Latest California Healthline Stories
Faced With Competition From Generics, Pharma Companies Shift Tack To Marketing Pricey Drugs
The companies are moving from airing ads touting their products that help the broader public to ones that target rarer conditions. In other national news, AHIP and the CMS announce an agreement over quality measures for physicians, Pfizer will pay $784.6 million to settle an investigation over Medicaid charges, and employers are looking to mine data on their workers to help stem rising heath costs.
New Stroke Program Approved At County Hospitals In Ventura, Santa Paula
Specialists will provide assessments of suspected stroke patients within 15 minutes under the three-year, $253,750 contract. In other hospital news, a state report evaluates the risk of intestinal bacteria for California facilities.
Doctor Seeks To Learn Lessons From San Bernardino Shooting
Dr. Michael Neeki has been studying the timeline of a terrorist attack that killed 14 people and left 22 wounded, and wonders if more lives could have been saved. In other public health news, new findings linking health care conditions to diabetes could help doctors better determine what patients get screened.
Cesca Therapeutics Stems Revenue Losses
Cesca, which is transitioning into a regenerative health technology company, cut operating costs and employees to reduce losses to $623,000, down from $4.4 million the year before.
AG: Anthem And Other Security Breaches Endangered 24 Million Records
California Attorney General Kamala Harris issued a report finding that three out of five Californians may have had their data stolen last year through 178 data breaches. The Anthem breach affected more than 10 million patients in the state.
Hackers Demand $3.6M Ransom From Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center To Unlock Stolen Data
A cyberattack on the Los Angeles medical facility’s computer system has blocked staff from email and electronic patient records for more than a week. The hospital is working with the Los Angeles police and FBI on the case.
Lawmakers Scheduled To Vote On Health Care Plan Replacement Tax
The proposal, that would replace an existing tax, is expected to bring in $1.27 billion each year.
State Auditor Raises Concerns Over Covered California’s No-Bid Contracts
The auditors found nine contracts where the exchange did not sufficiently justify why it used a sole-source contract. The state officials rated the marketplace “high risk.”
Despite Payment Cuts, Medicare Advantage Plan Enrollments Rise More Than 50 Percent
The trend bucks experts who predicted that the private plans would be gutted by the health law measure that cut payments. In other national news, The New York Times looks at health care providers’ preparedness in the face of natural disasters and outbreaks, pop-up health clinics allow patients to see a doctor or dentist, even if it’s only for a day, and gene-editing adjusts the abortion debate.
After Scalia’s Death, Health Care Cases Hang In Balance
The Supreme Court is set to hear several health care cases, including ones on abortion, insurers, and the health care law. If the court is split 4-4, the decision of the lower court is upheld.