Health

Uncertainty Over Federal Money Could Spur Covered California Rate Hikes

Published

7 years ago

June 16, 2017

By Emily Bazar, Kaiser Health News

If the federal government does not clarify by mid-August whether it will continue an important health insurance subsidy for consumers next year, California’s state-run exchange will instruct its insurers to sell plans with significantly higher premiums to cover the loss of the money.

“Bottom line, we have come to the conclusion that if there’s no federal commitment to fund [the subsidies] by mid-August, we will presume they will not be funded and use higher rates for 2018,” Amy Palmer, director of communications for Covered California, said in an email.

At issue are the so-called cost-sharing subsidies that reduce what some consumers pay out of their own pockets for medical expenses such as physician visits, prescription drugs and hospital stays. These reduced rates are only available to Covered California enrollees who choose silver-level plans, the second-least expensive among the exchange’s four tiers. The subsidies are to help people whose annual income is between 139 percent and 250 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $34,200 to $61,500 for a family of four.

As of last summer, about half of the exchange’s enrollees — currently about 1.4 million people — benefited from cost-sharing reductions, Palmer said.

The subsidies are under challenge in a pending lawsuit by House Republicans, and President Donald Trump has threatened to stop making the payments, which go directly to health insurers to cover the cost of lowering consumers’ out-of-pocket expenses. The subsidies are separate from the federal health law’s tax credits, which reduce monthly premiums for qualified consumers.

A recent analysis commissioned by Covered California estimated that premiums for silver plans would jump by 16.6 percent if federal funding for cost-sharing subsidies were lost. That is over and above any annual rate increases on the table.
Last week, Covered California instructed participating insurers to submit alternative premium hike proposals for 2018 in the event they lose the federal payments. The agency told them to apply the hikes only to silver-tier plans, since the cost-sharing subsidies are available only to people who buy those plans.

The insurers’ proposed rates are due to Covered California by June 30, and the agency will publicly announce the final rates in mid-July, after negotiations with the health plans.

After that, the exchange can’t wait too long before determining which rates consumers will face in 2018, Palmer said. State regulators will still have to review the rates, and Covered California as well as the health plans will need to time to prepare for open enrollment in the fall.

As a result, the exchange determined this week that it will move forward with the higher rates in August if the uncertainty remains about the federal payments.

“As we hear about health plans exiting some markets, and as we work hard to create necessary market stability, waiting for clear federal guidance on [the subsidy] funding is no longer an option,” Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee wrote in an email to colleagues and health policy leaders on Wednesday.

Lee noted that if Covered California adopts the higher premiums to cover the cost of the subsidies, many consumers would nonetheless be protected from them. That’s because as premiums rise to make up for the loss of the cost-sharing subsidies, federal tax credits would grow to offset those higher premiums.

“These increased costs will be borne by the federal government … and will be significantly more than the federal government would pay if it continued making direct payments” for the subsidies, Lee wrote in a separate letter to Seema Verma, head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

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Related Topics:Affordable Care Act Covered CA federal dollars Health Trumpcare

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Calif. Dept. of Public Health: Got Milk Allergies? Don’t Eat Dave’s Bakery Cornbread

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a warning on Jan. 26, instructing consumers with milk allergies or “severe sensitivity to milk” in the state to not eat Dave’s Bakery Corn Bread due to “risk of illness.” The CDPH warns that consumption of the corn bread manufactured by a Gardena-based company — with expiration dates up to June 18, 2024 — may lead to “life threatening” reactions.

Published

8 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Dave's Bakery Corn Bread, 9 pack/net wt. 21 oz (595g) (Courtesy of CDPH)

By California Black Media

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a warning on Jan. 26, instructing consumers with milk allergies or “severe sensitivity to milk” in the state to not eat Dave’s Bakery Corn Bread due to “risk of illness.”

The CDPH warns that consumption of the corn bread manufactured by a Gardena-based company — with expiration dates up to June 18, 2024 — may lead to “life threatening” reactions.

“This warning applies only to the Corn Bread produced by Bake R Us, DBA Dave’s Baking Company and distributed to schools, retail facilities and in vending machines primarily in southern California,” the DCPH statement reads.

“This product should not be confused with other similarly named companies with national distribution,” it continues.

According to the CDPH, although the corn bread product contains whey, which is a milk allergen, there is no allergy warning label on the packaging, though it is required by state law.

So far, authorities say, no illnesses have been reported in the state, but if anyone finds the products on sale anywhere in the state, they should call the CDPH complaint hotline at (800) 495-3232 or file a report online at CDPH.ca.gov

The CDPH is also recommending that people who have eaten the product and are experiencing any reaction or ill effects should consult their health care provider.

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Bay Area

East Bay Regional Park District Issues Rattlesnake Advisory

The East Bay Regional Park District released an advisory today on rattlesnakes, which emerge from winter hibernation in early spring and become more active. Warm weather can bring more potential for rattlesnake encounters with humans and dogs, particularly along trails and roads.

Published

11 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

The Northern Pacific rattlesnake is the species found in East Bay Regional Parks. Courtesy photo.

The Richmond Standard

The East Bay Regional Park District released an advisory today on rattlesnakes, which emerge from winter hibernation in early spring and become more active.

Warm weather can bring more potential for rattlesnake encounters with humans and dogs, particularly along trails and roads.

Visitors are encouraged to avoid hiking alone in case of an emergency, to scan the ground ahead as they walk, jog or ride, stay on trails avoiding tall grass, and to look carefully around and under logs and rocks before sitting down. Keep your dog on your leash to be extra safe, park officials said.

If you encounter a rattlesnake, leave it alone – it is unlawful to capture or harm one. Move carefully and slowly away or around it and give it plenty of space, park officials said.

Those who are bitten by a rattlesnake are instructed to stay calm by lying down with the affected limb lower than the heart, then having someone call 911.

Getting medical attention is critical.

Those bitten should not use tourniquets, “sucking,” or snake bite kits. If you are by yourself, walk calmly to the nearest source of help to dial 911, do not run.

If bitten by any other type of snake, wash the wound with soap and water or an antiseptic and seek medical attention.

Not sure what bit you? Check the bite for two puncture marks (in rare cases one) associated with intense, burning pain, which is typical of a rattlesnake bite. Other snakebites can leave marks without associated burning pain.

The Northern Pacific rattlesnake is the species found in East Bay Regional Parks. Snakes are important to the natural environment, helping to control rodents and other reptile populations. But enjoy them from afar.

For more information, download the Park District’s Common Snakes brochure or watch our Gopher Snake or Rattlesnake video to learn how to tell the difference between rattlesnakes and gopher snakes. Additional information is available at ebparks.org/safety/wildlife-encounters.

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Alameda County

A Safe Place, Bay Area Domestic Violence Community Organization, Opens New Service Center in Oakland

Oakland-Bay Area non-profit, A Safe Place, announces the grand opening of its newly purchased building in Oakland that will be a service center for families that have suffered from domestic violence. The new, two-story building has over six new service rooms for counseling, mental health support groups, legal services, children’s treatment, safe space for community engagement, and partnership activities.

Published

13 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Façade of the new community center for A Safe Place opening on May 10 in Oakland. Courtesy photo.

By Courtney Slocum Riley

Special to The Post

Oakland-Bay Area non-profit, A Safe Place, announces the grand opening of its newly purchased building in Oakland that will be a service center for families that have suffered from domestic violence.

The new, two-story building has over six new service rooms for counseling, mental health support groups, legal services, children’s treatment, safe space for community engagement, and partnership activities.

Domestic violence occurrences and offenses account for a considerable amount of all violent crimes in Alameda County. A Safe Place is attempting to provide a safe place for families to heal. A Safe Place is the only comprehensive domestic violence assistance program including a safehouse, in Oakland.

The grand opening celebration will also serve as a fundraiser to build out healing, therapeutic spaces for children and adult victims and survivors and survivors of domestic violence (male and female).

The new service center will expand the work of the organization, founded in 1976 when a group of women working in San Francisco came together to address the urgent need for a shelter in the East Bay. A year later, they founded A Safe Place (ASP) in Oakland. Run solely by volunteers, they set up a crisis line to offer crisis counseling and information to battered women and their children.

The organization serves over 500 adults and children annually through a host of services including crisis counseling via 24-hour crisis line, emergency motel and safehouse sheltering, mental health services (counseling and support groups).

Under the leadership of Executive Director, Carolyn Russell, the organization has grown from a single program into the comprehensive domestic violence and assistance program. ASP strives to meet the growing and diverse needs of our growing community.

The organization hopes to complete all the upgrades and therapeutic room improvements by August 2024. The public is invited to donate to the effort by using the website at www.asafeplace.org/donate. The organization also accepts in-kind gifts as well as items from the organization’s Amazon Wishlist.