Posts Tagged: health
Recent News
The Madera patient says he likes his Kaiser doctor and has no desire to switch to publicly funded Medicare, even though he qualifies. But if Senate Bill 1156 is approved, Adames likely wouldn’t get that choice. The bill would require that patients like him receiving third-party assistance would either need to enroll in Medicare or Medi-Cal (for those who are low income), or if they choose to stay on private insurance, they will only receive reimbursement at Medicare or Medi-Cal’s much lower rates.
Opinion
OPINION: Recently introduced legislation in the California Assembly (AB 2110), would require manufacturers to provide independent repair shops with the same parts, tools, software, and other information that they provide to their authorized repair shops for the repair of Internet-connected electronics – from smart phones to home appliances to toys to fire alarms.
News
FairWarning: Anti-smoking groups, frustrated by federal inaction on restricting menthol cigarettes, are taking matters into their own hands. In recent months, cities ranging from Oakland and Los Gatos, Calif., to Minneapolis and St. Paul have passed laws limiting the availability of menthol cigarettes, which health advocates say have a particular appeal to beginning smokers.
News
Health insurance coverage for 1.3 million California children and pregnant women is at risk because of Congress’ delay in extending the Children’s Health Insurance Program. While the House recently approved a bill to extend the program for five years, the bill still needs approval by the Senate and a fight is expected about how to pay for the extension.
News
In California, people shopping for 2018 coverage in the state’s exchange, Covered California, will still have the full three months they’ve had in recent years, starting on Nov. 1 and ending Jan. 31. And the state Legislature last week passed a bill, currently awaiting the signature of Gov. Jerry Brown, that would ensure a three-month enrollment window for consumers seeking coverage in 2019 and beyond.
Opinion
OPINION: AB 1250 would jeopardize access to care for millions of Californians by scrambling the current system, burying hospitals with new bureaucratic mandates, blizzards of paperwork and unnecessary red tape. Hospitals would be forced to divert limited financial and human resources from their mission of caring for patients.
News
A California statute governing blood-banking programs and transfusions for dogs has flown under the radar for the past 7 years, causing private veterinarians to break a law that they did not know existed. The issue would still be cloaked in obscurity had it not been for comments that emerged during a recent veterinary seminar at UC Davis.
News
Twenty-eight states currently offer “Choose Life” license plates, but California may be the first state in the country offering solely pro-choice plates. The plate would join 14 other special-interest license plates that raise money for a number of agencies, including the California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Arts Council, California Coastal Commission and Lake Tahoe and Yosemite Conservancy.
News
California lawmakers are considering a bill that would double reimbursement rates for Denti-Cal providers in order to entice more dentists to accept the insurance that covers low-income residents. The hope is to get dental care to more people – especially children. According to recent reports by the state auditor and the Little Hoover Commission, less than 38 percent of the 5 million eligible children actually received Denti-Cal care in 2014.
Opinion
OPINION: Before graduation, teens need to know what vaccine preventable diseases exist and the vaccines that protect them. Teens need to know their personal vaccination status and if they are up to date on recommended vaccines.
A patient receiving blood dialysis treatment. (Photo: Khajornkiat Limsagul, via Shutterstock)
