay-for-Performance Not Working
Tying financial rewards to cost-effective patient care management or reductions in adverse outcomes has not yielded the desired results, recent studies indicate. One recent study found that a pay-for-performance program at Fairview Health Services in Minnesota provided “significant frustration” for physicians. In addition, a study of 30-day mortality rates among more than six million patients found that a hospital-based pay-for-performance program connected to Medicare payments did not decrease deaths. Modern Healthcare.
Medicare Releases 2013 Hospital, Doctor Payment Data
CMS has released three new data sets that show hospitals’ Medicare charges and payments, as well as what doctors billed, in 2013. The new data — which include information on more than 3,000 hospitals and 950,000 physicians and other providers — encompass more than $150 billion in total payments. Modern Healthcare et al.
Many Insurers Propose Double-Digit Premium Rate Hikes for 2016
The Obama administration has released proposed premium rates for individual health plans sold in 2016, and many insurers have proposed hikes greater than 10%. Acting CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt says the “rates will be subject to vigorous … review and revision” before taking effect. AP/Los Angeles Times et al.
California Prison Health Care Improves; Contract Prisons Lag
A new report by a court-appointed federal receiver finds that health care within California’s prison system has continued to improve. However, the same progress has not been made at the seven contract prisons that are paid by the state to house its overflow inmate population. Los Angeles Times‘ “PolitiCal.”