(Source: CDPH as of Wednesday March 10th - Deaths as of March 12th):
10,300+ Number of people self-monitoring who returned to the U.S. through SFO or LAX
157 Positive cases
133 Cases not related to repatriation flights
49 Number of local health jurisdictions involved in self-monitoring
24 Cases of positive tests related to federal repatriation flights
19 Labs with test kits
50 Travel-related cased
30 Person to person cases
Archived California Healthcare News
COVID-19 in California by the Numbers
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Mar 12, 2020
State Average Lowest Silver Premiums, California, 2017-2020
Free
Mar 10, 2020
Region: 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020
State Average: $317 | $394 | $413 | $396
Northern Counties: $402 | $478 | $494 | $468
Sacramento: $402 | $446 | $474 | $468
East Los Angeles: $251 | $316 | $337 | $327
San Diego: $297 | $392 | $391 | $359
COVID-19 in California by the Numbers
Free
Mar 5, 2020
9,400+ Number of people self-monitoring who returned to the U.S. through SFO or LAX
53 Positive cases
49 Number of local health jurisdictions involved in self-monitoring
29 Cases not related to repatriation flights
24 Cases of positive tests related to federal repatriation flights
14 Labs with test kits
12 Travel-related cased
10 Person to person cases
4 Community transmission cases
3 Cases currently under investigation
1 Deaths
Medi-Cal Enrollment, 2010-2019
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Mar 3, 2020
Enrollment in California’s Medicaid program for low-income people (Medi-Cal) grew 78% (5.5 million) between early 2010 and late 2019, and reduced its uninsured rate from 18.5% in 2010 to 7.2% in 2018. Most of the increase was due to the state’s expansion of the program under the federal Affordable Care Act in 2014, accounting for about 3.7 million new enrollees.
Medi-Cal now covers 1 in 3 Californians and 40% of children.
Mental Health Services Top Concern Of Residents, Poll Says
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Feb 27, 2020
California’s top health priority should be making sure that people who need mental health treatment can get it, more than 90% of respondents said in a recent poll.
As Coronavirus Spreads, State’s Schools Part Of Public Health Response
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Feb 27, 2020
In one school district, families are pulling their kids out of school. In others, students show up in face masks.
Educators in one Southern California community agreed to suspend an exchange program to keep visiting Chinese students out of quarantine.
School districts across the U.S., particularly those with large Asian-American populations, have scrambled to respond to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, which has killed more than 1,800 people and sickened tens of thousands more, almost all in China.
In Brief: First Case Of Community-Transmitted Coronavirus Reported In California
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Feb 27, 2020
The first case of an apparently community-transmitted case of COVID-19, better known as the coronavirus, was reported in California on Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Brief: DMHC Fines Kaiser $58,000
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Feb 27, 2020
The Department of Managed Health Care fined Kaiser Permanente $58,000 for failing to adequately consider enrollee grievances and respond to them in a timely fashion.
The DMHC fined Kaiser for 10 separate incidents, most of which took place in 2016. The fines ranged from $5,000 to $7,500 per incident. The administrative penalty was issued in late December but not disclosed until this week. No specifics about the enrollee grievances were enclosed.
Top Ten CA Census Tracts with Most Children <6 with Elevated Lead Levels
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Feb 25, 2020
All Sacramento County Census Tracts: 677
All Fresno County Census Tracts: 488
All Los Angeles County Census Tracts: 339
All Humboldt County Census Tracts: 246
All Imperial County Census Tracts: 194
All San Bernardino County Census Tracts: 157
All Orange County Census Tracts: 112
All San Diego County Census Tracts: 111
All Madera County Census Tracts: 107
All Riverside County Census Tracts: 97
Rebuking Trump’s Anti-ACA Policies, Covered California Touts Enrollment Boost
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Feb 20, 2020
As the Trump administration enacted new policies in 2017 and 2018 intended to seriously undermine the Affordable Care Act, California decided to take a different tack: Significantly boost advanced premium tax credits based on household income.
The administration’s policies have resulted in about 2 million fewer Americans having health insurance, an overall decline of nearly 1%.
Debate Over Expanding Nurse Practitioners’ Scope of Practice Continues
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Feb 20, 2020
Nurse practitioner Surani Hayre-Kwan sees long-time patients and first-timers. She manages chronic illnesses, diagnoses kids with colds and refers people to specialists.
She goes it alone or works with another nurse practitioner at the Russian River Health Clinic in Sonoma County. Sometimes a supervising physician is on-site, but often is a telephone call away.
In Brief: Bradley Gilbert Appointed New Chief Of DHCS
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Feb 20, 2020
Bradley Gilbert, M.D., has been named the new director of the California Department of Health Care Services, the agency that oversees the state’s Medi-Cal program.
In Brief: Northern California Hospitals Treating Coronavirus Victims
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Feb 20, 2020
Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa County and unspecified hospitals in Solano County are treating a dozen California residents who either contracted COVID-19, better known as the coronavirus, while on the cruise ship Diamond Princess or are being kept under observation for fear that they contracted the virus, the East Bay Times reported.
Volume and Total Annual Spending on All Prescription Drugs
Free
Feb 18, 2020
Category / Generic / Brand Name / Specialty / Overall
2018 Volume of All Prescription Drugs / 87.0% / 11.4% / 1.6% / 100.0%
2018 Annual Spending on All Prescription Drugs / 22.4% / 25.0% / 52.6% / 100.0%
Children in Medi-Cal Receiving all Required Lead Tests
Free
Feb 18, 2020
From 2009-10 through 2017-18, 1.4 million of the 2.9 million one- and two-year-old eligible children in Medi-Cal were not tested.
An additional 740,000 children missed one of the two tests they should have received during those years.
Only 780,000 of the 2.9 million eligible children were fully tested (less than 27%).
36.1% of California children had at least one lead test (as opposed to the U.S. average of 44.9%).
Auditor Blasts State Agencies For Mental Health, Nursing Home Oversight
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Feb 13, 2020
The California State Auditor condemned three government agencies in a recent report for failing to fix problems with health care programs that serve some of the state’s most vulnerable residents.
California Inching Toward Tighter Vaping Rules
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Feb 13, 2020
Milk and waters in kids’ meals. Smaller “Big Gulps.” No teens on tanning beds.
Officials here pride themselves as national leaders in protecting the health of Californians — so much so that conservatives deride it as the “nanny-state.” And that’s particularly true when it comes to its youth.
In Brief: DMHC Fines Community Health Group $65,000
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Feb 13, 2020
The Department of Managed Health Care fined Chula Vista-based Community Health Group $65,000 for its failure to provide even basic services to an autistic youth with a speech impediment.
Community Health was required to provide care to the child as part of its delegated medical group.
In Brief: Molina Reports Lackluster 4Q Revenue, Earnings
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Feb 13, 2020
Long Beach-based Molina Healthcare reported fourth quarter earnings that were lackluster in terms of revenue and earnings, although its management promised robust growth for 2020.
Molina reported net income of $168 million on revenue of $4.3 billion, compared to net income of $201 million on revenue of $4.7 billion for the fourth quarter of 2018. Those are declines of 19.6% and 9.1%, respectively.
Impact of Prescription Drugs on Premiums
Free
Feb 11, 2020
Category of Premium Payment / 2018 / Percentage of Premium
Prescription Drug Expenses / $9,051* / 12.7%
Medical Expenses / $52,993 / 74.3%
Manufacturer Drug Rebates / ($1,058) / (1.5%)
Administrative Expenses / $3,576 / 4.9%
Commissions / $1,552 / 2.2%
Profit / $2,748 / 3.9%
Taxes and Fees / $2,464 / 3.5%
Total Health Plan Premium / $71,326 / 100.0%
*in millions
