Latest California Healthline Stories
Packard Issue Brief Analyzes HF Transition
The state needs to be extremely careful with the children being phased out of the Healthy Families program because they’re in danger of losing access to care and services if that transition doesn’t go smoothly, according to a new issue brief from the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, based in Palo Alto.
The issue brief follows on the heels of last week’s release of a study on the level of care and services provided to children with chronic illnesses, a study which ranked California near the bottom of the nation in several categories, including access to pediatric specialists.
The two issues — care of chronically ill children and implementation of the Healthy Families transition — are inextricably linked, said Edward Schor, senior vice president of programs and partnerships for the Packard Foundation.
Access Denied? Implications of Medi-Cal Pay Cut
Can you expand Medicaid coverage while cutting provider payments and still preserve access to care? California officials think so, but patient advocates aren’t so sure.
Managed Care Tax Key in Healthy Families Shortfall
The Healthy Families program is short by almost $100 million, according to California health officials. That number will rise, officials said, because the current deficit only covers the program’s operation for January and half of December.
The problem is restricted to this year, however, since the roughly 860,000 children in Healthy Families — California’s federally subsidized Children’s Health Insurance Program — are being moved into Medi-Cal managed care plans. This year’s transition is planned in four phases. The first phase began Jan. 1.
“This (the funding shortfall) doesn’t have anything to do with the transition,” said Diana Dooley, Secretary of Health and Human Services. “It has to do with a failure to extend the MCO (Managed Care Organization) tax.”
Exchange Outreach Grants Worth $43 Million
Community groups are eligible for a total of $43 million in outreach grants, according to a plan released Friday by officials at Covered California, the new state’s new insurance exchange.
The goal of the outreach effort is for community groups to help get the word out about Covered California and the exchange is willing to pay for that help. About $40 million has been slated for individual coverage outreach, and another $3 million will go to help raise awareness of the Small-business Health Options Program, said Oscar Hidalgo, director of communication and public affairs at the exchange.
“The idea here is to reach out to communities through all kinds of organizations — community groups, faith-based groups, even city and county governments — so they can help raise awareness and provide some education on Covered California,” Hidalgo said.
Half of California’s Kids May Get Medi-Cal Dental Care
As many as half the children in California — about five million — may be eligible for Medi-Cal dental coverage by this time next year, according to new estimates. Children’s advocates warn that the system may not be ready.
Three Items on Special Session Agenda
Gov. Jerry Brown (D) yesterday called for an extraordinary legislative session on health care. In his State of the State speech Brown said the special session beginning Monday would “deal with those issues that must be decided quickly if California is to get the Affordable Care Act started by next January,” he said.
Brown also said the two options for Medi-Cal expansion — a state- or county-based approach — would not be decided as part of the special session.
“The broader expansion of Medi-Cal … is incredibly complex and will take more time,” Brown said. “Working out the right relationship with the counties will test our ingenuity and will not be achieved overnight.”
Health Care Stakeholders Await State of State, Special Session
The State of the State speech today by Gov. Jerry Brown (D) could kick off a flurry of health care activity in California.
The governor is expected to address the state’s decision to join the Medicaid expansion (Medi-Cal in California) in today’s speech. Two options proposed by Brown — county- and state-based plans — will be hashed out in the upcoming month or two, most likely during the Legislature’s special session on health care. State health officials have said the special session will be called by Brown by the end of January.
All of that has to be worked out relatively soon, according to Lucien Wulsin, executive director of the Insure the Uninsured Project.
So Far, Healthy Families Transition Going Smoothly
So far, so good. Several weeks into the first phase of shifting 860,000 children from Healthy Families into Medi-Cal managed care plans, there have been relatively few complaints and few signs of problems.
Exchange Readies Its New Website
Covered California, the new brand name for the state’s health benefit exchange, will unveil its new website next week, according to Oscar Hidalgo, director of communication and public affairs at the exchange.
Hidalgo spoke at last week’s exchange board meeting, presenting one of the first building blocks of the marketing structure, an informational website.
“We are just about to launch a consumer-friendly website at the end of the month,” Hidalgo said. He said the unveiling is expected to be Wednesday or Thursday next week.
The Premium Conundrum: Do Smokers Get a Fair Break Under Obamacare?
Would you quit smoking if you were charged $4,000 more per year for the habit? Some analysts say that a new measure under the Affordable Care Act is overly punitive for tobacco users, while others suggest it’s an overdue approach to take toward smokers.