May 2011 – Page 3 – California Health Report

Revenues up, but will they last?

A slow-arriving but steady upturn in California’s economy is beginning to translate into higher taxes paid to the state, pushing revenues collected this year more than $2.3 billion above projections made in January. The new money will erase part of the remaining $15 billion shortfall between what the state expects to spend and what it is likely to receive in tax payments over the next 14 months. But it is probably too soon to tell whether the infusion of unexpected cash is a sign that the economy is taking off or a merely temporary surge that could disappear as quickly as it arrived.

High deductible plans can be risky

By Matt Perry

Sacramento resident Tami Shepherd was shocked to find last month that in just three weeks her health insurance was being swapped to a high-deductible healthcare plan (HDHP). Waiting to have surgery for a hysterectomy scheduled, Shepherd’s husband came home from work one day and told her that his employer announced they were switching to a Kaiser Permanente plan that required high deductibles. If she didn’t have the needed surgery for a pre-cancerous condition by the end of the month, her out-of-pocket expenses would balloon from several hundred dollars to an estimated $6,000.

Kern County lays groundwork for coming healthcare reform

By Kellie Schmitt

Kern County’s now offers insurance to some adults as part of the state’s “bridge to reform” health program. During the first phase, Kern and nine other California counties received federal funding to expand their health coverage for low-income, uninsured residents. That pilot program is now being expanding statewide in an effort to prepare California for the sweeping reforms set to begin in 2014 under federal healthcare reform.

State tries to find more food stamp takers

By Jennifer Chaussee

With the state facing a $15.4 billion budget shortfall, social programs across California are cutting costs by limiting eligibility. So why are state lawmakers voting to enroll more people in CalFresh, the state’s food stamp program, if there’s not enough money to go around? Lawmakers say an expanded food stamp program may actually help improve the economy at no cost to the state’s ailing general fund — though taxpayers in California and elsewhere will continue to foot the bill for the federally funded program.

California’s business climate: how bad is it?

By Daniel Weintraub

As California’s economy struggles to regain its footing and lawmakers remain vexed over how to balance the state’s budget, the idea that the Golden State has lost its luster is beginning to take hold. The public’s mood is gloomy, and policymakers from the left and right are looking to other states with stronger employment growth in search of answers to what ails California. But even as the state’s collective psyche turns deeply pessimistic, recent economic indicators hint that a turnaround may already be taking place. And some serious research suggests that California’s “business climate” might not be as bad as critics say.

Healthcare worker strike in Salinas may test the mettle of a new union

By Robin Urevich

National Union of Healthcare Workers has struggled to make that case to the state’s healthcare workers ever since it broke from the Service Employees International Union, the nation’s largest labor union, two years ago in a dispute over local control and governance. But now, in Salinas, the union has another chance to prove itself, if it can win a solid contract and block lay-offs.

Month: May 2011