MEDI-CAL COMPUTER GLITCHES CONTINUE – Friday, Jan. 30
California has greatly reduced the backlog of applications for its low-income health program, but problems with the computer system are still causing headaches for tens of thousands of enrollees, some of whom have received as many as 18 notices in a day with conflicting messages about their health coverage. California Health Report

FASTER FLU FORECAST BY UCSD TEAM – Thursday, Jan. 29
UC San Diego researchers say they can predict the spread of the flu a week in advance, with accuracy equal to Google Flu Trends' real-time information. The San Diego Union-Tribune

MOST STAY WITH COVERED CALIFORNIA – Thursday, Jan. 29
Of the more than 1 million people who signed up for health-care plans through Covered California last year, most stayed with their insurance carrier, according to preliminary figures from state officials. Los Angeles Daily News

CAHF NURSING HOMES HELP REDISTRIBUTE UNUSED DRUGS - Wednesday, Jan. 28
CAHF members have helped SIRUM redistribute more than $1 million worth of drugs to needy recipients. Smithsonian.com

REPORT RIPS STATE ON MENTAL-HEALTH INITIATIVE – Wednesday, Jan. 28
Ten years after California voters passed Proposition 63’s tax on millionaires to fund programs for the mentally ill, the state cannot document whether billions of dollars in funding have improved residents’ lives, according to a new report by the Little Hoover Commission. The Sacramento Bee

MEDICARE TO CHANGE HOW IT PAYS FOR CARE – Tuesday, Jan. 27
The Obama administration has outlined ambitious new goals to transform the way that the gargantuan Medicare program pays doctors and hospitals, rewarding providers that achieve better outcomes for patients rather than those that just do more. Los Angeles Times