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California Healthline Original Stories
‘John Doe’ Patients Sometimes Force Hospital Staff To Play Detective
A large public hospital in Los Angeles gets over 1,000 unidentified patients a year. Most are quickly identified, but some require considerable gumshoe work — a task that can be complicated by medical privacy laws. (Susan Abram and Heidi de Marco, )
Good morning. President Donald Trump is urging Congress to do something about those sky-high surprise medical bills. But the question remains, who will be picking up the extra costs? More on that below, first though, here are your top California health stories for the day.
Gov. Gavin Newsom Addresses Subsidies, Medi-Cal, Homelessness And More In Revised Budget: Gov. Gavin Newsom sent California lawmakers a revised budget Thursday that builds on his efforts to address poverty and homelessness while forecasting the largest tax revenue windfall in state history. Democratic lawmakers had been advocating for him to offer Medi-Cal to all California residents no matter what their legal status is, but Newsom stopped short of that, limiting to young adults up to the age of 26. The governor cited the total cost of that expansion — $3.4 billion — as the reason for his reluctance. He says he’s open to ideas but wants to make sure the state moves toward universal health coverage in a financially responsible way. “My goal is universal health care for everyone,” he said. “That is the goal ultimately.” The budget also includes a fine for Californians who don’t carry insurance to replace a similar federal policy that the Trump administration ended in 2017. Newsom said he’ll use the revenue from the penalty to make insurance more affordable for people who struggle to pay for plans on Covered California.
A key component of the proposed budget would boost the state’s efforts to address the growing crisis of homelessness. Newsom outlined a proposed $1 billion in spending to combat the problem, including $650 million for local governments to build shelters, offer rental assistance and convert hotels and motels to temporary or permanent housing. Newsom is also calling for a fresh $20 million to provide legal assistance to people facing eviction or in disputes with landlords and another $40 million that would help the state’s public colleges and universities aid homeless students. “This homeless issue is out of control,” Newsom told reporters on as he unveiled his revised state budget. “(People) are outraged by it, they are disgusted by it, they are wondering what the hell is going on in Sacramento, and they should.”
In releasing his budget, Newsom spoke of the need for Californians to harden their homes to wildfires, but did not go as far as to support a $1 billion measure to help residents do so. Newsom said his budget adds nearly $40 million to the $769 million he already proposed in January for wildfire prevention, response and recovery and other natural disasters.
Read more about the budget’s details from the Sacramento Bee, The Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times.
Calif. Teacher Has To Pay For Substitute To Cover For Her While She's Getting Treated For Breast Cancer: Teachers in California are allotted 10 sick days per year which roll over if they aren’t used, and then an additional 100 days of extended sick leave during which their pay is docked to pay for a substitute. A spokesperson for the San Francisco school district said $195 is being taken from the teacher’s daily wages. A GoFundMe page for the second-grade teacher who has breast cancer has already raised more than $13,000 — enough to pay for a substitute through the end of this school year, according to NBC Bay Area. That fundraising page said the teacher has already had one surgery and will need another before standard treatment can start. State Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino), chair of the California Senate Education Committee, wants to change the law. “Candidly, I think that times have changed and it’s our job to change with the times,” Leyva told NBC Bay Area. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today and the Sacramento Bee.
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
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Sonoma County Physicians Draft Public Health Message Urging Vaccination Of Children
As the number of children contracting measles grows nationwide and in California, so does [pediatrician Brian] Prystowsky’s fear that an outbreak soon will occur in Sonoma County. The west county, where there are two schools that last year were among the top 10 in the state with the highest rate of unvaccinated kindergarten students, is more vulnerable to an outbreak, he said. ...The alarming risk to the local community prompted the pediatrician to help lead a group of over 200 medical professionals to take the unprecented step of launching a grassroots public health campaign to urge parents to have their children vaccinated and educate them on the ramifications of rejecting immunizations. (Bordas, 5/9)
Sacramento Bee:
Environmental Concerns Pop Up At Camp Fire Debris Cleanup
Environmental concerns, including fear of harming a sensitive frog species, have forced Camp Fire crews to back away from cleaning some properties in the Paradise area. State officials tasked with debris cleanup say they have been directed not to enter an estimated 800 burned Butte County home sites within 100 feet of a waterway. They’ve been told to wait for representatives of several state and federal agencies to reach an agreement on environmental assessment guidelines. (Bizjak, 5/10)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Homeless Mothers Call On SF Leaders To Increase Funding For Families On Streets
A rallying cry echoed across San Francisco’s City Hall steps Thursday afternoon as 60 homeless mothers, children and organizers called on the Board of Supervisors to allocate an additional $14 million in funding for homeless services and housing ahead of Mother’s Day. (Wu, 5/9)
:
Wealthy Bay Area Suburbs Could Have A Whole New Look Under California Housing Bill
When Paul Wickboldt moved to the Bay Area from Boston more than two decades ago, he settled in Walnut Creek for the same reasons many families choose the suburbs: good public schools, safety, a backyard for the kids to play in, and the pleasure of knowing his neighbors. (Koseff, 5/10)
The New York Times:
Trump Said He Wanted To Work With Democrats On Surprise Medical Bills. Then He Attacked Democrats.
President Trump said on Thursday that he was directing a bipartisan group of lawmakers to create legislation that would provide relief for people who were surprised by bills they receive from out-of-network health care providers after both emergency and scheduled medical visits. During a rambling 45-minute speech that veered into matters of foreign policy and his anger over the special counsel’s report, Mr. Trump pushed for a measure that he said would be bipartisan, even as House Democrats — some of whom the president also attacked by name — took up legislation to fortify a law he reviles, the Affordable Care Act. (Rogers, 5/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Backs Push To Limit Surprise Medical Bills
Under principles unveiled by Mr. Trump, patients receiving emergency services wouldn’t get separate, out-of-network bills. Billing emergency-room patients more than their in-network allowed amount would be banned. Payments would then be determined by negotiations between providers and insurers. About one in seven patients wind up with surprise bills despite getting care at in-network hospitals, according to a March analysis by Health Care Cost Institute, a research collaborative. (Armour, 5/9)
The Washington Post:
Trump Pushes To End Surprise Medical Billing For Hospital Care
The president said that Democrats and Republicans alike should work quickly to stop “surprise” billing in the health-care industry. The unexpected bills are often high charges from doctors or facilities that are outside an insurer’s network, often unbeknown to patients. Trump said these practices are bankrupting patients through “health-care costs that are absolutely out of control. No family should be blindsided by outrageous medical bills.” (Goldstein, 5/9)
The Associated Press:
Trump Calls On Congress To End 'Surprise Medical Bills'
With polls showing that voters trust Democrats over Republicans on health care, Trump has been hitting pocket-book medical issues that resonate with the middle-class, like prescription drug costs. He was joined at a White House event by patients, one who got a $110,000 bill after a heart attack, and another who got a bill for $17,850 for a test her insurer would have paid $100 for. "So this must end," Trump said. "We're going to hold insurance companies and hospitals totally accountable." The president said he wants to get it done "quickly," and Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said he hoped to deliver a bill in July. (5/9)
The New York Times:
With Insurance Bill Passage, House Democrats Begin Health Care Blitz
Other measures include a restoration of funding used to help consumers find and sign up for coverage under the health law, new disclosure requirements for prescription drug rebate programs, several measures intended to reduce drug costs and increase access to advanced medications known as biologics, and the allocation of $10 billion per year in new “reinsurance” payments that would help lower health care premiums by offsetting the costs of the most expensive insurance claims. Taken in total, the package is intended to build on the system established by the health law without disrupting the health care system for Americans who get coverage through work or a government program. (Thrush, 5/9)
The Associated Press:
House Votes To Block Trump's Eased Health Coverage Rules
The Democratic-controlled House has voted to prevent the Trump administration from easing health care coverage rules required by President Barack Obama's health care law. Under guidance the administration issued last year, states might allow insurers to offer low-cost, low-coverage policies that could deny coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions. Democrats say that by blocking that language, Thursday's bill would protect patients with pre-existing conditions. (5/9)
The Associated Press:
Scrap 'Obamacare'? Maybe Not All, Says Trump Administration
Scrap "Obamacare"? Well, maybe not all of it. The Trump administration is arguing in court that the entire Affordable Care Act should be struck down as unconstitutional. But at the same time, Justice Department lawyers recently suggested that federal judges could salvage its anti-fraud provisions, raising questions about keeping other parts as well. (5/10)
The New York Times:
Many Hospitals Charge Double Or Even Triple What Medicare Would Pay
In Indiana, a local hospital system, Parkview Health, charged private insurance companies about four times what the federal Medicare program paid for the same care, according to a study of hospital prices in 25 states released on Thursday by the nonprofit RAND Corp. Colorado employers were shocked to learn they were paying nearly eight times what the federal government did for outpatient services like an emergency room visit, an X-ray or a checkup with a specialist at Colorado Plains Medical Center, northeast of Denver. (Abelson, 5/9)
The Associated Press:
Drugmaker Will Donate Meds For US Push To End HIV Epidemic
The Health and Human Services Department says a major drugmaker has agreed to donate medications that reduce the risk of HIV transmission for up to 200,000 people a year in support of the government's plan to end the epidemic in the U.S. The pledge by California-based Gilead Sciences may last up to 11 years, said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. Gilead will donate its Truvada prevention pill until a second-generation version becomes available. (5/9)
The New York Times:
What Do New State Abortion Laws Really Mean For Women?
This week, the governor of Georgia signed one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. It effectively outlaws the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy. Republican governors in three other states — Mississippi, Kentucky and Ohio — have signed similar laws this year, marking a new and more severe tactic by the anti-abortion movement. The current constitutional standard under the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision is that abortion is legal up until the point when the fetus could survive outside a woman’s womb — usually about 24 weeks into the pregnancy. (Belluck, 5/9)
The Associated Press:
Juul's 'Switch' Campaign For Smokers Draws New Scrutiny
The young models and the candy-colored graphics that helped propel Juul to the top of the e-cigarette market are gone. In their place are people like Carolyn, a 54-year-old former smoker featured in new TV commercials touting Juul as an alternative for middle-age smokers. "I don't think anyone including myself thought that I could make the switch," Carolyn says, sitting in a suburban living room as piano music quietly plays in the background. (5/9)
The Associated Press:
A Growing Number Of States Call Porn A Public Health Crisis
More than a dozen states have moved to declare pornography a public health crisis, raising concerns among some experts who say the label goes too far and carries its own risks. The Arizona Senate approved a resolution this week calling for a systemic effort to prevent exposure to porn that's increasingly accessible to younger kids online. At least one legislative chamber has adopted a similar resolution in 15 other states. (5/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
The Most Anxious Generation Goes To Work
Michael Fenlon’s company is one of the nation’s biggest employers of newly minted college grads. He’s watching a tidal wave approach. College presidents and deans tell him repeatedly that they’ve had to make managing students’ anxiety and other mental-health issues a priority. “They’re overwhelmed with the demand for mental-health services on their campuses. I hear this again and again. It’s really striking,” says Mr. Fenlon, chief people officer for PricewaterhouseCoopers, which hires thousands of college grads each year. (Shellenbarger, 5/9)
PBS NewsHour:
Another Series Of School Shootings Highlights The Challenge Of Keeping Students Safe
Two students at a high school outside Denver allegedly opened fire during class on Tuesday, killing another student. In North Carolina just a few days earlier, two students were killed and four injured by a gunman at UNC Charlotte. Amid a pattern of school violence that has become all too familiar, Judy Woodruff talks to John Ferrugia of Denver’s Rocky Mountain PBS and Education Week’s Evie Blad. (5/9)
Los Angeles Times:
Misguided Doctors And Bad Information Are Fueling The Return Of Measles
Some of the blame rests with unethical doctors, who are willing to take patients’ money and grant inappropriate medical exemptions to misinformed families, thereby putting other children at risk. A Voice of San Diego investigation of medical exemptions at San Diego Unified School District showed that almost a third were issued by one doctor who advertised medical exemptions. Two other physicians who issued large numbers of medical exemptions are on probation with the Medical Board of California. (Richard Pan, 5/7)
San Jose Mercury News:
Close California Vaccination Legislation Loophole
Pan, D-Sacramento, is a pediatrician with a master’s in public health from Harvard. His legislation, which passed the Senate Health Committee on April 24, would have public health officials — rather than doctors — decide who qualifies for a medical exemption to being vaccinated. The bill is needed to close a loophole in Pan’s 2015 law that eliminated the personal belief exemption and gave California some of the toughest immunization legislation in the nation. (5/5)
The Mercury News:
State Should Pounce On Chance To Reduce Uninsured
While President Trump and Republicans continue their assault on the Affordable Care Act and the 21 Democratic candidates for president talk about their health care proposals, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature are working to reduce the number of uninsured Californians — without raising taxes. The two-prong approach provides a model for how states can get closer to universal coverage despite the complexities of the current health care system. (5/10)
Los Angeles Times:
Medi-Cal Benefits Were Cut In The Great Recession. It's Time To Restore Them
When the last recession plunged the state government into a multibillion-dollar hole, California lawmakers were forced to cut deeply into numerous valuable programs just to make ends meet. Many of those cuts were penny-wise and pound-foolish, however, especially the ones in safety-net programs like subsidized child-care that helped low-income families stay in the workforce. So as the economy improved, lawmakers and former Gov. Jerry Brown slowly pieced the state’s safety net back together again. But some important benefits have yet to be restored, a full decade after the recession ended. (5/4)
Los Angeles Times:
Diaper And Tampon Sales Tax Breaks Aren’t The Right Way To Help Poor Families
On Thursday Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to propose a budget for fiscal 2019-20 that includes hundreds of millions of additional dollars to help families with young children keep their heads above water in this expensive state. Among other things, he hopes to double the tax credit for families with children under 6, expand eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit and add two more weeks of paid family leave.Many of his proposals would have a meaningful impact on the lives of working families. Too bad Newsom sullied the package with two gimmicky sales tax exemptions — for diapers and menstrual products — that his predecessor wisely vetoed. (5/9)
Sacramento Bee:
Patients Suffering From Mental Illness Need Long-Term Care
After the county decreased mental health services in 2009, the average number of daily psychiatric evaluations in the emergency department nearly tripled within the first year, according to a study published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine. Also, the average length of stay in the emergency department for patients in a mental health crisis increased by more than 50 percent during the same period. (Lorin Scher, 5/5)
San Diego Union-Times:
Are You OK With A Robot Replacing Your Doctor?
In the age of autonomous vehicles, deep learning and the internet of things — are doctors also at risk of being replaced? I say this embarrassedly as I reach for my personal pager, and glance across the hall at the fax machine churning out insurance forms. It is apparent that medicine is overdue for an update, but the question begs whether this disruption will lead to our own substitution. I wonder whether my 15 years of post-graduate education will have been in vain, or whether riding this coming wave will lead to personalized care that eliminates pain points for the doctor and patient alike. (Brian J. Rebolledo, 5/10)
Sacramento Bee:
Police Encounter Can Mean Death Sentence For The Disabled
The danger faced by people with disabilities in a police encounter is laid out in a 2016 study by the Ruderman Family Foundation, which found that one third to one half of those killed by police are people with disabilities.Individuals with physical, mental health, developmental or intellectual disabilities may not understand the shouted commands of law enforcement. Their confusion is taken for non-compliance. (Astrid Zuniga and Doug Moore, 5/8)
Los Angeles Times:
Don't Panic, But California Has Yet Another Water Problem
First, don’t panic. It’s true that a report published late last month in the journal Environmental Health found a link between California tap water and cancer. The study noted high levels of arsenic, plus numerous other contaminants that may be more toxic in combination than they are separately. According to the report, the tainted water could cause more than 200 cases of cancer a year. (5/9)