Latest California Healthline Stories
Senate Votes To Confirm Burwell as Next HHS Secretary
Fifty-two Senate Democrats, 24 Republicans and two independents voted yesterday to confirm Sylvia Mathews Burwell as HHS secretary. An HHS aide says Burwell will officially assume the role from Kathleen Sebelius on Monday. New York Times et al.
Survey: L.A. County Residents Support Soda Tax To Curb Obesity
A Los Angeles County Department of Public Health survey released Thursday finds that nearly two-thirds of residents support a soda tax and 75% support limiting junk food advertising. Support for such measures was highest among low-income residents, who typically have higher rates of obesity and diabetes. Reuters.
California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of June 6, 2014
Kaiser Permanente has opened a six-story, 435,900-square-foot hospital in San Leandro. Pacifica Hospital of the Valley has agreed to pay $500,000 to providers of homeless health services after allegedly dumping patients in the Skid Row area.
Waxman Endorses Ted Lieu To Take His House Seat
On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman who in January announced that he would not seek reelection, endorsed state Sen. Ted Lieu for his seat in the House of Representatives after Lieu placed second in the primary election. In his endorsement, Waxman praised Lieu’s tireless work ethic and his dedication toward strengthening the middle class and helping workers save for retirement. KPCC’s “KPCC News.”
Teen Birth Rate Fell by 9% in California From 2011 to 2012
A new California Department of Public Health report shows that the birth rate among females ages 15 to 19 fell by 9% between 2011 and 2012, from 28 births per 1,000 females to slightly less than 26 births per 1,000 females. The report also shows a decline in the teen birth rate among all racial and ethnic group, except for Native Americans, whose teen birth rate rose by 7% during the time period. Sacramento Bee, KPCC’s “KPCC News.”
CBO To Stop Calculating Effects of Some ACA Provisions
The Congressional Budget Office in a “little-noticed” footnote in an April report said it no longer could calculate the estimated financial effect of several provisions in the Affordable Care Act. The report stated that CBO and the Joint Commission no longer can “determine exactly how the provisions of the ACA that are not related to the expansion of health insurance coverage have affected their projections of direct spending and revenues.” The Hill, Fiscal Times.
S.F. City Attorney Files Suit Over Rail Workers Calling in ‘Sick’ To Protest Pension Changes
On Wednesday, San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed a lawsuit against Municipal Transportation Agency workers after many rail workers called in “sick” for three straight days to protest a new contract that calls for them to pick up a 7.5% pension payment currently paid by their employer. However, MTA officials said that enough employees returned to work on Thursday to operate more than 90% of regular weekday services. San Francisco Business Times‘ “BayArea Biz Talk,” AP/Sacramento Bee.
DMHC Issues Fines to Two Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans
Care1st Health Plan has been fined $75,000 by the California Department of Managed Care over alleged problems with care delivery for a prostate cancer patient in 2011. DHMC also fined Contra Costa Health Plan $20,000 for failing to have an effective dispute resolution process. Both entities are managed care plans under Medi-Cal. Payers & Providers.
Medicaid, CHIP Enrollments Reach 6M Since October, HHS Says
New federal data show that six million U.S. residents have signed up for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program since Oct. 1, 2013. The data show states that chose not expand their Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act saw significantly lower enrollment. Politico et al.
HHS Says More Than 2M ACA Applications Have Data Discrepancies
HHS officials report that there are discrepancies in the health insurance exchange coverage applications of about 2.2 million U.S. residents. CMS says that about 59% of affected applications are within a 90-day window for resolving enrollment issues but acknowledges that some individuals’ applications could be terminated. AP/Sacramento Bee et al.