- California Healthline Original Stories 2
- Veterans Courted In California's Ballot Fight Over Curbing Drug Prices
- Kratom Defenders Fight Plan To Ban Herb Used By People In Recovery
- Covered California & The Health Law 1
- Molina Healthcare Expands Its Medicaid Business To Become Key Player On Marketplaces
- Public Health and Education 2
- Study: Anxiety Can Act As Warning Signal For Cancer
- Lack Of Mental Health Beds Keeps Inmates In Limbo, Costs Taxpayers $40K A Month
Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Veterans Courted In California's Ballot Fight Over Curbing Drug Prices
The initiative would prohibit California state agencies from paying more for a prescription drug than what the Department of Veterans Affairs pays. Both sides are deploying veterans’ sympathetic and trusted image to win over voters. (Pauline Bartolone, )
Kratom Defenders Fight Plan To Ban Herb Used By People In Recovery
The DEA plans to put the herbal supplement in the same legal category as heroin and LSD, but the agency has been surprised by the response of people who say it helps them stay off opioids. (Lauren Silverman, KERA, )
More News From Across The State
Covered California & The Health Law
Molina Healthcare Expands Its Medicaid Business To Become Key Player On Marketplaces
While other insurers are pulling out of the health law marketplaces, California-based Molina is expanding. This year it is expected to be in 12 states.
The Hill:
Meet The Insurer Making Money From ObamaCare
A California-based insurer that once sold mostly Medicaid plans has become a top competitor in ObamaCare’s marketplaces.In likely the toughest year yet for the reform law, Molina Healthcare is thriving in a market that’s seen high-profile departures from some of the nation’s largest health insurers. Dr. Mario Molina, the company’s CEO, attributes much of the company’s success to its long history of selling Medicaid plans, which forced it to rein in costs. (Ferris, 9/20)
Health IT Leaders: Silicon Valley Has Millennial Tunnel Vision
And they are missing out on a crucial business opportunity, the leaders say. Of the last 92 funding deals in digital health, just four were for companies specifically focused on senior care.
Politico:
Insiders: Silicon Valley Is Blowing Its Chance To Ride The Silver Tsunami
Health care is being swamped by the so-called silver tsunami: 10,000 seniors are turning 65 and becoming Medicare-eligible every day. But rather than ride the wave, investors in Silicon Valley and elsewhere are too focused on the shallower pool of younger, healthier Americans. (Diamond, 9/21)
Incident That Sparked Racism Allegations At Gold Coast Health Plan To Be Investigated
The complaint concerns a large monkey doll above one of the worker's cubicles.
Ventura County Star:
Racism Investigation At Gold Coast Health Plan Authorized
A cultural diversity committee this week authorized an independent investigation of an allegedly racist incident involving a large monkey doll at the Gold Coast Health Plan offices. The incident emerged last week after the League of United Latin American Citizens said employees complained to them about a large monkey doll suspended above a work cubicle. In a report alleging racism, LULAC leaders said the doll was positioned in a way that resembled an African-American person being lynched. (Kisken, 9/20)
Study: Anxiety Can Act As Warning Signal For Cancer
The researchers caution that the findings don't show exactly how cancer is related to anxiety, but the fact that men with anxiety were 2.15 times more likely to die of cancer means the diagnosis should act as a red flag.
Los Angeles Times:
Men With Anxiety Are More Vulnerable To Cancer, Study Says
Men over 40 who are plagued with the omnipresent of generalized anxiety disorder are more than twice as likely to die of cancer than are men who do not have the mental affliction, new research finds. But for women who suffer from severe anxiety, the research found no increased risk of cancer death. That finding, presented Tuesday at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology’s Congress in Vienna, emerges from the largest study ever to explore a link between anxiety and cancer. It tracked 15,938 Britons over 40 for 15 years. (Healy, 9/20)
In other public health news —
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
Is Chromium In Drinking Water A Health Risk?
Most San Diegans are drinking water containing hexavalent chromium at levels higher than the goals set by California’s scientists, but that fall well below the state’s legal limits for the toxic metal, a new report by the Environmental Working Group found. The report, released Wednesday, seeks to draw attention to a chemical that’s ubiquitous in drinking water in more than 200 million Americans. It also highlights the tension between maximizing public health and setting limits that regulators deem practical. (Brennan, 9/21)
Lack Of Mental Health Beds Keeps Inmates In Limbo, Costs Taxpayers $40K A Month
The wait-list for inmates who are ordered to be admitted into special psychiatric care continues to grow.
Modesto Bee:
Mental Hospital Backlog Costs Stanislaus Taxpayers $40,000 A Month
Although Stanislaus judges have committed 13 local inmates to state mental hospitals, they languish in local jails because the California Department of State Hospitals says it has no room. Local taxpayers pay the price: about $40,000 a month, with no hope of reimbursement. (Stapley, 9/20)
In other news on mental health services —
Orange County Register:
Anaheim Art Class Helps Erase Stigma Of Mental Illness In Arab Community
Like most others in Access California Services’ Stigma Arts class, Belal is a refugee. This is the fourth year the Anaheim-based nonprofit that provides services and support for Orange County refugees has held this particular art program. It is designed to explore the stigma of mental illness from a culturally competent perspective through arts as opposed to verbal communication. (Bharath, 9/20)
More Children Hospitalized In Outbreak Stemming From Dental Clinic's Water
Water samples from the clinic have tested positive for bacteria that causes an infection that is treatable but often requires multiple intravenous antibiotics given for months.
Orange County Register:
Dental Infection Outbreak Climbs To 14 Children Treated At Anaheim Clinic
An outbreak of infections among patients treated at an Anaheim pediatric dental clinic has grown to 14 children, the county’s Health Care Agency said Tuesday. The children, ages 3 to 9, have all required hospitalization at some point after undergoing baby tooth root canals, or pulpotomies, at Children’s Dental Group between April and July, said agency spokeswoman Jessica Good. The clinic stopped doing the procedure Sept. 6, and on Thursday the Health Care Agency ordered the office to stop using water for dental work after lab tests found the presence of mycobacteria believed to be the source of the illnesses. (Perkes, 9/20)
In other news from across the state —
East Bay Times:
Oakland: Preemies, Kaiser Staff Hold Special Reunion
Dozen of babies and preschoolers were among about 300 people who gathered at Dunsmuir House on Sept. 17 for a special kind of reunion. The children were all “graduates” of Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The “preemies” were all born many weeks before their due dates — some as young as 26 weeks gestation — and were nursed through those critical early days and weeks by NICU staff, many of whom attended the reunion. Jessica Casher, an RN who works in the 24-bed NICU, was delighted to reunite with some of the kids she’d cared for. “It’s amazing to see all these children. It’s why we do what we do,” Casher said. “Once they leave, we don’t usually see them again, so it’s great to see them thrive. It makes the hard days at work all worth it.” (Sharpe, 9/20)
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
Interfaith To Open Detox, Health Center
Interfaith Community Services plans to open a 75-bed behavior health and addiction recovery center in North County early next year, the head of the nonprofit announced at the group’s annual meeting Tuesday. The project is being funded by the Alliance Healthcare Foundation, which awarded Interfaith a $1 million grant to operate it for the next two years. Interfaith’s Recovery and Welleness Center will include sobriety services, which are available in downtown San Diego and El Cajon, but haven’t existed in North County since 2013, when Interfaith closed its Escondido Community Sobering Services. That facility had 10 beds for detox and 32 bed residential program. (Warth, 9/20)
Santa Cruz Sentinel:
Santa Cruz County Discarded Needle Count Pushes 12,000
In the nearly four years that the community group Take Back Santa Cruz formed its Needles Solutions Team, volunteers have recorded finding 11,745 used hypodermic needles that were improperly disposed throughout Santa Cruz County — averaging 261 found per month. Between August and September this year, the group marked a significant spike in found needles, up to 423, but for the right reasons, said Take Back Santa Cruz founder Analicia Cube. (York, 9/20)
The Press Democrat:
Clover To Make All Its Conventional Milk Products Non GMO
Petaluma-based Clover Stornetta Farms next year will start to make all its dairy products free of genetically modified organisms. In the first quarter of 2017, the Bay Area’s largest dairy processor will sell a new product, “Non-GMO Project Verified” conventional milk, President/CEO Marcus Benedetti said Tuesday. Clover will start its transition with all conventional milk sold in half-gallon cartons, including the various weights from nonfat to whole milk. Over the next two years the company will switch all its other liquid milk products, like half-and-half and buttermilk, to non-GMO production, with a goal of eventually adding ice cream and other food products. GMOs appear in dairy products through livestock feed. (Digitale, 9/20)
UCSF Partners With John Muir To Open Urgent Care Clinic
In other news, a community clinic is set to expand into La Habra.
East Bay Times:
UCSF, John Muir To Open New Outpatient Center In Berkeley
Reflecting a growing trend in health care, John Muir Health and UC San Francisco Health are teaming up to open a new outpatient center in Berkeley as soon as 2018. The 100,000-square-foot facility will be located in West Berkeley and offer urgent care and primary care practices staffed by John Muir physicians. There will also be specialty physicians from both John Muir and UCSF, imaging and lab services. (Ioffee, 9/20)
Orange County Register:
Community Clinic Will Open Larger Facilities This Fall In La Habra
The Gary Center is set to open expanded facilities in La Habra by early November, offering more health, dental and behavioral health services to local residents. Vista Community Clinic and The Gary Center have merged to create VCC: The Gary Center at 201 S. Harbor Drive...The Gary Center’s original location at 341 Hillcrest St. will continue to offer insurance services, food distribution and health education. All health care services will be moved to the new facility. (Ratzlaff, 9/20)
Mylan CEO: We Wish We Had Better Anticipated Fallout, But Price Hikes Were Warranted
Mylan CEO Heather Bresch will face congressional fire Wednesday at a hearing to investigate the EpiPen price spike. In prepared testimony, Bresch defends the costs as a necessary investment. Meanwhile, Bresch's mother, as head of National Association of State Boards of Education, spearheaded an effort to get EpiPens in schools.
The Associated Press:
Mylan CEO Set To Defend EpiPen Prices Amid Public Outcry
The head of pharmaceutical company Mylan is defending the cost for life-saving EpiPens, signaling the company has no plans to lower prices despite a public outcry and questions from skeptical lawmakers. "Price and access exist in a balance, and we believe we have struck that balance," Heather Bresch says in prepared testimony released by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee ahead of her Wednesday appearance before the panel. (Jalonick, 9/21)
USA Today:
Mylan CEO's Mother Used Position With Education Group To Boost EpiPen Sales Nationwide
After Gayle Manchin took over the National Association of State Boards of Education in 2012, she spearheaded an unprecedented effort that encouraged states to require schools to purchase medical devices that fight life-threatening allergic reactions. The association’s move helped pave the way for Mylan Specialty, maker of EpiPens, to develop a near monopoly in school nurses’ offices. Eleven states drafted laws requiring epinephrine auto-injectors. Nearly every other state recommended schools stock them after what the White House called the "EpiPen Law" in 2013 gave funding preference to those that did. (O'Donnell, 9/20)
In other national health care news —
The Associated Press:
Slow Progress On Bill To Battle Zika And Prevent Shutdown
Top congressional leaders said Tuesday that negotiators are making slow but steady progress on a must-do spending bill to prevent a government shutdown next week and fund the battle against the Zika virus. Some tricky issues remain, but optimism was building that an agreement might be unveiled in the next day or two. Congressional aides said that progress included an offer from Republicans to drop especially controversial provisions that would have eased pesticide regulations under the Clean Water Act and blocked tighter regulations on the length of workweeks for truckers. (Taylor, 9/20)
Bloomberg:
Inside The 10-Year, $1 Billion Battle For The Next Critical Antibiotic
In a cramped lab in rural Pennsylvania, surrounded by technicians in obligatory white lab coats and fume hoods leaking an occasional acrid smell, Neil Pearson holds up a plastic model of a chemical compound that resembles a spidery piece of Lego. Pearson, a 54-year-old chemist and senior fellow at British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithkline Plc, explains how he spent more than a decade tinkering with chemical compounds before engineering a molecule that may yield the industry’s first truly new antibiotic in 30 years to fight the rise of superbugs that risk killing an extra 10 million people every year by 2050. (Baker, 9/20)
The Washington Post:
‘Superbug’ MRSA May Be Spreading Through Tainted Poultry
A new form of a dangerous "superbug" may be spreading to humans through contaminated poultry that people handle or eat, according to a study published Wednesday. Researchers focused on a newly identified strain of the bacterium known as MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, that they found in people in Denmark. Although most individuals who become infected with MRSA don't get it from food, the study suggests that this poultry-associated strain may be more easily transmitted from food to people. (Sun, 9/21)
NPR:
Fitness Trackers Didn't Help People Lose Weight
Fitness trackers remain wildly popular, but do they make us fit? Maybe not, according to a study that asked overweight or obese young adults to use the tiny tracking tools to lose weight. The 470 people in the study were put on a low-calorie diet and asked to exercise more. They all started losing weight. Six months in, half the group members started self-reporting their diet and exercise. The other half were given fitness trackers to monitor their activity. After two years, both groups were equally active. But the people with the fitness trackers lost less weight. (Ross, 9/20)