Changes to Medi-Cal’s Troubled Drug Program Reduce Backlog, but Problems Persist
By Samantha Young
After a troubled start to the new Medi-Cal prescription drug program, the state’s contractor has hired staffers to reduce wait times for medication approvals and patients seeking help. But some doctors and clinics report that patients continue to face delays.
‘Somebody Is Gonna Die’: Medi-Cal Patients Struggle to Fill Prescriptions
By Samantha Young
Problems with California’s new Medicaid prescription drug program are preventing thousands of patients from getting their medications, including some life-saving ones. State officials say they’re working on fixes.
California Ballot Will Be Heavy on Health Care
By Samantha Young
In the Nov. 8 general election, California voters will consider overturning the state’s flavored tobacco ban and hiking medical malpractice awards. Other proposals to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms, target dialysis clinics and boost public health funding could also be on the ballot, along with a plan to limit business and school closures during public health emergencies.
Clinics Say State’s New Medicaid Drug Program Will Force Them to Cut Services
By Samantha Young
On Jan. 1, California started buying prescription drugs for its nearly 14 million Medicaid enrollees, a responsibility that had primarily been held by managed-care insurance plans. State officials estimate California will save hundreds of millions of dollars by flexing its purchasing power, but some health clinics expect to lose money.
Journalists Review Hospital Penalties and Problems Riddling Medicaid Rx Program
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Centene Showers Politicians With Millions as It Courts Contracts and Settles Overbilling Allegations
By Samantha Young and Andy Miller and Rebecca Grapevine
Centene, the largest Medicaid managed-care company in the U.S., has thrown more than $26.9 million at political campaigns across the country since 2015, especially focused on states where it is wooing Medicaid contracts and settling accusations that it overbilled taxpayers. Among its tactics: Centene is skirting contribution limits by giving to candidates through its many subsidiaries.
After ‘Truly Appalling’ Death Toll in Nursing Homes, California Rethinks Their Funding
By Samantha Young
California wants to hold nursing homes accountable for the quality of care they provide by tying Medicaid funding more directly to performance. But the nursing home industry, an influential player in the Capitol, is gearing up for a fight.
California Moves on Climate Change, but Rejects Aggressive Cuts to Greenhouse Emissions
By Samantha Young
Drought, wildfires, extreme heat: California lawmakers cast climate change as the culprit in an emerging series of public health threats, setting aside billions to help communities respond. But they stopped short of more aggressively reducing the state’s share of the greenhouse emissions warming the planet.
Medicaid Weighs Attaching Strings to Nursing Home Payments to Improve Care
By Susan Jaffe
The Biden administration is considering whether Medicaid, which pays the bills for 62% of nursing home residents, should require that most of that funding be used to provide care, rather than for maintenance, capital improvements, or profits.
California Wants to Slash Insulin Prices by Becoming a Drugmaker. Can it Succeed?
By Angela Hart
Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed spending $100 million to make insulin affordable to millions of people with diabetes under a new state generic drug label, CalRx. But state officials haven’t said how much the insulin will cost patients or how the state will deal with distribution and other challenges.
