Latest California Healthline Stories
The Slippery Territory of Autism
A treatment for autism called applied behavioral analysis is basically helping those with autism develop new behavior with a system of rewards and consequences.
It’s generally known as one of the most successful forms of therapy available for autistic children. So if it has some success, why isn’t it always covered by private insurance?
That was the central question at a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Autism and Related Disorders.
Farewell To theWeekly, Hello Daily Capitol Desk
California Healthline’s Friday feature, theWeekly, has evolved to become Capitol Desk.
Where theWeekly provided a rundown of the week’s legislative news and an update on individual, health-related bills making their way through the political process, this page aims to provide a daily report from Sacramento. Since things change so quickly in the halls of power, I will be posting items here in a notebook format, everything from the news of the day to examinations of health policy issues that fall below the radar of most other media.
There is already plenty of health policy news to follow, but there will soon be even more as California begins to implement federal health reform. I hope to give a strong sense of what’s going on in the daily world of political wrangling over key issues while adding context and explanation to help make sense of it all.
Telemedicine Struggles in Central Valley Amid Hope, Hardship
Despite investments in infrastructure, widespread use of telemedicine has yet to take hold in San Joaquin Valley, an area of California that could benefit greatly from the technology. The Valley’s experience could hold lessons for the rest of the state.
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.