- California Healthline Original Stories 2
- Maverick AIDS Activist To Porn Police? The Man Behind California’s Proposition 60
- As Insurers Cut Brokers’ Commissions, Consumers May Have One Less Resource
- Covered California & The Health Law 2
- Open Enrollment Period Kicks Off
- Consumer Group Sues Anthem Blue Cross For Obamacare Automatic Renewals For Stripped-Down Plans
- Campaign 2016 1
- Initiatives Benefiting Medi-Cal May Succeed Where Doctors, Groups Have Failed Before
Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Maverick AIDS Activist To Porn Police? The Man Behind California’s Proposition 60
Michael Weinstein of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation says he is promoting condoms where others have forgotten them. (April Dembosky, KQED, )
As Insurers Cut Brokers’ Commissions, Consumers May Have One Less Resource
Some major insurance companies are opting not to pay commissions for plans sold in the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces, while others are cutting their commissions. Will this make enrollment season more difficult for consumers? (Julie Appleby and Emily Bazar, )
More News From Across The State
Covered California & The Health Law
Open Enrollment Period Kicks Off
Officials expect about 400,000 Californians to enroll.
Capital Public Radio:
Covered California Open Enrollment Begins Today
An estimated 400,000 Californians are expected to newly enroll in the state's health insurance exchange, Covered California. Those enrolling for the first time or looking to change their current insurance coverage, will have 11 insurers to choose from, including, Health Net, Anthem Blue Cross, and Kaiser Permanente. Over the summer, Covered California unveiled a rate hike of 13.2 percent for 2017. (Johnson, 11/1)
Ventura County Star:
Covered California Prices, Subsidies Rise
Open enrollment in Covered California began Tuesday, and premiums are expected to rise an average of nearly 16 percent in Ventura. But subsidies paid by the federal government are climbing, too. Age and income are wild cards that affect prices. The twisted math could bring a roller-coaster ride of numbers for many of the 67,000 people in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties covered through the health insurance marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act. (Kisken, 11/1)
Sacramento Bee:
Next Test For Covered California
California has been an enthusiastic adopter of President Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul, but that hasn’t inoculated the state from growing pains. While many Republican-led states resisted creating insurance marketplaces, legislators here moved swiftly to launch Covered California. More than 2.8 million Californians have gotten coverage via the exchange since it opened in 2014 and about 1.4 million are actively enrolled. (White, 11/1)
Consumer Group Sues Anthem Blue Cross For Obamacare Automatic Renewals For Stripped-Down Plans
On the first day of open enrollment, Consumer Watchdog is charging in a class-action lawsuit that the insurance giant is pushing exiting members into plans that no longer cover out-of-network costs.
Los Angeles Times:
Anthem Is Cutting Out-Of-Network Health Coverage In A 'Bait And Switch,' Lawsuit Says
On the first day of Obamacare open enrollment, a consumer group sued Anthem Blue Cross for attempting to automatically renew policies that no longer cover out-of-network costs for hundreds of thousands of Californians. A lawyer for Consumer Watchdog said Tuesday that Anthem was “railroading existing members into bare-bones plans” without properly disclosing the change to them in recent renewal letters. (Petersen, 11/1)
The Mercury News:
Consumer Group Sues Anthem Over "Bait And Switch'' Tactics For 2017 Health Plans
Calling it a classic “bait and switch,” a California consumer group on Tuesday lashed out at Anthem Blue Cross of California, claiming it failed to adequately warn customers they were being shifted in 2017 to brand-new, stripped-down plans. Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog announced it has filed a class action lawsuit against the health insurance giant after Anthem moved hundreds of thousands of its Preferred Provider Organization customers to Exclusive Provider Organization plans for 2017 — all the while calling the new plans “similar coverage.” PPO plans cover a portion of out-of-network costs, while EPO plans cover none of them. (Seipel, 11/1)
Initiatives Benefiting Medi-Cal May Succeed Where Doctors, Groups Have Failed Before
Providers, hospitals and others have been fighting to get more money for Medi-Cal, but have been thwarted by Gov. Jerry Brown. Now they hope voters will make it happen.
Capital Public Radio/KXJZ:
Brown's Resistance To Medi-Cal Rate Increases Spurs Ballot Push
Doctors, hospitals and health care advocacy groups are hoping two November ballot measures will do what they’ve been unable to do at the state Capitol: Bring more money to California’s health care program for the poor. The industry groups have tried for years to get more state funding for Medi-Cal – California’s version of Medicaid. They argue that as Medi-Cal’s population grows under the Affordable Care Act, there simply aren’t enough doctors willing to treat patients because the state’s payment rates are too low. But they’ve run into a roadblock. (Adler, 11/1)
In other 2016 election news —
California Healthline:
Maverick AIDS Activist To Porn Police? The Man Behind California’s Proposition 60
The man behind Proposition 60 — and all those billboards — is Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, and a long-time maverick in gay activist circles. The nonprofit runs pharmacies and provides HIV care in 13 states and 37 countries, and gave away 38.5 million condoms last year. It’s putting $4.5 million from its pharmacy sales into backing the Proposition 60 condom mandate. (It also put $14.7 million behind Proposition 61, Weinstein’s initiative aimed at lowering drug prices.) Weinstein said he’s steadfastly promoting condoms when other groups seem to have forgotten them. (Dembosky, 11/2)
Orange County Register:
How Obamacare May Sway Voters In This Election
Polls have shown health care to be a far less important issue than the economy and foreign policy in the race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. But as early voting and Election Day coincide with open enrollment for Medicare, Obamacare and employer-sponsored insurance, some Southern Californians are weighing the future of the nation’s health care system or their own out-of-pocket costs, as they cast their votes. (Perkes, 11/1)
9 California Hospitals Receive Failing Grades On Safety Report Cards
Of 267 California hospitals surveyed, 81 received an “A.”
Fresno Bee:
Hospital Safety Survey: Tulare Regional Flunks; Clovis, Kaiser, Kaweah Get Top Grade
Three hospitals in the central San Joaquin Valley got a top grade for patient safety in a nationwide report card released this week, but one hospital – Tulare Regional Medical Center – flunked the report for the second time this year. Tulare Regional was one of 20 hospitals nationwide to get an “F” from the The Leapfrog Group, which gives report-card grades of A-F to hospitals twice a year, in spring and fall. The hospital failed the group’s spring report card as well as its latest assessment. Clovis Community Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente-Fresno and Kaweah Delta Medical Center in Visalia earned an “A” in the fall Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade program. ... Of 267 California hospitals surveyed, 81 received an “A.” Tulare was one of nine hospitals in the state to get an “F.” (Anderson, 11/1)
In other hospital news —
The Desert Sun:
Indio Breaks Ground On New Loma Linda Children's Hospital
Hundreds of thousands of people will soon have access to health care closer to home as Indio officials broke ground Tuesday at the site of the future Loma Linda University Children's Hospital outpatient pavilion. Located in downtown Indio near the Civic Center and expected to open in 2017, the facility will house a pediatric specialty clinic, pediatric urgent care and primary and specialty care through the SAC Health System. Loma Linda University estimates that the 12,000-square-foot facility will be able to accommodate more than 60,000 unique patient visits every year and will create 40 jobs as nurses, technicians and other support positions within the community. (Rumer, 11/1)
Task Force Recommends Early Intervention To Battle Childhood Obesity Epidemic
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force wants pediatricians to screen children's BMIs.
Los Angeles Times:
To Fight Childhood Obesity, Task Force Recommends Screening All Kids Starting At Age 6
The fight against childhood obesity should begin in doctors’ offices with routine weight screening for all kids ages 6 and up, according to fresh advice from health experts. Draft guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force urge pediatricians and other clinicians to check the body mass index of children and adolescents to identify patients who would benefit from weight counseling programs. (Kaplan, 11/1)
Trump Says ACA 'Will Destroy Health Care In America,' Promises Special Session To Repeal It
The Republican candidate gave a speech on the first day of open enrollment capitalizing on the recent news of spiking premiums.
Los Angeles Times:
Trump Warns That Obamacare Will 'Destroy American Healthcare Forever,' But Offers Few Details On How He'd Change It
Campaigning in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, Donald Trump and his running mate, Mike Pence, launched a new round of attacks on the Affordable Care Act on Tuesday. “Obamacare has to be replaced, and we will do it very quickly,” Trump told supporters outside Philadelphia, promising a rare special session of Congress if he is elected. “If we don’t repeal and replace, we will destroy American healthcare forever.” (Levey, 11/1)
The Washington Post:
The Future Of Health Care, According To Clinton Or Trump
Many Americans’ health care — and the roiling health-care debate in Washington — is likely to be very different depending on whether Democrat Hillary Clinton or Republican Donald Trump becomes the next president. We looked at what both have said they would do with major aspects of the health-care system. (Goldstein, 11/1)
In other national health care news —
The Wall Street Journal:
Health Law Enrollment Opens Amid Volatility
The fourth open enrollment for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act opened Tuesday, a critical 90 days that the Obama administration hopes will boost participation and stabilize markets roiled by premium increases and insurer withdrawals. HealthCare.gov and state equivalents began taking applications Tuesday morning from people signing up for individual health coverage and learning about their eligibility for subsidies. (Armour and Radnofsky, 11/1)
The Wall Street Journal:
Why It Pays To Shop Around For That MRI
Consumers may drive across town to save a few bucks on a gallon of gas or $1 on a gallon of milk, but when it comes to health care, those same buyers aren’t as price-conscious. That is a problem for companies as health costs continue to rise, and it’s increasingly a problem for workers, too, as high-deductible health plans force employees to spend more out of pocket. (Silverman, 11/1)
Bloomberg:
Investors Are Hooked On Flipping Pharmaceuticals
Dealmakers have always flipped companies. Lately, they’ve been flipping something else: aging pharmaceuticals. Take Actimmune, developed by Genentech Inc. decades ago. By 2012, sales were fizzling. Then rights to the immune-disorder treatment were acquired by a company backed by private equity. The price climbed, 434 percent in two years, and Actimmune was a hot property. Horizon Pharma Plc snapped it up. Or consider the old Novartis AG cold-sore cream Denavir, notching a 372 percent gain as it changed hands twice with private equity help. Or Dutoprol, 1,057 percent more expensive after a flip. Or Miacalcin, 3,259 percent higher. (Langreth, 11/2)