The effects of a sexual assault can be long-lasting, but the medical bills shouldn’t be. Yet a new study finds that despite federal efforts to lift that burden from rape victims, a hodgepodge of state rules means some victims may still be charged for medical services related to rape, including prevention and treatment of pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections.
\"If you\'re exposed to HIV as a result of the attack, that’s something the state should be paying for, especially if we can give you prophylaxis to prevent infection,\" said Ilse Knecht, deputy director of public policy at the National Center for Victims of Crime.
Archived California Healthcare News
DMHC Penalizes Care1st, Contra Costa
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Jun 4, 2014
The Department of Managed Health Care has taken enforcement actions and levied fines totaling $95,000 against Medi-Cal managed care plans operating near Los Angeles and in the Bay Area.
The DMHC levied a $75,000 fine late last month against Care1st Health Plan, which is based in Monterey Park, just east of Los Angeles. The fine was related to how care was assigned to a special needs prostate cancer patient in 2011.
Less Aggressive Breast Cancer Care?
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Jun 4, 2014
A new study by Kaiser Permanente researchers suggests that a widely-used regimen to treat breast cancer patients may not necessary work for all patients.
State Teen Birth Rate Continues Plunge
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Jun 4, 2014
The birthrate among California\'s teenagers continues to plummet among all demographic groups, according to new data from the Department of Public Health.
The state\'s birth rate has dropped to 25.7 births per 1,000 females age 15 to 19 in 2012, compared to 28 per 1,000 in 2011, a decline of 8%.
In Brief: Health Exchange Plans Much Cheaper Than Other Coverage; State Gets $7.1M Settlement
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Jun 4, 2014
Study: Health Exchange Plans Much Cheaper Than Other Coverage
A new study by the Sunnyvale-based survey firm HealthPocket has concluded that the health insurance coverage offered by health plans that are not competing in state exchanges is significantly more expensive than their offerings within exchanges.
UCLA Report Warns Of DSH Shortfall
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Jun 3, 2014
Pending payment cuts to the so-called disproportionate share hospitals (DSH) could deprive them of more than $1.5 billion before the decade is out, according to a new report by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
Medicare May Begin Paying Doctors Who Discuss End-of-Life Issues
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Jun 2, 2014
The federal government may reimburse doctors for talking to Medicare patients and their families about “advance care planning,†including living wills and end-of-life treatment options — potentially rekindling one of the fiercest storms in the Affordable Care Act debate.
A similar provision was in an early draft of the federal health care law, but in 2009, former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin took to Facebook to accuse President Barack Obama of proposing “death panels†to determine who deserved life-sustaining medical care. Amid an outcry on the right, the provision was stripped from the legislation.
Missouri\'s Medicaid Rolls Post Big Decline
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Jun 2, 2014
Missouri is seeing a bigger decline in its Medicaid rolls than nearly any other state, a ranking that the administration of Gov. Jay Nixon attributes to an improving economy and critics blame on application snafus.
A new federal report compares Medicaid enrollment in March to the average for the three-month period of July through September 2013. Missouri’s caseload declined 3.9 percent, a drop second only to Wyoming, which declined by 5.6%.
Michigan\'s Adult Foster Care May Get The Axe
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Jun 2, 2014
The Affordable Care Act is expected to save Michigan hundreds of millions of dollars annually in mental health costs, but there’s a growing dispute over whether the money should be immediately reinvested in mental health programs, or banked.
As part of major changes associated with the healthcare overhaul, Michigan opened Medicaid to nearly 500,000 additional residents. That moves their healthcare costs — including mental health — off the state’s books and onto the federal government’s.
Prepping Community Clinics For The ACA
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May 28, 2014
Community clinics are expected to play a key role in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act as they provide key primary care services to millions of newly insured. But a new study by UCLA researchers suggests such facilities in California\'s most populous county may not be properly prepared to undertake such an effort.
The study – undertaken by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research with support from the Weingart Foundation and the California Community Foundation – discovered that 62% of community clinics in Los Angeles County were in some stage of preparation for the ACA, their level of readiness varied greatly.
New Growth, New Costs For Health Net
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May 28, 2014
The Affordable Care Act has helped boost Health Net\'s enrollment during the first quarter of 2014, but costs associated with a pricey hepatits drug and other issues have caused expenses to balloon, cutting into the Woodland Hills-based health plan\'s earnings.
UC Davis, Orbis Enter Telehealth Pact
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May 28, 2014
UC Davis Health System has entered into an agreement with a blindness prevention charity to provide telehealth services in support of the ophthalmological care it provides.
The agreement between UC Davis and the New York-based Orbis International will include remote consultations with providers affilated with Orbis as they treat patients, and the transmission of eye surgeries at UC Davis for training purposes. Both will be performed in real-time.
Emission Initiative Could Save $8.3B
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May 28, 2014
California\'s plan to cut its greenhouse gas emissions could cut the state\'s healthcare costs by $8.3 billion by 2025, according to a new analysis by the American Lung Association and the Environmental Defense Fund.
Reference Pricing Saves CalPERS More Than $5 Million; CHLA Gets $1.5 Million From Walgreens
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May 28, 2014
Reference Pricing Initiative Saves CalPERS More Than $5 Million
A reference pricing initiative created by the California Public Employees Retirement System has saved the organization $5.5 million by cutting costs for elective hip and knee replacements.
Hospitals To Bankroll Much Of SEIU Pact
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May 21, 2014
The California Hospital Association and its member institutions will furnish the vast majority of a $100 million fund to try and increase Medi-Cal provider payments, with the SEIU-UHW labor union\'s ability to recruit tens of thousands of new members hinging on its success.
Medi-Cal For Illegals Cost-Effective
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May 21, 2014
A nominal increase in Medi-Cal spending could potentially make an enormous difference in the ability of California\'s hundreds of thousands of undocumented residents to access primary and preventative care.
That’s the conclusion of researchers with UC Berkeley\'s Center for Labor Research and Education and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
In Brief: Kaiser Pledges $2 Million For New King Hospital; Blue Shield Foundation Grants $200K To L.A. Care Health Plan
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May 21, 2014
Kaiser Pledges $2 Million For Maternity Services At New King Community Hospital
Kaiser Permanente's Southern California division has pledged $2 million to expand maternity services at the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital when it opens next year.
Big Ohio Company Debates Cutting Health Benefits Entirely
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May 19, 2014
AmeriMark Direct in Cleveland started its mail order catalog business here in the 1960s, and for decades, everyone assumed that health insurance came with the job.
These days, the 700-employee company doesn’t assume anything.
To Cure Hepatitis C, Start With Prisons
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May 18, 2014
The U.S. is in the midst of a hepatitis C epidemic with as many as 3.9 million Americans infected with the liver-damaging virus. Aggressively targeting a concentrated population with the contagious but curable disease could be the best approach to eradicating the deadly virus.
The most logical place to launch the counterattack is in the country’s jails and prisons, where the infection rate is about 17 percent, compared to 1 percent to 2 percent overall in the U.S., said Josiah Rich, a Brown University infectious disease physician. A recent study estimated that 1.86 million people with the virus were incarcerated.
Missouri Processing Center Had Little Work During ACA Enrollment Period
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May 18, 2014
A former employee at an Affordable Care Act processing center in Wentzville, Mo., recalls having so little work to do that she played board games while some co-workers slept.
Lavonne Takatz, 42, worked at the center in Wentzville from October to April.
