03/19/2010
Yesterday, Arizona became the first state to eliminate its Children's Health Insurance Program when state lawmakers passed a budget package that ended coverage for about 47,000 low-income children. Arizona also is tightening eligibility for its Medicaid program. New York Times.
03/16/2010
A new study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research finds that more than eight million Californians lacked health insurance coverage for all or part of 2009, up from 6.4 million in 2007. Researchers attributed the dramatic increase to the recession and the state's higher unemployment rate, which climbed from 5.7% in 2007 to 12.3% by the end of 2009. Los Angeles Times.
03/16/2010
A San Bernardino County church has teamed up with the county First 5 program to provide immunizations and checkups to uninsured children out of its mobile medical clinic. The service also provides primary care to adults. San Bernardino County Sun.
03/12/2010
Last year, Shasta County public health programs saw funding levels decline by $1.2 million. The financial pressures have compelled the county to eliminate immunization clinics, pediatric dental care programs and other preventive health services. Redding Record Searchlight.
03/03/2010
Surveys and other data indicate that children with special health care needs often face significant waits for consultations with pediatric specialists, and those waits are growing longer because of a worsening shortage of pediatric specialists. Moreover, pediatric specialists are moving out of California because of cuts to Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, the state's Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program, respectively. New America Media.
03/03/2010
A panel of three judges ruled that Gov. Schwarzenegger did not exceed his constitutional authority when he used line-item vetoes to deepen funding cuts for health care and other programs in a July budget revision package. Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg also has filed a lawsuit challenging the vetoes, but his case has yet to go to trial. San Francisco Chronicle et al.
03/02/2010
The U.S. Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration has announced a $7.25 million grant that will help fund upgrades to One-e-App, an online enrollment system for health care and other social services programs. The funds come from the 2009 federal economic stimulus package. The Signal.
03/02/2010
On Friday, the California Budget Project released an analysis projecting that 6,000 children in Solano County and 4,500 kids in Napa County would lose health insurance coverage if Gov. Schwarzenegger's proposed cuts to Healthy Families -- the state's Children's Health Insurance Program -- are enacted. CBP estimates that one million children statewide would lose coverage if the program is eliminated. Vallejo Times Herald.
02/25/2010
This week, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a proposal to create a Web-based suicide prevention training program for educators and other school officials. The Web site will include fact sheets, frequently asked questions and links to further resources. The county will use $765,000 in state funds to implement the program. Los Angeles Daily News.
02/24/2010
HHS has announced that 10 states will receive more than $100 million in grants for projects designed to improve health care quality for children enrolled in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. Some states plan to use the funds for pediatric electronic health records and other health IT initiatives. Healthcare IT News.
02/24/2010
A new study from the Pew Center on the States finds that at least 20% of U.S. children go without dental care each year. Researchers also noted that most states do not have policies in place to ensure that children have access to preventive oral health care. USA Today.
02/24/2010
During the past 30 years, many major health care bills passed under the budget reconciliation process. Reconciliation helped pass the COBRA coverage extensions, the Children's Health Insurance Program and changes to Medicaid and Medicare. NPR's "Morning Edition."
02/22/2010
One California budget proposal would scale back Medi-Cal reimbursement rates for family planning services to 2007 levels. In addition, Gov. Schwarzenegger has proposed eliminating the state's Family Planning, Access, Care and Treatment program. Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
02/12/2010
The UCLA School of Public Health is partnering with the California health insurer Health Net to create a new social networking Web site targeting adolescents enrolled in Medi-Cal or Healthy Families. The platform will contain blogs, instant messaging, video postings and other features designed to encourage teenagers to take advantage of available public health services. Payers & Providers.
02/10/2010
California Senate Democrats are expected to start working on a partial budget that could solve one-third of the state's nearly $20 billion deficit. The proposal would avoid funding transfers from special accounts for mental health services and early childhood development. Sacramento Bee.