- California Healthline Original Stories 1
- Hospital Infection Rates Are On The Downslide (With One Troubling Exception)
- Marketplace 2
- New Zenefits CEO Admits Its Software May Have Allowed Employees To Circumvent Law
- Despite Boards Stocked With D.C. Luminaries, Theranos Still Faces Consequences From Regulators
Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Hospital Infection Rates Are On The Downslide (With One Troubling Exception)
Intestine invader "C. diff" proves tough to kill. (Barbara Feder Ostrov, 2/12)
California Healthline's Daily Edition will not be published Feb. 15. Look for it again in your inbox Feb. 16.
More News From Across The State
New Zenefits CEO Admits Its Software May Have Allowed Employees To Circumvent Law
The human resources company "self-reported" the issue to the California Department of Insurance, which launched an investigation of Zenefits in 2015 for possible regulatory violations.
The San Francisco Business Times:
New Zenefits Shocker: CEO Admits Company 'May Have' Used Software To Bypass California Law
David Sacks, the new CEO at troubled digital health giant Zenefits, acknowledged in a memo Thursday afternoon to employees that "many of our California sales representatives" had access to a software tool that may have helped them circumvent California law. The software tool, dubbed "Macro," may have allowed employees to complete mandatory online pre-licensing classes needed to obtain California insurance brokers licenses, Sacks said in the memo, a copy of which was given to the Business Times from someone at the company. (Rauber, 2/11)
Reuters:
California Insurance Regulators Probing Zenefits
Software company Zenefits is being investigated by the California Department of Insurance over questions about its business practices, the agency said Thursday. California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones revealed in a statement that the agency had launched an investigation into Zenefits in 2015. (2/11)
Despite Boards Stocked With D.C. Luminaries, Theranos Still Faces Consequences From Regulators
The blood testing startup's advisory board includes, among others, former Cabinet secretaries George Shultz, Henry Kissinger and William Perry, former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and legal star David Boies. Analysts worry its failure, even with such big names advising it, could cripple investors' enthusiasm for innovative health care companies.
Politico:
Troubled Health Start-Up Theranos Faces Washington Reckoning
Theranos, a $9 billion health care startup, is becoming a poster child for the limited value of having a board stocked with Washington powerbrokers. With insiders ranging from Henry Kissinger to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Theranos still faces a federal regulatory call Friday that could capsize the firm and threaten an innovative healthcare sector along with it. The Palo Alto, Calif., company, headed by 32-year-old Elizabeth Holmes, has faced growing scientific and financial skepticism over its bold central claim: that it can replace the scary hypodermic needle with a cheap finger prick to test human blood, overturning the lab testing industry in the process. (Tahir, 2/11)
Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital Reports High Infection Rate
The 25 total Clostridium difficile cases reported by Sutter in 2014 was almost double the number set as a national benchmark. News outlets report on other hospital developments related to a statewide rise in C. diff. cases, an increase in Southern California's hospital inspectors and an executive pay clash at Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside.
The Press Democrat:
High Rate Of Infections Found At Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital
In the state’s latest assessment of hospital-associated infections, Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital reported a high rate of infections caused by a nasty intestinal bacterium that is often caused by the overuse or misuse of antibiotics. In 2014, according to hospital- reported data compiled by the California Department of Public Health, Sutter’s Santa Rosa hospital logged 25 cases of clostridium difficile, or C. diff., a germ that can cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, loss of appetite and fever and in some cases can be deadly. (Espinoza, 2/11)
Payers & Providers:
Hospitals Confront Rise In C. Diff Cases
California's acute care facilities are continuing to make inroads against hospital-acquired infections but are still being challenged by at least one type of superbug, according to new data from the tate Department of Public Health (CDPH). That would be Clostridium difficile, or C. diff., a bacterial infection that usually originates in the digestive tract, typically due to the use of antibiotics. (Shinkman, 2/11)
Payers & Providers:
61 New Hospital Inspectors For SoCal
The California Department of Public Health has confirmed that the number of hospital inspectors in the state’s most populous county will increase dramatically in the coming months. (2/11)
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
Tri-City, Union Clash Over Executive Pay Petition
Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside is asking a judge to invalidate a petition that seeks to cap its total annual executive compensation at $250,000 per person. The petition is backed by SEIU-UHW, a union that represents about 800 service workers at the hospital. It faces a legal challenge from Tri-City, which said in a recently filed court document that state law does not extend initiative powers to public health care districts. (Sisson, 2/11)
LA Health Officials Launch Campaign To Combat Obesity
As part of "Healthy Eating Out," restaurants across the county will offer smaller portions to help fight the obesity epidemic. The organizers would like to grow the participating list of restaurants from 700, many of which are Subways, to 30,000. In other news, restaurants' health inspections are falling behind because of a shortage of inspectors.
The Los Angeles Daily News:
Why Food Portions Matter For Children’s Health In L.A. County
More than 700 restaurants across Los Angeles County have pledged to curb adult and childhood obesity by offering smaller portion sizes and healthier meals on their menus as part of a public health campaign, officials announced Thursday. (Abram, 2/11)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. County Health Officials Want You To Eat Smaller Portions At Restaurants
Now, in another attempt to reduce obesity rates, the Los Angeles County Public Health department is launching an advertising campaign to encourage parents and their kids to choose smaller portions and healthier foods the next time they eat out. Though California has the fifth-lowest adult obesity rate in the nation, it has the highest obesity rate among low-income kids ages 2 to 4, with nearly 17% who are obese. Approximately 15% of all California kids are obese, according to national data. (Karlamangla, 2/11)
The San Francisco Business Times:
San Francisco's Restaurant Labor Woes Extend To Shortage Of Health Inspectors
The growing number of restaurants, cafes and food trucks in San Francisco presents a labor challenge not just to the business owners in charge of staffing them.
There aren’t enough health inspectors to conduct the routine inspections required by the city, industry leaders say. A search of the restaurant database on the San Francisco Health Department web site shows restaurants often have gone well over a year between inspections. (Sciacca, 2/11)
Free HIV Testing To Be Offered During Coachella Festival
In other local news, Bakersfield residents are worried after dozens of syringes turn up in a nearby field, two Ventura County human services offices are moving to new spaces, and Paramount Farming faces up to $180,000 in fines over pesticide drift.
The Desert Sun:
Get Tested: HIV Testing Comes To Coachella Festival
Get Tested Coachella Valley will offer free and confidential HIV testing during both weekends of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival this April, a first for the organisation that started two years ago. Desert AIDS Project CEO David Brinkman said getting testing at Coachella was a goal since the early discussions around creating Get Tested. (Newkirk, 2/11)
Eyewitness News:
Bakersfield Man Concerned About Syringes In Vacated Field
Dozens of syringes turned up in the big, vacant field near Jack Sheahan's house, and he was upset. The Rosedale man said he's been worried for years about trash blown into the field, and tumbleweeds that blow off it, but he considered the syringes a real danger. They turned up on Wednesday morning, and by midday on Thursday they were gone. (Ferguson, 2/11)
The Ventura County Star:
Human Services Offices Moving Tuesday To Simi Valley
Two offices of the Ventura County Human Services Agency will be relocated to new quarters in Simi Valley starting Tuesday, officials said. The employment, veterans and public assistance programs at 980 Enchanted Way and a child protective services office at 970 Enchanted Way will be consolidated at a single location at 2900 Madera Road. The East County Job & Career Center, at 980 Enchanted Way, is included in the move. (2/11)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Paramount Facing Fines In August Pesticide Drift
Paramount Farming’s West Valley division is facing potential fines of $25,200 to $180,000 for a pesticide over drift incident that sickened 36 construction workers near Lost Hills last August. A Kern County Agricultural Commissioner’s report states that airblast sprayers working in a Paramount pistachio orchard over the evening of Aug. 27 and morning of Aug. 28 sent the pesticide Danitol 2.4 drifting with the wind onto a nearby solar farm construction site on Twisselman Road west of Interstate 5. (Burger, 2/11)
At Debate, Clinton Knocks Sanders' Medicare-For-All Plan: 'The Numbers Don't Add Up'
The Democratic candidates sparred over universal health care at their latest debate on Thursday, with Hillary Clinton painting Bernie Sanders' proposal as unrealistic. But Sanders defended his vision, saying "health care is a right of all people."
The Associated Press:
Debate Takeaways: Clinton, Sanders Appeal To SC, Nevada
Reuters:
Clinton And Sanders Battle In Debate Over Healthcare, Wall Street Ties
USA Today:
Clinton On Health Care: 'We Are Not England. We Are Not France'
The Associated Press:
Fact Check: Clinton, Sanders On Health Care, Donors
Health Law Implementation Puts Strain On Already Diminished IRS Resources
Republicans, however, told IRS Commissioner John Koskinen at a hearing that his agency should be using his funds more efficiently. Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, Democrats are calling for more funding to fight the opioid addiction crisis, but are running up against Republican resistance.
The San Francisco Business Times:
What IRS Budget Crunch Means For Audits And Obamacare Enforcement
IRS Commissioner John Koskinen tried to make a business case to Congress Thursday as to why it should increase the Internal Revenue Service’s budget after six years of funding cuts. The agency is operating with $900 million less than it had six years ago, but it’s been given additional tasks, such as enforcing the Affordable Care Act’s tax penalties against individuals who don’t buy health insurance. This budget squeeze has forced it to cut back on its tax enforcement activities, such as audits, Koskinen said. This is costing the government $5 billion a year in uncollected revenue. (Hoover, 2/11)
The Associated Press:
Dems Seek Drug Abuse Funds As Election-Year Issue Sharpens
Congressional Democrats called Thursday for hundreds of millions in emergency spending to fight drug abuse but ran into Republican resistance as another health issue spiraled into an election-year showdown. With the calendar edging deeper into the campaign season, the latest dispute echoes other clashes over whether the federal government should use more taxpayer dollars to contain the Zika virus and help Flint, Michigan, recover from a public health crisis in which its water system has been contaminated with lead. (2/11)
A selection of opinions on health care from around the state.
The San Francisco Business Times:
Business Need To Know, Candidates: What's Your Rx For Health Care?
America’s health care system consumes nearly 20 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, or approximately $10,000 per capita. But its product is inferior to that of most developed nations’ health systems. The consumer is bearing an increasing share of the financial burden for such care, although corporations continue to shoulder significant responsibility. That makes fixing the core dysfunction of our system one of the top priorities for businesses. (Leifer, 2/8)
Los Angeles Times:
Hillary Clinton Tweaks Her 'Safe, Legal And Rare' Abortion Mantra
Is Hillary Clinton recalibrating her position on abortion as she seeks the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination? It sure looks that way. In her last presidential run in 2008, Clinton said that she thought abortion should be “safe, legal and rare, and by rare, I mean rare.” She added that abortion “should not in any way be diminished as a moral issue,” and portrayed the choice to have an abortion as a wrenching one for “a young woman, her family, her physician and [her] pastor.” But questioned on Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” about a claim by Sen. Marco Rubio that “she believes that all abortions should be legal, even on the due date of that unborn child,” Clinton replied: “You know, I’ve been on record for many years about where I stand on abortion, how it should be safe and legal and I have the same position that I’ve had for a very long time.” (Michael McGough, 2/9)
The Sacramento Bee:
Legislature Bows Down To Big Soda
Big Soda is killing us. Sugary beverages such as Coke, Pepsi and Gatorade are significantly responsible for a health crisis in this country: the growing number of Americans with obesity and diabetes. ... In January, the state Senate had the chance to help stem this crisis by passing Senate Bill 203 to require warning labels on sugary beverages. This legislation wouldn’t stop Californians from buying soda, but it would better inform them about what they are buying. What’s more, it would send a message to Big Soda that Californians are getting wise to the role of sugary drinks in making us sick. But despite falling just one vote short of passage in the Senate Health Committee last year, the same committee opted to keep SB 203 in limbo this year. (Greg Glassman, 2/9)
California Health Care Foundation:
Lifting Death’s Veil: A Conversation With Atul Gawande
Harvard surgeon and New Yorker writer Atul Gawande’s powerful book Being Mortal explored death and dying in America and rose to the top of the bestseller lists, but it was a nationally broadcast FRONTLINE documentary of the same name that catapulted him to the forefront of the national conversation about end-of-life care. In an era when more and more medical treatment often doesn’t allow people’s lives to end the way they want, Gawande’s message has never been more important. (Steven Birenbaum, 2/9)
The Ventura County Star:
Officials Get Gift Of Time On Medical Pot
Never mind. That was the message this week from the California Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown to all cities and counties in the state on the issue of medical marijuana licensing controls. (2/11)
The Sacramento Bee:
A Doctor Digs Deep In Quest For Ways To Save Lives
Dr. Garen Wintemute digs deep into his wallet to keep the lights on at a squat, nondescript building near the UC Davis Medical Center, understanding lives of people he will never know could depend on it. The building is unmarked, intentionally so. Wintemute figures it’s best not to advertise where he and his staff conduct their research into the causes of gun violence and how to prevent it. Police have urged caution. Though he is not wealthy, Wintemute earns a good salary as an emergency room physician and UC Davis medical school faculty member, and doesn’t have many expenses, unless you count his research. He has spent $1.3 million in the past seven or eight years to help pay for overhead and staff salaries. (Dan Morain, 2/10)
IVN:
Flint And East Porterville -- Equivalent Public Health Risks; Vastly Different Responses
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton used her entire closing statement at the January 17 Democratic presidential debate to highlight the lead-poisoning crisis in Flint, Michigan’s water supply, a racially-tinged health and public policy disaster that the Democratic front-runner casts as an urgent catastrophe requiring immediate attention. Clinton’s debate prose sought to shame Michigan’s Republican governor into action to help Flint’s 100,000 residents that have been drinking and bathing in lead-contaminated water for more than a year. She reportedly said that she had dispatched a top campaign aide to Flint “to see what I could do to help.” (Dev Sundheim, 2/9)
The Los Angeles Times:
Zika Outbreak Bears An Eerie Resemblance To The Spread Of Ebola
The Zika virus headlines may seem disturbingly familiar — with good reason. Although Zika and Ebola are very different contagions that cause distinctive diseases, there are startling similarities in how the two epidemics unfolded. (Yanbai Andrea Wang and Michele Barry, 2/9)
Los Angeles Daily News:
Warning About The Zika Virus Must Be Heeded
As if there isn’t enough to worry about, the World Health Organization now places the rapid spread of the Zika virus dead in the center of the world’s anxiety radar. Worse yet, research indicates the disease is not only spread through mosquitoes but also can be sexually transmitted between humans. That most recent twist, of course, is bad — not to mention scary — news. Last week, WHO declared that the spread of the Zika virus is so rapid it must be classified as a global health emergency. (2/9)
The Los Angeles Times:
Should All Women Not On Birth Control Give Up Drinking?
The American medical establishment instructs pregnant women to not drink alcohol, and those who ignore this advice — like those who do not breast-feed their children — are subject to social shaming. Is the circle of shame about to get a lot bigger? (Rebecca Kukla, 2/10)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Kern Medical Center Is Fighting To Decrease Cases Of SUID
Kern County is experiencing a serious problem with above-national-average numbers in one tragic category — Sudden Unexpected Infant Death, or SUID. A recent county study shined needed light on the facts of the matter. Last year, 17 infants under the age of 1 died under circumstances experts believe were preventable. When the 2015 figures are totaled, the number is expected to be even higher. (Russell Judd, 2/9)
KQED:
Palo Alto Student Was Asked To Leave School Because Of His DNA
To find a society where a student is forced to leave school because of his genes, you might think you’d need to watch “Gattaca” or pick up a dystopian novel. As it turns out, you wouldn’t need to immerse yourself in fiction. This exact scenario occurred at a middle school in Palo Alto, California. (Barry Starr, 2/8)
The San Jose Mercury News:
Santa Clara County Ambulance Deal Shouldn't Preclude Fire Departments
A surprise agenda item for Tuesday's Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors meeting appears to shut the door on fire departments that would like to collaborate and provide ambulance service county wide. (2/8)