Latest California Healthline Stories
State Submits $17B Waiver Plan; Advocates Urge Medi-Cal Rate Review
State officials’ request to renew California’s Medicaid waiver includes $17 billion in payment reform and delivery system projects. Advocates urge CMS to review Medi-Cal reimbursement rates in the process.
No-Cost Dental Event Highlights Care Gap
Thousands flocked to the Expo Center in Sacramento for a weekend of no-cost dental care, shining a spotlight on access and reimbursement issues in Denti-Cal.
CMS Settlement May Have Ripple Effect
Federal approval of a court settlement of a California case involving Medi-Cal could set a precedent applicable to another case involving Medicaid.
State Readies Health Home Project
California is targeting super users of Medi-Cal with a new project to reduce preventable emergency department visits and hospital admissions.
If Duals Project Is Curtailed, Future Is Cloudy for Program for Frail Seniors
As part of California’s duals demonstration project, the state is phasing out the Multipurpose Senior Services Program designed for some of the frailest beneficiaries of Medicare and Medi-Cal. But that demonstration project itself could be ended prematurely.
Frustration Boils at Denti-Cal Hearing
Lack of required reporting and little progress in Denti-Cal’s low utilization rates made for a tense and testy legislative hearing on dental coverage for five million California children yesterday in Sacramento.
Hearing Today on Denti-Cal Report
A joint legislative hearing in Sacramento today will look at a state auditor’s report sounding an alarm about low utilization rates and a dearth of participating dentists in the Denti-Cal program.
Possible Explanation Offered for Delayed Medi-Cal Termination Data
The executive director of the County Welfare Directors Association of California said the lag in the state’s reporting of Medi-Cal coverage data is understandable following a year of growth and change.
One Million Medi-Cal Renewals Up Every Month, Termination Data ‘Not Available’
Every year, Medi-Cal loses some enrollment by attrition — beneficiaries’ circumstances change, they move or they become nearly impossible to contact. Those Medi-Cal terminations could measure in the millions this year. The state has not yet released data on it.
Pressure Rising To Restore Medi-Cal Cuts
A protest today at the Capitol hopes to garner support for a bill in the California Legislature seeking to reverse payment cuts made to Medi-Cal providers four years ago.