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California Healthline Original Stories
Newsom Touts California’s ‘Public Option.’ Wait — What Public Option?
Gov. Gavin Newsom says the state already has a public option: Covered California, the state health insurance exchange. While there is no single definition of a public option, some health care experts say that’s a stretch. (Ana B. Ibarra, )
Good morning! The coronavirus outbreak has surpassed a grim milestone as the death toll surpasses that of the SARS outbreak 17 years ago. Read more on that and other coronavirus updates below, but first here are your top California health stories for the day.
Governor’s Single-Payer Commission Gets To Work On Health Care Options For State: Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom convened his Healthy California for All Commission for the first time, with the goal of providing “coverage and access through a unified financing system, including, but not limited to a single payer financing system,” according to a press release. Part of the commission’s job will be taking stock of California’s current health care system and figuring out what a transition to single-payer might look like, including who would pay for it. In the meantime, the governor has taken steps toward universal health care, the idea of covering all Californians through several different programs. Read more from Sammy Caiola of Capital Public Radio.
San Francisco To Purchase Board-And-Care Facilities To Protect Housing For Vulnerable Populations: As San Francisco rapidly loses its desperately needed residential care facilities for the elderly, homeless and mentally ill, the city has come up with a plan — and the money — to save two from closing. Officials plan to purchase two board-and-care facilities: Grove Street House with nine beds and South Van Ness Manor with 29 beds. The purchases are the first of their kind in recent history, and part of the city’s overall strategy to maintain the homes amid a dearth of long-term options for the city’s most vulnerable. While the city’s purchases will save a total of 38 beds, they are only one small step toward stemming the tide of closures around the city. San Francisco has lost more than a quarter of its board-and-care beds since 2012, according to city data. Read more from Trisha Thadani of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Below, check out the full round-up of California Healthline original stories, state coverage and the best of the rest of the national news for the day.
More News From Across The State
LAist:
The Bid Is In: LA County Wants To House Homeless At St. Vincent Medical Center
It's official: Los Angeles County has submitted a new bid to buy the bankrupt St. Vincent Medical Center so it can transform the facility into housing for the homeless and the poor. "The County has submitted a bid for the St. Vincent Medical Center but the terms of the bid itself [are] confidential," said County spokesman Jesus Ruiz. Friday was the deadline to submit bids. The Board of Supervisors voted at its Jan. 21 meeting to submit a bid; it unsuccessfully bid last year but the sale fell through, leading the hospital's owner to announce that it would shut down. (Garrova, 2/7)
San Jose Mercury News:
San Jose Sobering Center Redefined Amid Rising Meth Arrests
Faced with a steady rise in methamphetamine-related arrests and citations in and around San Jose’s encampments, police and civic leaders are grappling with how to address what has become a growing public safety problem, and break a cycle that shuttles addicts between the streets and county jail beds but doesn’t address underlying issues of drug abuse and homelessness. “For the portion of the unhoused community that suffers from meth use, releasing them back to encampments doesn’t only endanger the community as a whole, but the people in the encampments,” San Jose police Chief Eddie Garcia said. “We need something to keep the community safe and get individuals the help they need.” (Salonga, 2/7)
Sacramento Bee:
Long Beach CA Restaurant Linked To Hepatitis Outbreak
An investigation into an outbreak of hepatitis A in Southern California centers on a Long Beach steakhouse, health officials say. At least seven people who dined at 555 East American Steakhouse at 555 E. Ocean Blvd. on or around Dec. 24 have come down with the disease, KCBS reports. The source is still not clear. Anyone who ate at the restaurant around Dec. 24 may be at risk, but health officials say the restaurant poses no further risk and is cooperating with the investigation. (Sweeney, 2/9)
The New York Times:
Victors In Iowa, Sanders And Buttigieg Are Targets In Democratic Debate
The two victors in the Iowa caucuses, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., came under sharp and sustained criticism in a Democratic presidential debate on Friday, as their rivals tried to stop their momentum by assailing Mr. Sanders for his left-wing ideas and past opposition to gun control while targeting Mr. Buttigieg over his thin résumé and ties to big donors. ... The gun issue was a major point of vulnerability for Mr. Sanders in his 2016 bid for the Democratic nomination, but until now had not been a significant part of the 2020 campaign. (Burns and Martin, 2/7)
The New York Times:
Sanders And Buttigieg Clash, Aiming For A Two-Person Race
In Dover, Mr. Buttigieg offered his own broadside, alleging that Mr. Sanders had not leveled with voters about the cost of his policy ambitions, especially single-payer health care. Rebuking Mr. Sanders again for what he has called an uncompromising view of leadership, Mr. Buttigieg suggested that voters “deserve somebody who can actually deliver math that adds up.” “What we could do without is a plan so expensive that Senator Sanders himself freely admits he has no idea how it’s supposed to be paid for,” Mr. Buttigieg said. (Burns and Corasaniti, 2/9)
The Washington Post:
Biden, Warren Battle For Third Place In New Hampshire
Biden also on Sunday took a swipe at Sanders’s health-care plan, saying it was too expensive and would take too long to enact. The Vermont senator’s biggest problem, Biden argued, was that he wasn’t being fully truthful with the American people. “Look, the one thing I think the public is looking for as much as anything is authenticity,” Biden said. “Just tell me the truth. And if you don’t know, don’t ask me to buy a pig in a poke.” (Wootson, Viser and Sonmez, 2/9)
The Associated Press:
Nevada Union Warns Members Of Sanders, Warren Health Plans
Nevada's most influential union is sending a subtle message to its members discouraging support for Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren over their health care stances even though the union has not yet decided if it will endorse a candidate in the Democratic presidential race. The casino workers’ Culinary Union, a 60,000-member group made up of housekeepers, porters, bartenders and more who work in Las Vegas' famed casinos, began distributing leaflets in employee dining rooms this week that push back against “Medicare For All,” the plan from Sanders and Warren to move to a government-run health insurance system. (Price, 2/7)
The New York Times:
Coronavirus Epidemic Reaches Bleak Milestone, Exceeding SARS Toll
The coronavirus epidemic in China surpassed a grim milestone on Sunday with a death toll that exceeds that of the SARS outbreak 17 years ago, a development that coincided with news that World Health Organization experts might soon be in the country to help stanch the crisis. The outbreak has killed at least 908 people in China in the month since the first death was reported in January in Wuhan, the city where the novel coronavirus emerged in December, apparently in a wholesale food market. Two people have died outside China. (Myers and Zraick, 2/9)
The New York Times:
Inundated With Flu Patients, U.S. Hospitals Brace For Coronavirus
With an intense flu season in full swing, hundreds of thousands of coughing and feverish patients have already overwhelmed emergency rooms around the United States. Now, hospitals are bracing for the potential spread of coronavirus that could bring another surge of patients. So far, only a dozen people in the United States have become infected with the novel coronavirus, but an outbreak could severely strain the nation’s hospitals. (Abelson and Thomas, 2/7)
The New York Times:
C.D.C. And W.H.O. Offers To Help China Have Been Ignored For Weeks
For more than a month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been offering to send a team of experts to China to observe its coronavirus outbreak and help if it can. Normally, teams from the agency’s Epidemic Intelligence Service can be in the air within 24 hours. But no invitation has come — and no one can publicly explain why. (McNeil and Kanno-Youngs, 2/7)
Stat:
Fluctuating Funding And Flagging Interest Hurt Coronavirus Research
The waxing and waning interest in coronaviruses has perpetuated gaps in the scientific understanding of the pathogens. Scientists don’t know how long people remain immune to a coronavirus after being infected. There are still looming questions about transmission. There aren’t any drugs approved specifically to treat coronaviruses. Work begun to test existing drugs to see if they were effective against SARS was abandoned when that threat faded; having that information now would have given doctors in China help they badly need. “When this [new] epidemic began, I think there were three or four of us who answered the majority of the calls. Because there are very few of us who are really doing this,” said Dr. Stanley Perlman, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Iowa. “I’ve trained a lot of people. Most of them don’t go into coronavirology,” he added. (Branswell and Thielking, 2/10)
The New York Times:
A New Martyr Puts A Face On China’s Deepening Coronavirus Crisis
More than 700 people have died. Tens of thousands are infected. Millions are living under lockdown, and the government has sought to silence complaints. But what provoked an online revolt in China on Friday, the fiercest assault on the censors in almost a decade, began with the death of one man: the doctor who tried to warn others about the coronavirus. The deluge of mourning and anger at the death of the doctor, Li Wenliang — from the same virus he was reprimanded for mentioning — at times overwhelmed China’s sophisticated censorship and propaganda systems. (Buckley and Mozur, 2/7)
The New York Times:
Lessons That Go Beyond The Coronavirus Outbreak
News of coronavirus infections is causing many people to panic. It’s unclear how widespread or deadly this illness is going to be, but for once, instead of telling you not to worry, I’m going to suggest riding that wave. Channel that fear into useful action — and find the lessons that go beyond this outbreak. There are absolutely things we can do to protect people from infection by this novel respiratory virus, which has caused hundreds of deaths in Wuhan, China, and has spread to other countries. Some involve a societal response, but others are very simple. (Carroll, 2/10)
Los Angeles Times:
Here's What It's Like Inside California's Coronavirus Quarantines
Board games for children? Definitely. Tai chi in the parking lot? Maybe. Red wine dropped off by relatives? Nope. For the hundreds of Americans who have been evacuated from China amid the coronavirus outbreak, the stress and worries of possible infection and getting back to the United States have been joined by another pressing concern: How do you fill two unexpected weeks quarantined on a military base? (Karlamangla, 2/7)
Sacramento Bee:
Second Flight Lands In San Diego As Dozens More Evacuees From Viral Hot Zone Face Quarantine
A second jetliner carrying U.S. evacuees from Wuhan, China, touched down Friday morning at San Diego’s Marine Corps Air Station Miramar as the number of passengers from Wednesday’s evacuation flight out of the Chinese city evaluated for potential coronavirus stands at five. The chartered Kalitta Air jet touched down and slowly rolled to a remote taxiway, in video captured by San Diego NBC affiliate KNSD-TV. The plane carried 67 passengers who were met by personnel from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Health and Human Services Department, a CDC spokesman told the San Diego station. (Smith, 2/7)
Reuters:
Trump Slashes Foreign Aid, Cuts Safety Net Programs In New Budget Proposal
U.S. President Donald Trump will propose on Monday a 21% cut in foreign aid and slashes to social safety-net programs in his $4.8 trillion budget proposal for fiscal 2021, according to senior administration officials. The budget would spend money to fund infrastructure projects and defense, but would also raise funds by targeting $2 trillion in savings from mandatory spending programs in the United States. It assumes revenues around $3.7 trillion. (2/9)
The New York Times:
Trump To Propose $4.8 Trillion Budget With More Border Wall Funding
Those reductions encompass new work requirements for Medicaid, federal housing assistance and food stamp recipients, which are estimated to cut nearly $300 billion in spending from the programs. The budget will also cut spending on federal disability insurance benefits by $70 billion and on student loan forgiveness by $170 billion. The budget will propose cutting foreign aid spending by 21 percent and, as in previous budgets, eliminate funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It would cut the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention budget by 9 percent but increase funding levels for the center’s infectious disease activities. It targets specific programs, including some at the National Institutes of Health, for cuts. (Tankersley, Rappeport, Kanno-Youngs and Sanger-Katz, 2/9)
The Washington Post:
VA Chief Wilkie Sought To Dig Up Dirt On Woman Who Complained Of Sexual Assault, Agency Insiders Say
The Veterans Affairs Department’s inspector general is reviewing a request from a top House leader to investigate allegations that VA Secretary Robert Wilkie sought to dig up dirt on one of the congressman’s aides after she said she was sexually assaulted at VA’s Washington hospital. The appeal late Friday from House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Takano (D-Calif.) came after he received information from a senior VA official, confirmed by The Washington Post, that Wilkie worked to discredit the credibility of the aide, senior policy adviser Andrea Goldstein. (Rein, 2/8)
ProPublica:
A Group Of Agents Rose Through The Ranks To Lead The Border Patrol. They’re Leaving It In Crisis.
On a Saturday evening in late September, Deputy Chief Scott Luck gathered with family and friends in the crystal-chandeliered ballroom of the Trump National Golf Club, nestled along the shores of the Potomac River in Virginia, to celebrate his retirement after 33 years in the U.S. Border Patrol. The party was adorned with a who’s who in Border Patrol leadership, past and present. There was the unmistakable figure of Luck’s boss, Chief Carla Provost, tall and broad with her trademark fringe of brown bangs, and her longtime friend Andrea Zortman, who helps oversee foreign operations for the agency. (Del Bosque, 2/10)
The Wall Street Journal:
Vaping-Related Deaths Fall, But Families Still Look For Answers
Kimberly Boyd keeps a stack of her son’s medical files on her dining-room table, in neatly organized folders. In a Ziploc bag, there are some of the nicotine vaping cartridges he used at their Orlando, Fla., home before the 28-year-old died in November. Across the country, in Seattle, Robin Hurt is waiting for a response to a public-record request she filed with the state’s medical examiner in Oregon, asking for the autopsy report on her 23-year-old grandson, who unexpectedly died in October after having recently taken up vaping. (Ansari, 2/9)
The Washington Post:
WHO’s Aggressive, Three-Part Strategy Aims To Make Cervical Cancer A Thing Of The Past
In just 35 years, the United States managed to reduce cervical cancer rates by 54 percent with the help of Pap smears. Now, human papillomavirus vaccination, double screening and more effective treatment might be able do away with the cancer. In two new studies in the Lancet, the World Health Organization lays out how. The studies model what might happen if the United Nations’ health agency commits to a three-part strategy to wipe out cervical cancer. (Blakemore, 2/8)