Latest California Healthline Stories
Wide-Ranging Opioid Package Passed By Senate, But Advocates Say It Doesn’t Go Far Enough
Advocates say the bills do little to tackle the nationwide bed shortage at addiction treatment centers, fail to encourage more doctors to prescribe medication to treat addiction and lack long-term funding guarantees for new programs. Media outlets take a look at what made it in and what got cut.
Disparities Remain Even As HIV Treatment Advances, Study Finds
A new study involving California patients shows that African-Americans and young adults with HIV both lagged behind advances for older white patients.
Drug That May Treat Incurable Neurodegenerative Disease Moves Forward
With its potentially breakthrough drug, Ionis Pharmaceuticals is targeting Huntington’s disease, which causes uncontrollable movements and problems with emotions and cognition, along with changes in personality.
Growing Number Of Californians With Health Insurance Exacerbates Worsening Physician Shortage
Few financial incentives exist for doctors to go into practice at safety-net organizations that focus on low-income patients even though the need is great.
The legislation on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk is more narrow than last year’s, which got knocked down by Brown. “There must be some limits to the coercive power of government,” he said at the time. The governor has until Sept. 30 to act on the bills.
Health care is a hot topic during the final stretch before the midterm elections. In a shift from years past, Democrats are trying to use the health law as a weapon against Republicans. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, is promising to protect Medicare — just like he did when campaigning for 2016. But this time around he has a record showing that he supports cuts to Medicare and other safety net programs.
The plans will have much lower premiums than health law-compliant ones because they can turn away customers due to preexisting conditions or charge more based on age, health status and gender, with no out-of-pocket caps, among other things.
Professor Christine Blasey Ford spoke out over the weekend about her allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, which involve an incident that allegedly occurred when they were in high school. Following the revelation, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who sits on the Judiciary Committee and is crucial to moving Kavanaugh’s nomination to the full floor, said he’s not comfortable voting “yes” until lawmakers hear from Ford. Other Republican senators also echoed the sentiment.
As Summer Fades, Kern County Begins To Brace For Flu Season
Experts say the best way to prevent the flu is to get an annual vaccine. The Kern County Public Health Services Department will be holding two free vaccination clinics in October, as well as getting the word out through billboards and other campaigns.
Stanford Health Care Professionals Call For Gun Violence To Be Treated As Public Health Crisis
“If this were any other public health problem, we wouldn’t stand for it,” said Dr. David Spain, chief of trauma at Stanford Health Care. “But it’s such a hot button political topic that we lose the ability to talk about it.”