Latest California Healthline Stories
Arkansas Medicaid Plan May Not Change Game After All
The state’s alternative plan for Medicaid expansion has received a great deal of attention. What did we ultimately learn?
Pre-Existing Conditions Bill Up for Final Vote
The Senate Committee on Appropriations yesterday unanimously approved ABX1-2 by Assembly member Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), the bill to ban pre-existing conditions as a means of denial for health coverage. It now heads to the Senate floor for a final confirmation vote.
The bill already passed the Assembly, so Senate confirmation would be its ticket to the governor’s desk. Brown Administration officials have said they support the bill.
It’s the first of the set of bills in the special health care legislative session to reach the final vote stage.
Advocates Push for Expansion Compromise
The Legislature last week moved two key components of the special session bills on health care reform. SBX1-2 by Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) and ABX1-2 by Assembly member Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) passed through committees of the opposite house. Bothbills make changes to the individual health insurance market.
The Assembly Committee on Health approved SBX1-2, and it’s now going to Appropriations; and ABX1-2 moved through the Senate Committee on Health on its way to Senate Appropriations. Both bills were approved in floor votes in their own house so they are nearing final approval.
Also last week, a Senate floor vote unanimously approved SBX1-3 by Sen. Hernandez, the bridge plan to help people move from Medi-Cal to the exchange more easily. That bill now moves to the Assembly.
Telehealth Project Brings ‘Virtual Dental Home’ to Patients
A “virtual dental home” project from the University of the Pacific’s school of dentistry is using telehealth technology to bring dental services to nearly 800 low-income and special needs children in San Mateo County.
Step Forward for Oral Chemotherapy Bill
The Assembly Committee on Health approved a bill Tuesday that would require health insurers to provide oral chemotherapy therapy to their members with a maximum out-of-pocket $100 co-pay per prescription. Another version of AB 219 by Assembly member Henry Perea (D-Fresno) passed the Legislature last year, but was vetoed by the governor.
“This bill would ensure cancer patients have affordable access to the most appropriate cancer treatment covered by insurers,” Perea said. “When the governor vetoed a similar bill last year, he encouraged me to work with his administration to design a policy that will work for California. AB 219 represents a new strategy to make oral chemotherapy affordable.”
According to Perea, even a fully insured patient can spend $5,000 a month on oral chemotherapy medication, while intravenous treatments are covered by a small co-pay, no matter what the drug costs. So he wants to spread the cost over the entire insured population.
The Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services yesterday approved the settlement over cuts to In-Home Supportive Services. The agreement reduces the severity of the cut from the original 20% proposal to its current 8% cutback.
“While we don’t celebrate any cuts,” said Frank Mecca, executive director of the County Welfare Directors Association of California, “we are in favor of the settlement agreement.”
“Eight is better than 20,” said Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles), chair of the subcommittee.
Medi-Cal Cut Could Force Some Rural Hospitals To Close Nursing Units
Medi-Cal providers are anxiously waiting to see if federal courts uphold a 10% reimbursement cut. Some skilled nursing facilities face even deeper cuts that might be enough to put some rural hospitals out of business.
Assembly Bill Would Keep Adult Day Program Going
It was a watershed moment for state officials and senior health advocates in March, 2012 when California launched the Community Based Adult Services (CBAS) program, borne of a lawsuit settlement. It was an effort that calmed political waters and dealt with the 35,000 frail and elderly Californians who had been part of the eliminated program for adult day health services.
Yesterday, the Assembly Committee on Health took up the subject again, in the form of AB 518 by Assembly member Mariko Yamada (D-Davis).
The bill would codify the CBAS program, ensuring that it cannot be dropped when state health officials eventually renew the federal waiver that spawned it.
California’s School-Based Health Centers See Promise, Challenges in the Affordable Care Act
Claire Brindis of UC-San Francisco, Alex Briscoe of the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency, Serena Clayton of the California School Health Centers Association and Zena Harvill of the Native American Health Center spoke with California Healthline about how the Affordable Care Act is affecting school-based health centers in California.
How Much Should We Care About Obama’s Budget?
The president’s new budget contains a slew of health care reforms — but given the slender chance they become law, what are the real ramifications? Several experts weigh in.