California Healthcare in the News

July 28 - 29, 2009

Ventura County Star: Local officials say budget cuts devastating to healthcare, seniors’ programs

Blue described the governor’s cuts, the mood and some of the language as local healthcare leaders assessed the impact of a state budget that seriously wounds programs for low-income insurance, AIDS prevention, senior care and community clinics.

New York Times: California Budget Trimmed Further

The day a governor signs a budget bill into law usually marks the end of acrimony, threats and political dodge ball. But this is broke, embattled, politically crippled California, and so with the sweep of his pen, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger opened the door Tuesday for more fights.

Wall Street Journal: Schwarzenegger Signs California Budget After Making More Cuts

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday signed a plan to close California’s $24 billion budget shortfall, after using his line-item veto powers to slash $500 million in spending in addition to $15.6 billion in cuts approved by legislators.

San Francisco Chronicle: Governor signs $84.5 billion spending plan

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday ended the months-long saga over California’s enormous budget deficit, but not before slashing nearly half a billion dollars more from services to the poor, sick and elderly.

Sacramento Bee: State could be in for an encore unless everything goes right

Don’t get too comfortable, California.

Press-Enterprise: Health programs to lose $1.6 billion under new state budget

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to sign a budget agreement today that will take more than $1.6 billion from state health programs, including those designed to provide children’s health care and keep disabled and elderly people out of nursing homes.

Santa Rosa Press Democrat: Budget deal: 10,000 Sonoma County kids could be denied health coverage

The state budget awaiting the governor’s signature could leave 10,000 or more kids in Sonoma County without medical insurance, county officials said.

Associated Press: Schwarzenegger’s vetoes prompt Democratic threats

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a revised $85 billion budget and targeted welfare programs for deeper cuts, prompting opposition Democrats to threaten to block his political agenda during his final months in office.

Sacramento Bee: Hospitals footing more bills

The emergency room at UC Davis Medical Center is bustling, its waiting room more crowded than ever and its doctors and nurses caring for an increasing stream of patients who can’t possibly pay for services.

Sacramento Bee: California groups study health care markets

The California HealthCare Foundation is launching an ambitious program to study the state’s major health economies, including the Sacramento region, as part of a broad analysis to better understand how local health systems respond to the needs of their communities.

Columns and Editorials:

• California Progress Report: Governor’s Line-Item Cuts Devastate California Health Care
• San Jose Mercury News: Editorial: Cuts in safety net for children go far too deep
• Sacramento Bee: Editorial: Safety net takes hit in this budget
• New York Times: Budgets by the People, for the People
• San Francisco Chronicle: Balanced budget is painful yet still precarious
• Los Angeles Times: James Rainey: Media needs to deepen coverage of healthcare reform
• Los Angeles Times: Does Schwarzenegger care about nursing care?
• Washington Post: A Bipartisan Plan on Health Care? Try Two

National News:

• Washington Post: Baucus Touts Lower Cost of Compromise Health Care Bill
• Politico: House Republicans plan August health care blitz

Have a great day,

Health Care for America Now - California!

New York Times: Progress Seen on Health Bill

WASHINGTON — There were signs of progress Wednesday on the proposed overhaul of the nation’s health care system, one of the most complex issues Congress has faced in years, as President Obama journeyed to the South to sell the changes to the American public.

As early as this week the House of Representatives may vote on H.R. 3200, “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009″- a monumental piece of legislation that can save working Californians an average of $2,200 per year!

At this critical juncture it’s imperative that we let our Representatives know exactly where we stand.

Can you call or e-mail your Representative and tell him or her:

The House health care bill, H.R. 3200, will provide quality health care for all with good benefits and affordable costs.

Health care can’t wait, please vote for H.R. 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, before you leave for vacation…

Contacting your Representative couldn’t be easier!

Simply

• CLICK to CALL
• E-MAIL
• CALL (TOLL-FREE) 1-877-264-HCAN (4226)*

With your help we’ll make national health reform a reality in 2009!

*if you have trouble getting through, try the alternative number 1-888-436-8427

California Healthcare in the News

July 25 - 27, 2009

Sacramento Bee: Budget cuts squeeze home health care workers

Deborah Hibbler wishes the state would balance its budget without using her paycheck.

Long Beach Press-Telegram: Rep. Linda Sanchez introduces adult day care bill

Rep. Linda Sanchez wants to make adult day care a service for all seniors, not just those who are poor or disabled.

San Diego Union-Tribune: Health care access for the indigent is debated

When San Diego County got sued over the income limits it uses for indigent health services nearly five years ago, officials argued that services were available through the network of community clinics.

Associated Press: Calif. officials concerned about new budget woes

California officials are warily awaiting the next round of state revenue figures, concerned that their latest budget-balancing efforts may not be enough to end a seemingly endless stream of deficits.

San Francisco Chronicle: Budget deal puts state in hole for next year

California may be about to crawl out of a fiscal crevasse now that the Legislature has adopted a $23 billion deficit-reduction plan, but the state is headed toward another deep hole even if the economy recovers, finance experts say.

Columns and Editorials:

• California Healthline: What Could National Health Care Reform Mean for California?
• San Franciso Chronicle: What happens if you cut waste that isn’t there?
• Sacramento Bee: Dave Perez: Good social programs make economic sense
• New York Times: An Incoherent Truth
• Los Angeles Times: Health costs — no quick fix
• New York Times: Health Care Reform and You

National News:

• Washington Post: Pelosi Vows Passage of Health-Care Overhaul
• New York Times: Impact of Health Care Measures

Have a great day!

HCAN-CA

Health Access California is the statewide health care consumer advocacy coalition, advocating for the goal of quality, affordable health care for all Californians and is a leading partner in the Health Care for America Now - California coalition.

Become a fan of Health Access on Facebook to get all the latest updates, analysis and news on state and national health reform issues.

According to the July Kaiser Health Tracking Poll, the majority of Americans (56%) believe that health reform is more important now than ever before.

The poll, sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation, proves that America’s working families understand that now, more than ever, there is a fundamental need for Congress to produce meaningful reform that would guarantee access to quality, affordable health insurance for ALL Americans.

Perhaps nowhere better is this fact illustrated than right here in California - where nearly 7 million people are currently without health insurance, and tens of millions more suffer from inadequate health coverage. Aggravating this already calamitous situation is a recent report from the 100% Campaign, which shows that 785,000 children across the state will be denied access to coverage in the coming year thanks to  $144 million in state-budget cuts to the Healthy Families Program.

No doubt these are tough economic times, but we know that the current system is failing. No longer can we tolerate the monopoly control enjoyed by the private health insurance industry. The unacceptable rising costs of premiums and the steadily increasing number of the masses of uninsured working families and children proves that health reform is more important now than ever before!

Want to get involved? Sign up to receive all the latest information and action-alerts from Health Care for America Now - California!

California Healthcare in the News

July 21 - 22, 2009

Los Angeles Times: Opposition to state budget deal mounts

Less than 24 hours after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders announced a plan to close California’s massive budget deficit, Los Angeles County officials moved to sue the state, a union for government workers said it might strike, and Republicans threatened to back out of the deal over a provision to cut the number of prison inmates by 27,000.

Washington Post: Impact of California’s Proposed Budget Fix May Be Felt at All Levels

California, famous for leading, on Tuesday showed the way into the deepening darkness that awaits every state groping to reconcile budget deadlines with collapsing revenue streams.

Wall Street Journal: Budget Agreement Deepens California’s Pain

The budget deal struck by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and statehouse leaders is expected to hurt a broad band of state residents and crimp the state’s recovery from the current, deep recession.

L.A. Now: Healthcare advocates say state budget cuts would hit poor families hard

Advocates for the poor and some healthcare providers are expressing alarm at the proposed state budget compromise, which calls for cuts in a program that provides health insurance for low-income families.

Columns and Editorials:

• California Medical Foundation: Budget Deal Slashes Health Care, Saddles California With Greater Costs Over The Long Term
• California Progress Report: Bad to Worse with New Budget
• Sacramento Bee: Sal Rosselli: Governor’s charge on home care is the fraud
• Los Angeles Times: The ‘problem with nurses’ is a problem with healthcare
• The New Republic: As California Goes, So Goes the Nation Without Reform

Polls and Reports:

• Rasmussen Reports: 53% Now Oppose Congressional Health Care Reform
• Gallup: About One in Six U.S. Adults Are Without Health Insurance
• The California Healthcare Foundation just released three reports on emergency care in California.

And finally, the New York Times tries to put the current healthcare debate in context.

Have a great day.

California Healthcare in the News

July 18 - 20, 2009

Los Angeles Times: Higher costs could be unintended consequence of deep cuts

Irene Steinlage has trouble walking, getting dressed, making her bed, taking a bath. She has stayed in her Folsom home with the help of a health aide, one that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says the state can no longer afford.

Sacramento Bee: Sunday budget meeting canceled; talks to resume today

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger canceled a pivotal Sunday meeting with legislative leaders because negotiators had trouble coordinating their schedules at the last minute, his office said.

San Francisco Chronicle: Obama administration mum on S.F. health plan

As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to consider a restaurant group’s challenge to San Francisco’s health coverage ordinance, one voice is noticeably silent: the Obama administration’s.

San Diego Union-Tribune: Hospitals divided on levy proposal

Hospital administrators are crafting a prescription for the financial ailments plaguing many California medical centers that run up deficits treating large numbers of poor patients, including children.

San Fernando Valley Business Journal: When Doctors Don’t Want To Be Doctors Anymore

What is not so easy to see at first glance is how the current healthcare system has failed doctors too. It’s a side of the story rarely heard amid all this talk of reform.

Los Angeles Times: Finding care after Medi-Cal cuts

Routine teeth cleanings, optometric exams, podiatric care and some mental health visits — all are among the services no longer paid for, as of July 1, for Californians covered by Medi-Cal.

Sacramento Bee: CalWORKS: Is it costing too much?

It’s the kind of statistic that makes radio talk show hosts drool: California is home to about 12 percent of all Americans - and more than 30 percent of all Americans on welfare.

Editorials:

• Sacramento Bee: Out of a crisis comes new clinic
• Los Angeles Times: The reality of rationing
• New York Times: Costs and Benefits
• San Jose Mercury News: Momentum on health care reform must continue

National Polls:

• Washington Post: Poll Shows Obama Slipping on Key Issues
• Huffington Post: Bill Scher: Washington Post Can’t Read Its Health Care Poll, Either
• Rasmussen Reports: Cost, Not Universal Coverage, is Top Health Care Concern for Voters
• Rasmussen Reports: Only 18% Say Those With Chronic Conditions Should Pay More in Health Insurance

And finally, fun health insurance facts from the Census Bureau (and conveniently, some data broken down by state).

Have a great day,

Health Care for America Now - California!

At this very moment, the big insurance companies are concentrating their efforts on lobbying Congress to convince members NOT to vote for Obama’s health reform bill.

With nearly 7 million people without health insurance, California (even more than the rest of the country) can’t afford to wait any longer. We need real health reform that will guarantee access to quality health insurance rates we can afford.

And we need your help to do it! Call Rep. Ann Eshoo and tell her to vote YES on H.R. 3200, the “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009!”

As a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (and Subcommittee on Health), Rep. Eshoo will be one of several Representatives voting on this monumental bill in the next few days.

The private health insurance companies have been in control for too long. They want to derail health reform that would ban them from cutting off people with pre-existing conditions and raising premiums for people with serious conditions.

President Obama’s plan would finally give us the power to choose whether we keep our private insurance or join a new public health insurance plan and would subsidize coverage for most middle-class and working families to finally make health insurance affordable.

Call Rep. Anna Eshoo and tell her to VOTE YES on H.R. 3200, the “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009!”

Simply click on any of the links or dial (toll-free) 1-877-264-4226 to be directed to Rep. Eshoo today!

California Progress Report: The Missing Piece of the Health Care Reofrm Puzzle? The Health Care User

In our nation’s capitol, House and Senate Committees are working feverishly on legislation to expand coverage to the nation’s uninsured and overhaul the U.S. health care system by year’s end.

Here in California, public and private groups are struggling in the face of an enormous budget crisis to assure affordable health care coverage for all state residents. Standing at the center of this reform movement is the patient, the health care consumer— the person who uses the health care system to protect and monitor his or her health

San Francisco Chronicle: Democrats open push to overhaul health care

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and top Democrats opened an all-fronts charge Tuesday to pass a $1 trillion, 10-year health care overhaul by August, unveiling legislation that would tax the wealthy to pay for universal coverage, create a public insurance plan and require individuals to carry insurance and businesses to offer it.

The Business Journal: Cogdill health care bill passes Legislature

The California State Assembly today unanimously approved Senate Bill 198 by Senator Dave Cogdill (R-Modesto), which would provide health care districts with the financial flexibility needed to serve patients better, according to a press release from Cogdill.