Latest California Healthline Stories
How Can State Hasten Payment Reform?
California is ahead of the national payment reform curve, but even in the Golden State most reimbursement for care is still measured by volume, rather than quality. We asked stakeholders how California can move more quickly and efficiently to a value-based payment system.
How Many People Are Losing Their Plans Under Obamacare, Really?
The swirl of political attention around “Obamacare cancellation letters” has tended to ignore the policy realities — including that most people receiving cancellation letters are being offered other plans. Here’s a closer look at how many plans are being canceled and four other key questions dogging the Affordable Care Act’s latest hot-button issue.
Inland Empire Clinics Work To Ease Demand on Hospital EDs
Community health centers in the recession-battered Inland Empire are focusing on collaboration to steer patients to primary care settings and away from emergency departments.
What Medicare Part D Can — and Can’t — Teach Us About the Affordable Care Act
Increasingly, observers are cautioning: Don’t rush to judgment about the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplaces, because the launch of Medicare Part D was rocky, too. But comparing the two programs makes less and less sense as the weeks go by.
Cities, Counties Helping Covered California
Along with thousands of people hired to help Californians enroll for health insurance in the new statewide marketplace, some city and county governments are joining the effort “because it’s the right thing to do.”
Obamacare Mandates: Why the Fairness Debate Doesn’t Matter
In a “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” interview, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius found herself unable to rebuff the host’s frequent questions about whether it is fair to delay the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate but not its individual mandate. Health experts have weighed in, but is such a debate necessary at this point?
Should Obamacare Be Delayed — And More to the Point, Can It?
Mounting problems with the federal health insurance exchange have sparked widespread concern, and even supporters of the ACA are turning critical. Experts weigh in on whether the individual mandate and other elements of Obamacare should, or even can, be delayed if the problems persist.
What Covered California Did Right in Week One — and What Other States Did Better
It was a bumpy debut for Covered California, as the state’s health insurance exchange launched last week with long wait times and a glitch-filled website. How did the Golden State grade out?
Stanislaus County ACO Shows Remarkable Results in Four Key Benchmark Metrics
From emergency department visits to length of hospital stays, a number of higher-quality, lower-cost metrics have borne fruit in a new patient-centered accountable care program in the Central Valley.
It’s More Than an Emergency: Calif. Among States Seeking To Expand EMS Care
A trend of expanding Emergency Medical Services workers’ responsibilities is catching on across the U.S., as state officials look for ways to supplement Obamacare with smaller scale efforts to close care gaps and reduce spending. California is hoping to launch several of these programs by next summer, though there are barriers to entry.