California bill to extend coverage to illegal immigrants gets tweak; Texas loses out on billions by not expanding Medicaid;

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> A California bill amended by state Sen. Richardo Lara (D- Bell Gardens) would allow undocumented immigrants in the state the opportunity to gain subsidized healthcare coverage, reported the Los Angeles Times. The bill originally offered Medi-Cal, the state's program for the poor, to all eligible adults regardless of immigration status; Lara amended the bill to instead offer a limited enrollment program, with the number of eligible enrollees dependant upon the state's yearly budget. Article

> More than a quarter of the nation's uninsured live in Texas, according to NPR. Should the state choose to not expand Medicaid, it will miss out on close to $100 billion in federal funding over 10 years, health advocates say. Podcast

> Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) said he would veto the state Senate's plan to expand Medicaid to roughly 800,000 residents, citing the $5 billion price tag for receiving $50 billion in federal reimbursements over the next decade, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Article

Health Finance News

> The Medicare program has financially penalized hospitals for years for not preventing avoidable injuries to patients while they're hospitalized, but it is hard to determine whether that program has had a concrete impact. Article

> The process for determining how much work a physician puts into completing a particular clinical task is often inflated and inaccurate, creating problems when Medicare and other federal agencies attempt to place an appropriate value on the task, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office. Article

And finally … A bird walks into a bar … Article