Latest California Healthline Stories
New Ads Highlight Residually Uninsured
A new media campaign is aimed at making the public aware of as many as three million Californians who will be without health insurance despite reform successes of Medi-Cal expansion and Covered California enrollment.
Covered California Tops One Million, Now Sets Sights on Doubling Base Estimate
After hitting the million mark, Covered California officials are now setting their sights on doubling the base estimate of enrollees for its first six months.
Autism Treatment at Crossroads, From Medi-Cal Coverage to New Guidelines
One type of autism therapy considered the standard of care is not covered by Medi-Cal — but that could change in the upcoming budget battle. Meanwhile, a new subset of autism may be a flashpoint in the ongoing fight to get insurers to cover treatment.
Lawmaker Pushes for Restoration of State Funds for Senior Services
Funding for the Older Californians Act has been cut from previous California budgets but this year it’s time to restore money to the wide-ranging program, according to one Assembly member.
Covered California Closing in on One Million
With more than two weeks left in open enrollment, Covered California has exceeded its rosiest estimates and is closing in on one million insurance policies — far surpassing estimates made six months ago.
Legislators Hope To Restore Medi-Cal Provider Cut, Boost Access to Care
Mari Cantwell from the Department of Health Care Services, H.D. Palmer from the Department of Finance, Assembly member Richard Pan, Assembly member Nancy Skinner and Anthony Wright of Health Access California spoke with California Healthline about the 10% cut in reimbursement rates for Medi-Cal providers, the possible repercussions of that reduction and the recent legislative efforts to reverse that cut.
Hearing Looks at High Cost of Medicine
Now that millions of Californians have been added to the insurance rolls through Covered California and the Medi-Cal expansion, one California legislator said the next step should be reducing overall medical care costs.
How Should California Regulate Growing, Changing Assisted-Living Industry?
We asked stakeholders and experts how legislators and policymakers should reform state regulations to improve oversight of the growing and changing assisted-living industry.
Ignore the Hype: Health Care’s ‘Cost Disease’ Hasn’t Been Cured.
Health care’s cost curve is finally bending, and no story may be more important. But the gains could be short-lived — the industry’s long-term “cost disease” is only in remission, says one of the nation’s most prominent economists.
Accelerated Medical School Proposal Could Yield More Physicians, Less Debt
A new Assembly bill proposes a three-year curriculum at California medical schools — a shorter track that could help students by lowering loan debt and help the state by producing physicians faster.