Latest California Healthline Stories
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.
Hospitals, Providers, Advocates Irked by What’s Left Out of Budget Revision
Some numbers may be stronger in his May budget revision, but Gov. Brown is resisting calls to restore many of the cuts made in previous bad budget years.
Restoring Black Infant Health Program High on List of Advocates’ Concerns
The Black Infant Health Program is one of several programs health advocates hope will see restored funding in this month’s budget revision process.
Lawmaker Pushes for Restoration of State Funds for Senior Services
Funding for the Older Californians Act has been cut from previous California budgets but this year it’s time to restore money to the wide-ranging program, according to one Assembly member.
Advocates Surprised, Disappointed at What’s Missing From Brown’s Budget
Gov. Jerry Brown’s state budget proposal is most striking for what’s not in it, according to health care advocates who point to the absence of re-funding programs or provider rates that were slashed in more difficult financial times.
Transparency Sought for Health Care Department
One of a few bills still making its way through the committee process at the end of the California Legislature session seeks to bring a higher level of transparency to the Department of Health Care Services.
California Budget Puts Some Health Care Issues on Hold
State Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg, considered a champion in many health care camps, acknowledged this year’s state budget fell short in a couple health care arenas, but he said the plan puts the state in a good position to increase health care spending in the future.
Autism Therapy Out of the Budget
Several health care provisions were conspicuously absent from the Legislative Budget Conference Committee’s budget agreement with Gov. Jerry Brown announced yesterday. The plan has no mention of repealing a 10% Medi-Cal provider rate cut nor a plan to fund autism services.
The agreement omitted a proposal to set aside $50 million in general fund money to pay for autism services. When matched with federal dollars, the state would have had $100 million to help pay for autism treatment, including applied behavioral analysis therapy, known as ABA therapy.
Whether ABA therapy will be covered as an essential health benefit starting in 2014 is still up in the air, but yesterday advocates were assuming the worst.
Protesters Swarm Sacramento to Protest Medi-Cal Cuts
The Capitol yesterday swarmed with protesters upset about a 10% cut in reimbursements to Medi-Cal providers that has raised concerns about the state’s ability to provide access to Medicaid beneficiaries.
“Health care, especially in the hospitals, it’s not always working,” said Sonia De La Torre, a hospital worker who got on a bus at 4 a.m. yesterday in Corona (Riverside County) to attend the Sacramento rally. “When people come into the hospital with no insurance, they get basic care, at best. We want to make sure people get treatment.”
Police estimated 8,000 people gathered outside the Capitol Building yesterday. Musicians took the main stage early in the day, replaced later by speakers including event organizers and legislators.
State Still Looks to Dun County Funds in Medi-Cal Expansion Proposal
The optional expansion of Medi-Cal will be administered using a state-based approach rather than the county-based plan being considered by California officials, the governor said yesterday when he proposed his May revise, the mid-year revision of the state budget.
That comes as welcome news to county health officials who have cautioned for months that a county-based system would be more confusing and costly than a state-based approach.
Gov. Jerry Brown listened, apparently.
“We want to do it generously, and boldly,” Brown said of the optional expansion. “There are some questions out there, so we want to do it prudently. It’s a matter of equity, and it’s something we’ll work out over the next few years.”