Orange County’s two largest cities—Santa Ana and Anaheim—have among the highest number of residents without health insurance, according to new Census data.
Figures from the American Community Survey, a yearly collection of Census data on the nation’s population, show that nearly a third of Santa Ana’s 356,000 residents and some 22% of Anaheim’s 348,000 people don’t have health insurance.
Both cities are home to large immigrant Hispanic populations.
The survey looked at 70 U.S. cities with populations of 250,000 or more.
Santa Ana had the third-highest number of uninsured, while Ana-heim has the 17th highest number.
The Census Bureau estimates that 215,849 Santa Ana residents have health coverage, while 104,988 don’t. The figure could be low given the city’s large number of hard-to-track undocumented immigrants from Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America.
For Anaheim, the survey estimates that 255,506 residents have health insurance, while 74,168 residents don’t have coverage.
Only Miami, at about 35%, and Dallas, at 37%, have higher uninsured rates than Santa Ana, according to the survey.
The lowest uninsured rates in the survey are cities in Hawaii and Massachusetts—two states that require employers to provide healthcare. The Census Bureau estimates 5.25% of Honolulu residents are without health insurance and 5.76% of Boston residents are without health insurance.
UCI Eye Project
A University of California, Irvine, project to help restore vision in people blinded by retinal disease was profiled in a recent National Public Radio report.
Robert Aramant, a visiting researcher at the university’s Reeve-Irvine Research Center, and his colleagues are using fetal retinal cells to help restore vision. What the group does is transplant an intact sheet of fetal retinal cells into a patient’s eye.
The transplanted cells then mature in the same way they would in a developing fetus and become light-sensitive nerve cells and supportive tissue, Aramant said in the NPR story.
Aramant’s team has only treated 10 patients so far because of funding constraints, he said. But of those 10, seven saw improvements, including a woman whose vision went from 20-800, or severely impaired, to 20-200, which is good enough for daily tasks.
Ista Eye Drop Data
Ista Pharmaceuticals Inc., an Irvine eye drug maker, said a clinical study showed its Bepreve drug for treating eye allergies was safe and well-tolerated when given twice daily for six weeks to healthy kids as young as 3 years old.
Ista presented the Bepreve pediatric study data at the American College of Clinical Pharmacy’s annual meeting in Anaheim late last month. The drug maker said the findings were encore presentations from earlier meetings this year.
Ista received FDA approval for Bepreve in September and launched in October. Chief Executive Vince Anido has predicted that Ista’s sales eventually could double through Bepreve.
Ista licensed the North American rights to develop Bepreve for eye allergies in 2006 from Japan’s Senju Pharmaceutical Co. A year later, Ista licensed the rights to develop Bepreve for nasal allergies from Tanabe Seiyaku Co., which now is Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp.
Skin Care Investment
U.S. Dermatology Medical Management Inc., an Irvine company that provides healthcare services for treating skin cancer and other skin conditions, has received an undisclosed round of funding from Vicente Capital Partners LLC of Los Angeles.
U.S. Dermatology buys non-cosmetic dermatology medical practices and seeks to boost revenue at those locations by introducing other specialized medical services.
Vicente said the investment is the third out of its current $165 million investment fund. As part of the deal, Vicente managing partner Jay Ferguson and principals Alain Rothstein and David Casares joined U.S. Dermatology’s board.
Bits and Pieces
Irvine-based heart valve maker Edwards Lifesciences Corp. contributed $15 million to its charitable Edwards Lifesciences Fund last month. The fund has contributed to several programs since its establishment in 2004, including heart disease education and screening, cardiac medical missions in underserved regions and basic needs support … Mirth Corp., an Irvine-based healthcare software company, launched its Mirth Meaningful Use Exchange product last month and implemented it at Thayer County Health Services, a Nebraska health system. Mirth’s product allows healthcare groups to securely exchange information such as patients’ clinical summaries, lab results, medication histories and other records via the Nationwide Health Information Network … Liberty Dental Plan Corp., an Irvine manager of dental benefits, opened a New York office … InstaMed Inc., a healthcare payment processing company with offices in Newport Beach and Philadelphia, said that it surpassed $5 billion in healthcare payments processed.
