Latest California Healthline Stories
Kim Dempsey of NCB Capital Impact Discusses Ways To Boost Capacity of Community Clinics
Kim Dempsey, director of innovation and strategy at NCB Capital Impact, spoke with California Healthline about recommendations for improving the operations of community health centers.
On the Health Reform Trail: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
At the two year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, California has made significant progress in establishing an insurance exchange and undertaking other provisions of the law. However, the road ahead is marked by uncertainty, and California must meet more challenges before the job is done.
Health Insurers, Physician Group Oppose Ballot Initiative
It’s not even a ballot measure yet, but it’s certainly getting ballot-measure treatment.
Yesterday, a coalition of health insurance organizations, the California Medical Association, the California Hospital Association and other groups announced they were joining forces to fight a ballot measure designed to regulate health insurance rate increases.
“This initiative does nothing to address the cost drivers in the health care system,” according to Paul Phinney, president-elect of the CMA. “I just think this initiative is the wrong idea.”
Health Care Lobbying in California Tops List in Record Year
Health care issues generated $35.7 million in lobbying last year in California, leading the way to a record year. Lobbyists earned more money from more clients in California in 2011 than ever before, according to the secretary of state.
California Mandates 48 Specific Areas of Coverage
An analysis released yesterday by the California Health Benefits Review Program shows that a large cross-section of Californians — about 32 million people — will be covered by health care mandates passed by the Legislature. There are now 48 of those mandates that either require coverage or require an offer of coverage, and another five mandates that deal with more general terms and conditions of coverage.
That is not the final word on the number of mandates. CHBRP was asked to evaluate three more legislative bills recently that deal with mandated coverage of tobacco cessation, prescription drugs and children’s immunizations. In addition, some of the 16 bills the agency analyzed last year are up for approval this year. They include mandates ranging from mental health coverage to oral chemotherapy treatment.
State-passed mandates could have a financial impact on the health plans that need to cover those conditions and also may affect the list of essential health benefits offered by the California health benefit exchange.
More Uninsured Could Put Pressure on State
A UCLA Center for Health Policy Research report showed that 670,000 Californians lost employer-based health insurance in 2008 and 2009. That is a far cry from the earlier estimate of 2 million newly uninsured in the state. But what’s interesting about the new number, according to the report’s lead author Shana Lavarreda, is that it indicates that a new class of uninsured has been rising.
“The uninsured here is less and less an undocumented [worker] problem, and now it’s more of a Main Street problem,” Lavarreda said.
A majority — if not all — of those working-age Californians who lost coverage over that two-year period could have been considered residents of “Main Street.”
Making a Place for Small Businesses in Exchanges
Health insurance exchanges for small businesses are set to go online in 2014, alongside state-based exchanges for the individual market. Recent research shows that the success of the so-called Small-Business Health Options Program will be based on whether it can offer more plan choices and contain costs.
State Considers Coverage Mandates
The deadline to pass legislation left over from last year has come and gone, with single payer, insurance rate regulation and the basic health plan all temporarily halted. The next big legislative push is coming up fast, as all new bills for 2012 have to be introduced by the end of next week, on Feb. 24.
A number of health-related laws recently were passed by the state Senate or Assembly. Many of them call for coverage mandates by health insurance providers.
State Choices on Essential Benefits May Become More Complicated
Stakeholders are responding to HHS’ recent bulletin giving states a large hand in determining “essential health benefits” to be offered through insurance exchanges in 2014. In California, officials are trying to determine how to handle a growing list of state-mandated benefits within the exchanges.
Study: Uninsured Face Similar Debt as Medi-Cal Beneficiaries
More Californians are borrowing money to pay for health care services — and two-thirds of them have medical insurance, according to a new study by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
“When you think you’re insured, you still end up paying a percentage and that adds up, into thousands of dollars,” report author Shana Alex Lavarreda said. “So having insurance doesn’t mean you will have things paid for.”
Another surprising finding, Lavarreda said, is that uninsured Californians face a similar medical debt level to those who have insurance through Medi-Cal.