This week, the California State Senate and Assembly returned to Sacramento from their month-long summer recess. Fiscal committees face a deadline next week to meet and report bills to their respective floors, and both the Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees are set to hold suspense file hearings on measures on Thursday, August 26. During these…
Read More »In response to increasing COVID-19 hospitalizations statewide and the presence of the COVID-19 delta variant, the State of California this week took steps to ensure health care facilities throughout the state remain adequately staffed and continue to deliver critical patient care. California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Tomás…
Read More »On Thursday, California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and State Public Health Officer Dr. Tomás Aragón issued a state public health officer order requiring all paid and unpaid personnel providing health care services to inmates, prisoners, and detainees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine or submit to regular testing if exempt from the vaccine requirement. The…
Read More »This week, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced modifications to its “Beyond the Blueprint” COVID-19 guidance for large events to strengthen COVID-19 precautions for large events. Beginning September 20, proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours prior to the event will be required for indoor gatherings with 1,000…
Read More »Following a move by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week to allow for the administration of an additional Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine dose to certain immunocompromised individuals, the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup convened and concurred with the FDA move, paving the way for third doses to be administered to…
Read More »On Thursday, the Medical Board of California (MBC) notified all physician licensees and the public that a physician who grants a mask or other exemption without conducting an appropriate prior examination and without finding a legitimate medical reason supporting such an exemption within the standard of care may be subject to disciplinary action by the…
Read More »With federal supplemental unemployment benefits set to expire next month, a host of California state departments and agencies are joining together to encourage eligible individuals to apply for critical public benefit programs that offer free or low-cost health coverage, provide money to pay for food, and pay rent and utilities. The California Department of Health…
Read More »This week, public health and medical experts with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the ongoing development of a plan to begin offering COVID-19 booster shots to vaccinated Americans beginning on September 20. The move comes as recent data suggests protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection from the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines…
Read More »This week, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), announced the development of an emergency regulation requiring staff vaccinations against COVID-19 within the country’s more than 15,000 Medicare and Medicaid-participating nursing facilities. According to CMS, the new requirement is intended to…
Read More »On Tuesday, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. directed his Administration to extend 100 percent federal reimbursement to states for eligible COVID-19 emergency response costs, including emergency medical care, non-congregate sheltering, and vaccination operations, through December 31, 2021. Tuesday’s action extends the order President Biden issued upon taking office directing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)…
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