doctors

Thousands of low-income patients, some seriously ill, are scrambling to find new doctors as they lose access to UCLA Health physicians after a longtime Medi-Cal contract was not renewed.

Under the contract that expired June 30, UCLA had been providing specialty care to 9,000 medically frail patients from Health Care LA, an association of nonprofit clinics that serve patients covered by Medi-Cal, the state program for the poor.

“Many of these patients have been waiting for months to be seen by UCLA specialty medicine providers and are now being told they cannot receive the care they desperately need,” Health Care LA said in a Thursday news release.

The patients had gone to UCLA for cancer and infectious-disease treatments, high-risk women’s services, major organ transplants and other specialty medicine care, the association said.

A Friday news conference that Health Care LA had scheduled to detail the problems patients faced in getting care was abruptly canceled when the two sides said they had reached a tentative agreement on how to transition the patients to other doctors over the next year.

“To help ensure a smooth transition for patients, both organizations have agreed that established UCLA Health patients, individuals with existing appointments, and patients requiring other agreed-upon services will continue to be cared for at UCLA Health facilities,” Phil Hampton, a university spokesman, said in a statement.

Although some patients will continue to be seen by UCLA doctors, he said, “accepting an unlimited number of new referrals presents challenges given existing capacity constraints and the need to preserve timely access for existing patients.”

Sabra Matovsky, chief executive of Health Care LA, said in an interview on Thursday that UCLA had declined to renegotiate the contract.

“They never even asked us for a raise,” she said, “They just want us out.”

She said that university officials had pointed to “capacity issues” at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood, including in the emergency room and dozens of specialty clinics.

“To solve this by pushing out Medi-Cal patients while you continue to expand and market and take on other patients is not a solution,” Matovsky said.

Hampton said UCLA had offered to extend the contract, but Health Care LA rejected the offer.

The end of the Medi-Cal contract disappointed some UCLA medical professionals who have been urging the public university to provide care to more of L.A. County’s low-income residents.

“It feels like this is profits over patients,” said Dr. Patrick Samones, a fellow at UCLA Health, who trained at the university in family medicine.

“UCLA is one of L.A.’s most important healthcare institutions,” said Samones, who represents members of the Committee of Interns and Residents, which is part of Service Employees International Union. “We feel it has a duty to serve all Californians.”

In recent years, UCLA Health has been expanding fast and now has almost 300 locations throughout Southern California, including in wealthier places such as Montecito, Malibu and Westlake Village.

At the same time, it provides less care to Medi-Cal patients than its sister university health systems: UC Irvine, UC San Diego, UC San Francisco and UC Davis, according to university statistics.

Last year, about 15% of UCLA Health’s net patient service revenue came from Medi-Cal, according to the university health systems’ annual report. The four other UC health systems each received about 22% of that revenue from Medi-Cal.

About 40% of L.A. County residents are insured by Medi-Cal, according to a recent report by the California Health Care Foundation.

Hampton said the net patient service revenue data from the annual report doesn’t capture UCLA’s “extensive contributions to caring for Medi-Cal patients” and isn’t “a fair basis for comparing academic health systems.”

He added that with the university’s expansion of clinics, “we are providing substantial specialty care to Medi-Cal and Medicare patients” throughout L.A. County.

“Unlike county-owned hospitals, UCLA Health relies almost exclusively on patient care revenue to fund operations, expand access, recruit clinicians and invest in facilities and technology,” he said.

Hampton said UCLA has other contracts to serve Medi-Cal patients, which will continue. The health system also provides more than $270 million in unreimbursed care for low-income patients each year, he said, as well as primary and urgent care for people experiencing homelessness.

In addition, UCLA is spending $500 million to create a new neuropsychiatric hospital in Los Angeles’ Mid-Wilshire neighborhood, he said.

“We continue to fortify our region’s safety net despite growing access demands and challenges,” Hampton said.

In the most recent fiscal year, he said, Medi-Cal patients comprised 26% of 336,600 inpatient days and 34% of 156,000 emergency department visits.

“UCLA Health’s long-standing commitment to serving vulnerable populations in Southern California is well-established,” he said.

Hampton said the net patient service revenue data doesn’t reflect the complexity of care delivered by UCLA and is affected by Medi-Cal reimbursement rates and payment policies, which vary by region and health plan.

“Over time, Medi-Cal reimbursement has not kept pace with the cost of providing care, and UCLA Health has experienced increasing payment denials and delays,” he said.

UCLA specialists had been caring for Health Care LA’s seriously ill patients under the contract since 2009.

“They were the provider that did all the complicated care,” Matovsky said. “UCLA was our go-to.”

Sept. 2 (UPI) — A group of medical organizations has released guidance on fall vaccinations against respiratory illnesses.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention usually launches a fall campaign to recommend seasonal vaccines for diseases like RSV, influenza and COVID-19. This year, however, the agency has not issued its updated recommendations for the respiratory virus season.

In March, the American Academy of Pediatrics won a lawsuit against the federal government that blocked Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from overhauling the childhood vaccine schedule.

Kennedy and President Donald Trump have said that children get too many vaccines and have reduced the number of vaccines routinely recommended. They have also linked vaccines to autism, which has been proven untrue by research.

In response, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Infectious Diseases Society of America each issued guidelines for fall immunizations. They based those guidelines on research from the American Medical Association and the University of Minnesota’s Vaccine Integrity Project

Last year, the CDC changed the COVID-19 recommendations to say that patients should talk to their own doctors.

On Tuesday, the agency said, “the CDC states the recommendations for seasonal influenza vaccination from the July 2025 immunization schedule remain in effect for the 2026-2027 influenza season.” It doesn’t mention the new mRNA flu vaccine, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last month.

“For more than 60 years, the United States has benefited from an established federal process for evaluating vaccine evidence and translating that science into recommendations for the American public. At the center of that process were the Centers for Disease Control and its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the ACIP,” CNN reported Dr. Bruce Gellin, board chair of the Vaccine Integrity Project and professor of medicine at Georgetown University, said at a press briefing.

“Unfortunately today, the federal government is not fulfilling that responsibility in the way that it historically has. But the need for that work has not disappeared. Influenza, SARS-CoV-2 [COVID-19] and the RSV viruses will circulate again this fall and winter,” Gellin said.

“We cannot allow the breakdown of a federal process to create a vacuum in evidence-based vaccine guidance,” he added.

Dr. Sarah Nosal, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, said in the news briefing that insurance companies have indicated they will cover the vaccines.

“Vaccines are one of medicine’s greatest success stories. They prevent serious illness, reduce hospitalizations and long-term complications and save lives,” Nosal said in a press release. “As federal guidance evolves, the science behind vaccines remains strong. These recommendations are grounded in the latest evidence, informed by public health experts and shaped by what family physicians are seeing every day in their patients.”

Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly expert Graeme Hall is one of the 2026 Strictly Come Dancing contestants – who was a keen dancer away from his job on-screen until a stroke derailed his hopes

Strictly Come Dancing contestant Graeme Hall has revealed he was previously forced to quit dancing after doctors discovered a hole in his heart. The 59-year-old TV star received his shock diagnosis after initially suffering a stroke – with doctors making the diagnosis after he was rushed to hospital.

Graeme – who is a dog trainer on the hit Channel 5 series Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly – feared he would never be able to dance again, but is now thrilled to be taking part in the 2026 season of the long-running BBC reality contest. While he is not a fully trained dancer, Graeme got a taste for the art form after taking part in an amateur competition over a decade ago.

He went on to compete regionally before his health emergency forced him to give up his dancing shoes. Fans will soon be able to see him take to the dancefloor on Strictly when the show returns for its twenty-fourth series with a launch show set to broadcast in September 2026.

Speaking about his past health issues ahead of the new season, Graeme told The Sun: I’d done a local competition called Strictly Northampton in 2012 and loved it so much that I carried it on as a hobby. I started taking part in regional events in church halls and community centres but I had to give up because I had a stroke in 2019.”

He revealed that doctors then found a hole in his heart, which was quickly operated on and the Channel 5 star began his road to recovery. He added: “I was out of action for quite a while and I thought it had brought an end to my dancing.

“I’m fine now but I had to put my dance bag away — now I’ve got it out of the loft and there’s all my kit and practice trousers so I will be using those soon. But if you’d told me in 2019 that I was going to be taking part in the show I would have dismissed you as a fantasist.”

Graeme’s involvement in the 2026 season of Strictly was announced earlier this month – and he shared his excitement over being included when his casting was revealed.

He declared: “I can’t believe I am joining the cast of Strictly for 2026. I have always loved dancing, so to have the opportunity to learn from the best in the business is a dream come true.”

He added: “I have watched the show for years, so to be a part of it feels like a very exciting challenge, albeit more than a bit nerve-wracking! I can’t wait to get started. Bring it on.”

He joins a varied cast of co-stars for the 2026 season which ranges to include Australian pop sensation Delta Goodrem to social media hairdresser Chris Appleton.

EastEnders icon Lacey Turner – known to millions as Stacey slater – and House of the Dragon actress Bethany Antonia – known to even more millions the world over as Lady Baela Targaryen – will also be taking part. While Big Brother presenter Will Best, Emmerdale actor Lawrence Robb, and footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips are also among the contestants.

Fans of Strictly will find a revamped show when it returns next week as long-running hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly have been replaced by a trio of new hosts. Presenting Emma Willis, comedian Josh Widdicombe, and former dancefloor professional Johannes Radebe will be co-hosting the show.

As news of the new presenting line-up emerged earlier this year, Emma declared: “To be stepping into the Strictly ballroom is something I can’t quite comprehend.” While Josh added he was: “giddy with excitement, honoured and a little overawed to be given the chance to step into the biggest shoes in television”.

And Strictly pro Johannes – who danced professionally on the series from 2018 through 2025 – said returning to the series as a new presenter was “beyond anything I ever imagined”. The 2026 season of Strictly is expected to begin airing in September.

As for the judges – Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, Motsi Mabuse and Craig Revel Horwood have all been confirmed as returning as their seats to preside over all the toe tapping action which will receive marks out of 10 from each expert. The 2026 season of Strictly is expected to begin airing in September.

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