Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Amid Teen Vaping ‘Epidemic,’ Juul Taps Addiction Expert As Medical Director
Dr. Mark Rubinstein, known for his research into youth vaping, has left UCSF to become executive medical officer at Juul Labs, the nation’s leading producer of e-cigarettes. Juul says the hire will help them reduce teen vaping. Critics see Big Tobacco tactics. (Anna Maria Barry-Jester, )
Good morning! Gov. Gavin Newsom baffled some supporters when he knocked down proposals to raise taxes that would go toward child care services for working class families. Read more on the decision below, but first here are your top California health news stories of the day.
'You Work ... And You Really Pay The Price': How Middle-Class Americans Are Bearing Brunt Of High Deductible Revolution: Health insurance has long divided Americans, providing generous benefits to some and slim-to-no protections to others. But a steep run-up in deductibles, which have more than tripled in the last decade, has worsened inequality, fueling anger and resentment and adding to the country’s unsettled politics, a Los Angeles Times analysis shows. Many wealthy Americans — already reaping most of the benefits of the last decade’s economic growth — have weathered the dramatic increase in deductibles in recent years in part by putting away money in tax-free Health Savings Accounts. Very poor Americans, millions of whom gained coverage through the 2010 Affordable Care Act, can see a doctor or go to the hospital at virtually no cost, thanks to Medicaid, the half-century-old government safety-net program. Squeezed in the middle are legions of working Americans who face stagnant wages, insurance premiums that take more and more of their paychecks and soaring deductibles that leave them with medical bills they can’t afford. Read more from Noam N. Levey of the Los Angeles Times.
Appeals Court Reinstates Suits Against California Nursing Homes Over Patient Dumping: The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco reinstated lawsuits by three patients, saying that the state held hearings and found that the patients’ former nursing homes wrongly refused to readmit them, but took no enforcement action. The ruling cited a 1987 federal law that allows nursing homes receiving federal Medicaid funds to transfer or discharge patients only for specified reasons, such as an improvement in their condition or dangers they pose to others in the home. “This is a human tragedy happening to a lot of people,” said Matthew Borden, lawyer for the former nursing home patients. “We hope the state will take its job seriously,” protecting the patients and avoiding unneeded Medi-Cal costs of hospital care, he said. Read more from Bob Egelko 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
Los Angeles Times:
A Community Planned To Boost Child Care. Gov. Gavin Newsom Vetoed The Bill To Do It
Some of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s staunchest supporters say they are baffled by his decision to block two Bay Area cities from raising local taxes — money that, in one community, would be used to boost child-care services for working-class families. The governor’s decision late last week to veto legislation on the issue may not be the final word for either city, but it caught local leaders off guard on an effort that had been decidedly noncontroversial as it made its way through the California Legislature. (Myers, 7/18)
Modesto Bee:
Changes In Store For Stanislaus County CA Health Clinics
Stanislaus County will move forward with a consolidation plan for its health clinics that serve the poor. The county Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the plan Tuesday and will outsource operation of the Ceres, Turlock and Hughson health clinics to nonprofit providers before the end of the year. The county assured that none of its seven health clinic locations will close, and no county employee layoffs are anticipated. (Carlson, 7/18)
The Desert Sun:
Tenet Makes Bid To Purchase Desert Regional Medical Center In Palm Springs
Tenet Healthcare, the Dallas-based operator of three desert hospitals, has submitted a proposal to purchase one of them: Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, currently owned by the Desert Healthcare District. The $319 million to $380 million proposal is on the agenda for Tuesday’s healthcare district meeting. It’s the first step of a long process of negotiations that will ultimately be decided at the polls by voters within the healthcare district. The Desert Healthcare District is a public agency that owns Desert Regional. Tenet is a private company that runs the hospital. Tenet’s 30-year lease of the hospital ends in 2027. (Hayden, 7/18)
The Bakersfield Californian:
CSUB Receives $2.8 Million Grant To Address Valley's Health Care Shortage | News | Bakersfield.Com
The Family Nurse Practitioner Program at Cal State Bakersfield has received a $2.8 million grant to increase health care providers in underserved and rural parts of the Central Valley. The four-year, federal grant was awarded to the college's Transforming the Workforce: From Educate to Service project, which is led by Department of Nursing professors Heidi He, Maria Rubolino, Annie Huynh and Lorelei Punsalan. ...The project hopes to increase the number of nurse practitioners who will provide primary care in rural and underserved areas in the Central Valley. He said it is difficult to attract well-trained and qualified nurse practitioners to the area, and Kern County ranks among the top regions in the state that have a shortage of primary care providers. (Sasic, 7/18)
Sacramento Bee:
CA Fire Department Near Tahoe Overcharges State Agencies
A fire department south of Lake Tahoe has overbilled government agencies by more than $700,000 in the last three years, according to a report released Thursday by the California State Auditor’s office. State auditors say the Fallen Leaf Lake Community Services District, which provides fire protection services under an agreement between federal and state agencies, might have to pay the money back, which would dramatically slash its $1.2 million reserve balance. (Anderson, 7/18)
Sacramento Bee:
Can Lifestyle Prevent Alzheimer’s? UCD Gets $6M To Study It
The Alzheimer’s Association gave $6 million to the University of California, Davis, to fund its participation in a landmark study that will look at whether older adults can ward off deterioration in their memory and thinking by adopting particular lifestyle changes, the university announced Thursday. Over the next 18 months, UC Davis will enroll 400 adults ages 60 to 79 to participate in the U.S. Study to Protect Brain Health through Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk. It’s more commonly known as the U.S. POINTER study, and it’s based on a two-year study of at-risk elderly people in Finland that was called the FINGER study. (Anderson, 7/18)
Los Angeles Times:
Health Data Say Glendale Unified Kindergarten Students Are Generally Well Vaccinated
Newly released data from the California Department of Public Health list 17 kindergarten programs in Glendale Unified’s 20 elementary schools as safe in terms of preventing an outbreak of vaccine-preventable diseases . District officials claim three additional schools labeled as “vulnerable” reached the safe status by winter. (Campa, 7/18)
Los Angeles Times:
LAPD To Equip More Officers With Medication To Reduce Opioid Deaths
As the nation battles an opioid epidemic, the Los Angeles Police Department is expanding a program to supply officers with thousands of doses of a nasal spray to treat overdose victims. Last year, the LAPD launched a pilot program to train and equip officers to administer naloxone, which blocks the effects of an opioid overdose. More than 6,100 officers now carry the drug sold under the brand name Narcan. Other officers are expected to receive training. (Puente, 7/18)
KQED:
State Regulators Move To Protect Workers From Wildfire Smoke
Wildfire smoke isn’t great for anybody, but a new rule California regulators vote on today recognizes that it’s particularly dangerous for workers while they’re on the job. The state’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board will decide whether to require employers to offer workers additional protections under specific circumstances when air quality is poor. The move comes after especially active fire seasons in 2017 and 2018. (Peterson, 7/18)
Sacramento Bee:
Free DNA Test Medicare Scam Reported In OR, CA, KY, NE
Do-it-yourself DNA tests have taken off across the United States in recent years, but now officials are warning of scammers who promise free kits to steal victims’ private information and defraud health plans in California, Kentucky, Nebraska and beyond. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum was the latest to warn the public of the scam on Thursday, saying multiple Medicare beneficiaries in the state have reported scammers victimizing them through telemarketing, health fairs and door-to-door pitches. (Gilmour, 7/18)
Los Angeles Times:
A Whole Generation Of Migrant Kids Is Languishing At The U.S.-Mexico Border
For the two dozen migrant children living inside a small church on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, most days go like this: Breakfast at 8 a.m., dinner at 6 p.m., and hours of nothing in between. There is no school, and except for a handful of worn Bibles, there are no books. Dangers abound in the surrounding hills, so most haven’t left the razor-wire-ringed compound in weeks or even months. “I feel imprisoned,” said 16-year-old Alison Mendoza. (Linthicum, 7/19)
Sacramento Bee:
Migrant Detention Center In Texas Kept Cold To Control Smell
Sacramento Rep. Doris Matsui confirmed some of the worst accounts of the border patrol centers housing migrant men, women and children who’ve crossed over the southern border, after visiting two facilities in Texas last weekend. ...Matsui and a delegation of 19 other Democratic House members traveled to McAllen and Brownsville, Texas to visit Customs and Border Patrol processing centers as well as humanitarian organizations working with migrants seeking asylum in the United States. (Cadei, 7/18)
The New York Times:
As America Debates Abortion, Hollywood Seeks The Realities
At a recent conference outside Los Angeles, a national women’s rights lawyer stood before a select group of Hollywood heavyweights to issue a demand and a plea. With a woman’s right to choose in jeopardy, the lawyer, Fatima Goss Graves, said, more abortions should be portrayed in narratives onscreen. “The stories on abortion do not match our reality,” she said. The attendees — agents, celebrities and producers at an invitation-only diversity summit held by the talent agency CAA — took Goss Graves’s message in stride. As it turns out, the industry has already begun shedding one of its longest-held taboos. In recent years, abortions are taking place or being talked about on television at record levels, often on shows created or written by women. (Buckley, 7/18)
The New York Times:
Sanders And Biden Fight Over Health Care, And It’s Personal
Senator Bernie Sanders does not understand Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s position on health care. To Mr. Sanders, the health care system is broken, and the only way to fix it is to replace it with his signature policy plan known as Medicare for All. “I am disappointed, I have to say, in Joe, who is a friend of mine, really distorting what Medicare for All is about,” Mr. Sanders said in an interview hours before he delivered a speech on Wednesday defending his health care proposal. “And unfortunately, he is sounding like Donald Trump. He is sounding like the health care industry in that regard.” (Ember and Glueck, 7/18)
The New York Times:
Anxious Democratic Governors Urge 2020 Field Not To Veer Too Far Left
After claiming governorships from Republicans in seven states last year, including in crucial presidential battlegrounds like Wisconsin and Michigan, Democratic governors should have good reason to celebrate. But there was as much anxiety as optimism when the governors gathered for their annual fund-raising retreat on Nantucket last weekend and grappled with why a party that won with a pragmatic message in 2018 is now veering sharply to the left. A group of governors are alarmed that their party’s presidential candidates are embracing policies they see as unrealistic and politically risky. And they are especially concerned about proposals that would eliminate private health insurance. (Martin, 7/19)
Politico:
John Delaney On Drug Prices, Why Clinton Lost, Biking Across Iowa
Former Rep. John Delaney spoke to POLITICO Thursday as part of a series of interviews with Democrats seeking to challenge President Donald Trump in 2020. Here are key excerpts from the hour-long conversation. ... "My plan, which is called BetterCare, leaves Medicare alone. Medicare is not perfect, but it's probably the least broken part of our health care...But what I do is I create a new plan that everyone gets from when they're born until they're 65. So, and it's a basic federal plan that every citizen gets for free. So, every citizen in this country will be covered by health care, that they won't have to pay for it. And I get rid of Medicaid as part of that, because Medicaid is the most broken program in this country. Reimbursement rates are so insufficient, that they're inadequate provider networks all over the country. (7/19)
The Hill:
Buttigieg Vows 'Fairer, More Just Health Care' After Young Man Dies Rationing Insulin
White House hopeful Pete Buttigieg (D) vowed to implement a “fairer” and “more just” health care system if elected president after a 21-year-old man, Jesimya David Scherer-Radcliff, died in Minnesota after rationing insulin for his diabetes. ...Many of the 25 Democrats running for president have vowed to lower prescription drug costs, saying high prices force some patients to choose whether to treat their ailments. (Axelrod, 7/18)
Modesto Bee:
A Retired Modesto Doctor Explains Why MediCal Doesn’t Work For Most Physicians
If MediCal reimbursed primary care providers acceptably, and patients could be seen in offices, much money would be saved rather than paying the much higher emergency department rates.The MediCal system needs an overhaul, not Band-Aid remedies. Better reimbursement would be a start. Other states pay Medicaid providers adequately. Why can’t California? (Steve Jacobs, 7/16)
Los Angeles Times:
What I Didn't Know About My Transgender Child
Our bungalow was still dark when my cellphone rang at 5 a.m. My husband and I had escaped for a much needed yoga retreat on the remote island of Koh Phangan, Thailand, when I got the phone call no parent ever expects to get — a call that four years of medical school, three years of pediatric residency training and 15 years of practicing pediatrics hadn’t prepared me for. At the sound of the middle school principal’s voice, my heart started racing. “We know you are away and it is early, but we had to call you.” They had called my parents to pick up my middle child from school. “He told us he has been hurting himself because he has a secret that he doesn’t know how to tell you. He thinks he is a girl.” (Paria Hassouri, 7/19)
San Francisco Chronicle:
SF Mental Health Care Is Urgent Enough To Get Right
Mental health care is a national failure that is more visible and visceral in San Francisco, where too many struggles with mental illness take place on the streets among the city’s disproportionate and rapidly growing population of homeless people. That is in large part due to the persistent housing shortage that is forcing more and more vulnerable San Franciscans out of their homes — and on which the Board of Supervisors has a nearly perfect record of dithering and denial. (7/13)
Los Angeles Times:
Ask Whether A Drug Works Before Worrying About What It Costs
Last week was supposed to be a turning point for drug price transparency. The Department of Health and Human Services planned to implement a new rule requiring drug commercials on television to disclose the “list price” of the medication being advertised. According to the HHS press release, this would be the most significant single step any administration has ever taken with regard to drug pricing. But it isn’t going to happen. Three big drug companies, Merck, Eli Lilly and Amgen along with an industry trade group, the Assn. of National Advertisers, filed a successful lawsuit blocking the rule. According to Judge Amit P. Mehta of the United States District Court in the District of Columbia, HHS does not have the authority to mandate price disclosure. (Steven Woloshin, 7/16)
Los Angeles Times:
There’s A Loneliness Crisis On College Campuses
According to a recent survey by the global health service company Cigna, the loneliest generation in the United States today is not the oldest Americans but the youngest, specifically young adults between 18 and 22 years old. I never got the question in my first five years at USC that I now get almost daily from students: “How do I make friends?” Students may have thousands of friends online, but few in real life; they may be experts at talking with their thumbs, but not so much with their tongues. (Varun Soni, 7/14)
Sacramento Bee:
Homelessness: Sacramento Mayor Steinberg Discusses Solutions
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg made news during his one-hour live interview with The Bee on Wednesday: He wants the state to enact a “right to shelter” mandate like New York has. That would force cities and counties to create enough housing capacity to get homeless people under roofs. You can read more about that in Theresa Clift’s story on Steinberg’s appearance with me, but here is what it means: Without explicitly saying it, Steinberg is fed up. (Marcos Breton, 7/18)
Los Angeles Times:
Building More Permanent Housing Alone Won't Solve Homelessness In California
While serving in the state Legislature, I authored California’s Mental Health Services Act and later sponsored its housing offshoot, No Place Like Home. The idea of the legislation was to establish a “housing first” mentality in California that prioritized getting people off the streets and into permanent housing, where they could then get supportive services for mental illness, substance abuse and other issues. I still believe strongly in the concept of housing first, but I’ve also come to see that focusing primarily on permanent housing is insufficient. (Darrell Steinberg, 7/17)
Sacramento Bee:
Safe Grounds Have To Be Part Of The Homeless Crisis Solution
Sacramento’s County’s 2019 point-in-time count of the number of homeless people living outside or in shelters, completed in January, was just released and, predictably, showed a 19 percent increase in the number of homeless people in Sacramento. Seventy percent of the 5,570 counted were living outside, unsheltered, not only along the American River Parkway, but also on city and county property in the middle of the Sacramento and in public places on popular streets. (Mark E. Merin and Faye Wilson Kennedy, 7/9)
CALmatters:
Forty Years Of Lies Stigmatizing 'Teenage Pregnancy' Are Enough
In 1960, one in 10 California women ages 15-19 gave birth. By 1975, just 5% did. What caused that phenomenal drop? Not abortion. The teen birth decline was well underway before California legalized abortion in 1967. Not sex education, which barely existed back then. Two factors explain why 1960s teenagers reduced childbearing dramatically. (Mike Males, 7/14)