Latest California Healthline Stories
Uninsured Eligible for Mental Health Services
When major portions of the Affordable Care Act are implemented in 2014, almost all of the 500,000 uninsured Californians who were previously identified as being in need of mental health services will be eligible for those services, either through Medi-Cal expansion or the exchange, according to a study released yesterday by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
“Last year we did a mental health report, and what we found is there are 500,000 or so people in California who are uninsured and in need of mental health services, so this year we wanted to see who among them would be eligible for coverage under the Affordable Care Act,” said Imelda Padilla-Frausto, lead author of the report released yesterday.
“We found about half of them would be eligible through expansion, and another 42% through the exchange,” Padilla-Frausto said. “That’s practically everyone. It’s a huge improvement for those adults who don’t have insurance coverage.”
Neurological Institute Expands Telehealth Network
Rural hospital officials in the Central Valley said patients are benefiting from stroke specialists in Sacramento diagnosing and recommending treatment through a maturing, growing telehealth network.
No Agenda Yet for Special Session
The one-month delay in the legislative special session on health care should not affect the content of the discussion, according to Assembly member Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), who chairs the Assembly Committee on Health.
“The purpose of the special session is that there’s legislation that is really important to get passed prior to the Jan. 1, 2014 [Affordable Care Act] deadline,” Pan said. “So this will allow us to pass these bills and have them take effect prior to that time. So in [terms of the special session move from December to January], it doesn’t change anything.”
In August, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) announced he would convene a special session in the Legislature after the national election in November, to address elements of the Affordable Care Act. That special session was expected to happen sometime in December.
Rebecca Onie of Health Leads Discusses Efforts To Help Patients Access Community Resources
Rebecca Onie, co-founder and CEO of Health Leads, spoke with California Healthline about how her organization teams up with health care providers to help patients access healthy food, safe housing and other community resources.
Republicans Changing Tune — but not Shifting Critical Tone — on Medicaid
A handful of prominent conservatives have dropped their fight against the Affordable Care Act and its Medicaid expansion, but GOP leaders say the program still needs immediate reform.
Advocates’ Challenge to Adult Day Process Denied
A federal judge ruled last week to deny a motion that would have forced the Department of Health Care Services to alter the way it is handling enrollment in the new Community Based Adult Services program.
The ruling means CBAS enrollment will continue without changes unless Disability Rights California, the health advocacy group that filed the motion, appeals the ruling. Deadline for appeal is Friday.
“The federal Magistrate recommended full denial of the plaintiffs’ motion regarding their concern with the state’s implementation of the Adult Day Health Care settlement agreement,” Norman Williams, director of public affairs for DHCS, said in a written statement.
Letter from Congress Focuses on Healthy Families Transition
California’s effort to move approximately 860,000 children from the Healthy Families program has drawn national attention.
Twenty-two members of the House of Representatives, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), last week sent a letter to state health officials, urging caution in the Healthy Families transition to Medi-Cal managed care.
The transition is slated to begin Jan. 1 when almost half the Health Families kids — about 415,000 — make the switch. The state still needs CMS approval for the plan.
Exchange Official: Multistate Plans Not Same as Public Option
Multistate insurance plans to be offered under the Affordable Care Act aren’t substitutes for a public option and probably won’t have much influence on competition in California, according to a Covered California official.
Health Care Special Session Slated for January
California’s legislative special session on health care won’t take place until January, according to officials at the California Health and Human Services agency.
Gov. Jerry Brown (D) told legislators in August he will convene a special session in the Legislature “to continue [the] important work of implementing the Affordable Care Act,” Brown wrote in a letter to California legislators. The session was expected to be convened in December.
The special session will be held concurrently with the regular legislative session that begins Jan. 7.
Susannah Fox of Pew Research Center Talks About New Findings on Mobile Health Usage
Susannah Fox, associate director at the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, spoke with California Healthline about Pew’s latest study on Internet use among U.S. residents and new findings about the use of mobile phones to look up health-related information.