Governor's revised budget contains no significant increases for Medi-Cal On May 14, Governor Jerry Brown released his revised budget for fiscal year 2015-16, which includes an increase in overall expenditures from the General Fund to $115.3 billion, but does not include any significant increases to Medi-Cal provider reimbursement rates. Overall, the revised plan contains $169 billion in total state spending, up from $164.7 billion in January. The total includes $46.9 billion in special funds and $6.8 billion in bond funds. The California Medical Association and other stakeholders continue to point out that beneficiaries of the Medi-Cal program are having ... May 18, 2015 Medi-Cal State Budget, California State Budget, Medi-Cal 0 0 Comment Read More »
Second bill to increase Medi-Cal rates advances through first committee California’s policymakers are continuing to show support for legislation that would fully fund the state’s Medicaid (Medi-Cal) program. Two bills would restore a 10 percent reimbursement rate cut and raise those rates to Medicare levels, allowing better access to health care for patients. Assembly Bill 366 (Bonta, D-Oakland) and Senate Bill 243 (Hernandez, D-West Covina) are currently moving through the legislature. AB 366 took its first step through the legislative process when it advanced to the Assembly Appropriations Committee with unanimous approval on April 14. Last week, it was SB ... April 29, 2015 Medi-Cal Medi-Cal Cuts, State Legislation, State Legislative Advocacy, Medi-Cal 0 0 Comment Read More »
Political panel speaks on Medi-Cal, physician workforce at CMA Legislative Advocacy Day The importance of ensuring access to care for Californians and possible policy solutions, including increasing the physician workforce and expanding health care technology, were key topics during a panel discussion at the California Medical Association’s (CMA) annual Legislative Advocacy Day on April 14. The panel, composed of Assembly Health Committee Chair Rob Bonta, Assembly Business and Professions Committee Chair Susan Bonilla and moderator CMA Senior Vice President Janus Norman, delved first into California’s ongoing implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). “Providing accessible high-quality health care to as many Californians as ... April 23, 2015 Medi-Cal State Legislative Advocacy, Legislative Advocacy Day 0 0 Comment Read More »
Bill that would increase Medi-Cal rates wins unanimous committee vote A California Assembly bill that would raise California’s Medicaid (Medi-Cal) reimbursement rates for providers took its first step through the state legislature on April 14, receiving unanimous approval from the Assembly Health Committee. Under AB 366, authored by Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland), dramatic improvements would be made in the Medi-Cal system by restoring cuts made to Medi-Cal reimbursement rates, then raising them to Medicare levels. California is currently 47th in the country’s Medicaid reimbursement rates. Luther F. Cobb, M.D., president of the California Medical Association, testified in support of the bill, ... April 23, 2015 Medi-Cal State Legislation, State Legislative Advocacy, Medi-Cal 0 0 Comment Read More »
California has one of the lowest acceptance rates for new Medi-Cal patients A new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that, in 2013, only 54 percent of California physicians accepted new Medi-Cal patients, a rate that is significantly lower than the national average of 68.9 percent. California has the second-lowest physician acceptance rate of new Medi-Cal patients, with New Jersey coming in last with 2013 acceptance rates of 38.7 percent. The report compared physician acceptance of new patients across payors, mainly focusing on Medicare and private insurance. The CDC found that the national average of physicians who ... April 8, 2015 Medi-Cal Medi-Cal 0 0 Comment Read More »
Supreme Court limits avenues providers can use to sue states over Medicaid funding In March, a divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 vote, stating that individual health care providers cannot sue states under the Medicaid Act to challenge how states set reimbursement rates in their Medicaid programs. The California Medical Association (CMA) had filed an amicus brief in Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Center, which went to the Supreme Court last month to determine whether Medicaid providers have a cause of action under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution to challenge a state’s compliance with Medicaid laws in setting reimbursement ... April 8, 2015 Medi-Cal Medicaid, Medi-Cal, California Supreme Court 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA submits letter to CMS requesting assessment of Medi-Cal rates Last week, the California Medical Association (CMA), along with 17 stakeholder organizations, submitted comments to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), requesting that an independent assessment of Medi-Cal rates be required as part of the state’s next Section 1115 Medicaid Waiver. The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is in the last year of its current Section 1115 waiver, which was approved by the federal government so it could expand Medi-Cal coverage in accordance with the Affordable Care Act in 2010. The waiver allowed the state to ... April 1, 2015 Medi-Cal CMS, Medi-Cal, Regulatory Advocacy, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 0 0 Comment Read More »
DHCS releases concept paper on Medicaid Waiver The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has released a proposal to modify provider payments to save money in the Medicaid system. The state is seeking to waive existing laws and regulations in order to implement new projects for the state’s next 1115 Section Medicaid Waiver. California is currently in the final year of its current Section 1115 Waiver, which was approved by the federal government so California could expand Medi-Cal coverage in accordance with the Affordable Care Act in 2010 and implement a variety of delivery reform projects ... April 1, 2015 Medi-Cal DHCS, Medi-Cal, Department of Health Care Services 0 0 Comment Read More »
New study finds thousands may be eligible for health insurance in California under DACA Between 360,000 and 500,000 immigrants living in California could become eligible for Medi-Cal if they receive temporary protection from deportation through President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, according to a study by UC Berkeley’s Center for Labor Research and Education and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Under the President’s executive actions on immigration, those people living in the U.S. without permission can't enroll in Covered California, but the state does allow those granted temporary relief from deportation to sign up for Medi-Cal. That means up ... April 1, 2015 Medi-Cal Medi-Cal 0 0 Comment Read More »
Reminder: July ICD-10 end-to-end testing forms due in April The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that those providers who want to volunteer for ICD-10 end-to-end testing July 20-24 need to submit their information by April 17. The July testing will give a group of 850 volunteers the opportunity to find out if they are prepared to submit digital information to CMS for ICD-10. CMS intends to select volunteers representing a broad cross-section of provider, claim and submitter types, including claims clearinghouses that submit claims for large numbers of providers. Testers who participated in the January and ... March 23, 2015 Medi-Cal, Medicare ICD-10 0 0 Comment Read More »
