Latest California Healthline Stories
New ‘Benefit Corporation’ Status Could Benefit Health Care Companies
Companies that deliver health care services and make products in California should be taking a close look at legislation on the governor’s desk that allows creation of a new type of corporation, one that puts social responsibility over profit maximization and shareholder value.
AB 361, by Assembly member Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), would create a new category of business, one called a “benefit corporation,” or B corp as it has become more commonly known.
Huffman says that California is an incubator for businesses that emphasize social responsibility and environmental awareness but that those businesses lack legal protections for directors and officers who put the greater good above their fiduciary duty to maximize profits for shareholders.
Santa Barbara Allowed To Levy Temporary Tax
Santa Barbara County will be able to increase penalties on drunk driving fines in order to fund emergency services as a result of a new state law that barely escaped veto by Gov. Jerry Brown (D).
In the waning hours of the legislative session last week, Brown issued a letter that criticized the method of generating emergency department revenues, although he stopped just short of blocking the bill that had received wide support in the Assembly and Senate.
AB 412 introduced by Das Williams (D-Santa Barbara) becomes law without Brown’s signature. And Santa Barbara County can on Jan. 1 begin collecting an extra surcharge on tickets issued for driving under the influence offenses. An extra $5 for every $10 of base fines can be assessed as a penalty to fund ED services.
Crisis Creates New Way To Train Family Physicians in Valley
A residency program in Modesto bypasses the hospital as a home base and instead trains family physicians in community health centers. According to one expert, the new approach “makes ‘change’ a positive word in the residency world.”
How Can California Solve Family Physician Shortage?
California — like many parts of the country — is facing a shortage of family physicians on the eve of a significant expansion of the health care system. We asked experts and stakeholders what California policymakers can do to encourage a healthy supply of care providers.
Unsolved Mystery: Could Secret Shoppers Have Helped Reform Law?
The Obama administration’s plan to use mystery shoppers to gauge physician wait times was abruptly killed on Tuesday. Health policy experts sleuth out why the program met its sudden end and whether it will hurt health reform implementation.
Is Assembly Bill for Physical Therapists, or Against Them?
Today’s the day, and you can almost hear the spaghetti-Western showdown music in the background.
Is AB 783 good, as its author Assembly member Mary Hayashi (D-Castro Valley) says? Is it bad, as members of the California Association of Physical Therapists (CAPT) attest? Only one thing is definite about this bill to define some parameters of the hiring of physical therapists in California — it has been ugly.
A vote on the bill is expected today in the Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development. Last week’s scheduled vote was withdrawn by Hayashi, as she planned to meet with the opposition to craft a compromise solution.
California Running Out of Health Care Providers
Study after study on work force issues in California all come to the same conclusion: There are not enough doctors, nurses and allied health providers to meet projected need. On top of that, those providers are not distributed evenly across the state. But what can be done about it?
Insurers, Physicians at Odds Over Paper Trail
For Juan Thomas of the California Medical Association, it’s a no-brainer.
“Right now, the way preauthorization forms are, there are so many types of preauthorization forms, with different ones from different health plans and health insurers. They all want different types of information,” Thomas said. “And if the physician doesn’t have the correct form for the correct insurer, they have to hunt it down. Physicians spend a lot of time on this issue, and that’s time away from patients.”
Senate member Ed Hernandez (D-Los Angeles) addressed the issue in SB 866, which successfully made its way through the Senate and is up for a vote before the Assembly Committee on Health today. It would require insurers to adopt a standard form, and it would give them a deadline of two business days to respond to medication authorization requests.
New ACOs Emerging in Northern California
Two new accountable care organizations are taking shape in San Francisco. Exactly how ACOs work and where they fit in reform are still to be determined, but there is little doubt they will have significant influence on how health care is delivered and paid for.
Use of Urgent Care Growing in Southern California
Patients in Los Angeles and Orange counties avoid long waits for emergency department treatment or an appointment with their primary care physician when they opt for urgent care.