Viewpoints: Right-To-Try Laws Are A ‘Cruel Sham’ Whose Real Goal Is To Weaken Drug Regulations
A selection of opinions on health care developments from around the state.
Los Angeles Times:
Right-To-Try Laws Are Hazardous To Your Health--And Now They're Backed By The Koch Brothers
Falling victim to a terminal disease is one of the ultimate human tragedies in its own terms. But congressional conservatives, egged on by libertarian ideologues and the Koch brothers, are working hard to burden these people with another layer of victimization in their last weeks or months of life. They're doing so by pushing what has aptly been termed "a cruel sham": a federal "right-to-try" law. State versions of such laws, which have been enacted in 38 states, purport to offer a last ounce of hope to the terminally ill, by allowing them to try drugs that have not fully been tested for safety and efficacy. (Michael Hiltzik, 1/22)
Sacramento Bee:
Think You’re Healthy? You’re Risking Death By Not Doing This
Every year, public health officials urge Americans to get a flu shot. And every year, millions of Americans come up with excuses not to do it. I never get sick. The vaccine isn’t 100 percent effective. Since lots of others are getting a shot, I’m protected so I don’t need it, too. While not exactly wise, these excuses could fly in other years. But not this flu season – and certainly not in California. (1/19)
Sacramento Bee:
Democrats Must Stand Up For Single-Payer Health Care
If the past year has taught us anything, it’s that too many voters have lost faith in key civic institutions such as the news media and political parties. If we are going to rebuild public trust, legislators need to become more partisan. You might be surprised to hear someone like me, who has spent most of his career with nonpartisan good government groups, advocating for more partisanship. But that’s precisely what America needs right now. (Derek Cressman, 1/25)
Los Angeles Times:
Republicans Fund Children's Health Insurance Program, But Leave Their Local Health Centers In The Lurch
Congressional Democrats and Republicans alike are congratulating themselves for finally passing new funding for the Childrens Health Insurance Program — and for another six years yet! The funding, which was part of the continuing resolution to end the three-day government shutdown, brought to a close the despicable failure to restore the authorization of CHIP, which ran out last Sept. 30. (Michael Hiltzik, 1/23)
Los Angeles Times:
Restricting Access To Abortion Makes Poor Women Poorer
On the 45th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, clinic abortion rates in the United States are plummeting, having decreased by an unprecedented 25% between 2008 and 2014. Some of this decline may be due to improvements in contraceptive use, but it is likely that the hundreds of state-level restrictions that have shuttered abortion clinics and increased the cost of getting an abortion have resulted in many women being unable to get one. (Diana Greene Foster, 1/22)
Los Angeles Times:
The Trump Administration Just Found Another Way To Deny Women Their Right To An Abortion
Doctors who don't want to assist with abortions, sterilizations or suicides can now turn to a new office within the federal Department of Health and Human Services for help — a "Conscience and Religious Freedom Division," part of the HHS office tasked with stopping discrimination and privacy violations by federally funded agencies, hospitals and universities. But what about people who need one of those procedures but can't find a doctor willing to help? That particular bit of fallout appears to have escaped HHS' notice. (Jon Healey, 1/19)
Los Angeles Times:
Anthem Expands Its Policy Of Punishing Patients For 'Inappropriate' ER Visits
Over the last few months, Anthem, the nation's biggest health insurer, has informed customers in several states that if they show up at the emergency room with a problem that later is deemed to have not been an emergency, their ER claim won't be paid. The policy has generated protests from numerous physician groups, including ER doctors, as well as pointed questions on Capitol Hill and among state regulators. So Anthem has taken the obvious next step: This year, it's rolling out the policy in three additional states. Prior to Jan. 1, the policy was in effect in Georgia, Missouri and Kentucky. This year, it's adding New Hampshire, Indiana and Ohio. More states may follow. (Michael Hiltzik, 1/24)
Los Angeles Times:
We're Underfunding Research On Vaccines That May Be Able To Prevent Another Terrible Flu Season
Seasonal influenza — the flu — sickens and kills many Americans in a good year, and this is already a bad one. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, since 2010, flu has annually caused "between 9.2 million and 35.6 million illnesses, between 140,000 and 710,000 hospitalizations and between 12,000 and 56,000 deaths." In this season, which began in November and won't end until March, hospital emergency rooms are overflowing, deaths are running ahead of recent years and pharmacies are low on the anti-flu drug Tamiflu and intravenous solutions needed to keep patients hydrated. (Henry I. Miller, 1/19)
Sacramento Bee:
It Takes Cash To Get Lead Out Of Schools
When will California make it a priority to protect our children from the toxic lead contamination in many schools’ water? From the looks of Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budget, this threat to students’ health and academic potential remains dangerously underfunded. I’ve spent my career working to protect low-income communities from environmental toxins, but I was still shocked to receive a notice that several schools in my children’s school district in Oakland tested positive for dangerous levels of lead, which is linked to reduced IQ and attention span, learning disabilities, impaired growth and numerous other risks. Since then, districtwide testing has revealed that 20 schools and counting have water sources that exceed federal safety limits, often due to lead pipes or faucets. (Chione Flegal, 1/24)
Sacramento Bee:
California: Don’t Punish All Home-Schoolers For One Abuse Case
Like the editorial board of The Sacramento Bee and the rest of the world, we at Home School Legal Defense Association are horrified and outraged by the events reported out of Riverside County. We love home schooling and believe it is an excellent educational and lifestyle choice for millions of families and children. So we are especially grieved when this freedom we love is exploited for evil. (James R. Mason, 1/24)
San Jose Mercury News:
Poisoning Oakland Kids With Lead No Budget Solution
Since the school year began, 45 Oakland schools and day care centers have had at least one water tap where lead has been found in the water. That’s a problem because there is no safe level of lead for kids. (Emily Rusch and Vicki Alexander, 1/24)
Los Angeles Times:
Fearing A Rebuff In Court, Lead Paint Companies Are Trying To Stick Taxpayers With Their Cleanup Bill
Three big paint companies must be terrified that they are going to be thrown for a big loss by the California Supreme Court — a loss worth hundreds of millions of dollars to them. We know this because the companies are spending millions to push a ballot measure that would nullify, as though by the back door, the judgment being considered by the court. You wouldn't know it by reading the text of the proposed initiative; you have to read between the lines. To grasp the true intent of the measure, you'd have to know that in 2014, in a lawsuit brought by 10 California cities and counties, a state judge ordered the three former manufacturers of lead paint — Conagra, NL Industries and Sherwin-Williams — to spend $1.15 billion to abate the dangers from that paint still in California homes. (Michael Hiltzik, 1/18)