Health Care Headlines

Growing up poor near the Mexican border gave Karla Garcia, MD, MPH, insight into the daily struggles faced by Latinos with low incomes. After her medical training, Garcia returned to the community where she grew up to practice family medicine at San Ysidro Health, which serves San Diego County through a network of clinics near the border.

President Donald Trump has taken a sudden interest in California’s homelessness crisis. Last week, he and several senior White House advisers, including Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson, visited the state to discuss federal intervention to address homelessness. But some state lawmakers registered deep suspicions about the White House’s interest, arguing that the policy options put forth by the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) neglect key drivers of homelessness.

A federal judge yesterday ruled in favor of the AHA and hospital organizations saying that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services exceeded its statutory authority when it reduced payments for hospital outpatient services provided in off-campus provider-based departments grandfathered under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. 

Certain populations in the United States are at risk for a resurgence of leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, according to a New York University physician who penned a public health warning in The Hill this week.

A September pediatric flu death in California serves as a stark reminder that getting vaccinated early can save lives.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released three new modules in its series of free online training courses to help health care organizations prevent and control infections.

Congress is back in session and the public sees many health care issues as a “top priority” for Congress to work on including lowering prescription drug costs (70%), making sure the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) protections for people with pre-existing conditions continue (69%), lowering the amount people pay for health care (64%), and protecting people from surprise medical bills (56%).

From wildfires and earthquakes to floods and mass shootings, what were once rare or infrequent events have now become regular occurrences in California. For California hospitals, disaster preparedness has become a way of life — because being prepared can literally mean the difference between life and death.

n a career full of twists, turns and high-powered assignments, Thomas Insel may now be embarking on one of his most daunting tasks yet — helping California find its way out of a worrisome mental health care crisis.

For years, videos of ambulances dropping patients off on street corners prompted outrage and, eventually, legislation to stop it. But California hospitals attempting to comply with the new law run up against this stark reality: There are not enough beds available for homeless patients exiting hospitals.

Los Angeles-based Good Samaritan Hospital will be joining Whittier-based PIH Health, according to a joint announcement made Thursday afternoon. As part of the deal, PIH Health will provide additional capital investments to Good Samaritan Hospital, which will go by the name “PIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital” once the merger closes.

Physician support for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) grew over five years, with 53% of doctors now agreeing it could turn healthcare “in the right direction.”

Hospitals and health systems are transforming; redesigning how they deliver care to provide patients and communities with more convenient, cost-effective and innovative services.

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced more than $1.8 billion in funding to states to continue the Trump administration’s efforts to combat the opioid crisis by expanding access to treatment and supporting near real-time data on the drug overdose crisis.

There’s a “reasonable chance” the United States will lose its measles elimination status in October because of ongoing measles outbreaks in New York, according to Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is providing: 1) background information on the forms of e-cigarette products, 2) information on the multistate outbreak of severe pulmonary disease associated with using e-cigarette products (devices, liquids, refill pods, and cartridges), and 3) clinical features of patients with severe pulmonary disease. This health advisory also provides recommendations for clinicians, public health officials, and the public based on currently available information.

As key advisor to Governor Newsom on mental health, Dr. Thomas Insel is helping lead California in addressing behavioral health challenges. We were thrilled to sit down with him for our #BehavioralHealthChampion interview series.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is backing away from his campaign promise to appoint a “cabinet-level secretary” on homelessness.

States that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act have seen a much bigger increase in prescriptions for a medication that treats opioid addiction than states that chose not to expand the program, a new study has found.

Nurses at St. John’s hospitals in Oxnard and Camarillo have called off a strike planned to start Aug. 30.

State leaders, health plans, and provider organizations met today for the California Transformation Summit to announce major results of the largest collaborative initiative in history to improve health care quality, and discuss next steps.

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the important role AHA member hospitals and health system leaders play in advocating for the field. This week, I’ll tell you exactly what we’re advocating for when Congress returns in September … and how you can help. 

As a health care leader, you have likely heard that with aging patient populations, retiring nurses and growing rates of chronic disease, America’s nursing shortage is getting worse, with 1.2 million registered nurse vacancies expected by 2022.

The U.S. could see a shortage of nearly 120,000 physicians over the next 12 years as demand is outgrowing supply, with the stakes even higher in rural areas. One report suggests liberalizing immigration rules to make it easier for foreign-born doctors to work in rural areas, and lawmakers are proposing new inducements for rural physicians.

As mass shootings have become normalized, many Americans have learned to fear public spaces like concert venues, movie theaters, shopping malls, places of worship, and even schools.

California and three other states on Friday filed the latest court challenge to new Trump administration rules blocking green cards for many immigrants who use public assistance including Medicaid, food stamps and housing vouchers.

A proposed rule that would remove anti-discrimination protections for patients, including those for LGBTQ individuals, generated more than 130,000 comments—many of them urging the Trump administration to drop the plan opponents call a rollback of health equity.

A California law that limits the size of bills from out-of-network physicians for care delivered in hospitals has changed the negotiation dynamics between hospital-based physicians and payers, giving payers an incentive to lower or cancel contracts with rates higher than their average, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

Just before the Fourth of July, Trenton Burrell began feeling run-down and achy. Soon he could barely muster the energy to walk from one room to another. A friend shared an alarming observation: “You’re turning yellow.”

Felicia Morrison is eager to find a health plan for next year that costs less than the one she has and covers more of the medical services she needs for her chronic autoimmune disease.

“The Trump Administration’s new ‘public charge’ rule jeopardizes the well-being of people who have legally immigrated to this country and who want nothing more than to feed and shelter their families and obtain life-saving care when they are sick or injured,” said Carmela Coyle, President & CEO of the California Hospital Association.

The California union is the largest in a national coalition involved in contract negotiations with Kaiser Permanente, and the first to OK a future strike that could involve up to 80,000 workers. In other health care industry labor news: health care, research and technical employees at the University of California vote to ratify a new contract after two years of negotiations and work stoppages.

Montefiore St Luke’s Cornwall (MSLC), a not-for-profit community hospital with campuses in Newburgh and Cornwall, New York, is helping employees pay off student loan debt with a novel new program.

Among patients who had a pre-planned visit to the hospital in the past year only 12% price shopped beforehand, and 97% of them were under the age of 65, according to a survey of 1,000 patients conducted by Waystar, a vendor of revenue-cycle management software.

California hospitals are asking lawmakers to reduce 2030 state seismic safety standards due to the potential compliance cost involved, according to Southern California TV station KABC.

When Francisco and Ramoncita Medina heard about the planned retirement of their longtime doctor Joseph Quintana, MD — the only physician in this rural town — they worried they’d be forced to move. The Medinas, both in their 70s, knew Quintana as their lifeline to care for diabetes, blood clots, glaucoma, asthma, gout, and more. Given Francisco’s hand tremor, his declining vision, and the slick winter roads, driving an hour to the nearest town of Alamosa for their frequent medical needs wasn’t feasible.

After five years leading the California Health Care Foundation’s High-Value Care Team and its opioid safety portfolio, Kelly Pfeifer, MD, is leaving Oakland for Sacramento to become deputy director of mental health and substance use disorder services for the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). In the last four years, CHCF has invested $7 million in innovative opioid safety work.

After Kim Lauerman was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, doctors wanted to give her a drug that helps prevent infections and fever during chemotherapy. Her insurer said no.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has increased wage index payments to rural hospitals that addresses concerns over the disparity between hospital payments in high-wage areas versus low-wage areas, which tend to be rural. CMS is redistributing funds by decreasing payments for all hospitals.

A Southern California hospital spent $72 million on a building designed to do two things after an earthquake: stay standing and stay open.  But when a pair of strong earthquakes struck the region last month, the hospital couldn’t use it.

The Trump administration — under mounting pressure to lower prescription drug prices ahead of next year’s elections — announced plans Wednesday to consider allowing states to import lower-priced medications from Canada.

America’s much-maligned health care system is covering 9 out of 10 people, a fact that hasn’t stopped the 2020 presidential candidates from refighting battles about how to provide coverage, from Bernie Sanders’ call for replacing private insurance with a government plan to President Donald Trump’s pledge to erase the Affordable Care Act and start over.

The state is providing up to $300,000 in debt relief for doctors who agree to accept Medicaid. The grant has lifted “an emotional burden,” one recipient said, adding, “I can focus on my patients.”

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles will now be able to help many more kids, thanks to an anonymous $25 million gift.

Health care costs and hospital prices in particular continue to make headlines. And yet, much of the data used to tell this story is misleading. Often, important facts are omitted in order to make a more compelling case. 

All Californians should have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Californians with low incomes often face greater barriers to care than those with higher incomes.

Los Angeles-based health system Cedars-Sinai is offering $15 million in grant opportunities to target housing and homelessness issues, access to community care clinics, and other institutions addressing the social determinants of health.

Bryan Ruiz’s hands were still shaking an hour after he learned the $300,000 in medical school loans he took out to become a dentist were being wiped away by California taxpayers.

As 25 percent of rural Americans continue to struggle with access to care and about an equal amount turn to telehealth for solutions, experts push payers for better telehealth coverage to improve rural healthcare, according to a new report.

“Caring for the sick and healing the injured is a mission that does not consider the immigration status of those who need help,” said Carmela Coyle, President & CEO of the California Hospital Association.

Labor unrest is escalating at Kaiser Permanente, with unions for 85,000 of the healthcare giant’s workers saying Friday that they are taking steps toward a potential strike because talks on a new contract had stalled.

California has launched a program that will repay young doctors’ medical school loans if they agree to carry a caseload 30% of which consists of patients on Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program.

Hundreds of thousands and maybe more than a million people in California will have an easier time getting health insurance next year, thanks to a package of reforms that could be a model for other states and eventually the federal government as well.

In court, the Trump administration is trying to get all of Obamacare erased. But at the White House, President Trump and his health officials are busily using the law to pursue key proposals.

Jiggy Athilingam was riding a bicycle in San Francisco five years ago when suddenly she was on a bed in the hallway of a hospital.  “What happened?” she asked.

Employment at the nation’s hospitals rose by 0.21% in June to a seasonally adjusted 5,244,900 people, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

A federal appeals court panel will hear arguments Tuesday on whether a federal judge in Texas was correct in striking down the Affordable Care Act, a case with enormous stakes not only for millions of people who gained health insurance through the law but for the political futures of President Trump and other candidates in the 2020 elections.

On July 9, a three-judge panel at the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans will hear from both sides on whether the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is constitutional or should be struck from the law books.

After California lawmakers passed legislation in 2004 to expand access to community mental health services, officials in Los Angeles County knew they had to ensure that their programs were effective to take full advantage of possible new resources—and to best serve their communities.

Hospitals and health systems may apply through Aug. 27 for a portion of $3 million in funding to create Pediatric Disaster Care Centers of Excellence to enhance pediatric care during public health crises, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response announced last week.

Not long after she finished her medical residency at Stanford University about a decade ago, Nadine Burke Harris got to work as a pediatrician in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco. She founded and became CEO of a clinic there, focused on addressing health disparities in the community.

The healthcare workforce is evolving, often by necessity, thanks to the same gravitational forces that are affecting the rest of the industry and the economy at large: technological advances, competitive market forces, shifting imperatives that demand new skill sets, challenges with job satisfaction and burnout.

On Monday, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at promoting health care price and quality transparency. The AHA appreciates the Administration’s efforts to promote health care transparency on price and quality, and strongly supports equipping patients with useful and meaningful information they need to make informed decisions about their care and its cost. 

Glendora Community Hospital will close its acute care facility and eliminate 184 positions beginning in September as it transitions to a behavioral health facility, according to layoff disclosures released June 25 by the state’s Employment Development Department.

Improving the health of their communities is at the heart of every hospital’s mission. For example, every year, taxexempt hospitals demonstrate accountability to the communities they serve by filing a report on the benefits they provide to their community using the IRS Form 990 Schedule H and making it publicly available. In 2016, tax-exempt hospitals participating in the 340B drug savings program provided $56.1B in total benefits to their communities

The Senate health committee approved a package of bills on Wednesday aimed at lowering the cost of medical care, from ending surprise medical bills to curbing prescription drug price surges, with a rare bipartisan vote that could vault it toward final passage.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a press release this afternoon cautioning the public to protect themselves from an increase in West Nile virus (WNV) activity.

For the first time in decades, the number of overdose deaths in the U.S. may finally be falling, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing provisional government data.

Nearly half of the investment will be spent on building and buying the new facilities. The property City of Hope is acquiring includes a four-story building, which will be updated and used as a center for cancer research and treatment. City of Hope will also build a hospital, which will be completed by 2025, City of Hope President and CEO Robert Stone told the Los Angeles Times.

Legislation that would mandate nurse staffing ratios for all hospitals and nursing homes in the state would cost providers $3 billion a year, according to the Greater New York Hospital Association.

In 2009, as the Great Recession bore down on California, lawmakers cut coverage of eyeglasses, podiatry, speech therapy and other benefits from the state’s low-income health program.

Last winter, several dozen people who were struggling with suicidal urges and bouts of intense emotion opened their lives to a company called Mindstrong, in what has become a closely watched experiment in Silicon Valley.

A controversial bill that restricts vaccine medical exemptions for students enrolling in California schools was amended on Tuesday to secure the support of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration two weeks after Newsom raised concerns about the measure.

Health care giant Kaiser Permanente plans to construct a 1.6 million-square-foot headquarters in Oakland, creating one of the largest new buildings in the Bay Area.

Some love stories are about romance. This one is about a doctor—and the six people who fell in love with him.  Marta Cano, 72, woke up in the middle of the night, short of breath. Her blood pressure was soaring. She felt terrible. Her younger sister Rosario didn’t hesitate.

Did you know that in 2018 there will be an estimated 164,690 new prostate cancer diagnoses in the United States? That 1 in 9 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime?

Amanda Bacon’s eating disorder was growing worse. She had lost 60% of her body weight and was consuming about 100 calories a day.

That’s the headline from last Sunday’s edition of The Washington Post. The article looks at new research on the Affordable Care Act’s effect on health.   
The verdict: The ACA is having a positive impact on the health of individuals and communities. It has increased access, reduced disparities and improved equity of care among cancer patients, and it is helping providers identify ovarian cancer earlier so patients can start treatment sooner.

Air ambulance services that provide a critical lifeline to sick and injured people in remote areas of the North Coast are warning they could be forced to cut services sharply unless the Legislature replaces subsidies that are scheduled to expire at year’s end.

The United States has recorded 1,001 measles cases so far this year in the worst outbreak of the highly contagious disease in more than a quarter-century, federal health officials said on Wednesday as they issued a new plea for parents to vaccinate their children.

California Influencers this week answered the question: What is California’s obligation in terms of providing health care to undocumented immigrants? Below are the Influencers’ answers in their entirety.

Even though his time as chief of Medicare and Medicaid came to an end in January 2017 with the change in administrations, Andy Slavitt’s passion to transform the nation’s healthcare system has never waned. In fact, since he left his post as Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in January 2017, that dedication might have only amplified.

Surprise medical bills — those unexpected and often pricey bills patients face when they get care from a doctor or hospital that isn’t in their insurance network — are the health care problem du jour in Washington, with congressional lawmakers from both sides of the aisle and the White House calling for action.

Formal succession plans for CEOs and term limits are some of the opportunities CEOs identified as ways to improve hospital governance, according to a survey from the American Hospital Association.

Across the country, many doctors, nurses and other health care workers have remained silent about what is being called an epidemic of violence against them.

The best way to protect yourself and your loved ones from measles is by getting vaccinated. You should plan to be fully vaccinated at least 2 weeks before you depart. If your trip is less than 2 weeks away and you’re not protected against measles, you should still get a dose of MMR vaccine. The measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine protects against all 3 diseases. Two doses of MMR vaccine provide 97% protection against measles; one dose provides 93% protection.

California has some of the nation’s strongest protections against surprise medical bills. But many Californians still get slammed with huge out-of-network charges.

A sweeping draft legislative package from the bipartisan leaders of the Senate Health Committee seeks to lower health care costs by addressing surprise medical bills and adding transparency to drug prices, among other provisions.

New analysis prepared by Ernst & Young LLP (EY) and released today by the American Hospital Association (AHA) shows that tax-exempt hospitals provided $95 billion in total benefits to their communities in 2016 alone, the most recent year for which comprehensive data is available. This means that hospitals’ and health systems’ community benefit activity outweighs the value of their federal tax exemption – which was $9 billion in 2016 – by a factor of nearly 11 to one.    

A bill that would crack down on medical exemptions for mandatory vaccines passed the California Senate floor on Wednesday, bringing the state one step closer to gaining control over who gets to pass on vaccinations.

Hospitals and health systems across the country are redesigning care delivery to improve quality and outcomes, enhance patient experience, and reduce costs with the ultimate goal of better population health.

A slight drizzle had begun in the gray December sky outside Community Christian Church as Reta Baker, president of the local hospital, stepped through the doors to join a weekly morning coffee organized by the Fort Scott, Kan., chamber of commerce.

Because this week is National Hospital Week, CHA has taken to the digital airwaves to celebrate as broadly as possible the multi-faceted, rich, and human narrative that is the hospital story.

When it comes to treating opioid addiction, most health care experts say nurses have a critical role to play in prescribing the lifesaving medication buprenorphine.

The Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions continue to weigh heavily on the minds of Americans, especially in light of the ongoing legal battle on the future of the ACA.