Latest California Healthline Stories
HHS Awards $101M for New Community Health Centers Across U.S.
HHS has awarded $101 million in Affordable Care Act money to help create 164 new community health centers in California and other states. Twenty-three California groups were awarded more than $14 million to serve 117,582 new patients. FierceHealthcare et al.
County Working To Stem Long-Term Care Abuse Amid State Inaction
San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox says the county cannot wait for state officials to take action on long-term care abuses and has launched several initiatives to address the issue. For example, the county has a new hotline and is creating a facility quality rating system. U-T San Diego.
New Calif. Bill Would Add Two-Cent Fee on Sugary Drinks
A new California bill aims to add a two-cent-per-ounce fee on sugary drinks that would generate about $3 billion annually to launch a program to prevent and treat dental disease, diabetes, heart disease and obesity. The bill was announced by Assembly member Richard Bloom, the American Heart Association and the Latino Coalition for a Health California. Santa Monica Daily Press.
California Lawmakers Push for More Veterans’ Medical Clinics
Sen. Dianne Feinstein says she will “continue to push” for more Department of Veterans Affairs clinics to provide medical care to veterans in California. One such clinic that is being built in French Camp has been put on hold amid budget concerns. McClatchy/Sacramento Bee.
Calif. Health Care Groups Spent $8.2M on Lobbying in Q1 2015
California Secretary of State data show that health care organizations in the state have spent more than $8 million this year on lobbying efforts — down slightly from the same period last year. Top issues for lobbying spending include Medicaid spending, scope of practice and others. Sacramento Business Journal.
CDC Report: Hispanic Population Has Longer Lifespan Than Whites, Despite Barriers to Health Care
Hispanic U.S. residents generally live longer than white individuals, despite less access to health care and other risk factors that should shorten their lives, according to the first CDC report on Hispanic health. The report found that the Hispanic mortality rate is 25% lower than the rate for the white population. Washington Post‘s “To Your Health,” The Hill.
Bills To Preserve ED Care in South Orange County Stall
Two bills have stalled in committee that aim to maintain access to emergency care services in south Orange County after MemorialCare Health System announced plans to close its emergency department. The Senate and Assembly Health Committees have postponed the bills, but sponsors Assembly member Bill Brough and Sen. Patricia Bates say they are hopeful the committee will hear the bills in 2016. Orange County Register.
EPA’s Revised Carbon Emission Rules Could Prevent Up To 6,100 Deaths Annually, Study Finds
Revised carbon emissions standards for coal power plants proposed last year by the Environmental Protection Agency could prevent more than 3,000 premature deaths annually and improve human health considerably, according to a study published Monday in Nature Climate Change. The researchers projected that between 780 and 6,100 deaths could be prevented annually from the rule change, averaging about 3,500 per year. New York Times.
Rural Hospitals in Calif., Other States At Risk of Closure
Fifty rural hospitals in the United States have closed since 2010, and hundreds more — including some in California — are vulnerable to closure in the coming years, according to a recent report from iVantage Health Analytics. The report found that hospitals in states that did not expand Medicaid were more vulnerable to closure. Specifically, 8.5% of rural hospitals in states that expanded Medicaid were considered vulnerable to closure, compared with 16.5% of rural hospitals in states that did not expand Medicaid. Becker’s Hospital Review.
Senators Call for Guidance on Federal Funds for State-Run Exchanges
In a letter to CMS, Sens. Chuck Grassley and Orrin Hatch ask the department to issue guidance on how state-operated exchanges can spend federal funds after an HHS Office of Inspector General report released last week found some state-operated exchanges might be illegally using such funding. The Hill.