Health Care Waiting Room

For decades, treating people for free or for very little money has been the role of community health centers in California and across the United States. In 2015, 1 in 12 Americans sought care at one of these clinics; nearly 6 in 10 were women, and hundreds of thousands were veterans.

The community clinics — now roughly 1,300-strong — have also expanded in recent years to serve people who gained insurance under the Affordable Care Act. In 2015, community health centers served 24.3 million people — up from 19.5 million in 2010. Most of the centers are nonprofits with deep roots in their communities and meet the criteria to be a federally qualified health center. That means they can qualify for federal grants and a higher payment rate from Medicaid and Medicare.

Read More

The individual health insurance marketplace has long benefited from efficient online sales and enrollment tools. And the majority of consumers and agents in the individual market have readily adopted these tools. Web-based, anonymous quoting and agent-affiliated web portals have become commonplace, making the online purchasing experience the norm for both agents and consumers alike.

Read More

California and other states could keep their federally funded insurance exchange with consumer protections intact under a proposal unveiled Monday by two Republican U.S. Senators.

Read More

In almost every county across California, regardless of its political leaning, at least one in 10 people has health coverage because of Obamacare.

And in some counties, almost one-fifth of the population is eligible for insurance under the Affordable Care Act, either through the expansion of Medi-Cal or Covered California, the state-run health insurance marketplace that offers subsidized private coverage.

Read More

California grabbed the first opportunity to expand Medicaid and ran with it, helping cut the number of uninsured people in half in a few short years.

Thanks in part to billions of dollars in federal funding, a third of California’s residents — including half its children — are insured by Medi-Cal, the state’s version of Medicaid.

Now, with the election of Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress, the state that bet so heavily on the Medicaid expansion is bracing to see how much of its work will be undone. While no one knows yet exactly what will happen, many policymakers and advocates fear the federal government will end or severely limit funding for the expansion.

Read More

Reaction was positive to a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rule released Friday finalizing changes to how doctors are paid through Medicare. Health provider groups said they were pleased that the agency has been, and expects to continue to be, responsive to their concerns.

The changes implement a new law aimed at saving the Medicare program money by rewarding providers for high quality care. Under the rule, providers will have two paths to choose from to start shifting away from the traditional fee-for-service system.

Read More

Losses in productivity due to worker illness and injury cost U.S. employers $225.8 billion annually. Knowing what business leaders can do to improve health and wellness among employees and within their community has shown to not only help businesses thrive, but it can also be the tipping point towards ensuring economic vitality and creating equitable prosperity. 

Read More

Today, consumers expect what they want, when they want it. But where does this emerging on-demand economy leave health care?

Consider the state of health care. The average wait time to see a primary care doctor is 18 days. The average emergency room wait time in Los Angeles is 3.5 hours. And yet 71 percent of emergency room visits are unnecessary.

Read More

After a month-long break, the Covered California Board reconvened for its monthly meeting on Aug. 18, 2016. Covered California provided updates on media coverage and enrollment numbers for Covered California for Small Business (CCSB). Board members approved readoption of the requirements for the certified application counselor program and individual eligibility and enrollment regulations. Covered California provided updates on its application for a Section 1332 federal waiver under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and signaled its intent to adopt the final application at the September board meeting. Finally, the Board discussed draft CCSB eligibility and enrollment regulations with action to be considered at the September meeting.¹

Read More

Scheduling open enrollment for health insurance at the end of the year is akin to driving on the Bay Bridge during rush hour. The journey could be long, slow and more than a little frustrating.

Read More