- California Healthline Original Stories 3
- A Last-Minute Reprieve For Some Consumers On California Exchange
- Reforming Federal Oversight Of Medical Devices Won’t Be Easy
- State Seeks to Calm Fears Over Change in Autism Care
- Covered California & The Health Law 1
- Covered California Extends Deadline Following A 'Surge' In Sign-Ups
Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
A Last-Minute Reprieve For Some Consumers On California Exchange
Faced with the possibility of a tax penalty, many people scrambled to enroll, and the exchange extended the deadline for those who officially started the process as of Jan. 31. (Chad Terhune and Barbara Feder Ostrov, )
Reforming Federal Oversight Of Medical Devices Won’t Be Easy
Despite dozens of infections from medical scopes, an agreement on how to fix the FDA’s flawed regulation of the device industry remains elusive. (Chad Terhune, )
State Seeks to Calm Fears Over Change in Autism Care
A transition in health coverage begins today for about 9,000 children with autism, and state officials guaranteed the kids would have full continuity of care. (David Gorn, )
California Healthline is now being produced by Kaiser Health News. Our goal is to bring you the best coverage of health policy news in California, with original reporting that highlights the state’s outsized influence on the nation’s health care system. We welcome your comments about our new look. You can contact us here, or click here for more information about California Healthline and its staff.
More News From Across The State
Covered California & The Health Law
Covered California Extends Deadline Following A 'Surge' In Sign-Ups
The exchange says "tens of thousands" of consumers were signing up in the week before the enrollment deadline. The new one is Feb. 6.
California Healthline:
A Last Minute Reprieve For Some Consumers On California Exchange
California Healthline's Chad Terhune and Barbara Feder Ostrov report: "Covered California, the state’s insurance exchange, announced Friday that it was extending its enrollment deadline until Feb. 6 for people who had officially begun the process of signing up by Sunday. Exchange officials said they extended the Sunday deadline to accommodate a surge in enrollment in the previous week involving “tens of thousands” of consumers. As of Jan. 27, the exchange reported that more than 329,000 new consumers had signed up for coverage during the third annual enrollment period, which is within the estimate of the exchange’s estimate of 295,000 to 450,000 new enrollees." (Terhune and Feder Ostrov, 2/1)
The Contra Costa Times:
Hope For Last-Minute Health Insurance Enrollees
Consumers who started the process, or made an appointment, [by the original deadline] will have until midnight Saturday, Feb. 6, to complete the application as long as they are working with a certified insurance agent, certified enrollment counselor, or service center representative at Covered California. "Covered California knows that health care coverage is too important, and people should not be turned away just because they get caught up in a wave of last-minute shoppers," Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee said in a prepared statement. (1/31)
The Orange County Register:
Covered California Extends Deadline For Health Insurance Enrollment
Individuals who do not sign up for health care will have to pay a tax penalty under the Affordable Care Act. After open enrollment ends, consumers may sign up only if they have a life-changing event such as getting married, having a child or moving to a new state. Enrollment for Medi-Cal is year-round. (Bharath, 1/29)
Meanwhile, the IRS is warning consumers about a tax scam involving the penalties mandated by the Affordable Care Act —
The New York Times:
Tax Scams Are Targeting Uninsured, I.R.S. Warns
The Internal Revenue Service is warning consumers about tax scams involving the Affordable Care Act and penalties imposed under the law on people who go without health insurance. In some cases, the agency said, unscrupulous tax preparers tell clients to pay the penalties directly to them, and they keep the money. Most people do not owe the payment at all. “However,” the I.R.S. said, “if you owe a payment, remember that it should be made only with your tax return or in response to a letter from the I.R.S. The payment should never be made directly to an individual or return preparer.” (Pear, 1/31)
Brown Hits Roadblocks With Plan To Replace Managed Care Organization Tax
The framework for Gov. Jerry Brown's complicated proposal has been generally backed by insurers, but details must be worked out to gain full support from businesses and Republican state lawmakers. In other news from the California Legislature, an artificial turf safety bill is rejected.
Los Angeles Times:
Revamping The Tax On Healthcare Plans Proves Tougher Than Gov. Brown Thought
Three weeks ago, Gov. Jerry Brown confidently predicted that the vexing question of how to extend a tax on healthcare plans in order to fund state medical coverage for the poor was well on its way to being solved. "We need the [managed care organization] tax now — this month," Brown said. "We’re going to get it. We’ve got to get it." But as January has come to a close, his administration has yet to nail down an overhaul that can win support from the insurers, much less secure the Republican votes necessary to pass the Legislature. (Mason, 2/1)
CALmatters:
Lawmakers Reject Bills Aimed At Artificial Turf
Is it safe for children to play on fields made of ground up old tires? That’s a question California scientists are studying in the wake of alarming media reports that featured cancer-stricken soccer players describing years of diving into artificial turf made of recycled tires. (Rosenhall, 1/31)
New Product Would Help Health Care Providers Locate Veins
The startup's new technology could especially help with elderly patients whose veins are harder to find, the CEO says. Meanwhile, another partner asks Theranos to stop using its Palo Alto lab for its testing.
The Sacramento Business Journal:
Firm's Vein-Locating Technology Is Market-Ready
A Roseville startup is about to start selling products that could change the practice of medicine around the world by helping health professionals locate veins under the skin. Evena Medical Inc. has developed mobile devices to help health care workers place needles accurately in patients who need intravenous therapy. This could greatly help treat elderly patients and others whose veins are hard to find, company CEO Frank Ball says. (Anderson, 1/29)
The San Francisco Business Times:
Pennsylvania Theranos Partner Asks It To Stop Blood Testing
The operator of a store in Pennsylvania that used Theranos for blood tests has asked the Palo Alto company to suspend activities there. It's Capital BlueCross, which runs a retail store in Enola, Pennsylvania, and Theranos has reportedly agreed to suspend its tests at the location "until further notice." (Schubarth, 2/1)
Adolescent Girl Is LA County's First Confirmed Zika Case
Health officials say the patient has since recovered. The World Health Organization is holding an emergency meeting to decide if the Zika virus requires a coordinated global response. Meanwhile, public officials warn that a vaccine is years away.
The Associated Press:
First Zika Virus Case Confirmed In Los Angeles County
Health officials say an adolescent girl who traveled from Los Angeles County to El Salvador late last year was infected with the mosquito-transmitted Zika virus. The department of public health said Tuesday that the girl, the county's first known case of Zika, has since recovered. She traveled in November to Central America, where she probably contracted the illness. (1/29)
USA Today:
WHO To Hold Emergency Meeting Monday On Zika Virus
The World Health Organization will hold an emergency meeting Monday to find ways to battle the Zika virus, which is linked to birth defects and "spreading explosively" through the Americas. The WHO could classify the Zika outbreak now in 25 countries and territories as a "public health emergency of international concern," deserving of a coordinated global response. (Szabo, 1/31)
The New York Times:
Vaccine for Zika Virus May Be Years Away, Disease Experts Warn
As public health officials warn that the Zika virus is swiftly spreading across the Americas, the search is on to develop a vaccine to halt the disease, which could infect as many as four million people by the end of the year and has been linked to severe birth defects. But even as a host of companies have announced plans to develop a vaccine, disease experts say it could be years — maybe as long as a decade — before an effective product makes its way to the public. Not only are scientists still learning about the virus, which until recently was viewed as relatively benign, but any vaccine must go through rigorous testing to ensure that it is safe and effective. (Thomas, 1/29)
Clintons' Political And Philanthropic Worlds Collide Over Opioid Treatment
While Hillary Clinton brings attention to the cause on the campaign trail, her husband takes aim at the crisis with the Clinton Foundation Health Matters Initiative.
The Desert Sun:
Bill And Hillary Clinton Separately Push Drug Overdose Treatment
As Hillary Clinton campaigns for the presidency, the Clintons have worked to keep their political and philanthropic endeavors largely divided. But the work going on in the two Clinton worlds overlap, in mission, when it comes to addressing the nation's drug overdose crisis and making a lifesaving treatment more widely available. Naloxone can reverse an overdose from heroin or other opiates if administered promptly and correctly. An injectable version has been around since the 1970s, but in November the Food and Drug Administration approved the first naloxone nasal spray, under the brand name Narcan. (Newkirk, 1/29)
New Guidelines For Physicians Take Aim At Antibiotic Resistance
A rise in doctors over-prescribing antibiotics has led to superbugs that cause up to 2 million infections a year.
The San Diego Union Tribune:
New Antibiotic Rules Are Key In Superbug Fight
The fight against antibiotic-resistant superbugs just got closer than ever to the front lines. Two highly influential health organizations — the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Physicians — have published new guidelines calling for better stewardship of antibiotics among primary care doctors. These physicians are the most likely to treat acute respiratory infections, which together generate an estimated 153 million doctor visits nationwide each year. (Sisson, 1/30)
Ceremonies Honoring Nurses Spurred By Calif. Couple After Their Son's Death
The Glen Ellen couple want to honor nurses for their skillful and compassionate care. In other local news, a clinic open in Kern County and the residents of Simi Valley protest a planned drug detoxification house.
The Press Democrat:
Glen Ellen Couple Honors Nurses In Wake Of Son's Death
This could be happening right this minute in a hospital somewhere in America or in one of 14 countries overseas. At the start or end of another busy, quite possibly exhausting shift, a clutch of nurses gathers for an announcement. One is surprised, maybe even blushes, when a colleague launches into a tale of the extraordinary caring and humanity that she or he exhibited there on the ward. ... Thanks largely to Glen Ellen residents Mark and Bonnie Barnes, the scene of gratitude and acknowledgment has played out at hospitals, nursing homes and other health facilities more than 65,000 times since shortly after the Barnes’ son died in 1999. (Smith, 1/31)
The Bakersfield Californian:
It Took A Health Agency, Housing Authority To Open This 'Village' Clinic
The head of Clinica Sierra Vista is always looking for good space for health centers, nice places that its often-struggling patients would want to return to for care. The head of the Housing Authority of the County of Kern needed a tenant for the bottom floor of its affordable-townhouse/loft complex in Old Town Kern. (Bedell, 1/31)
The Ventura County Star:
Simi Valley Neighborhood Upset With Planned Drug Detox House
A planned drug detoxification house in a Simi Valley neighborhood is drawing stiff opposition from residents. About 100 of them packed City Council chambers last week to protest the project on Cisco Court on the city's east end. But under state law, as long as the house has no more than six residents, the city essentially has no authority to regulate it. (Harris, 1/30)
Health Care Attacks Escalate As Candidates Make Final Push Before Caucuses
Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton says opponent Bernie Sanders' health care plan will "never, ever come to pass," and targets Republican Ted Cruz over his lack of a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, Sanders defends his proposals from critics who call them unrealistic. And STAT looks at how Americans' health care has become the defining battle between the two candidates.
The New York Times:
Hillary Clinton Says Bernie Sanders’s Health Plan Will ‘Never, Ever Come to Pass’
Hillary Clinton said on Friday that Bernie Sanders’s proposal for a single-payer health care system would thrust the nation into “a terrible, terrible national debate” and would “never, ever come to pass.” “People can’t wait,” Mrs. Clinton said at a rally here on Friday, evoking a sense of urgency and echoing an argument from her most recent campaign ads. “People with health emergencies can’t wait for us to have some theoretical debate about some better idea that will never, ever come to pass.” (Chozick, 1/29)
The Associated Press:
In Final Iowa Blitz, An Outraged Clinton Channels Sanders
Seeking victory in Iowa, Hillary Clinton has begun channeling the economic indignation of her rival Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose unapologetically liberal campaign has tightened the race ahead of Monday's caucuses and given him a lead in the New Hampshire contest that follows. Making her closing argument to Iowa caucus-goers, Clinton now cloaks her detailed policy plans in Sanders' outraged rhetoric. Pharmaceutical pricing "burns" her up. Companies that take advantage of the tax loopholes get her "pretty riled up." And she promises to "rail away" at any industry that flouts the law. (1/31)
The New York Times:
Hillary Clinton Criticizes Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz on Healthcare
Making her final push before the Iowa caucuses, Hillary Clinton staked out her position as the lone defender of the Affordable Care Act on Saturday night, warning that her Democratic rival, Senator Bernie Sanders, would scrap it and start over and that Republicans would hand healthcare back to insurers and drug-makers. While she tends to lump Republicans with Donald J. Trump these days, Mrs. Clinton made clear that she is also paying attention to Senator Ted Cruz. (Rappeport, 1/30)
The Wall Street Journal:
Bernie Sanders Defends Liberal Ambitions Amid Rival’s Attacks
Sen. Bernie Sanders directly responded Saturday to critics who say his expansive plans are unrealistic, comparing his drive to take on Wall Street and income inequality to American movements to win equality for African-Americans, women, gay people and those with disabilities. “Some people say, ‘Well this is an ambitious agenda, it can’t happen,’” Mr. Sanders told a rally in Manchester, Iowa, two days before Iowans cast the first votes in the race for the presidency. “Really? Really? Why not? Why can’t it happen? Because we don’t have the courage to stand up to the insurance companies and the drug companies and Wall Street and corporate America and the corporate media? Is that why it can’t happen? I don’t believe that.” (Meckler, 1/31)
On the Republican side, Ted Cruz goes after Donald Trump's health care plan, saying it is merely a continuation of the Affordable Care Act —
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump, Cruz Trade Barbs
The two leading Republican presidential candidates traded personal criticisms during Sunday’s talk shows, a day before Iowa holds its first-in-the-nation nominating contest. ... Mr. Cruz also criticized Mr. Trump, saying his health-care policies amounted to a continuation of the Democratic-backed Affordable Care Act. “If Donald Trump is elected president, the federal government will be in charge of every one of our health care,” he said. On ABC later Sunday morning, Mr. Trump responded: “Ted Cruz is a total liar.” Mr. Trump said that he opposes the Affordable Care Act and the idea of a single-payer health-care system, but that he also believes the government should help poor people who can’t buy health insurance. (Tracy, 1/31)
The Washington Post:
Iowan Asks Ted Cruz What Will Happen If He Repeals Obamacare
His voice quavering with emotion, Mike Valde told Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) about his brother-in-law: He was a barber who couldn’t afford health care until the Affordable Care Act, and after getting coverage he went to the doctor for the first time in years, and was diagnosed with multiple tumors. He died soon after. “Mark never had health care until Obamacare,” Valde told Cruz in a middle school cafeteria here. “What are you going to replace it with?” (Zezima, 1/30)