In Case You Missed It — Healthcare Daily Digest for Friday, 25 January

The big thing that topped Governor Jerry Brown’s State of the State Address on Thursday was, essentially, the same things on the minds of all the states: Healthcare reform.

Sure, sure: he threw in some talk about education reform because blah blah blah the kids, the future, teach them well, whatever. But it’s healthcare, though, that has caught our National Attention, because it’s something that’s embedded itself into our political rhetoric.

Healthcare absolutely has to be more affordable in this country. I don’t think anyone is suggesting that we price wellness out of the reach of everyone. What has seemed to catch almost everyone by surprise is: how do we fund lowered healthcare costs?

As Brown is quoted in the L.A. Times: “It will be ‘incredibly complex’ to implement a broader expansion of Medi-Cal called for by the federal law.”

To help with the heavy lifting, Brown is calling for a special session of the state legislature. Healthcare is a question that can’t answer itself; but it’s a question that’s going to need to be answered.

Here are some Friday headlines:

• Cutting Out the Middleman: “Dr. Ramanathan Raju wants Cook County hospital to get into the health insurance business, selling plans on a statewide health insurance exchange, a move he says could generate much-needed revenue.”

• 6 Trends Influencing Healthcare Real Estate in 2013: And three of them aren’t “Location! Location! Location!”

• Have We Tried Everything?: Here’s how we’re going to fix Medicare: STOP with the SCAMMING.

• Who Knew That All This Time They Were Undermining Us?: While we weren’t looking, copy machines have been quietly undermining your HIPAA compliance. From the HIPAA Omnibus Rules: “In response to commenters’ concerns that photocopiers, facsimiles, and other office machines may retain electronic data, potentially storing protected health information when used by covered entities or business associates, we clarify that protected health information stored, whether intentionally or not, in photocopier, facsimile, and other devices is subject to the Privacy and Security Rules. Although such devices are not generally relied upon for storage and access to stored information, covered entities and business associates should be aware of the capabilities of these devices to store protected health information and must ensure any protected health information stored on such devices is appropriately protected and secured from inappropriate access, such as by monitoring or restricting physical access to a photocopier or a fax machine that is used for copying or sending protected health information. Further, before removal of the device from the covered entity or business associate, such as at the end of the lease term for a photocopier machine, proper safeguards should be followed to remove the electronic protected health information from the media. (42-43).”