- California Healthline Original Stories 3
- To Pay Or Not To Pay – That Is The Question
- Support For Health Law Grows, Leaving Republicans In A Bind
- Threat Of Obamacare Repeal Leaves Community Health Centers In Limbo
- Covered California & The Health Law 1
- Democratic Lawmakers To Hold Town Meeting On Future Of Health Law
- Public Health and Education 2
- Critics Accuse AIDS Nonprofit Of Straying Too Far From Its Mission
- Stress, Anxiety From Political State Of Affairs Affecting Muslims
Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
To Pay Or Not To Pay – That Is The Question
With the future of Obamacare up in the air, many consumers are wondering if they must comply with the tax requirements related to the law, including whether to pay the penalty for being uninsured. (Emily Bazar, )
Support For Health Law Grows, Leaving Republicans In A Bind
As GOP lawmakers struggle to find a replacement for Obamacare, public support for the health law grows and a majority of Americans say they don’t want fundamental changes to Medicaid. (Julie Rovner, )
Threat Of Obamacare Repeal Leaves Community Health Centers In Limbo
These clinics have long provided health care to low-income patients and enjoyed expansion under the Affordable Care Act. With repeal looming, the centers' doctors worry about what's next. ( )
More News From Across The State
Covered California & The Health Law
Democratic Lawmakers To Hold Town Meeting On Future Of Health Law
State Sens. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, and Bill Dodd, D-Napa, along with Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, and others are expected to participate in the panel on Saturday.
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Santa Rosa Town Hall Meeting To Focus On Affordable Care Act
Federal and state lawmakers will join health care officials at a town hall meeting Saturday addressing the impacts of the anticipated Republican move to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. The meeting, open to the public, also will consider ways to protect more than 3.2 million Californians — including 35,000 Sonoma County residents — from the loss of health insurance gained under the law commonly referred to as Obamacare. (Kovner, 2/23)
Efforts To Require Doctors To Disclose If They're On Probation Get Second Life
Doctors under probation for issues such as substance abuse, medical mistakes, illegal drug sales or sexually fondling patients continue to see thousand of patients, which worries consumer advocates.
Sacramento Bee:
California Doctors On Probation Should Inform Patients, Say Consumer Groups And State Lawmaker
Should patients be informed when their doctor is on disciplinary probation for dealing drugs, being drunk or engaging in sexual misconduct on the job? Under a legislative proposal to be heard Monday, California physicians would be required to tell patients when they’re put on probation. (Buck, 2/23)
Experts: Regulations On Abortion Pill 'No Longer Makes Clinical Sense'
Specialists in obstetrics and gynecology, public health and regulatory law weigh in on restrictions surrounding Mifeprex.
Los Angeles Times:
Are Restrictions On The 'Abortion Pill' Politics Or Science?
The Food and Drug Administration’s restrictions on the dispensing of mifepristone — one half of the two-drug cocktail used to end a pregnancy in its first 10 weeks — “no longer makes clinical sense” and should be “expeditiously withdrawn,” experts argue in the New England Journal of Medicine. As a key component of a “medical” abortion, the drug marketed as Mifeprex has been controversial from the start. After it was approved for marketing in the United States in 2000, anti-abortion activists tried to limit its use by pressing the FDA to narrowly circumscribe the ways it can be prescribed, dispensed and used. Then they pushed for states to enact laws requiring strict adherence to the FDA rules. A handful of states complied. (Healy, 2/24)
Critics Accuse AIDS Nonprofit Of Straying Too Far From Its Mission
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has been a driving force behind a controversial construction measure, and some don't see how that lines up with its core goals of helping those with HIV or AIDS.
Los Angeles Times:
Political Spending Of AIDS Nonprofit Comes Under Fire
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation oversees a global philanthropic empire that extends from its Hollywood headquarters to 15 states and 38 countries. The 30-year-old nonprofit organization treats hundreds of thousands of patients. It hands out tens of millions of condoms annually. And it puts up provocative billboards urging people to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases. But in recent months, it has become known for the kind of activism usually associated with homeowner groups, spurring criticism that it has strayed too far from its mission. (Reyes and Zahniser, 2/24)
Stress, Anxiety From Political State Of Affairs Affecting Muslims
Mosques, student groups and mental health agencies around the Sacramento region are stepping up and offering Muslims a safe place to share their anxieties and receive professional help.
Sacramento Bee:
Muslims Seek Mental Health Aid After Mosque Attacks, Travel Ban
When Ayman Mohamed arrived at the Tarbiya Institute in Roseville for morning prayer on Feb. 1, he saw his religion had been attacked. On the mosque’s white front walls, “Muslim Out” and other hateful messages about Islam had been spray-painted in black. Even a nearby truck had been vandalized. Shocked and saddened, the mosque’s director of Islamic studies opened up the building and ushered in his congregants for the day’s first prayer. His message to his stricken congregation: Stay strong, despite the the angry rhetoric used by some national leaders targeting their faith. (Caiola, 2/23)
Shop Sets Goal To Raise $90K To Fund Camp For Kids Who've Had Transplants
The camp is specially equipped with a nursing staff, medication and medical supplies and food to handle special dietary needs, but also provides the kids with fun summer activities as well.
The Mercury News:
Thrift Box Fundraiser Supports Camp For Transplant Kids
The Thrift Box, a volunteer-run second-hand store on Lincoln Avenue in Willow Glen, has a noble mission: using its proceeds to support Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford. But its annual campaign, which was launched this month, has a more specific purpose and it’s one that most people are entirely unaware of. (Pizarro, 2/23)
But others point out the dangers of proceeding without clear cut methods to ensure the process doesn't harm people who gained coverage.
Roll Call:
Conservatives Want Obamacare Repeal, And They Want It Now
Conservatives rallying here are calling for their congressional brethren to keep the faith and quickly gut the 2010 health care law, dismissing concerns about lost health coverage and motivated voters at town halls. Reported remarks by former Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, far away from the conservatives gathered at the convention hotel provided the latest cause for alarm. Boehner had said that repeal and replace was “not going to happen,” according to Politico. “The last I checked, Boehner doesn’t have a vote anymore,” Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas told Roll Call. (Lesniewski and McPherson, 2/23)
In other national health care news —
Politico:
The Left Rallies To Save Obamacare With Passion But Little Cash
Obamacare is blowing up congressional town hall meetings from California to Virginia. But high-rollers aren't stepping up to write checks to defend the law and possibly turn voter outrage over losing coverage into a sustainable movement. Though many Republicans charge the town hall sessions are stoked by moneyed interests and professional protesters, health care groups and foundations that have been crucial to the ACA cause have remained on the sidelines. Without cash, the smaller progressive organizations left could be hard-pressed to fight a long battle as conservatives spend heavily to pressure lawmakers to finish off the law and, possibly, revamp Medicaid. (Pradhan, 2/24)
The Washington Post:
VP Pence: ‘America’s Obamacare Nightmare Is About To End’
Vice President Pence forcefully defended on Thursday night the Trump administration's plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, saying the law known as Obamacare is a “nightmare” and that the administration is committed to “an orderly transition” to a new health-care system. Addressing a gathering of conservative activists in the Washington area, Pence sought to minimize the voices of the hundreds of people who have demonstrated against changes to the law at congressional town hall meetings across the country. (Rucker, 2/23)
The Associated Press:
Former House Speaker Predicts 'Obamacare' Won't Be Repealed
Former House Speaker John Boehner predicted on Thursday that a full repeal and replacement of "Obamacare" is "not going to happen." The Ohio Republican, who was forced out by conservatives in 2015, said he started laughing when he heard President Donald Trump and Republicans promise swift action on undoing and replacing the health law. "Republicans never ever agree on health care," Boehner said. (2/23)
The Wall Street Journal:
Republican-Led States Push To Reshape Their Medicaid Programs
A growing number of Republican state leaders, not content to wait as Congress struggles to repeal the Affordable Care Act and overhaul Medicaid, are mobilizing in an effort to reshape how health care is delivered in their states. Encouraged by a Trump administration that appears receptive to such moves, more than a half-dozen states are seeking federal permission to impose coverage restrictions on many Medicaid beneficiaries, including drug testing and lifetime enrollment caps, some of which would be unprecedented. (Armour, Levitz and Hackman, 2/23)
The Washington Post:
Cancer Patients, Survivors Fear GOP Efforts To Dismantle The Affordable Care Act
Ashley Walton was 25 when a mole on her back turned out to be melanoma. She had it removed, but three years later she discovered a lump in her abdomen. She was then unemployed and uninsured, and so she put off going to a doctor. She tried to buy health insurance. Every company rejected her. By the time Walton finally sought medical help, the melanoma had spread to her brain, lungs and elsewhere. And she eventually became eligible for California’s Medicaid program, which had been expanded under the Affordable Care Act. Two major surgeries, radiation and immunotherapy did not cure the cancer — but did beat it back. (McGinley, 2/23)
The Wall Street Journal:
U.S. House Committee Presses Drug Czar On Fentanyl
U.S. House lawmakers are pressing the nation’s drug czar for more data on the dangerous synthetic opioid fentanyl, including how it is trafficked and how many people it has killed, in the latest effort to thwart a spiraling drug crisis. The four-page letter from the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, signed by bipartisan committee leaders and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, calls the fentanyl crisis a top oversight priority. Addressed to Kemp Chester, acting director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and sent Thursday, the letter includes 15 questions such as how much fentanyl comes into the U.S. through the mail and how many counterfeit fentanyl pills authorities have seized. (Kamp and Campo-Flores, 2/23)
The New York Times:
One In Every 137 Teenagers Would Identify As Transgender, Report Says
Nearly 150,000 American teenagers from 13 to 17 years old — or one out of every 137 — would identify as transgender if survey takers asked, according to an analysis of state and federal data that offers an answer to a question that has long eluded researchers. The figure stands to inform the fierce debate over the rights of transgender youth, reignited on Wednesday by President Trump’s decision to rescind an Obama administration policy that protected the rights of students to use bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity. (Chokshi, 2/23)
Viewpoints: Health Law Has Delivered On Its Basic Promise
A selection of opinions on health care developments from around the state.
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
20 Million Reasons To Retain And Repair Obamacare
Large and boisterous crowds supporting Obamacare at town hall meetings probably are making some lawmakers nervous about the fallout from killing a program that provides insurance for 20 million Americans. Here’s another possible explanation: Despite its shortcomings, Obamacare has delivered on its basic promise — expanding access to health care by reducing the cost of insurance, especially in states such as California that fully embraced the program. California has reduced its uninsured rate to a record low of 7.1 percent, according to a report issued this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s a decline of 9.9 percentage points since the Affordable Care Act took full effect in 2013. (2/24)
Orange County Register:
California Job Losses From Obamacare Repeal? Fear Not!
Obamacare was a cash cow for providers, which now argue it was a program for jobs and economic growth. They now say that repealing Obamacare will kill California jobs. That grabs any politician’s attention, but it is not true. (John Graham, 2/16)
Orange County Register:
Coordinated Care Plans Are Showing Promise
Amid the many unknowns about the future of health care, coordinated health care programs that show they improve care, lower costs and enhance the patient experience are worth further exploration and development. Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed state budget for Fiscal Year 2017–18 reinforced this by extending the coordinated care pilot program known as Cal MediConnect. Cal MediConnect plans, including CalOptima’s OneCare Connect in Orange County, have demonstrated positive results based on independent research from groups such as The Scan Foundation. (Michael Schrader, 2/23)
Orange County Register:
High Error Rate For Medicaid Payments
The U.S. Government Accountability Office released more reports last month on the perpetual problem of government payment errors, this time within the Medicaid program, and the results were, yet again, depressing. The mammoth program, which covers 70 million people, had a budget of $576 billion last year, and made $346 billion in total payments. Unfortunately, $36.3 billion of those payments were improper — an error rate of 10.5 percent. And, despite ongoing efforts to improve data quality and eligibility screening, the problem is getting worse, rising from a 9.8 percent error rate in fiscal year 2015. (2/23)
Los Angeles Times:
'Death Spirals,' Deceit And Pampering The Rich: The Republicans Face High Noon On Repealing Obamacare
Congressional Republicans who have visited their home districts over the last few weeks have gotten a faceful of constituent rage about their plans to eviscerate the Affordable Care Act, which brings health coverage to more than 20 million Americans. If past is prologue, those heading home now for the Presidents Day recess are likely to feel a lot more heat. That may be why House Republicans this week rushed out a “policy brief” on “Obamacare Repeal and Replace.” Unfortunately for the poor souls who will be meeting with constituents, the brief answers none of the key questions about the GOP’s plans for the ACA. (Michael Hiltzik, 2/17)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Answers To Tax Questions On Medicare, Medi-Cal Benefits
Readers have asked a number of questions on tax topics. As the April 18 deadline for individual and family returns draws closer, here are some answers. (Kathleen Pender, 2/21)
The Mercury News:
California’s Cuts To Medical Education Will Harm Patients
There’s a shortage of primary care doctors in California, especially in rural and low-income neighborhoods. It’s currently impacting the ability of a Medi-Cal patient to get actual medical care and will only get worse over time. According to the California Primary Care Association, Medi-Cal has a physician-to-enrollee ratio which is about half of the federal standard, and they estimate California will need over 8,000 new primary care physicians by 2030. Creating more residency program slots would increase the number of primary care physicians who will train (and are likely to stay) in California. If we do not create more residency program slots, we will be exporting medical students after heavily investing in their education at some of the best medical schools in the country. (Nuriel Moghavem, 2/23)
The Mercury News:
Bring Sanity To Gun Policy For The Mentally Ill
Part of the stigma associated with mental illness is the notion that the mentally ill are uniformly dangerous. It doesn’t help that any time there is a mass shooting, the immediate response is the perpetrator must be crazy. This sad lack of knowledge about the mentally ill is perhaps only eclipsed by our lack of understanding of the underlying causes of gun violence. When the two issues collide, the result is legislative mayhem. (2/20)
Sacramento Bee:
Living And Thriving With A Dementia Diagnosis
About 80 percent of people with dementia develop Alzheimer’s disease, a particularly insidious form of dementia that leads to death. I am in the early stages of dementia, and they tell me my tests currently clear me of Alzheimer’s, so my experiences have been far less scary by comparison to many others’. My prognosis is for continued regression with no reversal. Otherwise, I am a healthy and physically active guy rapidly approaching 70 and generally enjoying retirement along with my wife of 49 years. (Kent Pollock, 2/20)
KPBS Public Media:
First Person: 'There's Life After Breast Cancer'
The American Cancer Society’s guidelines say women with average risk should get a mammogram starting at age 45. But Hendrix said she felt she couldn't wait... [Sheri] Hendrix decided to get a mammogram anyway – and found out she had stage 3 breast cancer. As part of our First Person series, Hendrix shares the struggles and growth she's experienced since being diagnosed. (Cabrera, 2/20)
Los Angeles Times:
An Attack On Abortion Rights And A Handout To The Rich: The Republicans' New Plan For Repealing Obamacare
Congressional Republicans who have visited their home districts over the last few weeks have gotten a faceful of constituent rage about their plans to eviscerate the Affordable Care Act, which brings health coverage to more than 20 million Americans. If past is prologue, those heading home now for the Presidents Day recess are likely to feel a lot more heat. (Michael Hiltzik, 2/17)
Sacramento Bee:
Injecting Wastewater In California Oil Wells Imperils Drinking Water
The oil and gas industry has reigned supreme in California ever since the late 1800s, when holes poked in the ground produced gushers. These days, its millions of dollars lavished on elected officials dominate Sacramento, killing common-sense legislation to safeguard our communities. Meanwhile, the state has performed poorly when it comes to protecting the environment and public health from oil and gas pollution. (Keith Nakatani, 2/22)