The Anaheim event resulted in mixed feelings for the volunteer dentists, who came from all over the state to participate. Many were elated to be able to provide care that alleviated pain and enhanced the quality of life for people who often have a tough time getting breaks.
But they were also troubled that obtaining oral care—which many experts believe has a direct correlation to a person’s overall health—is so nettlesome for low-income Californians.
After nearly a decade of cuts and incomplete coverage, Californians enrolled in the state’s low-income dental program have full coverage this year.
But whether there will actually be enough dentists willing to accept the low-reimbursement rates and red tape often attached to the Denti-Cal program remains to be seen.
Cal MediConnect was intended to help seniors who qualify for MediCal and Medicare. The California Department of Health Care Services expected the program to be a hit. It wasn’t. As of last July, only 28 percent of eligible people were enrolled in Cal MediConnect.
Research has long suggested that the quality of health care in the United States differs depending on a patient’s race. A new study suggests that gap affects even the youngest of patients, newborns in California’s Neo-Natal Intensive Care Units.
Originally prescribed opioids for foot pain, 67-year-old veteran nurse George Ates eventually found himself on a fentanyl patch that would swiftly kill someone who hadn’t built up a high tolerance to opioids. On the surface, Ates appears to be another of the millions of Americans caught up in the nation’s epidemic of opioid drug use. While one may think of the phenomenon as on that has mostly swept up younger adults, Ates’ struggles are actually commonplace at California’s hospitals.
Amidst great uncertainty about federal health policy, Covered California announced Tuesday that insurance premiums on the state-run exchange will rise on average 12.5 percent next year, an increase that is slightly lower than in 2017. The agency said it also has a containment plan should the Trump administration cease to provide cost-sharing subsidies for lower-income exchange enrollees.
California is one of several states that prepared for health care reform for years before the Affordable Care Act rolled out in 2014. A new study by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research suggest that the early rollout has had some striking results.