Latest California Healthline Stories
Intervenor Role Now Politically Charged
The latest volley in the war over Proposition 45, the November ballot initiative to regulate health insurance rate hikes, is over intervenors who play an obscure role in the state’s process for overseeing insurance.
UC-Davis Study: Pre-Toddler Treatment Shortens Autism Therapy Significantly
Children as young as six months old who received autism therapy showed significant response to it, according to a small pilot program at the UC-Davis MIND Institute.
Autism Details To Come After Rollout
State officials and stakeholders met for the first time to iron out some of the details in implementing the new Medi-Cal benefit for autism therapy. Clearly it will be a work in progress.
Pilot Program Targets Senior Nutrition
It may not be just children who need the most important meal of the day. A new pilot program is studying the health effects of breakfast meals on seniors.
New Lawsuit Filed To Block Duals Plan
After losing in Superior Court, health advocates for seniors have upped the ante, filing a lawsuit in federal district court to try to halt further implementation of the state’s duals demonstration project.
Medi-Cal Autism Coverage To Start Soon
Medi-Cal families with autistic children will be able to arrange for applied behavior analysis treatment later this month. Sept. 15 is the tentative start date for California’s new coverage policies.
Flurry of Bills Approved as Session Ends
The state Legislature passed a flurry of bills in its final week of session, including a virtual dental home pilot project and paid sick leave for California workers, but excluding home health workers.
Bill Linking Health Enrollment to Schools OK’d by Legislature, Sent to Governor
Many uninsured Californians are eligible for Medi-Cal coverage or subsidies through the state health insurance exchange but are unaware of it. A bill sent to the governor aims to reduce that number by linking health care information to school enrollment.
Narrow Networks Bill Passes Floor Vote
Legislation designed to open access to providers and ensure network adequacy passed an important vote in the Assembly and now is expected to move to the governor’s desk.
Calif. Senate OKs Diabetes Action Plan
The state Senate passed a bill calling for state officials to create a diabetes assessment and action plan that could lay the groundwork for future legislation by establishing the disease’s cost to the state.