Latest California Healthline Stories
Essential Health Benefit Bill Clears Committee
Bill Monning, chair of the Assembly Committee on Health, knew the moment was a big one.
“We are serving as policymakers in extraordinary times,” Monning (D-Carmel) said yesterday at the health committee hearing. “For up to 5 million Californians, we have the opportunity before us to set essential health benefits.”
Monning introduced AB 1453, which laid out a plan for what essential benefits will be covered in California under the Affordable Care Act. The proposed set of benefits is modeled on the Kaiser small group HMO plan.
Health IT: The Common Ground in Health Care Reform?
Arguments inside and outside the Supreme Court building last month reaffirmed the nation’s sharp divide over the federal health reform law. But one aspect of the law is likely to continue drawing support from both sides of the aisle: health information technology.
Should California Reconsider Health Care Districts?
With the Affordable Care Act poised to dramatically change the state’s health care system, should California be reconsidering special health care districts that generate and consume millions of dollars every year? We asked experts to weigh in.
Where Would Consumers, Insurers Land if ACA Is Struck Down?
If the Supreme Court strikes down part or all of the Affordable Care Act, what might it mean for consumers who support the changes promised in reform? And what might it mean for insurers who were promised millions of new customers?
‘We’ll Deal With it Then’: The State of Play if ACA is Struck Down
Most states — even some that have sued the government over the Affordable Care Act — are preparing contingency plans whether the law is upheld or struck down. But not all states are equally ready to respond.
Experts: Medicaid Expansion Will Stand; Mandate’s Fate Unclear
Legal and health policy experts were divided in their predictions about how specific challenges to the Affordable Care Act may play out in the Supreme Court, but all agreed that substantive changes to the law could have profound effects in California.
Does Obama Deserve Blame for Mandate’s Troubles?
Candidate Obama opposed health reform’s individual mandate; President Obama signed the mandate into law. Why did the president shift his thinking — and will the decision haunt his signature legislation?
Solution to Physician Shortage May Lie in Mid-Level Practitioners
Ed Hernandez, an optometrist, can see it coming.
The Democrat Senate member from West Covina yesterday helped convene the second hearing in a week to explore the looming shortage of primary care providers in California. The addition of millions of newly insured along with a likely decline in the number of physicians in California is an equation that worries Hernandez. He said the gap is unlikely to be filled in traditional ways.
“Last week we looked at the shortage of providers in California, a shortage that will not lessen,” Hernandez said yesterday at a joint meeting of the Senate Committee on Health and the Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development.
Designing Exchange Framework as Building Begins
Creating a statewide insurance exchange has been compared to drawing plans for a skyscraper while pouring the foundation — under a tight deadline. We invited experts and stakeholders to share advice with designers and builders of the California Health Benefit Exchange.
Clues to How the Supreme Court Might Rule on Health Reform
The fate of the Affordable Care Act rests in the hands of the Supreme Court justices, who next week will hear oral arguments over three days. How the court might rule is a hot topic — and several historic court decisions provide some hints as to which way the case will go.