Latest California Healthline Stories
Researchers Say Commonly Used Endoscope Risk Estimate Inaccurate, Outdated
The widely cited risk estimate for medical endoscope safety, which states that there is a one in 1.8 million risk of getting a serious infection from an endoscope, is “inaccurate, outdated, based on flawed methodology and can have profound effects on patients,” according to an article published in the American Journal of Infection Control. The researchers looked into the origin of the statistic and found mathematical errors in the 1993 committee’s calculations. They also found the endoscopy society’s committee had only included the number of incidents written in medical journals, which greatly underestimated the risk. Los Angeles Times.
Mental Health Coverage Still Not Equal Despite Parity Law
Seven years after lawmakers enacted the mental health parity law, data show insurers are skirting the law in numerous ways and the government is not adequately enforcing it. For example, a 2014 National Alliance on Mental Illness survey found payment was denied for mental health treatment twice as often as treatment for other conditions because mental health treatments were deemed not medically necessary. Meanwhile, a 2015 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health study found two state health exchanges where one-quarter of the plans violated federal parity laws in multiple ways, including by requiring higher cost-sharing for mental health coverage. Kaiser Health News.
Calif. Vaccine Law Could Lead to Boost in Homeschooling
A new California law that ends all personal belief exemptions to childhood vaccination requirements could lead to an increase in homeschooling in the state. Some homeschooling groups — such as the California Homeschool Network and the Home School Legal Defense Association — oppose the law and have raised concerns that lawmakers might try to extend the requirements to homeschooled children. However, the Coalition for Responsible Home Education argues that law should be extended to include homeschooled children. Education Week.
CMS Issues Several Final Rules Detailing FY 2016 Provider Payments
CMS has issued several final rules detailing how it will pay acute-care hospitals, long-term care hospitals, and rehabilitation, psychiatric and hospice providers in fiscal year 2016. The inpatient prospective payment system final rule factors in productivity improvement, coding changes and market conditions in the region in which the hospital is located. AHA News et al.
GAO Urges CMS To Act on Recommendations To Improve Medicaid
The Government Accountability Office says CMS has only implemented some of the more than 80 recommendations it made to improve Medicaid. In a new report, GAO says its suggestions would help improve access to care, fraud prevention, accountability and other areas of Medicaid. Modern Healthcare‘s “Vital Signs,” MedPage Today‘s “The Gupta Guide.”
Advocates Urge Calif. To Expand Health Coverage to Undocumented
Advocates say two recent studies underscore the need to expand health coverage to undocumented immigrants in the state. They argue that high emergency care costs associated with treating uninsured undocumented immigrants and such individuals’ contributions to the state economy justify an expansion. International Business Times.
Editorial Supports Use of Tactical Maneuver To Keep Tobacco-Related Bills Alive
In an effort to save two tobacco-related bills that would increase regulations for electronic cigarettes and raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21, “[s]ix tobacco-related bills were shifted … from the Legislature’s regular session to the special session on health care called by Gov. Jerry Brown, scheduled to begin Aug. 17,” a San Diego Union-Tribune editorial states. It notes, “The process was hardly pretty,” but “[i]f these bills can help reduce the problem, and they can, they deserve passage.” San Diego Union-Tribune.
Lawsuit Alleges CVS Overcharged for Generic Rxs
Hundreds of thousands of people since 2008 might have been deliberately overcharged for generic drugs by CVS Health, according to a lawsuit filed last week in federal court in San Francisco. The class-action lawsuit alleges that CVS intended that its Health Savings Pass program, which gives discounts on generic drugs to customers who either are uninsured or choose not to use their coverage, “would serve as a mechanism to hide CVS’s true usual and customary prices from third-party [payers].” AP/KQED’s “State of Health.”
USC Files Countersuit Against UC-San Diego Over Alzheimer’s Research Project
On Friday, the University of Southern California filed a countersuit in San Diego Superior Court against UC-San Diego for control over a major research project on Alzheimer’s disease. The countersuit came one week after a San Diego Superior Court judge ruled that UC-San Diego controls the nationwide cooperative study. UC-San Diego filed a lawsuit last month after USC hired a former employee and prominent Alzheimer’s researcher working on the study to lead USC’s new Alzheimer’s institute. San Diego Union-Tribune.
State Boosts Oversight of Women’s Prison After Spike in Suicides
Despite being lauded by state officials just one year ago for its mental health care services, the California Institution for Women is experiencing an uptick in suicides among inmates with mental health issues. In response, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is increasing oversight and employee training. AP/Long Beach Press-Telegram.