Health
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The California Family PACT Program provides comprehensive family planning services to approximately 1.1 million low-income residents through a network of over 2,200 public and private providers.
Services provided include comprehensive education, assistance, and health services related to family planning for both men and women.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 14 million Americans become infected with HPV each year.
While some HPV infections will go away on their own, infections that don’t go away can cause certain types of cancer. In fact, HPV is a leading cause of cervical cancer, which is one of the most preventable cancers.
There is no cure for HPV, but a vaccine exists to protect against infection from the start. Since the vaccination has been in use, HPV infections and cervical pre-cancers have dropped significantly.
The CDC says as many as 93 percent of cervical cancers could be avoided simply by screening and receiving the HPV vaccine.
AB 1965 would require that the Family PACT program include the HPV vaccine within its covered health services.
As a common, but preventable, disease which infects both males and females, it’s critical to take every possible precaution to prevent the spread of HPV. The federal government has approved the use of these funds for this purpose. In California, Aguiar-Curry said the state isn’t exercising this authority to take full advantage of our federal funding, forcing patients to pay out-of-pocket or forego such care.
“We have a proven cancer-prevention treatment available to Californians,” said Aguiar-Curry. “What’s more, it’ll be paid for by drawing down federal health care funding. If we let another year go by without offering access to critical HPV and cancer prevention coverage in Family PACT, more young people will contract HPV, meaning more young people may get cancer.”
Family PACT targets low-income, uninsured Californians for essential health services. The program includes family planning counselling, screening, testing and treatment. HPV- prevention treatments are consistent with the intent of the program and its intended health outcomes.
Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry continued, “Cervical cancer screenings are standard reproductive health care, and your access to reproductive health, cancer screening, and prevention shouldn’t be restricted. California’s health advocates agree, requiring this coverage in Family PACT will save lives. We must act now.”
Key partners on this legislation -- Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, the California Medical Association, and Essential Access Health – also weighed in:
"Access to critical care like cancer prevention measures and screenings shouldn’t be dictated by who you are, where you live, or what type of insurance coverage you have. Cervical cancer prevention and screenings are part of the full spectrum of reproductive health care, and reproductive health care shouldn’t be treated any differently from all health care," said Jodi Hicks, CEO/President of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. "We thank Assembylember Aguiar-Curry for recognizing the importance of the HPV vaccine and are proud to stand with her and the other supporters of this bill to expand insurance coverage for it."
“We are proud to support Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry in taking this important step to prevent the spread of this common but preventable cancer-causing infection,” said Shannon Udovic-Constant, M.D., Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of the California Medical Association.
“The HPV vaccine can help prevent many forms of cancer, but remains out of reach for far too many across the state,” said Julie Rabinovitz, President and CEO of Essential Access Health. “Thanks to Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry’s leadership, we have an opportunity to ensure that all Californians can access this safe and effective vaccine – regardless of their income, health insurance, or immigration status."
Aguiar-Curry represents the 4th Assembly District, which includes all of Lake and Napa Counties, parts of Colusa, Solano and Sonoma Counties, and all of Yolo County except West Sacramento.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The commission’s 13 voting members include California Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly, eight gubernatorial appointees and four legislative appointees. There are also five ex-officio, non-voting members.
At the first meeting, commission members will consider the history of health reform in California and take stock of health care in the state today.
The meeting will take place beginning at 10 a.m. in the East End Complex Auditorium, 1500 Capitol Ave., Sacramento.
The commission’s agenda is here.
More information is available on the Healthy California for All website.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Honor Roll recognition highlights Adventist Health Clear Lake’s work in reducing births by C-section for first-time mothers with low-risk pregnancies and programs designed to increased access to addiction treatment for hospitalized patients and reduction of opioid-related deaths.
“Adventist Health Clear Lake is proud to be one of the honored hospitals for performance in reducing initial C-sections and community-wide work on opioid use,” said Colleen Assavapisitkul, MSN, patient care executive. “Our staff and providers work diligently to provide the best outcomes for our birthing moms and their babies, and we continually work to develop programs and partner with community agencies to improve the county-wide outcomes related to opioid use. These honors are the result of our work, dedicated healthcare team and collaborations with community partners.”
The 2019 maternity honor roll recognizes 134 hospitals that met or surpassed the federal target aimed at reducing births via C-section and the 23.9 percent cesarean birth statewide target.
The award reflects the most recent hospital discharge and birth certificate data from 235 California hospitals that offer maternity services.
Data from the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative shows that Adventist Health Clear Lake reduced C-section births to 11.8 percent surpassing the statewide target.
The 2019 opioid honor roll was a pilot year and used to develop a meaningful and relevant threshold to identify honor roll hospitals for this award starting in 2020.
All California adult, acute care hospitals were invited to participate, and 60 hospitals voluntarily submitted data sharing their progress on implementing evidence-based practices to address the opioid crisis
Adventist Health Clear Lake Medical Center is located at 15630 18th Ave. in Clearlake.
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- Written by: Covered California
“Open enrollment is underway right now. That means now is the time to sign up for a quality health plan through Covered California so you are protected in case you get sick or injured, and so you do not have to worry about a possible penalty,” said Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee. “Writing a check to the Franchise Tax Board when you file your 2020 taxes isn’t the real penalty – it’s getting hurt or ill and ending up with $50,000 hospital bill.”
California created a new state individual mandate penalty that is similar to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s penalty. It will be administered by the Franchise Tax Board, or FTB, and collected when people file their 2020 taxes starting in 2021.
“It’s important that everyone acts now to get health insurance starting in January 2020 to avoid the penalty when filing state tax returns in 2021,” said FTB Executive Officer Selvi Stanislaus.
For those facing a penalty, a family of four would pay at least $2,000, and potentially more, for not having health insurance throughout 2020.
The return of the penalty was an important element in Covered California’s record-low rate change of 0.8 percent in 2020, meaning consumers have already benefited from the new policy.
New financial help
In addition to the penalty, California is making new financial help available to eligible consumers to help further lower the cost of their coverage. On average, consumers between 200 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level will receive $21 per household, per month on top of their federal tax credits.
Meanwhile, for the first time in the nation, people who earn between 400 and 600 percent of the federal poverty level will be receiving an average of $460 per household, per month.
“More than half a million Californians have already found out they will benefit from this new money,” Lee said. “Consumers have through the end of January to see what plans are available to them and whether they qualify for financial help from the federal government, the state, or both.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom also reiterated his support of the Affordable Care Act when he joined Covered California during a teleconference last week.
“The Affordable Care Act is alive and well here in the state of California,” Newsom said. “We are saving lives, we’re expanding coverage, we’re deepening subsidies, and we’re doubling down on our commitment to fulfill the law’s promise and its potential.”
Californians already set to benefit from the state subsidy program include:
– Yuriana and Hector, who say their daughter is a Covered California miracle because without their health insurance they would not have been able to afford getting pregnant.
– Shannon and John, who were surprised when they received the news in the mail that they would be saving more than $1,200 a month because of the new state subsidies. Now they are able to focus on completing a longtime dream.
“We do not want people to miss out on this opportunity. We don’t want them to leave money on the table, and we don’t want them to get stuck with a big bill when they pay their taxes in 2021,” Lee said.
Recent court ruling
California’s individual mandate and penalty remain in place as state leaders prepare to respond to the recent ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. On Wednesday, the panel ruled that the individual mandate was unconstitutional, but remanded the case to a lower court.
“The court ruling will not impact California and should not deter anyone from signing up during the current open-enrollment period,” Lee said. “The legal battle will continue for the foreseeable future, and Covered California will be working to educate people about the penalty and enroll as many as possible.”
Getting help enrolling
Consumers can easily find out if they are eligible for financial help and see which plans are available in their area by entering their ZIP code, household income and the ages of those who need coverage into Covered California’s Shop and Compare Tool.
Those interested in learning more about their coverage options can:
– Visit www.CoveredCA.com.
– Get free and confidential in-person assistance, in a variety of languages, from a certified enroller.
– Have a certified enroller call them and help them for free.
– Call Covered California at 800-300-1506.
California’s open-enrollment period continues through Jan. 31, 2020.
New health laws for 2020
Critical new laws will affect Californians and their health care in 2020.
Senate Bill (SB) 106 provides the appropriations for the state subsidy program, along with income eligibility and specified funding allocation by eligibility levels. (SB 106, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 55, Statutes of 2019.)
SB 78 is the omnibus health trailer bill that establishes the individual mandate and penalty, as well as the requirements for the state subsidy program. (SB 78, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 38, Statutes of 2019.)
Assembly Bill (AB) 1309 expands the individual market open-enrollment period to Nov. 1 to Jan. 31. It sets Feb. 1 as the effectuation date for those who enroll between Dec. 16 and Jan. 31. This will give consumers additional time to sign up for coverage, thereby helping more Californians to become insured. (AB 1309, Bauer-Kahan, Chapter 828, Statutes of 2019.)
AB 5 limits California companies’ use of workers as independent contractors rather than as employees. This bill may affect the provision of health insurance to these employees. (AB5, Gonzalez, Chapter 296, Statutes of 2019.)
SB 104 authorizes the provision of full-scope Medi-Cal to adults aged 19-25 regardless of their immigration status. (SB 104, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 67, Statutes of 2019.)
SB 276 standardized the provision of medical exemptions for vaccination by requiring the California Department of Public Health to develop a statewide electronic request form, tracking school immunization levels and addressing physicians who submit an unusually high number of medical exemption forms. (SB 276, Pan, Chapter 278, Statutes of 2019.)
- New enrollment data shows relative stability in federal health care marketplace after three years of major declines
- Amid a surge in enrollment, Covered California extends enrollment deadline to Dec. 20
- California controller appoints Cancer Institute founder to governing board of State’s Stem Cell Agency
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