Viewpoints: The No-Brainer Way To Save Medi-Cal Money
A selection of opinions on health care developments from around the state.
Los Angeles Times:
The Great Medi-Cal Paper Waste
Remember the telephone book? That giant, multi-thousand-page behemoth that used to land on your doorstep once a year? Well, neither do we, barely. The heyday of the phone book is long gone, and yet communications with friends and businesses is easier than it’s ever been before. Can it be that California officials haven’t noticed that? A new federal rule that took effect in July allows health insurance plans to stop automatically printing and mailing lengthy Medi-Cal provider directories, some of which are the size of phone books, to all new enrollees and make the information available digitally. Anyone without online access or who preferred having a hard copy could still request one. (9/12)
Los Angeles Times:
Making Sense Of Covered California And Medicare During Open Enrollment
It’s that time of year when we all have to start thinking about health insurance plans and options. Not only do I need to figure out if my current plan will be offered again next year, and with what changes, but my husband is over 65, so I also have to research the latest Medicare plans as well. As a columnist, research is my thing, but this insurance stuff makes my head spin. (Barbara Venezia, 9/13)
Sacramento Bee/Bloomberg:
Is This The Bedside Miracle That Health Reform Needs?
Health-care reform is like one of those ill people in a Victorian novel. They are pronounced close to death, with no possibility of a cure and then they linger on for hundreds of pages of breathless plotting, while the reader wonders: “Is this it? Could they possibly live after all that suffering?” (Megan McArdle, 9/13)
Los Angeles Times:
A Legal Spat Between Pharmaceutical Companies Defines What's Wrong With Our Drug Regulations
Lawsuits in the pharmaceutical industry are as common as TV ads promoting wonder drugs, never mind the horrific side effects relegated to a breathless, fast-talking voice over at the end. Typically, however, the plaintiffs in these lawsuits accuse the defendants of patent infringement. (The defendants typically strike back by claiming the patents should never have been issued in the first place.) (Michael Hiltzik, 9/12)
Sacramento Bee:
One Lesson From Hurricanes: Better Evacuations
As Hurricane Irma churned toward Florida, I was talking last week with a Californian who has multiple relatives in southwestern Florida. But a couple of the man’s grown sons hadn’t evacuated. Why not? “Well, the kids are in school.” (Karin Klein, 9/12)
Orange County Register:
Leadership Needed On Riverbed Homeless
The explosion of homelessness on the Santa Ana River Trail — a responsibility of the County of Orange by agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers — is a disgrace, and nothing short of a complete failure of leadership by the sheriff and whoever is running day-to-day operations.A responsible leader would simply say, “The Santa Ana River Trail is the responsibility of the county. As the primary law enforcement agency responsible for the county, from this day forward, we will be taking responsibility for this asset from fence line to fence line.” (David Harrington, 9/10)
Orange County Register:
A Plan For Housing And Public Safety
Anaheim residents, businesses, visitors and those across Southern California are watching an escalating homeless crisis dramatically affect neighborhoods, parks and other public recreation areas. Elected officials and county and city staff are hearing from residents and advocates alike from all over the region. And those voices are growing louder. (Kris Murray, 9/10)
Los Angeles Times:
Prostate Cancer: Patience And Prevention
For more than a decade, we’ve known that prostate cancer is over-diagnosed and over-treated, putting men at risk of incontinence and sexual dysfunction to remove what might have been a slow-growing, non-lethal cancer. When active surveillance of prostate cancer was first proposed over a decade ago, men weren’t racing to be the first to try it. Active surveillance is the careful monitoring of cancer for signs of progression. Unlike lung, breast and colon cancer, there are indolent forms of prostate cancer that do not require surgery or radiation. (Jeffrey Yoshida, 9/13)
Orange County Register:
Let Legal Marijuana Put The Black Market Out Of Business
Santa Ana is apparently done playing marijuana whack-a-mole with illegally operating dispensaries, as its strong-arm policing has failed to dislodge the last few operators, while also causing some embarrassment to the city. “Based on nuisance conditions, city council members have authorized the filing and prosecution of receivership actions against four owners of illegal marijuana dispensaries — including a shop subject to a controversial raid — as a first step toward permanently shutting them down,” the Register reported. (9/14)
Sacramento Bee:
California Not Ready For Health Impact Of Legal Cannabis
California’s next public health crisis is four months away. On Jan. 1, 2018, thanks to the passage last year of Proposition 64, the 24 million adults who live in the Golden State will be able to legally consume recreational marijuana – a massive market compared with the 1.5 million or so current users of medical marijuana in California. And though that may sound like one big party waiting to happen, buyer beware. (Brad Rowe, 9/13)
Modesto Bee:
Dementia In Ex-Athletes Shows Game Must Change
Football isn’t the only game with problems, but it’s the one we Americans love most. As a collision sport, football is inherently more dangerous than most, but any contact sport may result in brain traumas. (Gerald Haslam, 9/15)