- California Healthline Original Stories 1
- Remote Rural Hospital Puts Its Fate In Hands of Denver Entrepreneur
- Covered California & The Health Law 1
- Justice Department Refuses To Defend Health Law In Court, Saying Certain Provisions Are Unconstitutional
- Elections 1
- 'Single-Payer' May Be The Buzzword Du Jour, But Democrats Are Being Warned Not To Utter It On The Trail
- Public Health and Education 2
- Suicide Rates Spike Across Country By More Than 30 Percent, With All But One State Seeing An Increase
- Orange County Formally Opposes Proposed Mobile Needle Exchange: 'It’s A Failed Experiment'
- Women's Health 1
- Report Finds Link Between Sexual Assault And Need For Increased Medical Care For Year After Attack
- Around California 1
- County Crews Begin Spraying For West Nile Virus: 'We Feel That Action Is Needed'
Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Remote Rural Hospital Puts Its Fate In Hands of Denver Entrepreneur
Residents of Surprise Valley, in the state’s northeastern corner, voted to sell its hospital to a businessman with a controversial plan to bring in revenue. Its dismal financial plight exemplifies the woes of rural hospitals around the country. (Barbara Feder Ostrov, )
More News From Across The State
Covered California & The Health Law
The provisions that should be "struck down" include protecting people with pre-existing medical conditions from being charged more or being denied coverage, according to the Justice Department. Now, it will be up to several Democratic state attorneys general, led by California AG Xavier Becerra, to defend the law, and they have already received permission to intervene in the case.
The New York Times:
Justice Dept. Says Crucial Provisions Of Obamacare Are Unconstitutional
The Trump administration told a federal court on Thursday that it would no longer defend crucial provisions of the Affordable Care Act that protect consumers with pre-existing medical conditions. Under those provisions of the law, insurance companies cannot deny coverage or charge higher rates to people with pre-existing conditions. The Justice Department said the provisions were part of an unconstitutional scheme that required most Americans to carry health insurance. (Pear, 6/7)
The Associated Press:
Justice Department Takes Aim At Heart Of Health Law
The decision, announced in a filing in a federal court in Texas, is a rare departure from the Justice Department's practice of defending federal laws in court. Texas and other Republican-led states are suing to strike down the entire law because Congress recently repealed a provision that people without health insurance must pay a fine. The repeal takes effect next year. Texas says that without the fine in place the requirement to have health insurance is unconstitutional and that the entire law should be struck down as a result. (6/8)
Modern Healthcare:
Justice Department Won't Defend Obamacare In GOP States' Lawsuit
It will be up to several Democratic state attorneys general to defend the law, and they have already received permission to intervene in the case. A core group of blue state attorneys general are also fighting the federal government to revive cost-sharing reduction payments for insurers. (Teichert, 6/7)
The Washington Post:
Trump Administration Won’t Defend ACA In Case Brought By GOP States
The bold swipe at the ACA, a Republican whipping post since its 2010 passage, does not immediately affect any of its provisions. But it puts the law on far more wobbly legal footing in the case, which is being heard by a GOP-appointed judge who has in other recent cases ruled against more minor aspects. The administration does not go as far as the Texas attorney general and his counterparts. In their suit, lodged in February in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, they argue that the entire law is now invalid. By contrast, the Justice brief and letter say many other aspects of the law can survive because they can be considered legally distinct from the insurance mandate and such consumer protections as a ban on charging more or refusing coverage to people with preexisting medical conditions. (Goldstein, 6/7)
Bloomberg:
Trump Sides With Texas, Won't Defend Obamacare In Court
While U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions argues that no reasonable arguments exist to defend Obamacare, California led a coalition of 15 states and D.C. to fight Texas’s suit, saying the individual mandate has twice survived Supreme Court review and attempts by Congress to repeal the law, thus legitimizing it. Stripping away Obamacare would create a health crisis by putting at risk some $500 billion in health-care funding, according to a statement issued by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. (Mehrotra, 6/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
Justice Department Won’t Defend Affordable Care Act In Lawsuit Brought By States
The decision to attack the ACA in this way involves a legal, political and policy gamble by the Trump administration, suggesting how much the president still wants to dismantle his predecessor’s signature health law after a failed ACA repeal effort by Republicans a year ago. The move could rattle the insurance markets and shake up the GOP message on health care months before the midterm elections. (Armour, 6/7)
Businesses Accused Of Selling Toddler Formula With Dangerous Levels Of Lead
The California Department of Justice found levels that exceeded not only levels mandated by California law but also the mandated by less-stringent federal laws. Attorney General Xavier Becerra said his team had issued cease-and-desist orders to both Utah-based Nutraceutical and Newport Beach-based Graceleigh.
Los Angeles Times:
California Prosecutors Accuse 2 Manufacturers Of Selling Toddler Formulas With High Levels Of Lead
California’s attorney general on Thursday filed a lawsuit accusing two food manufacturers of selling toddler formulas with illegally high levels of lead. Graceleigh Inc. and Nutraceutical Corp. are accused of violating Proposition 65, which requires businesses to warn customers about exposure to toxic chemicals. The complaint also accuses them of violating the state’s unfair competition and false advertising laws. (Millman, 6/7)
Sacramento Bee:
California Accuses 2 Manufacturers Of Selling Toddler Formulas With Dangerous Levels Of Lead
"Toddler formula that we feed to our children should be safe," said Attorney General Xavier Becerra. "It certainly should not contain lead levels that make it unsafe for our children, so today, the Department of Justice is ... filing a lawsuit against two companies – Nutraceutical Corp. and Graceleigh Formulas – whose toddler formulas contain extremely high levels of lead." As part of its mandate to do testing on substances covered by Proposition 65, the team at the Department of Justices environmental unit found levels that exceeded not only levels mandated by California law but also the mandated by less-stringent federal laws. California prosecutors found dangerous levels of lead in Nutraceutical's Peaceful Planet Toddler Supreme and Graceleigh's Sammy’s Milk free-range goat milk toddler formula. (Anderson, 6/7)
The issue is divisive within the party and also leaves progressive Democrats open for attack from Republicans claiming the candidates are supporting socialized medicine. Democrats are trying to hone their message to signal support for more universal health care while also avoiding the contentious phrase. Meanwhile, health care is found to be top of mind for voters as the midterm elections creep closer.
Politico:
The 2 Words You Can’t Say In A Democratic Ad
Democratic voters want single payer health care. But don’t expect to hear Democratic candidates talk about it — at least not in those words. To avoid divisive intraparty fights that drive candidates left — only to be attacked by Republicans for favoring socialized medicine — the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee warned aspirants last year about the political liabilities of endorsing “single payer,” according to sources familiar with the advice. An influential progressive group even urged candidates to discard the often-misunderstood phrase and embrace “Medicare for all” to draw strong connections with the popular seniors’ health program. (Haberkorn, 6/8)
The Hill:
Pelosi: 'Medicare For All' Should Be 'Evaluated' If Dems Win House
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) said Thursday that "Medicare for All" proposals should be “evaluated” if Democrats win back the House this year, adding “it’s all on the table." Pelosi has long backed a public option for health insurance, but has not supported going further — as many Democrats want — and setting up government-run, universal health insurance. (Sullivan, 6/7)
The Hill:
Poll: Health Care A Top Issue For Voters Ahead Of Midterms
More than 1 in 5 voters, 22 percent, said in a new NBC News–Wall Street Journal poll that health care is their top issue in the November midterm elections. The economy and jobs followed at 19 percent, with guns at 13 percent, taxes and spending at 11 percent and immigration at 10 percent. The poll found Democrats are more likely to consider health care a top issue. (Hellmann, 6/7)
CDC researchers emphasized in their report that more than half of those suicides were committed by people who had not been diagnosed with a mental health disorder. Noting that suicide is “very rare” among those with chronic depression, they said friends, families and co-workers should not overlook the risk of self-harm among those who have never been diagnosed with mental illness.
Reuters:
U.S. Suicide Rates See Sharp Increase From 1999 To 2016: CDC
Suicide rates rose in nearly every U.S. state from 1999 to 2016, with the rate spiking by more than 30 percent in half of the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on Thursday. Though mental health is often blamed for suicides, more than half of the people who took their own lives in 27 states in 2015 had not been diagnosed with a mental illness, the CDC said. (Brice, 6/7)
The New York Times:
Defying Prevention Efforts, Suicide Rates Are Climbing Across The Nation
The new analysis found that nearly 45,000 Americans aged 10 or older died by their own hand in 2016. The increase varied widely by state, from a low of 6 percent in Delaware to more than 57 percent in North Dakota. The rate declined in just one state, Nevada, where it has historically been higher than average. Social isolation, lack of mental health treatment, drug and alcohol abuse and gun ownership are among the factors that contribute to suicide. Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, and one of three that is increasing. The other two are Alzheimer’s disease and drug overdose, in part because of the spike in opioid deaths, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the C.D.C. (Carey, 6/7)
The Washington Post:
Suicide Rates Rise Sharply Across The United States, New Report Shows
“The data are disturbing,” said Anne Schuchat, the CDC's principal deputy director. “The widespread nature of the increase, in every state but one, really suggests that this is a national problem hitting most communities.” It is hitting many places especially hard. In half of the states, suicide among people age 10 and older increased more than 30 percent. “At what point is it a crisis?” asked Nadine Kaslow, a past president of the American Psychological Association. “Suicide is a public health crisis when you look at the numbers, and they keep going up. It’s up everywhere. And we know that the rates are actually higher than what’s reported. But homicides still get more attention.” (Nutt, 6/7)
The Wall Street Journal:
CDC Finds Rise In Suicide Rates Across The U.S.
“We have a long way to go to strengthen our community and health systems to make sure when someone is at risk we get them to care,” said Jerry Reed, an executive committee member of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. The alliance is working with more than 250 hospitals to ensure that someone brought in after a suicide attempt is connected to long-term mental-health care, Dr. Reed said. Churches, schools and police also need to get better at recognizing people at risk for suicide and helping them get treatment or feel less isolated, he said. Limiting access to guns for people who are unwell is also a priority, he said. “We have to ask people who are at risk if they have a firearm, and while they’re in recovery or treatment, recommend safe storage of that firearm,” he said. “It might be a good idea while they’re in treatment if someone could hold onto that firearm.” (Whalen, 6/7)
Los Angeles Times:
Suicides Have Increased By More Than 30% Since 1999 In Half The States, CDC Says
In a closer look at suicides in 2015, CDC researchers found that 29.4% took place within two weeks of a crisis — most commonly a breakup or other problem related to an intimate-partner relationship. Among the less-common factors presumed to have contributed to the suicides studied were physical health problems, legal difficulties, a family relationship issue or a job-related problem. (Healy, 6/7)
Orange County Formally Opposes Proposed Mobile Needle Exchange: 'It’s A Failed Experiment'
The supervisors are worried about the amount of dirty needles that might result from the exchange. But the California Department of Public Health has said the needle exchange doesn’t need approval from the cities it plans to operate in. Meanwhile, San Diego sees a surge of fentanyl-related deaths.
Los Angeles Times:
Orange County Supervisors Oppose Mobile Needle Exchange Proposal
The Orange County Board of Supervisors officially opposed a proposed mobile needle exchange service Tuesday in Santa Ana, Anaheim, Orange and Costa Mesa. The supervisors’ resolution opposing the proposal — which passed 4-0 with Supervisor Shawn Nelson absent—directs the board’s clerk to submit the resolution to the California Department of Public Health. (Brazil, 6/7)
KPBS:
Deaths Surge From Fentanyl-Laced Street Drugs In San Diego County
Street drugs laced with fentanyl are becoming a deadly problem among drug users in San Diego County. The white powder substance is more potent than heroin and can be lethal even in small doses. (Murphy, 6/7)
And in other news —
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
Grand Jury Says San Diego Should Resume Weeding Out Abusers Of 911 System
The county grand jury says San Diego should immediately revive a program that reduced unnecessary 911 calls by using a software filter to weed out the most frequent callers: the homeless, the mentally ill and drug addicts. The program saved the city money and drew national praise from 2010 through 2016, but city officials let it expire a year ago when the federal and state grants funding it ran out. In a seven-page report released this week, the grand jury says that was a shortsighted decision the City Council should reverse Monday when it’s scheduled to adopt a budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. (Garrick, 6/7)
Report Finds Link Between Sexual Assault And Need For Increased Medical Care For Year After Attack
Researchers say the report highlights the need to be training clinicians in how to ask about sexual assault and respond appropriately.
The California Health Report:
Women's Need For Medical Care Spikes Following Sexual Assault, Study Finds
Women who experience sexual assault are more likely to need medical care for mental health and stress-related problems in the year following the attack, new research suggests. Researchers at Kaiser Permanente analyzed the medical records of 1,350 women in northern California who were sexually assaulted between 2009 and 2015. They compared the women’s use of health-care services and their diagnoses in the years before and after the assault. The study also compared the victims’ records with those of other women of the same age and who attended the same medical facility but did not experience a sexual assault. (Boyd-Barrett, 6/8)
County Crews Begin Spraying For West Nile Virus: 'We Feel That Action Is Needed'
Alameda County has had no human cases of West Nile virus this year, but the district says it has logged two positive tests in dead birds, and two groups of positive tests for mosquitoes.
East Bay Times:
Union City: County Set To Spray For West Nile Virus
County vector-control officials said crews will spray a neighborhood late Friday night near a park where mosquitos and birds infected with West Nile virus were found. In a release Thursday, Alameda County Mosquito Abatement District manager Ryan Clausnitzer called the virus “a threat to the health of people living in nearby neighborhoods. (Kelly, 6/7)
In other news from across the state —
KQED:
Health Officials: Contra Costa Junkyard Fire Sent Out Dangerous Levels Of Smoke
Potentially hazardous amounts of particulate matter were released by a smoky junkyard and brush fire that started in a homeless encampment in Pittsburg late Wednesday, according to Contra Costa County health officials. More than a half-dozen air tests downwind from the blaze detected at least 300 micrograms per cubic meter in the hours after the fire began, said Randy Sawyer, the county's chief environmental health and hazardous materials officer. (Goldberg, 6/7)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Valley Children's Gets Top Billing At Ice Center
It'll be another four months before a 10-acre kids' medical facility opens in southwest Bakersfield, but already owner Valley Children's Healthcare is ramping up the branding campaign. On Thursday, the company unveiled a partnership renaming a city-owned ice hockey facility off Q Street as the Valley Children’s Ice Center of Bakersfield. The deal won't be cheap for the company — it's costing the nonprofit half a million dollars over 10 years — and return on the investment isn't likely to come in cash form. But Valley Children's President and CEO Todd Suntrapak said money isn't the point of the new partnership with the City of Bakersfield and ice center manager AEG Facilities. (Cox, 6/7)
Trump's Proposed $15B In Spending Cuts Passes Through House On Closer-Than-Expected Vote
Some lawmakers have been reluctant to pass the legislation as it targets unused funds for the popular CHIP program. But the measure, which passed 210-206, would take a mostly symbolic whack at government spending because it would basically eliminate leftover funding that wouldn't have been spent anyway.
The New York Times:
House Votes To Trim Unused Funding, A Gesture Of Fiscal Restraint
With annual budget deficits nearing $1 trillion, the House took a modest step on Thursday to broadcast fiscal responsibility, narrowly approving a White House plan to rescind nearly $15 billion in unspent funding that had been approved in past years. The bill would reduce actual spending by a total of $1.1 billion from 2018 to 2028, according to the Congressional Budget Office, a small act of penance after Congress approved a $1.5 trillion tax cut in December, then a $1.3 trillion spending plan in March whose heft exasperated conservatives. The new bill would have little practical effect, given that much of the funding was not expected to be spent anyway. (Kaplan, 6/7)
The Associated Press:
Trump Plan To Cut $15B In Spending Squeaks Through House
While Democrats blasted the cuts, the real objection to some of them, such as $7 billion from popular Children's Health Insurance Program funding, is that it would take that money off the table so it couldn't be used later as it was in the earlier spending bill. The CHIP cuts wouldn't affect enrollment in the program, which provides health care to children from low-income families that don't qualify for Medicaid. "Targeting CHIP for a rescission prevents Congress from reinvesting in other priorities like child and maternal health, early childhood education, biomedical research and our community health centers," said New York Rep. Nita Lowey, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. (Taylor, 6/7)
Mysterious Brain Injuries Prompt State Department To Issue Health Alert For All Of China
U.S. personnel have experienced symptoms of a mysterious illness after hearing strange sounds. American diplomats had experienced similar symptoms in Cuba, and the United States said the Americans were targets of “specific attacks” there.
Reuters:
U.S. Expands China Health Alert Amid Illness Reports
The U.S. State Department on Friday issued an expanded health alert for all of China amid reports some U.S. diplomats based in the country had experienced a mysterious malady that resembles a brain injury and has already affected U.S. personnel in Cuba. A previous statement in May only mentioned the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou as the location for the health alert, though it was sent to U.S. citizens throughout the country. (Martina, 6/8)
The New York Times:
U.S. Issues Alert To Americans In China In Wake Of Sonic Attack Fears
The alert, posted on the department’s website, said those who suspected that they had such symptoms should not try to locate the source of any “unidentified auditory sensation” and should seek medical care as soon as possible. More than two million American citizens travel to China each year, and about 175,000 Americans hold Chinese resident visas. The advisory came after at least two employees at the United States Consulate in the southern city of Guangzhou, who showed symptoms similar to those suffered by American diplomats in Cuba in 2016, were flown out this week for testing by specialists at the University of Pennsylvania. (Perlez and Myers, 6/8)
Viewpoints: Stop Ignoring Impending Funding Shortfalls For Medicare
A selection of opinions on health care developments from around the state.
Los Angeles Times:
Social Security And Medicare Are In Danger? Nothing To See Here, Says Trump's Treasury Secretary
Trustees overseeing Social Security and Medicare issued yet more warnings this week about the worsening financial health of the programs. In response, Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin told Americans not to worry — the rip-roaring economic growth the Trump administration is whipping up will take care of everything! Except that it won’t, and pretending that the looming funding shortfalls will magically fix themselves is irresponsible and cowardly. (6/8)
Sacramento Bee:
California Can Prevent Suicides With A Voluntary No-Buy List For Guns
California has a firearm suicide problem. Nearly 1,600 residents killed themselves with guns in 2016, and the gun suicide rate is rising at both the state and national levels. Suicide is the most common type of gun violence in the U.S. — on average more than 60 deaths a day, more than were killed in Las Vegas, the deadliest mass shooting in American history. Six out of ten gun deaths are suicides, and firearms account for about half of all suicides. (Fredrick Vars and Bryan Barks, 6/4)
The New York Times:
Is Health Care Really A Winner For Democrats?
After years of struggling with the politics of Obamacare, Democrats now view health care as a winning issue. A candidate in Orange County, California, has a chance of winning a primary on Tuesday while running on explicit support for Medicare for All. Single-payer-friendly Democratic candidates are not just running in deep-blue states; they are campaigning in places like New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Illinois as well as Nebraska and Texas. Across the country, Democrats are making health care a top messaging and policy priority, with some red state Democrats running on Obamacare for the first time. (Peter Suderman, 6/5)
Sacramento Bee:
Ending Prison Contract Will Put Disabled Out Of Work
The Legislature should reject a troubling proposal by the governor to end a state prison's janitorial contract with PRIDE Industries in favor of hiring unionized state employees. A failure to do so will result in a loss for taxpayers, for a vital part of the state's prison health care system and, most importantly, for hard-working people with disabilities. (Patricia Bates and Jesus Andrade, 6/6)
Sacramento Bee:
California Must Invest In Cleaning Up Polluted Communities
While Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget proposal touts efforts to reduce California’s carbon footprint, it was silent on solving the persistent problem of air pollution. We need clear commitment to both a cooler atmosphere and cleaner air. (Allen Hernandez, 6/1)
CALMATERS:
Wildfires And Lead Paint Reignite Capitol’s ‘Tort Wars’
For decades, what political insiders dubbed “tort wars” raged in the Capitol.Business and professional trade organizations and their insurers battled incessantly with personal injury lawyers over rules governing who could sue whom and collect damages with untold billions of dollars at stake. Highlights – or lowlights – included Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature on a 1975 law that limits pain and suffering damages in medical malpractice cases; the infamous “napkin deal” in 1987 that imposed a five-year truce in the wars; a ballot clash over auto insurance in 1988; a successful insurer-backed referendum to repeal a lawyer-sponsored “bad faith” law in 2000; and still another ballot battle in 2004 that curbed unfair business practice lawsuits against small business. (Dan Walters, 6/6)
San Francisco Chronicle:
SF Must Help Pregnant Homeless Women Qualify For Housing
San Francisco’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing qualifies pregnant women for family shelter before the third trimester only if they are shown to be medically at risk, with certification. Few qualify. (Jennifer Friedenbach and Valerie Schmalz, 6/7)
Sacramento Bee:
California: Legislature, Use Surplus To Fix Rape Kit Backlog
Last month in Sacramento, we witnessed the shocking arrest of the East Area Rapist. The case highlighted, again, the importance of DNA evidence in solving crimes. What a relief that those victims will finally have their day of justice. But what about other victims? Why does California lag in testing the DNA evidence of their ordeals, particularly victims of rape? (Elena Lee Reeder, 6/7)