Governor Brown’s proposal includes cuts to CalWORKs — the state’s welfare-to-work program — by limiting the amount of time most adults could be on the program from four years to two years; In-Home Supportive Services — which provides services for the elderly and people who are blind or have disabilities — by eliminating domestic assistance for beneficiaries in shared living environments; Reductions to Medi-Cal by — by merging services for beneficiaries eligible for both Medi-Cal and Medicare; and moving children from Healthy Families, California’s Children’s Health Insurance Program, to other programs like Medi-Cal.
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Health Access, the statewide consumer advocacy coalition, undertook a baseline assessment of currently available consumer assistance in four state health agencies in
California. The staff of Health Access conducted a disguised observation study to measure how these agencies (California’s Department of Insurance, Department of Managed Health Care, Department of Health Care Services, and Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board) performed in providing assistance to Californians. Read the full report here.
The percentage of U.S. residents who are obese is expected to reach 42% by 2030, according to a study released Monday at a CDC conference on obesity, the Washington Times reports.
The study, which was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, also found that the U.S. could save $550 billion in projected medical costs by maintaining the current obesity rate of 36% (Billups, Washington Times, 5/7).
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The study by the Commonwealth Fund polled 2,100 people aged 19 to 64 and found that 26 percent of non-elderly adults went without insurance — a percentage that researchers said equals about 48 million people when measured against U.S. Census data. The study shows that one in four working-age Americans went without insurance at some point in 2011, often as a result of unemployment and other job changes. Read more.
To celebrate National Minority Health Month, Cara James, Director of the Office of Minority Health wrote an article the continuing health disparities among communities of color. “Although we continue to make strides in improving health outcomes, it’s clear that racial and ethnic minorities, low-income Americans, and other underserved populations still lag behind the general population. Racial and ethnic minorities often have higher rates of serious diseases, are less likely to get preventive care, and have fewer treatment options and less access to quality health care. They’re also less likely to have health insurance than the general population.” Read more here.
According to Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, “The Affordable Care Act may represent the strongest foundation we have ever created to begin closing LGBT health disparities.” Health Reform will implement data tracking measures and create provisions include largely under served populations like the LGBT community. To read all 10 reasons that Health Reform is good for LGBT Americans click here.
Responding to pressure from state offices, Anthem Blue Cross reduces its planned premium increases. The proposed premium increase will affect 600,000 Anthem Blue Cross plan members in California. Read the full story here.
It’s been almost a decade since Time magazine declared Sacramento as the nation’s most diverse city. And it’s only gotten more diverse since then, according to a Bee review of the 2010 census data. Pick two people at random from the city and there’s an 80 percent chance that they will be from different ethnic groups. Read the full SacBee article here.
Economic Roundtable released a report detailing the benefits of programs that move disabled indigent adults from county health and welfare programs onto SSI and Medi-Cal. With minimal upfront costs, SSI advocacy programs can lessen the huge burdens placed on the county budget, jails, emergency rooms, and homeless shelters. For more information, read the entire report here.
California’s Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development released a study finding that urban areas provide a higher quality of care than rural regions.
Read the full article here.
