The California Health Benefit Exchange (CHBE) Board will discuss Qualified Health Plan (QHP) contracting strategies and delivery reform expectations at its Feb. 21 meeting in Sacramento. The board will solicit input from stakeholders and experts through several panel presentations that will also cover public and private purchasing strategies. The presentations will be followed by reactions from health care leaders, including CHA President/CEO C. Duane Dauner.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released its budget forecast for fiscal year (FY) 2012 through FY 2022 in a report that projects a $1.079 trillion deficit for FY 2012. Key assumptions in the CBO projections include an increased cost of $54 billion for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) due to 1) the repeal of the CLASS Act (reducing $76 billion in premiums) and 2) correction of the modified adjusted gross income formula used to calculate Medicaid eligibility (the Medicaid “glitch”) netting revenue increases of $22 billion.

The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) has released One Year of Innovation –  a report summarizing the initiatives it has introduced involving providers of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries in all 50 states. Since its launch, CMMI has focused on improving patient safety, promoting care that is coordinated across health care settings, investing in primary care transformation, creating new bundled payments for care episodes, and meeting the complex needs of the dual-eligible population.

The California Health Benefit Exchange (CHBE) Board meets Jan. 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Sacramento to discuss the Essential Health Benefits bulletin released last December. The agenda is attached. In addition, CHBE will hear a report from the executive director and review additional comments on the eligibility and enrollment system solicitation. The next meeting of the CHBE Board will be Feb. 21 in Sacramento.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will hold a series of Accelerated Development Learning Sessions featuring care delivery experts within and outside government who will discuss the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative. The web seminars will provide an opportunity for hospitals and other providers to deepen their understanding of how to improve care delivery and population health, while reducing costs, by redesigning care within a bundled payment program.

The California HealthCare Foundation has issued the attached report on the findings of a review conducted to better understand current payment models and those likely to emerge in California and the rest of the nation. Health Care Payment in Transition: A California Perspective identifies and discusses a number of considerations and strategies that stakeholders, such as hospitals and other providers, should take into account as they plan to transition to new payment models in the future.

The California Health Benefit Exchange (CHBE) Board will hold an additional meeting Jan. 26 focusing on the recently released federal bulletin regarding essential health benefits. The time and location of the meeting will be posted at www.hbex.ca.gov by Jan. 13. At the Jan. 17 meeting, agenda attached, the board will receive an update on the recent information system solicitation and hear a presentation about potential enrollment in CHBE.

The California Health Benefit Exchange (CHBE) Board met Dec. 20 to review and discuss a number of issues, including a report on small business owner behavior and decision making in offering and purchasing health insurance benefits for employees. The report was presented by Pacific Community Ventures (PCV), which conducted research with funding from the California Endowment. PCV reported that although small business owners in the state are not very aware of CHBE, they are likely to participate in the exchange once they learn more about it.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released new drafts of 2011 Schedule H, Hospitals, and 2011 Instructions for Schedule H (Form 990). Despite numerous comments from hospitals, the IRS did not incorporate many recommended changes. The draft schedule and instructions are substantially similar to versions released earlier this year but made optional for 2010 tax years.