- California Healthline Original Stories 1
- Upsurge Of Suburban Poor Discover Health Care’s Nowhere Land
- Marketplace 1
- State To Investigate Aetna's Approval Practices After Ex-Medical Director Admits He Never Looked At Records
- Public Health and Education 1
- Flu Seems To Have Peaked Weeks Ago In California, But Death Toll May Still Rise
- Health Care Personnel 1
- Even As Californians Become More Secular, Demand For Hospital Chaplains Remains High
Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Upsurge Of Suburban Poor Discover Health Care’s Nowhere Land
More low-income people now live in suburbs than in cities or rural areas, putting a strain on local health services. Suburbs, which traditionally have had fewer resources or infrastructure, are scrambling to catch up. (Elaine Korry, )
More News From Across The State
Dr. Jay Ken Iinuma, a former medical director for Aetna, said he was following the company's training, in which nurses reviewed records and made recommendations to him.
CNN:
State Launches Aetna Probe After Stunning Admission
California's insurance commissioner has launched an investigation into Aetna after learning a former medical director for the insurer admitted under oath he never looked at patients' records when deciding whether to approve or deny care. California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones expressed outrage after CNN showed him a transcript of the testimony and said his office is looking into how widespread the practice is within Aetna. "If the health insurer is making decisions to deny coverage without a physician actually ever reviewing medical records, that's of significant concern to me as insurance commissioner in California -- and potentially a violation of law," he said. (Drash, 2/11)
San Francisco Chronicle:
California Department Of Insurance Opens Investigation Into Aetna
“If the health insurer is making decisions to deny coverage without a physician actually ever reviewing medical records, that’s of significant concern to me as insurance commissioner in California — and potentially a violation of law,” [Jones] said. (Thadani, 2/11)
Flu Seems To Have Peaked Weeks Ago In California, But Death Toll May Still Rise
There's also another virus circulating in the state that’s sending kids and older adults to the hospital struggling to breathe. “We’re hoping there’s not a second peak, but there can be,” said Dr. Andy Shen, an emergency room physician.
Los Angeles Times:
Flu Deaths Reach A High, But Outbreak Shows Signs Of Easing
California health officials said Friday that 36 Californians under the age of 65 died of the flu in the first week of February — more than in any other week this season. The flu season nationwide is considered among the worst in a decade. Hospitals in California set up tents to triage flu patients, many pharmacies ran out of flu medicines and the death toll has been unusually high. Gabriella Chabot, a student at La Reina High School in Thousand Oaks, was among those who died of complications of the flu. (Karlamangla, 2/9)
Sacramento Bee:
So Far, 163 People Did Not Survive Flu Season In California
Influenza has now killed 163 people in California, according to statistics released Friday by the state Department of Public Health. The number has not risen so high this early in the flu season since 2013-2014 when more than 350 people had died within a comparable period. (Anderson, 2/9)
LA Daily News:
Flu-Related Deaths In California Surpass 150 As Worst Season In Years Continues Its Toll
Last week, 36 more people in California died of flu-related illnesses, or six more than the week before, making it the deadliest week so far this season. That brought the number of flu-related deaths to 163 statewide, but doesn’t include those who are 65 years old or older, according to the latest data released by the California Department of Public Health. (Abram, 2/9)
Even As Californians Become More Secular, Demand For Hospital Chaplains Remains High
“As hospitals go through financial constraints, there’s still an appreciation for spiritual care as a part of holistic care,” said David Lichter, executive director of the National Association of Catholic Chaplains.
Sacramento Bee:
Demand For Hospital Chaplians Remains As Religous Belief Wanes
The demand for spiritual and religious care within hospitals hasn’t waned with the years, according to Sacramento-area chaplains and national spiritual care officials. All of the hospitals in the Sacramento area provide chaplain services, and Sutter Medical Center is building a new prayer room that is slated to open in June. (Sullivan, 2/11)
In other news about health care workers —
Modesto Bee:
Physician Shortage: New Program Trains Nurse Practitioners To Meet The Need In Stanislaus, Merced Counties
Blake Hufford says the experience of working in the emergency department at Doctors Medical Center opened his eyes to the need for primary care in the Central Valley. ...Hufford, a registered nurse, realized he wanted to contribute to the solution when a new masters degree program was created at California State University, Stanislaus. It is training family nurse practitioners to solve the shortage of primary care doctors in Stanislaus and Merced counties. (Carlson, 2/11)
Rural Town Tries To Find Its Footing Again In Wake Of Mass Shooting
Though the event blended in with the more than 300 mass shootings American dealt with last year, the psychological ramifications of the incident are still be felt by the community.
Capital Public Radio:
California Town Wrestles With Aftermath Of Shooting Rampage
On one level, it looks like all is mostly back to normal in the small, rural community of Rancho Tehama in Northern California. But just below the surface it's clear people here are still grappling with the aftermath of a local man's murderous rampage nearly three months ago that killed five and wounded 12 others. (Westervelt, 2/9)
In other news from across the state —
San Francisco Chronicle:
Home Care Subsidy Helps SF’s Middle-Income Seniors
The Cherrys are among the beneficiaries of a pilot program, believed to be the first of its kind in the country, that provides financial assistance to middle-income people — mostly seniors and some younger adults with disabilities — to help pay for home care. ...The program is designed for people who have long struggled to afford home care on their own but who earn too much to qualify for free or low-cost home care like In-Home Supportive Services provided by Medi-Cal, the insurance program for the poor. (Ho, 2/11)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. Considers Cutting Through Red Tape To Get Homeless People Housed Faster
As Los Angeles politicians face mounting pressure to combat the homelessness crisis, the City Council is weighing two measures aimed at clearing obstacles to getting more people into housing. But the proposed laws have stirred up concerns among critics who fear they will muzzle neighbors or concentrate homeless housing into specific neighborhoods. (Alpert Reyes and Smith, 2/12)
Ventura County Star:
Mental Health Chief Elaine Crandall Quits For New Position
The head of the Ventura County Behavioral Health Department is stepping down, officials announced this week. Director Elaine Crandall is leaving the post she has held for three years to accept another job, officials at the Ventura County Health Care Agency said in a prepared statement. The nature of her new position was not disclosed. (Wilson, 2/9)
Ventura County Star:
Ronald McDonald Project Slated For Ventura County Medical Center
It will be a place where families dealing with pediatric cancer or premature birth can take a breath. A Ronald McDonald family room planned for Ventura County Medical Center in Ventura would be the third such project in Southern California and the first in Ventura County. “I’ve been trying to get that facility for VCMC since 1989,” said Dr. Chris Landon, director of pediatrics at the county-run hospital in Ventura. “It gives you a chance to get away from the high drama that occurs in the hospital bed. It’s a place to feel like a family.” (Kisken, 2/11)
The Mercury News:
Mariah's Story: How A Bay Area Foster Child Died After Ingesting Meth Twice
Hundreds of pages of reports and records from San Joaquin Child Protective Services, the hospital, police and the coroner obtained by this news organization show a series of failures by the people tasked with protecting Mariah, from the social workers who chose not to remove her from the foster home after the first incident, to the doctors who appear to have accepted the foster mother’s suggestions that the drug poisoning occurred before the girl was in her care. (Gafni and DeBolt, 2/11)
Report Finds Evidence Of Several Toxic Chemicals In Air During Richmond Scrap-Metal Yard Fire
At a town hall meeting in Richmond last Wednesday, several residents indicated that the smoke made them sick.
KQED:
Richmond Fire Released Range Of Toxic Chemicals Into Air, Reports Show
Newly obtained reports show that elevated levels of several industrial chemicals were found in air samples taken at the site of a smoky fire at a scrap-metal yard in Richmond late last month. Days after the blaze, Contra Costa County health officials disclosed that high levels of benzene, a chemical known to cause cancer, were recorded near the site of the Jan. 30 fire at Sims Metal Management. (Goldberg, 2/12)
In other news —
San Francisco Chronicle:
State Earns First Royalty Check After Investing Billions In Stem Cell Research
The City of Hope medical research center has sent more than $190,000 to the State Treasurer’s Office related to research funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, or CIRM, which has been tasked with issuing $2.75 billion in grants for stem cell studies. The check, which was received in December, is the first of what CIRM hopes will be many such payments in the coming years. (Palomino, 2/11)
White House Budget, Though Largely Ceremonial, Will Provide Peek At Trump's Health Priorities
President Donald Trump's budget blueprint, set to be released Monday, is expected to include funding to fight the opioid crisis. Media outlets take a look at what else may be in the proposal.
The Washington Post:
In Big Reversal, New Trump Budget Will Give Up On Longtime Republican Goal Of Eliminating Deficit
President Trump on Monday will offer a budget plan that falls far short of eliminating the government’s deficit over 10 years, conceding that huge tax cuts and new spending increases make this goal unattainable, three people familiar with the proposal said. ... The budget is expected to target spending cuts at social welfare programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, large segments of government spending that have long been eyed by Republicans for cuts. The White House is looking at ways to curb these programs by expanding work requirements for beneficiaries, but it is unclear how much money changes like this would save or whether it would find enough political support. (Paletta, 2/11)
The Associated Press:
Trump’s $4 Trillion Budget Helps Move Deficit Sharply Higher
The original plan was for Trump’s new budget to slash domestic agencies even further than last year’s proposal, but instead it will land in Congress three days after he signed a two-year spending agreement that wholly rewrites both last year’s budget and the one to be released Monday. The 2019 budget was originally designed to double down on last year’s proposals to slash foreign aid, the Environmental Protection Agency, home heating assistance and other nondefense programs funded by Congress each year. (Taylor, 2/12)
The Hill:
Trump Budget To Include Billions To Combat Opioid Epidemic
President Trump’s budget will propose billions of dollars to combat the opioid epidemic plaguing the country, months after the administration designated the crisis a national public health emergency. The White House’s fiscal 2019 budget set to be released Monday will include nearly $17 billion for the opioid epidemic that’s killing more Americans per year than car accidents, according to an outline from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). (Roubein, 2/11)
The Hill:
Five Questions About The New Trump Budget And Health Issues
The White House is expected to release its fiscal 2019 budget request on Monday, and health advocates will be watching closely to see if this year’s proposal will contain deep cuts to the agencies charged with bolstering public health and finding cures for complex diseases. Lawmakers from both parties are also waiting to see if the budget will propose major changes to the anti-drug office that have already sparked an outcry. (Roubein, 2/11)
Despite Big Talk On Bringing Down Drug Prices, Critics Find Trump's Plan Modest, Underwhelming
The White House Council of Economic Advisers has released a 30-page strategy for reducing drug costs. But the White House strategy largely sidesteps the question of whether drugmakers set their prices too high to start with.
The New York Times:
Lower Drug Prices: New Proposals Carry Lots Of Promises
When it comes to high drug prices, President Trump and members of Congress have been long on promises but short on action. But that appears to be changing: The White House on Friday released a report recommending significant changes that would affect drug costs and the president’s budget proposal on Monday is expected to include some plans to expand drug coverage under Medicare. In addition, a spending bill passed by Congress on Friday included a provision that would accelerate closing a payment gap in Medicare for prescription drugs. (Thomas and Abelson, 2/9)
In other national health care news —
The New York Times:
F.D.A. Chief Goes Against The Administration Stereotype
Scott Gottlieb, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, came to the job with a résumé straight out of the Trump administration’s playbook. A millionaire with a libertarian bent, he made his money working for the industry he now regulates, and had investments in 20 health care companies whose products could come before the agency for approval. Pharmaceutical and medical device executives enthusiastically supported his nomination, while consumer and public health groups sounded the requisite alarms. (Kaplan and Thomas, 2/11)
The Associated Press:
Trump To Nominate Jim Carroll As Next Drug Czar
President Donald Trump has tapped deputy White House chief of staff Jim Carroll to serve as the administration's next drug czar. Carroll's position as head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy will make him the most public face of the administration's efforts to fight the opioid epidemic — an effort critics say hasn't gone nearly far enough. (2/9)
Reuters:
OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma Stops Promoting Opioids, Cuts Sales Staff
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma said on Saturday that it has cut its sales force in half and will stop promoting opioids to physicians, following widespread criticism of the ways drugmakers market addictive painkillers. The drugmaker said it will inform doctors Monday that its sales representatives will no longer visit physicians’ offices to discuss the company’s opioid products. It will now have about 200 sales representatives, Purdue said. (2/10)
Stat:
How Will Amazon Revolutionize Health Care? Follow Its Footprints In Seattle
Amazon’s effort to shake up health care is as tantalizing as it is opaque — a giant black box hanging over one-fifth of the American economy. But several clues about its plans are plainly visible in its hometown of Seattle, where it has hired executives from health industry heavyweights and spurred adoption of technologies it may eventually use to upend drug distribution and other aspects of care. (Ross, 2/12)