Latest California Healthline Stories
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.”
New Health Care Bills Introduced
One source of funding for pediatric trauma care could get a boost from a new bill being introduced in the state Senate, according to the author of SB 191, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima).
“Pediatric trauma care is still not widely available in California,” Padilla said, referring to the 14 pediatric trauma care centers in the state. “SB 191 would provide essential funding for emergency care and pediatric trauma care throughout California.”
The pediatric trauma care bill makes permanent a temporary penalty imposed by counties on vehicle code violations, at a rate of $2 for every $10 in fines. That penalty is due to expire at the end of 2013. Padilla wants to eliminate a sunset date and make it permanent.
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.
Sequestration Would Hurt Rural Health Providers, Study Shows
Rural health care providers, often working with thinner operating margins than their urban counterparts, may be hardest hit by a proposed Medicare reimbursement reduction under sequestration, according to a study released last week.
Health Reform Benchmarks Linked to FQHCs
Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) already have shown some of the results pursued by the Affordable Care Act, according to a study released this week by the California Primary Care Association.
The CPCA commissioned researchers to compare high-cost factors, such as hospital stays and emergency department use, as well as total cost of care, between FQHCs and non-FQHCs in California.
Some of the findings from John Snow, Inc. Health Services Division, a public health research firm based in Boston, were released Monday and showed enviable differences in FQHC care:
Medical Marijuana Case in State Supreme Court
The California Supreme Court today in San Francisco will hear oral arguments over a legal conundrum involving medical marijuana. The city of Riverside wants to ban sale of medicinal marijuana, a decision that may violate state law ensuring legal access to it. At the same time it adheres to federal law banning marijuana’s sale and use.
To Riverside officials opposed to marijuana sales, the answer is pretty simple: “A medical marijuana dispensary constitutes ‘a Prohibited Use’ ” in Riverside’s zoning code, which makes it a public nuisance, the city’s attorneys wrote in a legal brief. “Any use which is prohibited by state and/or federal law is also strictly prohibited,” the attorneys said.
But marijuana advocates, in their own brief, said Riverside officials are prohibiting the distribution of medicine, and that’s against state law.
Health Care Stakeholders Await State of State, Special Session
The State of the State speech today by Gov. Jerry Brown (D) could kick off a flurry of health care activity in California.
The governor is expected to address the state’s decision to join the Medicaid expansion (Medi-Cal in California) in today’s speech. Two options proposed by Brown — county- and state-based plans — will be hashed out in the upcoming month or two, most likely during the Legislature’s special session on health care. State health officials have said the special session will be called by Brown by the end of January.
All of that has to be worked out relatively soon, according to Lucien Wulsin, executive director of the Insure the Uninsured Project.
The Premium Conundrum: Do Smokers Get a Fair Break Under Obamacare?
Would you quit smoking if you were charged $4,000 more per year for the habit? Some analysts say that a new measure under the Affordable Care Act is overly punitive for tobacco users, while others suggest it’s an overdue approach to take toward smokers.