Latest California Healthline Stories
Expansion Hearing Highlights County-State Struggle
California health officials and legislators yesterday had a lively discussion over the two proposed choices for the optional Medi-Cal expansion.
At the onset, yesterday’s discussion in the Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services centered on the Brown Administration’s choices for a state-based or county-based approach to implementing expansion of Medi-Cal to adults up to 138% of federal poverty level, which is expected to open eligibility to as many as 1.4 million Californians.
But the meat of the conversation evolved into something else. Since counties have pretty firmly asserted they’re in favor of the state-based plan, and state officials have not stated a preference for either option, choosing one approach over another was not really the main issue during yesterday’s hearing.
Appropriations Approves Medi-Cal Expansion
The state Senate Committee on Appropriations endorsed a bill expanding Medi-Cal eligibility to 1.4 million Californians and to simplify the enrollment process for all Medi-Cal beneficiaries.
The special session approval Monday means SBX1-1 by Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) is headed to the Senate floor as soon as the end of this week. The Assembly version of the legislation — ABX1-1 by John Pérez (D-Los Angeles) — won committee approval last week is pending a floor vote now.
“This is very important because we want to make sure we get as many individuals with coverage so they don’t utilize the system the way they utilize it now — which is, those who don’t have insurance would go to the emergency rooms,” Hernandez said.
Bridge Plan Approved by Exchange Board
California’s Health Benefit Exchange board yesterday approved a plan to seamlessly allow low-income Medi-Cal managed care beneficiaries to choose a health plan offered by the exchange, now known as Covered California.
The idea is to allow movement between Medi-Cal and Covered California when beneficiaries’ circumstances change, so more people can stay insured without disruption. The exchange plans to launch the program in April 2014.
Up to 840,000 Californians could be eligible for it, according to David Panush, director of government relations for Covered California.
How Many States Are Really Opting Into ACA? Devil’s in the Details
From Rick Scott to Chris Christie, more governors are changing their minds and opting into the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, but state legislators are proving a tougher sell — and in at least eight states, may have the clout to derail an expansion.
State-Based Expansion Makes More Sense, LAO Says
After conducting a review of the two choices California officials are considering for optional Medi-Cal expansion, the state Legislative Analyst’s Office yesterday strongly recommended the state-based option, rather than a county-based plan.
On a busy Tuesday for health care policy in Sacramento, the Assembly Committee on Health yesterday convened the first hearing of the legislative special session on health care reform and passed the first component of it, AB 1X-1 by Assembly Speaker John Peréz (D-Los Angeles).
The proposed bill establishes the framework to expand Medi-Cal to childless adults under age 65 in California, up to 138% of federal poverty level. It would streamline the eligibility and enrollment process to follow the mandate of the Affordable Care Act, and offer California’s version of federally-required essential health benefits.
Higher Cost, Inferior Care: Dental Health in Emergency Departments
More people are seeking dental care in emergency departments as dentists turn away Medicaid patients. Does the Affordable Care Act present a solution to this costly trend, or must states look elsewhere?
California Lagging in Percentage of Children Who Receive Regular Dental Screenings, Care
Jim Crall of UCLA School of Dentistry, Parvathi Pokala of Rady Children’s Hospital, dentist Paul Reggiardo of Huntington Beach and Lindsey Robinson of the California Dental Association spoke with California Healthline about efforts to increase the percentage of California children who receive regular dental care.
Insuring a Better Future for the State?
State officials and health care experts yesterday said the governor’s decision to sign on to optional expansion of Medi-Cal could be a huge step forward for California’s health system — and a huge challenge, as well, they said.
More than 700 stakeholders gathered in downtown Sacramento for the annual conference of the Insure the Uninsured Project heard dozens of experts evaluate how far California has come in implementing health care reform, and how far it still has to go.
Adding roughly 1.4 million Californians to Medi-Cal eligibility in the optional expansion (adding adults up to 138% of federal poverty level) may be fully funded by the federal government for the first three years, but it also brings a boatload of work to the state. It’s worth the extra effort for the sake of beneficiaries and for the savings the state stands to make in reduced hospital and emergency department costs, said Diana Dooley, state Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Finance, Health Care Linked in Expansion Effort
State health care and finance officials met for the first time with stakeholders Friday to outline some of the differences between two possible approaches — state-based or county-based — to implementing the state’s optional Medi-Cal expansion.
Many details of the proposed expansion of Medi-Cal are unknown, state officials said Friday because they’re waiting for more federal guidance in many areas. One important detail is known: the federal government will fully pay for the expansion benefits for new enrollees for the first three years.
Diana Dooley, the state’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, said implementing the expansion will be influenced in equal parts by financial and health care considerations.
Using Data to Simplify Medi-Cal Enrollment
A different approach to Medi-Cal eligibility renewal was floated yesterday at an informational seminar in Sacramento.
The idea is to limit the amount of forms and paperwork in renewing Medi-Cal eligibility. That might be accomplished in part by using statistical analysis of eligibility data to determine which beneficiaries don’t need to fill out new forms when their Medi-Cal benefits are up for renewal, said Stan Dorn, senior fellow at the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.
“The traditional way to handle Medicaid enrollment is very paperwork-intensive,” Dorn said. “The applicant fills out a piece of paper, supplies immigration documents and pay stubs. Then when eligibility is renewed, there’s a new form mailed to them, and they need current pay stubs and so on. … But now accessing that data and processing it is much cheaper and more reasonable and plausible than it was then.”