Latest California Healthline Stories
If You’re a Californian Who Likes Health Care Reform Raise Your Hand
Interesting panel discussion today in Sacramento that accompanied the release of the latest Field Poll gauging the attitudes of Californians toward health care reform. There were some surprising results in the poll, and some intriguing takes on what those numbers mean.
Kim Belshé, Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, put it this way: “How can so many people (in California) feel optimistic about the promise of health care reform, and at the same time so many think health care reform won’t really help them personally?”
But first, as they say, let’s do the numbers:
New Payment Method May Help Curb Costs, Improve Care
Payment bundling, an important part of national health care reform, is likely to be an integral part of California’s effort to revamp its health care system. The new tool has the potential to deliver lower costs, more efficient reimbursement and better patient outcomes.
High-Risk Pools May Need Lower Expectations
With days to go before uninsured residents can begin applying to new high-risk insurance pools, issues ahead of the program’s launch have emerged as a microcosm of the past year’s health debate.
What Will Happen to HSAs Under Reform?
More than one million Californians now are covered by health savings account-eligible health plans. However, the six-year-old HSA model may be threatened by the health care overhaul.
Moving Homeless Patient Discharge From the Streets
Los Angeles’ law prohibiting hospitals from discharging homeless patients back to the street was a catalyst for creating recuperative and transitional care programs that help the city and county deal with the nation’s largest homeless population.
Promises, Challenges of Health Reform in California
Because many provisions of the new national law will be carried out differently in different states, stakeholders and policy makers in each state will play a key part in how the law is put into action. We asked stakeholders to assess the promise and challenge of health care reform in California.
Community Clinics To Assume Key Reform Role
New federal funding for community health centers is an essential, if oft-overlooked, aspect of the health reform overhaul. In California, the centers could become the medical home for several million additional patients.
Long-Term Care Coverage Headed for Change in California
The CLASS Act, which establishes a national long-term care program, could have major implications for California, but it will be years before any impact is felt. Meanwhile, California struggles with rising costs and oversight of long-term care.
Assessing Health Care Impacts of Reforms for Immigrants
Health policy experts, immigrants and immigrant rights organizations are assessing the health care impacts for immigrants in one sweeping reform already signed into law and the potential impacts of another one on the horizon — immigration reform.
California Gears Up for Reform Provisions Taking Effect This Year
More than a month after President Obama signed health reform into law, California lawmakers, health providers, insurers and patients are gearing up for the slew of provisions set to take effect this year.