Latest California Healthline Stories
Judge Allows State Conservator To Take Over Public Health Plan’s Finances
The struggle over the financial workings of a public health plan in Alameda County ended last week when a Superior Court judge ruled the state may appoint the conservator of its choice to temporarily run Alameda Alliance for Health.
Tribal Health Leaders Ask for Consistency, Assistance From Covered California
California tribal leaders and Covered California officials met to work on unique health coverage problems faced by American Indians ranging from inconsistent interpretations of eligibility to outreach among rural areas without Internet.
California Disease Outbreaks Come Amid New Evidence of Vaccine Safety
Californians opting out of immunizations contributed to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases this year, according to state health officials who point to new research indicating vaccines generally are safe and do not pose long-term health threats.
Older LGBT Patients Have Unique Set of Medicare, Medi-Cal Benefit Issues
The federal approach to benefits for same-sex couples can be confusing, in part because of conflicting recognition and regulation between states — and that can have an effect on California policy.
Website Glitches. Health Literacy Issues. How Navigators Navigated the ACA Launch
Organizations working to enroll consumers in coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges faced a number of challenges, including low consumer health literacy and technical glitches. As HHS reviews the next batch of grant recipients, there are still some questions about the role of navigators and how crucial they are to enrollment.
Medicaid Waiver Renewal Process Starts
California health officials hope to include new shared-savings ideas in the next version of the state’s Medicaid reform waiver. The current version, known as the “Bridge to Reform,” expires next year.
Brown Signs Exchange Board Diversity Bill
Covered California now can recruit board members based on computer or marketing expertise, rather than just health care policy knowledge, according to a bill signed into law by the governor.
What’s in Proposition 45 — Minus the Hype, Money, Emotion and Controversy
The proposition to regulate health insurance rates in California’s individual and small-group markets raises some interesting and complicated questions — even without the fevered rhetoric swirling around Prop. 45 on the November ballot.
Many Steps To Go Before Authorizing Autism Therapy as Benefit, State Says
State officials said they were waiting for federal guidance before approving autism therapy as a covered Medi-Cal benefit. Now that CMS has issued that guidance, the state says it still needs more time to decide whether that’s possible.
Reaching Remaining Uninsured Will Be Difficult and Expensive, Experts Predict
A significant drop in the number of Californians without health insurance shows the success of Covered California and Medi-Cal expansion, but reaching the remaining uninsured will take careful analysis, enhanced outreach and funding, according to state health officials.