Viewpoints: Patient Dumping Bill Focuses Too Much On Hospitals’ Policies And Not On Community Resources

Sacramento Bee: Senate Bill Is Not A Solution To Dumping Of Homeless Patients 
SB 1152, which was approved by the Senate Health Committee on June 26, requires hospitals to have a special discharge policy for homeless patients. But it does little to ensure the existence of these community-based resources. (Peggy Broussard Wheeler, 7/3)

Los Angeles Times: Trump's Own Figures Show That Obamacare Is Working Well For The Vast Majority Of Enrollees
Overall, according to the figures released by the agency, 10.6 million Americans had signed up for ACA coverage by February and paid their first month’s premium. That was about 3% ahead of the 10.3-million enrollment at the same moment in 2017, the agency said. The increase came in the face of Trump administration policies that would have the effect of discouraging enrollment. (Michael Hiltzik, 7/3)

Sacramento Bee: California Patients Are Getting Gouged By Pharmacy Benefit Managers. Legislators Can Stop It 
Californians living with chronic conditions such as cancer, heart disease, arthritis or hepatitis are disproportionately impacted when health care costs go up. Health insurance is supposed to make medications for these conditions more affordable, but this is not always the case due to common practices by the largely unregulated pharmacy benefit manager industry. (Liz Helms, 7/3)

Los Angeles Times: Rules For Gay Blood Donors Are Based On Outdated Fear, Not Science
In my senior year I helped organize a blood drive in my high school gymnasium. I felt newly mature as I signed the consent form; the idea that my transient discomfort potentially could help save a life inspired me, and I committed to making blood donation a habit. When I received my American Red Cross Donor Card weeks later indicating that I was “O-negative” – a universal donor – I became all the more motivated.I’m now, years later, a physician who sees patients benefit from transfusions every day, from children with sickle cell disease to adults with leukemia. My husband sees blood products being put to work even more dramatically on his shifts in the emergency department, as they’re rapidly infused into trauma patients. When there’s no time for matching blood types, it’s O-negative blood like mine that is pumped into these patients’ veins. (C. Nicholas Cueno, 7/5)

Los Angeles Times: No, Trump Should Not Abandon His Supreme Court List
Presumably, as you read this, the White House is setting up its war room for the Supreme Court confirmation battle to come. The interns are stocking the mini fridges and hanging the musk-masking air fresheners that are de rigueur for any top-flight political bunker. But before the administration goes to the mattresses, it first must pick a nominee. And that is why I hope White House counsel Don McGahn is hanging a sign for all to see: “It’s the list, stupid.” Over the next week, the White House will come under incredible pressure from the news media, the Democrats and some Republicans (pro-choice and abortion-squeamish) to abandon the list of potential Supreme Court nominees President Trump campaigned on (and later expanded slightly). On Sunday, Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine told ABC’s “This Week” that the president “should not feel bound” by the list. (Jonah Goldberg, 7/3)

The Hill: California Just Banned Soda Tax — It Should Set Off Alarm Bells Everywhere
At the California State Capitol last Thursday, teenage health advocates from Stockton urged lawmakers to stand with communities like theirs and put people’s health over corporate profits. After more than a year of knocking on doors, talking with people at farmers markets, and attending community events to build support for a soda tax in their city, these young activists were up against an unexpected challenge — a state law that would render their efforts meaningless by banning cities from adopting soda taxes until 2030. These young people talked emotionally about how chronic health problems affect their families in a city where 36 percent of youth suffer from diabetes or pre-diabetes — and shared how the beverage industry misleads consumers about the safety of their products. As the youth spoke out against the bill, the other side was conspicuously quiet. That's because the American Beverage Association — representing the soda industry — wasn’t even in the room. It didn’t need to be — its fingerprints were already all over the legislation that ended up being signed by Gov. Jerry Brown later in the day. (Larry Cohen, 7/1)

The Mercury News: Pro/Con: Was The U.S. Supreme Court Right About Union Dues?
Reversing its own decision from more than four decades ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that government workers who don’t want to join unions cannot be forced to pay fees for collective bargaining. In these competing pieces, a backer and an opponent of the decision debate whether the high court was right and what it will mean for California. (6/30)

Los Angeles Times: Protecting Your Skin And Saving Baby Corals Doesn't Have To Be Mutually Exclusive
Beach season is officially in full swing, with Americans heading to the coast to swim, lounge, camp, party and generally cool off from the heat-drenched cities. And because we’ve been so well trained to avoid the harmful ultraviolet rays that cause skin cancer, most beachgoers will be mindful to slather on a generous coating of sunscreen. This is a sound and healthy practice for humans when they bake on the sands of California’s beaches, but it turns out it’s not so great for the health of the oceans when people covered in sunscreen take a cooling dip in the waves. A study conducted by an international team of scientists found that exposure to the two most common ingredients in sunscreen — oxybenzone, or BP-3, and octinoxate — is toxic to coral development in four ways. BP-3 in particular was correlated with bleaching, which is a sign of ill health, DNA damage and abnormal skeleton growth and deformities in baby corals (yes, there are baby corals). ...But let’s be clear: This is no call to skip the SPF 50. Skin cancer is a serious and all too common affliction; one-fifth of Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer by the time they are 70, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. (7/6)

Civil Eats: 3 Reasons To Be Concerned About The USDA’s Proposed GMO Labeling Rules 
Released in May, the regulations come out of a 2016 law signed by President Obama prohibiting existing state GE labeling laws, such as Vermont’s, which required on-package mandatory labeling, and instead created a nationwide standard. Instead of proposing straightforward rules, the 100-page USDA document presents a range of alternatives on a number of key issues, and leaves a handful of questions open for comment, to be decided in the final rule. (Rebecca Spector, 7/3)