- California Healthline Original Stories 4
- Guess Who Pays The Price When Hospital Giants Hire Your Private Practitioner?
- Hurricane's Health Toll: A Texas Doctor Taps Lessons From Katrina
- 5 Governors Press Congress For Fast Bucks To Secure Obamacare Market In 2018
- Lawmakers Debate How Much Wiggle Room To Give States In Health Care
- Covered California & The Health Law 1
- Covered California Announces Increase In Small-Business Exchange Premiums
- Public Health and Education 2
- California Could Be First State In Country To Open Safe-Injection Sites
- Despite Zika Fading From Headlines, Officials Warn Californians Not To Let Down Their Guard
Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Guess Who Pays The Price When Hospital Giants Hire Your Private Practitioner?
Gobbling up doctors’ independent practices is lucrative for hospital systems — but not necessarily a good deal for the physicians or consumers, critics say. Northern California is a case in point. (Jenny Gold, 9/8)
Hurricane's Health Toll: A Texas Doctor Taps Lessons From Katrina
After weathering the catastrophe in New Orleans 12 years ago, Dr. Ruth Berggren moved to Texas, where she again finds herself in the center of a hurricane crisis. In a Q&A, she draws parallels between the harrowing events and pinpoints risks in Harvey’s aftermath. (Shefali Luthra, 9/8)
5 Governors Press Congress For Fast Bucks To Secure Obamacare Market In 2018
State leaders tell senators that federal dollars are needed this fall to keep insurers participating in Obamacare next year and prevent big hikes in premiums. (Julie Rovner and Rachel Bluth, 9/7)
Lawmakers Debate How Much Wiggle Room To Give States In Health Care
The federal health law includes a provision that allows states to alter some of its rules if they can think of a better way to provide health care to their residents, but it’s not clear how far outside the box states can go. (Julie Rovner, 9/7)
More News From Across The State
One Of Several Measures To Control Drug Prices Shelved For The Year
The bill would have focused a spotlight on pharmacy benefit managers, the middlemen in the drug pipeline.
Capital Public Radio:
Do You Know How Much Your Drugs Cost? Transparency Bill Pulled From Vote, But Will Return
A bill aimed at regulating drug price negotiations in California is done for the year at the state Capitol. Democratic Assemblyman Jim Wood says he will return next year with his measure to create transparency around pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. (Caiola, 9/7)
In other news from Sacramento —
San Francisco Chronicle:
Lawmaker Wants California Public Schools To Provide Free Tampons
A California lawmaker wants public schools in the state to provide free feminine hygiene products in campus bathrooms, saying she too often hears of girls missing school because they can’t afford pads or tampons or putting themselves at risk for infection by not changing the products as often as they should to cut costs. (Gutierrez, 9/7)
Covered California & The Health Law
Covered California Announces Increase In Small-Business Exchange Premiums
The small business exchange is not as widely used as the individual marketplace, but does serve about 36,000 Californians.
San Francisco Chronicle:
Health Premiums To Rise 5.6% On Covered California’s Small Business Exchange
Insurance premiums for health plans on Covered California’s small business exchange will rise 5.6 percent in 2018, Covered California announced Thursday. Nearly 36,000 Californians receive health insurance through the small business exchange, where companies with 100 or fewer employees can purchase health plans for their workers. (Ho, 9/7)
Patients Protest The Closing Of Last Sub-Acute Nursing Unit In San Francisco
The closure comes as part of California Pacific Medical Center's decision to demolish St. Luke’s Hospital to comply with earthquake building codes.
KQED:
Families Fight Closure Of Nursing Unit In San Francisco
Sub-acute nursing units treat patients with complex medical needs, such as tracheostomies, sometimes for months or even years. The patients don’t need as much care as a regular “acute” hospital patient, but do need a level of skilled nursing care that is difficult to provide at home. Richard [Anderson], for example, has congestive heart failure and diabetes. St. Luke’s is the last hospital in San Francisco with a sub-acute unit, and parent company Sutter Health has plans to close it by the end of the year. (Klivans, 9/7)
California Could Be First State In Country To Open Safe-Injection Sites
The measure has passed the state Assembly, cleared two Senate committees and now awaits a vote on the Senate floor.
Mercury News:
California Weighs Controversial ‘Injection Centers’ To Fight Opioid Epidemic
A woman walks into a clinic where a nurse offers her a choice of sterilized needles of different sizes. She picks one, pulls a packet of heroin out of her purse and injects herself. The health staff stands by, ready to give her the overdose reversal drug naloxone if she shows signs of potentially fatal distress. There are government-approved drug injection centers like this in Europe, Canada and Australia, but none in the United States. (Drummond, 9/7)
Sacramento Bee:
More Opioid Prescriptions Than People In Some California Counties
Trinity County is the state’s fourth-smallest, and ended last year with an estimated population of 13,628 people. Its residents also filled prescriptions for oxycodone, hydrocodone and other opioids 18,439 times, the highest per capita rate in California. ... There were 1,925 opioid-linked overdose deaths in California last year, according to recently updated state data, and thousands of emergency room visits. (Miller, 9/8)
Despite Zika Fading From Headlines, Officials Warn Californians Not To Let Down Their Guard
San Diego is launching a campaign particularly targeted to pregnant women, couples who may wish to become pregnant, travelers and people who commute back and forth between Mexico and the San Diego region.
KPBS:
Campaign To Maintain Vigilance Against Zika Virus Underway In San Diego
A campaign for San Diegans to maintain vigilance against the Zika virus got underway this week with broadcast and billboard messages, county officials said Thursday. The messages urge people to fight invasive Aedes mosquitoes, which can transmit Zika and other illnesses if they first bite an infected person. Residents can reduce the Aedes population by finding and dumping out standing water in and around homes so the insects cannot breed. (9/7)
In other public health news —
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
Tuberculosis Exposures Reported At Two South County Schools
Public health officials are warning the public of possible tuberculosis exposures at two Sweetwater Union High School District schools. The county Health and Human Services Agency said in a statement Thursday that an unidentified person infected with the disease may have exposed others at Hilltop High School between Aug. 28 and Aug. 30. Another possible exposure occurred at San Ysidro High School from Feb. 18 through June 2, according to the agency. (Sisson, 9/7)
BuzzFeed:
The Hepatitis A Outbreak In San Diego Is Now A Public Health Emergency
According to the San Diego Health & Human Services Agency (HHSA), as of Sept. 5, 2017, the current outbreak has infected 398 people, causing 279 hospitalizations. The San Diego HHSA wrote that the majority of the people who have been infected with the disease are either homeless or illicit drug users, and that the outbreak is being spread between people through contact with a "fecally contaminated environment" — i.e. when an uninfected or unvaccinated person ingests food or water, touches an object, or uses drugs contaminated with fecal matter from an infected person. (Kee, 9/7)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Consumers Sue Annie's For Labeling Its Naturals Salad Dressings As 'Natural'
Two consumers have filed a class-action lawsuit against Annie's Homegrown for falsely labeling its salad dressings as "natural." The plaintiffs allege that the dressing contains what they consider to be a synthetic ingredient, specifically xanthan gum, and therefore is erroneously represented as a "natural" product. (Robertson, 9/7)
Chairman Tells Governors: Funding Insurer Subsidies Is Easy Part, What Else Do You Want?
The governors, both Republicans and Democrats, weighed in on their thoughts about how to stabilize the marketplace at a hearing in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. But when they brought up reinsurance, Chairman Lamar Alexander shot them down.
The New York Times:
Governors Rally Around Health Law Fixes As White House Pushes Repeal
Governors from both political parties told Congress on Thursday that they supported immediate action on modest, bipartisan steps to repair the Affordable Care Act without repealing it, even as the Trump administration continued to encourage efforts to dismantle the law. Testifying at a hearing of the Senate health committee, governors from Colorado, Massachusetts, Montana, Tennessee and Utah endorsed proposals to stabilize health insurance markets by providing federal money for continued payment of subsidies to insurance companies to offset the cost of discounts provided to low-income people. (Pear, 9/7)
The Washington Post:
Five Governors, Friends And Foes Of The ACA, Urge Congress To Bolster Its Markets For 2018
From Massachusetts to Utah, the governors agreed that guaranteeing payments to ACA insurers to help defray certain coverage expenses for consumers ranks as the most urgent step Congress should take. The cost-sharing-reduction subsidies, which reimburse insurers for discounts they must give roughly 7 million lower-income customers for health plans’ out-of-pocket costs, will total as much as $10 billion next year. (Eilperin and Goldstein, 9/7)
The Associated Press:
Governors Back Bipartisan Senate Bid To Control Health Costs
The support from the governors seemed to further isolate Trump on the issue. But with partisan feelings heightened by the failed Republican effort to dismantle former President Barack Obama's health law, the prospects for even a modest effort to shore up the Affordable Care Act are uncertain. Health panel chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said in a brief interview it was "a good bet" the narrow measure would be limited to extending the payments to insurers and making it easier for states to get exemptions to some of the statute's requirements. (Fram, 9/7)
The Wall Street Journal:
Plan To Fund Health Insurer Payments Coalesces
Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.) said he hoped to reach an agreement with Democrats by the end of next week on the insurer payments, which offset subsidies they provide low-income consumers. At a hearing Thursday, Mr. Alexander suggested he would be willing to authorize the subsidy payments for multiple years, as Democrats are demanding, in exchange for “structural changes” to the ACA, also called Obamacare. (Hackman, 9/7)
NPR:
Senate Asks Governors For Advice In How To Fix Health Insurance
Funding CSR's is the easy part, Alexander said. He was looking for tweaks that will appease conservative Republicans who for years have told their constituents that Obamacare is a failure. They would be hard-pressed to appropriate money to fund it without some substantive changes. Alexander presented the dilemma to the governors as an opportunity to ask for specific changes they'd like to see happen fast. "This train may move through the station, and this is the chance to change those things," he said near the end of the hearing. "And so if you want to tell us exactly what those are, and we got it by the middle of next week, we could use it and it would help us get a result." (Kodjak, 9/7)
Modern Healthcare:
Momentum Builds For Bipartisan Compromise On ACA Fixes
The governors' requests for renewed federal reinsurance funding drew less support. Although the governors said their states cannot raise money quickly enough to provide reinsurance to offset high-cost patients' care, Alexander said that would have to wait for a longer-term solution. "Creating a brand new reinsurance pool in the next 10 days is just not going to happen," he said. "There isn't any way to do that." (Lee, 9/7)
Politico:
Senate GOP Accepting Defeat On Obamacare Repeal
Senate Republicans are throwing cold water on the idea of holding another Obamacare repeal vote before their opportunity to gut the law on a party-line vote expires at the end of this month. Though President Donald Trump and some Senate Republicans are pushing a plan being devised by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) to block grant federal health care funding to the states and keep much of Obamacare's taxes, the idea of passing the measure by month's end appears almost impossible, according to senators and aides. (Everett, 9/7)
As Left-Wing Chases 'Medicare For All' Dream, This Senator Is Taking More Pragmatic Approach
Sen. Chris Murphy is giving Democratic lawmakers who don't want to attach themselves to Sen. Bernie Sanders' plan an alternative that gets them a step closer to universal health care coverage.
Politico:
Chris Murphy’s Stealthy Single-Payer Pitch
While Bernie Sanders readies a single-payer health care bill that the GOP is itching to attack, one of his Democratic colleagues is proposing a step toward that goal that could give cover to the party’s vulnerable incumbents. Sen. Chris Murphy, a potential presidential contender, is working on legislation expected this fall that would let individuals and businesses buy into Medicare as part of Obamacare’s exchanges. As Sanders and other potential challengers to President Donald Trump flock to “Medicare for all,” embracing a top liberal priority before 2020, Murphy is taking a conspicuously more pragmatic approach designed to get Democrats closer to that lofty but potentially unobtainable goal. (Schor, 9/7)
The Hill:
Warren Co-Sponsoring Sanders's 'Medicare For All Bill'
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Thursday she is co-sponsoring Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-Vt.) "Medicare for All bill," the latest Democrat to back a signature Sanders campaign issue. "I believe it’s time to take a step back and ask: what is the best way to deliver high quality, low cost health care to all Americans?" Warren, often considered a potential presidential candidate in 2020, said in a statement Thursday. (Savransky, 9/7)
Viewpoints: Skyrocketing Drug Costs Are Unsustainable, Transparency Bill Must Pass
A selection of opinions on health care developments from around the state.
The Mercury News:
Californians Deserve Transparency In Prescription Drug Pricing
Californians now pay more for their prescription drugs than they do for their doctors. The state spent a whopping $4 billion on drugs in 2015, and pharmaceutical companies are pushing another 12 percent increase in 2017. The Legislature has to pass state Sen. Ed Hernandez’ SB 17 and force drug makers to provide information about how they price their products. (9/7)
Sacramento Bee:
A Worthy Target For Unions: Drug Companies
As the California Legislature winds to a close for the year, there are still a handful of opportunities to make a real difference in the lives of working families. Chief among them is Senate Bill 17 – the second attempt in as many years to bring some measure of sanity to the insanely high cost of prescription drugs. In 2016 alone, Americans shelled out upward of $450 billion on medications to treat conditions ranging from high cholesterol to diabetes to depression. Assuming no major shift in public policy, we’ll be spending as much as $610 billion by 2021. (9/7)
Sacramento Bee:
Is Bipartisan Health Reform Possible?
As a doctor, I know many Americans are concerned about the future of health care. Nobody should have to worry that an unexpected medical bill could threaten their family’s financial security. Unfortunately, Republicans have tried for several months to gut the Affordable Care Act without offering a replacement. Playing politics with people’s lives is wrong. As Congress returns from summer recess, we have a clear decision to make: Can we work together to fix health care? (Ami Bera, 9/8)
San Jose Mercury News:
Trump Sabotage Of Obamacare Is Cruel To Poor
The president announced Thursday that he would slash spending on advertising and promotion for enrollment under the Affordable Care Act by nearly $100 million, virtually assuring that fewer people will sign up for health care plans in 2018. ... The end result will be higher premiums and medical costs for all Americans. (9/4)
Los Angeles Times:
Slashing Advertising And Outreach Funds, Trump Takes His Sabotage Of Obamacare To A New Level
President Trump talks incessantly about how the Affordable Care Act has failed. He has threatened to make it “implode.” Now he has taken a major step toward making his own predictions and threats come true. The Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday that it is cutting the advertising budget for the upcoming open enrollment period for individual insurance policies by a stunning 90%, to $10 million from last year’s $100 million. The HHS also is cutting funds for nonprofit groups that employ “navigators,” those who help people in the individual market understand their options and sign up, by roughly 40%, to $36.8 million from $62.5 million. (Michael Hiltzik, 9/1)
Los Angeles Times:
If Teenagers Get More Sleep, California Could Gain Billions
Sleep deprivation among teenagers should be regarded as a public health epidemic. Only about 60% of teenagers get the eight to 10 hours of sleep a night recommended by sleep scientists and pediatricians. A major reason teens aren’t getting enough sleep isn’t hormones, their busy social lives, too much homework or too much screen time. It’s actually a matter of public policy. (Wendy M. Troxel and Marco Hafner, 9/7)
Sacramento Bee:
Legislature Should Kill These Bills
In a Capitol controlled by Democrats, many of whom owe their election to union support, the pressure is intense to side with their labor allies. But they should ask themselves whether it’s the proper place for the Legislature to, say, determine that the United Food and Commercial Workers should dictate health policy. That’s essentially what would happen if they approve Assembly Bill 1461 by Assemblyman Tony Thurmond, D-Richmond. The bill is aimed at Blue Apron, which packages meal kits for people who like to cook but don’t have time to shop. The California Department of Public Health regulates the company as a food processor rather than a food handler. Thurmond’s bill would impose additional regulations. (9/5)
Sacramento Bee:
Make Sure Meal Kits Don't Deliver Illness
Without swift action, a growing part of California’s food supply will be left unsafe. That’s because meal-kit delivery startups are rapidly increasing in number and popularity and currently are exempt from the same safety standards that reduce the risk of illness from food purchased from restaurants or grocery stores. (Justin Malan, 9/7)
Orange County Register:
Prop. 66 Could Turn Out To Slow Death Penalty Cases
The California Supreme Court has upheld most of Proposition 66, the initiative to speed up the death penalty, but in doing so may have made an even more tangled mess of it. ... There are currently more than 740 inmates on death row in San Quentin and nearly 400 appeals pending, with many more inmates still waiting for lawyers. (9/5)
Sacramento Bee:
CA Bill Would Defend Title IX Rules As Betsy DeVos Considers Roll-Back
No matter their party, legislators talk solemnly about how they want to help folks back home, even as they cast votes to help their favored interests in these final few days of the legislative session. Here are a few bills that actually could help individuals. Few measures would have greater impact on families than Senate Bill 328 by Sen. Anthony Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge. It would require that schools start classes after 8:30 a.m. (9/7)
Los Angeles Times:
Why The Federal Government Urgently Needs To Fund More Cancer Research
Two weeks ago I lay in a hospital bed at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine and watched a clear, garlicky-smelling bag of my re-engineered white blood cells drip into my veins. The bag contained not only my collected T cells but also magic sauce from Novartis, the drug company financing a trial of a gene therapy for my specific mutation of multiple myeloma, a blood cancer. (Lalli, 9/5)
Los Angeles Times:
By Tossing A Richard Simmons Libel Case, A Judge Strikes A Blow Against Transgender Discrimination
[Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Gregory] Keosian places sexual identity on the same plane where imputations about race and homosexuality have been for years — as not inherently defamatory. The ruling is potentially important for several reasons. As Keosian observes, it’s the first such ruling in California, which makes it seem like a harbinger of legal rulings to come nationwide. It also chips away at what may be the last legally acceptable standard of prejudice under the law, which is that directed at transgender persons and those exploring their gender identity. (Michael Hiltzik, 9/1)
Sacramento Bee:
Smoking Should Only Be In R-Rated Movies
Most adults who smoke started as teens, and it’s very difficult to quit due to nicotine addiction. The best solution is to prevent children and teens from starting to smoke in the first place, but federal health officials say that exposure to on-screen smoking will lead more than 6 million children to start smoking. Two million will die prematurely from tobacco-induced cancer, heart disease, lung disease or stroke. (Gordon Garcia and David Modisette, 9/7)