Latest California Healthline Stories
Reaching Remaining Uninsured Will Be Difficult and Expensive, Experts Predict
A significant drop in the number of Californians without health insurance shows the success of Covered California and Medi-Cal expansion, but reaching the remaining uninsured will take careful analysis, enhanced outreach and funding, according to state health officials.
Judge Delays Alameda County Ruling
A Superior Court judge in Alameda County has put off making a decision about who should be running the finances following a state takeover of an East Bay local-initiative health plan.
State Hopes To Cut Medi-Cal Enrollment Backlog Nearly in Half by August
California health officials, responding to a request from federal officials, explained their plans to deal with a massive Medi-Cal application backlog. A letter to CMS included a rough timeline to fix the problem.
State Officials Meet CMS Deadline for Explanation of Huge Medi-Cal Backlog
Roughly 600,000 applications for Medi-Cal have yet to be processed, and federal officials want to know why. State officials said they responded to CMS in writing but have not yet made the response public.
Judge Delays Duals Injunction Decision
Advocates and state officials will need to wait another two weeks for a Superior Court decision on whether or not a judge will temporarily halt the state’s duals demonstration project.
Developmental Center Task Force Reprised
After a task force’s success in devising a plan to re-do development centers, state officials are calling on the same task force to reform and work on a stronger community-based care system.
Steps Forward Are a Decent Start for Mental Health Spending, Experts Say
California’s spending this year on some mental health programs brings it closer to funding levels set by the decade-old Mental Health Services Act. Still, lawmakers at a recent hearing voiced concern about heightened need for services in the state.
First Volleys Lobbed in Expected Long Debate on Rate Regulation in Prop. 45
A joint legislative hearing tackled a controversial initiative on the November ballot — Proposition 45, the measure that would regulate health insurance rate increases.
CMS Guidance Says Autism Therapy Covered as Medicaid Benefit for Kids
Long-sought federal guidance has finally been issued on coverage of autism therapy as a Medicaid benefit — and advocacy groups say it’s good news for children on Medi-Cal in California.
Lawsuit Slams the State’s Duals Project
A just-filed lawsuit in Superior Court asks that the dual eligibles demonstration project be paused long enough to fix several “failures,” including a form that offers no clear choice to opt out.