News Roundup
June 10, 2019
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Physicians, nurses, medical students protest AMA stance on Medicare for All
On June 8, 2018, attendees of the American Medical Association meeting in Chicago, IL were greeted by several hundred protestors, including doctors, nurses, medical students, patients and community activists. The protesters were demanding that the AMA drop their opposition to single-payer health care.
Read more:
At AMA’s Annual Meeting, Doctors and Nurses Demand Powerful Lobbying Group ‘Get Out of the Way’ In Fight for Medicare for All (Common Dreams)
Protestors Rally, Disrupt Opening Session at AMA Meeting (MedPage Today)
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California continues to lead on coverage for the undocumented
California continues to lead the nation in the effort to provide health insurance coverage to more and more residents. After expanding Medi-Cal to cover all income-qualified resident children regardless of documentation status in 2016, Governor Newsom has proposed expanding the program to cover income-qualified young adults, documented or not.
Read more:
California to become the first state to extend health benefits to some who live in US illegally (USA Today)
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Anthem fined small amount for mishandling patient grievances in 2017, while profits skyrocketed
California’s Department of Managed Health Care has imposed a fine of $2.8 million on Anthem Blue Cross for intentionally handling grievance calls from patients and failing to properly process and resolve their complaints in 2017. The DMHC Director makes the dubious claim that this is a “very large fine” when that same year, the 4th quarter 2017, Anthem enjoyed net profit of $1.2 billion (an increase of 234% in one year), and full year net profits of $3.84 billion. Meanwhile, the corporation also took a $1.1 billion tax cut, resulting in a 3.1% tax rate.
Read more:
Anthem to pay ‘very large fine,’ correct how it handles California patients’ complaints (Sacramento Bee)
Anthem to pay $2.8M, invest $8.4M more to correct how it handles patient complaints (Becker Hospital Review)
Anthem profits skyrocket 234% (Healthcare Finance News)
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