Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Health Advocates, Legislators See Little To Like in Governor’s Proposed Health Program Cuts
Carla Kakutani of the California Academy of Family Physicians, Wendy Lazarus of the Children’s Partnership, Assembly member Jim Nielsen and Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg discussed the governor’s plan.
Reviews Mixed for New Law on Nursing Home Ratings
Beginning in 2011, California nursing homes that participate in Medicare or Medicaid will be required to post their ratings from CMS’ five-star system. Supporters of the law say it will help consumers make health care decisions, but nursing home operators say CMS’ system is inaccurate.
California’s Safety Net Health Centers Seeing More Low-Income Patients, Less State Funding
Carmela Castellano-Garcia of CPCA, Melissa Stafford Jones of CAPH and William Walker of Contra Costa Health Services spoke with California Healthline about growing strain on the state’s safety net health care system.
Health Centers Play Bigger Role in California Health Care
Federally qualified health centers are seeing more patients in California, providing a new career alternative for family physicians and new options for county governments struggling to fulfill their obligation to care for the state’s indigent population.
Should State Add New Hospital Fee To Increase Medi-Cal Payments?
California legislators are weighing a proposal that would impose a fee on hospitals to help draw down federal matching funds that could help the state boost Medi-Cal reimbursements. The author of the bill and an official with the California Hospital Association explain why they support it.
Health Care Cuts Deeper Than They Appear in California
California’s Health and Human Services funding was cut by nearly $4 billion in a prolonged budget process that still may not be complete. If losses in federal matching funds are considered, the overall monetary impact could be twice that, according to some estimates.
California Group Seeks Tighter Rules for Public Benefits, Citizenship
A wide array of organizations, ranging from the California Medical Association to the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, is lining up in opposition to a campaign to get an initiative on the ballot that would end public benefits for undocumented immigrants, deny welfare payments for their children and establish new rules for birth certificates.
Health Care Stimulus Funding Process Picking Up Speed
California already has received $3.3 billion and expects to receive a total of $11 billion by the end of 2010 under a federal stimulus package provision that increases federal matching payments to state Medicaid programs. Meanwhile, the stimulus package’s health IT provisions are beginning to take shape.
California Offers Examples of Public Plans in House Hearings
Officials for two different types of Medi-Cal managed care plans appeared before a House committee last week in support of including a public plan in health care reform legislation, while a representative of the Pacific Business Group on Health raised businesses’ concerns about such a plan.
State’s Public Health Programs Excel at Cost Control, Study Shows
Health premiums for plans purchased by private California employers increased by 138% over the past decade, almost four times more than premium increases for Medi-Cal and Healthy Families coverage from the same insurance companies, according to new research.