Health Care Headlines

The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) is stepping up its opposition to a policy instituted in three states by Anthem Inc, saying that it inhibits people from seeking emergency care and violates the “prudent layperson” standard.

In his 40 years as a hospital leader, Mike Purvis has never witnessed the forced evacuation of a major hospital, let alone two.

Expanding the use of hospice services among rural residents in the last six months of their lives could reduce patients’ need for more expensive and inconvenient medical treatments, a new report suggests.

As a flurry of ash began to fall from the sky outside Santa Rosa Memorial hospital Monday afternoon, Elizabeth and Joseph Tito took comfort in controlling what they could: the flow of ambulances, cars and panicked families in and out of the hospital’s main parking lot.

Yesterday, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) issued guidance for health care employers on employee safety in light of the hepatitis A outbreaks in San Diego, Santa Cruz and Los Angeles counties. Cal/OSHA’s recommended preventative measures.

As a team of nurses unwrap baby Jayden from the comfort of his swaddling cloth, he wails. His tiny feet shake. His hands clench and unclench.

Michigan Consumers for Health Care, a nonprofit group, has enrolled thousands of people in health insurance under the Affordable Care Act and was honored last year as one of the nation’s top performers — a “super navigator” that would serve as a mentor to enrollment counselors in other states.  So the group was stunned to learn from the Trump administration that its funds for assisting consumers ahead of the open enrollment period that begins Nov. 1 would be cut by 89 percent, to $129,900, from $1.2 million.

Drug companies doing business in California will soon have to notify the public two months in advance of dramatic price spikes under legislation signed Monday by Gov. Jerry Brown

Carmela Coyle is the incoming president of the California Hospital Association, a major player in the state’s intensifying debate over health care. Capitol Weekly caught up with Coyle recently in the midst of her hectic schedule relocating to Sacramento from Maryland.

Las Vegas is not only a glittering strip of casinos and hotels but a fast-growing region with more than 2 million residents — and one hospital designated as a highest-level trauma center.

Eliminating the Medicaid Institutions for Mental Disease exclusion for adults under age 65 would help improve access to treatment for those with severe or complex substance use disorders, AHA told the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee today in a statement submitted for a hearing on the federal response to the opioid crisis.

Preliminary data from the first trial of a Zika virus (ZIKV) vaccine in human subjects, ZIKA-001, show that three doses of the synthetic GLS-5700 DNA vaccine led to binding antibody production in all subjects and neutralizing antibodies in more than half of samples tested, researchers reported in an article published online October 4 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Something important happened while Congress was busy trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act last week — it missed the deadline to fund community clinics.

Hospitals across the Las Vegas area were inundated Sunday evening when hundreds of people injured in the mass shooting at a country music festival on the Strip arrived at their doors by ambulances and private car.  And hundreds of doctors, nurses, and support personnel were called into work to help handle the patients that were lined up in ambulance bays and hallways, officials say.

While health care uncertainty roils Washington, the rest of the country is coasting toward Obamacare season.

The U.S. government is investing more than $170 million to help two new vaccines against the Ebola virus and two Ebola drugs complete the steps needed for approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

Congress has a Saturday deadline to renew a federal program that funds community health clinics. If it fails to act, it will endanger more than $600 million for clinics in California, forcing many to consider cutbacks in their services.

The Graham-Cassidy proposal has had the same result as similar attempts to repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act because its enactment would have entailed similar consequences: devastating cuts to the Medicaid program, the loss of coverage for tens of millions of Americans, eliminated consumer protections for people with pre-existing conditions and destabilized insurance markets.

Senate Republicans’ latest effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act has collapsed, but President Trump has already made moves to undermine important provisions of the health law, and there is still more he could do.

The nation’s 1,400 community health centers are carefully watching expenses in case the financial rescue they hope Congress delivers this week doesn’t arrive.

Strathspey Crown announced today that Richard Afable, MD has been appointed as Senior Advisor. Dr. Afable will also become a member of the Supervisory Board of Strathspey Crown Holdings (SCH-AEON LLC) effective in early 2018. Additionally, he will also serve on the Executive Committee of the Board of Regents of the World Physicians Organization as well as advise CONCIERGE KEY Health, the world’s first mobile application for On-Demand access to elite doctors and care facilities nationwide.

On behalf of California’s leading health care organizations - more than 43,000 physician members and medical students of the California Medical Association (CMA), 27,000 dentists of the California Dental Association, more than 400 hospitals and health systems of the California Hospital Association (CHA), and the millions of California patients we serve every day, we are writing to urge you to oppose the Graham Cassidy Block Grant amendment to the American Health Care Act. 

The Graham-Cassidy health care bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act could strip an estimated 2 million residents in Los Angeles County of their health insurance, according to a UC Berkeley study.

Senator John McCain (R-AZ) may have torpedoed yet another Republican bill that overhauls the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a bill also opposed by the healthcare industry, or at least groups that purport to represent it.

They have until the end of the month to garner enough votes to pass the so-called Graham-Cassidy bill, which would fundamentally change how health care is funded nationwide. Its effects would be especially far-reaching in California and other states that bought heavily into the Affordable Care Act.

Nearly a year since a Manhattan Beach woman with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease went missing after an outing at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, her family will renew attention to the case with a film screening at the museum this weekend.

A new report from the World Health Organization shows a serious lack of new antibiotics under development to combat the growing threat of drug-resistant superbugs.

The latest Senate Republican attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act and enact sweeping reforms to the American health care system has generated intense opposition from the very health care providers, patient groups and insurance companies that would be forced to adapt to the changes envisioned by the legislation.

Following President Trump’s decision to dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, more than 70 medical groups are asking Congress to pass legislation ensuring that unauthorized immigrants brought to the U.S. as children can continue their education and employment in the health care fields.

As members of the U.S. Senate consider the proposed Graham-Cassidy Amendment, the California Hospital Association (CHA) today denounced the proposal as “the most damaging plan for California that has been considered thus far in the efforts to repeal, repair or replace the Affordable Care Act.”

The attorneys general of 41 U.S. states said Tuesday that they’re banding together to investigate the makers and distributors of powerful opioid painkillers that have, over the past decade, led to a spike in opiate addictions and overdose deaths.

We believe that coverage could be at risk for tens of millions of Americans under the Graham-Cassidy proposal. We continue to urge senators to work in a bipartisan manner to address the challenges facing our health care system.

The latest Republican proposal to undo the Affordable Care Act would grant states much greater flexibility and all but guarantee much greater uncertainty for tens of millions of people.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has announced $200 million in grant funding to help local communities deliver behavioral health services and proactive responses to opioid abuse.

The AHA today voiced opposition to a proposal introduced last week by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Dean Heller (R-NV) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) to repeal and replace parts of the Affordable Care Act. “

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today launched Get Ahead of Sepsis, an educational initiative to protect Americans from the devastating effects of sepsis. This initiative emphasizes the importance of early recognition and timely treatment of sepsis, as well as the importance of preventing infections that could lead to sepsis.

With the 2017 flu season just around the corner, you’ve probably already started getting inundated with reminders to get your flu shot. But why do we get the flu vaccine in the fall? And why do we have a flu season in the fall and winter, anyways?

A California bill headed to the governor’s desk may be the most sweeping effort in the nation to shine a light on drug pricing, but it lacks the muscle being applied in other states to directly hold those prices down.

As San Diego County health officials work to combat a hepatitis A outbreak that has killed 16 people and sent nearly 300 to the hospital, public health officials in Los Angeles and Orange counties say they’re taking steps to prevent the virus from spreading northward.

A new global initiative aims to reduce the number of people dying from heart disease and stroke by 100 million and prevent new disease outbreaks in low- and middle-income countries.

Amanda Buccina, R.N., is the “Street Nurse” of Sacramento, Calif. She spends every workday caring for the city’s homeless residents.

Five governors — three Democrats and two Republicans — last week gave a Senate committee their prescriptions for quickly stabilizing the insurance marketplaces, or exchanges, created by the forever embattled Affordable Care Act (ACA).

By this point, most people are aware of the connection between being sedentary and dying earlier.

The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and the top Democrat on the panel announced on Tuesday night that they had reached agreement on a plan to prevent the imminent exhaustion of federal funds for the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Much to our pleasant surprise here at CCF, the recent health care debate elevated and educated many lawmakers on the role of Medicaid for children and families. Medicaid, of course, is the foundation of health coverage for children in the U.S.—a fact that was often overlooked until recently, even by health-savvy lawmakers.

Two leading hospital trade groups Monday urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to withdraw a proposal to drastically cut Medicare drug payments to hospitals that participate in a federal drug discount program.

Long waits at the emergency room are the norm at many hospitals, and a source of frustration for patients and doctors. The emergency department at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton, operated by Dignity Health, sees about 275 patients each day.

Scientists at UCLA have launched the first genetically engineered blood stem cell clinical trial to fight cancer thanks to $20 million in voter-approved funds earmarked for stem cell research, university officials announced Monday.

Along with red blood cells, white blood cells and a panoply of hormones, every drop of your blood contains tiny shards of DNA spewed out of various cells in your body as they die.

Trinity County is the state’s fourth-smallest, and ended last year with an estimated population of 13,628 people.

A new Republican bill to replace Obamacare will be unveiled in the U.S. Senate on Monday with backing from President Donald Trump, according to one of two Republican senators who have crafted the legislation.

Providence St. Joseph Health has consolidated 14 hospitals across Southern California under new leadership based in Los Angeles, within a new umbrella organization spanning Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties, officials announced Thursday.

In reaction to President Donald Trump’s decision on Tuesday to reverse the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that protects about 800,000 immigrants, the American Medical Association has called on Congress to consider alternatives that will not hinder the healthcare workforce.

A key Senate committee Wednesday launched a set of hearings intended to lead to a short-term, bipartisan bill to shore up the troubled individual health insurance market, but a diverse group of state insurance commissioners united around some solutions that were not necessarily on the table.

Alcohol abuse, dental conditions and depression were among the top causes of avoidable emergency room visits nationally, according to a new UC San Francisco study which stressed that emergency departments are often ill-prepared to handle such conditions.

In health care, you could say radiologists have typically had a pretty sweet deal. They make, on average, around $400,000 a year — nearly double what a family doctor makes — and often have less grueling hours. But if you talk with radiologists in training at the University of California, San Francisco, it quickly becomes clear that the once-certain golden path is no longer so secure.

A bipartisan group of governors is trying to jump-start efforts to strengthen private insurance under the Affordable Care Act, urging Congress to take prompt action to stabilize marketplaces created by the law while giving states more freedom from its rules.

The number of rural hospital closures has increased significantly in recent years. This trend is expected to continue, raising questions about the impact the closures will have on rural communities’ access to health care services.

Sandra Carter bumped down Interstate 10 toward Palm Springs with her canvas tote on the seat beside her. It’s her inaugural trip aboard the Blythe Wellness Express, crossing the 100-mile stretch of desert separating her from a life of better health.

More than two dozen hospitals in Houston and along the Gulf Coast have closed or evacuated some patients amid Tropical Storm Harvey’s pounding rains and flooding.

As tropical storm Harvey resumed its torrential assault on the Houston area today, some hospitals and clinics continued to shut down services and others operated with smaller staffs of providers who often struggled mightily to get to their patients.

While health care reform remains stalled amid political gridlock in Washington, providers in Ventura County continue to make significant progress on new facilities to improve the delivery of care in our community.

Prime Healthcare is pleased to announce that it has reached a three-year labor agreement with SEIU-UHW for valued employees in three of its award winning Southern California hospitals: Centinela Hospital Medical Center, Garden Grove Hospital Medical Center and Encino Hospital.

The number of federally-approved opioid treatment programs, which are qualified to dispense methadone and buprenorphine for opioid use disorders, increased 39% between 2003 and 2016, according to a new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. About 10% of all substance use treatment facilities had OTPs in 2015.

Consultation with a palliative care provider substantially reduces aggressive end-of-life care compared with end-of-life care with no palliative component. Also, the earlier the consultation, the greater the reduction in healthcare use, a retrospective observational study indicates.

Every day seems to bring a new tragic story of a person with serious mental illness killed by police. In Seattle, for example, there were recently back-to-back deaths: a 30-year-old pregnant woman shot in front of her children, and a 20-year-old man killed right before his high-school graduation during what appeared to be his first psychotic episode, with a pen in his hand police mistook for a knife.

Health care disparities among blacks and Latinos compared to whites have narrowed because of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, according to a study published by the The Commonwealth Fund Thursday.

The Hospital Quality Institute (HQI) is pleased to announce the launch of QuietNight™, a next generation mobile tool designed to measure noise in hospital environments and provide real-time feedback.

Water rose in the basement of Ben Taub Hospital, a major county trauma center in the vast Texas Medical Center campus that had spent billions of dollars on flood protections after being devastated in Tropical Storm Allison in 2001. Officials announced an evacuation Sunday, but hours later, a hospital spokesman said it had not yet begun because the hospital was surrounded by water and rescuers could not reach its 350 patients.

VA Secretary David Shulkin has proved to be something unique in President Donald Trump’s Washington: an Obama appointee nominated by Trump who is beloved by almost everyone and getting stuff done.

In a letter today to the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, AHA laid out actions that Congress could take to immediately reduce the regulatory burden on hospitals, health systems and the patients they serve.

About 70% of all office-based physicians accept new Medicaid patients, including two-thirds of primary care physicians and close to three-quarters (72%) of specialists.

AB 1250 hurts our children and vulnerable members of our community by instituting a de facto ban on public/private partnerships at the county level.

Richard Afable, the executive vice president of Providence St. Joseph Health Southern California Region – Orange County/High Desert and president and CEO of St. Joseph Hoag Health, will leave those positions in December. He will then focus on his upcoming role as the chair of the California Hospital Association and mental health advocacy.

Nothing seemed to help the patient — and hospice staff didn’t know why.  They sent home more painkillers for weeks. But the elderly woman, who had severe dementia and incurable breast cancer, kept calling out in pain.

For people in New York with severe mental illness, the path to treatment has increasingly passed through the city’s public hospitals, even as health officials and private hospitals try to accelerate years of slow progress by providing people with better outpatient care.

With ongoing uncertainty around the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the board that oversees California’s health care marketplace took action to stabilize the exchange on Thursday. Their goal was to convince insurance companies to continue offering health plans through Covered California.

For about 60,000 Covered California customers, choosing a health plan next year will be easier, and possibly more painful, than ever: There will be only one insurer left in their communities after Anthem Blue Cross of California pulls out of much of the state’s individual market.

There will be more activity than usual Sunday morning at Ventura County Medical Center when a much anticipated new wing opens to patients.

Medicare launched a website aimed at helping families choose a hospice — but experts say it doesn’t help very much.

Telemedicine is playing a big role in California’s fight against the opioid epidemic. President Trump declared the problem a national crisis last week.

With the deadline fast approaching for insurers to decide whether they will participate in the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplaces next year, all eyes are on the shortage of options some consumers will experience.

Telehealth is changing health care delivery. Through videoconferencing, remote monitoring, electronic consults and wireless communications, telehealth expands patient access while improving patient outcomes and satisfaction.

Opioid abuse and overdoses have caused emergency room visits in Orange County to more than double over the last decade, according to a recent report from the county health care agency. 

International medical graduates (IMGs) have been playing a crucial role in clinician staffing needs for U.S. hospitals, especially in hospital medicine and internal medicine. According to a study, IMGs comprise 25% of the total U.S. physician workforce and 36% of internists.1,2

As you gather with children this Father’s Day weekend, consider how far you would go to ensure their well-being: If your child had cancer or diabetes, would you wait until the disease were critical before you called doctors to intervene?

A federal agency granted $4.8 million to continue developing a vaccine that has shown promising results in preventing valley fever among dogs and could lead to a breakthrough for humans, Dr. John Galgiani, one of the nation’s leading valley fever researchers, said during a rare visit to Bakersfield Tuesday.

What if a doctor could use an artificial intelligence app to “crowdsource” the advice of specialists from around the country to double-check a patient’s diagnosis? A group called the Human Diagnosis Project is getting a lot of attention for its initiative to help doctors do that in underserved areas — an initiative that got the backing of the American Medical Association last week.

There is widespread agreement about the value of integrating mental health and substance use disorder treatment with primary care. Behavioral health integration has the potential to dramatically improve health outcomes, particularly for people with complex needs.

The number of Californians who are getting care at dialysis centers has jumped in recent years — but not because kidney disease is more prevalent.

The board that oversees Covered California will consider a plan Thursday to entice health insurance companies to keep selling individual policies on the state exchange even if they lose money next year

Public health officials and others concerned about the nation’s opioid crisis are hailing President Trump’s decision to declare it a national emergency. A Presidential commission on opioids said in its interim report that an emergency declaration would allow the administration to take immediate action and send a message to Congress that more funding is needed.

President Trump on Thursday said he considers the opioid crisis to be “a national emergency,” starting a process aimed at giving the federal and state governments more resources and flexibility to deal with the epidemic.

When it comes to saving lives and minimizing health care costs, vaccinating children against infectious diseases is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions. In the United States alone, over the last 20 years childhood immunizations1 have prevented 322 million illnesses, 21 million hospitalizations, 732,000 deaths, and saved nearly $1.38 trillion in total societal costs.

Alondra Diaz can’t get enough of Elmo and Barney, and she adores picture books.  The 14-year-old, who will enter high school next week, has several complex and debilitating medical conditions, including epilepsy, microcephaly and a mitochondrial disorder. Her long-standing team of doctors — a neurologist, geneticist, orthopedist, pediatrician and others — is primarily based at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where Diaz lives.