Tag: Doctor Shortage
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Dental Program for Low-Income Californians Gains Patients While Losing Dentists
By Kenny Goldberg California’s dental program for the poor is falling short. A new state review of the Denti-Cal program, shows between 2009 and 2014, the number of children enrolled in the Denti-Cal program increased by nearly 40 percent. But the number of dentists who treated Denti-Cal patients decreased by almost 14 percent. Denti-Cal pays…
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Complaints Alleging Poor Access to Care Prompt Medi-Cal Audit
By Kenny Goldberg More than 7 million people who have Medi-Cal coverage are enrolled in managed care plans. Lawmakers have ordered an audit because they say they’ve received numerous complaints from Medi-Cal patients who are having trouble getting care. California health officials say they haven’t found many problems. But a recent examination by the California…
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Doctors Not Inundated With Newly Insured Patients
By Kenny Goldberg Millions of previously uninsured Americans now have coverage thanks to Obamacare. But a new report finds most doctors haven’t seen a surge in new patient visits. The study comes from Athenahealth, a company that provides care coordination and practice management for doctors. The report examined data from more than 14,000 physicians nationwide.…
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More Money for Medi-Cal, But Doctors’ Pay Cut Remains
By Kenny Goldberg Thanks to Obamacare, more than 2 million additional Californians have signed up for Medi-Cal since last October. But it can be tough to find a doctor willing to treat them. That’s because the state cut the Medi-Cal pay rate by 10 percent, when California was in the depths of the recession. Anthony…
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Doctors Praise Governor’s Move, But Say Medi-Cal Pay Still Too Low
By Kenny Goldberg California Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budget eliminates a planned 10 percent Medi-Cal payment cut that was to be retroactive to 2011. But it still preserves a 10 percent cut to Medi-Cal rates going forward. Approximately 8.5 million Californians have Medi-Cal coverage, including more than 350,000 people in San Diego County. And thanks…