Latest California Healthline Stories
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.”
President’s First Major Reform to Reform Law May Be DOA
President Obama now backs an effort to let states opt out of significant elements of the health reform law sooner than currently allowed. However, the president’s decision to concede an aspect of his overhaul may not be much of a concession, as the legislation is unlikely to pass.
Calif. Health Benefit Exchange Board Member Kim Belshé Discusses Potential of the Exchange
Kim Belshé — former secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency and a member of the California Health Benefit Exchange Board — spoke with California Healthline about how the state’s health benefit exchange can expand coverage, boost care quality and reduce costs.
Altered States: Paths to Reform Increasingly Diverge
Governors in Wisconsin, Alaska and Massachusetts are forging unique paths to custom fit health reform around their budget pressures and existing overhauls. The three states may serve as templates — or outliers — as the rubber starts to hit the road to reform.
What Would ACA Repeal Mean for California?
If efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act are successful — either in Congress or the Supreme Court — what happens next in California? We asked stakeholders and policymakers what direction health care reform might take if the current path is blocked.