The 'Obamacare' Rollout's 'Glitches and Bumps' Won't Doom Health Reform

National Journal

President Obama acknowledged reality when he said Tuesday that the rollout of the health reform law next year is going to be interrupted by “glitches and bumps.”  But if the past is any indication, an initial spate of difficulties or bad headlines won't alone spell failure. “There will still be stories that will say this will not be working the way it’s supposed to,” Obama said during a 45-minute press conference. “That’s basically been true of every government program that’s ever been set up.”

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Interview with Top Calif. Health Official on Doctor Shortage and ACA

Capital Public Radio

Capital Public Radio sat down with California's Health and Human Services Secretary Diana Dooley to talk about doctor shortages in the state, and how that ties to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

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Health care reform bills going to governor

Sacramento Business Journal

The first two bills from the special legislative session on health care received final approval by California lawmakers Monday and were sent to the governor. The two bills would reform the individual health insurance market, ban insurance denials and discrimination for pre-existing conditions, guarantee issue and renewal of coverage and require that insurance premiums be based solely on age, geography and family size.

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Talking Covered California's 'massive challenge' in video

Sacramento Business Journal

Health care reform is a “mammoth challenge,” Covered California executive director Peter Lee says in a new video on small business questions about the new insurance marketplace for individuals and small employers that will go life next year, but “it will be easy relative to how complicated buying insurance has been in the past.” The video is in the latest edition of CalChamber News. Launched last year by the California Chamber of Commerce, CalChamber News covers issues affecting employers in the state.

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HMO trade group breaks down health care reform

Sacramento Business Journal

The California Association of Health Plans — the trade group for the HMO industry — is weighing in with its own version of how the Affordable Care Act will affect consumers and change the state’s insurance market. The biggest impact will be in the individual market, where some small businesses and individuals purchase coverage, according to the association’s Affordable Care Act 101 Guide.

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Managing Medi-Cal With Enrollment Up, Spending Down

California Healthline

A report from the National Center for Policy Analysis shows California at or near the extremes in two Medicaid categories: California has the second-highest percentage of Medicaid beneficiaries compared with the state's population; California's average Medicaid spending per enrollee is the lowest among the states. The report -- "The State of Health Care Spending," released last month with detailed accounts of Medicare and Medicaid spending for all 50 states -- arrives at a time of change and controversy for Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program.

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Proposal Would Raise Medicare Payments for Hospice Care Services

California Healthline

CMS on Monday issued a proposed rule that would increase Medicare reimbursement rates to hospices by 1.1%, or $180 million, for fiscal year 2014, Modern Healthcare reports. CMS said the increase was proposed in part because of a nearly 60% increase in average length of stays among Medicare beneficiaries, from 54 days in fiscal year 2000 to 86 days in FY 2010. In addition, CMS spending on hospice services has grown from $2.9 billion in FY 2000 to $14.7 billion in FY 2012.

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