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California Healthline Original Stories
Beyond Beltway's 'Medicare-For-All' Talk, Democrats In States Push New Health Laws
As calls for "Medicare-for-all" grow louder among Democrats in Congress, Democratic governors and mayors have been pushing ahead with urgency to corral medical costs and bring health care to those who remain uninsured. (Sarah Varney, )
Good morning! The Trump administration has broken off negotiations with California over limits on greenhouse gas emissions from cars as tensions between President Donald Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom continue to ramp up. More on the health implication of that below, but first, here are some of your top California stories for the day.
Dignity Health To Donate More Than $1M Toward Improving Community Health Outside Hospital Walls: The programs receiving funding from Dignity Health include ones geared toward helping at risk children, survivors of human trafficking, people living with mental illnesses, and ethnic groups with high rates of chronic disease. Dignity does a needs assessment every three years in each county to determine priorities for giving, and it is working with a consultant now to do the latest assessment. “If we are able to empower and educate our community and help our community at the front end, they will not be affected by some of the ailments downstream,” said Liza Kirkland, manager of community health and outreach at Dignity. “We’re really trying to take a more upstream approach to health and a more holistic approach to health.” Check out a list of the recipients and read more from the Sacramento Bee and The Delano Record.
Inmates Will No Longer Have To Make Copays, Which Were Deemed To Have ‘Minimal Fiscal Benefit’: The co-payments were just $5 and were only charged when an inmate sought out medical treatment that was not related to mental health services. For many inmates only making pennies per hour, though, it served as enough of an obstacle that it deterred someone from getting the care they need. While an internal review found that the state collected $460,000 in copayments from over 220,000 medical and dental visits in the previous fiscal year, that doesn’t account from the savings that come from early intervention and treatment, experts say. Read more in the Sacramento Bee.
‘Operation Hypocritical Oath’ Targeted Dozens Of Health Care Professionals Across California For Suspicious Opioid Prescription Practices: As a result of the yearlong investigation, prosecutors filed charges against nine people, including four doctors. More than two dozen people identified by authorities as drug dealers were also arrested, while about 30 medical professionals lost the right to prescribe drugs. Among those arrested was Reza Ray Ehsan, 60, a Bel Air doctor who was taken into custody Thursday morning on charges alleging he unlawfully sold prescription drugs to an agent posing as a patient and Michael Anthony Simental, 47, a Kaiser Permanente doctor who came under scrutiny after one of his patients died of a drug overdose. Read more from Los Angeles Times about the operation.
True Cost Of Health Benefits For Los Angeles Employees Hidden By Duplicated Figures: Although there’s a state law that requires public agencies to report actual employee compensation, including benefits, to the state controller annually, Los Angeles appears to be using duplicated figures across all the employees in the separate departments. “Using averages contradicts the intent of the database — to enhance government transparency and provide a better understanding of how taxpayer dollars are spent,” said Taryn Kinney, a spokeswoman for the State Controller’s Office. Read more from the Orange County Register.
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
San Francisco Chronicle:
SF Supervisors Ask City’s General Hospital Why Its Bills Are So Big
Flabbergasted by recent reports of San Francisco General Hospital sending huge bills to some privately insured patients, a Board of Supervisors committee held a hearing Thursday to determine how the city can treat insured patients more fairly. The Department of Public Health is working on ways it can add more transparency to its billing practices and presented some of those findings to the Government Audit and Oversight Committee. (Thadani, 2/21)
Voice of San Diego:
New State Law Is Forcing San Diego To Grapple With Its Lack Of Recovery Options For Homeless Patients
Senate Bill 1152, signed into law by then-Gov. Jerry Brown last fall, requires hospitals statewide to establish plans for discharging homeless patients and to get a handle on resources that might keep them from returning to the street. Regional leaders have publicly called for more so-called recuperative care beds to aid homeless San Diegans recovering from surgeries, strokes and other health issues. (Halverstadt, 2/21)
Capital Public Radio:
'Uncovered California' Collaboration Looks At Who Still Lacks Access To Health Insurance
This year could be a major turning point in answering that question for policymakers. Gov. Gavin Newsom has made expanding access through MediCal coverage and expanding premium subsidies for families a priority. California’s fiscal strength creates a unique opportunity to address access to health insurance and primary care for more residents. (Ruyak, 2/21)
Sacramento Bee:
Trump Administration: No More Talks With CA On Carbon, Cars
The Trump administration Thursday broke off negotiations with California over limits on greenhouse gas emissions from cars, blaming state officials for failing to offer “a productive alternative” to the White House’s plans. The decision, which has been looming for months, intensifies the rift between California and the Trump administration over climate change and carbon emissions. (Kasler, 2/21)
Ventura County Star:
Kaiser Executive Headed To New Job At County Health Care Agency
A veteran executive with Kaiser Permanente has been hired as chief financial officer of the Ventura County Health Care Agency after a national search, officials said Tuesday. Karla Valle is due to start her job March 4 at the agency that operates on a budget of more than $800 million. She will be paid about $310,000 a year, Health Care Agency Director Bill Foley said. Valle, who lives in Stevenson Ranch, is the first person Foley has hired since taking over as agency director a month ago. He was impressed by her knowledge, experience and energy, he said. (Wilson, 2/21)
The Daily Pilot:
Challenge Success Helps O.C. Schools Monitor Students’ Mental Wellness
For the last several years the Newport-Mesa Unified School District has been steadily working to address the growing incidence of depression, anxiety, suicide and other mental health challenges among its students. Several districtwide training sessions were mandatory for teachers and staff and optional for parents. The elementary staff completed the avatar-based Kognito program, which teaches motivational interviewing to intervene in social and emotional concerns. Signs featuring suicide hotline numbers were posted in bathrooms. (Pearlman, 2/21)
ProPublica/Stat:
Sackler Embraced Plan to Conceal OxyContin’s Strength From Doctors, Sealed Testimony Shows
In May 1997, the year after Purdue Pharma launched OxyContin, its head of sales and marketing sought input on a key decision from Dr. Richard Sackler, a member of the billionaire family that founded and controls the company. Michael Friedman told Sackler that he didn’t want to correct the false impression among doctors that OxyContin was weaker than morphine, because the myth was boosting prescriptions — and sales. “It would be extremely dangerous at this early stage in the life of the product,” Friedman wrote to Sackler, “to make physicians think the drug is stronger or equal to morphine….We are well aware of the view held by many physicians that oxycodone [the active ingredient in OxyContin] is weaker than morphine. I do not plan to do anything about that.” “I agree with you,” Sackler responded. “Is there a general agreement, or are there some holdouts?” Ten years later, Purdue pleaded guilty in federal court to understating the risk of addiction to OxyContin, including failing to alert doctors that it was a stronger painkiller than morphine, and agreed to pay $600 million in fines and penalties. But Sackler’s support of the decision to conceal OxyContin’s strength from doctors — in email exchanges both with Friedman and another company executive — was not made public. (Armstrong, 2/21)
The New York Times:
Sackler Testimony Appears To Conflict With Federal Investigation
A member of the family that owns the manufacturer of OxyContin repeatedly gave testimony in a lawsuit that conflicts with details in a report by federal prosecutors, newly disclosed court papers indicate. Dr. Richard Sackler, who was once president of the company, Purdue Pharma, and is the son of one of its founders, said under oath during a pretrial deposition that he first learned from a Maine newspaper article in 2000 that OxyContin, a powerful opioid painkiller, was being abused. His statement contradicts evidence in a confidential Justice Department report from 2006 that came to light last year. (Meier, 2/21)
The Wall Street Journal:
Purdue Family Member Sought To Avoid Comparison Of OxyContin To Morphine, Documents Show
Richard Sackler, a former Purdue Pharma LP executive and member of the company’s controlling family, worked to ensure its top-selling pain medication OxyContin didn’t develop the end-of-life reputation of morphine because it could jeopardize sales, newly unveiled court documents show. The release of a 2015 deposition of Mr. Sackler sheds new light on Purdue’s attempts to market its signature drug as appropriate for a broad range of pain management, despite being twice as potent as morphine. The deposition, part of a now-resolved case in Kentucky, is a rare instance in which Sackler family members speaking directly about their role at Purdue has become public. (Randazzo and Hopkins, 2/21)
ProPublica/Stat:
What You Should Know About Richard Sackler’s Long-Sought Deposition
STAT and ProPublica have published the long-sought deposition of Dr. Richard Sackler, a member of the billionaire family that founded and controls Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin. Here are answers to some questions about the document. (Gil, 2/21)
The Hill:
Purdue Exec Agreed To Hide OxyContin Strength From Doctors: Report
"During the deposition, Dr. Sackler described Purdue’s efforts to adhere to all relevant laws and regulations" Purdue Pharma spokesperson Bob Josephson said in a statement to The Hill. "Dr. Sackler’s statements in the deposition fully acknowledge the wrongful actions taken by some of Purdue’s employees prior to 2002 as laid out in the 2007 Agreed Statement of Facts with the Department of Justice, and that the company has accepted full responsibility for those actions." (Frazin, 2/21)
The Hill:
Google Launches Effort To Fight Opioid Epidemic
Google is launching a new effort Thursday to make it easier for people to dispose of opioids. Federal agencies, state governments and local pharmacies helped Google identify 3,500 drug drop-off locations across the country where people are invited to dispose of leftover pain pills and other addictive drugs. Now, using Google Maps or search, users can look up phrases similar to "drug drop off near me” or “medication disposal near me" and find directions to the nearest permanent disposal locations. (Birnbaum, 2/21)
CNN:
Top Democrats Rebuke Trump Administration For Medicaid Work Requirement Policies
Top congressional Democrats requested Tuesday that the Department of Health and Human Services halt Medicaid work requirements, citing widespread loss of coverage in Arkansas. The letter, signed by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey rebukes the administration for "disregard of Congressional intent" and a failure to track the impact of waiver policies. Using Medicaid 1115 waivers, states can receive federal funds for Medicaid expansion despite modifying the policy outlined in the Affordable Care Act. The waivers, however, must be approved by the Department of Health and Human Services. (Bernard, 2/21)
The New York Times:
Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Drinking Water Leave Military Families Reeling
When Army Staff Sergeant Samuel Fortune returned from Iraq, his body battered by war, he assumed he’d be safe. Then the people around him began to get sick. Neighbors complained of tumors, thyroid problems and debilitating fatigue. Soon, the Colorado health department announced an unusually high number of kidney cancers in the region. Then Mr. Fortune’s wife fell ill. The military, it turned out, had been leaching toxic chemicals into the water for decades. (Turkewitz, 2/22)
The Hill:
Chamber Launches Ad Blitz Against Trump Drug-Pricing Proposal
The Chamber of Commerce is launching a seven-figure ad campaign targeting a proposal from the Trump administration aimed at bringing down drug prices. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by the pharmaceutical industry and other groups, would link what Medicare pays for prescription drugs to what other countries pay. (Hellmann, 2/21)
Reuters:
U.S. Judge Weighs Expanding Lawsuit Over Family Separations To Cover More Children
A U.S. judge on Thursday appeared open to ordering the government to find potentially thousands of additional children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border by the Trump administration, which could greatly expand the scope of a lawsuit challenging the separations. U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego called a January report by an internal government watchdog that found the U.S. government had started implementing its policy of separating families months before it was announced "a very significant event." (2/21)
The New York Times:
Looking To Technology To Avoid Doctors’ Offices And Emergency Rooms
As politicians debate how to improve the nation’s expensive — and some would say broken — health care system, Americans are eagerly turning to the latest tech devices in hopes of preventing and detecting medical problems early and avoiding costly trips to the doctor or emergency room. “Technology every day is playing a more important role in preventing and even diagnosing illness,” said Gary Shapiro, chief executive of the Consumer Technology Association and author of “Ninja Future: Secrets to Success in the New World of Innovation.” “We are just beginning this journey of revolutionizing health care and reducing trips to the doctor.” (Morrissey, 2/21)
The New York Times:
DNA Gets A New — And Bigger — Genetic Alphabet
In 1985, the chemist Steven A. Benner sat down with some colleagues and a notebook and sketched out a way to expand the alphabet of DNA. He has been trying to make those sketches real ever since. On Thursday, Dr. Benner and a team of scientists reported success: in a paper, published in Science, they said they have in effect doubled the genetic alphabet.Natural DNA is spelled out with four different letters known as bases — A, C, G and T. Dr. Benner and his colleagues have built DNA with eight bases — four natural, and four unnatural. They named their new system Hachimoji DNA (hachi is Japanese for eight, moji for letter). (Zimmer, 2/21)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Kaiser’ New School Joins A Movement To Make Medical School Less Costly
Kaiser Permanente, the Oakland-based health system, is preparing to open one of the country’s most unusual medical schools. The school, which will open in Pasadena during the summer of 2020, will be one of only a few medical schools in the country that’s not connected to a university. It will also be tuition-free for the first five graduating classes. (2/21)
Los Angeles Times:
The Government Quashes A Nasty Stunt Used By Drug Makers To Keep Prescription Prices High
Most of the efforts out of Washington to fight rising drug prices amount to all-talk-no-action. But there’s one government campaign that has worked — and that the government just expanded. This is the government's attack on so-called pay-to-delay schemes, in which the marketer of a brand-name drug pays off generic drug makers to keep their competing products off the shelves, sometimes for years. The Federal Trade Commission, which has scored a string of courtroom victories against pay-to-delay in recent years, estimated in 2010 that these deals were costing consumers $3.5 billion a year. (Michael Hiltzik, 2/20)
Los Angeles Times:
Health Insurers Are Exacting Their Revenge For The GOP’s Sabotage Of Obamacare
It turns out that the federal government cannot, in fact, order individuals or businesses to do something, then refuse to pay for it. Who knew? Several cases working their way through the U.S. Court of Federal Claims illustrate this point. One set involves the Affordable Care Act mandate that insurers reduce the out-of-pocket payments for lower-income customers buying policies on the Obamacare exchanges. The act also requires the federal government to reimburse insurers for these discounts, and here’s where the fire started. (Jon Healey, 2/20)
San Francisco Chronicle:
California Lags In Seizing Weapons From Owners On Banned List
California, with some of the toughest laws in the nation, faces an Illinois-scale problem. Since 2013 state authorities are directed to seize firearms from people with criminal convictions and mental health problems. At that time, the forbidden list totaled 20,000, but it’s only been whittled down to 9,000 through the administrations of two state attorneys general, Kamala Harris, who is now a U.S. senator and running for president, and Xavier Becerra, who now holds office. (2/19)
Los Angeles Times:
As Age-Obsessed Billionaires Turn To ‘Vampire’ Therapies, The FDA Takes A Stand
The federal government finally took a stand this week on vampires feasting on the blood of the young.It’s against the practice. Actually, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning about older people injecting themselves with the blood plasma of young donors — a fringe therapy that’s marketed as a way to fight aging and a variety of illnesses, including dementia, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. (David Lazarus, 2/20)
The Mercury News:
Newsom Putting Politics Before California Patients
In California, politics is taking precedence over patients.That’s the only conclusion to draw from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recently released health care plan. He’s looking to impose price controls on prescription drugs. He’d like to expand Medicaid to undocumented immigrants up to the age of 26. ...California can’t afford his plan. If implemented, the state’s patients would receive far worse care. (Sally Pipes, 2/20)
Los Angeles Times:
Courts Hammer Trump For Sabotaging Obamacare, In Rulings That Could Cost The Treasury Billions
Legal experts thought that one of President Trump’s cruder attacks on the Affordable Care Act would come back to bite him once the courts took a crack at it. ...The most recent beneficiary of a court judgment is the Los Angeles insurer L.A.Care Health Plan, which was awarded nearly $6 million on Feb. 14 by Judge Thomas C. Wheeler of the Court of Federal Claims. (Michael Hiltzik, 2/19)
The Mercury News:
When It Comes To Special Ed, Don't Stop Believing
Experts believe that the vast majority of students with disabilities — more than 80 percent — can meet the same academic standards as other students, when they have the right support. But right now, only 8 percent of the 6.6 million students with disabilities in U.S. public schools are prepared to read and do math on grade-level by 8th grade.So how do we change that? (Annie Tran, 2/21)
Sacramento Bee:
California Child Care Bill Keeps Parents Working, Kids Learning
Uncertain times, like the recent partial shutdown of the federal government, have a ripple effect on working families. We saw countless reports of how families were experiencing financial chaos when federal workers missed paychecks and could not cover basic household costs. Reports indicated that some workers had no option but to call in sick to save on child care, leaving child care educators also without pay. While the shutdown brought this scenario to light, it’s far from uncommon. (Monique Limon, 2/21)
Los Angeles Times:
Fractures, Trauma, Amputations: What Medics See When They Rescue Migrants At The Border
We found her in a ditch a few steps away from the rusted border fence on the east side of Nogales, Ariz., an inch-and-a-half laceration on her swollen forehead. She came from Guerrero, one of the most violent states in Mexico, and could not remember how she landed on the rugged surface after her grip on the top of the barrier failed and she fell. Six firefighters carried her to the ambulance, which took her to a helicopter bound for the regional trauma center in Tucson. Captain Lopez recorded the incident in the logbook when we returned to the firehouse: “1107 Medic 2, Engine 2: Dead End Freeport — Jumper/Head Injury.”(Ieva Jusionyte, 2/17)