Posts Tagged ‘affordable care act’
Feds OK California’s Health Exchange Plan
California received conditional approval from the federal government to establish a health care exchange. California is among seven states that received the go-ahead from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to operate its own health insurance exchange, one of the provisions under President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act. The goal [...]
Primary Care Doctors Growing Scarce
Even without the Affordable Care Act, a worsening doctor shortage had been forecast as the state's and nation's population ages and grows, and as a generation of older doctors retires. But by mandating that individuals have insurance and expanding Medicaid, the law will extend coverage to an additional 30 million Americans and place a greater [...]
Study Finds Gap in Hospitals’ Health Reform Preparedness
California hospitals' readiness for changes under the Affordable Care Act varies across different regions, according to research by the Center for Studying Health System Change. Researchers analyzed health care markets in Fresno and the San Francisco Bay Area to gauge how the organization, financing and delivery of care have changed since [...]
Health Overhaul Could Mean Crowds
The Affordable Care Act mandates increased health coverage for the uninsured. In California, that means expanding the state’s Medi-Cal program and offering subsidized insurance plans on a newly created state-run exchange. Many health care experts say there simply will not be enough doctors to go around. According to the California Health [...]
California Speeds Revamp of Health Insurance Market
With President Obama's reelection lifting a potential roadblock, California officials are rushing to implement the federal healthcare law and revamp the insurance market for millions of Californians starting next fall. Republican challenger Mitt Romney had vowed to overturn the Affordable Care Act, casting uncertainty over efforts in [...]
Most Small Businesses Don’t Understand Health Reform Requirements
HEALTHCARE • Most Small Businesses Don’t Understand Health Reform Requirements • Doogie Howser Would Beat Marcus Welby in Patient Care Spending IN CALIFORNIA • Insurance Commissioner Urges Consumers to Challenge Treatment Denials • Her Zumba Class Was a Dead Giveaway for Disability Fraud • VSP Stays in California Due to [...]
Study Claims Wasted Healthcare Dollars Could Produce Huge Windfall
In a recent study, the respected national Institute of Medicine estimated that $750 billion is lost each year to wasteful or excessive healthcare spending. This sum includes excess administrative costs, inflated prices, unnecessary services and fraud — dollars that add no value to health and well-being. Frederick J. Zimmerman, professor and [...]
Most California Workers Aren’t Getting Health Benefits
Fewer than half of Californians got their health insurance through their employers last year according to a new study from UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research. About 19 percent of the state’s residents are enrolled in government health insurance programs for low-income people. UCLA researchers say more people should be able to get [...]
California Considers Strategies for Treating Uninsured Immigrants
California officials and health care providers are considering different strategies for treating immigrants who will remain uninsured after implementation of the federal health reform law. Under the Affordable Care Act, undocumented immigrants and lawful immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for less than five years are excluded from new [...]
Gov. Brown Signs, Vetoes Health Care Reform Bills
IN CALIFORNIA • Gov. Brown Signs, Vetoes Health Care Reform Bills • Coordinated Care ACO HEALTHCARE • How the Obama and Romney Health Plans Stack Up • The Insured Rate Has Grown Slightly • Spending on Quality Improvement • Most Employers Consider Moving Retirees to the Individual Exchange Market NEW PRODUCTS • Variable [...]
