Latest California Healthline Stories
Public Health Agencies Under Pressure To Curb Growing Valley Fever Threat
Robert Levin of the Ventura County Public Health Department and George Rutherford of UC-San Francisco spoke with California Healthline about the growing concern among state and federal officials over the spread of valley fever in California.
Could This Little-Watched Court Case Sink Obamacare?
A pair of lawsuits allege that a major part of the Affordable Care Act is technically illegal. Are these suits a real threat to the ACA, or the last gasps of conservative resistance before the law’s provisions go online? Depends whom you ask.
Autism Therapy Out of the Budget
Several health care provisions were conspicuously absent from the Legislative Budget Conference Committee’s budget agreement with Gov. Jerry Brown announced yesterday. The plan has no mention of repealing a 10% Medi-Cal provider rate cut nor a plan to fund autism services.
The agreement omitted a proposal to set aside $50 million in general fund money to pay for autism services. When matched with federal dollars, the state would have had $100 million to help pay for autism treatment, including applied behavioral analysis therapy, known as ABA therapy.
Whether ABA therapy will be covered as an essential health benefit starting in 2014 is still up in the air, but yesterday advocates were assuming the worst.
State ‘De-links’ Mandatory Enrollment from Duals Project
The Department of Health Care Services last week announced a new provision of Cal MediConnect that would establish a means of abandoning the state’s duals demonstration project if it doesn’t meet a financial benchmark.
The department also wants to “de-link” mandatory enrollment from the demonstration project, according to Jane Ogle, deputy director at DHCS.
“On the program side, we de-linked mandatory enrollment of duals. That way, we’ll have long-term services and supports as Medi-Cal benefits,” she said.
Background Check Bill May Affect Exchange Deadline
One of two bills detailing how the state should go about hiring some 20,000 new health care reform workers is generating some controversy, which worries Covered California officials who have deadlines to meet.
Q: If my husband’s employer offers health care insurance but it is unaffordable, where does that leave us? Will we qualify for help under Obamacare or will we be out in the cold? We make about $45,000 annually. A: Apparently, lots of you dislike the health insurance options offered by your employers. Carrie from the […]
DHCS Transparency Bill Moves Forward
The Senate Committee on Health this week approved a bill that would set new standards of accountability and transparency at the Department of Health Care Services.
AB 209 by Assembly member Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) received unanimous committee approval Wednesday and now heads for a Senate floor vote, the step before it can be sent to the governor’s desk.
The bill wants to hold the department accountable for problems that arise with patients moving to Medi-Cal managed care plans with stronger, measurable benchmarks, Pan said.
Reversing Medi-Cal Cuts Priorty for Latino Lawmakers
Members of the legislative Latino Caucus on Tuesday laid out their agenda that includes some form of reversal of the 10% reduction in payments to Medi-Cal providers.
The Legislature passed the 10% cut in 2011, but it was delayed until a federal appeals court ruling upheld the reduction two weeks ago. State officials said the bulk of the cutbacks will begin in September.
Although the case may be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, the federal appeals court ruling May 24 puts pressure on the Legislature to come up with an alternative. Some lawmakers — including the Latino Caucus — have been working to craft a legislative answer. Two members of the Latino Caucus in particular have been front-and-center in efforts to reverse the rate cuts.
Another Arrow in the Quiver for Attempt To Reverse Medi-Cal Cut
After a series of setbacks — legislative and legal — options have dwindled for provider groups trying to reverse a 10% Medi-Cal reimbursement cut. Attention has turned now toward getting the Legislature to include a reversal in the next budget proposal.
Protesters Swarm Sacramento to Protest Medi-Cal Cuts
The Capitol yesterday swarmed with protesters upset about a 10% cut in reimbursements to Medi-Cal providers that has raised concerns about the state’s ability to provide access to Medicaid beneficiaries.
“Health care, especially in the hospitals, it’s not always working,” said Sonia De La Torre, a hospital worker who got on a bus at 4 a.m. yesterday in Corona (Riverside County) to attend the Sacramento rally. “When people come into the hospital with no insurance, they get basic care, at best. We want to make sure people get treatment.”
Police estimated 8,000 people gathered outside the Capitol Building yesterday. Musicians took the main stage early in the day, replaced later by speakers including event organizers and legislators.