Latest California Healthline Stories
Calif. DMHC Levies $75K Fine Against Arcadian Health Plan Over Medicare Advantage Enrollees
The California Department of Managed Health Care has fined Arcadian Health Plan $75,000 for failing to notify the agency that it moved its 26,000 California-based Medicare Advantage enrollees to Humana in 2011. The agency said it did not receive notice of the change until June and that Arcadian has agreed to surrender its Knox-Keene license after Dec. 31. Payers & Providers.
Report: L.A. County Police Need Additional Training To Deal With Individuals With Mental Illnesses
Los Angeles County police, dispatchers and other criminal justice workers need more training on how to handle individuals with mental illnesses, according to a report released Wednesday. The report, which was conducted by an outside consultant at GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation, also found that law enforcement should increase the use of special teams that respond to individuals in crisis. Los Angeles Times, AP/Sacramento Bee.
National Association of Medicaid Directors Urges Lawmakers To Curb Costs of Specialty Rx Drugs
The National Association of Medicaid Directors in a letter sent Tuesday urged lawmakers on several congressional committees to help curb the costs of specialty drugs for conditions such as hepatitis C and cancer. NAMD wrote in the letter that Sovaldi — a hepatitis C drug that costs $84,000 for one course of treatment — “is just the first of many such exceptionally high-cost ‘curative’ specialty drugs.” AP/U-T San Diego.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Martin Dempsey on Tuesday told Department of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel that all military personnel returning to the U.S. from the West African countries most affected by the Ebola outbreak should undergo 21-day quarantines. According to Pentagon press secretary Adm. John Kirby, Hagel plans to announce that he will follow the suggestion and implement the policy. New York Times.
SEC Investigates CMS Officials in Three Insider-Trading Cases
The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether CMS officials leaked information that was later used by Wall Street analysts. Any charges in the investigations would be among the first tests of insider trading laws involving the exchange of federal information. Wall Street Journal.
Report Finds 2013 Health Care Spending Up, but Use of Services Down
A Health Care Cost Institute report finds that health care spending among individuals with employer-sponsored coverage increased by 3.9% in 2013. The report attributes the modest growth in spending to an increase in prices, as use of medical and surgical services actually dropped last year. Modern Healthcare.
San Bernardino County, Federal Health Officials Urge Residents To Get Flu Vaccines
San Bernardino County health officials are urging residents to get their flu vaccinations as this year’s flu season begins. Local and federal officials say the outcry over Ebola has drowned out some public health announcements warning against the flu, which is can be fatal for some individuals. Riverside Press Enterprise.
A genetic variant that exists in some Latina women indigenous to the Americas plays a significant role in reducing their risk of breast cancer, according to an international study conducted by scientists at UC-San Francisco. The study found that women with one copy of the variant are 40% less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer, while women with two copies are 80% less likely to develop the disease. KQED’s “State of Health.”
Beverage Industry Shells Out Millions To Try To Defeat Soda Tax Ballot Measures in S.F., Berkeley
Campaign filings show that the American Beverage Association has spent $7.7 million to defeat a San Francisco ballot initiative that would levy a two-cent per ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. In addition, the ABA has spent $1.7 million to defeat a similar ballot initiative in Berkeley that would levy a penny-per-ounce tax on such beverages. Kaiser Health News.
Poll: Support for Insurance Rate Regulation Outweighs Opposition
A recent poll finds that about 41% of likely California voters support a ballot initiative that would give the state insurance commissioner the authority to reject health insurance rates, while nearly 30% oppose the measure. Meanwhile, a ballot measure related to random drug testing of physicians has more opposition than support, according to the poll. Los Angeles Times, Hoover Institute poll.