Latest California Healthline Stories
House OKs SGR Replacement Deal; Senate To Consider After Recess
Yesterday, the House passed legislation that would permanently replace Medicare’s sustainable growth rate formula. The bill would raise Medicare’s physician reimbursement rates by 0.5% annually through 2019, before transitioning to an incentive-based payment system. The Senate will not consider the measure until it returns from recess on April 13. New York Times et al.
New Cleaning Steps Released for Devices Linked to CRE Outbreak
Yesterday, the manufacturer of medical endoscopes that were linked to superbug outbreaks at two California hospitals released updated cleaning instructions for the devices. Rep. Ted Lieu, who has called for congressional hearings on the outbreaks, said he was “pleased” with the change. AP/Sacramento Bee, Los Angeles Times.
Legislation Revives Effort To Limit Medi-Cal Estate Recovery
On Wednesday, the California Senate Health Committee advanced a bill that would limit the amount of assets the state can recoup from deceased Medicaid beneficiaries’ estates. The measure revives a similar effort vetoed last year by Gov. Brown, but his veto statement “left an opening” for Medicaid estate recovery reform. KQED/Kaiser Health News.
California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of March 27, 2015
Several potential buyers have expressed an interest in purchasing one or all of the Daughters of Charity Health System’s six safety-net hospitals. San Francisco General Hospital plans to hire more than 100 registered nurses to fill open staff positions at its new inpatient medical center.
Jury Orders Kaiser To Pay More Than $28M to Patient
On Wednesday, a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury ordered Kaiser Permanente to pay $28.2 million to a patient who filed a lawsuit over the loss of her leg. The suit alleges that Kaiser physicians improperly delayed an MRI that could have found a cancerous tumor. The suit argues that as a result, the woman’s leg had to be amputated. Los Angeles Times, AP/Sacramento Bee.
United EMS Workers, American Medical Response Reach Agreement on Three-Year Contract
United EMS Workers — which includes emergency medical services workers across 13 counties in Northern California — has reached a three-year contract agreement with American Medical Response after years of negotiations. The contract covers about 1,800 employees. Sacramento Business Journal.
Indiana Declares Health Emergency Over HIV Outbreak
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on Wednesday said he is preparing to declare a public health emergency in the state’s Scott County amid a growing HIV outbreak stemming from intravenous drug use. Indiana health officials have said that 72 HIV cases have been confirmed in the southern region of the state, while seven other individuals have been diagnosed with preliminary positive HIV infections. That number increased from 26 confirmed infections last month. AP/Sacramento Bee.
Bill Would Facilitate Development of Joint DOD, VA Electronic Health Record System
This week, Rep. Phil Roe reintroduced legislation that calls for the development of an integrated electronic health record system for members of the military and veterans. The bill would establish a temporary panel to create criteria for an EHR system that would serve both the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. The system would be created by a U.S.-based vendor and funded by a lump sum of $50 million to develop the system, as well as $25 million annually over five years to operate the system. Politico‘s “Morning eHealth,” WBIR.
UCSF Study Finds Women Prefer Mobile Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool Over Paper Version
A recent study published in the Journal of Health Disparities Research Practices finds that a mobile health application for assessing breast cancer risk is easy for older, diverse and low-income women to use. The study, by researchers at UC-San Francisco, found that the majority of women preferred the mobile tool over a traditional paper risk assessment tool. Health Data Management, MobiHealthNews.
Report: Doctors Not Seeing a Surge in New Patients Under ACA
A new report finds that the share of new patient visits at primary care providers increased by only three percentage points between 2013 and 2014. Affordable Care Act critics had predicted that the individual mandate would result in a flood of new patients and overwhelm the U.S. health care system. Modern Healthcare.