Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Study Predicts Huge Toll Of Hepatitis C Drugs On California Budget
Highly effective drugs for Hepatitis C patients in California’s Medicaid program, prisons and hospitals could cost the state billions, an insurance-industry sponsored study found.
California’s Tough New Law Overcomes Decades-Old Distrust Of Vaccines
California went from being a state with relatively lax vaccination rules to one of the most strict in the country. But opposition to vaccines is far from new.
Advocates For Disabled Are Troubled By California’s Assisted Suicide Bill
Disability rights advocates say the bill allowing doctors to prescribe lethal medications to terminally ill patients could lead some disabled people to prematurely end their lives.
State, L.A. Near Deal To Boost Nursing Home Inspections
Supervisors are slated to vote Tuesday on a contract that would provide nearly $15M in additional state funds to hire 70 more staffers.
Disability Advocates Fight Assisted Suicide Measures
Disability rights advocates are speaking up in opposition to a bill currently being considered by California legislators that would allow terminally ill patients to get prescriptions to end their lives. Their opposition stems from worries that if it becomes law, depression and incorrect prognoses may lead people with serious disabilities to end their lives prematurely.
Advocates say the law has permitted homes to give anti-psychotic drugs, use restraints and withdraw treatment without allowing patients to object. But the industry warns the ruling will make it more challenging to provide routine care to such patients.
California Caps What Patients Pay For Pricey Drugs. Will Other States Follow?
Beginning in 2016, most Covered California customers will not have to pay more than $150 or $250 per prescription, per month. The price caps are a response to very expensive new drugs used to treat hepatitis and other serious illnesses.
Getting A Medi-Cal Card Doesn’t Always Guarantee Health Care
The problems with managed care plans, documented in a recent state audit, stem from meteoric enrollment growth and lack of oversight, experts say.
Auditor Slams California’s Oversight Of Medi-Cal Plans Used By 9 Million
Report finds state health officials had no idea whether managed care plans have sufficient doctors, while an overwhelmed ombudsman’s office failed to answer 12,500 calls a month on average.
For Doctors Who Take A Break From Practice, Coming Back Can Be Tough
A handful of programs around the country aim to ease physicians’ reentry into clinical practice, but they can take months and cost thousands of dollars.
Bringing Doctors To Patients Who Need Them Most
California’s sprawling Inland Empire is making vigorous efforts to train and attract primary care doctors attuned to the needs of the fast-growing and under-served population.
Paramedics See Roles Expand – Minus The Lights And Sirens
In Reno and around the country, community paramedics are providing more primary and preventive care and taking nonemergency patients to facilities other than ERs.
California Sees Housing As Significant Investment In Health Care
The state is proposing to use federal Medicaid dollars to usher ill homeless people into housing, arguing the policy saves taxpayers money.
Newly Insured Californians Wary Of Costs But Embracing Coverage
Though many newly insured Californians say they have trouble paying premiums, they find care easier to access than the uninsured and are more confident in their ability to pay for it, according to a survey.
Calming Dementia Patients Without Powerful Drugs
In California nursing homes, just over 15 percent of dementia patients are on antipsychotic drugs. That’s far more than advocates say is necessary. But that number is down from almost 22 percent just three years ago.
Asthma Sending More Kids To California ERs
California children are increasingly seeking care for asthma in emergency rooms – despite medical advances and millions of dollars spent to control symptoms statewide.
The Gray Areas Of Assisted Suicide
In bizarre, veiled conversations, some doctors vaguely hint to dying patients and their families how to hasten death. But overwhelmed families are left with profound questions and the feeling that there is no one who can answer them.
Learning A New Health Insurance System The Hard Way
A Sacramento couple struggled to take advantage of subsidized health care coverage through Covered California in 2014 – facing one glitch after another. This year, they are more savvy about navigating the system.
With Specialists In Short Supply, L.A. County Turns To e-Consulting
Facing a shortfall of doctors — and a dearth of money — L.A. County, Calif., is using a web-based system called eConsult that allows primary care doctors and specialists to exchange patient medical records before sending them for referral appointments.
How One Hospital Brought Its C-Sections Down In A Hurry
Faced with the possible loss of an important insurer, a large Orange County, Calif., hospital rapidly reduced excessive cesarean section rates in part by sharing each physician’s rate with everyone in the obstetrics department.
