Latest California Healthline Stories
Can a Tech Startup Transform Health Care in One Rural County in California?
Esther Dyson of the Way to Wellville project, Marshall Kubota of Partnership HealthPlan of California, Chad Lindsay of Porterville, David Santos of St. Helena Hospital and Karen Tait from Lake County’s public health department spoke with California Healthline about the proposed Health Homes plan to improve quality and reduce costs of super-utilizers in the Medi-Cal program.
State, Advocates, Academics React To Auditor’s Medi-Cal Managed Care Report
State health officials may not be getting enough data from Medi-Cal managed care plans, raising concerns about the difficult task of melding public agencies and private plans.
Special Session on Health Spending Opens
The California Senate took up the task of finding new sources for $1.3 billion in health spending — including the big-ticket item, trying to replace a vanishing tax on managed care organizations — in the first hearing of the legislative special session on health care.
The Curious Case of Health Care’s Merger Mania — Is Obamacare To Blame?
The health care industry appears poised to undergo a new wave of consolidation, and some observers are blaming Obamacare. Has the law really created an environment ripe for mergers?
Brown’s Shift Ends Current Vaccine Debate
Gov. Brown’s subtle shift in position on vaccination exemptions puts an exclamation point on the end of a long and divisive chapter in the argument over immunizing California school children.
Insured? Watch Out For Out-Of-Pocket Costs
Millions of Americans will continue receiving tax credits to help pay for their health insurance, thanks to the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare. But the ruling doesn’t address affordability, and that means millions of Americans also will continue their struggle to pay for health insurance costs. As I said in my previous column, […]
Vaccine Requirement Goes to Governor
The full Legislature has passed a bill to eliminate the personal belief exemption for school children’s immunizations. The legislation still faces one more hurdle: the governor.
Undocumented Immigrants Help Keep Medicare Solvent, According to New Study
New research measuring undocumented immigrants’ contributions to the Medicare program has implications for efforts to extend Medi-Cal coverage to undocumented immigrants, according to California officials.
Medi-Cal Mental Health Waiver Approved
Integration of physical and mental health in the Medi-Cal program got a boost from federal approval of a five-year extension of the specialty mental health services waiver.
Supreme Court Ripples in California
After yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act subsidies, health care reform advocates and experts in California talked of relief and renewed resolve.