1_LBBJ_Mar4_SectionB_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 3/3/14 5:34 PM Page 4
HEALTH CARE QUARTERLY 4-B Long Beach Business Journal
March 4-17, 2014
Under ACA, Physician Groups Continue Educating Doctors For Influx Of Patients ■ By TIFFANY L. RIDER Editor hile the floodgates have already opened, medical groups and independent practice associations (IPAs) continue to educate physicians in preparation for large numbers of new patients as a result of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) taking effect. MemorialCare Medical Group worked for months before the ACA kicked in January 1 to equip physicians with insurance materials and the knowledge needed to navigate more patients. “Many health plans changed benefit packages, deductibles and co-pays for current patients in 2014 and we are partnering with them to ensure their members better understand the new and/or changed benefits,” Dr. David Kim, director of MemorialCare Medical Group’s medical facility at the Los Altos MarketPlace in Long Beach, told the Business Journal in an e-mail. “MemorialCare Medical Group is also partnering with our physicians, nurses and other clinical staff to help patients who may have delayed
W
needed care because of a lack of insurance and access to primary care services. Many of those need immediate medical attention to diagnose health issues, stabilize chronic health conditions, and improve their overall health.” The urgent care facility, which opened in early 2013, has grown from six physicians to 16 physicians on staff in anticipation of the rising demand for primary care. More than 30 such MemorialCare Medical Group centers are operational at this time, serving communities in need. “Many newly insured are used to accessing health care through the ER, when an urgent care and/or a family physician would be a more value added way to treat most minor illnesses and injuries,” Kim explained. MemorialCare Medical Group also increased its customer service staff in 2013 to prepare for “the barrage of calls from current or potential patients inquiring about which health plans MemorialCare Medical Group is part of in the California health insurance exchange,” Kim said. As government activity in health care continues to ramp up, HealthCare
FREE VARICOSE A VEIN SCREENING Dates: Saturday, March 14, 2014 11:00 a.m.
Partners’ Vice President of Government Programs Jeff Flick said he and others are attending IPA meetings and sending out communications directly to physicians to keep them up to date and educated. “We have a pilot program about to take place for dual eligible beneficiaries,” Flick told the Business Journal. “Covered California is brand new. There’s a MediCal expansion taking place. There are many relatively new programs happening at the same time.” HealthCare Partners has about 2,000 primary care physicians in Los Angeles and Orange counties, some of whom are contracted to the organization’s IPA and some are employed physicians. Flick, who is a former employee of the U.S. Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, said his experience helping the federal government implement prescription drug benefit reforms is applicable to the rollout of the ACA. “I remember consumers at the time didn’t know what a generic drug was, let alone what the donut hole was,” Flick said. (For those who don’t remember, the donut hole is the term used to refer to the Medicare prescription drug coverage gap.) “But people are smart, and in a year or two they did a much better job figuring it out,” Flick said, predicting the same will happen with the latest health care reforms. “It’s a lot for a consumer to take in, but there is good help available.”
Lakewood Regional Medical Center Invites you to a Free Varicose Vein Screening Who Should Attend:: Men and women age 18 and older with large varicose veins that are causing leg swelling, pain, or discomfort.
Screening by appointment only
This brief screening involves an ultrasound test that will take about 15 minutes to complete and is offered to the public.
Location:
Call today to make an appointment for this FREE screening program: 800-813-4345
Lakewood Regional Medical Center 3700 E. South St. Lakewood, CA 90712
FREE OF CHARGE
Please call 800-813-4345
www.lakewoodregional.com
Lakewood Regional Medical Center Located at 3700 E. South St. Lakewood CA 90712 12 (Corner of South Street and d Downey) D )
Dr. George Jayatilaka, founder of Accountable Health Care IPA in Signal Hill, said his organization has seen an increase in patients through its plan partners. Those plan partners include Molina Healthcare, Health Net and Blue Cross. “We have informed our providers to expect more patients,” Jayatilaka told the Business Journal. “We have also sent out amendments to our doctors because different health plans are not paying the same way. Overall, doctors have told us they are seeing more patients . . . because they just expanded Medi-Cal and [launched] Covered California.” Accountable Health Care has been educating approximately 550 primary care doctors in Los Angeles County who have an impact on some 35,000 lives, Jayatilaka said. As of the end of January, the IPA had added about 1,100 patients to its membership, mostly through Covered California and expanded Medi-Cal programs. “We are all learning,” he said. “We try our best and we try to educate our doctors as we go along. I think it’s a collaborative effort. Bottom line, we need to take care of these patients.” ■
Assembly Bill 241 Creates Concerns Among Home Care Employers ■ By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER Staff Writer ubbed the “Domestic Worker Bill of Rights,” California State Assembly Bill (AB) 241 ensures that domestic workers, including professional childcare providers and home health care workers, receive overtime pay for more than nine hours worked per day. Professionals in the home care industry are reporting that the bill is detrimental for clients who must cut back on care to save money and for employees whose hours are subsequently reduced. The home care industry provides professional in-home caregivers for senior, disabled and ill individuals. Their clients often require 12- or 24-hour care, according to home care industry employers. Because AB 241 mandates overtime pay for home care and domestic workers who work more than nine hours, that means a cost increase for many home care clients, particularly those who employ live-in workers. The bill, which was authored by State Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, went into effect on January 1. “Essentially the combination of AB 241 and AB 10, which is the California minimum wage increase from $8 to $10 an hour, is going to result in a 36 percent
D