Latest California Healthline Stories
Stimulus Health Care Provisions Move From Planning to Doing
Closing in on the first full year of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, some health care provisions in the federal stimulus package are approaching critical junctures as federal agencies begin moving from the planning stages to implementation.
Senate Plan for High-Risk Pools Has Pluses, Minuses for California
The Senate health care reform bill calls for creating high-risk pools nationwide to provide coverage for Americans with pre-existing conditions before health insurance exchanges are up and running. Under the plan, subscribers to California’s existing high-risk plan could face more out-of-pocket costs but also could see benefit caps eliminated.
Senate Bill Could Dilute Consumer Protections by Creating Interstate Market for Health Plans
Jerry Flanagan of Consumer Watchdog, Nadereh Pourat of UCLA, J.P. Wieske of the Council for Affordable Health Insurance and Mike Larsen, a spokesperson for Rep. Jackie Speier, spoke with California Healthline about the proposal.
Reviews Mixed for New Law on Nursing Home Ratings
Beginning in 2011, California nursing homes that participate in Medicare or Medicaid will be required to post their ratings from CMS’ five-star system. Supporters of the law say it will help consumers make health care decisions, but nursing home operators say CMS’ system is inaccurate.
California’s Safety Net Health Centers Seeing More Low-Income Patients, Less State Funding
Carmela Castellano-Garcia of CPCA, Melissa Stafford Jones of CAPH and William Walker of Contra Costa Health Services spoke with California Healthline about growing strain on the state’s safety net health care system.
AARP Members in California ‘Strongly Support’ Reform
AARP has released surveys of its members’ attitudes on the House health care reform package as part of the group’s efforts to rally support for Democratic overhaul plans. The surveys show that compared with AARP members nationwide California AARP members feel like they’ve heard more about reform efforts and more strongly support reform.
HHS Issues Rule Aligning HITECH Privacy Language With HIPAA
Hoping to beef up its enforcement of already-existing privacy laws covering health information, the federal government published a rule that aligns HIPAA provisions with new, more stringent regulations in the federal stimulus package.
Members of Congress Divided on House Bill’s Implications for California
A number of California Democrats trumpeted the approval of the House bill and immediately started listing what the bill would do for their constituents back home. Republican lawmakers saw things differently, warning that the bill would force California to change its medical malpractice laws.
New Grants Aim To Help California Scientists Leverage Stem Cells for Medical Research
Donald Kohn of UCLA’s Human Gene Medicine Program, Bettina Steffen of CIRM and Irving Weissman of Stanford University’s stem cell biology institute spoke with California Healthline about the recent research grants.
Reform Could Shift Medicare Money Away From California
Realigning regional spending on Medicare could help pay for national health reform by saving $1.42 trillion over the next 15 years, but some parts of the country — including California — stand to pay a higher Medicare toll for reform than others.