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Kaiser Permanente-Fresno mental health and eye-care workers began a seven-day strike Monday, picketing outside the northeast Fresno hospital to protest what they say is inadequate staffing by the health system. About 15 people were on the picket line Monday morning. The Fresno hospital has about 40 mental health workers and 12 optical, workers. Statewide, about 2,600 workers have been called to strike. The workers are represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers. (Anderson, 1/12)

A new policy requiring preschool children to receive the influenza vaccine went into effect Jan. 1 in New York City, bringing a new level of regulatory clout, as well as attention to other legislative efforts mandating immunization. (Lauer, 1/12)

A federal class action lawsuit was filed Monday against Gov. Nikki Haley and the Department of Social Services, saying a lack of heath care and other basic services is endangering children in the child welfare system. The complaint alleges Haley and DSS are responsible for drastic foster home shortages, excessive caseloads for agency workers and a failure to provide children with basic health care. The complaint further alleges that child maltreatment while in foster care goes without investigation, and inaccurate data masks a much higher rate of abuse and neglect than the state reports to the federal government. (Cahill and Self, 1/12)

A contract dispute between Blue Shield of California and Sutter Health threatens to force some 280,000 Blue Shield customers throughout Northern and Central California to switch doctors or change health plans, if they can. (Halstead, 1/12)

It owns some of the world’s most famous hospitals and one of the leading medical research engines in the United States. But when executives of Partners HealthCare System appeared before investors here Monday, they sheepishly displayed a chart showing that the health care giant last year posted its first financial loss in 15 years. (Weisman, 1/12)

Last week's budget proposal by Gov. Jerry Brown (D) didn't restore cuts from previous years -- with the exception of the already agreed-upon reversal of a 7% cut in In-Home Supportive Services hours -- and that omission was not lost on consumer health advocates. (Gorn, 1/12)

Gov. Nathan Deal ushered in his second term in office Monday with a call for Georgians to unite over common political ground and embark on consensus-driven changes rooted in his first term in office. Deal used his platform to focus on a theme of a “new term, a new vision, a new mandate.” He made no mention of the partisan debate over President Barack Obama’s health care expansion or the brewing fight over whether to raise taxes to fund transportation improvements. (Bluestein, 1/12)

A prohibition on the use of "urgent" by urgent-care facilities in Illinois has been lifted. For years, traditional urgent-care facilities were not allowed to use the term in their titles. Illinois law allowed only emergency rooms to incorporate "urgent" or similar words in their names after some nonemergency centers were caught billing at emergency-room prices. (Hirst, 1/12)

For close to a decade, a group of Camden health-care providers has used a database of information culled from the city's three hospitals to evaluate medical costs, identify hot spots in neighborhoods, and develop outreach programs. Soon, the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers will also be able to look at data from the criminal justice system, housing, and other public networks - information it hopes will lead the way to root causes of recurring problems. (Steele, 1/12)

A deputy from former Attorney General Greg Abbott's office will be running the Texas Department of Insurance, Gov. Rick Perry's office announced Monday. David Mattax worked on defense and financial litigation at the attorney general's office. But he appears to just be a temporary replacement for outgoing Commissioner Julia Rathgeber, whom Perry appointed to the post in May 2013. (Satija, 1/12)

The new year brings two new challenges for North Carolina doctors who take Medicaid, as a temporary boost from the Affordable Care Act goes away and a state cut kicks in after a year’s delay. Hardest hit will be the family practitioners and pediatricians who are supposed to take the lead in providing better medical care for about 1.7 million low-income children and adults in North Carolina. (Helms, 1/12)

While hundreds of public education supporters jammed Capitol stairwells calling for more state support, New York's Republican-controlled Senate has approved eight bills intended to ensure women's rights in the workplace and housing while excluding an Assembly-backed measure to codify abortion rights. (1/12)