Archived California Healthcare News

For decades, reformers have sought to change how doctors and hospitals are paid to reward quality and efficiency – efforts that accelerated as a result of the health care overhaul. But surprisingly little progress has been made to date, a consortium of large employers has reported. Only 10.9% of healthcare spending last year by employer-sponsored plans was based on \"value,\" as opposed to “volume,” or the number of services performed, according to the study by Catalyst for Payment Reform, a nonprofit group that represents 21 U.S. employers, including Verizon, Walmart, eBay and Boeing.

Payers in spent just under $19 billion last year to provide care to their enrollees in Minnesota, according to a new report. The data from the Minnesota Council of Health Plans, which represents not-for-profit payers, concluded that spending was up $1.3 billion in 2012 compared to 2011, an uptick of 7% overall. Per person spending rose an average of 5%.

Woodland Hills-based Health Net has won a three-year contract to manage Medicaid benefits in Maricopa County, Ariz. – a pact that sources suggest could be worth as much as $70 million annually. Health Net will manage Medicaid benefits offered to enrollees in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, by far Arizona\'s largest metropolitan area. It contains about 65% of the state\'s 1.3 million Medicaid enrollees. The Medicaid program is known as the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System.

California’s Office of the Patient Advocate rolled out this week a revamped website and report card to provide ratings on health plans and medical groups. The website, www.opa.ca.gov, was redesigned partly in response to consumer input, but also because hundreds of thousands of more Californians are expected to purchase coverage from the state-operated health insurance exchange, Healthy California, starting in October.

The Iowa Senate passed a bill on Monday that would expand Medicaid under the auspices of the Affordable Care Act, but Gov. Terry Branstad is still firmly against such a plan. The Senate passed the bill, SF 296, by a 26-23 mostly party-line vote with overwhelmingly Democratic support. Lawmakers in support of expanding Medicaid spoke at length regarding how not expanding Medicaid would put pressure on hospitals to continue to care for uninsured patients without hope of reimbursement.

Cleveland Clinic, CHS Enter Into Alliance

For-profit national hospital operator Community Health Systems has entered into a five-year strategic alliance with the non-profit Cleveland Clinic.

A trove of recently released federal hospital inspection reports paints an uneven picture regarding the quality of care at California\'s hospitals. The reports were compiled on hospitals at the behest of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services during 2011 and 2012, and usually conducted by the California Department of Public Health. It is compiled in a new database, hospitalinspections.org, operated by the Association of Health Care Journalists.

Breast Cancer Survivors Raise Mortality Rate Consuming High-Fat Dairy

A new study by Kaiser Permanente concluded that individuals diagnosed with breast cancer who continue to consume high-fat dairy products raise their risk of early death even should the disease goes into remission.