Latest California Healthline Stories
Calif. Health Plans Buy Shares of Hill Physicians Medical Group’s Management Company
The founding owners of PriMed Management Consulting Services, a management company run by Hill Physicians Medical Group, have sold their shares to a group of new and existing investors for an undisclosed sum. Dignity Health, Hill Physicians, and Anthem Blue Cross of California and Blue Shield of California each now own one-third of PriMed. San Francisco Business Times‘ “BizTalk.”
Insurers Spending $37M To Fight California Rate Regulation Initiative
Five large insurers in California are spending a combined total of more than $37 million on efforts to defeat a ballot initiative that would give the state regulatory authority to monitor and control health care premium rates. Center for Public Integrity, FierceHealthPayer.
West Nile Virus Afflicts 181 Californians, Public Health Officials Say
So far this year, 181 cases of West Nile virus have been reported across California, including 52 cases documented last week. Public health officials say the increase likely is being driven by a record number of mosquitos in the state carrying the disease. NBC Bay Area et al.
Apple Prohibits Sale of HealthKit App Data to Third Parties
Apple appears to be taking steps to prevent application developers from selling health data collected by its recently launched mobile platform called HealthKit. The Cupertino-based company changed its iOS developer license agreement to prohibit developers from selling health information collected through HealthKit “to advertising platforms, data brokers or information resellers.” In addition, the agreement states that developers are not permitted to use the app or data collected from it “for any purpose other than providing health and/or fitness services.” MobiHealthNews.
Indiana Likely To Be Next State To Expand Medicaid
Indiana likely will be the next state to expand its Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act. The state already has submitted an alternative expansion plan for federal approval, which the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates would close the “coverage gap” for 181,930 residents with incomes too high to quality for non-expanded Medicaid coverage but too low to qualify for federal insurance subsidies. Washington Post‘s “Wonkblog.”
Hospitals See Greater Financial Benefits in Medicaid Expansion States
An analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Health Research Institute finds that hospitals in states that expanded Medicaid are experiencing significant financial benefits, compared with hospitals in non-expansion states. PwC attributes the gains in expansion states to an increase in newly insured patients. CNBC et al.
Greater Insurer Competition Found To Lower Health Care Premiums
A new analysis says that health insurance markets need “enough competitors” to enable U.S. residents to benefit from savings. For example, the analysis cites one study that indicates premiums for a silver plan would have been 5.4% lower if the largest insurer in the U.S. participated in the exchanges. New York Times‘ “Upshot.”
Women diagnosed with breast cancer who received bilateral mastectomies experienced no additional survival benefits compared with those who underwent a lumpectomy and radiation, according to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study, by California researchers, involved nearly 200,000 California women treated for cancer in one breast between 1998 and 2011.
On Friday, U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag’s office filed a civil False Claims Act complaint against the owners, operators and managers of two Watsonville nursing homes, alleging abuse and Medicare fraud. The complaint against Country Villa Watsonville East Nursing Center and County Villa Watsonville West Nursing Center alleges that between 2007 and 2012 the facilities submitted false Medicare claims and “persistently and severely overmedicated elderly and vulnerable residents of the nursing homes.” Santa Cruz Sentinel, Central Coast News KION.
Analysis: More Calif. Children Obtaining Vaccine Exemptions
An analysis of California Department of Public Health data finds that the percentage of California kindergarteners whose parents filed personal belief exemptions to avoid obtaining vaccinations has more than doubled since 2007. Public health experts say the upward trend in exemptions could drive disease outbreaks. Los Angeles Times, Times analysis.