Latest California Healthline Stories
Costa Mesa Paramedic Works To Help Prevent Suicides Among Colleagues
Mike Ruhl helps identify and counsel firefighters and paramedics suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. In other California news, lead is found in the water at some San Francisco high schools, retail clinics gain popularity and San Diego students are thinking about new ways to fight the hepatitis outbreak there.
Gun Violence Debate Complicated By Dearth Of Mental Health Caregivers In Calif. Counties
Only two psychiatrists work in rural Tehama County, the site of a recent five-person shooting. Meanwhile, mental health professionals see a psychological toll on Dreamers over DACA uncertainty.
Type 2 Diabetes Hits California Hard
The state is now spending $27 billion to treat this illness. Nine percent of adults in California have been diagnosed with diabetes, according to a 2016 study. Forty-six percent of state residents are considered pre-diabetic.
Care At Risk For About 2 Million California Kids, Pregnant Women With CHIP Expiration
California is running out of funds to pay for the Children’s Healthcare Insurance Program — the state usually gets around $2.7 billion a year in federal money, but Congress has yet to renew the funding.
Public Health Roundup: Effect Of Pollution On Bones; The Growing Promise Of Gene Therapy
Media outlets also report on an effort by a coalition of health advocacy groups to keep Congress focused on the global fight against AIDS. Other reports include the latest advances in battlefield medicine and the Food and Drug Administration’s interest in nicotine-replacement therapies.
More Than Half Of Today’s Generation Of Kids Will Be Obese By Age 35
A study finds that even those who reach age 20 at a healthy weight still face substantial risk later in life. “I think the assumptions are pretty reasonable and their conclusions are pretty reasonable and, unfortunately, pretty scary,” says Stephen Daniels, chairman of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
In other news on the national drug crisis: Republican lawmakers propose a bill to limit opioid prescriptions for first-time users; and farmers are hit hard by the epidemic.
The Tax Bill’s Impact On Health Policy: A Trigger For Medicare Cuts? Impact On Insurance Markets?
News outlets examine how some aspects of the House and Senate GOP tax plans currently winding their ways through Congress could impact the Medicare program. In addition, the Senate measure’s provision to repeal the individual mandate is raising concern among some insurance commissioners. However, the stock market sees benefits for the health sector.
Bill To Fix Health Law Wouldn’t Offset Coverage Losses If Mandate Is Repealed, CBO Estimates
The Congressional Budget Offices estimates that 4 million Americans would lose insurance coverage in 2019 if Congress repeals the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate as part of its tax legislation. The nonpartisan agency says that passing the Alexander-Murray bill, aimed at stabilizing the health law marketplaces, would not soften that blow. Still, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is pushing for the measure during tax bill discussions.
Drug Pricing Dominates Senate Questioning Of HHS Nominee Alex Azar
During a hearing on Alex Azar’s nomination to be the next head of the Department of Human and Human Services, Democratic lawmakers — and some Republicans like Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) — raise questions about the former Eli Lilly executive’s policy positions and ability to regulate the industry where he made his career.