• 1/09 - Orange County Round Table*
• 1/10 - East Bay Round Table
• 1/15 - Silicon Valley Round Table*
• 1/16 - San Francisco Round Table*
• 1/18 - Los Angeles Round Table
*Round Table dates moved from usual days, due to a conflicting Holiday or JP Morgan Conference

• What's Next for the ACA after Texas v. US? What the Industry Needs to Know While the Case Is on Appeal
• Major Changes to Medicare Shared Savings Program Impact Current & Prospective ACOs
• Federal Judge: HHS Overstepped Authority in Cutting 340B Payments
• California May Have Spent ~ $1B On Ineligible Medi-Cal Beneficiaries, Say Feds
• Healthcare Industry 'Pays Tribute' to California's Influential Lawmakers

• Payer-Driven Digital Health Initiatives Abound
• In Screening for Suicide Risk, Facebook Takes on Tricky Public Health Role
• Healthcare: Where the Jobs Are
• New Nursing Grads to Get Increased On-the-Job Training & Mentorship to Ease Burnout
• Big Pharma Returning to Price Hikes After Pause
• Pfizer & GSK to Merge Consumer Healthcare Businesses

District 5 Supervisor David J. Canepa (pictured left) recently commended Alegre Home Care, and its CEO Charles Symes (pictured right), on the occasion of Alegre's 25th anniversary, for helping shape the landscape of the home care industry by providing the utmost quality care to seniors and physically challenged individuals in San Mateo County. With eight offices in the Bay Area, Alegre has some 430 caregivers helping families cope with the activities of daily living, as well as the challenges that go with specific disabilities of seniors. Alegre is also one of the few LGBT companies in the country, serving a diverse population. (Charles Symes, Bay Area)

Alvaka Networks will present a live webinar - Software Patching: The First and Most Important Step in Securing Your System - on January 4, 11, 18 and 25, from 10-11 a.m. each time. Says Alvaka: "The majority of security threats you face today - viruses, worms, spyware and other malware - utilize some unchecked vulnerability in your software to compromise your system. Patches fix the 'holes' in the code. A recent study found 98.8% of breaches can be stopped by good patching practices." (Oli Thordarson, Orange County)

As of January 1, 2019, Care1st Health Plan now operates as Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan. The plan, along with its clinics in Palmdale and Lancaster, continues to serve Medi-Cal and Medicare beneficiaries in Los Angeles and San Diego counties. "This exciting change reflects our new ability to expand our reach and serve more Californians under the Blue Shield name," said CEO Greg Buchert, MD. (Greg Buchert, MD, Los Angeles)

In Four Ways Mobile Remote Patient Monitoring Can Improve Star Ratings, recently published in Managed Healthcare Executive, Harry Soza, CEO of CareMindr, discusses how healthcare organizations that administer Medicare Advantage plans can now directly address patient behavioral change by partnering with their providers to implement mobile-enabled remote patient monitoring. And, in How to Surf the Tidal Wave of Patient-Reported Data from Gizmos and Gadgets, Harry explains how physicians and health systems will be able to transform the data deluge from patient gizmos into a stream of meaningful and actionable insights - by capturing condition-specific data on a disciplined, clinically relevant schedule integrated into a prescribed care plan. (Harry Soza, Silicon Valley)

Debbie Toth (pictured left), CEO of Choice In Aging, was recently presented with the Contra Costa Chair of the Board Award, by Karen Mitchoff, Chair, Board of Supervisors, District IV, recognizing Debbie for the very best in public service and dedication to the County's mission, vision, and values. Choice in Aging serves 600+ people each year through two adult day health, multipurpose senior service, and California transition programs. Also, Debbie educates policymakers on the outcomes and savings to taxpayers when people are given the care they need in community-based settings vs. institutionalizing them. Meanwhile, Choice In Aging will hold its 70th anniversary Crab Feed, on the evening of February 9, in Pleasant Hill. (Debbie Toth, Bay Area)

Cigna Corporation successfully completed its combination with Express Scripts Holding Company, effective December 20, 2018. And, consistent with its commitment to support local communities and improve societal health, Cigna also announced an incremental investment of $200 million to its charitable foundation and communities and the launch of Healthier Kids for Our Future, a community engagement program focused on addressing the well-being of children globally. In 2019, the program will focus on eradicating childhood hunger and improving nutrition. (Chris De Rosa, Orange County)

The County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors has approved $123 million from the Measure A Affordable Housing Bond for nine supportive housing and affordable housing developments. Supervisor Joe Simitian, President of the Board of Supervisors, said the efforts are "benefiting families, veterans, teachers, nurses, single parents, senior citizens, the disabled, foster youth, the homeless, and individuals with special needs in our community. It's not enough, but it's real and tangible progress." (Tyler Haskell, Silicon Valley)

ChrysCapital, a marquee Indian private equity fund with a global technology services footprint, has acquired a majority stake in GeBBS Healthcare Solutions. GeBBS will continue to be led by Nitin Thakor and Milind Godbole who, together with the existing management team, have been instrumental in driving the company's growth. Meanwhile, GeBBS has been named for the fifth year in a row to Black Book Market Research's list of leading outsourced revenue cycle management companies - ranked #1 for RCM outsourcing for hospitals between 101 to 200 beds, and #3 for RCM outsourcing for hospital chains, systems and integrated delivery networks. (Nitin Thakor, Los Angeles)

Good Samaritan Hospital has been designated an Aetna Institute of Quality for Cardiac Medical Intervention, Cardiac Rhythm and Cardiac Surgery. Aetna recognizes hospitals and facilities in its network that offer specialized clinical services for certain health conditions, and facilities are selected Institute of Quality for consistently delivering evidence-based, safe care. Good Sam offers comprehensive cardiac care services, including inpatient cardiac care, cardiac catheterization, and cardiac surgery. It also has one of the largest Structural Heart programs in the U.S. consisting of transcatheter aortic valve replacement, left atrial appendage closure, mitral valve repair, patent foramen ovale and atrial septal defect closure. (Andy Leeka, Los Angeles)

Beacon Development Group (BDG) has re-aligned to sit under the larger HumanGood umbrella, effective January 1. BDG works with West Coast nonprofits and housing authorities to facilitate the funding, design, and construction of affordable housing developments for HumanGood and its client partners. This change will help BDG align its resources in order to grow into new opportunities, such as developing solutions for the middle market. (Tara McGuinness, Bay Area)

Kindred Healthcare and Netsmart have partnered to create a technology-driven clinical platform that surpasses the traditional boundaries of electronic medical records and aligns with the needs of the evolving value-based care environment. The Netsmart portfolio of enterprise solutions combined with Kindred's longstanding experience in long-term acute care hospitals, rehabilitation, and care management, will create a clinical platform that meets the distinct requirements of aging services and post-acute care. (Adam Darvish, Los Angeles)

On January 15, King & Spalding (K&S) will present a webinar - The Opioid Epidemic: What Hospitals Need to Know, from 10-11 a.m. Pacific. And, on March 18, K&S's 28th Annual Health Law & Policy Forum will take place in Atlanta, GA, a one-day conference focusing on the latest legal and political developments impacting the healthcare industry. Sanjay Gupta will be the Keynote Speaker. Meanwhile, K&S published an alert - Trump Administration Calls for Heightened Scrutiny of Competition in the Healthcare Industry. (Marcia Augsburger, Bay Area, & Travis Jackson)

A recent Urbanize Los Angeles article - Final Phase of $350-Million Hollywood Presbyterian Expansion Takes Shape - describes the new 85-foot glass-and-metal patient tower being built at CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, which was designed by KMD Architects. At completion in 2020, the project will include an expanded ED; new maternity and neonatal ICU; medical/surgical unit; and new dietary department and other ancillary functions. Other KMD projects underway include the CHA Ilsan Life Center, near Seoul, South Korea, which is focused on healthcare for OB/GYN patients and post-maternity care and relaxation, as well as the Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital, in Tacoma, WA, a new 120-bed inpatient behavioral health facility, which will be a referral point for nine hospitals in the South Puget Sound Region. (Rob Matthew, Bay Area)

In his blog post, Healthcare Device Requirements - Why research now, Walt Vernon, CEO of Mazzetti, shares that the Guidelines for Healthcare Design and Construction for many years has included tables listing minimum requirements for the number of electrical, medical gas, and nurse call devices at various locations throughout a healthcare facility. True to its mission to create "evidence-advised guidelines," the Facility Guidelines Institute has worked diligently, in recent years, to ensure its documents are based on an appropriate balance between evidence, benefit, and cost. However, the device tables have not been subject to such scrutiny. Walt declares that it's time to re-examine the appropriateness of the device requirements, on the basis of research. (Walt Vernon, Bay Area)

On the afternoon of January 27, Mission Hospice & Home Care will celebrate its 40th anniversary at a festive event in Menlo Park - to which all are invited - featuring hors d'oeuvres, hosted bar, the premiere of Mission's new video, and more. (Dwight Wilson, Bay Area)

The Penny Hoarder recently interviewed Nelson Hardiman Managing Partner Harry Nelson for their article, How to Find Affordable Care if You Need Treatment for Opioid Addiction. Harry gave an overview of what financial obstacles one would face as they work to treat drug addiction. (Harry Nelson, Los Angeles)

NorthBay Healthcare and OLE Health have officially made their innovative partnership public with a recent grand opening event. NorthBay is providing OLE Health, a federally qualified health center, with 2,000 square feet of space on the first floor of its NorthBay Health Plaza in Fairfield. It's a win for NorthBay because disadvantaged patients who might otherwise come to the emergency department for non-emergent care can now be directed across the street to OLE Health. It also provides a new option for discharge planners to connect uninsured and underinsured patients to comprehensive primary care and social services. (Elnora Cameron, Bay Area)

A recent Wall Street Journal article - The Loneliest Generation: Americans, More Than Ever, Are Aging Alone - reports that baby boomers are aging alone more than any generation in U.S. history, and the resulting loneliness is a looming public health threat. The article highlights On Lok as a San Francisco Bay Area nonprofit that coordinates medical care and weaves social activities into a senior's visits. Meanwhile, the Bay Area Reporter published On Lok helps LGBT seniors this holiday season, which describes On Lok's recently launched Mission Nutrition, an initiative to bring awareness to its popular community and home-delivered meals program, as well as its Falls Prevention Program. (Grace Li, Bay Area)

The 2019 Donate Life Rose Parade float was produced by OneLegacy again this year, and made possible thanks to 41 sponsoring donation, transplant, healthcare, and family care organizations and individuals. As the world's most visible campaign to inspire organ, eye and tissue donation, the Donate Life Rose Parade float inspires viewers to help the over 1 million people in need of organ, eye or tissue transplants each year. The float's theme, "Rhythm of the Heart," invited parade audiences to experience the music, cultures, and countries of Africa in a vibrant, colorful float. (Tom Mone, Los Angeles)

Prelude Corporation (PreludeDx) recently announced its compelling data from research, which shows that PreludeDx's newly-developed assay can stratify risk of local recurrence in stage 1 breast cancer patients. The study data demonstrated that the new test was able to stratify patients where those in the low risk group had a 6% local 10-year invasive recurrence risk with surgery alone or surgery and radiation therapy. Patients in the elevated risk group had a 49% risk of local invasive recurrence when treated with surgery alone but had a substantial benefit from radiation therapy. As outcomes for early-stage breast cancer patients improve, the oncology community has asked for more specific data on local control as they move from looking at distant metastases to local recurrence risk. (Dan Forche, Orange County)

Dave Haddick, CEO of PSYCHeANALYTICS, will present at the 7th Annual StartUp Health Festival in San Francisco on January 8, and during the Health Transformer Showcase, will share an important progress update on PSYCHeANALYTICS' health moonshot to integrate behavioral and medical care for all 70 million people insured under Medicaid. PSYCHeANALYTICS' decision support technology speeds up clinical workflow by enabling physicians to see quickly the critical factors impacting patient care and delegate to the care delivery team with far less guesswork. "Bringing behavioral health screening and treatment into medical care has been shown for 50 years to provide the best outcomes, best patient satisfaction and lowest overall cost," said Dave. (Dave Haddick, Bay Area)

In How to Choose the Right Payment Processing System for Your Healthcare Business, SAVI Group shares key features almost any processor should provide with a solution, plus a deeper discussion on data and security, integration, value over price, scalability, flexibility, and payment options. And, in Taking Steps to Build a Profitable Medical Practice, SAVI offers tips for: creating a plan to ensure your patients have the best possible experience when they come in for a visit; focusing on specific areas of medicine to leverage your expertise; and outsourcing more complicated areas of business to specialists. (Sumit Mahendru, Orange County)

In CMS finalizes OASIS-D guidance manual ahead of January 2019 implementation date, Select Data reports that, according to a recent questionnaire conducted by DecisionHealth, about 75% of the 270 respondents believe OASIS-D will take more time overall to complete than OASIS-C2. And 70% of respondents expect it to take clinicians 70+ minutes to complete OASIS-D at start of care. And, in Report: 30 Percent of Healthcare Databases Exposed Online, Select Data declares that it's crucial that hospital systems and home health agencies take steps to ensure their networks are secure. And this is why SelectData has partnered with Sidepath, a Microsoft EMS Gold Partner specializing in network security. (Ed Buckley, Orange County, & Ted Schulte, Los Angeles)

Orange Coast Magazine and the Los Angeles Times Daily Pilot both spotlighted Share Our Selves' Adopt A Family Program, which facilitates donors adopting a family at the holidays, providing a meal and a few gifts. First launched in 1969, the program is now so big that it has to be coordinated at the Orange County fairgrounds. This year, 1,400 families were adopted, including 5,000 children. In addition to the holiday assistance, families in need are often connected with important services afterward. (Karen McGlinn, Orange County)

VivaLNK has agreed to loan its Vital Scout devices to the Case Western Reserve University Crew Team for a stress study. The devices will be used to examine the relationship between stress levels and metrics pertinent to physical exertion in participants, including heart rate, respiration rate, sweat rate, and acute-to-chronic workload ratio, as they affect student athletes. VivaLNK CEO Jiang Li said: "This study, using our wearable monitoring device, is particularly impactful as it will examine and accurately measure student athletes' stress to paint a clear picture of the effects of good and bad stress related to training for sport. Not only will this determine how a student athlete reacts and recovers from stressful events or periods, but also can provide insight about how physical activity plays a role in its management." (Jiang Li, Silicon Valley)

ABL Organization recently presented its 19th and 20th Innovations in Healthcare & ABBY Awards Events, in Long Beach on December 5, and in San Francisco on Dec. 12, respectively. Click here for a recap of the Long Beach event, in which ImpediMed Inc. took home the ABBY Award. And click here for a recap of the San Francisco event, in which California Schools VEBA won the ABBY.