A new study by researchers at UC San Francisco has concluded that men who exercise vigorously and have healthy diets are far less likely to develop a lethal form of prostate cancer.
Researchers pored over data from two long-term health studies of more than 62,000 men, including 20,000 physicians that began in the 1980s and did not end until 2010.
Archived California Healthcare News
In Brief: San Bernardino Health Department Hit By Mass Shooting; NLRB Says Prime Violated Law
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Dec 2, 2015
San Bernardino County Health Department Hit By Mass Shooting
Employees of the San Bernardino County Department of Health were victims of a mass shooting that occurred Wednesday at a center for the developmentally disabled in San Bernardino. The department was renting space at the facility for a holiday party, according to various news accounts.
More Charges, Pleas In Spinal Scheme
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Dec 1, 2015
The former financial head of a Long Beach hospital and two orthopedic surgeons have been charged in a long-running fraud scheme that led to thousands of patients undergoing unnecessary spinal surgeries.
Federal complaints were either filed or unsealed last week in Los Angeles. Among those charged were 63-year-old James L. Canedo, the former chief financial officer of Pacific Hospital of Long Beach, as well as Philip Sobol, M.D. of Los Angeles and Mitch Cohen, M.D., of Irvine.
In-Hospital Complications Stay The Same
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Nov 30, 2015
The rate of avoidable complications affecting patients in hospitals leveled off in 2014 after three years of declines, according to a federal report released Tuesday.
Hospitals have averted many types of injuries where clear preventive steps have been identified, but they still struggle to avert complications with broader causes and less clear-cut solutions, government and hospital officials said.
Bonus To Primary Care Physicians Ending Soon
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Nov 30, 2015
Many primary care practitioners will be a little poorer next year because of the expiration of a health law program that has been paying them a 10% bonus for caring for Medicare patients. Some say the loss may trickle down to the patients, who could have a harder time finding a doctor or have to wait longer for appointments. But others say the program has had little impact on their practices, if they were aware of it at all.
The incentive program began in 2011 and was designed to address disparities in Medicare reimbursements between primary care physicians and specialists. It distributed $664 million in bonuses in 2012, the most recent year that figures are available, to roughly 170,000 primary care practitioners, awarding each an average of $3,938, according to a 2014 report by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.
Kansas Pushes 2016 Enrollment Effort
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Nov 30, 2015
Since enrollment opened Nov. 1 for 2016 health insurance in the federal marketplace, an effort called Cover Kansas has branched out across the state to help Kansans find a plan that best suits their needs.
At a recent outreach event at the Dodge City Public Library, most of the chairs in the public meeting room were full as people waited for the consultations with marketplace navigators.
State Sees Big Drop In HIV Diagnoses
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Nov 18, 2015
Although much progress has been made in combatting the HIV and the AIDS virus over the past couple of decades, many infected Californians remain undiagnosed – putting them at risk for unknowingly infecting others, public health officials said this week.
At a press briefing held Wednesday by the California Department of Public Health, officials said that the number of state residents newly diagnosed with HIV each year has dropped dramatically, from 13,000 at the height of the AIDS epidemic in the late 1980s and early 1990s to 4,712 in 2013.
Kaiser Suggests Dialing Back On Chest Scans
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Nov 18, 2015
Kaiser Permanente is tentatively suggesting patients who undergo computerized chest tomographies be warned by their physicians that identifying nodules in the lungs is often a common result, and that doctors themselves should reconsider their use of the procedure.
The recommendation was made by a key Kaiser physician and researcher after data from its Southern California division concluded that the number of patients who have been identified to have had lung nodules skyrocketed in recent years.
UCSF Launches New Dementia Center
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Nov 18, 2015
UC San Francisco and the University of Dublin announced Monday the launch of an institute aimed at helping developing countries learn more about dementia and cope with the burden it places on patients, families and caregivers.
The Global Brain Health Institute, which will be housed both in San Francisco and Dublin, will train 600 neuroscientists, policymakers, economists and others over 15 years in an effort to help developing countries better understand dementia, as well as how to delay and prevent it. The institute plans to focus initially on countries in Latin America and the Southern Mediterranean region.
In Brief: DMHC Awards Health Plans, Medical Groups; Kaiser Tops Equity Index
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Nov 18, 2015
DMHC Awards Health Plans, Medical Groups For Improved Outcomes
The Department of Managed Health Care has issued its annual “Right Care Initiative” awards to health plans and medical groups that met standards for controlling blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol and avoiding strokes, heart attacks and diabetic complications.
When There\'s A Medical Error, It\'s Hazy Who Pays
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Nov 16, 2015
When Charles Thompson checked into the hospital one July morning in 2011, he expected a standard colonoscopy.
He never anticipated how wrong things would go.
Partway through, the doctor emerged and said there were complications, remembered Ann, Charles’ wife. Charles’ colon may have been punctured. He needed emergency surgery to repair it.
Brownback\'s Budget Shortchanges Children, Group Alleges
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Nov 16, 2015
A nonprofit advocacy group that frequently tangles with Gov. Sam Brownback on policy issues is charging that his latest plan to avert a budget shortfall will shortchange some of the state’s poorest and most vulnerable children.
Shannon Cotsoradis, CEO of Kansas Action for Children, said the Brownback administration’s plan to sweep $9 million from a fund earmarked for early childhood programs will reduce their funding by about $1.3 million over the next 18 months.
Premiums On Illinois Exchange Up Sharply
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Nov 16, 2015
Linda Sabor says Obamacare was a godsend. As the health care law enters its third year, her faith is starting to waver.
Last month, her insurance company gave the 59-year-old Palatine resident some bad news. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois canceled the health plan that she and her husband have had the past two years. The company offered a plan for next year that has a similar network and benefits that would cost $1,142.24 a month, $325 more than their current monthly premium.
Big-Time Increase In Seven-Figure Pay
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Nov 11, 2015
As healthcare costs continue to spiral upward, so do the salaries of California\'s most senior not-for-profit hospital managers, according to a Payers & Providers preliminary analysis of tax return data.
A total of 66 senior executives with the state\'s three largest not-for-profit hospital systems -- Sutter Health, Dignity Health and Kaiser Permanente -- received compensation of more than $1 million in 2013, the most recent year for which such data is available. That is up from 52 in 2011, the last year Payers & Providers conducted a compensation survey -- an increase of nearly 30%.
AV Hospital Farms Out Management
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Nov 11, 2015
A for-profit hospital company headed by the former top executive of Prime Healthcare Services has been selected to manage one of the state\'s largest district hospitals.
A divided Antelope Valley Hospital board of directors voted 3-2 on Nov. 4 to have Irvine-based Alecto Healthcare Services take over management of the 422-bed Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster.
In Brief: Mentally Ill Less Likely To Receive Diabetes Screenings; Hospital Breastfeeding Rates Rise
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Nov 11, 2015
Mentally Ill Receive Few Diabetes Screenings, Says UCSF
A new study by researchers at UC San Francisco has concluded that mentally ill patients enrolled in the Medicaid program are often rarely screened for diabetes despite being at high risk for contracting the condition.
More Hospital Systems Selling Insurance To Patients
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Nov 9, 2015
In addition to treating what ails you, a number of healthcare systems aim to sell you a health insurance plan to pay for it. With some of the most competitively priced policies on the marketplaces, “provider-led†plans can be popular with consumers. But analysts say it remains to be seen how many will succeed long term as insurers.
It’s not surprising that health systems might get into the insurance business. Doing so funnels more patients to a health system’s hospitals and doctors. And it makes sense that combining clinical and claims data under one roof could lead to better coordinated, more cost-efficient patient care.
Mental Health Services Stumped By Language Issues
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Nov 9, 2015
The U.S. is grappling with a severe shortage of mental health professionals. But the situation is particularly dire for some minority communities, where barriers of language and culture can make it hard to seek and get help.
Most good mental health care requires subtle, intimate conversation with patients. But too often, mental health experts say, professionals lack the language skills needed to serve those who struggle with English.
Kansas Will Shift Medicaid Infusion Into General Fund
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Nov 9, 2015
A budget deal in Washington, D.C., is helping Kansas balance its own books temporarily with an infusion of Medicaid cash.
But a Democratic senator says the savings should be used to provide home and community-based services to Kansans with disabilities.
CA Blues Fined For Big Network Snafus
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Nov 4, 2015
The Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) has levied significant fines against Blue Shield of California and Anthem Blue Cross of California for furnishing inaccurate provider directories to its enrollees who signed up through the state health insurance exchange in 2013.
Blue Shield of California was fined $350,000, while Anthem Blue Cross was fined $250,000. Blue Shield received a larger fine because it apparently did not cooperate with the DMHC in its investigation of the matter, the Los Angeles Times reported earlier this week.
