Latest California Healthline Stories
Dozens of Bills Down, Dozens To Go
There will be cake.
That’s the celebratory reaction from health care advocates and many legislators in Sacramento — and literally, there will be a large table of cake at a community center in Sacramento today, where lawmakers and policy professionals will gather to toast what the national health care reform law has already brought to California, and what it’s about to bring.
“Our findings are that, in just one year, hundreds of thousands of Californians are directly getting benefits under the new law,” according to Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, which issued a report yesterday summarizing the impact of the federal Affordable Care Act on California.
Overlooked but Not Forgotten: Three Lesser-Known Reforms
The first anniversary of the federal health care law is drawing attention to its major changes. Here are three under-the-radar reforms that also will shape health care practice.
Riverside County Working on Public Health Medical Home
The Riverside County Public Health Department is planning a patient-centered medical home system at its primary care clinics. Expected to increase efficiency and access, the new system will take about two years to install.
Fearer Ready To Get To Work on Benefit Exchange Board
Paul Fearer, senior executive vice president and director of human resources for Union Bank in San Francisco, brings a rich background in health care purchasing to the penultimate seat on the California Health Benefit Exchange board. Now he and his three colleagues are waiting for the fifth and final appointee so the board can set policy in motion in preparation for the exchange’s start-up in 2014.
He joins California Health and Human Services Secretary Diana Dooley, former California HHS Secretary Kim Belshé and former Schwarzenegger administration chief of staff Susan Kennedy on the exchange board.
“We may look at different ways to reach solutions, but we are aligned in our mission to achieve affordable, quality and accessible health care,” Fearer said.
California’s Hospital Systems Try To Be Accountable
Three major California health systems are embarking on transformative changes ahead of the federal health law’s major payment reforms. Sutter Health, Sharp HealthCare and Scripps Health all are eyeing a range of new opportunities — and challenges — that lie ahead.
Exchange Board Could Be Filled Out Next Week
Paul Fearer, the newest board member of the Health Benefit Exchange, will bring a strong and knowledgeable voice to the exchange, according to John Grgurina.
And Grgurina should know. Grgurina was president of PacAdvantage when Fearer was chairman of the board.
“What Paul brings is a tremendous amount of experience,” said Grgurina, CEO of San Francisco Health Plan, a city-run insurer covering more than 50,000 low- and middle-income city residents.
Experts Chart Direction of Health Care in California and Nation
Although it has an enviable position as one of the nation’s leaders in health care policy, California faces the same market forces shaping policy in other states. Experts gathered in Irvine recently to examine how California health trends influence the rest of the country — and vice-versa.
Do Health Insurers Deserve the Latest Public Hit?
As California health insurers announce a slew of rate hikes, a new report criticizes insurers’ profits and suggests that the federal health reform law remains imperative to tamping down rising premiums.
Fearer Brings Wealth of Experience to Exchange Board
Late yesterday, Assembly Speaker John Perez named his choice to sit on the board of the state Health Benefits Exchange. Paul Fearer will become the fourth exchange board member, bringing that agency one step closer to beginning work.
Fearer is the former chair of PacAdvantage, a statewide health-insurance buying pool. That consortium ran for 14 years, and shut down in 2006. Fearer, currently chair of the Pacific Business Group on Health, is human resources director for Union Bank.
All of that health benefit experience dovetails well with the other high-powered members of the exchange board — former secretary of state Health and Human Services Kim Belshe, current HHS Secretary Diana Dooley and former Schwarzenegger chief of staff Susan Kennedy.
States Hurting, But Outlook Still Bright
Economist James Glassman knew it sounded funny. While he was speaking at the annual Health Care Forecast Conference at UC Irvine last week, the California Legislature was in the process of cutting another $12 billion out of its budget — half of that from health-related programs.
But the current bad news in health care and gloomy economic prognostications will not continue, he said.
“In my mind,” Glassman said, “you have to balance what you’re hearing with what’s happening in the market. If it really was so dire, for instance, the bond market would be a disaster.”