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1. 13 insurers to compete on Calif. health exchange

   BY JUDY LIN Associated Press

   Thursday, May 23 2013 10:29 AM

   SACRAMENTO -- The state's largest health insurers, including Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield and Kaiser Permanente, will be among 13 plans competing for policies from millions of Californians who are expected to purchase coverage through the state's new health exchange, officials announced Thursday.

   Covered California, the state agency running the health insurance marketplace, announced the plans and prices that will be offered by private insurers when the exchange begins enrolling customers in October. Coverage begins Jan. 1, the same time virtually everyone in the country will be required to have health insurance or pay a penalty.

   Kern County residents who buy insurance via the exchange will be able to pick from four plans offered by...

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2. 

   SJCH opens new cancer center

   With the snip of a giant red ribbon, San Joaquin Community Hospital celebrated the long-awaited opening of its new cancer and outpatient surgery center Tuesday morning. The AIS Cancer Center at San Joaquin Community Hospital has been open...
3. 

   Ask Emily: Obamacare's new coverage rules and costs

   Q: I had colon cancer and have had trouble buying health insurance ever since. Under Obamacare, will insurance companies still be allowed to refuse me because of my medical history? A: Finally, an Obamacare question with a simple answer,...
4. 

   Ask TBC: How do student fees figure into school sports?

   Q: What percentage of student fees goes to athletics scholarships, coaches' salaries, staff salaries and other sport-related costs? -- Craig Holland   A: Working with Cal State Bakersfield, we got as close an answer as we could by...
5. 

   Medicare rule change to cost local hospitals

   A new Medicare program that punishes hospitals with high patient readmission rates is forcing administrators to reach out and improve how patients are cared for even after they're wheeled out the hospital doors. Working to reduce runaway...
6. 

   Health roundup: Doctors highlight effect of "spice" on pregnancy

   Two local doctors' case study of pregnancy and the synthetic drug spice got attention last week at an annual meeting of obstetricians and gynecologists. Dr. Cindy S. Lee and Dr. Sally Nalesnik detailed the case in a poster called "Spice...
7. 

   Local women, doctors weigh in on test to gauge cancer risk

   When one of Janie Olvera's nine sisters had preventative double mastectomy to reduce her risk of developing breast cancer, Olvera thought she was crazy. But several years later, Olvera's 28-year-old niece was diagnosed with breast cancer...

9. State loophole allows sex offenders to become addiction counselors

   "Sexual psychopath." That was the diagnosis a court-ordered psychiatrist gave Donald Robert Hoffman after he was convicted of molesting a 13-year-old boy in 1965. Hoffman, the psychiatrist determined, was a danger to others. But that...
10. 

    Relay for Life dollars shrink as local cancer fund grows

    Bakersfield has long boasted of having one of the world's largest Relay for Life events, but this year, the fundraiser's net income shrank for the first time in nearly two decades. The massive fundraiser took a hit as several big donors...

11. Charity watchdogs caution donors to beware

    When donors pull out their wallets to give to a charity, Daniel Borochoff, president of Chicago-based CharityWatch, warned that they should not assume that the biggest, most famous charity they know of will be the one to address their...
12. 

    Local doc named California's Family Physician of the Year

    As Dr. Michelle Quiogue puts it, a lot of people had to tell a lot of lies to keep her from learning that she was up for the 2013 Family Physician of the Year award. Quiogue sits on the committee that reviews the nominees for the honor...
13. 

    Explainer: Why official wants at-risk inmates out of valley fever-prone prisons and why the state objects

    California prison officials say a receiver's policy for protecting inmates housed at two Central Valley prisons from Valley Fever is "premature" and urged a federal court to oppose its quick implementation. "The [receiver's] policy is...
14. 

    Worth noting in health: Burn unit gets iPads

    The Grossman Burn Center at San Joaquin Community Hospital gained a new resource for patients this week courtesy of the Bakersfield Firefighters Burn Foundation: iPads. The four iPads, one for each room in the unit, will be loaned to...