Effort Ramps Up To Establish MCO Flat Tax as Legislature Reconvenes
As the Legislature heads back to work today, replacing the vanishing tax on managed care organizations is the centerpiece of the special session on health care spending. One legislator suggests a flat tax.
State Wants Public Health Innovations
Health officials issued an “innovation challenge” to drum up new ideas and fresh community health approaches.
Advocates, CMS Warn Providers About Continuing Medicare ‘Balance Billing’
A CMS report says low-income seniors and those with disabilities often are billed for copayments, deductibles and other forms of shared payments, which is against the law.
Hearing Targets Foster Kids’ Medication
Foster children are prescribed psychotropic medications at a higher rate than other kids, and lawmakers convened to find out what’s being done about it.
Survey: Doctors Wary of Quality Metrics
Half of primary care physicians have a negative view of quality-of-care metrics, and they worry that those measures could compromise care, a new survey says.
Duals Allowed To Designate an Assistant
State health officials have established a process allowing dual eligibles to designate a friend or relative to make decisions about enrollment choices.
Clinton Meets With Home Care Workers
Home care providers and consumers gathered in Los Angeles yesterday to meet with Hillary Clinton in a roundtable format.
Medicaid Recipients Continue to Use ED for Dental Work, Even With Coverage
Medicaid beneficiaries with dental coverage still go to hospital emergency departments for dental work — in part because access to dental services depends on the availability of enough willing providers of care, authors of a new study say.
Telehealth Niche for Special-Needs Kids
Better care for the 1.4 million children in California with special needs could come through telehealth, according to a new report.
State Issues Whooping Cough Warning
Fewer than half the pregnant women in California are vaccinated against a disease that is potentially fatal to infants, according to a warning from the state Department of Public Health.