In Brief: UCLA\'s Feinberg Stepping Down; Anthem Breach Impacted 13.5 Million Californians
Feinberg Stepping Down At UCLA Health
David Feinberg, M.D., has announced he will leave his post as president of the UCLA Health system in May. Feinberg has accepted an appointment as chief executive officer of the Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania.
Feinberg’s new job will have him leading one of the most visible and innovative hospital systems in the country, a leader in both integrated care and accountable care organizations. Although he was one of UCLA’s highest paid employees, earning about $1.4 million a year, the Geisinger position will likely at least double his current pay.
Feinberg’s departure appears completely unrelated to the system’s recent announcement that more than 170 patients were exposed to the CRE superbug as the result of an improperly sterilized medical instrument known as a duodenoscope. Two patient deaths were connected to the issue.
A replacement for Feinberg has not yet been announced.
Meanwhile, John Mazziotta, M.D. a brain imaging expert who established the UCLA Brain Mapping Center, has been appointed vice chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences and dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
“While all of us are saddened to lose Dr. Feinberg, we are also excited that Dr. Mazziotta has agreed to take on this critically important role for UCLA,” said UCLA Chancellor Gene Block in a statement. “There is no better person than John Mazziotta to lead UCLA’s health science enterprise.”
Mazziotta will replace A. Eugene Washington, M.D., who is leaving to take a position with the Duke University Health System.
Anthem Breach Has Impacted 13.5 Million Californians
The data breach experienced by health insurer Anthem has impacted 13.5 million Californians, according to various media reports on the incident.
Anthem reported the breach earlier this month and indicated hackers were able to access the data of some 78.8 million previous and current members. Hackers were able to get access to those members Social Security numbers, dates of birth, home addresses and email addresses, among other personal data.
Anthem, which is based in Indianapolis but is one of the largest insurers in California, has yet to identify the perpetrators of the attack. It may be the largest-ever breach of a health insurer to date.
In a statement issued earlier this month, Anthem said it was working with outside vendors to provide identity theft and credit report monitoring to those impacted by the breach.
California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said his office would conduct a financial and market conduct examination of Anthem in connection to the breach. It is part of a multi-state investigation.
"The goal of this national multi-state examination should be to determine what areas of vulnerability exist in Anthem's data systems, what additional strategies and protections could have been employed to prevent losses and whether the insurer has taken the appropriate steps in response to the breach," Jones said.
