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May Exchange Board Meeting #1: Federal Partnership Options

Kiwon Yoo — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:14:34 +0000

The May 15 Exchange Board meeting was a late addition to the schedule, and was largely dedicated to the state/federal partnership option, under which California could receive federal assistance in operating its Exchange for the first few years. Amanda Cowley, the acting director of state health exchanges at the Office… more

$7 Billion Revenue Shortfall Drives Harsh HHS Cuts in May Revise

Kiwon Yoo — Mon, 14 May 2012 22:13:32 +0000

Governor Brown’s May Revise was released earlier today, and is much grimmer than the state’s proposed budget in January. The deficit, which was projected to be $9 billion in January, jumped to $16 billion due to state’s slow economic recovery. In a video posted to YouTube, Brown elaborated that “tax… more

Report Assesses County Progress in Safety Net Integration

Kandis Driscoll — Sat, 12 May 2012 00:05:36 +0000

A recent report, released by the UC Berkeley Labor Center and the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, UCSF, looks at the progress of safety net integration in five California counties, including Contra Costa, Humboldt, San Diego, San Joaquin, and San Mateo. The report makes note of opportunities under the… more

Investing in our Providers

Kandis Driscoll — Wed, 09 May 2012 00:20:36 +0000

Doctors have always been held in high regard; it is the most common professional endeavor among five year olds everywhere, that is, until they grow up and realize they must complete the daunting task of medical school (not to mention residency) before their practice even begins. By that time, that… more

High Uninsured Rates Also Affect the Insured

Kiwon Yoo — Mon, 07 May 2012 22:01:22 +0000

In a study that will be published in the Journal of Health Economics, N. Meltem Daysal found that high uninsurance not only negatively affects health outcomes for the uninsured, but for the insured as well. Daysal studied CA heart attack patients between 1999 and 2006, when the state actually saw… more

U.S. Ranks Poorly in Rate of Premature Births

Kandis Driscoll — Thu, 03 May 2012 21:39:25 +0000

The March of Dimes, the World Health Organization, and the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health sponsored a three-year “Born Too Soon” report assessing the rate of premature births in 184 nations. In 2010, 15 million babies were born premature, or before 37 weeks of the full 40-week gestational… more

The Potential for a Hybrid Exchange

Lucien Wulsin — Thu, 03 May 2012 17:20:49 +0000

The federal rules on the Exchange allow state Exchanges and the federal government to contract with each other to operate aspects of the Exchange on a permanent or interim transitional basis. These are known as Partnership Exchanges. Given the short time frame to have an operational IT system for Exchange,… more

April Exchange Board Meeting: SHOP Exchange

Kiwon Yoo — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 21:39:49 +0000

After some delay in the open session, which was indicative of the amount of work that the Board members face, April’s Exchange Board meeting focused on the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP), with a panel discussion. During his Executive Director update, Peter Lee announced that the Board received a… more

Wellness Centers: The New Trend in School-Based Health

Veronika — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:23:59 +0000

Each year, California’s children miss an estimated 847,000 days of school because of dental problems alone[1]. Health advocates argue that student’s absentee rates could be significantly reduced if they did not have to leave campus for medical appointments. But there is a solution; school-based health centers (SBHCs) are quickly becoming the new… more

Bills Implementing ACA Move Forward

Kandis Driscoll — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:46:56 +0000

California lawmakers have been busy implementing the ACA in the state Capitol. Friday, April 27th marks the last day for bills introduced in 2012 to pass out of the first policy committee. A number of bills have already passed out of the Senate and Assembly Health Committees, including: AB 1453… more