Latest California Healthline Stories
Health Care Task Force Starts Up
This is not your usual task force, according to Diana Dooley, secretary of the state Health and Human Services department. This one, she said, is less interested in the ideal and more focused on producing real-world results. The idea is to figure out which programs across the state improve health care and keep costs down and then encourage and support them.
Dooley was in Los Angeles yesterday to co-chair the first meeting of the health care task force created last month by Gov. Jerry Brown (D). Dooley said the first gathering could not have gone much better.
“I thought it was energized, and energizing,” she said. “It went a long way toward really substantively addressing a meaningful plan, to see what it would look like for California to be healthier in 10 years than it is today. And how do we make some real changes to improve health, lower cost and reform the delivery system. I thought it was a great start.”
If ACA Stands, What California Stands To Gain (or Lose)
The Supreme Court’s ruling on ObamaCare is imminent, and most analysts have focused on what happens if the law gets struck down. Here’s a reminder of what comes next if the law is allowed to stand.
Does Health Care’s Profit Motive Hurt More Than it Helps?
The federal health care law has created a whole new set of financial incentives, and some less-appealing implications — like several marketers pitching hospice care as a “cost-cutter” for hospitals — are now coming to light.
Four Myths About ObamaCare That Just Won’t Die
Has any piece of major legislation ever engendered as much misinformation? More than two years after the Affordable Care Act passed, both critics and supporters are still telling tall tales — and coming up with new ones, too.
State Loses Bid To Cut FQHC Rates, Restructure Pay System
Two budget subcommittees recently rejected an attempt by the state Department of Health Care Services to rework the way it pays federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics. The proposal included a funding cut of 10%, or about $100 million, to those centers.
A Second Opinion on Medicare ‘Double Counting’
Myth or fact: There’s no such thing as an honest Medicare budget. Why the latest blow-up over health care accounting is symptomatic of a larger problem.
From Supreme Court to Appeals Court
Yesterday’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court had a ripple effect in California, influencing a number of lawsuits in the state over health care cuts.
Four lawsuits have been filed over the 10% Medi-Cal provider rate cuts, and in all four cases, a federal judge has issued a temporary injunction blocking those cuts. In another court case, an injunction halted 20% trigger cuts to Californians receiving In-Home Supportive Services.
All of those cases were waiting to see what the Supreme Court would decide in Douglas v. Independent Living Center of Southern California. Yesterday’s decision to send that case back to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals was a huge victory for patient rights’ groups, according to Melinda Bird, a Disability Rights California attorney.
Assessing the First Year of CMS’ New Innovation Center
In a report released earlier this month — “One Year of Innovation: Taking Action to Improve Care and Reduce Costs” — the CMS Innovation Center summarizes what it’s been up to in its first year of existence: 16 initiatives involving more than 50,000 health care providers in all 50 states.
Health Care May Play Part in California Political Makeover
With retirements on both sides of the aisle, new congressional districts and new voting rules, California’s political makeup is headed for change in both Washington, D.C., and Sacramento. A couple of health care issues — a controversial Medicare plan in Congress and a state ballot proposal to regulate health insurance premiums — could play a part in how those changes happen.
State of the Union: Time To Trim the Regulatory Fat in Health Care?
President Obama scarcely mentioned health care in last night’s speech — and perhaps that’s more of a metaphor than the president intended. In keeping with the Obama administration’s efforts to cut through “red tape,” efforts are growing to rein in federal health care regulations.