Latest California Healthline Stories
L.A. County Homeless Program Moves to Skid Row To Better Address Health Care Needs
This week, a Los Angeles County health program, called Housing for Health, is relocating to the heart of skid row in an effort to reduce the area’s homeless population and improve residents’ health. The $18 million program will move to the ground floor of a $40 million, 100-unit apartment building for homeless people. Los Angeles Times.
Kaiser Permanente Makes $1M Donation to International Groups Battling Ebola in West Africa
Kaiser Permanente has donated $1 million to Doctors Without Borders and the International Medical Corps to support medical care and clinical safety in the three West African countries where the majority of Ebola-related deaths have occurred. A Kaiser spokesperson indicated that the organization could send more aid as the outbreak progresses. San Francisco Business Times‘ “BizTalk,” Payers & Providers.
California Researchers Receive $3M Grant To Create Research Center on Aging
Researchers at UC-Berkeley and UC-San Francisco are teaming up to create a new research center that will examine how individuals age and develop treatments to address age-related diseases. The Glenn Consortium for Research in Aging will be funded by a $3 million grant from the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research in Santa Barbara. Payers & Providers.
HealthCare.gov Testing To Be Private, CMS Says
CMS on Monday notified insurers testing HealthCare.gov ahead of the second open enrollment period that all data and results from the assessment must remain private. Insurers were set to begin testing the federal exchange website on Tuesday. The testing period this year is starting earlier and lasting longer than it did last year. Wall Street Journal.
Wal-Mart To Stop Offering Health Benefits to Part-Time Employees Because of Higher Costs Under ACA
Wal-Mart on Tuesday announced that beginning in January 2015 it will stop offering health benefits to about 30,000 workers who work fewer than 30 hours per week and raise premiums for its more than one million full-time workers. The company, which is the largest private-sector employer in the U.S., citied higher-than-expected health care costs because of looming Affordable Care Act provisions. Reuters.
Labor Department Delays Enforcement of Home Care Pay Rules
The Department of Labor says it will delay enforcement of a final rule that extends minimum wage and overtime pay protections to home care workers. The rule, which take effects on Jan. 1, 2015, could affect nearly two million home care workers and personal aides nationwide, including about 360,000 home caregivers employed in California. New York Times‘ “Business Day” et al.
Studies: Exchange Enrollees Sicker Than Those With Employer Plans
Two studies find that U.S. residents who enrolled in coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges are on average sicker and more likely to receive care for serious illnesses than those with employer-sponsored coverage. New York Times.
New Calif. Law Requires No-Cost Access to Some Medical Research
A new California law requires research funded by the state Department of Public Health be made public at no cost after commercial publishers have had exclusive rights to the content for up to 12 months. The final version of the measure was significantly watered down after facing opposition. Los Angeles Times‘ “The Economy Hub.”
California Nurses Say They Are Unprepared for Ebola
Nurses in California and other states are concerned that hospitals have not provided them with the appropriate training or equipment to respond to Ebola cases. However, Kaiser Permanente says its Northern California facilities will run Ebola drills over the next month and that information on a plan to deal with Ebola cases will be distributed to staff this week. KTVU et al.
Report: 56,500 Jobs To Be Added in Calif.’s Health Care Sector in 2015
A new report by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation predicts that California’s health care and social assistance industry will add more than 56,000 jobs next year. Meanwhile, a separate report finds that Los Angeles County technology workers are transforming the health care and other sectors. San Gabriel Valley Tribune, L.A. Biz.