Latest California Healthline Stories
Cost Containment Bill Goes Down
A Senate proposal to limit in-office physician referrals failed in committee yesterday. The bill was aimed at cost containment, according to its author, Sen. Ed Hernandez.
Emotions Run High Over Senate Bill To Restructure Exchange Board
A Senate committee came close last week to rejecting a bill to expand the size of the Covered California board of directors even though the measure didn’t have official opposition.
Bills To Raise Medi-Cal Provider Rates Unanimously Pass First Hurdle
A bill to increase Medi-Cal primary care provider rates to Medicare reimbursement levels was unanimously approved by the Assembly Health Committee this week. A companion bill reversing cuts in Medi-Cal payments also passed unanimously.
How a Legal Decision in Florida Might Affect California’s Autism Therapy Policy
A debate about autism treatment policy in a California Senate hearing today could be influenced by a court ruling in Florida.
Assembly Health Committee Votes for More Primary Care Residency Slots
One response to the problem of too few primary care physicians in California is to increase the number of residency slots in underserved areas, according to a bill approved unanimously by the Assembly Committee on Health yesterday.
Advocates Roll Out Plan for Uninsured
At an Assembly hearing yesterday, advocates floated a proposal for a state-funded program to provide health insurance for the undocumented population in California.
Exchange Spends More Than Expected on Enrollment, Retention System
The Covered California board last week approved a fiscal year 2013-2014 budget about $88 million higher than the initial $400 million spending plan for the insurance exchange, largely because the California Healthcare Eligibility, Enrollment and Retention System cost about $112 million more than expected.
More Than One Million Latinos Enrolled In Exchange or Medi-Cal in Six Months
Of the 3.3 million Californians who signed up for the exchange or enrolled in Medi-Cal over the past six months, more than a million were Latino.
State Limits Denial of Autism Therapy
New mental health parity regulations announced this week could signal more penalties for delay or denial of autism treatment by insurers in California.
Big Campaign Spending Due in June
Both sides of the November ballot measure to regulate health insurance rate hikes expect an advertising surge will begin in June after the initiative is assigned a proposition number.