- KFF Health News Original Stories 3
- Gov. Brown Signs Bill Seeking OK For Exchange To Sell To Immigrants Without Documents
- As Hospital Chains Grow, So Do Their Prices For Care
- Women And The Zika Virus: Smart Questions And A Few Solid Answers
- Covered California & The Health Law 2
- California Inches Closer To Offering Coverage Under Health Law To Those In U.S. Illegally
- Poll: Californians Have Shifted Focus To Costs Instead Of Health Law's Fate
- Public Health and Education 2
- 'It’s Been Cut A Little Short. But It’s Been Fantastic.'
- Singers Let Hospice Patients Know They Are Not Alone
Latest From California Healthline:
KFF Health News Original Stories
Gov. Brown Signs Bill Seeking OK For Exchange To Sell To Immigrants Without Documents
The state can now submit a potentially precedent-setting request for federal approval to allow immigrants living in California illegally to buy insurance from Covered California. (Ana B. Ibarra, 6/10)
As Hospital Chains Grow, So Do Their Prices For Care
The average patient stay costs $4,000 more at Sutter and Dignity hospitals than at other California medical centers, study shows. (Chad Terhune, 6/13)
Women And The Zika Virus: Smart Questions And A Few Solid Answers
Here’s a breakdown of what women should know, and what is still unclear, regarding how Zika is transmitted, who is at risk and how to take precautions against it. (Shefali Luthra, 7/29)
More News From Across The State
Covered California & The Health Law
California Inches Closer To Offering Coverage Under Health Law To Those In U.S. Illegally
Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation that would require the state to seek a waiver from the federal government to allow immigrants in the country illegally to buy insurance from Covered California exchanges. They would not be eligible for subsidies.
The Associated Press:
California Moves To Open Health Care Exchange To Undocumented People
California Gov. Jerry Brown has approved a path to open the state's health care exchange to people who cannot prove they are legally in the country. Brown signed a law Friday that would allow undocumeted immigrants to buy insurance through the state marketplace but not receive government-subsidized health care. (6/10)
Reuters:
California Governor Signs Bill Letting Undocumented Immigrants Buy Insurance
California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill into law allowing unauthorized immigrants to buy health insurance on a state exchange created under the U.S. Affordable Care Act, making the state the first in the country to offer that kind of coverage. The law lets the state request a waiver from the federal government that will be needed to allow unauthorized immigrants to purchase unsubsidized insurance through Covered California, the state's healthcare exchange. (O'Brien, 6/11)
Los Angeles Times:
Gov. Brown Signs Bill That Could Help Immigrants Get Access To Health Insurance
The new law is the latest immigrant-friendly policy recently passed in California. Over the last few years, immigrants here illegally have gained the ability to apply for professional licenses, such as for practicing law or medicine, and also for drivers licenses. Opponents of these policies say they encourage illegal immigration and take away resources from those here legally. But immigrant advocates have praised California’s efforts, especially those around expanding healthcare. (Karlamangla, 6/10)
The Sacramento Bee:
Gov. Jerry Brown Agrees To Seek Health Insurance For Undocumented Immigrants
“Today we ask the federal government to remove barriers to health insurance access that discriminates against some of our residents on the basis of their documentation status,” Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, said in a statement. “The current policy disallowing immigrants from purchasing care with their own money is both discriminatory and outdated.” (White, 6/10)
California Healthline:
Gov. Brown Signs Bill Seeking OK For Exchange To Sell To Immigrants Without Documents
Under the terms of California’s request to the federal government, immigrants without legal standing would not qualify for government assistance to help pay for the coverage — unlike the vast majority of Covered California enrollees. Many experts and advocates concede that this makes the measure a largely symbolic gesture, since few would be able to afford policies on their own. They are allowed to buy coverage in the private market, but many decline to do so for financial reasons, insurance industry experts say. (Ibarra, 6/10)
Poll: Californians Have Shifted Focus To Costs Instead Of Health Law's Fate
A new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll finds that nearly two-thirds of voters worry “very much” about rising health costs.
Los Angeles Times:
California Voters Are Becoming More Concerned About Healthcare Costs Than About Whether They Have Insurance
Six years after President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, the health reform law has gained acceptance from a majority of California voters, but the cost of getting healthcare remains a major concern, eclipsing worries about having insurance, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll. The widespread worry about costs indicates a potential shift in the debate over healthcare, at least in this heavily Democratic state. (Lauter, 6/10)
In Latest Devastating Blow To Theranos, Walgreens Terminates Partnership
The 40 Theranos blood-draw sites inside Walgreens stores in Arizona, which the company calls “wellness centers,” have been the primary source of revenue for Theranos and its conduit to consumers.
The Wall Street Journal:
Walgreen Terminates Partnership With Blood-Testing Firm Theranos
Drugstore operator Walgreen Co. formally ended a strained alliance with Theranos Inc. as regulators near a decision on whether to impose sanctions against the embattled Silicon Valley firm. Some officials at the Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. unit had grown frustrated at not getting more details and documentation from Theranos after learning it had corrected tens of thousands of blood tests, including many performed on samples collected from patients at Walgreens pharmacies, according to people familiar with the partnership. (Siconolfi, Weaver and Carreyrou, 6/12)
The New York Times:
Walgreens Cuts Ties To Blood-Testing Company Theranos
Walgreens said on Sunday that it was terminating its relationship with Theranos, dealing a severe blow to the embattled blood-testing company. Walgreens said it would immediately close all 40 of the Theranos testing centers in its Arizona drugstores, the source of most of Theranos’s customers. The giant retailer, a part of the Walgreens Boots Alliance, played a critical role in Theranos’s early success. Founded by Elizabeth Holmes, a Stanford University dropout, the company promised to revolutionize the lab industry by being able to offer blood tests through a simple finger prick at a fraction of the cost of conventional testing. (Abelson and Pollack, 6/12)
CNN Money:
Walgreens Ends Relationship With Theranos
Theranos spokesperson Brooke Buchanan said that the firm is working closely with the government to exceed all federal regulations. "We are disappointed that Walgreens has chosen to terminate our relationship and remain fully committed to our mission to provide patients access to affordable health information and look forward to continuing to serve customers in Arizona and California through our retail locations," Buchanan said. (Mclean, 6/12)
KQED:
Walgreens Shutting Down Theranos Centers ‘Immediately’
Theranos still lists five locations where consumers can get their blood tested, four in Arizona and one in California. The Walgreens web page that used to list the locations of Theranos centers now redirects to the drugstore chain’s home page. (Brooks, 6/12)
San Francisco Business Times:
Walgreens Ends Relationship With Theranos, In-Store Centers Closing Immediately
Walgreens will close all 40 remaining Theranos Wellness Centers, the drugstore chain said Sunday, and terminate its nearly three-year relationship with Theranos Inc.
In a statement late Sunday afternoon, Walgreens (NASDAQ: WBA) said it told Palo Alto-based Theranos that the 40 centers set up in Walgreens stores in Arizona will close effective immediately. The decision "means Walgreens will no longer offer Theranos services at any of its stories." (Leuty, 6/12)
'It’s Been Cut A Little Short. But It’s Been Fantastic.'
KPBS talks with a woman who was diagnosed with ALS and plans on ending her life through California's new aid-in-dying law.
KPBS:
Terminally Ill San Diego Woman Plans To Take Advantage Of Aid-In-Dying Law
Eurika Strotto has always led an active life. Growing up in South Africa, Eurika played field hockey for her high school and college teams. She also became a judo champion. So her wife, Nita, wasn’t surprised that when it came time to remodel their University Heights home, Eurika did most of the work herself — starting with the kitchen. (Goldberg, 6/10)
Singers Let Hospice Patients Know They Are Not Alone
The Threshold Choir visits those who are in hospice care to help soothe and calm them in their time of need.
KQED:
‘Threshold Choir’ Brings Songs Of Comfort To The Dying
Three women climb the stairs of a beautiful Victorian in San Francisco. They hold nothing in their hands, but they bring a precious gift. These women are members of the Threshold Choir, and the home they are visiting is the Zen Hospice. They sing to people at the last threshold of life, and today, when they reach the second floor, they find Luca Sager, a 38-year-old chef with terminal brain cancer. (Berger, 6/11)
Medical Marijuana Measures Voted Onto Ballot In Costa Mesa
The initiatives could allow up to eight shops to operate in the city.
The Orange County Register:
Costa Mesa Voters Will See Three Medical Pot Shop Measures
Voters will decide in November whether medical marijuana dispensaries should be allowed in the city. The City Council voted 4-0 Tuesday night to place two measures proposed by two advocates that would allow several dispensaries in the city on the ballot. One initiative would allow up to eight shops and the other four. (Casiano, 6/10)
In other news from across the state —
The Mercury News:
West Nile Virus: Positive Mosquitoes Detected In San Jose And Campbell
Mosquitoes that have tested positive for West Nile Virus have been detected in parts of San Jose and Campbell, according to the Santa Clara County Vector Control District. The adult mosquitoes were collected from 95125, 95124, 95008, and 95118 zip codes. (Leyva, 6/10)
Bay City News:
Jail Time For 2 Menlo Park Therapists Who Overbilled County
A pair of Menlo Park therapists took a plea deal and will serve up to a year in jail after they were charged with swindling San Mateo County by getting paid for therapy sessions for victims of violent crime that never occurred, prosecutors said. (6/11)
On Medical Initiatives, Clinton's Detailed Style Contrasts Sharply With Trump's General Views
Donald Trump typically announces his thoughts on medical research only when asked directly about it -- and so many in the field aren't sure where exactly he stands on the issues. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton calls the Republican presidential candidate out on his views about women's health care at a Planned Parenthood Action Fund gala.
Stat:
Clinton Vs. Trump: A Race Between A Policy Wonk And A ‘Black Box’
When Hillary Clinton announced in December that she wanted a big increase in Alzheimer’s research, she did it in typical Clinton fashion — with a major speech and a six-point plan, led by a specific commitment of $2 billion a year in federal funds to find a cure by 2025. When Donald Trump announced his own support for Alzheimer’s research last summer, he did it because someone asked him a question at a town hall. And his response was typical Trump. He assured the New Hampshire audience that Alzheimer’s was a “total top priority” for him — a bold promise with no specifics and no follow-up. These are the two paths that US medical research could take now that the lineup for the November presidential election is settled. (Nather, 6/13)
Morning Consult:
Clinton Frames Trump As Anti-Woman
Hillary Clinton continued her move into the general election Friday by framing Donald Trump’s campaign as one of a war on women. ... She spoke for the first time since clinching the Democratic presidential nomination, acknowledging the milestone of becoming the first woman to earn the nomination of one of the nation’s major political parties. She also discussed some of the women’s health and family policies that she would prioritize in the White House, such as paid family leave and access to birth control and safe abortion. But mostly, Clinton hammered on the idea that Trump puts women’s reproductive rights at risk. (Owens, 6/10)
FDA Guidelines For Gay Men Donating Blood Criticized Following Orlando Massacre
Experts say they are overly conservative and unnecessary with the testing technology available now.
Stat:
Orlando Shootings Spark Calls To End Limits On Gay Men Donating Blood
The massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando on Sunday sparked calls from leading AIDS researchers and gay-rights advocates for the federal government to rewrite guidelines that bar men who have had sex with men in the past year from donating blood. (Piller, 6/12)
The Associated Press:
Gay Men Limited As Blood Donors For Orlando Club Victims
Hundreds lined up to give blood Sunday in Orlando to help the victims of the massacre at a gay nightclub, but major restrictions remain for gay men wanting to give blood themselves. The response overwhelmed OneBlood donation centers, where officials asked donors to make appointments and continue donating over the next several days. Over 50 people were injured and 50 were killed when a gunman opened fire early Sunday inside the downtown Orlando club Pulse. While many Facebook and Twitter posts from individuals and at least one gay advocacy group in Florida said no one would be turned away and all blood would be screened, OneBlood denied any change in policy. (6/12)
Republicans Shift Strategy, Go Small On Latest Health Law Changes
The move suggests that lawmakers are willing to make adjustments to the current law, despite plans to release replacement plan details. In other news, the insured who aren't getting subsidies struggle under the threat of skyrocketing premiums.
The Hill:
GOP Surprises With Push For Smaller ObamaCare Changes
House Republicans are considering small-bore changes to ObamaCare even as they prepare to release an outline for replacing the entire law. The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Friday held a hearing on five bills that would make relatively small changes to the health law, such as changing the documentation required to enroll in coverage or changing how insurers can use someone's age in setting premiums. The moves indicate that Republicans have not ruled out making adjustments to the existing law despite preperations to tout their long-awaited replacement plan for all of ObamaCare, coming from Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) task force later this month. (Sullivan, 6/10)
The Associated Press:
Rising Premiums Rattle Consumers Paying Their Own Way
Millions of people who pay the full cost of their health insurance will face the sting of rising premiums next year, with no financial help from government subsidies. Renewal notices bearing the bad news will go out this fall, just as the presidential election is in the homestretch. "I don't know if I could swallow another 30 or 40 percent without severely cutting into other things I'm trying to do, like retirement savings or reducing debt," said Bob Byrnes, of Blaine, Minnesota, a Twin Cities suburb. His monthly premium of $524 is already about 50 percent more than he was paying in 2015, and he has a higher deductible. (6/13)
In other national health care news —
The New York Times:
Officials Preparing For Zika Virus To Spread In The U.S.
The federal government, preparing for homegrown cases of the Zika virus, is planning to release a proposal for responding to them, health officials said Friday. The 60-page document, a blueprint for action when the first cases of locally transmitted Zika occur in the continental United States, could be released early next week, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. They emphasized that it was a working draft that could change based on advice from state officials. Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the secretary of health and human services, and Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the director of the C.D.C., spoke by videoconference with state governors Thursday about the plan. On Friday, experts with the C.D.C. talked with state health departments. (Tavernise, 6/10)
NPR:
Investors See Big Opportunities In Opioid Addiction Treatment
The first time Ray Tamasi got hit up by an investor, it was kind of out of the blue. "This guy called me up," says Tamasi, president of Gosnold on Cape Cod, an addiction treatment center with seven sites in Massachusetts. "The guy" represented a group of investors; Tamasi declines to say whom. But they were looking to buy addiction treatment centers like Gosnold. "He had checked around and learned that we were one of the more reputable programs. We had a good reputations in the community — nice array of services," Tamasi recalls. "He wanted to know if we were interested in becoming part of his company." (Kodjak, 6/10)
The Washington Post:
In U.S. Drinking Water, Many Chemicals Are Regulated — But Many Aren’t
For all the pathogens and chemicals monitored by the federal government to protect drinking water, a far broader universe of “emerging contaminants” is going unregulated. The Environmental Protection Agency keeps tabs on scores of substances that have surfaced in water systems around the country, with the aim of restricting those that endanger public health. But partly because the rules that the agency must follow are complicated and contentious, officials have failed to successfully regulate any new contaminant in two decades. Only once since the 1990s has the EPA come close to imposing a new standard — for perchlorate, a chemical found in explosives, road flares, rocket fuel and, it turns out, the drinking water of over 16 million people. (Dennis, 6/10)