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ByJudyLin TheAssociatedPress SACRAMENTO Theleader of California's health ex- change said Thursday that the state is trying to im- prove notifications to con- sumers whose policies are shifted from private in- surance to Medi-Cal dur- ing income checks and eli- gibility updates. Covered California Ex- ecutive Director Peter Lee told board members that an unknown number of indi- viduals were taken off their private health plans, then switched with no or inad- equate notice to the state's version of Medicaid, which serves those who are poor, have lower-incomes or are disabled. Lee said it's an im- portant issue that he takes seriously. "There have been some cases of individuals where the wires got crossed, so to speak, and individuals were removed from Cov- ered California coverage before their Medi-Cal cov- erage was live, where no- tices were not as good as they should be, and we're working to improve those notices," Lee said. The Associated Press re- ported earlier this month that people who bought in- dividual health coverage through Covered Califor- nia were being dropped or transferred — often with- out notice — to Medi-Cal, which fewer doctors and providers accept. Covered California said the changes are happen- ing as it is trying to ensure that policyholders have in- comes high enough to pur- chase insurance through the exchange. Lee said the exchange has not resolved what hap- pens when a person seeks reimbursement for pre- miums paid for a private health plan once they re- ceive retroactive coverage from Medi-Cal. "We've had consum- ers say, 'Well that retroac- tive coverage meant that I had coverage for both Cov- ered California and Medi- Cal for a period of time. I don't want to pay that pre- mium I paid for that period of time.' These are policies, quite honestly, we're still working through," he said. Covered California launched the online mar- ketplace in October 2013 as part of the state's im- plementation of the fed- eral Affordable Care Act. The exchange, which is responsible for determin- ing and directing Califor- nians to an appropriate health plan, offers sliding- scale subsidies for private coverage to lower-income and middle-class people with no access to health care on the job, and di- rects other low-income and poor people to county social service offices for Medi-Cal. The exchange adjusted its income eligibility scale when the federal govern- ment updated the poverty scale earlier this year. HEALTH CARE California exchange addresses consumers' dropped policies By Don Thompson The Associated Press SACRAMENTO State Sen. Ben Hueso is expected to enter a plea or contest the drunken driving charges against him during a court date scheduled af- ter the November election. He was arraigned Thursday in Sacramento County Superior Court on two misdemeanor counts of driving under the in- fluence of alcohol after a night that included drink- ing at the state Capitol. Hueso did not appear and his attorney, Marga- ret Ann Virga, declined comment. The case was continued until Nov. 6, two days after voters de- cide whether to re-elect the San Diego Democrat. He was arrested last month during the final days of the legislative session. He was charged with driving under the in- fluence and driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or higher. SACRAMENTO State Sen. arraigned on DUI charges The Associated Press LONG BEACH A JetBlue airliner experienced en- gine problems and re- turned to the Long Beach Airport on Thursday after a short flight that ended with passengers evacuat- ing onto the runway us- ing the plane's emergency slides. None of the 142 passen- gers and five crew mem- bers was injured during the evacuation, though medical personnel tended to three passengers at the scene and one other was taken to a hospital for ob- servation, airport spokes- woman Cassie Perez- Harmison said. Flight 1416 was bound for Austin, Texas, when the crew declared an emergency after an "over- heat warning" for one of its two engines, she said. The pilot activated a fire-suppression system within the engine, but it was not immediately known whether there was a fire. FLIGHT Emergency CA landing for JetBlue GABEHERNANDE/THEMONITOR This photo shows a Border Patrol work station that is located near a aerostat used by Border Patrol to look for smugglers and illegal crossings in the Rio Grande Valley Friday at Penitas, Texas. By Alicia A. Caldwell The Associated Press WASHINGTON The U.S. Border Patrol will begin testing body-worn cameras on agents next month, the head of its parent agency said Thursday, a step to- ward seeing if the tech- nology should be used in the field as the government seeks to blunt criticism about agents' use of force. R. Gil Kerlikowske, Cus- toms and Border Protection commissioner since March, said a variety of cameras will be tested beginning Oct. 1 at the Border Patrol's training academy in Arte- sia, New Mexico. He didn't say when or even if cameras will be introduced to the roughly 21,000 agents in the field. "Putting these into place, as you know, is not only complicated, it's also expensive," Kerlikowske said at a news confer- ence. "We want to make sure that we do this right." Kerlikowske, a former Seattle police chief, has moved more aggressively than his predecessors to address complaints that Customs and Border Pro- tection is slow to investi- gate incidents of deadly force and alleged abuses by agents and inspectors, and that it lacks transparency. Department of Home- land Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Thurs- day that he gave Customs and Border Protection au- thority to investigate pos- sible criminal misconduct by its agents and inspec- tors. Previously, another agency within Homeland Security — Immigration and Customs Enforce- ment — investigated such complaints before Cus- toms and Border Protec- tion could. Kerlikowske said the new authority was "a great step forward" and would result in a more timely and transparent process. The commissioner also announced the creation of the Integrity Advisory Panel headed by Karen Tandy, former head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and New York Police Commissioner William Bratton. The camera test is a first step toward satis- fying activists who have long demanded the tech- nology as a way to keep a check on potential abuses. It is likely to meet resis- tance from the National Border Patrol Council, the union representing more than 17,000 agents, which has said cameras would be expensive and may cause agents to hesitate when their lives are threatened. Kerlikowske acknowl- edged Thursday that cam- eras raise a host of pri- vacy issues about when they should be turned on and off and said their in- troduction must be ne- gotiated with the agents' union. Shawn Moran, a spokes- man for the agents' union, said the development came as no surprise after the White House said this week that requiring po- lice officers to wear cam- eras was a potential solu- tion for bridging mistrust between law enforcement and the public. "We want to make sure these are used to back up agents, not to perse- cute them," Moran said Wednesday. "If they're used correctly by the agency, they will offer an independent account in use-of-force incidents or any type of incident. We do have concerns man- agement would use them to look for administrative violations." Border Patrol to test wearing cameras TECHNOLOGY Saturday,October11,2014 Carlino's Event Ctr. Rolling Hills Casino Doors open to guests – 9:30 a.m. Featuring Denise Kelly ThePlantBarn&GiftShop Program – Mad about Container Planting Reserved Tickets - $28.00 Last date to purchase tickets is October 1, 2014 Plated Lunch – Choice of Three Entrees Vendors – Silent Auction – Raffle Tickets: Kathy 527-9403 - Diane 824-5661 Plant Barn, 406 Entler, Ave, Chico - 345-3121 Wear your favorite hat and join the party! 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