Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Loopholes Limit New California Law To Guard Against Lofty Air Ambulance Bills
A new state law limits what consumers owe if they’re transported by an air ambulance that’s not part of their insurance network to the amount that they’d be charged if they used an in-network provider. But the law won’t protect millions of consumers whose health plans aren’t regulated by the state. (Michelle Andrews, )
Good morning! Here are your top California health stories of the day.
What’s In Newsom’s Budget? Health Care, The Homeless Crisis, Wildfire Safety And More: Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to use a strong economy to help lower-income Californians by revamping the state’s health program for the poor and getting homeless people off the streets through his second state budget proposal. During a nearly three-hour news conference on the $222 billion plan, he detailed strategies to address a variety of issues he wants to tackle.
Among the highlights:
― Newsom is extending health coverage to an estimated 27,000 undocumented seniors over the age of 65 at a cost of $64.2 million a year through the state’s Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal.
― California could become the first state to establish its own generic drug label, leveraging the state’s massive market to increase competition and lower generic drug prices.
― Calling it a “long overdue” tax on vape cartridges, Newsom is proposing a $2 levy on each 40 milligrams of nicotine.
― Bolstered by a multibillion-dollar surplus amid a booming economy, Newsom proposed spending $1.4 billion to address homelessness in the fiscal year beginning in July, including $750 million which would be distributed in a manner Newsom described as a “radical shift.” Instead of going through cities and counties, as emergency funds for homelessness services have in the past, the aid would go directly to service providers.
― Newsom vowed to re-examine the 1967 Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, which limits the authority of government officials to detain mentally ill people.
― Addressing the state’s wildfire crisis, the budget earmarks builds on the nearly $1 billion earmarked last year, adding more sophisticated fire prediction and monitoring, continued fire prevention efforts and spending to create statewide guidelines for emergency fire response.
― All privately run prisons for men would be closed by Sept. 30, 2021, with plans to shut down a state-run prison within five years. More than $552 million would be spent on rehabilitation and re-entry programs for inmates, with an additional $16.3 million going to establish campus-style environments at some state prisons for offenders younger than 26.
― The state would direct $70 million toward improving nutrition in school meals – a proposal lobbied by First Partner Jen Siebel Newsom.
― California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to bring all of the state’s cannabis licensing programs under one roof, aiming to better coordinate a complicated mix of regulators.
Read more from from CalMatters' reporters, Sophia Bollag of the Sacramento Bee, Andrew Sheeler of the Sacramento Bee, Paul Rogers of The Mercury News, John Wildermuth of the San Francisco Chronicle, Christine Mai-Duc of The Wall Street Journal, and Jason Pohl for Publica and the Sacramento Bee.
In related news:
The Sacramento Bee: California governor’s budget calls for hundreds more firefighters. ‘It’s about damn time.’
The Mercury News: Newsom’s 2020 budget leaves some housing advocates wanting more
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
Los Angeles Times:
After Years Of Financial Woes, Los Angeles Hospital Running Out Of Prayers
St. Vincent Medical Center on 3rd and Alvarado streets was founded in 1858 by the Daughters of Charity — six nuns who wanted to offer services to the poor and saw a need for healthcare in a growing L.A. Now, several hundred patients will need to be transferred to nearby Good Samaritan Hospital and St. Francis Medical Center. Community leaders and experts fear the hospital’s closing will have a ripple effect throughout the community and force the poor and elderly to travel farther away for care. (Reyes-Velarde, 1/12)
Modern Healthcare:
Dignity Health Loses Out-Of-Network Billing Lawsuit
A California appellate court has rejected Dignity Health's claim that L.A. Care Health Plan, a large Medicaid plan, owes it tens of millions of dollars in out-of-network bills for inpatient care following stabilization of medical emergencies. The Second District Court of Appeal on Thursday upheld a lower court's summary dismissal of Dignity's lawsuit alleging that the health plan owed Dignity's Northridge Hospital Medical Center higher than state-set rates. Northridge is not within the plan's network of contracted providers. (Meyer, 1/10)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Bay Area Hospital Facing Closure May Have New Buyer
Seton Medical Center, the 127-year-old Daly City hospital, was on the verge of potential closure after a deal to buy the hospital from its bankrupt owner fell apart last month. Now it’s in talks to be sold to another buyer, according to the president of the hospital’s medical staff.Seton and Seton Coastside, a smaller affiliated facility in Moss Beach, may soon be acquired by Apollo Medical Holdings and AHMC Healthcare, a Southern California health management company, said Dr. Robert Perez, who oversees the hospital’s physicians and is knowledgeable about the discussions. (Ho, 1/10)
NPR:
Sprawling Homeless Camps — Modern 'Hoovervilles'
Across California and other parts of the country, these growing homeless encampments evoke shantytown "Hoovervilles," where hundreds of thousands of destitute Americans lived during the Great Depression. The encampments are frustrating residents, raising health and safety fears and fueling a debate over poverty and inequality in one of the nation's wealthiest states. The fight over the encampment in Santa Rosa in Northern California's Sonoma County underscores the challenges of finding a lasting solution to the growing crisis. (Westervelt, 1/13)
San Francisco Chronicle:
‘They’ve Been Getting Sicker’: Inside SF’s Effort To Help The Toughest Homeless Cases
The shared priority project is part of a broader effort to revamp the city’s system of care as a shortage of mental health workers, drug treatment beds and stable housing hobbles its ability to help the most vulnerable. With support from Mayor London Breed, the Board of Supervisors recently passed legislation, called Mental Health SF, to overhaul the system. The shared priority project is just a small step toward the kind of coordinated response promised in Mental Health SF. Since September, 43 out of 237 people have moved into permanent supportive housing. (Fracassa and Thadani, 1/13)
Los Angeles Times:
Lawsuit Aims To Block Griffith Park Homeless Shelter
A new lawsuit aims to halt the construction of a homeless shelter in Griffith Park, arguing that Los Angeles officials skirted city and state rules when they approved the project on a Riverside Drive parking lot. The Los Angeles City Council voted in December to push forward with the planned shelter and begin awarding funding for the nearly $6.6-million project, which is slated to include a 10,800-square-foot structure with approximately 100 beds and trailers for showers, restrooms and administrative offices. (Reyes, 1/10)
Los Angeles Times:
H.B. Study Session On Homelessness Is Canceled While City Considers New State Resources
Huntington Beach has canceled a special City Council study session on homelessness slated for Monday in light of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement of a new plan to tackle the statewide issue by providing new resources to local governments. City Manager Oliver Chi said Friday that the city “will take a couple of weeks to vet and review the state’s new directives.” (Sclafani, 1/10)
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
COTS In Petaluma Eyes Expansion With City, Sonoma County Help
Petaluma’s most prominent homeless services provider, Committee on the Shelterless, is planning for its biggest expansion since building the Mary Isaak Center homeless shelter in 2004. The expansion effort is getting a boost from the city of Petaluma, and, in a sign of a growing regional problem, the Sonoma County Community Development Commission is playing a role. COTS may be able to expand within its existing footprint on Hopper Street east of Highway 101 or on adjacent city-owned land, said Chuck Fernandez, COTS CEO. (Brown, 1/12)
Sacramento Bee:
How To Stay Safe In County Jail In California
As we have reported on these serious systemic issues, more than 100 people who have been incarcerated, had a family member incarcerated or represented a client inside have reached out to us to share their stories. While there is no statewide guide for how to navigate California’s jails, local authorities are required by law to design an inmate orientation program, which should be published and provided to inmates when they are placed in a living area. (Raghavendran, 1/13)
LAist:
California's Flu Season Is Normal So Far — But Not In LA
In case you hadn't noticed all the people calling out sick, health officials are reminding people that we're in the heart of flu season. Looking statewide, California isn't faring worse this flu season than it has in years past — so far. (Garrova, 1/10)
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Sonoma County Sales Tax Measure G Would Give Budget Surge Especially For Rural Fire Agencies
A half-cent sales tax measure slated for the March 3 ballot promises to raise about $51 million a year for fire service and prevention in Sonoma County, doling out, for example, $5.5 million to Santa Rosa and $3.3 million to the rural Monte Rio Fire District, part of an ambitious bid to lift the capability of all agencies to fight and avert disastrous fires, floods and more. (Silvy, 1/12)
Modesto Bee:
Modesto CA Junior College Explores Climate Change And Health
Modesto Junior College hosted experts Friday on how climate change could affect physical and mental health in the Central Valley.They said residents could breathe more smoke from wildfires, and more mold in flooded homes, if the predicted weather extremes play out in the decades ahead. And then there are the psychological effects – including despair about the state of the planet. But the speakers also noted steps people could take, such as low-emission vehicles and climate-smart eating, that could foster a feeling that all is not lost. (Holland, 1/11)
Los Angeles Times:
Appellate Court Overturns Ruling Exempting Huntington Beach From 'sanctuary State' Immigration Law
A panel of appellate court justices Friday overturned an Orange County Superior Court judge’s ruling siding with Huntington Beach in its lawsuit challenging California’s so-called sanctuary state law. Huntington Beach officials argued the city did not have to abide by Senate Bill 54, formally known as the California Values Act of 2017, because it is a charter city and the state constitution gives charter cities more authority to impose laws that may supersede state laws. (Sclafani, 1/10)
The New York Times:
Trump Administration Says Obamacare Lawsuit Can Wait Until After The Election
The Trump administration came into office with its top legislative priority clear: Repeal the Affordable Care Act. It failed. Then, when a group of Republican states tried to throw out Obamacare through a lawsuit, the administration agreed that a key part of the law was unconstitutional. But now that defenders of the law have asked the Supreme Court to settle the case quickly, the president’s lawyers say they are in no particular hurry. The case, which seeks to invalidate the entire health care law, can wait for the lower courts to consider certain questions more carefully, they said in a filing to the Supreme Court on Friday. (Sanger-Katz, 1/10)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Weighs Tighter Requirements For Disability Payments
The Trump administration is working on a plan to tighten eligibility requirements for disability benefits, especially for older Americans, the latest step in a broader White House effort to shrink federal safety-net programs. The proposal being prepared by the Social Security Administration would revise eligibility for disability benefits based on age, education and work experience, according to a draft viewed by The Wall Street Journal. Those factors determined the eligibility of about 500,000 people in 2017, according to the latest available data. More than eight million people currently receive disability payments. (Davidson, 1/10)
The New York Times:
Tighter Food Stamp Rules Crowded Soup Kitchens, Not Job Rosters
In the early mornings, Chastity and Paul Peyton walk from their small and barely heated apartment to Taco Bell to clean fryers and take orders for as many work hours as they can get. It rarely adds up to full-time week’s worth, often not even close. With this income and whatever cash Mr. Peyton can scrape up doing odd jobs — which are hard to come by in a small town in winter, for someone without a car — the couple pays rent, utilities and his child support payments. Then there is the matter of food. “We can barely eat,” Ms. Peyton said. She was told she would be getting food stamps again soon — a little over two dollars’ worth a day — but the couple was without them for months. (Robertson, 1/13)
Stat:
Supreme Court Will Review Arkansas Law Governing PBMs
In a move with the potential to affect health care costs, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review a case that will determine the extent to which the states can regulate pharmacy benefit managers, the controversial middlemen in the pharmaceutical supply chain. At issue is an Arkansas law that governs the reimbursements rates that pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, must pay to pharmacies. Specifically, the law requires PBMs to reimburse pharmacies at or above their wholesale costs paid for generic drugs. (Silverman, 1/11)
The Hill:
Drug Price Outrage Threatens To Be Liability For GOP
The GOP’s reluctance to challenge rising prescription drug costs could be a political liability for the party in 2020. Outrage over increasing prices has propelled the issue to the top of voters’ minds heading into the November elections, when Republicans hope to keep control of the Senate and retake the House. But proposals that would limit what drug companies can charge for their products face opposition from Republicans, presenting an obstacle to congressional passage. (Hellmann, 1/10)
The Associated Press:
Ruling Barring Discharge Of HIV-Positive Airmen Upheld
An injunction barring the Trump administration from discharging two Air Force members who are HIV-positive was upheld Friday by a federal appeals court panel that called the military's rationale for prohibiting deployment of service members living with HIV “outmoded and at odds with current science." (1/10)
Stat:
Facebook Can't Tell If Its New Preventive Health Tool Is Working
As Facebook’s newest health tool makes its way to your feed, the company is still trying to figure out how to measure whether or not it is improving health outcomes. Launched in October, the preventive health tool is designed to nudge people toward getting recommended disease screenings and checkups, with the goal of improving users’ health and narrowing the wide gaps in health equity, including disparities in life expectancy from one state to the next. (Thielking and Brodwin, 1/13)
The Washington Post:
Medicaid Expansion May Have Saved Thousands From Drug Overdose Deaths
Expanding Medicaid rolls under the Affordable Care Act may have saved as many as 8,132 people from fatal opioid overdoses, virtually all involving heroin and fentanyl, a study released Friday suggests.
The research is the latest evidence that allowing more people to enroll in Medicaid has saved lives and improved health. (Bernstein, 1/10)
The Associated Press:
Suit Over Border Patrol Detention Conditions Goes To Trial
A years-old lawsuit challenging detention conditions in several of the Border Patrol’s Arizona stations will go to trial Monday as the agency as a whole has come under fire following several migrant deaths. The lawsuit filed in 2015 applies to eight Border Patrol facilities in Arizona where attorneys say migrants are held in unsafe and inhumane conditions. (1/12)
The Wall Street Journal:
Inside Google’s Quest For Millions Of Medical Records
Roughly a year ago, Google offered health-data company Cerner Corp. an unusually rich proposal. Cerner was interviewing Silicon Valley giants to pick a storage provider for 250 million health records, one of the largest collections of U.S. patient data. Google dispatched former chief executive Eric Schmidt to personally pitch Cerner over several phone calls and offered around $250 million in discounts and incentives, people familiar with the matter say. (Copeland, Mattioli and Evans, 1/11)
Stat:
Apple Barely Discussed Health In First CES Appearance In 28 Years
Breaking a 28-year hiatus, Apple made an appearance this week at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Last year, the iPhone maker’s CEO, Tim Cook, made the bold claim that Apple’s biggest impact on humankind would be in health. But the company did not discuss any health-specific products at the conference this year. (Brodwin, 1/10)
The Wall Street Journal:
Virus In China Is Part Of A Growing Threat
New, more severe human coronaviruses are emerging at an accelerating pace. Since 2002, three new types of coronavirus have emerged: SARS, MERS, and now this new one in Wuhan. SARS changed the game for virologists as the first coronavirus that was deadly to humans. Before that, it was known as a virus causing common colds. MERS is even deadlier. It also infects people on a continuing basis, unlike SARS, which disappeared after causing one epidemic that shook up global public health. The new Wuhan virus appears milder. While some people are severely ill, only one death has been reported. (McKay, 1/10)
The Washington Post:
Years After Abortion, Women Say They Made The Right Decision
There’s been quite a lot of research about women’s emotions immediately following an abortion. Some experience sadness, guilt and anger; others feel relief. For many, it’s a mix of all of these and more. But what about in the long term? Researchers from the University of California at San Francisco delved into this question in an analysis of 667 women recruited from 30 sites across the country as part of the Turnaway Study — a landmark body of research about how abortion affects women physically, socially, emotionally and economically. (Cha, 1/12)