Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Some Rejoice Over New California Health Insurance Subsidies. Others Get Shut Out.
There’s something new in this year’s Covered California open-enrollment period: Consumers are learning whether they will qualify for new state-funded financial aid. The results are mixed, with some scoring hundreds of dollars per month and others nothing. (Ana B. Ibarra, )
Good morning! Here are some of your top California health stories for the day.
California Lawmakers Tout House Passage Of Sweeping Drug Legislation: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s proposal to lower drug prices passed the House Thursday on mostly party lines, 230-192, and it is considered unlikely to pass the Republican-led Senate. “If you think about this, this is the most transformational expansion of Medicare since its creation,” said Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, who helped usher the bill through committee. “This is something that is a North Star for Democrats. This is our moment, and this is what we want to do.” The bill could affect the millions of Californians who have diabetes, asthma, arthritis and other diseases that require drug treatment. “This comes down to the promises we made in the election. What I hear again and again as the No. 1 issue, across the Central Valley, is the cost of health care,” said Rep. Josh Harder, D-Turlock. “One woman told me she had to buy medication for her dog and use it for herself because it was cheaper.” Read more from Kate Irby of the Sacramento Bee.
Covered California Sign-Ups Buck National Trend, Jump 16% From Last Year: More than 130,000 people have purchased health insurance through California's state-run marketplace for the first time, a 16% increase from last year now that the state is offering more money to help people pay their monthly premiums and will begin taxing people next year who refuse to buy insurance. The federal government helps some people who purchase their health insurance on these marketplaces, but California offers additional help. For people who earn up to 400% of the federal poverty level, the state will chip in an extra $21 per month for payment of monthly premiums. So far, that's about 460,000 people. And this year, California became the first state in the country to give premium assistance to households earning up to 600% of the federal poverty level. Read more from The Associated Press.
Past California Healthline coverage: Californians Without Health Insurance Will Pay A Penalty — Or Not
Kaiser Mental Health Workers To Kick-Off Delayed Strike On Monday: Around 4,000 unionized therapists, psychologists, social workers and other employees will form picket lines starting at 6 a.m. Monday outside Kaiser locations in the state. The action had been postponed for a month following the death of CEO Bernard Tyson. The workers are asking Kaiser to “fix its broken mental health system” that, they say, leaves patients waiting for months to see people who can help them. Employees say that while Kaiser has worked to bring in first-time patients, it takes a long time to get a follow-up appointment. Read more from Shwanika Narayan of San Francisco Chronicle.
Below, check out the full round-up of California Healthline original stories, state coverage and the best of the rest of the national news for the day.
More News From Across The State
Ventura County Star:
Flavored Vaping Products Banned In Much Of Ventura County
Sales of flavored vaping products were banned in unincorporated areas of Ventura County in the same week they were outlawed in Ventura. The Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday passed a prohibition affecting about four dozen stores from El Rio to Oak Park after a heated hearing at the Ventura County Government Center in Ventura. The ban in unincorporated areas applies to vaping products with the flavors of fruit and candy that youths favor, county officials said. Tobacco-flavored vaping products, which are used by some adults to kick their cigarette habits, were exempted. (Wilson, 12/12)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Clinica Sierra Vista Wants To Save Lives By Weaning Addicts Off Of Opioids
For years, the cluster of communities that make up the Kern River Valley have suffered from a lack of opioid treatment programs, and its 2016 opioid death rate of 65 per 100,000 residents radically outpaced Kern County’s overall rate that year of 5.7 per 100,000. Now it appears positive change is coming. Clinica Sierra Vista, a nonprofit that provides healthcare services to rural populations regardless of income, announced Thursday it has begun offering opioid addiction treatment at two of its Kern County clinics, including Kern Valley Health Center in Lake Isabella and the Baker Street Village Community Health Center in east Bakersfield. (Mayer, 12/12)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Drug Treatment Admissions Dropping In SF Even As Overdoses Spike. Here’s Why
Admissions to addiction treatment programs in San Francisco have dropped by 20% over the past five years, even as drug use and overdose deaths have exploded, according to public health data published this week. Combined with recent reports of treatment center vacancies — on some nights, 1 in 4 beds is empty in San Francisco’s residential treatment facilities — the admissions data suggest that certain addiction programs are being underutilized at a time when the city is in a drug use crisis, some public health and elected officials say. (Allday, 12/12)
KPBS:
SDSU Student Contracts Mumps, County Sees Spike In Disease
There is a spike in the number of mumps cases in San Diego and a San Diego State University student was the latest person to contract the disease. The university’s medical director sent out an announcement Thursday saying there was a confirmed case but did not provide specifics because of medical privacy law. (Nguyen, 12/12)
Modesto Bee:
Study: Hotter Temperatures Could Mean Shorter Pregnancies
A new study that rising temperatures brought on by climate change could be shortening pregnancies by as many as two weeks suggests worrisome implications for babies’ health and children’s later development. The study by University of California, Los Angeles, found that births on hot days 90 degrees and higher were happening much earlier than expected – as many as 14 days sooner. Pregnancies generally last 40 weeks. (Smith, 12/13)
Modesto Bee:
Inmate Homicide Suspected At California State Prison
California State Prison, Sacramento officials are investigating the suspected homicide of an inmate Thursday morning, marking the second deadly attack in three weeks there. Luis Giovanny Aguilar was in a prison day room when two other inmates, Anthony Rodriguez and Cody Taylor, allegedly attacked him, according to a statement from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. (Sheeler, 12/12)
Capital Public Radio:
Sacramento Family Justice Center Serves Many In Need
The Sacramento Family Justice Center offers legal counseling, a safe space and rides to victims of domestic abuse, elder abuse, human trafficking, sexual assault and child abuse. Having one place where many services are available can alleviate some of the stress people experience in these situations. (Ruyak, 12/12)
San Francisco Chronicle:
UCSF Donors’ Experience With Memory Loss Inspires Funding Of New Clinic
A collaborative clinic at UCSF next year will begin welcoming patients seeking answers to complex medical mysteries of the brain. The Jan and Maria Manetti Shrem Neurology Clinic, named for its donors, was inspired in part by the philanthropic San Francisco couple’s own experience with memory loss. (Bauman, 12/12)
Los Angeles Times:
The Supreme Court May Restore Health Insurer 'Bailout'
Republicans have never had the votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and their futile efforts to “defund Obamacare” in 2013 — which they also did not have the votes to do — led to a pointless government shutdown. (I would have described the shutdown as “lengthy,” but President Trump has set a new standard for that word when it comes to pointless government shutdowns.) All they did manage to do was deny funding for a couple of pieces of the act, making stooges out of U.S. health insurers in the process. But the insurers may have the last laugh; at oral arguments before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, most of the justices pushed back against the idea that Congress could pass a law requiring the federal government to reimburse insurers for certain expenses, then fail to provide the money to do so. (Jon Healy, 12/11)
Los Angeles Times:
The California Stem Cell Program Wants Too Much Money
An initiative aimed for the November 2020 ballot would renew the program with a new bond issue of $5.5 billion. The measure could have represented an opportunity not merely to extend the program for another 10 years, but to correct shortcomings created by Proposition 71, some of which persist to this day. (Michael Hiltzik, 12/8)
CalMatters:
In California, Medical Care Means Big Money — And Big Politics
Ask Californians to identify the largest single component of the state’s $2.6 trillion economy, fifth largest in the world, and chances are they will reply with high technology, agriculture, motion pictures or even tourism. Only rarely will they name medical care. However, over the last half-century, as California’s economy transitioned from long-dominant natural resource and industrial sectors into services and technology, taking care of Californians’ health has become — by far — the state’s single largest economic activity. (Dan Walters, 12/12)
The San Francisco Chronicle:
California Is Ground Zero Of The Vaping Epidemic
As a surgeon, I have witnessed the all-too-real but often hidden costs of smoking to our health care system, and it is not pretty. I have seen wound infections, failed operations, re-intubations, prolonged hospital stays and readmissions. We are witnessing history repeat itself from the added health care burden and deadly toll brought about by electronic cigarettes. (John Maa, 12/13)
The Mercury News:
Bay Area Cities Should Get Behind Vaping Ban
Federal and state inaction on the risk of vaping is unacceptable. The national death toll from e-cigarette use is at 48 and climbing. Four Californians have died of respiratory illnesses connected to vaping. An additional 2,291 people across the country, including 161 Californians, have been hospitalized for severe breathing problems and lung damage related to e-cigarette use this year. (12/10)
Los Angeles Times:
The House Takes A Much-Needed Swipe At Lowering Your Drug Prices
Although lawmakers and President Trump have talked a good game about bringing down prescription drug prices, they’ve managed to take few, if any, steps toward that goal. Trump’s most dramatic proposals — tying the price of certain Medicare drugs to their prices overseas and barring payments from drug manufacturers to middlemen — have either been dropped or held up by internal bickering. And a Senate committee’s proposal to rein in drug price hikes, which garnered a rare degree of bipartisan support, has been stalled by opposition from Republican senators. (12/13)
Los Angeles Times:
'Playable' Ads Raise New Concerns Over Childrens' Online Privacy
A coalition of nearly three dozen consumer and medical groups submitted a letter to the Federal Trade Commission last week calling for a review of how companies are marketing to children and tracking them online. They also want more transparency about what information is being collected and how it’s being stored. (David Lazarus, 12/9)
The Mercury News:
Hunger Is A Hidden Consequence Of Housing Crisis
I find the holidays particularly hard because they sharpen the contrast between how easy it is for me to acquire the food I need for my family, and how impossible it is for some of our neighbors. Hunger is a hidden consequence of the housing crisis in Silicon Valley. We all know the lack of affordable housing is pushing people onto the streets – homelessness has increased 31% in the last two years in Santa Clara County alone. We see the proliferation of RVs parked along city streets and tents tucked away under bridges. But hunger is an often invisible problem that the rising cost of living has created. As rents spiral out of control, families are forced to sacrifice nutritious food to pay for housing and other basic necessities. (Leslie Bacho, 12/12)
CalMatters:
How California Can Wake From The Wildfire-Blackout Nightmare
The wildfires and blackouts that have blighted our state are causing many Californians to question utility motivations, the effectiveness of regulators to protect citizens’ interests, and, ironically, the clean energy and grid investments that mitigate wildfire risk and improve electricity system reliability. To break the cycle of wildfires, blackouts, and electricity rate hikes, we need determined leadership by Gov. Gavin Newsom and help from an industry that California uniquely has at its disposal. (Kreamer and Ferron, 12/10)
The San Francisco Chronicle:
California Trapped In Half-Measures On Homeless, Cannabis, Sentencing Reform
California is stuck in the gray zone.“Gray zone” is a military term for the space between peace and war, a time and place that provides opportunities for the well-armed while posing dangers for citizens caught in the middle. In California today, I think the phrase explains the perilous condition of our communities as the state pursues major changes in how we regulate drugs, respond to homelessness and sentence criminals. (Joe Mathews, 12/8)
Los Angeles Times:
Disney Makes It Too Hard For Disabled To Access Rides
As a wheelchair user, I love roller coasters. They give me the freedom that I imagine the able-bodied world takes for granted. When I’m flying through Space Mountain in Disney’s Tomorrowland, I feel liberated. The adrenaline has both a physiological and psychological effect on me. It gives me a respite from the spasticity in my right arm that accompanies my cerebral palsy. And it makes me feel like I am invincible. (Mintz, 12/13)
The New York Times:
Federal Watchdog Questions Billions Of Dollars Paid To Private Medicare Plans
A government report released Thursday found health insurance companies had combed through patient charts to obtain billions of dollars of additional payments from the federal Medicare program. The report, from the federal inspector general’s office, examined payments billed by insurers for those covered by private Medicare Advantage plans, which are increasingly popular and heavily promoted by the Trump administration. The findings showed that insurers were adding on conditions like diabetes and even cancer, reporting that patients were sicker, to receive higher payments from Medicare. (Abelson, 12/12)
The Associated Press:
Senate OKs Trump's FDA Nominee Despite Unclear Vaping Agenda
The Senate on Thursday confirmed Dr. Stephen Hahn to lead the Food and Drug Administration despite concerns about how he will confront the growing problem of underage vaping. Hahn, a cancer specialist and hospital executive, won confirmation to the role of FDA commissioner with a vote of 72-18. The move comes as key decisions about regulating electronic cigarettes, including how to keep them away from teenagers, remain unresolved. (12/12)
The Wall Street Journal:
Slow VA Payments Left Veterans Facing Collection Agencies
A whistleblower at the Department of Veterans Affairs spurred an investigation that found hundreds of millions of dollars in improper travel claims and a deeply flawed system used when veterans seek care outside the VA, according to an internal VA investigation made public Thursday by the Office of Special Counsel. The top federal whistleblower-protection agency, which ordered the VA to conduct the investigation after reviewing the whistleblower’s allegations, called the hundreds of millions spent on improper travel claims a “gross waste of funds” and expressed concern that the VA has known since 2014 that veterans are being sent to collection agencies because of problems with the system used by the administration to pay private doctors. (Kesling, 12/13)
The Wall Street Journal:
FCC Approves Making ‘988’ A National Suicide-Prevention Hotline Number
Americans would be able to dial 988 to reach a suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline under a proposal approved Thursday by the Federal Communications Commission. The new three-digit dialing code is designed to be an easier-to-remember version of an existing toll-free number, 1-800-273-TALK, known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Dialing 988 would connect callers to the lifeline, which routes calls to a nearby crisis center run by an organization designated to answer the call. (Tracy, 12/12)
The Wall Street Journal:
DOJ Charges 10 Ex-NFL Players With Health Care Fraud
The federal government charged 10 former National Football League players on Thursday with participating in a scheme that stole $3.4 million from an NFL health care fund for retired players. The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday announced charges against Robert McCune and nine other ex-players, including Clinton Portis and Correll Buckhalter, for two conspiracies that were linked to the same scheme to defraud the plan. The agency also said it also intends to charge Joe Horn and one other player. (Radnofsky and Gurman, 12/12)