Latest California Healthline Stories
Powerful Move To Short-Circuit the Exchange
The biggest and most ground-breaking piece of the California health care reform puzzle might just stay in the box.
The health care benefits exchange that would be created if the governor signs two bills (AB 1602 and SB 900) that were approved by the Legislature would be similar to an exchange set up in Massachusetts, but would be the first of its kind in the nation established to conform to the national health care reform law.
The governor has been getting a big push from Anthem Blue Cross and the California Chamber of Commerce to veto those bills, according to government officials and health care advocates.
Decision Time in Governor’s Office
This is the week. After months of debates and votes by the state Assembly and Senate, hundreds of bills were passed and sent on to the governor for his signature.
And those bills are still waiting for a signature. In part, that’s due to the absence of a state budget. But now, the governor has just four more days to sign or veto the pile of bills in front of him. The deadline is Thursday, Sept. 30.
There are several dozen health care bills pending, including many that reinforce or help implement the national health reform law. The governor is expected to sign most of them — but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been a behind-the-scenes battle raging over some of them.
HHS Secretary Sebelius Adopts Initial Enrollment Recs
On Friday, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius accepted initial recommendations, developed by the Health IT Standards and Policy committees’ enrollment work group, that aim to improve the enrollment process for health and human services programs.
Health Care Reform Eyes on California
As the CEO of the Small Business Majority, an advocacy group for small businesses in California, John Arensmeyer has traveled the state recently on a “listening tour” — and he’s been heartened by what he’s heard.
“We’re certainly hearing a lot of questions about health care reform,” Arensmeyer said, “but there is universal agreement across the board as to the whole concept of setting up the [California health benefits] exchange.”
The health benefits exchange is the centerpiece of health care reform in California, he said. Since California is the first to pass legislation to create an exchange in response to the national health care reform law, the rest of the nation is paying close attention to it, he said.
A Tale of Two Campaigns: Repeal vs. Reinforce
Republican efforts to do away with health reform have coalesced around a strategy to defund the law. Meanwhile, Democrats will mount a spirited defense of the overhaul timed to its six-month anniversary and the rollout of new provisions.
Parts of Health Care Reform Begin in California This Week
The national health care reform law was signed by President Obama six months ago, and a few provisions of that law go into effect in California and the rest of the nation this week, beginning Sept. 23.
In California, many of the laws recently passed in the Legislature are similar or even identical to federal reform — maternity care mandates, coverage for dependents till age 26, coverage of pre-existing conditions, for instance — so a question arises:
Why do we even need all of those matching state laws?
Exchanging Challenges in Health Plan Marketplace
While California is poised to emerge as a health reform leader with a new health insurance exchange, the state — like many — still faces numerous challenges over the exchange’s operation.
End of Session Winners Wait on Governors Desk
The governor is expected to sign legislation into law that would create the state Health Benefits Exchange legislation. He has till the end of September to make up his mind about the exchange and other health care-related issues.
This is some of what’s pending:
• Seven other bills related to the pending federal health care law and coverage issues are before the governor (in addition to the two exchange bills, SB 900 and AB 1602).
Employer System a Shaky Base for Health Reform
The health care overhaul built on the nation’s unique employer-based health insurance system, instead of revamping the model. However, a number of recent shocks to the system are creating new challenges for consumers and raising concerns ahead of coverage expansions in 2014.
Politics of Economy May Affect Health Care Policy
Financial concerns from Sacramento to Washington, D.C., are overshadowing the health reform overhaul and could shape implementation efforts moving forward.