Update on MCO (Managed Care Organization) Tax DHCS Director Jennifer Kent opened with an update on the MCO tax and the need to revise it to meet new federal guidelines to broaden the base to all health plans (learn more here). Last Spring, the Governor called a special session to resolve this and related Medicaid financing […]
Key Patient Protections Pass Legislature, Now On Governor’s Desk
With the California Legislature adjourning after midnight last Saturday, most of the action on priority bills for health consumers moves to the Governor’s desk. Most of the Heath Access-sponsored bills protecting consumers from unfair out-of-pocket costs are now one Governor’s signature away from enactment. There were disappointments in the final days of this year’s legislative […]
Senate Appropriations Committee Hears Key Health Access Bill and Special Session Tobacco Control Legislation
Yesterday, the Senate Appropriations Committee heard Health Access sponsored bill, AB 533 (Bonta) on “surprise billing” and select special session tobacco control bills. AB 533 (Bonta), which would protect consumers from surprise bills from out-of-network doctors when a consumer does the right thing by going to an in-network hospital, lab or imaging center was not voted […]
Special Session on Healthcare – Informational Hearings
This week, the Legislature held two informational hearings as part of the 2015-16 Second Extraordinary Session on healthcare. These hearings were convened to help lawmakers, and the public, understand approaches to structuring a Managed Care Organization (MCO) tax and the state of Medi-Cal funding more broadly. The current MCO tax only applies to health plans […]
Close-up on AB 533 (Bonta): Protecting Consumers from Surprise Medical Bills
Consumers know they can save money and limit their out-of-pocket costs by going to an in-network provider. Too often, however, consumers who do the right thing by going to an in-network hospital or facility end up getting a surprise bill by a doctor who turns out not to be in-network. According to a recent survey […]
Medi-Cal and Medicare Turn 50–With Much To Celebrate & Room for Improvement
As we celebrate how much help Americans have gotten from Medicare and Medicaid after 50 years, including the many improvements to both programs from the Affordable Care Act, we are reminded of the work left to do. In particular, we need to close the gaps in both programs to cover the remaining uninsured. Building on the success […]
DMHC Hearing on Blue Shield Acquisition of Care1st Gets at Larger Questions on Nonprofit Obligations
Yesterday’s hearing (covered today in the LA Times) on nonprofit Blue Shield of California and its bid to acquire for-profit Medicaid managed care plan Care1st provided better clarity on the issues at stake in the $1.25 billion transaction, and little reason to doubt whether the assets Blue Shield proposes to use should be subject to charitable trust obligations. The comment period […]
Kaiser Family Foundation Survey Findings Affirm Results of State Reform Efforts to Date and Consumer Advocates’ Legislative Focus Two Years into Affordable Care Act
Findings from a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey of low and moderate income California residents, released yesterday, suggest the state is generally on the right track in ACA implementation, specifically in its choice to build a robust “active purchaser” exchange and to target communities with the largest coverage gaps. Those and other priorities of Covered […]
The LA Times weighs in…
The LA Times editorial board endorsed two Health Access California-sponsored bills this weekend to prevent surprise out-of-pocket out-of-network costs. SB137(Hernandez) would require real-time accurate and standardized provider directories; AB533(Bonta) would ensure that consumers who go to an in-network hospital or facility does not get out-of-network bills from any of the doctors or other providers they […]
Health Committees Vote….
This week we had key policy committee hearings, in advance of the end-of-the-month deadlines to pass bills. Yesterday, in the California Assembly Health Committee, numerous key bills advanced. Surprise Bills: Our sponsored legislation, AB533(Bonta) passed on a 17-0 vote, to prevent consumers from getting out-of-network bills when going to a in-network hospital or facility. Even […]