Latest California Healthline Stories
San Diego Veterans Encouraged by New PTSD Rules
Under new Department of Veterans Affairs regulations, the evidence required to prove claims of post-traumatic stress disorder has been dramatically reduced. Officials expect this will streamline the claims process and make benefits available to a greater number of San Diego veterans.
Stem Cell Research Agency Gets OK To Expand
Former state Senate member Art Torres appeared yesterday at the strategic review hearing for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
Torres, vice chair at CIRM, testified before the eight-member panel of experts convening this week to review the agency’s strategic plan.
Torres helped shepherd a bill through the legislative process this year that was recently signed by the governor.
International Leader Status Could Aid Californians
This year marks the third anniversary of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine’s strategic plan. The organization is required by law at that point to re-evaluate what it’s doing and how it hopes to accomplish its goals.
An eight-person panel convened in San Francisco yesterday to do just that, and that panel of outside experts will continue to meet with CIRM staff today and tomorrow, as well. Public comment at the meetings is welcomed.
California has become a world leader in stem cell research, in part because President Bush stopped the flow of federal dollars for this type of research, and California voters respondied by creating and funding CIRM, to the tune of $3 billion. The agency has invested about $1 billion of that money so far.
Improving California’s Approach to Chronic Conditions
The arrival of national health reform offers opportunities to improve the way California’s health care system deals with chronic conditions. We asked stakeholders how policymakers, legislators, health care providers and insurers could best take advantage of these opportunities.
Preparing for Medi-Cal Transition
State and federal officials are busy finalizing the Medicaid waiver — the agreement on how California should spend $10 billion in federal money on its state Medi-Cal program.
The new way Medi-Cal will run represents a bridge to the full implementation of federal health care reform policies that have to be in place by 2014.
The current negotiation is set to finish at the end of this month.
Has Reform Improved Health Care Yet?
The bulk of the federal health reform law’s provisions are slated to launch in 2014, but several incremental changes have already taken effect. An early look at those provisions shows mixed results for insurance access, services utilization and system improvements.
California Veterans Granted Access to Health Records
Government officials at last week’s Health 2.0 conference in San Francisco were exuberant when unveiling their plan to release millions of individual electronic medical records to veterans.
They call it the “Blue Button,” and the idea is, by pressing a single button on the Internet, veterans can download their own health information and store it on a thumb drive, so that any health care provider can access a complete health record instantly.
“The U.S. government is sitting on tens of billions of dollars worth of data — it is a tsunami of information,” said Todd Park, chief technology officer at HHS. “The idea is to unleash that data, for free.”
Silicon Valley Wrestles With Reform Implications
Silicon Valley health officials outlined Santa Clara County’s health care reform strategy at a recent conference, calling for outreach efforts and an expanded safety net to deal with growing numbers of uninsured residents who will soon become part of the system.
Dealing with Continual, Constant Cuts
“Well, I have to tell you, I’m looking forward to getting paid again.”
That’s the summary reaction to passage of the state budget from Dave Jones, CEO of Mountain Valleys Health Centers up north in rural Lassen County.
“We are all relieved to have a budget,” he said.
Legislature Approves Waiver Bills for Medi-Cal
Flying under the budget radar this week were two bills that frame a major restructuring of the Medi-Cal system in California.
The two bills represent about $10 billion in federal dollars coming to California. The waiver is actually negotiated between state and federal officials, and that negotiation is ongoing and due to be wrapped up by the end of this month.
But an official stamp of approval from the Legislature is an important step to eliminate confusion and ambiguity over the new ways Medi-Cal will run, and to limit lawsuits over wording in those new Medi-Cal rules.