Latest California Healthline Stories
EHR Cost Savings Could Extend to Health Plans
Health plans don’t directly use electronic health records, but because EHRs could save insurers some money, health plans will want to do everything they can to make the EHR transition smooth, according to Patrick Johnston, president and CEO of the California Association of Health Plans.
Johnston’s organization put together a health care forum yesterday in Burlingame that focused on health plans’ involvement in the EHR movement.
“We as health plans do have a responsibility to address cost drivers in our own business,” Johnston said. “That which plans spend themselves and that which cause our providers to spend. And that’s a complex subject matter.”
Basic Health Program: Good or Bad for California?
The California Health Benefit Exchange board met earlier this week to discuss the possibility of setting up a Basic Health Program (BHP) as an alternative to one section of the exchange.
The BHP is an alternative to the exchange’s coverage for two sets of Californians — adults with incomes between 133% and 200% of the federal poverty level, and for legal immigrants with incomes below 133% of the poverty level.
Yesterday, a legislative briefing with a panel of experts was convened in the Capitol building to go over the idea. The briefing was co-sponsored by the Senate Committee on Health and by the California HealthCare Foundation. CHCF publishes California Healthline.
Health Care Providers Gearing Up To Roll Out Accountable Care Organizations in California
Don Crane of the California Association of Physician Groups, Kristen Miranda of Blue Shield of California and Leah Newkirk of the California Academy of Family Physicians spoke with California Healthline about efforts to create accountable care organizations in California.
Sequels to ObamaCare: ScottCare, ShumlinCare and More Take Stage
As states implement the federal health care law, three new governors are carrying out bold health reforms of their own — and possibly setting a template for similar decisions across the nation.
Senate Health Committee Moves Single-Payer Bill
Many dozens of single-payer supporters crammed the Senate Committee on Health chambers on Wednesday for hearing on a bill that would set up a single-payer health system in California.
The supporters were respectful and emphatic as they all stepped, one by one, up to the microphone to voice their support for such a model. After all of the advocates took their turn and returned to their seats, Senate Health Committee Chair Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) wanted to know if there were any more speakers, so he politely asked if there was anyone else in the audience who was in favor of the bill.
And a sea of hands went up, as nearly everyone in the audience spontaneously and quietly raised their hands.
Insurers, Advocates Face Off Over Rate Regulation
Assembly member Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) said the issue boils down to this:
“In the United States, health care costs went up 3.4% last year. At the same time in California, health care premiums went up by as much as 39%,” Feuer said. “Medical costs are going up, no question. But premium costs are going up much more quickly, and that’s the gap we’re trying to bridge here.”
That’s the point of AB 52, heard yesterday in the Assembly Committee on Health. The bill was co-authored by Feuer and Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) to give the state’s insurance commission the power to review premium rate hikes by health insurers, and to limit them if they’re deemed excessive.
John Goldstein of Imprint Capital Discusses How Foundations Can Invest in Their Mission
John Goldstein, co-founder and managing director of Imprint Capital, spoke with California Healthline about how health foundations and other philanthropic institutions can leverage innovative investment strategies to advance their mission.
Insurance Agents Try To Broker Deal on MLR
Few stakeholders have been as quickly affected by the health reform law as insurance brokers — and few have pushed back against the law as speedily. Brokers’ battle to change medical-loss ratio rules is a microcosm of the broader fight to shape the overhaul’s implementation.
Taking Stock of Three Major Health Reform Laws on Their Birthdays
Last year’s federal health overhaul, the Massachusetts health reform law and the groundbreaking EMTALA all marked significant anniversaries in recent weeks. “Road to Reform” looks back on how the laws affected the nation’s health policy — and each other.
How March Madness Can Help Explain Health Reform
The constitutional battle over health reform shares unusual parallels with the nation’s college basketball tournament. Here’s a scouting report as the legal fight moves to the next round of courts.