Latest California Healthline Stories
Compliance Officer Appointed To Oversee Potential Prisoner Releases
Elwood Lui — a Los Angeles attorney and former state appellate judge — has been appointed to determine which state inmates will be released if California officials do not meet a deadline to reduce the prison population. The move comes after the court in February granted California two additional years to meet the prison population cap. AP/U-T San Diego.
Covered Calif. Urges Completion of Applications by April 15 Deadline
Yesterday, Covered California urged consumers to finish their exchange applications by the April 15 deadline, noting that another deadline extension is unlikely. Meanwhile, a health advocacy group in the state has released a report recommending improvements to the exchange’s customer service. Washington Times et al.
Santa Barbara Officials Work To Thwart TB Outbreak
Santa Barbara County Public Health Department’s officials are ramping up efforts to combat tuberculosis after high school student was diagnosed with the infectious disease. County health officials have been working for the past six months to contain a potential outbreak after 26 Santa Barbara residents in 2013 were diagnosed with the disease, including eight of who were resistant to medications. Santa Barbara Independent.
UC-Davis Study: 77% of Farm Workers’ Injuries, Illnesses Unreported
Researchers from UC-Davis find that the federal government does not report 77.6% of all injuries and illnesses experienced by agriculture workers. According to their study, the discrepancy in reporting can be attributed, in part, to the part-time nature of much farm work. Sacramento Business Journal.
Dignity Health reportedly saved about $30 million through an initiative that offered online training to 600 nurses about how to recognize medical problems and modes of care likely to result in hospital-acquired infections and other preventable health conditions. Through the initiative, Dignity reduced hospital-acquired pressure ulcers by 50% between January 2012 and December 2013, and the health system reduced the hypoglycemic rate among its patients with diabetes by 65% in that time. Payers & Providers.
Anthem, Memorial Care Medical Foundation Form ACO
Anthem Blue Cross and Memorial Care Medical Foundation have formed a new accountable care organization in Orange County. About 13,000 Anthem PPO beneficiaries in Orange County and Long Beach who already receive care through Memorial will be eligible to participate in the ACO. Orange County Register.
A report released Tuesday by Consumer Watchdog claims that California Department of Toxic Substances Control officials and other state regulators ignored important data in an investigation of whether toxins at a housing complex in Wildomar posed a health threat to residents. The report comes in response to draft results of the state’s investigation that found “no evidence” of such toxins. CBS Los Angeles.
Health Officials Say Flu Season in Calif. Drawing to a Close
California health officials expect the state’s season for influenza to end in mid-May. Since September 2013, at least 355 individuals in the state under age 65 have died after contracting the flu — three times as many as the previous flu season. San Jose Mercury News.
Analysis: 9.3M People Obtained Health Coverage Since Sept. 2013
An analysis by RAND finds that an estimated 9.3 million U.S. residents gained coverage between September 2013 and mid-March under the Affordable Care Act. According to the analysis, the rate of uninsured nationally declined from 20.5% to 15.8% in that same time span. Modern Healthcare‘s “Vital Signs” et al.
Study: Early Enrollees in Health Exchanges Are Older, Sicker
A new study from Express Scripts shows that early enrollees in the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges were typically older and less healthy than those who had employer-based coverage. However, the researchers note that younger, healthier consumers likely signed up later in the enrollment period. New York Times, Daily Beast/Kaiser Health News.