Latest California Healthline Stories
Calif. Bureau Proposes Lower Advisory Workers’ Comp Premium Rate
The California Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau is proposing that $2.46 per $100 of payroll be spent on workers’ compensation. The proposed advisory pure premium rate represents a 10.2% decline from the current advisory rate and a 5% decrease from the average insurance industry rate. Sacramento Bee‘s “Capitol Alert,” WCIRB filing.
Benchmark Payment Rates for MA Plans To Increase by 1.25%
Benchmark payment rates for Medicare Advantage plans will increase by an average of 1.25% in 2016, rather than drop by 0.95% as CMS suggested earlier this year. The shift is the result of an increase in expected MA spending growth. Modern Healthcare et al.
Legislative Package Would Extend Health Coverage to Undocumented
Today, California Democrats will announce a legislative package of 10 bills that seeks to extend health coverage to undocumented immigrants. In addition, the package would expand undocumented immigrants’ legal rights and business protections. AP/Washington Times.
Study: Non-Injury Visits to Calif. Emergency Departments Up
A study published in Health Affairs finds that Californians increasingly are using emergency department services for non-injuries. The study also finds an increase in the rate of mental health issues among individuals who are uninsured, privately insured or covered by Medicare. Los Angeles Times‘ “Science Now,” Health Affairs.
Sonoma County Considers Implementing Price Floor for Cigarettes, Other Tobacco Products
Sonoma County supervisors are considering new licensing requirements that would call for tobacco retailers to increase the price of a pack of cigarettes to at least $7. The additional money would go to retailers and a program to discourage underage tobacco sales. If they approve the measure, Sonoma County would be the first jurisdiction in the state and the second in the U.S. to set a price floor for tobacco products. Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
L.A. Unified School District Reaches Tentative Health Care Benefit Agreement With Workers
The Los Angeles Unified School District reached an agreement with its employees on health care benefits. The agreement includes yearly increases in benefit expenses. In addition, it reduces the district’s unfunded liability for lifetime health coverage for retirees and their dependents by 20%. Los Angeles County‘s “L.A. Now.”
CMS To Add Star Ratings to Hospital Compare Website
This month, CMS is expected to launch a new five-star quality rating system on its Hospital Compare website. The new hospital rating system will offer a star rating based on the 11 publicly reported measures in the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey, which assesses patient experiences. The move is part of a broader effort to offer star ratings on the federal government’s consumer-facing Compare websites. Modern Healthcare.
Climate Change Could Increase Number of Heat-Related Deaths in Calif., Report Finds
California could experience about 7,700 more heat-related deaths annually by the end of the century as the result of climate change, according to a report by the Risky Business Project. Alfred Sommer, a professor and former dean of the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, said that the “entire state is going to be hotter,” meaning an uptick in the number of cases of heat stroke and cardiac-related problems. San Francisco Chronicle.
Few Medical Groups Face Medicare Payment Adjustments
Just 25 of the more than 1,000 large medical groups subject to Medicare’s physician value-based payment modifier will receive upward or downward payment adjustments this year based on their performance on cost and quality metrics, according to Medicare data. Eligible professionals expressed several concerns about the payment modifier program, which adjusts eligible professionals’ reimbursement rates based on how physicians or medical groups perform on certain quality and cost measures. Kaiser Health News.
Lawmakers Split on Vaccination Requirements Ahead of Vote
This week, the California Senate Health Committee will consider a bill by state Sens. Richard Pan and Ben Allen that aims to end all personal belief exemptions to childhood vaccination requirements. With just days until the vote, an informal poll shows committee members are split or undecided about the measure. San Jose Mercury News.