Latest California Healthline Stories
Research Suggests Blood Transfusions Could Help To Fight Brain Atrophy, Alzheimer’s Disease
Research by the Sutter Institute of Medical Research finds that blood infusions could help to prevent brain atrophy and delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease in early-stage patients. The study — which included 50 patients ages 50 to 84 — involved intravenous immunoglobulin, a blood product extracted from the plasma of blood donors that includes purified antibodies. The antibodies combat an abnormal brain protein that is found in patients with Alzheimer’s. Sacramento Bee.
Federal Judge Says House GOP’s ACA Lawsuit Can Move Forward
U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer has denied the Department of Justice’s request to immediately appeal a ruling on standing in House Republicans’ lawsuit challenging the Obama administration’s power to make changes to the Affordable Care Act. Instead, she said the court should first rule on the substance of the case. Washington Times, The Hill.
Shareholders Approve Merger Between Aetna, Humana
Yesterday, shareholders from Aetna and Humana approved a merger between the two insurance companies. The deal still is subject to federal approval, and antitrust experts say the Department of Justice and state attorneys general are likely to scrutinize it closely. Modern Healthcare, AP/San Francisco Chronicle.
Calif. Exchanges To Implement Expanded Definition of Small Business
Covered California and private insurance exchange CaliforniaChoice will offer coverage to small employers with 100 or fewer employees starting next year. The change comes even though President Obama signed a bill that halted an Affordable Care Act provision that would have expanded the small business definition from one with 50 or fewer employees to one with 100 or fewer employees.” Sacramento Business Journal.
Medi-Cal Waiver Will Change Hospital Admissions Process
Under a renewed waiver, California private and non-designated public hospitals will change their process for admitting fee-for-service Medicaid beneficiaries. Specifically, hospitals no longer will need pre-authorization from the program to admit such patients. Instead, they will follow national clinical guidelines to determine when fee-for-service beneficiaries should be hospitalized. Modern Healthcare.
GlaxoSmithKline has made a deal with UC-San Francisco to provide early-stage funding for certain academic discoveries that have trouble obtaining traditional grants. The deal aims to streamline the process for translating scientific findings into clinical trials and new drugs. Under the deal, the two organizations will begin three projects related to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, cancer and obesity. San Francisco Business Times‘ “BiotechSF.”
California’s List of Organ, Tissue Donors Up by 30%
Donate Life California, the not-for-profit group that runs the state’s organ and tissue registry, said its list of donors has grown by 30%. The increase comes after the implementation in January of a new law that allows undocumented residents to obtain California drivers licenses. Sacramento Bee.
VA Official Working To Reduce Claims Backlog Resigns
On Friday, the Department of Veterans Affairs undersecretary responsible for reducing the backlog of veterans’ benefits claims resigned. Claims are considered backlogged if they are more than 125 days old. The number of backlogged claims peaked at 611,000 in March 2013. Last week, VA reported that the claims backlog fell to under 74,000. VA Secretary Robert McDonald announced Allison Hickey’s resignation in a statement and did not specify why Hickey was resigning. Principal Deputy Undersecretary Danny Pummill will replace Hickey, serving as acting undersecretary. Wall Street Journal, Military Times.
Teen Smoking Rate Down by 64%, CDC Study Finds
The percentage of U.S. teenagers who smoke has dropped by 64% in recent years, while marijuana use among the group has doubled, according to a study published Friday in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The study found that from 1997 to 2013, the percentage of teenagers who smoked cigarettes or cigars fell from 20.5% to slightly more than 7%, while rates of teen marijuana use increased from 4% to 10%. Further, the study found that marijuana use among teens who smoked cigarettes or cigars increased from 51% to 62%. U.S. News & World Report.
Hospitals and other stakeholders say that a district court’s ruling on Thursday that excludes “orphan” drugs — which are developed to treat rare conditions — from the 340B Drug Pricing Program for rural and cancer hospitals could reduce funds needed to provide uncompensated care. Under the 340B program, drugmakers must offer discounts of between 20% and 50% to providers that serve low-income individuals. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America had sued HHS over the interpretive rule, arguing in part that it undermined drugmakers’ incentives to research and develop new orphan medications. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras issued a ruling that sided with PhRMA and vacated the interpretive rule. Contreras wrote in the ruling that the interpretive rule was “contrary to the plain language” of federal law. Modern Healthcare, AHA News.