Latest California Healthline Stories
Court Agrees to New Mental Health Plan for Sacramento County
A federal district judge yesterday approved the final settlement of a lawsuit that challenged a plan by Sacramento County to restructure and downsize its mental health system. Yesterday’s settlement means mental health services will remain at their current levels in the county — and, in fact, may even improve, given a number of proposals the county still hopes to adopt.
The county hopes to save money by consolidating two county-operated clinics into one, according to Mary Ann Bennett, director of the county’s Division of Mental Health.
“One of them is in a leased facility,” Bennett said. “So we want to get out of the leased facility, and we will get some savings there.”
L.A. Senior Advocates Stand Up to Budget Cuts
Advocates for senior health programs in Los Angeles are working on remedies to situations many thought couldn’t get any worse — until now. The governor’s proposed budget prescribes more cuts for state-supported programs for low-income, vulnerable elderly residents.
Judge Calls ADHC Settlement a Win-Win
A federal judge yesterday gave her official stamp of approval to last month’s settlement of a lawsuit challenging the state’s transition plan for adult day health care services.
“It’s a good result in a challenging time,” according to attorney Elissa Gerson of Disability Rights California, which brought the lawsuit.
During yesterday’s hearing, U.S. District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong said the settlement outcome was actually better than it would have been if the case went to trial and DRC eventually won it.
State of the Union: Time To Trim the Regulatory Fat in Health Care?
President Obama scarcely mentioned health care in last night’s speech — and perhaps that’s more of a metaphor than the president intended. In keeping with the Obama administration’s efforts to cut through “red tape,” efforts are growing to rein in federal health care regulations.
Senate Sends Ombudsman Bill to Assembly
The state Senate yesterday passed SB 345 by Lois Wolk (D-Davis), a bill designed to give more independence and power to the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program. It now heads to the Assembly for committee and floor approval.
“Most of the provisions in this law simply clarify state and federal law,” bill author Wolk said. “What has happened in this ombudsman program is the office is not effectively being an advocate for people in long-term care and local [ombudsman] offices.”
State ombudsman Joseph Rodrigues begs to differ, and has testified against the bill in committee hearings, saying that the proposed law is duplicative and establishes additional requirements without additional funding.
Bill Would Explore New Tier of Dental Provider for California
This week, the California Senate is considering a bill that would create a statewide office of oral health and launch a research project aimed at creating a new tier of dental professionals who could provide care for nearly one million underserved children in California.
Appropriations Committee Moves Single Payer Toward Floor
After all the drama, controversy and heated debate over legislation to set up a single-payer health care system in years past, last week’s appropriations committee approval of the measure was strikingly brief and uneventful.
Like several other bills up for approval at last week’s hearing, there was no presentation on single payer — only a vote, followed by an eight-word pronouncement from Senate Committee on Appropriations Chair Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego):
“OK,” Kehoe said, “6 to 2, that measure is out.”
Trigger Cuts to IHSS Care Put on Hold
Federal judge Claudia Wilken did not mince words yesterday when an attorney representing California asked her if she would issue a stay, to grant the state the right to start implementation of a proposed 20% cut in In-Home Supportive Services.
“No, I won’t stay it,” Wilken said of the temporary restraining order she issued last month. “The TRO is now the permanent injunction, … but it will be modified. It is appealable, as of now. But no, I’m not going to lift it.”
The injunction means that 370,000 Californians, mostly seniors, will continue to receive IHSS care, while the state appeals the decision.
Cuts, Policy Changes at Healthy Families Program
The most recent state budget proposal includes a variety of cost-saving measures in the Healthy Families program — reduced reimbursement rates, higher premium prices, higher copays and a transition of its 877,859 children into managed care plans by the end of June 2013.
At yesterday’s monthly meeting of the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, chief deputy director Terresa Krum broached the bad news.
“There are a number of significant budget assumptions,” Krum said. “So first, the budget proposes to reduce the per-member, per-month rates paid to health plans in Healthy Families to the average Medi-Cal rate.”
Financial Flexibility Could Be Key to Helping Seniors
California health officials have struggled with how to handle the state’s burgeoning and expensive elder population — the largest in the nation and growing quickly. One program in San Mateo County wants to take an unusual approach by launching a different financial structure that could benefit seniors and save money.