Latest California Healthline Stories
Access, Clinic Finances, ED Overuse All Major Concerns for CMA
With health care reform and the state’s cutbacks and reorganization of its health care system, the practice of medicine in California is about to undergo major changes. California Medical Association officials have serious concerns about some of those changes.
“Yes, we are in a budget crunch, and yes, money is tight,” said Doug Brosnan, an emergency department physician and a member of the CMA’s board of trustees. “But there is suffering. Patients are suffering because they lack access to basic services.”
Brosnan was part of a group of CMA officials who met with reporters on Friday in Sacramento to talk about California’s recent spate of budget cuts to health programs and the outlook for reform after the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold most of the Affordable Care Act. CMA officials said they are concerned about the state’s efforts to reorganize existing services — such as the duals demonstration project, or the shift of 873,000 children from the Healthy Families program to Medi-Cal managed care.
Reform Talk Moving From Rhetoric to Bottom Line in Business Community
A new report based on a statewide “listening tour” indicates small business owners in the state are eager to move beyond political and legal wrangling and start figuring out what health reform will mean for the bottom line.
To Gauge ObamaCare Impact, Ignore CBO and Focus on AQC
Which three-letter acronym actually matters most in health reform this month? Many are focusing on the CBO’s projections — but news about the AQC, a Massachusetts pilot project, could hold the keys to unlocking ObamaCare’s potential.
How Much Will States’ Medicaid Expansions Really Cost?
State officials are wrestling with whether to join the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, but as part of their evaluation process, many are relying on cost estimates that are not accurate.
Important Bills on Horizon for CMA
The California Medical Association, which keeps an eye on all health-related legislation in California, last week released its “Hot List” of proposed health care bills in the next legislative session.
“Given that health care reform continues to be such a big concern, access to care for patients is going to be a big one,” said Molly Weedn, director of media relations for CMA. “And we’re looking at a lot of public health issues this year, like childhood obesity, for instance.”
There are 30 pieces of proposed legislation on this year’s Hot List, including nine bills sponsored by CMA.
How Active Should Exchange Be in Defining Market?
As the California Health Benefit Exchange board refines its design and marching orders, we asked stakeholders how far the exchange should lean in applying its considerable influence on the state’s insurance marketplace.
The Medicaid Mess: Where Do States Stand on ObamaCare Expansion?
State leaders are wrestling with whether to take part in the Affordable Care Act’s newly voluntary Medicaid expansion. Several policy and political concerns are driving their decisions.
Health Reform Bills Move Through Committee
State Senator Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) had a busy day. At Tuesday’s hearing of Assembly Committee on Health, Hernandez had seven different bills heard and approved — including two of the highest profile health care reform bills in California.
One of them, SB 951, would set the essential health benefits for California under the Affordable Care Act and the other, SB 961, would reform individual coverage in the state.
“Last week the Supreme Court appropriately said the ACA is here to stay,” Hernandez said, when introducing the latter bill. “This bill reforms the individual market … to improve access to health coverage in California.”
Expanding Medicaid Called ‘Right Thing To Do’
The CEO of a trade group representing safety net health plans in 26 states hopes other states follow California’s example and make plans now to expand Medicaid.
“The Supreme Court’s ruling on the expansion of Medicaid is unlikely to materially affect the efforts of health plans in California since the state has indicated that it would participate in the expansion,” said Margaret Murray, CEO of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans, which represents 59 non-profit safety net health plans in 26 states.
“We hope other states do likewise. Approving the expansion of coverage to working families with low incomes is the right thing to do,” she said. “Many of our plans in California have discussed the possibility of participating in the health insurance exchanges set forth in the Affordable Care Act, along with the Basic Health Program, should the state move forward with that option.”
Opponents Left With Little but Political Purchase
Last week’s Supreme Court ruling left opponents of the Affordable Care Act little legal foot room to argue against the law, but it provides plenty of political purchase, according to analysts.