Month: March 2015
Long Waits Feared with Obamacare Fail to Materialize
March 27, 2015
Many consumers, healthcare providers, and other market observers feared that the increase in health coverage through Obamacare would cause access problems in the form of long waits for appointments and a lack of hospital beds. So far, it appears that this fear has generally not materialized.…
Read MoreMarch Covered California Board Meeting
March 27, 2015
Now that California’s second open enrollment has closed, it’s time to continue thinking about the future. During Covered California’s latest board meeting, there was a lot of discussion about the 2016 plan year and beyond. Below are the details from the March 5th board meeting. New…
Read MoreRisks vs. Outcomes: How Does Your County Measure Up?
March 26, 2015
How healthy is your county? How many years are lost to premature deaths? How frequently are babies born underweight? Does it do better than the state average? Better than the national average? What about wellness? Do residents have insurance? Can they find physicians when they…
Read MoreITUP Summary of DHCS Waiver Renewal Concepts
March 25, 2015
The concept paper includes the following: Delivery System Transformation and Global Safety Net Payments for the Remaining Uninsured. Within the Delivery System Transformation are the following six sub-elements: managed care transformation, fee for service transformation, public safety…
Read MoreMedicaid Expansion Fights Back Against Diabetes
March 24, 2015
A newly released study suggests that states taking part in Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act are doing a significantly better job at identifying patients with undiagnosed diabetes. The study found that diabetes diagnosis rates among Medicaid rates increased over 10…
Read MoreFive Years Later: Building on the Successes of the Affordable Care Act
March 23, 2015
Today, the Affordable Care Act turned five. That is something to celebrate. In California, over 4.4 million individuals gained coverage under and the new Medi-Cal expansion, cutting the uninsured rate in half. Premiums have only risen at a slow rate, despite predictions that they…
Read MoreNew Survey Explores Behavioral Health Needs and Preferences of Californians with Low Incomes
March 12, 2015
The Blue Shield of California Foundation just released the results of a recent survey report by Langer Research Associates that highlights the behavioral health experiences, needs, and attitudes of Californians with low incomes. The main findings are that many Californians with lower…
Read MoreTurnaround or Bust – How Jackson Health System Avoided (at least, so far) Drowning in Red Ink; a Fate Suffered a Decade Earlier by DC General
March 6, 2015
Having lived through the closure of one public health delivery system – DC General in the District of Columbia (DC) - I can easily say, Jackson Health System (JHS) in Miami’s transition certainly made it easier to sleep at night. Interesting enough, both transitions were stewarded…
Read MoreACA Enrollment – The Epic Story of the Two Oranges
March 4, 2015
Reports from AP and others highlight Florida’s stunning CoveredCA enrollment fete. Despite State politics around Obamacare…or perhaps because of it – February 2015 reports indicate that Florida exceeded all other states in the number of individuals enrolled in ACA. Governing…
Read MoreKing v. Burwell in the U.S. Supreme Court
March 2, 2015
The case is about individuals’ refundable tax credits that help pay for individuals’ health insurance in the 34 (37) states whose Exchanges are administered by the federal Department of Health and Human Services. There are about 8.6 million subscribers now enrolled – ranging…
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