Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
California Hospitals See Massive Surge In Homeless Patients
Homeless patients accounted for about 100,000 visits to California hospitals in 2017, marking a 28% increase from just two years earlier. Health officials attribute the surge to the overall rise in California’s homeless numbers and the large proportion of people living on the streets with mental illness. (Phillip Reese, )
Good morning! Here are your top California health stories for the day.
Report: Hospitals’ Race To Meet Seismic Safety Standards Set In Place By State Could Jeopardize Health Care Access: California’s deadline for hospitals to upgrade their buildings is looming large. By 2020, hospitals must show they’ve reduced the risk of collapse, and by 2030, they must be able to remain operation after a major earthquake. The cost of the work to get their buildings up to snuff could be as high as $143 billion, according to a new report. About a third of the hospitals in the state are already in financial distress, and that number could rise to more than 50 percent as hospitals seek seismic compliance. That number raises questions about whether it might be wise to have the state help hospitals meet the safety standards. Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
Highly Successful Program To Help Homeless Veterans Is Closing And Advocates Are ‘Perplexed’: The VA program, which helps homeless veterans recover from trauma, has placed up to 70 percent of its residents into permanent housing. But the VA has announced that the program is now closing for good without giving any real reason, according to advocates. Residents are being slowly moved into other housing, but those facilities are unlikely to match the benefits of the Echo Park program, participants said. Those leading the program say that because it was so comprehensive — offering intensive case management and help finding housing or applying for benefits — it has been especially effective with veterans who had “hits and misses” with past services. “It’s a one-stop shop. They can get all their needs met,” said Taneisha Antoine, clinical program manager at the now-closing campus. Read more from the Los Angeles Times.
Rising Number Of Measles Cases In California Has State Public Health Officials ‘Very Concerned’: There are now 16 confirmed cases of measles in the state. While that may not sound like a high number, California officials are concerned because there were 21 in the entirety of 2018, and it’s only the start of April now. Residents are being urged to get vaccinated, especially infants who are at high-risk of contracting the aggressive virus. For the past three years, California has not allowed parents to opt out of vaccinations based on personal beliefs, but the state has seen a three-fold increase in medical exemptions since 2015. "We see [this] in our school data, [that] there are some schools that have lower percentage of children who've received all their immunization,” said Dr. James Watt, chief of the CDPH Division of Communicable Disease Control.. “Those are the places we're really most concerned about." Read more from Capital Public Radio, The Modesto Bee and The Mercury News.
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
KQED:
Trial Begins: Livermore Couple Alleges Monsanto’s Roundup Caused Cancer
Just one day after a federal jury decided that Monsanto must pay $80 million in damages to a Santa Rosa man, and less than a year after a state jury awarded $300 million in damages to a Vallejo groundskeeper in a similar case, opening statements were delivered Thursday in a new trial involving Monsanto in Alameda County Superior Court. (Wolffe, 3/29)
Ventura County Star:
Simi Hospital, Community Memorial Fined For Putting Patients At Harm
More than a year after a psychiatric patient fled a Simi Valley emergency room and was shot by a police officer, California regulators have fined the hospital $45,315. Officials of the California Department of Public Health said Adventist Health Simi Valley’s failure to provide a safe environment placed the patient in jeopardy. Sean Fernandez, at the hospital on an involuntary mental health hold on Oct. 11, 2017, fled to a nearby medical clinic. Simi Valley police said he was shot after he ran toward an officer swinging a 3-foot-piece of wood with a sharp end. He survived the shooting and was charged with assault on a peace officer. Fernandez, 48, of Simi Valley, pleaded not guilty in an ongoing case. (Kisken, 3/30)
CALmatters:
California's Worsening Wildfires, Explained
If it seems that wildfires are burning nearly all the time these days, that there’s no longer a definable fire season in California, you’re right. Fourteen of the 20 most destructive fires in state history have occurred since 2007, and California has 78 more annual “fire days” now than it had 50 years ago. (Cart and Lin, 3/31)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Kern County Supervisors To Increase Outreach Efforts To Homeless During Spike In Numbers
Flood Ministries, a homeless outreach organization in Kern County, will soon see a huge boost in funding. The Kern County Board of Supervisors is set to approve around $2.9 million in state funding for the nonprofit. The increase in funding, administered by Kern Behavioral Health Services, will allow Flood to expand its homeless outreach program that is tasked with getting the county’s most difficult homeless cases the services they need. (Morgen, 3/29)
San Jose Mercury News:
East Bay Critics Blast Area Emergency Housing Plan
More than 120 people at a town hall meeting Thursday night heard criticism of Bay Area emergency policies to address the housing crisis — known as the CASA Compact — that speakers maintained could lead to higher-density housing structures, alter the city’s population and semi-rural character, and take local control out of the hands of city officials. (Kawamoto, 3/29)
Sacramento Bee:
24,000 Workers To Strike At UC Campuses, Hospitals In April
The University of California’s largest labor union, AFSCME 3299, said Friday it plans a one-day strike April 10 to protest unfair labor practices, saying the university system has used communications, retaliatory actions and intimidation tactics to instill fear in employees. “Through its actions, the University of California has created a hostile work environment that undermines workers’ ability to exercise their rights and voice concerns in the workplace,” said AFSCME Local 3299 President Kathryn Lybarger, in a news release. “We will not allow UC to silence the voices of its most vulnerable workers – who’re overwhelmingly people of color – and we will take all necessary actions to hold UC accountable for any illegal behavior.” (Anderson, 3/29)
Modesto Bee:
Modesto CA Medical Claims For City Workers Top $8.3 Million
Modesto says its employees have at least $8.3 million in unpaid medical claims in the wake of the financial meltdown of one of the city’s health insurance providers. City officials will ask the City Council on Tuesday to approve a plan to settle the claims that were the provider’s responsibility with the city picking up the cost. (Valine, 3/30)
Politico:
Killing Obamacare Kills Trump’s Health Agenda, Too
President Donald Trump wants to eliminate HIV in the U.S., contain the opioid crisis and lower the cost of prescription drugs — but all of those need Obamacare to be successful. And Trump just promised to kill it. His HIV plan relies on key pieces of Obamacare to expand access to prevention and treatment services for Americans at risk of contracting the deadly virus. Expanding opioid prevention relies heavily on Medicaid, which expanded under Obamacare. And Trump’s push to lower drug prices would use an innovation program that tests drug cost modeling — and was created by Obamacare. (Karlin-Smith and Ehley, 4/1)
Politico:
House Democrats Move To Condemn Trump's Obamacare Flip
House Democrats introduced a resolution today condemning President Donald Trump's support for a lawsuit that would strike down Obamacare, according to text shared first with POLITICO. "Americans are facing higher health care costs than ever, but this administration’s lawsuit would drive up prices and put coverage out of reach for thousands of Texas families," said Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), who introduced the resolution with the backing of House leadership. Democrats are planning to vote on it as soon as Tuesday, a spokesperson for Allred told POLITICO. (Diamond, 3/29)
The Washington Post:
For Trump’s ‘Party Of Healthcare,’ There Is No Health-Care Plan
Republicans have no intention of heeding President Trump’s urgent demands for a new health-care plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, fearing the potential political damage that such a proposal could cause in 2020 and hoping he will soon drop the idea, according to interviews with numerous GOP lawmakers, legislative staffers and administration aides. Not only is there no such health-care overhaul in the works on Capitol Hill — there are no plans to make such a plan. (Kim and Dawsey, 3/30)
The Washington Post:
Republicans Maintain That They Are ‘Working On A Plan’ To Replace Obamacare
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway maintained Sunday that Republicans are “working on a plan” for replacing the Affordable Care Act, days after President Trump surprised members on both sides of the aisle when he declared that the Republican Party “will soon be known as the party of health care.” In an appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” Conway told host Chris Wallace, “The Republican plan is manifold.” But she did not provide specifics, instead going on to attack Democrats over the Medicare-for-all ideas that some in their party have embraced. (Sonmez, 3/31)
The Associated Press:
Senate GOP Wary In Trump's Revived Health Care Battle
President Donald Trump's decision to revive the fight over the Affordable Care Act has stirred a political and policy debate among Republicans on how best to approach the divisive issue heading into the 2020 election. Failing to repeal and replace the ACA, otherwise known as Obamacare, is one of the biggest shortcomings of the president's first term in meeting its goals. It left Republicans with a broken campaign promise, dismal approval ratings and a narrative they haven't been able to shake — that they don't support protecting those with pre-existing medical conditions from high-cost care. In some races, it cost Republican seats last fall, flipping House control to Democrats. (3/30)
Politico:
Bennet, Kaine Set To Introduce ‘Medicare X’ Plan To Expand Health Care
As Democrats debate how best to expand health coverage, Tim Kaine and Michael Bennet are trying to ensure the party doesn’t swing too far to the left. The Virginia and Colorado senators next week will reintroduce their “Medicare X” plan, which would create a new public option for health insurance — an idea that was originally part of Obamacare but was jettisoned for being seen, at the time, as too progressive. (Levine, 3/29)
Politico:
Millions In Family Planning Grants Given To Groups And States Fighting Trump's Policy Changes
The Trump administration announced Friday that it's awarding about $250 million in Title X federal family planning grants to states and providers across the country. The providers include an anti-abortion chain of clinics, as well as several states and provider groups that are threatening to drop out of the program if conservative-led changes go into effect in a few weeks. The new rules — designed largely to partially achieve conservatives' long-sought goal of cutting off public funding for Planned Parenthood — would block Title X grants from going to groups that make abortion referrals, potentially leaving gaps in care for low-income women. It's already illegal to use federal taxpayer dollars for abortion, with very limited exceptions. (Roubein and Ollstein, 3/29)
Bloomberg:
Democrats Urge HHS Watchdog To Probe Verma’s Use Of Funds
House and Senate Democratic committee leaders ask the Health and Human Services’ inspector general to review if Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma followed federal rules when it came to awarding millions of dollars in “questionable CMS contracts to Republican communications consultants for her own benefit.” The request was made in a March 29 letter from House Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, House Oversight and Reform Chairman Elijah Cummings, Senate Finance top Democrat Ron Wyden and Senate Health top Democrat Patty Murray, according to a statement. (Chipman, 3/29)
The New York Times:
Migrant Girl’s Autopsy Shows She Would Have Been Visibly Sick For Hours, Doctors Say
A 7-year-old Guatemalan girl who died in United States custody last December was suffering from a bacterial infection that was so advanced she probably would have been visibly sick for many hours, said several physicians who reviewed a newly released autopsy report of her death. By the time the girl, Jakelin Caal Maquin, arrived at a children’s hospital in El Paso with seizures and difficulty breathing, she already had severe blood abnormalities, according to a part of the report that summarized her condition in the emergency room of the Children’s Hospital at the Hospitals of Providence Memorial Campus. (Fink, 3/29)
The New York Times:
Trump Administration Approves Medicaid Work Requirements In Utah
Just two days after a federal court struck down work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries in Arkansas and Kentucky, the Trump administration approved similar requirements in Utah on Friday. The administration acknowledged that some Utah residents might lose coverage, but said that others would become healthier and gain financial independence because they were working. In approving a Medicaid waiver for Utah, the Trump administration is reaffirming its conservative priorities, defying critics and inviting another round of litigation. (Pear, 3/29)
The New York Times:
Lawsuits Lay Bare Sackler Family’s Role In Opioid Crisis
The Sacklers had a new plan. It was 2014, and the company the family had controlled for two generations, Purdue Pharma, had been hit with years of investigations and lawsuits over its marketing of the highly addictive opioid painkiller OxyContin, at one point pleading guilty to a federal felony and paying more than $600 million in criminal and civil penalties. But as the country’s addiction crisis worsened, the Sacklers spied another business opportunity. They could increase their profits by selling treatments for the very problem their company had helped to create: addiction to opioids. (Hakim, Rabin and Rashbaum, 4/1)