Latest California Healthline Stories
Snickers, Seriousness Expected for Junk Food Bill
This week, an Assembly committee will take up a plan to change the foods offered in vending machines in state buildings. No more empty calories for state workers, according to the proposed law.
AB 459 by Assembly member Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) is scheduled to be heard Wednesday in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations. A similar bill authored by Mitchell last year stalled in committee. This year’s bill earned initial approval two weeks ago in the Business and Professions Committee.
According to Harold Goldstein, executive director of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, the debate over the bill boils down to a fundamental issue.
Statewide Soda Tax Gaining Momentum in Calif. Legislature
A new bill proposing a statewide tax on sugary beverages appears to be gaining momentum in the California Legislature. A similar bill stalled three years ago, but with public support growing and a supermajority of Democrats in both houses, supporters predict a different outcome this time.
Birth Control Mandate: The Most Controversial Regulation Ever?
The White House called for comment on its proposed contraception mandate. Hundreds of thousands of responses poured in. Why do so many care so much?
Palliative Care Key Part of Berkeley Forum’s Prescription
Heath care organizations in Northern California are in step with a recent report from the Berkeley Forum suggesting that improvements in palliative care could help California save $110 billion over the next decade.
Spring Recess Gives Way to Spring Work
The California Legislature yesterday returned to work after a 10-day spring recess. A small mountain of bills is in front of lawmakers who have until May 31 to pass bills off the floor.
Health care legislation up for discussion includes:
Mobile App Highlights Patient Advocate Site
Ratings of health plans’ performance put together by the state Office of the Patient Advocate and newly displayed on its website are now accessible by mobile application.
“This is the first app of this type nationally,” said OPA director Amy Krause. “We hope this makes quality an important part of every doctor visit.”
At the heart of what makes the mobile app worthwhile, Krause said, is the rating system itself, which is based on information provided by the Department of Insurance. Patients can compare performance and quality factors among HMOs, PPOs and medical groups in California, both overall and within specific categories, such as how plans’ providers handle diabetes prevention and treatment.
California Rural Health Association Closes Shop
The California State Rural Health Association laid off staffers and closed its Sacramento office, leaving a void after serving as the statewide voice in rural health policy for almost two decades.
Financial Concerns for Ambulance Services
Health care providers in California are waiting for judicial rulings to see if they will be hit by a 10% cut in Medi-Cal reimbursement rates as a result of a law passed in 2011 and currently tied up in federal appeals court.
Ambulance service providers are among those who would be hit by the cut but they say they shouldn’t be included for one large and simple reason: Unlike physicians, ambulance providers are required by law to transport Medi-Cal beneficiaries. They’re not allowed to refuse them.
“We cant say ‘no’ like everyone else. We’re required by law to provide those services,” said Klark Staffan, vice president and chief operating officer for Sierra Medical Services Alliance in Lassen County. “And so we’re stuck. We have to provide the service, but we lose money with every Medi-Cal transport. We’re the only type of medical provider who can’t say we wouldn’t accept [Medi-Cal] patients. We think we’re unfairly treated.”
Campaign Against ‘Junk Drinks’ Will Grow, Experts Predict
Two new studies released last week — one showing that anti-tobacco efforts saved California money over the past two decades and the other showing growing support for a tax on sugary drinks — may foreshadow new health care policy on the horizon.
New Navy Hospital in San Diego Sign of the Changing Times
San Diego’s new Navy hospital, which will have relatively few inpatient beds but a busy flow of outpatients, is described by one consultant as “a great example of what everybody else should be looking to do in their communities.”