Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
A Proposal To Make It Harder For Kids To Skip Vaccines Gives Powerful Voices Pause
California lawmakers are debating whether to tighten the rules on childhood vaccinations and give the ultimate say to state public health officials. But questions are emerging from unexpected quarters: the state medical board and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Anna Maria Barry-Jester, )
Good morning! California lawmakers have passed a budget, so let’s dive right into what that means.
Medi-Cal Expansion, Individual Mandate Both Make It Into Final Budget Agreement Sent To Governor: The expansion of Medi-Cal to all young adults regardless of immigration status, as well as a reinstated individual mandate for Californians, both became hot-button topics in the negotiations leading to a final budget deal. Lawmakers stopped short of expanding Medi-Cal to all seniors regardless of immigration status, which had been proposed by the Senate, but did include the provision for everyone under 26. Also, starting next year, California will join New Jersey, Vermont and the District of Columbia in requiring residents carry health coverage or face a $695 state penalty—a fine that will go up each year with inflation. Money raised from the penalties, about $1 billion over three years, will be used to give bigger subsidies to those who purchase private insurance through the state’s health coverage exchange, Covered California. The budget agreement passed Thursday includes an additional $450 million over three years to fund the subsidies after some lawmakers argued mandate revenue alone wouldn’t make health insurance affordable.
Drinking water: The budget also appropriates $130 million to clean up drinking water in some parts of the state. The money comes from a fund intended to reduce greenhouse gases, but the Newsom administration argues that a lack of clean drinking water causes carbon emissions because it requires transporting bottled water to those communities.
Homeless crisis: With new commitments topping $2 billion, the budget represents the most important action the governor has taken so far on housing and homelessness. The lion’s share will target the state’s homeless population, including $650 million in grants for cities and counties to build and maintain emergency shelters and $100 million for wrap-around care for the state’s most vulnerable residents.
Wildfires: Besides beefing up the state’s firefighting capability and disaster preparedness, California will add powering down to its to-do list for coping with climate change-driven wildfires. The budget doles out $75 million to state and local agencies whenever investor-owned utilities decide to shut off electricity during red flag weather warnings.
Now that lawmakers have passed the budget, Gov. Gavin Newsom has 12 days to sign or veto the bill. He can also nix parts of the budget through line-item vetoes. Read more from Sophie Bollag and Hannah Wiley of the Sacramento Bee and and Judy Lin of CALmatters.
Jessica Biel Ignites Firestorm After Opposing Controversial California Vaccination Bill: Actress Jessica Biel drew attention to proposed legislation that would take the authority for medical exemptions away from doctors and put it into the hands of a state official. The legislation has drawn hints of criticism from Gov. Gavin Newsom, as well. Both Newsom and Biel have said they support vaccines, but not of the state interfering in the doctor-patient relationship. Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), the author of the legislation, however, has claimed that unscrupulous doctors are granting exemptions for profit and under pressure from influential individuals and that this measure is needed to crack down on those bad actors. The bill has passed the state Senate but now faces a more organized opposition effort, which includes Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a well-known critic of vaccinations. Biel quietly appeared with Kennedy at the Capitol on Tuesday. Read more from Shelby Grad of the Los Angeles Times, Adeel Hassan of the New York Times, and Sandra Gonzalez of CNN.
Judge Gives Preliminary Approval Of $215M Class-Action Settlement To Help Victims Of Former USC Gynecologist: A federal judge granted preliminary approval Thursday to the landmark $215-million class-action settlement that USC had agreed to pay to former patients of campus gynecologist Dr. George Tyndall. Under the terms of the settlement, the approximately 17,000 women treated during the physician’s three-decade career would each be eligible to receive between $2,500 and $250,000. The preliminary sign-off by U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson is not expected to conclude USC’s payouts to female students and alumnae. More than 720 women are pursuing separate claims against the university in state court, and their lawyers have criticized the class-action agreement as paltry. Still, interim President Wanda Austin termed the court action an “important step forward in healing.” Read more from Matt Hamilton and Harriet Ryan of the Los Angeles Times.
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
Sacramento Bee:
CA Senior Citizens Could Overburden State As Baby Boomers Age
The Golden State is about to get a lot older. By 2030, the 60-and-over population will be 40 percent larger than it is now, according to the California Department of Aging. Seniors will be a larger share of the population than kids under the age of 18 by 2036, the state projects. (Jasper and Reese, 6/14)
Sacramento Bee:
Downtown Sacramento Homeless Shelter Opening Delayed
It’s been six months since Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg asked all eight City Council members to find spots for 100 homeless shelter beds in their districts, and still none are open. Now the opening of the first shelter, at downtown’s Capitol Park Hotel, is delayed at least one month.A 180-bed shelter at the Capitol Park Hotel at Ninth and L streets, which Steinberg said would open in July, is now planned to open in August, the mayor said Wednesday. The shelter will likely be open for 16 months instead of 18 months before it is converted into permanent housing with on-site services. (Clift, 6/13)
Los Angeles Times:
Inspectors Find Deplorable Conditions On L.A.’s Skid Row: Overflowing Trash And Burrowing Rodents
When county health inspectors went out recently to Los Angeles’ skid row, they found overflowing dumpsters, trash-strewn streets and alleys and rodent burrows. The inspectors also issued scores of violations to businesses that had failed to properly store or remove trash, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said this week. (Smith, 6/13)
Los Angeles Times:
Sheriff’s Department Asks O.C. Supervisors To Add Beds For Mentally Ill Inmates At Jail Intake Center
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday requested $9.2 million from the Board of Supervisors to increase the number of beds for newly booked inmates with mental illness. The request is for a planned expansion of the Intake Release Center, a temporary housing unit where inmates are booked before being transferred to Central Jail in Santa Ana or the Theo Lacy Facility in Orange. (Langhorne, 6/13)
Capital Public Radio/KXJZ:
Expanding Employment Opportunities For Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Through the Breaking Barriers in Employment for Adults with Autism Pilot Program, organizers in the two cities will develop resources and conduct employer trainings. A group of adults with autism are taking the lead in the effort to promote autism employment initiatives here in Sacramento. (Ruyak, 6/13)
Sacramento Bee:
CA Lawmakers Slow To Act On Wildfires After PG&E Bankruptcy
When the Camp Fire destroyed the town of Paradise and killed 85 people last year, California legislative leaders vowed to make wildfires their top priority when they returned to work in December 2018. Senate leader Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, told The Sacramento Bee wildfire issues would be “front and center” because “communities are being devastated,” while Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon cited the state’s housing crisis and wildfires as the two biggest problems lawmakers would focus on going into the legislative session. (Anderson, 6/14)
Stat:
‘It Felt Like An ’80s Criminal Drama’: Biohacker Meets Bureaucrats
A few weeks ago, the prominent biohacker Josiah Zayner took to Instagram to break some news: He had received a letter from the California Department of Consumer Affairs saying that officials were investigating him. The reason? A complaint had been made alleging that he had been practicing medicine without a license. Zayner runs the ODIN, a company here that sells equipment for do-it-yourself science, including a $159 DIY CRISPR kit. He got his own biotech training the conventional way — he has a Ph.D. in biochemistry and biophysics from the University of Chicago — but he’s since become a leader in the biohacking community. (Robbins and Feuerstein, 6/14)
The Hill:
Trump Officials Issue New Rule Aimed At Expanding Health Choices For Small Businesses
The Trump administration on Thursday unveiled a rule aimed at expanding health insurance options for small businesses and others, the latest action stemming from President Trump’s health care executive order in 2017. The White House framed the move as part of its efforts to expand health care choices for people now that efforts to repeal ObamaCare have come up short. (Sullivan, 6/13)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Expands Pre-Tax Accounts For Health Insurance
Conservatives and employers have been pressing for the change, which the Trump administration said will increase consumer choice. The administration said the rule is expected to expand coverage by 2029 to an estimated 800,000 who were previously uninsured. According to the rule, some people could lose insurance if employers drop coverage or the influx of new consumers causes premiums on the individual market to rise. The rule is also expected to lead to a $51.2 billion drop in federal tax revenue between 2020 and 2029. (Armour, 6/13)
Modern Healthcare:
Employers Can Fund Workers' Individual Plans Under New Trump Rule
Employers will be able to hand their workers a chunk of tax-sheltered health reimbursement money and send them off to buy an individual health plan under a controversial rule issued by the Trump administration Thursday. The final rule, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2020, will prompt an estimated 800,000 large and small employers to fund individual coverage through health reimbursement accounts (HRAs) for about 10 million workers, nearly 800,000 of whom would be newly insured. (Meyer, 6/13)
The New York Times:
Joe Biden Said He Did Not View Abortion ‘As A Choice And A Right’ In 2006
In a newly unearthed video from 2006, Joseph R. Biden Jr. said he supported Roe v. Wade but did not view abortion as “a choice and a right” — remarks that raise further questions about how he views abortion rights as he runs for the Democratic presidential nomination and faces pressure over his position on the issue. “I do not view abortion as a choice and a right. I think it’s always a tragedy,” Mr. Biden said in a videotaped interview with Texas Monthly, resurfaced on Thursday by CNN. “I think it should be rare and safe,” he added. “I think we should be focusing on how to limit the number of abortions.” (Saul, 6/13)
The Hill:
Jayapal Opens Up About Her Own Abortion In NY Times Op-Ed
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) opened up about her own abortion in a column for The New York Times. In the Thursday op-ed, Jayapal describes her first pregnancy and how her child Janak was born weighing 1 pound, 14 ounces and faced complications due to undeveloped organs. (Budryk, 6/13)
The Hill:
House Democrats Vote To Overturn Trump Ban On Fetal Tissue Research
House Democrats on Thursday voted to block the Trump administration’s recent ban on using federal funds to conduct medical research that relies on material collected from elective abortions. An amendment from Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) to a broader health care spending package passed 225-193, largely along party lines. (Weixel, 6/13)
The Hill:
Democrats Roll Out Proposal Requiring Insurance To Cover OTC Birth Control
House and Senate Democrats rolled out a proposal Thursday that would require insurance companies to cover over-the-counter birth control at no cost to patients. The measure, introduced by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), would ensure birth control that is available to women without a prescription is covered by insurance companies. (Hellmann, 6/13)
Stat:
Sanders And Cummings Respond To 'Polite F-U Letters' From Drug Makers
As dozens of states pursue numerous generic drug makers for price-fixing, a pair of prominent lawmakers have complained to the Justice Department about a “lack of enforcement” and asked the agency to accelerate its own investigation into the companies. In a letter sent to the feds on Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) also asked the Justice Department to probe whether 14 generic drug makers obstructed their own 2014 investigation into “suspicious” price increases for several generic medicines. (Silverman, 6/13)
The Hill:
Mailchimp Cracks Down On Anti-Vaccination Content
Mailchimp is blocking anti-vaccination content from its platform, calling the spread of misinformation a "serious threat to public health." The marketing service said in a statement Thursday it shut down a number of accounts for anti-vaccination content that violate its terms of use. "Spreading misinformation about the safety and efficacy of vaccines poses a serious threat to public health and causes real-world harm. We cannot allow these individuals and groups to use our Marketing Platform to spread harmful messages and expand their audiences," a Mailchimp spokesman said. (Klar, 6/13)
The New York Times:
Dark Web Drug Sellers Dodge Police Crackdowns
Authorities in the United States and Europe recently staged a wide-ranging crackdown on online drug markets, taking down Wall Street Market and Valhalla, two of the largest drug markets on the so-called dark web. Yet the desire to score drugs from the comfort of home and to make money from selling those drugs appears for many to be stronger than the fear of getting arrested. Despite enforcement actions over the last six years that led to the shutdown of about half a dozen sites — including the most recent two — there are still close to 30 illegal online markets, according to DarknetLive, a news and information site for the dark web. (Popper, 6/11)
Los Angeles Times:
The Sky Isn’t Falling On Abortion Rights. At Least Not Completely
Abortion will remain available in the United States, and that’s true even if the new conservative justices — think of them as the bad boys of the Supreme Court — respond to these harsh new laws by eviscerating Roe vs. Wade.The truth is, Roe was crippled long ago. In 1992, the Supreme Court decision in Planned Parenthood vs. Casey severely shrank women’s rights by allowing states to restrict access to abortion, as long as the rules they put in place didn’t amount to an “undue burden.” (Julie F. Kay, 6/11)
San Jose Mercury News:
Governor Must Get On Board With Vaccinations Bill
Gov. Gavin Newsom needs to get on board with the effort to close a loophole in California’s vaccination law. The governor inserted himself into the public health debate Saturday by voicing concern over proposed legislation that would give government officials the final say on whether a child should be granted a vaccine exemption. (6/9)
Sacramento Bee:
California’s Governor Didn’t Do Much Calm Anti-Vaccine Hysteria
At a time when vaccination standards have been thrust into the spotlight by Senate Bill 276 and remain a point of national fixation, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent comments are deeper than political pandering to a target demographic. The remarks represent more than an everyday gaffe. They are outright irresponsible and emblematic of how policymakers and public health agents have responded to the anti-vaccination movement. Recently, Newsom indicated concern with the role of government in SB 276. He contends that, though he believes in the importance of vaccinations, he holds reservations about inserting bureaucracy into the “very personal” decision whether to vaccinate one’s children. (Matthew A. Crane, 6/11)
CALmatters:
How Trump Administration Undermines Reproductive And LGBTQ Rights In California
A pregnant woman arrives at a Catholic hospital with vaginal bleeding. The doctor determines that she has a rare condition that means her pregnancy will not survive and is a threat to her life. The standard treatment is to terminate the pregnancy. Treating her in a hospital would be the safest option because she could be at risk for hemorrhage. However, the hospital ethics board that enforces the Catholic Church’s religious principles refuses the doctor’s request. A clergy member on the board Googled the condition and decided his judgment trumped the doctor’s. (Lori Freedman and Rebecca Griffin, 6/13)
Sacramento Bee:
California Juveniles Should Not Be Incarcerated
California’s young people need care, not cages. That call to action has become the drumbeat of a powerful movement of advocates working across California to push us to think bigger – and act boldly – to improve the health and wellbeing of our state’s biggest assets: our young people. A central theme and focus of this movement has been to encourage California to shift its orientation from punishment to prevention in terms of how we treat young people who have been impacted by the justice system. (Chet Hewitt and Shane Goldsmith, 6/13)
Los Angeles Times:
Call Immigrant Detention Centers What They Really Are: Concentration Camps
If you were paying close attention last week, you might have spotted a pattern in the news. Peeking out from behind the breathless coverage of the Trump family’s tuxedoed trip to London was a spate of deaths of immigrants in U.S. custody: Johana Medina Léon, a 25-year-old transgender asylum seeker; an unnamed 33-year-old Salvadoran man; and a 40-year-old woman from Honduras.Photos from a Border Patrol processing center in El Paso showed people herded so tightly into cells that they had to stand on toilets to breathe. (Jonathan M. Katz, 6/9)
San Jose Mercury News:
Why Alameda Health System Needs More Funding
The county provided and advocated for bond financing, special purpose taxes and other funding to rebuild Highland Hospital, create a Level-One trauma center, support behavioral health services, and fund care for the remaining uninsured. This support has always been necessary for AHS to survive, but it has become increasingly insufficient as other reimbursement programs decline or grow at a pace that hasn’t kept up with the inflationary growth in expenses. (Joe Devries, 6/12)
Los Angeles Times:
Welcome To Garcetti’s L.A.: Heaps Of Trash, Hordes Of Rats And Very Little Leadership
Los Angeles looks as if it’s digging out from a hurricane, with hordes on the streets, tents everywhere and armies of rodents on the march, inciting fears of disease. We learned from Dakota Smith and David Zahniser in last week’s avalanche of Mad Max news that the rat circus at City Hall was tied to homeless people using the grates around the building as bathrooms. (Lopez, 6/8)
Los Angeles Times:
Three Things You Think You 'Know' About Homelessness In L.A. That Aren't True
To our dismay, we in Los Angeles have become increasingly familiar with homelessness. But some of the things we “know” about the phenomenon are simply untrue. Dealing with the problem requires knowing the facts and dismissing the myths.It also requires understanding why those myths persist. (6/10)
Sacramento Bee:
California Juveniles Should Not Be Incarcerated
California’s young people need care, not cages. That call to action has become the drumbeat of a powerful movement of advocates working across California to push us to think bigger – and act boldly – to improve the health and wellbeing of our state’s biggest assets: our young people. (Chet Hewitt and Shane Goldsmith, 6/13)
San Francisco Chronicle:
S.F. Mental Health Plan Is A Long Way From Fully Cooked
Three clear takeaways emerged from a presentation by Supervisors Hillary Ronen and Matt Haney on their plan to offer free mental health care to all San Franciscans: It’s well intentioned, it’s going to be very expensive — and it’s a long way from being fully cooked. (6/11)