Latest California Healthline Stories
On Friday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s ruling that California prison officials immediately must investigate and record all inmate allegations regarding disability accommodations. Prison officials had filed an appeal after the 2012 ruling, arguing that they only needed to record claims that they had substantiated. AP/Sacramento Bee.
Brown Signs Bill To Launch Community College Bachelor Degree Pilot Program for Nurses
On Sunday, Gov. Brown signed into law a bill that aims to expand the number of nurses with four-year degrees by allowing up to 15 community colleges to launch pilot bachelor degree programs. The pilot program is scheduled to begin before the 2017-2018 academic period and run until 2024. Sacramento Bee.
715K California Children Gain Medicaid Coverage
Twenty-one states, including some that did not expand their Medicaid programs for adults, have extended their Medicaid programs to children ages six to 18 in families with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level. Hundreds of thousands of children — including 715,000 in California — have gained Medicaid coverage because of a provision in the Afforable Care Act that expands the program. Kaiser Health News.
Obama Calls for Enhanced Disease Surveillance To Combat Ebola Outbreak
During a global health security summit at the White House on Friday, President Obama urged world leaders to enhance disease surveillance and to treat the Ebola outbreak in West Africa as a “national security priority.” Speaking to health and security officials from 44 nations, Obama said world leaders should be able to better detect and contain epidemics. United Press International, The Hill.
Few Exchange Enrollees Plan To Shop for New Plans, Poll Finds
A new poll finds that only 29% of U.S. residents who purchased exchange coverage during the Affordable Care Act’s initial open enrollment period plan to look at other coverage options during the upcoming enrollment period. Forty-three percent of respondents who had exchange coverage expect to keep their current plan. National Journal‘s “Health Care Edge” et al.
OIG: New Medicaid Beneficiaries Face Challenges Accessing Care
An HHS Office of Inspector General report finds that new Medicaid beneficiaries often face long wait times or must travel far distances to receive care. The report finds that standards for access to care vary greatly by state and that federal and state officials have done little to ensure beneficiaries have access. New York Times et al.
New Law Enables Comparisons of Drug Coverage in Exchange Plans
Gov. Brown has signed a bill that requires Covered California to create a search tool on its website to compare health plans’ cost and coverage of particular drugs. The bill also requires the state departments of insurance and managed health care to develop uniform methods for sharing drug formularies. KPCC’s “Impatient.”
Covered Calif. Plans Likely To Continue Offering Narrow Networks
A Los Angeles Times analysis finds that insurers offering health plans through the state insurance exchange are likely to maintain or reduce their provider networks in 2015. Meanwhile, the exchange has yet to post a comprehensive guide of physicians included in each plan. Los Angeles Times.
Brown Vetoes Bill To Create Marketplace for Vision Insurance
Gov. Brown vetoed a bill that would have given Californians access to stand-alone coverage for vision care. Brown said the bill would have created a “new state bureaucracy” and potentially violated federal laws. Vision insurers were “shocked” by the veto of the measure. Sacramento Business Journal et al.
A San Francisco-based startup, which aims to develop a non-opioid pain medication for moderate to severe pain, has raised $1.5 million in an initial equity round led by Sears Capital Management and Biobrit. In addition, SiteOne Therapeutics has been awarded a $1.4 million Phase II SBIR grant from the National Institutes of Health. MedCity News.