Latest Morning Briefing Stories
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.
State ‘A Few Weeks’ From Waiver Draft
The Department of Health Care Services is close to finalizing the first draft of the new federal Medicaid waiver, director Jennifer Kent said at her first legislative hearing as head of DHCS.
State Officials Get Earful About ‘Temporary’ Medi-Cal Provider Moratorium from 1999
Lawmakers at a state Senate hearing asked Department of Health Care Services officials to consider ending a 1999 moratorium designed to limit fraud among three types of Medi-Cal providers.
Covered California Will ‘Easily’ Hit Goal
Covered California’s enrollment total hit 474,000 and Medi-Cal sign-ups during the same time reached 779,000 — a total of more than 1.2 million newly enrolled in three months. With a deadline extension, state officials said the exchange would easily hit its goal of 500,000 enrollees.
Patient Satisfaction Among Low-Income Patients on the Rise, Survey Says
Despite concerns about problems with access to care as millions of residents gained health coverage through Medi-Cal expansion or Covered California, patient satisfaction among low-income Californians increased from 2011 to 2014, according to a study by Blue Shield of California Foundation.
How Immigration Changes, Proposal for Undocumented Could Affect Medi-Cal
A new study estimates the number of uninsured in California at roughly three million — about half of them undocumented. President Obama’s executive order on immigration and a new state proposal to insure California’s undocumented could change the state’s insurance landscape significantly.
Dual Eligible Opt-Out Percentage High
A high percentage of dual eligibles have chosen to opt out of participating in Cal MediConnect, which may affect the viability of the Coordinated Care Initiative.
Health Issues High on Budget Panel List
Health care issues came up repeatedly when the Senate budget committee discussed the governor’s proposed spending plan last week.