Children’s Hospital Los Angeles President Urges California
Lawmakers to Expand the Medi-Cal Program and Protect Specialty Care
Services at Children’s Hospitals
Children's Hospital Los Angeles announces its support of the Supreme
Court's ruling on the Affordable Care Act.
Richard D. Cordova, president and CEO of Children's Hospital Los Angeles, says the Supreme Court Affordable Care Act ruling supports the health and well-being of children. (Photo: Business Wire)
“This is great news to Children’s
Hospital Los Angeles because the ruling in support of the Affordable
Care Act (ACA) allows health care benefits for children to continue and
ensures their well-being,” says Richard
D. Cordova, FACHE, president and CEO of Children’s Hospital Los
Angeles.
“We support the expansion of coverage to the uninsured and the expansion
of the Medi-Cal program in California,” says Cordova. “Even though the
ruling allows states to decide on their own if they want to expand their
Medicaid program, I expect California will move ahead and implement
Medicaid expansion,” says Cordova, explaining that the ACA will fund the
expansion in its first year before the state takes on additional
responsibility.
"We also urge the state to protect programs unique to children’s
hospitals, since most treat a high volume of Medi-Cal patients,” he
says. “Because we provide numerous pediatric specialty services for our
patients, Medi-Cal reimbursements for those specialty services have to
be safeguarded. That will enable us to provide the highest quality of
care for our children."
The hospital also endorses other health care provisions the court upheld
with its Thursday ruling, Cordova said. The ACA instituted safeguards
allowing children with preexisting conditions coverage under private
insurance and permitting families to keep children on their private
policies until age 26. The ruling also upholds innovations such as “no
cost sharing” for preventative care, like immunizations, and protects
children from yearly and lifetime caps on insurance coverage.
“We are also pleased that temporary increases in Medi-Cal reimbursement
rates for pediatricians and pediatric specialists will stay in place so
we can provide appropriate care,” Cordova says.
“And finally, the court has endorsed the infrastructure to control costs
while providing quality child health care,” he says. “Programs like the
Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovations grant program will create
innovative care solutions for children. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
is working to provide ideas to reduce health care costs while
emphasizing the need to protect child health care coverage,” he says.
About Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Children's Hospital Los Angeles has been named the best children’s
hospital in California and among the top
five in the nation for clinical excellence with its recent selection
to the prestigious US News & World Report Honor Roll of best
children’s hospitals. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is home to The
Saban Research Institute, one of the largest and most productive
pediatric research facilities in the United States. The hospital is also
ranked among the country’s premier teaching hospitals, and has been
affiliated with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of
Southern California since 1932.
For more information, visit www.CHLA.org.
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