Viewpoints: Bill To Help Those With Developmental Disabilities Passes; Monitoring Prescriptions To Combat Opioid Abuse
A selection of opinions on health care from around the state.
Los Angeles Daily News:
Californians With Developmental Disabilities Get Desperately Needed Help
It was a tough slog, but at long last the state Legislature did right by California’s most vulnerable people. Substantial financial relief is on the way for the system that serves those with developmental disabilities. The two-bill package that the Assembly and Senate passed Monday afternoon will provide an additional $300 million or so in state funding to developmental services for Californians with autism, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome. Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature on the bills is a foregone conclusion. (3/1)
The Ventura County Star:
State Tax Plan For Health Insurers Is Mind-Numbing
The California Legislature this week passed a $1 billion-plus tax package that even on a good day Gov. Jerry Brown — who championed the idea — joked "couldn't explain it to you if I wanted." The legislation, which the governor has been pushing since he created a special concurrent legislative session last year to deal with the issue, alters the California tax structure to meet federal guidelines and assure the continuation of more than $1.1 billion in federal funding for the state's health care program. (3/1)
Los Angeles Daily News:
How A Senate Bill Would Save California Families From Opioid Devastation: Guest Commentary
Tens of thousands of our sons, daughters, and loved ones die every year because they are addicted to prescription pain pills or heroin. In 1999, 6,000 Americans died from an opioid overdose — this includes both prescription painkillers (such as OxyContin, Vicodin and Percocet) and heroin. By 2014, that number exploded to nearly 30,000. This devastation to our families is directly linked to the overprescribing of painkillers. In 2012, doctors wrote 259 million prescriptions for opioids — triple the number written in 1999. That’s enough for every adult in the United States to have a bottle of pills for a month. Even worse — four out of five of those addicted to heroin got started with prescription painkillers. (Gary Mendell, 3/3)
The Desert Sun:
Shift Addiction Treatment Focus
The Coachella Valley has an increasing number of facilities for treating and rehabilitating addicts, but attitudes about addiction (now officially known as Substance Use Disorder) are varied. Many people want to punish the addicts; some want them to get psychological help; and others want them to get medical treatment. There is a great deal of misunderstanding about addiction, its nature, its causes, and what to do about the epidemic of addiction, especially to opiates, that is sweeping our entire nation. (Christopher Knippers, 3/3)
The Sacramento Business Journal:
The Joys Of Medical Mis-Billing, Recounted
All of us want to believe our health care providers care about us. We even like it when they communicate with us — and not just to announce a rate increase or offer tips on “Healthy Barbecuing with Carcinogenic Coal Briquettes!” In my case, I could do with a little less of a dialogue. (Ed Goldman, 3/3)
Los Angeles Times:
Keep Taxing Diapers And Tampons
When it comes to consumer goods, California's sales tax philosophy is pretty simple: Tax retail purchases except for things that people could die without, such as food, shelter, power, water and prescription drugs and devices. Other states exempt clothing too, considering them essential to human survival. In the temperate Golden State, however, clothing is still optional. ... Still, a handful of state legislators are pushing sales tax exemptions for things that don't fall under the life-sustaining mantle. If legislators can't find the courage to put the brakes on these breaks, the governor must. ... The authors of the diaper and tampon tax bills — Assemblywomen Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) and Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens), respectively — say they hope to reduce the financial burden on poor women and families. Further, they argue that diapers and feminine hygiene products are necessities and taxing them is unfair. But the same could be said for many important but taxable products, such as soap, toothpaste, clothes, shoes, toilet paper and deodorant. (2/29)
Orange County Register:
Soda Taxes Morally, Ethically Bankrupt
Shortsighted economic proposals become law every day, so the Davis City Council’s rejection of a soda tax is a welcome respite from normal legislative blundering. In voting against placing a soda-tax initiative on the June ballot, the council has kept the nanny state’s nose out of the lives of its citizens. Bills to tax sugary soft drinks and require health-warning labels likewise have died or stalled in the state Legislature. Ultimately, taxing soda drinkers is ineffective, regressive and, most importantly, discriminatory. Tax proposals nevertheless trigger lobbying and campaign contributions by special interests, which is why politicians benefit even if consumers and producers do not. (Josh Smith and William F. Shughart II, 3/3)
The Press Democrat:
Close To Home: A Preventable Disease That Is Largely Ignored
In the past month, our community has tragically lost two high-profile people to suicide; first, Raymond Burnside, a young Afghanistan and Iraq war veteran who served his country as a medic yet never received the treatment he needed for his post-traumatic stress disorder. The other person was someone I had the opportunity to work with at the county on highly emotional and tragic legal cases. Steve Mitchell, was a brilliant attorney and no doubt a highly sensitive human being who took his work to heart. (Shirlee Zane, 3/2)
Los Angeles Times:
How To Raise Happy, Healthy Transgender Kids
The dominant narrative is that transgender people's lives are characterized by trauma, victimization, mental health problems and unhappiness. This grows out of sobering statistics: Transgender teens and adults suffer high rates of depression, homelessness and substance abuse. Underscoring these statistics are the devastating stories of suicides by teens Leelah Alcorn in Ohio in 2014 and Skylar Lee in Wisconsin last fall. Media reports suggest they both struggled to gain parental acceptance of their identities. But there are more hopeful stories, and we have seen them first-hand. Our TransYouth Project is the first large-scale, longitudinal study of American transgender children, and we're finding that there is a group of silly, friendly, thoughtful and all-around quite average children who also happen to be transgender. (Kristina R. Olson and Katie A. McLaughlin, 2/26)
The Desert Sun:
Why Addiction Is Referred To As A Disease
Why is addiction referred to as a disease? That just doesn’t make sense. How can we call what looks like, from an outside perspective, an intentional action – drinking, taking illegal drugs, or misusing mood-altering prescription drugs such as Valium or Percocet – a disease? It is true that taking drugs for the first time is almost always a choice – or even designed to address a health problem, as with the use of prescription pain pills. However, for about 10 percent of the population, using alcohol or other drugs can, over time, cease to be a matter of choice. It becomes an addiction – and addiction is a disease like any other. (Harry Haroutunian, 3/2)
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
Heart Health Advice Just The Start
If one believes the dietary advice heart patients are being given, the road to improving heart health is clear. Increase the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables, along with seafood and other non-red meats. Reduce consumption of processed foods. Change your diet to reduce saturated fat, reduce cholesterol intake and cut down on salt. While most of that dietary advice is sound, some important parts -- the ones listed in the last sentence -- have been called into serious question by recent research. (Bradley J. Fikes, 3/2)