A new study shows that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) now account for more than one-third of all drugs dispensed to injured workers in California, triple the proportion for opioids.

A study from the California Workers’ Compensation Institute released on Wednesday also shows that although most NSAIDs that are used are inexpensive, and utilization has been flat since the state’s evidence-based prescription drug formulary took effect in 2018, NSAIDs’ share of the total drug spend has soared from 14.2% to 23.5%.

The surge was largely driven by increased payments for two low-volume, high-priced drugs that are exempt from prospective utilization review and that lack price controls, according to the CWCI study.

It’s been well documented that wildfires in California and elsewhere are becoming more frequent and more intense, and climatologists say the warming atmosphere assures that this is the new normal. That trend also means different patterns of precipitation — perhaps the same annual rainfall totals but more intense patterns of precipitation during certain periods.

What this all adds up to is more wildfires followed by more landslides like the one that struck the city of Montecito in Santa Barbara County in January 2018. That event produced debris flows so robust they killed 23 people despite warnings.

More vaccines are headed to California’s vast Central Valley, an agricultural region whose workers and residents have been hard hit by coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday.

The multi-county region, which includes the cities of Fresno and Bakersfield, will get significantly more vaccines this week dedicated to farmworkers. The shifting allocation comes as California moves to inoculate others beyond health care employees in other essential jobs, including food and farm workers and teachers.

California had been distributing doses based on the estimated number of health care workers and seniors in each county, but is revising its formula as it moves through its planned vaccination tiers.

Stephanie Medrano, 33, of West Covina, Calif., was arraigned on Tuesday on multiple counts of grand theft and insurance fraud after allegedly making misrepresentations following a COVID-19 diagnosis in an attempt to collect more than $33,000 in undeserved workers’ compensation insurance benefits.

The California Department of Insurance launched an investigation after receiving a claim of suspected fraud from Medrano’s employer, the Baldwin Park Unified School District, on Aug. 21, 2020. The investigation reportedly revealed Medrano made multiple misrepresentations in order to extend a workers’ comp claim submitted to her employer after she was diagnosed with COVID-19.

(TNS) - If everything goes according to plan, much of California could come close to herd immunity levels of vaccination by late summer. Within weeks, the effects could be dramatic: very low case rates, people comfortably allowed to gather again, maybe even some looser rules around mask-wearing.

Of course, little about this pandemic has stuck to the plan.

Between the emergence of new coronavirus variants, unreliable vaccine supplies and uneven access to the doses available, it may take months or even years longer than anyone would like to hit herd immunity. It's possible California, the nation and the world may never get there.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way organizations operate, introducing a host of business risks. To better understand this dynamic risk environment, AuditBoard surveyed more than 2,000 attendees at our recent virtual conference about the risks they will face in 2021. Respondents felt that three major risks will require the bulk of their attention moving forward: economic threats impacting [business] growth, cybersecurity threats, and business continuity and crisis response. Organizations that take proactive measures now to address these risks will give themselves a better chance to succeed as we continue to navigate the pandemic.

Major Risks Have Ripple Effects on Businesses
Unsurprisingly, economic threats impacting growth was the number one risk on most respondents’ minds. Business leaders outside of the sample group echoed this concern, with CEOs of major companies expecting financial hardships to continue through the end of 2021 and beyond. Recessions squeeze everyone’s margins, impact demand, and make it tough to hire and retain employees. The current economic landscape has led to bankruptcies, contractions, and layoffs.

(TNS) - California is more than eight weeks into a mass vaccination campaign to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, administering tens of thousands of shots a day.

The California Department of Public Health on its vaccine tracker reported Wednesday providers have administered 5,089,484 out of about 7.6 million doses that have been distributed to hospital systems and local health offices, an increase of 174,854 from Tuesday. The total grew by about 168,000 from Monday to Tuesday.

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Monday announced a new partnership between the California Department of Insurance and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Administration to establish statewide standards for home and community hardening aimed at reducing wildfire risk, protecting lives and property and making insurance available and affordable to residents and businesses.

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is alerting residents to review their current insurance policies in the midst of a forecast of winter weather bringing the possibility of floods, mudslides, debris flows, and other disasters to recent wildfire burn areas throughout the state.

Lara issued a formal notice to insurance companies reminding them of their duty to cover damage from any future mudslide or similar disaster that is caused by recent wildfires that weakened hillsides.

Jose Zepeda, 45, of Fresno, Calif., self-surrendered this week on multiple felony counts of insurance fraud and attempted perjury after filing a workers’ compensation insurance claim and allegedly misleading the insurance carrier regarding his employment status in order to collect disability benefits he was not entitled to receive.

According to an investigation by the California Department of Insurance, Zepeda was injured in August 2017 while employed by a local construction company. Zepeda began collecting disability benefits because his employer could not accommodate his work restrictions. The insurance company handling Zepeda’s workers’ comp claim reportedly instructed him to notify them if he found new employment because that would affect the benefits he was receiving.