Kaiser Permanente Could Be Fined Over Mental Health Access
A routine survey by the state of California has found that Kaiser Permanente is failing to provide members with timely access to mental health care, according to California Healthline. The state requires patients with an urgent problem have access within 48 hours and patients with nonurgent issues within 10 business days. This is not the first time Kaiser has been cited for inadequate access to mental health care—in 2013 it paid a $4 million fine and in 2015 the state still found patients were waiting weeks or even months for an appointment.
Fifth GOP Senator Opposes Health Bill
Senator Dean Heller (R-Arizona) has become the fifth Republican senator to publicly oppose the Senate’s health bill, which was released on Thursday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) now has just a few days to negotiate with the 5 senators to ensure at least 3 vote for the bill if he wants to pass the bill before the July 4 recess, reported The Washington Post. Heller faces a difficult reelection in 2018 and his state’s governor is a staunch supporter of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) has not taken a formal stance on how she will vote, but has said she has reservations and is concerned about the deep cuts to Medicaid.
California’s Single-Payer Bill Gets Shelved
A single-payer bill that passed the California Senate is unlikely to come to the floor for a vote in the state Assembly. The New York Times reported that the leader of the state Assembly said the bill is “woefully incomplete.” The bill currently doesn’t outline a way to pay for a government-run health system in California, but it has an estimated price tag of $400 billion per year. The single-payer bill would guarantee healthcare for California residents and eliminate out-of-pocket costs. Although the bill will not come to the floor for a vote, the state Assembly leader doesn’t think it is dead—he encouraged the Senate to draft a new version.
Navigating Health Literacy, Social Determinants, and Discrimination in National Health Plans
February 13th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the February 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on how health plans can screen for health literacy, social determinants of health, and perceived health care discrimination.
Listen
Need for Pharmacogenomic Testing in Mental Health Care Explored at AMCP 2024
April 17th 2024Presenters from Mayo Clinic discussed the benefits of implementing pharmacogenomic testing in mental health care for the betterment of patient outcomes, reducing medical costs, and more at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) 2024 annual meeting.
Read More
Drs Raymond Thertulien, Joseph Mikhael on Racial Disparities in Multiple Myeloma Care Access
December 28th 2023In the wake of the 2023 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition, Raymond Thertulien, MD, PhD, of Novant Health, and Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd, FRCPC, FACP, chief medical officer of the International Myeloma Foundation, discussed health equity research highlights from the meeting and drivers of racial disparities in multiple myeloma outcomes.
Listen
Study Highlights Disparities in Access to In-Network Mental Health Care vs Medical Care
April 17th 2024While health plans often employ reimbursement rates as a tool to incentivize provider participation within their networks, study results showed reimbursement rates for office visits with medical/surgical clinicians were on average 22% higher than behavioral health clinicians.
Read More