Latest California Healthline Stories
Wal-Mart Could Transform Health Care. But Does it Want to?
Companies like Walgreen and CVS has gotten considerable attention for inching into health care in recent months. But Wal-Mart remains the looming giant that could shake up delivery and access.
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?
Legislature OKs First Special Session Bills
The Assembly and Senate yesterday voted to approve two similar bills that would reform the individual health insurance market and ban pre-existing conditions as a reason for denying health insurance.
They are the first bills from the special session on health care reform to pass legislative floor votes.
The bills now must pass a procedural vote by both houses of origination before heading to the governor’s desk. The governor’s office has expressed support for the bills, so both are expected to be signed into law.
Are High-Risk Pools a Preview of Obamacare’s Failure?
Two months ago, the Obama administration suspended enrollment in an Affordable Care Act program that offers insurance coverage for sick residents. Some observers say the move is indicative of larger ACA snags to come, while others say the high-risk pools have isolated problems.
New Bill Proposes Insurer Fee to Expand Residencies
An Assembly committee yesterday approved a plan to provide a major boost to California’s physician-training residency programs by generating roughly $100 million a year with a $5-per-covered-life fee to be imposed on health care insurers.
The new bill is one of several legislative efforts to address a provider shortage in California that’s likely to intensify when the Affordable Care Act is implemented and Medi-Cal is expanded starting in 2014.
AB 1176, co-authored by Assembly member Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima) and Assembly member Rob Bonta (D-Oakland), would expand the number of resident physicians in California by an estimated 1,000 with the expectation that new physicians would remain in California and practice in the underserved areas where they fulfilled their residency training.
Arkansas Medicaid Plan May Not Change Game After All
The state’s alternative plan for Medicaid expansion has received a great deal of attention. What did we ultimately learn?
Pre-Existing Conditions Bill Up for Final Vote
The Senate Committee on Appropriations yesterday unanimously approved ABX1-2 by Assembly member Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), the bill to ban pre-existing conditions as a means of denial for health coverage. It now heads to the Senate floor for a final confirmation vote.
The bill already passed the Assembly, so Senate confirmation would be its ticket to the governor’s desk. Brown Administration officials have said they support the bill.
It’s the first of the set of bills in the special health care legislative session to reach the final vote stage.
Advocates Push for Expansion Compromise
The Legislature last week moved two key components of the special session bills on health care reform. SBX1-2 by Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) and ABX1-2 by Assembly member Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) passed through committees of the opposite house. Bothbills make changes to the individual health insurance market.
The Assembly Committee on Health approved SBX1-2, and it’s now going to Appropriations; and ABX1-2 moved through the Senate Committee on Health on its way to Senate Appropriations. Both bills were approved in floor votes in their own house so they are nearing final approval.
Also last week, a Senate floor vote unanimously approved SBX1-3 by Sen. Hernandez, the bridge plan to help people move from Medi-Cal to the exchange more easily. That bill now moves to the Assembly.
California’s School-Based Health Centers See Promise, Challenges in the Affordable Care Act
Claire Brindis of UC-San Francisco, Alex Briscoe of the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency, Serena Clayton of the California School Health Centers Association and Zena Harvill of the Native American Health Center spoke with California Healthline about how the Affordable Care Act is affecting school-based health centers in California.
How Much Should We Care About Obama’s Budget?
The president’s new budget contains a slew of health care reforms — but given the slender chance they become law, what are the real ramifications? Several experts weigh in.