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Health Care Reform
Half of all uninsured children live in just six states - Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, Arizona and New York. As states continue moving forward over the next year, full implementation of the ACA provides the next opportunity to make substantial progress for children's coverage. Uninsured Children 2009-2011: Charting the Nation's Progress - CCF - Center For Children and Families.
Special Session Health Care Reform Bills
* ABX1 1 (Perez, D-Los Angeles)/SBX 1 1 (Hernandez, D-West Covina) - Medi-Cal Eligibility: implements key ACA provisions to expand Medi-Cal eligibility to childless non-elderly adults with incomes up to 138% of FPL, and streamlines eligibility/enrollment process.
* ABX1 2 (Pan, D-Sacramento)/SBX1 2 (Hernandez) - Health Care Coverage: prohibits insurers from charging more based on health status or denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions, and limits how much more insurers can charge based on age, geography and family composition.
* SBX1 3 (Hernandez) - Bridge Plans in the Exchange: allows the sale of bridge plans in the Exchange for lower-income Californians, and exempts bridge plan products from the requirement to offer each of the 5 tiers of coverage.
NAMI California's positions on these and other bills will be posted on the NAMI CA website this week. Watch for them!
Local Advocacy
Regional Innovations - Fresno: How to rebuild a mental health system in crisis.
From The California Economic Summit by Justin Ewers
Doug Noll isn't ready to declare victory. Not yet. A recent California Stewardship Network report rightfully celebrates Noll and others for bringing together a pioneering coalition of Fresno business leaders, public officials, and nonprofit advocates to address an acute health crisis in the San Joaquin Valley brought on by a perfect storm of recession, severe budget cuts, and entrenched poverty.
The report details how Fresno leaders rallied after the closure of a county psychiatric crisis center sent a ripple effect throughout the region: With nowhere else to go, rising numbers of suicidal and psychotic patients picked up by law enforcement sent caseloads soaring in Fresno emergency rooms. Small treatment centers like the eight-bed Selma Community Hospital reported seeing about one mental health patient a month before the recession. By 2009, they were treating one every day. In the region's emergency rooms, wait times for those seeking mental health treatment climbed to an average of 19 hours. Click to read the entire article online.
CalDuals and California's CoordinatedCare Initiative
The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced March 27, 2013 a signed Duals Demonstration Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to integrate care for dual eligible beneficiaries as a component of California's Coordinate Care Initiative (CCI).
The MOU signifies federal approval and also serves as the framework for moving forward with the demonstration that builds on more than two years of effort by committed stakeholders.
This major leap forward to better integrate California's fragmented service delivery systems from now on will be called the Cal MediConnect program.
Through Cal MediConnect, eligible beneficiaries will have the opportunity to combine all their Medicare and Medi-Cal benefits into one health plan - and receive more coordinated and accountable care. Enrollment is expected to begin no earlier than October 2013.
The MOU reflects the commitment of CMS and DHCS to providing high quality, integrated care to beneficiaries eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare. DHCS appreciates the feedback received over the last two years from advocates, physicians, beneficiaries and other stakeholders.
California Prisons and Mental Health
Experts hired by the state and by the court say there are fundamental problems with how the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation handles suicidal prisoners.
Disney University
Fair-Oaks-based business consultant Doug Lipp has released his anticipated book, Disney U. He plans to donate a portion of sales to NAMI, NAMI California, and NAMI Sacramento. According to the family, "NAMI is the organization we credit with saving our daughter's life."
You can read all about Doug and his book at the Sacramento Bee.
IHSS Settlement
Attorneys for both the Brown Administration and those representing persons with disabilities who are recipients of the In-Home Supportive Service (IHSS) program and unions representing IHSS workers finalized details of a settlement agreement Thursday (March 28) that would implement temporary across-the-board cuts in hours for all IHSS recipients and repeal 2009 and 2011 major cuts to the IHSS program that the State is blocked from implementation due to federal court orders.
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