Latest California Healthline Stories
State Is ‘Ready, Willing and Able’
The U.S. Health and Human Services agency yesterday released federal rules on accountable care organizations (ACOs). It’s a big step nationally for health care reform — and may be a significant development for California, given the current structure of doctors’ offices, hospitals and long-term care facilities in the state.
“This is a promising new day for seniors in California,” according to Donald Crane, President and CEO of the California Association of Physician Groups. “Where accountable, coordinated care will be supplanting inefficient, costly fee-for-service.”
In health care policy circles, an ACO is often compared to a unicorn — everyone knows what it looks like, but no one has actually seen one.
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.
Tobacco Cessation Also Could Ease Smokers’ Diabetes
California is looking into a federal grant worth about $2 million a year that would establish an incentive wellness program that could help Californians give up tobacco — which potentially could have a strong effect on the health of smokers with diabetes, according to Neal Kohatsu, medical director of California’s Department of Health Care Services.
“Incentives are a great tool,” Kohatsu said at yesterday’s briefing in Sacramento on wellness incentives, an event co-sponsored by the two legislative health committees and The California Endowment. “Incentives are part of a larger picture of patient engagement,” Kohatsu said, “which we’re very interested in becoming more involved in.”
The grant money can fund projects that use incentives to alleviate chronic “lifestyle” medical challenges such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes. California has until May 1 to put a proposal together, and Kohatsu said the agency would like to focus on smoking cessation.
How March Madness Can Help Explain Health Reform
The constitutional battle over health reform shares unusual parallels with the nation’s college basketball tournament. Here’s a scouting report as the legal fight moves to the next round of courts.
‘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?
Longtime Battle Continues for Senior Care
Few details changed in Governor Jerry Brown’s budget, from the time it was proposed to when the Legislature passed it. So the salvaging of the state’s Adult Day Health Care program from the budget wreckage could be seen as a sign of the long-term care system’s tremendous popularity and support.
Now, the Senate Committee on Health has moved along a new bill seeking to improve long-term care in California.
“There are many people in long-term care facilities who often want to stay home, or return home quickly after surgery,” according to Senate member Carol Liu (D-Pasadena), who authored the bill. “We do have many services to help them still. But for the most part, the aged and disabled must navigate these services on their own.”
Wellness, Cost-Cutting Main Themes at Health 2.0 Spring Event
Attendees at last week’s Health 2.0 conference in San Diego discussed ways to use information technology to keep people healthy and less susceptible to chronic problems, remove barriers to research and reduce the cost of health care.
New Bill Would Take Over MRMIP Money
The legislative season has begun, with dozens of bills moving through committees this week.
The Senate Health Committee this week approved a measure designed to increase the number of physicians, nurses and allied health professionals in California — just when demand for those jobs may be at its highest point.
“SB 635 would direct money that is currently going to MRMIP (Major Risk Medical Insurance Program), which is being phased out by national health care reforms,” according to Senate member Ed Hernandez (D-Los Angeles), author of the bill and head of the Health Committee. “The money funding MRMIP can be spent now on the vital job of increasing the health care work force in California.”
Cal eConnect Set to Absorb CaleRx Consortium
The proposed marshalling of e-forces between Cal eConnect and the CaleRx Consortium has moved forward, and after yesterday’s meeting of Cal eConnect’s advisory group, it looks even more likely that some kind of merger will take place.
“E-prescribing is one of the high priorities for us,” Mark Elson of Cal eConnect said. “We’ve been in discussion with the California E-Prescribing Consortium about consolidating our activities in e-prescribing, and that discussion has been positive. We are now in a position to basically adopt the E-Prescribing Consortium into Cal eConnect.”
Elson said it will soon be presented to the eConnect board, though probably not in time for its next board meeting on Friday. CaleRx members meet on Tuesday.