Latest California Healthline Stories
Hospital Funding Measure Won’t Qualify in Time for November 2014 Ballot
A ballot initiative designed to make a hospital fee and funding mechanism permanent probably will have to wait till 2016 because the verification process for petition signatures liekly will take too long for the measure to make it to the ballot this year.
Safety-Net Hospitals Face $1.5 Billion Shortfall by 2019, UCLA Study Says
Public hospitals taking care of the poorest Californians could be looking at a $1.5 billion shortfall, according to a new study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
Budget Wrangling Ramps Up This Week Over Children’s Health Care Programs
The fate of a number of state health care programs — including the possibility of autism therapy as a Medi-Cal benefit — will be decided in budget talks this week.
Senate Approves Soda Warning Bill
Legislation to require a health-risk warning label on soda and other sugary drinks sold in California passed a floor vote yesterday in the state Senate.
Senate Passes Rate Regulation Bill
The California Senate yesterday approved a bill to expand the state’s health insurance rate review process to the large-group market.
Podiatry Gets Vote as Medi-Cal Benefit
The California Assembly yesterday unanimously approved a bill to reinstate podiatric services as a Medi-Cal benefit.
Soda Warning Bill Passes Committee; Plan To Insure Undocumented Does Not
A bill to provide health coverage to the state’s undocumented population stalled in committee last week, but another high-profile health bill seeking warning labels on sweetened beverages advanced.
Committee Approves More Funding for IT System, Hopes To Ease Backlog Issue
State officials — who say an inadequate computer system is partly to blame for a backlog of 900,000 Medi-Cal applications — won approval yesterday from a budget subcommittee to increase funding for the state’s IT enrollment system.
UC-Berkeley Study Validates Legislation To Insure Undocumented in California
A new study released two days before related legislation is due to be heard in committee suggests costs of providing health insurance for all Californians — including undocumented individuals — would be relatively low and the payoff relatively high.
Questions Raised Over Medi-Cal Estimates
Legislative analysts and consumer advocates raised questions at a budget subcommittee hearing this week over the state’s estimates of the number of new Medi-Cal enrollees and how much they might cost the state.