Latest California Healthline Stories
Use of Urgent Care Growing in Southern California
Patients in Los Angeles and Orange counties avoid long waits for emergency department treatment or an appointment with their primary care physician when they opt for urgent care.
Counties Face New, Expanded Health Care Challenges
California counties’ role in delivering health care using a patchwork of federal and state programs and funding is about to become more complex, if not more difficult, because of health care reform and budget constraints. We asked stakeholders and experts how policymakers could best navigate new waters.
Four Rallies for Children’s Health Across California
Enough is enough, according to Kelly Hardy, director of health policy at Children Now.
First there was the $12 billion in state budget cuts that will hit the Medi-Cal, First Five and Healthy Families programs. More recently, a federal proposal would trim $480 billion nationally from Medicare and Medicaid.
And now state legislators are back at the drawing-and-quartering board, mulling an all-cuts budget that could slash another $15.4 billion.
Governor Addresses Medical Association
Governor Jerry Brown had a relatively genial chat with medical students and physicians yesterday at the California Medical Association’s annual Legislative Day.
“I don’t know why so many of you have come here today,” Brown said. “I hope you’re not supposed to be taking care of patients.”
During his short speech, he talked almost exclusively about the budget, and the need to find a solution that doesn’t cripple California.
National Partisan Debate Elbows in on California
A Field Poll on attitudes toward health care reform in California had some interesting results — including a much more positive feeling about reform among Californians than is found in national polls.
One of the main results this year and last, according to Field pollster Mark DiCamillo, is that opinions on health care are highly partisan.
“The data were very partisan last year, and the reality of the data is, we haven’t had that much of a change since then. The amount of knowledge people have about reform is not greater than last year, but there’s so much heat on this issue, so much of a partisan divide — it’s here, it has been here and I don’t expect it to go away anytime soon.”
Protesters Lobby for Developmentally Disabled
If the purpose of budget cuts is to limit spending, then California lawmakers may be making a big mistake. That was the central message yesterday at a sizable protest on the Capitol Building steps by people with developmental disabilities and the people who care for them.
“I do understand we have to meet our budget,” according to Nancy Dow Moody, CEO of Lifehouse, an organization supporting people with developmental disabilities. “But this doesn’t make any sense, because it doesn’t save any money. I just don’t think this [cutback] was well-researched. This just feels like it’s hurting people, and it’s not saving money.”
Most of the people in California’s Intermediate Care Facilities (ICFs) have severe disabilities, she said, and can only be moved to developmental centers, which are more expensive.
Advocates: Brown’s Budget Plan Hampers Healthy Communities
Changes to redevelopment laws in California could have direct ramifications for health care in some areas, but they might also carry broader repercussions for the health of Californians, according to redevelopment advocates.
‘It’ll Be Very Bad for Care of the Mentally Ill’
Governor Jerry Brown last week signed a major chunk of his $14 billion budget reduction package — a combination of cuts, loans and redirected funds. It included about $6 billion in health-related reductions.
The second half of Brown’s budget solution involves tax extensions that must be approved by voters and could generate as much as $12 billion for California. If that ballot measure fails, then Brown has said he will need to cut that amount — roughly doubling the current budget cuts.
The open question has been: What would be axed in that potential second round of budget cuts?
Making Budget Pill Easier To Swallow
If you were to say last week’s California State Legislature trailer bills on health care were pulling a large load, you might be accused of putting the cart before the horse. The cart, in this case, is orchestrating cuts and ways to preserve health care programs before voting on the final state budget, which — to carry the analogy — would be the horse.
Having been approved by both houses and ready for Gov. Jerry Brown’s (D) signature, the Senate and Assembly budget proposals include enough money for the state In-Home Supportive Services program to remain in operation, helping to keep aged, blind and disabled persons living at home instead of being institutionalized.
Part of the fiscal maneuvering to keep the program alive is a little-talked-about provision — the Medication Dispensing Pilot Project slated to launch July 1.
Emergency Departments on Life Support
The backlash has begun. This week, the Assembly and Senate will debate the final package of budget reductions — and some of those cuts have produced howls of protest, both outside the Capitol building and inside its hallways.
Among the $6 billion in health-related cuts is the elimination of the Maddy Fund, a $55 million attempt to reimburse emergency departments for indigent care.
The funding only came into existence in January, and now it’s gone again. Emergency departments around the state may be in danger of disappearing, too, according to Peter Sokolove, president-elect of the California chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians.