Latest California Healthline Stories
Rationalizing Rationing in Arizona’s Medicaid Program
Both parties have debated whether the federal health reform law would lead to rationing. After Arizona’s unprecedented cuts to its Medicaid program, new questions have emerged about the difficult trade-offs around health care spending.
Governor Transition Might Hinder Grant
The new governor takes office on Jan. 3 — but that would be too late for California to apply for a large federal innovation grant, according to a number of health care advocate groups.
“We’re in this lull period,” Lucien Wulsin of the Insure the Uninsured Project said, “with the outgoing Schwarzenegger administration and the incoming Brown, there’s this whole handoff thing.”
And since the innovation grant application has to go in by Dec. 23, Wulsin said that’s a little worrisome.
How California’s Health Care Landscape Is Shifting
At a panel discussion in Sacramento yesterday, the line of the day belonged to Louise McCarthy, head of governmental affairs for the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County.
The phrase “elephant in the room” kept coming up throughout the discussion, and usually it referred to some health care money owed and not being paid by the state.
“It’s not an elephant in the room we’re dealing with,” McCarthy said. “It’s more of a pachyderm party right now.”
Myth-Busting the Reform Law: Sea Change or Scapegoat?
A number of organizations have painted the health reform law as a catalyst for changes in their industries. Yet some groups may be invoking the law as a scapegoat for transformations that would have happened anyway, or using it as a convenient platform on which to advance their interests.
Golden State Looks On as Others Threaten To Cut Medicaid
Can states pull out of the Medicaid program — and will they? The questions have taken on sudden importance, as some state officials suggest that health reform’s costs are too high and the federal program too restrictive.
Mapping Out Future for Rural Health Care
The problems faced by rural health providers go far beyond whether or not patients have insurance coverage, according to Danny Fernandez, legislative advocate for the National Rural Health Association, who spoke at the 10th annual conference of the California State Rural Health Association this week in Sacramento .
“At some point, ‘national health reform’ morphed into ‘national health insurance reform,’ ” Fernandez said. But it’s not just about making sure everyone’s insured, he said. “Our overall message to Capitol Hill was, if you don’t have access to a provider, then it doesn’t matter if you do or don’t have insurance coverage.”
That is probably the number one problem in rural areas throughout the state and nation, he said, along with a general lack of funding for rural health care. National health care reform, Fernandez said, might be able to address both concerns — by increasing funds through better insurance, and by offering incentives and programs to get medical providers into rural areas.
Policy, Not Punditry: Update on Three Key Provisions
Speculation over the midterm elections’ effect on health reform has threatened to overshadow recent regulatory developments. Work to date on high-risk insurance pools, medical-loss ratios and accountable care organizations shows there are roadblocks beyond politics that could hamper reform.
Healthy Interest in Reform from Small Businesses
California’s small businesses are embracing the tenets of health care reform, according to John Arensmeyer, CEO of the Small Business Majority.
“The more people learn about it, particularly about the tax credits [offered by the Affordable Care Act], the more interested they are,” Arensmeyer said. “The real problem is that it’s a little unknown, so it’s important to get people to understand what’s in it.
According to a recent report by Bernstein Research in New York, more small-business employers — those with three to nine workers — are offering health insurance this year. Nationally, the number of small businesses offering insurance increased by 13 percentage points in a year, from 46% to 59%.
Primary Care Might Get its Due With Health Reform
It’s hard to delineate the possible progress being made in fixing the primary care problem in California and the nation, without first looking at how bad that problem is, according to Kevin Grumbach of the UCSF Department of Family and Community Medicine, who addressed an audience of health professionals at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento this week.
“Health systems and regions built with primary care have better outcomes, better quality of care, lower costs and more equitable care,” Grumbach said.
“The trouble is, we’re finding that the whole foundation of primary care is crumbling.”
What’s on Tap for Reform Before Next Congress Takes Over
As Congress enters a lame-duck session, lawmakers face several pieces of health reform-related legislation. Some Democrats may also weigh using the final days of their House majority to enact their own fixes to health reform.