Â鶹ŮÓÅ

In the final days of a battle over Proposition 45, California's insurance commissioner criticized Anthem Blue Cross for an "excessive" rate increase affecting 120,000 people with small-business health coverage. Dave Jones said Anthem had failed to justify its 10% average rate increase and used an "unwarranted accounting maneuver" to mask its high profits. But Jones has no power now to stop Anthem's increase, a fact he's been campaigning hard to change with Proposition 45. (Terhune, 10/22)

Baltimore officials this week sent about 40,000 letters to city employees and retirees, telling them the city will no longer pay for prescription drugs under Medicare as of 2020. City officials are touting the move -- which they say is made possible by President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act closing a coverage gap that Baltimore supplemented -- as a way to save millions for cash-strapped Baltimore. But union workers are criticizing the plan, which they argue could drive up costs for some seniors who’ll need to find coverage in the private market. (Broadwater, 10/23)

The state insurance department is looking at possible ways to strengthen a Georgia law that requires health insurers’ networks to give consumers adequate access to doctors and hospitals. “Georgia is not alone: The feds and all the states are looking at the issue,’’ Trey Sivley, director of the Division of Insurance and Financial Oversight for the Georgia agency, told GHN recently. (Miller, 10/22)

A letter from one of Nebraska's biggest medical networks suggests a costs dispute with a major insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, likely will continue into next year. UniNet Healthcare Network, the CHI Health entity that negotiates contracts with doctors and insurers, shared that likelihood in letters to insurance brokers. ... Blue Cross has said CHI Health, which used to be Alegent Creighton Health, routinely charges 10 to 30 percent more than other Omaha hospitals. CHI Health has said those figures are misleading and that its total cost of treatment is lower even if certain services cost more. (10/22)

A study released Tuesday on Latino children's health in California found that 94% of Latino children in the state were born in the U.S., which may have policy implications in the next legislative session when the issue of health coverage for the undocumented will be debated. (Gorn, 10/22)

Three California State University campuses Wednesday were awarded more than $60 million in federal grants to help train low-income and minority students for biomedical research careers. The National Institutes of Health grants are for five years and include $22.7 million to Cal State Long Beach, $21.8 million to Cal State Northridge and $17 million to San Francisco State University to develop mentorship programs, engage students' families, improve instruction and develop community-based research projects. (Rivera, 10/22)