Latest California Healthline Stories
Immigration Provisions Loom Over Efforts To Merge Reform Bills
Senate and House leaders are gearing up to work through differences in their respective health care reform bills. What they decide on provisions dealing with immigrants’ access to health insurance exchanges will have major implications for California and other states with large immigrant populations.
Pushback Grows as Senate Nears Passage of Health Reform Bill
Despite vocal opposition from Republican lawmakers, Democrats in the Senate now have the 60 votes they need to pass health care reform legislation. Amid the chorus of criticism, California’s senatorial stable remains strongly in favor of the bill.
Governor Points to Cost Concerns in Dialing Back Support for Reform
Gov. Schwarzenegger said he remains convinced that the nation needs health care reform but cautioned lawmakers against pushing through a bill just to meet a deadline. Schwarzenegger said current proposals would lead to a $3 billion increase in costs for California.
Senate Aims To Raise the Bar for Not-for-Profit Status in Health Care
Not-for-profit BlueCross BlueShield plans, including Blue Shield of California, would have to meet new standards for spending on health benefits under the Senate’s health care reform bill. Another provision of the bill would limit what not-for-profit hospitals could charge some patients for emergency care or other medically necessary services.
Kaiser, Other Plans Win Concession in Senate Health Care Legislation
Kaiser Permanente and other integrated health care systems would benefit from a provision of the Senate health care reform bill that would apply a new tax on insurers to fees from third-party administration agreements for self-insured plans. Such plans are far less common in California than they are in other states.
Senate Plan for High-Risk Pools Has Pluses, Minuses for California
The Senate health care reform bill calls for creating high-risk pools nationwide to provide coverage for Americans with pre-existing conditions before health insurance exchanges are up and running. Under the plan, subscribers to California’s existing high-risk plan could face more out-of-pocket costs but also could see benefit caps eliminated.
AARP Members in California ‘Strongly Support’ Reform
AARP has released surveys of its members’ attitudes on the House health care reform package as part of the group’s efforts to rally support for Democratic overhaul plans. The surveys show that compared with AARP members nationwide California AARP members feel like they’ve heard more about reform efforts and more strongly support reform.
Members of Congress Divided on House Bill’s Implications for California
A number of California Democrats trumpeted the approval of the House bill and immediately started listing what the bill would do for their constituents back home. Republican lawmakers saw things differently, warning that the bill would force California to change its medical malpractice laws.
Elements of House Health Care Reform Bill Echo California Efforts
The House’s health care reform legislation includes provisions reminiscent of legislation Gov. Schwarzenegger has vetoed, such as measures aimed at curbing rescissions and clamping down on insurers’ administrative costs. That said, language in the House bill aims to address concerns Schwarzenegger and other governors have raised about states’ share of the cost of proposals to expand Medicaid.
White House Talks Up Cost-Savings Plans To Bolster Reform
Officials in the Obama administration are firing back against questions that Democratic health care reform proposals do not adequately address rising health care costs. For instance, Anthem Blue Cross of California’s parent company put out a study this month projecting that the plans would result in higher premiums.