Latest California Healthline Stories
Budget Cuts Could Put Developmentally Disabled ‘in Danger’
Yesterday, The Arc of California filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Fresno, saying that state officials have violated federal law by shortchanging programs for people with developmental disabilities.
The Arc, a national advocacy organization that began in 1953 as NARC — the National Association for Retarded Children — changed its name to The Arc in 1992.
“We want to stop the state from violating federal law, with both their direct and indirect payments,” according to lead attorney Bill McLaughlin.
Legislative Hearing Looks at Rural Health
The list of rural health issues is a long one, according to Steve Barrow of the California State Rural Health Association. But it can be summed up by one statistic, he said.
“In the rural areas, we have 30% of the state’s Medi-Cal patients, and we have 10% of the state’s population,” Barrow said.
Barrow was one of the presenters at a recent bipartisan legislative hearing on rural health issues, presided over by Assembly members Alyson Huber (D-El Dorado Hills) and Linda Halderman (R-Fresno).
New ‘Benefit Corporation’ Status Could Benefit Health Care Companies
Companies that deliver health care services and make products in California should be taking a close look at legislation on the governor’s desk that allows creation of a new type of corporation, one that puts social responsibility over profit maximization and shareholder value.
AB 361, by Assembly member Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), would create a new category of business, one called a “benefit corporation,” or B corp as it has become more commonly known.
Huffman says that California is an incubator for businesses that emphasize social responsibility and environmental awareness but that those businesses lack legal protections for directors and officers who put the greater good above their fiduciary duty to maximize profits for shareholders.
Santa Barbara Allowed To Levy Temporary Tax
Santa Barbara County will be able to increase penalties on drunk driving fines in order to fund emergency services as a result of a new state law that barely escaped veto by Gov. Jerry Brown (D).
In the waning hours of the legislative session last week, Brown issued a letter that criticized the method of generating emergency department revenues, although he stopped just short of blocking the bill that had received wide support in the Assembly and Senate.
AB 412 introduced by Das Williams (D-Santa Barbara) becomes law without Brown’s signature. And Santa Barbara County can on Jan. 1 begin collecting an extra surcharge on tickets issued for driving under the influence offenses. An extra $5 for every $10 of base fines can be assessed as a penalty to fund ED services.
How Should Policymakers Deal With the Fattening of California?
Obesity rates in California have more than doubled since 1990, and if current trends continue, more than half of the state’s adults will be obese by 2030, according to new research. We asked legislators and policy analysts how the state should deal with the problem.
Smokers, Politicians Struggle With Tobacco Habit
Smoking among adults is dropping in California, according to a recent report. Another kind of tobacco habit — money spent to influence California politicians and policy — could be on the rise in coming months in response to a statewide ballot initiative to increase the tobacco tax.
Rate Regulation, Basic Health Headed to Floor?
The state Legislature reconvenes today, starting with a Senate Committee on Appropriations hearing with 167 items on the agenda. The Assembly’s Appropriations Committee meets Wednesday, with 184 items to consider.
Those numbers will be whittled down for this week’s hearings, but generally Appropriations is the final destination before an actual floor vote for any bill that might spend money. That’s why the two committees will have so many menu items from which to choose.
Among the bills that still need to clear the Appropriations hurdle is AB 52 — by Assembly members Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) and Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) — which is the health insurance rate regulation bill. Also up is the bill to create a Basic Health Program, SB 703, by Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina).
Effort Aims To Fight Obesity by Bringing More Grocery Stores to California’s ‘Food Deserts’
Janne Boone-Heinonen of Oregon Health and Science University, Margaret Gee of the Bay Area Local Initiatives Support Corporation and Marion Standish of the California Endowment spoke with California Healthline about efforts to combat obesity by increasing access to grocery stores.
Medicaid Waiver Good News for L.A.’s Homeless
Strategies to provide health care to the homeless could shift as California prepares its Medicaid program and safety-net providers for reform-driven expansion in 2014. The state’s Bridge to Reform Medicaid waiver could help pave the way in Los Angeles County, which is “home” to almost one-third of the state’s homeless population.
Non-Contracted Services at Heart of Two Court Cases
A woman named Fucino, who is eligible for the County Medically Indigent Services Program (CMISP) and gets her care in Sacramento County, one day traveled to Monterey County to visit family. While in Monterey, she had a health issue that landed her in the emergency department in that county.
Does Sacramento County have to pay for that out-of-county ED visit? And more important, what does all of that have to do with a multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed against the county by UC-Davis?
The answer to the latter question is: non-contracted services. It’s the same principle at the core of both cases, where the court has to decide whether or not the county should pay for non-contracted services.