Latest Morning Briefing Stories

California Dangles Bonuses for Nursing Homes That Add Staff

KFF Health News Original

Rather than simply reward top-performing facilities, the state’s Medicaid program will hand bonuses to nursing homes — even low-rated ones — for hiring more workers and reducing staff turnover.

California’s Resolve Questioned After It Grants Medi-Cal Contract Concessions

KFF Health News Original

After the Department of Health Care Services canceled Medi-Cal contract awards under pressure from major insurers, some consumer advocates question the administration’s willpower to improve care in the safety-net program.

California Senate’s New Health Chair to Prioritize Mental Health and Homelessness

KFF Health News Original

California state Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman of Stockton has been appointed chair of the Senate’s influential health committee. A licensed social worker, Eggman said she will make mental health care and homelessness front-burner issues.

Watch: The Politics of Health Care in California

KFF Health News Original

KHN senior correspondent Angela Hart discussed the most pressing health care issues in California with the nonpartisan group Democracy Winters in mid-November, touching on a variety of issues, from the state’s effort to transform its Medicaid program to its plan to produce generic insulin.

Centene Showers Politicians With Millions as It Courts Contracts and Settles Overbilling Allegations

KFF Health News Original

Centene, the largest Medicaid managed-care company in the U.S., has thrown more than $26.9 million at political campaigns across the country since 2015, especially focused on states where it is wooing Medicaid contracts and settling accusations that it overbilled taxpayers. Among its tactics: Centene is skirting contribution limits by giving to candidates through its many subsidiaries.

Ambulance Company to Halt Some Rides in Southern California, Citing Low Medicaid Rates

KFF Health News Original

American Medical Response, the largest U.S. ambulance company, is ending nonemergency transportation for 12 hospitals in Los Angeles and Orange counties, saying the state doesn’t pay enough to transport low-income patients. The state is pushing back.

‘Separate and Unequal’: Critics Say Newsom’s Pricey Medicaid Reforms Leave Most Patients Behind

KFF Health News Original

MLK Community Hospital in South Los Angeles is surrounded by poverty, homeless encampments, and food deserts. Even though California Gov. Gavin Newsom is funneling billions of taxpayer money into an ambitious initiative to provide some low-income patients with social services, hospital executives and other critics say it won’t improve access to basic care.

Health Plan Shake-Up Could Disrupt Coverage for Low-Income Californians

KFF Health News Original

Four managed-care insurance plans may lose contracts with California’s Medicaid program, which would force nearly 2 million low-income residents to switch their health plans — and possibly their doctors. The plans are fighting back.

Medi-Cal Will Cover Doulas at More Than Twice California’s Initial Proposed Rate

KFF Health News Original

Under a budget passed by California lawmakers, the state will pay nonmedical workers who assist in pregnancy and labor up to $1,154 per birth through Medi-Cal, which is up significantly from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s initial offer of $450. Though it’s more than what most other states pay, many doulas say it falls short of the $3,600 they sought.

Fallas informáticas y errores humanos en la cobertura de seguros siguen siendo un dolor de cabeza para los californianos

KFF Health News Original

Es cierto que pequeños cambios en los ingresos pueden hacer que la elegibilidad cambie, pero si se ingresa información incorrecta en un sistema informático compartido por Covered California y Medi-Cal, o se elimina información precisa, eso les puede causar grandes dolores de cabeza a los afiliados.

Computer Glitches and Human Error Still Causing Insurance Headaches for Californians

KFF Health News Original

Covered California and Medi-Cal share a computer system for eligibility and enrollment. Nearly a decade since the Affordable Care Act expanded coverage options in the state, enrollees can be diverted to the wrong program — or dropped altogether — if erroneous information gets into the system.

Taco Bowls and Chicken Curry: Medi-Cal Delivers Ready Meals in Grand Health Care Experiment

KFF Health News Original

California has embarked on an ambitious five-year initiative to improve the health of its sickest Medicaid patients by introducing nontraditional services. In the Inland Empire, where many residents have diabetes, one health plan is diving into the experiment by delivering healthy, prepared meals to those lucky enough to get them.

Despite Losing Federal Money, California Is Still Testing Uninsured Residents for Covid — For Now

KFF Health News Original

Federal funding that paid for covid testing, treatment, and vaccines for uninsured people has run out. While some states struggle to make up the difference, California is relying on other state and local programs to continue free testing.