Latest California Healthline Stories
Biomedical Jobs No. 1 in San Diego Health Care Work Force
The recession has brought mixed results for the various sectors of San Diego’s health care labor market. The biomedical industry saw job gains in 2009, while hospitals consolidated or froze jobs. Although nursing graduates are struggling to find work in the region now, hospital officials predict future shortages of nurses and allied health professionals.
About 3 Million New Medi-Cal Enrollees?
The number of Californians who will be eligible to participate in the federal health care coverage expansion in 2014 is higher than previously thought, according to a new study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, based on data from the 2009 California Health Interview Survey.
About 4.7 million people will be eligible for the new coverage options, and about 3 million of those people qualify for Medi-Cal, according to Shana Alex Lavarreda, lead author of the UCLA policy brief.
“We were surprised by the number of people eligible for Medi-Cal, about 3 million, under the federal expansion,” Lavarreda said.
What Does Obama’s Budget Hold for Health Reform?
President Obama’s proposed budget would ramp up federal spending on the health reform law in an effort to help carry out its provisions. The proposal has renewed GOP criticism that the White House is overextending the government’s role in health care and is pushing off hard choices on health costs.
Daunting Challenges Await Exchange Board
The five-member board directing the California Health Benefit Exchange will need to navigate a complex path as it takes steps to set up a statewide marketplace for health insurance coverage. Experts already are predicting a few pitfalls that will be especially challenging.
One Small Judicial Step, One Giant Leap for Mandate?
Concerns about the health reform law’s legality have coalesced around the controversial individual mandate. A Florida judge’s decision to void the entire law based on the mandate may accelerate plans to find a replacement provision.
Filling Out the Powerful Exchange Board
The board of the Health Benefit Exchange is going to be small and mighty.
It will be responsible for implementing the first, and probably largest, health insurance exchange in the nation. This exchange will concentrate the health insurance buying power of millions of Californians, and will be the central force in implementing national health care reform in California.
It will be run by five people. Three of the board’s members are in place. Former Governor Schwarzenegger named two of them: his chief of staff Susan Kennedy, and the former Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kim Belshé. The third member, by statute, is the current head of CHHS, Diana Dooley, appointed CHHS secretary two months ago by Governor Brown.
When Health Repeal Was ‘Catastrophic’
Talk of rolling back the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is dominating the news, but this isn’t the first time that Congress has weighed suddenly overturning a major health law. Does the battle over the 1988 Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act — and its repeal 17 months later — hold any lessons for today?
How California Progress Fits With Federal Report
A new federal report on lowering health insurance costs has a distinctive California flavor to it.
One of the main points of the report from the Health and Human Services agency is to quantify the savings to families and individuals who participate in a health benefits exchange. Since California is the first in the nation to establish a post-health-reform exchange, this state is a bit of a poster child for how the health reform law will work.
Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones joined national health secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a conference call on Friday to discuss the new federal report.
How Might Physician Comparisons Change Landscape?
Health care consumers have a new tool launched in January by the federal government — a website allowing head-to-head comparisons of physicians. We asked experts how comparison tools like this might change the way health care is delivered.
And the State of Our Health Reform Is …
Did the State of the Union hold any surprises for health reform? The health care law was more than a bit player in President Obama’s address, but what unfolded on Tuesday night’s national stage paled next to what’s transpiring in Congress this week.