Latest California Healthline Stories
Children’s Services May Get Extra Year Before Move to Managed Care Starts
The California Senate Committee on Health approved a bill calling for a one-year delay in the plan to move Medi-Cal children with rare and complicated diseases into managed care plans.
Two Tobacco Bills Go In, None Remain
Legislation to regulate electronic cigarettes and a second bill to change the age limit for tobacco buyers failed to move forward yesterday in the Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization.
What Has Half a Century of Medicaid Meant for U.S.?
Experts and stakeholders reflect on half a century of Medicaid as we approach the 50th anniversary of two national health programs.
Why Expanded Health Care Access for the Undocumented Is Unlikely, Despite Benefits
Research suggests that there are several potential benefits to expanding health care coverage to undocumented immigrants: avoiding a plateau in insurance gains, extending Medicare solvency and others. But expanded access is likely to stall in the face of cost and other concerns.
E-Cigarette Bill’s Next Stop: Committee Known for Killing Tobacco Legislation
UC-San Francisco researchers say the California Assembly’s relatively obscure Committee on Governmental Organization has a history of severely amending or holding anti-tobacco legislation.
State’s Rate Review Shows Fewer Dental Providers Take Medi-Cal Patients
The number of California dentists providing care through Medi-Cal has fallen by more than 14% since 2008. With the concurrent large increase in Medi-Cal dental coverage, advocates see an access issue looming.
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.
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.
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.
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?