Latest California Healthline Stories
Some Seniors Facing Difficulty Obtaining Pertussis Vaccinations
State and federal officials have recommended that all adolescents and adults in California obtain a vaccination for whooping cough, or pertussis. However, officials say that some physicians have told elderly patients that they cannot receive the vaccine. Los Angeles Times.
Reform Has Businesses Weighing Options for Worker Health Benefits
Two provisions contained within the health reform law — the “Cadillac tax” on high-cost health plans and the creation of state-based insurance exchanges — have businesses considering what kind of health benefits to offer their employees. AP/Los Angeles Times.
State-Based Insurance Exchanges Seen as Key to Reform Law’s Success
Both Democrats and Republicans are viewing the creation of state-based insurance exchanges as a way to give more health care decision-making power to consumers. California recently became the first state to set up a health insurance exchange. CQ HealthBeat, New York Times.
State Resumes Medi-Cal Payments to Community Health Centers, Clinics
Now that California has a budget plan in place, the state has started repaying community health centers about $857 million in Medi-Cal claims withheld since July 1. The state suspended Medi-Cal payments for clinics during its 100-day budget impasse. American Medical News.
U.S. Public Health Service To Run Yosemite Medical Clinic
Beginning Jan. 1, the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps will take over medical care at the Yosemite National Park Medical Clinic. Modesto’s Doctors Medical Center is ending its service at the clinic, which serves about 7,000 patients annually. Officials expect the clinic to continue its 24-hour outpatient service. San Francisco Chronicle, Fresno Bee.
Hospital Districts Calling for Higher Reimbursement Rates
A coalition of California hospital districts called the District Hospital Leadership Forum is lobbying lawmakers to increase Medicare and Medi-Cal reimbursement rates for hospitals run by public health care districts. Currently, district hospitals receive lower Medi-Cal payments than public hospitals run by agencies such as the University of California and county governments. North County Times.
CIRM Awards $67M in Grants Statewide for Stem Cell Work
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has awarded 19 grants totaling $67 million for stem cell research across the state. UC-Irvine researchers will use $9.35 million to study treatment for an inherited eye disease, while researchers at UC-Davis Medical School will use $9.7 million for research in an alternative to liver transplants and in using stem cells to help heal wounds in diabetes patients. Sacramento Bee et al.
CDC: Number of U.S. Diabetes Cases Could Double by 2050
U.S. cases of diabetes are expected to double and possibly triple by 2050, according to a new CDC report published in the journal Population Health Metrics. Currently, one in 10 U.S. adults — or about 24 million individuals — has diabetes. The report predicts that as many as one in three will have the disease — particularly type 2 — in 40 years. USA Today.
Study: Doctors Often Provide Limited Treatment Guidance
Physicians are more likely to give positive rather than negative information and often leave out important details when discussing treatment plans with their patients, according to a recent survey by the Institute of Social Research at the University of Michigan. The survey, which was funded by the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making, found that physicians often offered opinions rather than options and seldom mentioned the fact that a patient could forgo treatment altogether. Scripps Howard/Seattle Times.
Opinion: Do Not Forget About Medical Work Force Needs
“If we want to truly fulfill the promise of health care reform, we must invest in the health work force,” which is receiving “less attention” than the reform law’s “impact on the insured and the insurers,” according to a San Francisco Chronicle opinion piece by Janet Coffman — an adjunct professor at UC-San Francisco — and Gil Ojeda — director of UC-Berkeley’s California Program on Access to Care. “As millions more people become insured” and as baby boomers age, the “number of patients requiring services will dramatically increase,” they write, adding, “California’s universities and community colleges will have the capacity to train only two-thirds” of an estimated one million allied health workers the state will need by 2030. Coffman and Ojeda conclude, “What’s really needed is an ambitious plan to fully develop California’s health work force.” San Francisco Chronicle.