EVENTS

MAY

Summit About Wireless Health Convergence

San Diego

MAY

Meeting on Health Issues Related to Substance Use

San Francisco

JUN

National Meeting of Palliative Health Care Congress

Anaheim

View All Events

FROM THE FOUNDATION

All Over the Map

Newly updated to include breast cancer, prostate cancer, and spine procedures, this CHCF-sponsored research shows that practice patterns vary dramatically from place to place.

Medi-Cal is the main source of health insurance for one in five Californians. An updated report gives an overview of the program's key features, describes how the program is evolving, and examines the challenges ahead.

Obama Care in the Second Term

CHCF is a long-time sponsor of the UC Irvine Forecast Conference. A webcast of this year's conference on health policy in President Obama's second term is now available.

|
Monday
|
Tuesday
|
Wednesday
|
Thursday
|
Friday
|

Survey: Annual Health Plan Costs To Increase by Less Than 10%

A new survey by Buck Consultants estimates that the average annual costs for all types of health plans will increase by less than 10% in 2012, marking the firm's smallest projections for health plan rate hikes since 2001. Sacramento Business Journal.

Brown, Unions Reach Tentative Labor Pacts To Extend Contracts

Gov. Brown has reached tentative agreements with four state worker unions to extend their existing contracts for another year. The agreements would push contract negotiations until after a potential November vote on Brown's compromise tax hike plan. Sacramento Bee's "The State Worker," Sacramento Bee.

Health Reform To Add Billions to Deficit Over 10 Years, Report Says

A report released today by the GOP trustee for Medicare and Social Security estimates that the health reform law will add more than $340 billion to the federal deficit over the next 10 years. The Obama administration criticized the report's calculation methods. Reuters et al.

Legislators Consider Alternative to Brown's Pension Reform Plan

State legislators are looking at a pension reform proposal based on a plan offered by the California State Teachers' Retirement System. Some lawmakers are concerned that the pension proposal offered by Gov. Brown would open pensions up to significant losses. Los Angeles Times' "PolitiCal."

HHS Sets New Deadline for Adopting Medical Billing Code System

Yesterday, HHS released a proposed rule that calls for delaying the ICD-10 compliance deadline by one year, to Oct. 1, 2014. The proposed rule also includes a provision to assign a unique health plan identifier number to all health insurers. Modern Healthcare et al.

Kim Dempsey of NCB Capital Impact Discusses Ways To Boost Capacity of Community Clinics

Kim Dempsey, director of innovation and strategy at NCB Capital Impact, spoke with California Healthline about recommendations for improving the operations of community health centers.

Running Time: 5:16

Capitol Desk

New Rates Higher but Coverage Better

Premium rates for health insurance through Covered California will be higher, but not as high as predicted -- and coverage will be better.

Read Capitol Desk

SACRAMENTO BEAT

Group Launches Campaign To Thwart Compromise Tax Plan

ACROSS THE NATION

Appeals Court To Hear Case on Tobacco Warning Labels

BLS Report: Health Sector Added 26,000 Jobs in March

OPINION MAKERS

Opinion: Democrats Oppose Some of Brown's Budget Cuts

U.S. Must Address Health Care Costs, Opinion Piece Says

ROAD TO REFORM

Health IT: The Common Ground in Health Care Reform?

by Paula Blasi, California Healthline Contributing Editor

Arguments inside and outside the Supreme Court building last month reaffirmed the nation's sharp divide over the federal health reform law. But one aspect of the law is likely to continue drawing support from both sides of the aisle: health information technology.

THE THINK TANK

Should California Reconsider Health Care Districts?

With the Affordable Care Act poised to dramatically change the state's health care system, should California be reconsidering special health care districts that generate and consume millions of dollars every year? We asked experts to weigh in.