California Affordable Health Insurance

California Considers Freeze On SCHIP Enrollment

ruzik_tuzik — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 13:17:34 -0600

California officials are considering freezing enrollment in the state's Healthy Families program, as an "influx of new clients overwhelms" it, the Los Angeles Times reports (Rau, Los Angeles Times, 11/14). The program is facing a $17.2 million deficit that could lead to children losing their coverage if not addressed. Healthy Families is the state's version of SCHIP and provides medical, dental and vision coverage to more than 900,000 children in the state. New enrollment in the program has averaged more than 27,000 per month during the past year.

California Children's Health Insurance Under Consideration Of Cuts

hareyan — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 08:41:31 -0600

Cuts and caps are under consideration for California children's health insurance coverage plans as governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposes significant midyear cuts in health insurance and other vital services. MRMIB and Healthy Families consider wait list for eligible children.

Less than two months after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an overdue and painful budget, significant budget cuts are back in discussion, with the threat of denying care and coverage to hunderds of thousands of Californians.

Healthy Families Program May Close Doors

hareyan — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 08:34:02 -0600

The situation for the poor children's health insurance program coverage in California is bleak. More than 162,000 eligible children at risk of falling through safety net and losing hope of needed health insurance coverage as the state freezes Healthy Families program.

Healthy San Francisco Program Violates ERISA

ruzik_tuzik — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:42:04 -0600

The National Business Group on Health and the ERISA Industry Committee on Monday said that they have filed a "friend-of-the-court" brief in a lawsuit challenging the legality of the Healthy San Francisco program, CQ HealthBeat reports (CQ HealthBeat, 11/3).

California Ends Medicare Part B Premium Payments For Some Beneficiaries

ruzik_tuzik — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 23:21:18 -0500

California beginning on Nov. 1 no longer will pay Medicare Part B premiums for about 57,000 Medicare beneficiaries who are dually eligible for Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program, the Modesto Bee reports. The move was approved as part of the state's efforts to address the budget deficit. It is expected to reduce Medi-Cal spending by about $63 million in fiscal year 2008-2009.

California Major Risk Medical Insurance Program Unaffordable, Inaccessible

ruzik_tuzik — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:25:59 -0500

Rising premiums and limited subsidies have made California's Major Risk Medical Insurance Program -- a high-risk pool that provides health coverage to uninsurable residents with pre-existing health conditions -- "either unaffordable, unavailable or ineffective for many of those who most need health insurance," the Los Angeles Times reports. Under MRMIP, residents pay about two-thirds of the cost for coverage, while the state covers the rest of program's costs with funds from the state tobacco tax. Insurers voluntarily participate in the program.

California Legislation Protects Consumers From Unfair Health Care Practices

ruzik_tuzik — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:05:38 -0500

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed legislation to increase consumer protections by further limiting the unfair practice of "balance billing," an anti-consumer tactic that puts patients in the middle of payment disputes between health plans and health care providers. He has also signed legislation to prevent certain health insurance rescissions and to redirect funds collected from HMO fines to aid those having difficulty paying health care bills and obtaining health care coverage.

CA Retiree With Rare Debilitating Disease Fears Insurance More

hareyan — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:10:06 -0500

Since health insurance is not affordable anymore Juanita Anderson of Los Angeles, California, fears her insurance more than her illness.

"I have a very rare and incurable disease called systemic mastocytosis, which very few doctors even know about," said Juanita Anderson who resides in Los Angeles, California.

California Legislature Approves Restores Some Health Cuts

ruzik_tuzik — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:46:34 -0500

The California Legislature on Tuesday approved a fiscal year 2009 state budget plan that restores some previously proposed cuts to health care and other programs, the San Jose Mercury News reports (Zapler, San Jose Mercury News, 9/16). Beyond those already introduced by state Senate Democrats, the budget agreement does not include cuts to health care, human services or education programs, according to information Ventura County officials received from the California State Association of Counties (Biasotti, Ventura County Star, 9/16).

Health Insurance Casualty As Blue Cross Denies Back Surgery

hareyan — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 01:00:23 -0500

Kim Kutcher of Dana Point, CA says Blue Cross denies back surgery for RN.

"I am faced with an insurance hell. Six days before a planned surgery, Blue Cross denied surgery for an artificial disc implantation or disc arthroplasty. This was on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008. The lumbar artificial disc by Synthes Spine called Prodisc was approved by the FDA in August 2006. It is one of two FDA-approved lumbar discs available," said Kim Kutcher of Dana Point, Calif.