Latest California Healthline Stories
SCOTUS Tells Lower Court To Reconsider ACA Contraception Case
The Supreme Court says the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals should reconsider its decision against a challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive coverage requirement given the high court’s ruling in Hobby Lobby v. Burwell. The lower court ruled in favor of the government prior to the Supreme Court’s decision. The Hill et al.
Panel Advances Toned-Down Bill To Ban Some Tobacco at Ballparks
Yesterday, the California Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization approved a bill that would ban smokeless tobacco at the state’s major- and minor-league baseball venues. Before its advancement, the bill was amended to exempt traditional cigarettes and electronic cigarettes. Sacramento Bee‘s “Capitol Alert.”
Antibiotic Use Varies Widely at Calif. Neonatal Intensive Care Units
A new study published in the journal Pediatrics finds that antibiotic use rates among California neonatal intensive care units range from 2.4% to 97.1% of days that infants are patients. The researchers suggest that clinical thresholds for prescribing or continuing antibiotics could “be raised without harm.” Medscape, Stanford Medicine’s “Scope.”
Analysis: California Could Be a Model for Latino Enrollment Efforts
An analysis by the Commonwealth Fund finds that while the Affordable Care Act has helped lower the uninsured rate among Latinos, the rate is still high when compared with other groups. The analysis argues that California could serve as a model for overcoming barriers to expanding coverage to Latino populations. The Hill, Commonwealth Fund analysis.
Sutter Health CEO Pat Fry and Adventist Health System-West CEO Robert Carmen were the highest paid health not-for-profit CEOs in the Sacramento region, according to a Sacramento Business Journal analysis of tax records. Fry’s total compensation for 2013 was $6,010,188, while Carmen came in second, with $1,513,840 in compensation for 2013. Sacramento Business Journal.
Calif. Nurses To Strike This Week if Negotiations Falter
On Monday, a union representing nurses in California and Illinois said thousands of members will walk off their jobs on Thursday and Friday at Kaiser Permanente’s Los Angeles Medical Center and two California-based hospitals owned by Providence Health and Services if progress is not made in contract negotiations this week. California Nurses Association spokesperson Chuck Idelson said the issues vary by location but include health benefits, salary and nurse-to-patient staffing ratios. Reuters.
CMS Proposes Increasing Medicare Payments by 1.6% for Inpatient Psychiatric Hospitals
CMS on Friday issued a proposed rule that would increase Medicare reimbursements for inpatient psychiatric facilities by 1.6% in fiscal year 2016. Under the proposed rule, Medicare in FY 2016 would spend $80 million more on psychiatric facilities than in FY 2015. The increase is smaller than the 2.5% increase the facilities received for the current year. Modern Healthcare.
Number of ACOs in the U.S. Increased Last Year
The total number of accountable care organizations in the U.S. increased in 2014, despite numerous providers leaving Medicare’s Pioneer ACO program, according to a recent analysis by the Oliver Wyman consulting firm. Overall, the analysis found that there were 426 Medicare ACOs as of January 2015, up by 58 from January 2014. According to the analysis, nearly 70% of U.S. residents now live in a region served by an ACO, while 44% live in an area with at least two ACOs. FierceHealthcare.
Covered California Needs ‘Near-Miraculous’ Enrollment Spike This Week, Editorial Argues
An Orange County Register editorial argues that the April 30 deadline for Covered California’s special open enrollment period “just might prove to be the tipping point” for the exchange “because this is the year Covered California is supposed to become completely self-sustaining.” The editorial cites an Avalere Health study that found Covered California enrollment grew by just 1% for 2015 and retained just 65% of previous enrollees. The editorial states that only “another near-miraculous, 11th-hour spike in enrollments enabling [Covered California Executive Director Peter] Lee to claim a successful enrollment period.” Orange County Register.
460K+ Face Medicare Payment Cuts for Not Reporting Quality Data
CMS data show that more than 460,000 Medicare providers will see reimbursement cuts of 1.5% this year for failing to submit quality data to the agency on time. Under CMS’ Physician Quality Reporting System, providers in 2013 had to submit quality data on at least one of more than 100 possible measures to avoid payment cuts in 2015. Wall Street Journal, Modern Healthcare.