Latest California Healthline Stories
U.S. Facing Dramatic Decline in Number of Emergency Departments, According to Study
Renee Hsia of UC-San Francisco, Sandra Schneider of the American College of Emergency Physicians and Caroline Steinberg of the American Hospital Association spoke with California Healthline about a recent study on emergency department closures.
Insurers Flip the Script: Making Sense of Givebacks
Blue Shield of California pledged to cap its income. Aetna requested to cut its premiums in Connecticut. The moves aren’t unprecedented. But will they set a precedent?
Basic Care, Medical Home, Home Care Act All Clear First Hurdle
A number of health care-related bills just met the deadline for passage out of house of origin. In a way, it’s a litmus test for whether or not bills have the political capital to become law, and quite a few health proposals made the initial cut.
The bills recently passed by the Assembly now head to the state Senate, and vice versa. Beyond the high-profile AB 52 by Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) to regulate health insurance rate hikes, there were several health-related bills that moved on:
Assembly Sends Health Insurance Regulation Bill on to Senate
Assembly Republicans really didn’t want to hear about AB 52 yesterday.
First there was a motion to block the bill to regulate health insurance rate increases because bill language had been amended the day before. The Assembly voted to reject that objection by waiving the one-day waiting period.
Then Assembly member Curt Hagman (R-Chino Hills) balked at hearing the bill a little earlier in the agenda. “I know we lost the motion to bring this up [in the first place],” he said, “but this is also out of order at this point.”
Should Insurance Companies’ Rates Be Regulated?
To get a picture of how much political heat AB 52 generates, you only have to look at its last committee hearing.
The bill, which would allow California’s Department of Insurance to review and limit the size of health insurers’ rate hikes, is expected to hit the Assembly floor for a vote today.
Last Friday, AB 52, by Assembly member Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) was up for a do-pass in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations. Those affairs are generally quick, without much fanfare — because so many bills go through Appropriations, the actual voting on all of the do-pass bills is rapid-fire.
Where Do Brokers Fit in New Health Insurance Picture?
We asked experts and stakeholders to weigh in on a bill in Congress that would exempt insurance brokers’ fees from being classified as administrative costs under the Affordable Care Act’s medical loss ratio provisions.
Bridget Duffy of ExperiaHealth Discusses How Empowering Patients Can Help Improve Care
Bridget Duffy, CEO of ExperiaHealth, spoke with California Healthline about efforts to help patients navigate the health care system and the benefits of focusing on patient experience.
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.