Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Government-Funded Day Care Helps Keep Seniors Out Of Nursing Homes And Hospitals
The aptly named Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly provides services funded by Medicaid and Medicare that range from medical and mental health care to hot lunches, recreation, transportation and haircuts. California’s newest PACE center opened recently in San Diego County. (Lori Basheda, )
Good morning! Health care took more of a back seat in the final Democratic presidential debate that was hosted in Los Angeles, but the topic did have its moments. Read more on that below, but first here are some of your top California health stories of the day.
PG&E Defended Its Power Shut-Offs By Saying Trial Runs Went Smoothly. They Didn’t, Investigation Finds: An Associated Press review shows widespread problems with the four “public safety power shutoffs” PG&E started rolling out in 2018, a year before massive blackouts paralyzed much of California in recent months. Interviews and documents obtained under public records requests reveal persistent failures and broken promises that in some cases compromised public safety. Even as PG&E assured regulators it was fixing the problems, the utility kept making many of the same mistakes, further undermining trust after its outdated equipment and negligence has been blamed for fires that killed nearly 130 people during 2017 and 2018. Read more from Justin Pritchard and Michael Liedtke of The Associated Press.
San Francisco Actually Has Fewer Homeless People Now Than It Did In 2004: Over the past 15 years, the city has housed 27,000 homeless people, many of them the chronically troubled type who had been on the streets more than a year. San Francisco has doubled what it spends directly on homelessness — to more than $300 million — launched innovations, including the counseling-intensive shelter system called Navigations Centers, and created the city's first unified Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. In that time, the overall homeless population, according to one-night counts done every two years, has fallen from 8,640 in 2004 to 8,011 in 2019. So although the count has been inching up over the past several years, it’s still not what it was. Read more from Kevin Fagan of The 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
Capital Public Radio:
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg Urging A Government Mandate To Shelter Homeless Residents
Earlier this week, the United States Supreme Court declined to take up a case from Boise, Idaho. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled that Boise could not ticket homeless residents for sleeping outdoors when no other shelter was available. In response to the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear the case — and following Insight’s “Homeless for the Holidays” program on Tuesday — Steinberg sought to clarify comments he had made. (Ruyak, 12/19)
Sacramento Bee:
Report Recommends CA Change Marijuana Tax Structure
Should that marijuana joint cost more because it is higher in THC content? That’s the argument put forth in a new report by the California Legislative Analyst’s Office. Currently, the state taxes cannabis at two points in the production cycle; cannabis is taxed by weight after it is harvested, and then taxed again as an excise tax at the retail level. The state is set to increase cannabis taxes at both levels on Jan. 1, 2020. (Sheeler, 12/20)
The Associated Press:
Californians Can Now Verify Legal Cannabis Shops Using QR Codes
California marijuana users can now turn to their smartphones to find out whether a dispensary is legit. The Bureau of Cannabis Control on Thursday announced a program encouraging licensed cannabis retailers to post QR codes in their store windows. The checkerboard codes can be scanned by a cellphone camera linking the reader to the bureau’s online license system. (12/19)
The New York Times:
Democratic Candidates Go On The Attack, And Buttigieg Is The Target
Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., was repeatedly pushed onto the defensive in the sixth Democratic presidential debate on Thursday night, as several of his rivals challenged his political ascent by bluntly questioning his fund-raising practices and credentials for the presidency in a contentious and deeply substantive forum. Mr. Buttigieg has risen rapidly in the polls in Iowa and New Hampshire in recent months, after his persistent attacks on Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and her support for single-payer health care. (Glueck and Burns, 12/19)
The Washington Post:
Democrats Spar Over How To Combat Trump, A Roaring Economy And Impeachment
A pointed and personal clash over the corrupting influence of wealthy campaign donors dominated the Democratic presidential debate Thursday, as Sen. Elizabeth Warren and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg tangled over each other's ability to govern with integrity. The confrontation, which ignited after weeks of simmering disagreements between the two, provided the biggest fireworks in a night filled with elevated voices, waving arms and some of the most aggressive exchanges of any of the debates this year. (Viser, Scherer and Wang, 12/20)
The Hill:
Sanders, Biden Spar Over Medicare For All
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Vice President Joe Biden sparred over the Vermont senator’s signature "Medicare for All" proposal on Thursday night, highlighting a major rift in the presidential race. “I don’t think it is realistic,” Biden said of Sanders’s Medicare for All proposal during the Democratic debate. He pointed to its roughly $30 trillion cost over 10 years, also saying others have said it is closer to $20 trillion, a jab at Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who also backs the idea, but with a somewhat lower price tag. (Sullivan, 12/19)
Los Angeles Times:
Democratic Debate: How Sanders, Warren And Biden Performed
“Put your hand down for a second,” Biden teased Sanders, as the Vermont senator waved to the moderators to get a chance to respond. “Joe’s plan” would “maintain the status quo,” Sanders said, rattling off details about how much American workers currently pay for private health insurance. “I’m going to interrupt now,” Biden replied. “It’s going to cost $30 trillion over 10 years.” He called Sanders’ cost estimates “preposterous.” “At least before he was honest about it!” (Mason and Pearce, 12/19)
Politico:
The 5 Most Brutal Onstage Brawls From The Sixth Democratic Debate
Sanders, turning and pointing directly at Biden, retorted: “You asked me how we are going to pay for [the plan]? … Under Medicare for All, that family will be paying $1,200 a year because we're eliminating the profiteering of the drug companies and the insurance companies and ending this byzantine and complex administration of thousands of separate health care plans.” Raising his voice above the moderators, Biden yelled, “I’m the only guy who hasn’t interrupted. I’m going to interrupt now.” The exchange then escalated to the point that Klobuchar, who was called on next to speak, jumped in saying, “Whoa, guys, hey!" Klobuchar dismissed both Sanders’ and Biden’s arguments, saying bluntly, “This fight that you guys are having isn't real. Your fight, Bernie, is not with me or with Vice President Biden. It is with all those bunch of those new House members.”’ (Bice, Cammarata and Weaver, 12/20)
The New York Times:
6 Takeaways From The December Democratic Debate
Ms. Klobuchar couched a disagreement with the Sanders single-payer health care proposal by saying that as president, she’d work to enact his legislation cracking down on the pharmaceutical companies. And Mr. Biden offered no real retort when Mr. Sanders brought up the former Delaware senator’s vote to authorize the Iraq war. The only people onstage who challenged Mr. Sanders were the moderators, by pushing him on questions about race, transgender rights, whether a woman should be president and if his health care proposal is realistic. (Epstein and Goldmacher, 12/19)
Los Angeles Times:
Democratic Presidential Candidates Get Testy Over 'Medicare For All'
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren pitched her own plan to move Americans to a Medicare-for-all system, which includes transitional steps under which she vowed millions would be covered but private insurance would not immediately be eliminated. An opponent of Medicare for all, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, pointed out that the vitriol with which the Democratic candidates are attacking each other on healthcare could ultimately harm efforts to get more Americans covered. She noted that there is limited appetite in Congress, including among Democrats, for the plan Sanders champions. (Halper, 12/19)
The Washington Post:
Transcript: The December Democratic Debate
Democratic presidential candidates met for the final debate of 2019 Thursday in Los Angeles. Below is a transcript of what they said. (12/20)
The New York Times:
3 Legal Experts On What The Obamacare Ruling Really Means
Ever since Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas ruled a year ago that the Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional, the country has been waiting for the next arbiter — a federal appeals court — to weigh in on the fate of the landmark health law. On Wednesday, that ruling finally came. But it offered little clarity. The judges from the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in a 2-1 decision, ruled that one key element of the law — the mandate requiring people to have insurance — was unconstitutional. But they sent the rest of the case back to Judge O’Connor for what the dissenting judge called a “do-over,” asking him to give it another think on the question of whether other parts of the law should be struck down too. (Hoffman, 12/19)
Reuters:
U.S. Congress Approves Massive Funding Bills To Avert Government Shutdowns
The U.S. Senate, rushing to meet a looming deadline, approved and sent to President Donald Trump a $1.4 trillion package of fiscal 2020 spending bills that would end prospects of government shutdowns at week's end when temporary funding expires. By strong bipartisan margins and with White House backing, the Senate passed the two gigantic funding bills for government programs through Sept. 30. (12/19)
The Wall Street Journal:
House Passes North American Trade Pact With Bipartisan Support
The House of Representatives approved President Trump’s amended North American trade pact on Thursday in an overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion, a rare instance of legislative cooperation in an era of intense political divisions. The House approved legislation to implement the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement, or USMCA, by a 385 to 41 vote, with 193 Democrats and 192 Republicans backing the pact. The Senate is expected to pass the legislation early next year, after which the president would sign it into law. (MAuldin and Andrews, 12/19)
The Wall Street Journal:
Indian Health Service Effort To Protect Patients From Abuse Needs Work, Report Says
The U.S. Indian Health Service’s latest effort to protect patients from abuse falls short, federal inspectors said in a report to be released Friday, despite a rush to overhaul policies this year following a sex-abuse scandal. The new policies are too narrow and haven’t been implemented at some facilities, according to the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the health care agency. (Frosch and Weaver, 12/20)
The Washington Post:
Senate Republicans Seek Probe Of Organ Transplant System
Members of the Senate Finance Committee Thursday requested an in-depth examination of the nation’s organ recovery and transplant system, raising questions about suspected financial fraud and criticizing the system for its “poor performance.” The request to the Office of the Inspector General comes one day after the Trump administration announced a sweeping proposal to boost the number of organs collected for transplant by dozens of underperforming organ collection agencies and increasing federal payments to living kidney donors. (Kindy and Bernstein, 12/19)
Los Angeles Times:
If You Want To Be President, You Must Address The Housing Crisis
There were times when all Blanca Ahumada could do was cry herself to sleep — her mind racing with anxiety over where her family would find a good night’s rest the next day. She’s a mother of seven kids, ranging from a 2-month-old to a 14-year-old son with autism. She lost her job in retail, and her husband only gets occasional work as a day laborer. After a while, their landlord raised the rent — and they simply couldn’t afford to pay it. (LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, 12/19)
The San Francisco Chronicle:
SF Supervisors Can’t Stop Voting Against Housing
Just in time for Christmas, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has reiterated its opposition to housing what Ebenezer Scrooge memorably called “the surplus population.” The supervisors, who intermittently govern a city suffering from a full-blown housing and homelessness crisis, took the time and legislative energy this week to pass yet another symbolic resolution against SB50, which would legalize multifamily housing near mass transit and job centers. (12/20)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Beloved SF Homelessness Nonprofit Scales Back As ‘Devastating’ Crisis Takes Toll
One of the most notable, beloved nonprofits serving San Francisco homeless people is scaling way back this week — largely because of how exhausting it is to serve a population that just keeps ballooning. Lava Mae, which has provided showers and toilets for homeless people in those familiar blue trailers, will wrap up service this week in the Bayview, Mission and Haight. It will retain just one weekly shift in the city: Tuesday mornings outside the Main Library. (Heather Knight, 12/17)
The Mercury News:
Governor, Legislature Slowing Mental Health Parity
The manner in which California treats its mentally ill is fiscally and morally irresponsible.The state Legislature is largely to blame.It’s been 11 years since Congress passed a law requiring that people suffering mental health issues have the same access to health care as those with other medical ailments. Nearly 1 in 6 California adults experience a mental illness of some kind, and 1 in 24 have a serious mental illness that makes it difficult to carry out major life activities. But two-thirds of adults and adolescents with major depressive episodes do not get treatment for their problems. (12/18)
Los Angeles Times:
I'm On Medicare And I Still Got A $25,000 Hospital Bill
On June 30, 1966, President Lyndon Johnson inaugurated the Medicare program with the promise that “nearly every older American will receive hospital care — not as an act of charity, but as the insured right of a senior citizen.” Medicare Part A was designed to provide that “insured right” to hospital care and is available without cost to every 65-year-old person who qualifies for Social Security. Unfortunately, Medicare Part A has a major gap in its coverage. (Andrew Taylor, 12/20)
Los Angeles Times:
Congress Ends Funding Drought For Gun Violence Research
Buried in the 2020 federal budget bills Congress approved this week is $25 million for gun safety research to be divided between the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The inclusion is less notable for the amount — $25 million is a drop in the bucket when it comes to research funding — than for the fact that Congress budgeted the money at all, ending more than two decades during which it mostly declined to spend research money on this crucial public health issue. (12/20)
The San Francisco Chronicle:
Trump’s Food Stamp Cuts Threaten Children’s Potential
As a pediatrician, I know that one of the most powerful tools for ensuring the health of my patients and of all our nation’s children is nutritious food. As such, school lunch in particular is vital, not only to their health but also to their learning capacity. The Trump administration has recently proposed changes to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. (Kim Newell Green, 12/17)
CalMatters:
California Must Stop Agriculture From Fouling Our Drinking Water
The San Jerardo housing cooperative in Salinas is home to 60 farm workers and their families. I am its general manager. The people in my housing cooperative breathe pesticides when neighboring fields are sprayed. When agricultural practices harm wildlife, we see the change in our backyards. The people of San Jerardo also have a stake in moving toward more sustainable agricultural practices. (Horacio Amezquita, 12/19)
The Mercury News:
Kids Walking To School In The Dark In California?
You still want daylight saving time year-round? California voters answered an emphatic “yes” last year. Well, look outside these chilly mornings about 7 o’clock. It’s practically still dark over much of California, especially in the north. But that’s fine. It’s winter solstice time. It’s what we’re used to.But what if we did have our way and it really was daylight saving time? It would be 8 a.m. and barely light in Southern California and still gloomily dark in San Francisco and Sacramento. (George Skelton, 12/19)
CalMatters:
Getty Fire Made Clear The Need To Prepare For Climate Change Disaster
My personal and professional lives collided in the middle of the night at the end of October when my neighbor pounded on our front door. Had we received the warnings of the growing Getty fire? We hadn’t. Our neighbor shouted that mandatory evacuations had been issued for much of our Pacific Palisades community in Los Angeles. (Robert Lempert, 12/18)
Sacramento Bee:
CA Labor Law AB 5 Hurts Contract Workers In Gig Economy
Vox Media announced it is cutting ties with about 200 California freelance writers because of AB5, the state’s new law governing independent contractors. Writers, independent truckers and freelance photographers have filed suit, saying the law will wreck their livelihoods. More court cases are anticipated. The supposedly benevolent law was intended to help the very people who are suing. (Karin Klein, 12/19)