- California Healthline Original Stories 1
- Covered California Pops And Locks Through Enrollment Season
- Sacramento Watch 2
- Despite California's Already-Strict Gun Rules, State Leaders And Activists Call For Tighter Restrictions Following Shooting
- 'This Isn’t Just My Lane. It's My Highway': Doctors Outraged Over NRA's Suggestion That They Stay Out Of Gun Debate
- Public Health and Education 1
- California Wildfire Death Toll Climbs To Become One Of Most Deadly On Record
- Around California 1
- State Recognizes Strides Gold Coast Health Plan Has Made In Improving Quality Of Care For Medi-Cal Beneficiaries
- National Roundup 3
- On The Agenda For Dems: Stabilizing Health Law, Curbing Prescription Drug Costs, And Investigating 'Sabotage'
- Menthol Cigarettes Could Be Banned As Part Of FDA's Aggressive Crackdown On Tobacco Products
- 'Magical Thinking' About Vitamin D's Effect On Cancer And Fish Oil's Effect On Heart Health Upended In Sweeping Study
Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Covered California Pops And Locks Through Enrollment Season
The state health insurance exchange hired hip-hop dancers in communities across the state as part of its promotion of open enrollment, which ends Jan. 15. (Ana B. Ibarra, )
More News From Across The State
Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, who as lieutenant governor led the effort after the San Bernardino killings to pass the ballot proposition on high-capacity magazines and background checks, has already called for more action on gun control. State lawmakers are eyeing tighter restrictions, as well, including a bill to make it easier to confiscate firearms from people deemed a public danger.
The New York Times:
California Is Already Tough On Guns. After A Mass Shooting, Some Wonder If It’s Enough
After a mass killing in Santa Barbara in 2014, California passed a law that let police officers and family members seek restraining orders to seize guns from troubled people. A year later, a shooting rampage in San Bernardino led to voters approving a ballot proposition to outlaw expanded magazines for guns and require background checks for buying ammunition. The state has also banned assault weapons and regulates ammunition sales — all part of a wave of gun regulation that began a quarter century ago with a mass murder at a San Francisco law firm. (Arango and Medina, 11/10)
Capital Public Radio:
California Gov.-Elect Gavin Newsom Repeats Call To Ban High-Capacity Gun Magazines
Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom repeated his call this week for a ban on high-capacity gun magazines following the shooting in Thousand Oaks that killed 12 people.California voters in 2016 passed a law to ban possession of magazines that carry more than 10 rounds. That effort was spearheaded by Newsom. But a lawsuit by gun rights groups has blocked it from going into effect. “High capacity magazine clips have no place in the streets of this country, let alone the streets of this city and state,” Newsom told reporters at a press conference in San Francisco. (Nichols, 11/9)
Capital Public Radio/KXJZ:
Newsom: NRA Must Be ‘Held To Account’ For Thousand Oaks Shooting
Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom delayed a planned announcement on his transition to California’s top office on Wednesday after Tuesday night’s mass shooting in Thousand Oaks. “It’s a heavy heart to come here a day or two after an election for governor,” he told reporters in San Francisco in his first public appearance since Election Night. “You want to be focused on other things.” Newsom, who led gun control efforts including Proposition 63 two years ago, argued that prayers and excuses aren’t enough. (Adler, 11/9)
Los Angeles Times:
In Response To Mass Shooting In Thousand Oaks, California Legislator Proposes Making It Easier To Confiscate Guns
Alarmed by the troubled history of a gunman who killed 12 people in Thousand Oaks this week, state Assemblyman Phil Ting said Friday he will reintroduce a bill that would make it easier to confiscate firearms from people deemed a public danger. Ian David Long, who police say is behind the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill on Wednesday night, had been evaluated in April by mental health specialists who were called out by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department after a disturbance call. (McGreevy, 11/9)
The Washington Post:
Ventura Shooting: They Survived The Las Vegas Massacre. In A California Country Bar, It Happened Again.
The first frantic message buzzed Brendan Hoolihan’s phone at about midnight Wednesday, and for hours the messages continued to flood his Snapchat group text. His friends had created the chain after the Las Vegas shooting massacre a year earlier, just in case something unimaginable like that ever happened again. It had. (Mettler, 11/11)
The Wall Street Journal:
Democrats Plan To Pursue Most Aggressive Gun-Control Legislation In Decades
Democrats say they will pass the most aggressive gun-control legislation in decades when they become the House majority in January, plans they renewed this week in the aftermath of a mass killing in a California bar. Their efforts will be spurred by an incoming class of pro-gun-control lawmakers who scored big in Tuesday’s midterm elections, although any measure would likely meet stiff resistance in the GOP-controlled Senate. Democrats ousted at least 15 House Republicans with “A” National Rifle Association ratings, while the candidates elected to replace them all scored an “F” NRA rating. (Epstein, 11/9)
The Associated Press:
Democratic State Gains May Mean Tighter Gun, Looser Pot Laws
From New York to New Mexico, residents in a number of states can expect a leftward push for expanded health care coverage, gun control, education funding and legalized recreational marijuana as Democrats who gained new or stronger powers in the midterm elections seek to put their stamp on public policy. While Republicans remain in charge in more states, Democrats nearly doubled the number of places where they will wield a trifecta of power over the governor's office and both chambers of the state legislature. (11/11)
The NRA's tweet saying doctors should "stay in their lane" over the gun control debate sparked furious, and sometimes graphic, responses from physicians who deal with gun shot victims frequently. "Do you have any idea how many bullets I pull out of corpses weekly?" Judy Melinek tweeted. Another doctor posted: "My lane is paved by the broken bodies left behind by your products.” Meanwhile, media outlets examine the widespread mental health effects of mass shootings.
NPR:
After NRA Mocks Doctors, Physicians Reply: 'This Is Our Lane'
A mocking tweet from the National Rifle Association has stirred many physicians to post on social media about their tragically frequent experiences treating patients in the aftermath of gun violence. "Someone should tell self-important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane," the NRA tweeted on Thursday. "Half of the articles in Annals of Internal Medicine are pushing for gun control. Most upsetting, however, the medical community seems to have consulted NO ONE but themselves." (Wamsley, 11/11)
The Washington Post:
Doctors Take To Twitter After NRA Tells Them ‘To Stay In Their Lane’
At first, Judy Melinek didn’t know how to respond when she learned about a National Rifle Association tweet last week telling doctors who dared enter the gun debate “to stay in their lane.” But two days later, when the West Coast forensic pathologist was on her way to the morgue to examine the body of one of the country’s many forgotten gunshot victims, the words came to her. “Do you have any idea how many bullets I pull out of corpses weekly? This isn’t just my lane,” she tweeted Friday. “It’s my [expletive] highway.” (Sellers, 11/11)
NPR:
Psychological Effects Of Mass Shootings Are Widespread
Roger Chui first learned about the mass shooting that killed 12 people in a packed bar Wednesday night in Thousand Oaks, Calif., when he woke up the morning after and turned on his phone. "And I was like 'Oh, that seems really soon after Pittsburgh and Louisville,' " says the software developer in Lexington, Ky. "I thought we'd get more of a break." Chui feels like these kinds of shootings happen in the U.S. so often now that when he hears about them all he can think about is, "Oh well, it happened again I guess." (Chatterjee and Westerman, 11/9)
Los Angeles Times:
The Role Of PTSD In Mass Shootings: Let’s Separate Myth From Reality
Just hours after former Marine Ian David Long killed himself and 12 other people at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks on Wednesday night, observers speculated that post-traumatic stress disorder played a role in the tragedy. The Ventura County sheriff alluded to it. One of Long’s former roommates in Reseda mentioned it. Even the president of the United States said it. But psychology experts say it is premature to suggest that Long suffered from PTSD — or that it could have prompted him to open fire in a bar packed with young adults. (Netburn, 11/10)
California Wildfire Death Toll Climbs To Become One Of Most Deadly On Record
A total of 29 bodies have been found so far from that fire, while another 228 are still missing. A quarter million people remained evacuated on Sunday amid fears that the infernos that broke out Thursday could flare up again, as dense smoke made air unhealthy for millions from San Francisco to San Diego.
The Associated Press:
Death Toll Rises In California Wildfire, Matching Deadliest
As relatives desperately searched shelters for missing loved ones on Sunday, crews searching the smoking ruins of Paradise and outlying areas found six more bodies, raising the death toll to 29, matching the deadliest wildfire in California history. Wildfires continued to rage on both ends of the state, with gusty winds expected overnight which will challenge firefighters. The statewide death toll stood at 31. The Camp Fire that ravaged a swath of Northern California was the deadliest. (Flaccus and Selsky, 11/11)
Sacramento Bee:
228 Missing, 29 Dead In California Wildfire
The death toll, which increased by six on Sunday, equals the death toll from the 1933 Griffith Fire in Los Angeles as the worst mass-casualty wildland fire ever in the state. The Oakland hills Tunnel Fire in 1991 caused 25 deaths. The fire slowed some on Sunday, but officials said the risk of flaring remains high and winds are once again a threat overnight. (Sabalow, Valine and Bizjak, 11/11)
Los Angeles Times:
Death Toll Jumps To 29 In Camp Fire
The first bodies found after the fire passed were in a car on the road. Some survivors said they had only minutes to escape. Five of the bodies found Sunday were in homes. One was in a vehicle. Much of the area has still not been searched, and scores of people remain missing. “What I will say is we are very early in our efforts,” Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said. “There is still a great deal of work to do.” (Sahagun and Serna, 11/12)
San Francisco Chronicle:
More Than 200 Remain Missing In Camp Fire
The fire was just starting to pick up its pace Thursday morning when Greg Carota last spoke to his twin brother. Vinnie Carota, 65 years old and disabled, said he was sticking it out, even as his roommate and a sister-in-law offered him a ride. Vinnie said he was staying, even as Greg angrily pleaded over the phone for him not to. And then the line went silent. Every call went unanswered the rest of Thursday. Then the same silence on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. (Gutierrez, 11/11)
The Wall Street Journal:
Firefighters Battle Deadly California Wildfires
The Camp Fire in Butte County, about 100 miles north of Sacramento, grew slightly to a total of 109,000 acres on Sunday, after destroying an estimated 6,500 homes and 260 businesses, mostly in the city of Paradise. At least five victims of the fire were found trapped in charred vehicles as they tried to flee the fast-moving blaze, authorities said. ... In Southern California, the Woolsey Fire expanded to 83,275 acres Sunday morning, after leaving an estimated 177 homes and other structures destroyed in Ventura and Los Angeles counties and at least two known fatalities. More than 200,000 people remained evacuated from their homes on Sunday, including in Thousand Oaks where a gunman fatally shot 12 people in the Borderline Bar and Grill before apparently taking his own life. (Carlton, 11/11)
Ventura County Star:
California Fire: Air Quality Degraded From Smoke In Woolsey Fire
As the Hill and Woolsey fires rage, the huge plume of smoke wafting over Ventura County is degrading air quality in the region. According to an index from the Environmental Protection Agency, the air quality in Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley on Friday was deemed "unhealthy for sensitive groups." The designation means people are advised to minimize the risk of inhaling pollutants by avoiding extended periods outdoors or exerting themselves. (Childs, 11/10)
LAist:
Woolsey Fire Rises To 85K Acres, 15% Containment
The Woolsey Fire has ravaged coastal communities in its sweep from Thousand Oaks all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Tens of thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes, including public officials, first responders and their families. The fire is also suspected of killing two civilians and injuring at least one more. (11/11)
Los Angeles Times:
'Nonstop' Aerial Attack Saves Homes In Woolsey Fire, But Winds Expected To Bring New Dangers
Los Angeles County fire engineer Scott Pishe stood guard outside several multimillion-dollar homes Sunday as air tankers and helicopters bombarded the fire-ravaged slopes of the nearby Malibu Canyon with fire retardant and water. Earlier in the day, flames threatened to make a run into a chute by the canyon, but the aggressive air attack kept the fire there at bay. (Parvini, Oreskes, Queally, Tchekmedyian and Dolan, 11/12)
Orange County Register:
Gov. Brown: Killer Firestorms Are ‘The New Abnormal,’ While Woolsey Blaze 15% Contained
Killer firestorms devouring homes and devastating lives represent a “new abnormal” for California, a state stricken by drought, climate change and wind, Gov. Jerry Brown warned late Sunday. As forecasts of continued high winds and low humidity filled firefighters with foreboding, Brown called for the state to pull together. (De Atley and Hagen, 11/11)
San Jose Mercury News:
Camp Fire Smoke: ‘Everybody Is At Risk' From Poor Air Quality
Just as Californians have long been told to prepare for earthquakes, they must now start protecting their health from the wildfires becoming more commonplace in this state, experts warned Sunday. That means learning how to monitor the smoke-filled air from raging fires — and avoid breathing it. (Geha, 11/11)
San Jose Mercury News:
Camp Fire's Unforgettable Tales Of Escape - 'This Is When I Die'
It’s the terror, the sheer terror of being stuck in a vehicle in bumper to bumper traffic with flames closing in and nowhere to go that haunts them most. On the main road that locals affectionately called “the Skyway to Paradise,” many of those trapped in the nerve-wracking slow-motion evacuation Thursday morning said their goodbyes, whispered their prayers and wondered, is this the end? (Sulek, 11/10)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento CA To Give Residents Masks Due To Wildfire Smoke
The city of Sacramento is offering its residents free respirator masks to deal with smoke and worsening air quality caused by the Camp Fire. The fire, which started Thursday, has been steadily pushing smoke into the Sacramento region and raised the Air Quality Index number to 367 in some Sacramento neighborhoods Saturday. That is considered hazardous for all people regardless of age or physical health, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. (Morgan, 11/11)
Gold Coast said it showed improvement in 80 percent of the quality measures it reports to the state. “To move up 19 places is a remarkable achievement,” said Dr. Nancy Wharfield, Gold Coast’s chief medical officer.
Ventura County Star:
Gold Coast Health Plan Recognized For Improvement
Gold Coast Health Plan said it has been recognized by a state regulatory agency for its strides in improving health care quality for Medi-Cal beneficiaries. The Managed Care Quality and Monitoring Division of the state Department of Health Care Services selected Gold Coast for its 2018 Overall Most Improved Award, based on performance across measures for which the division holds plans to minimum performance levels. (11/9)
In other news from across the state —
Orange County Register:
New Autism Treatment Center Opens In Costa Mesa
A new autism therapy center serving children, adolescents and young adults opened its doors in Costa Mesa Thursday, Nov. 8. This is the first autism treatment center in California owned and operated by Centria, a Michigan-based company that has 23 other centers nationwide, said Rick Loewenstein, chief strategy and growth officer. The center, he said, will focus on Applied Behavior Analysis, or ABA, a therapy based on the science of learning and behavior. The goal of ABA therapy in autism is to increase behaviors that are more conducive to learning and development in real-world scenarios. (Bharath, 11/9)
The Democrats have made it clear that they think "health care was on the ballot and health care won." Now that they have some power in the House, here's what some of their top priorities will likely be.
The New York Times:
Democrats Won A Mandate On Health Care. How Will They Use It?
After House Democrats’ election triumph, Nancy Pelosi’s appraisal was clear: “Health care was on the ballot, and health care won.” But how do Democrats intend to use the power they won? The top priorities for Ms. Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, and her party’s new House majority include stabilizing the Affordable Care Act marketplace, controlling prescription drug prices and investigating Trump administration actions that undermine the health care law. (Pear, 11/10)
The Hill:
Pelosi Says She'll Be Speaker ‘To Protect The Affordable Care Act’
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Sunday that she is "staying on as Speaker" to protect the Affordable Care Act. Pelosi added during an interview on CBS's "Face the Nation" that she could have "gone home" if Hillary Clinton had been elected president in 2016. (Burke, 11/11)
The Associated Press:
Meet The House Democrats Who Will Be Running The Show
Now that Democrats have captured control of the House for the next two years, the party's most senior members are poised to regain the wide-ranging power of committee chairmanships. While some of the Democrats have gained fame in feuds with President Donald Trump, others are relatively little-known outside of Capitol Hill. A look at the Democratic lawmakers expected to wield the gavels and shape the party's top priorities. (11/12)
CQ:
116th Congress: With An Ambitious Policy Agenda, Pelosi Is Poised To Lead The House Again
Basking in House Democrats’ midterm election wins, Nancy Pelosi is focused on the planks of the Democratic campaign platform that will become the new majority’s agenda: health care, infrastructure and cleaning up corruption in Washington. ...Health care was the top issue for Democrats on the campaign trail. They hammered House Republicans for passing legislation that would’ve opened the door for states to gut protections for pre-existing health conditions.
But Democratic candidates were divided about how best to shore up the health care system for the future. Some want to strengthen the health care law and add a public insurance option to compete with private-sector plans, while others want to allow everyone to join the government’s program for seniors, Medicare. (McPherson, 11/12)
Menthol Cigarettes Could Be Banned As Part Of FDA's Aggressive Crackdown On Tobacco Products
The menthol proposal is just one of several initiatives the FDA plans to announce sometime next week, including a ban on sales of most flavored e-cigarettes at retail stores and gas stations across the country. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has been vocal recently about his concerns that a boom e-cigarette industry is leading to an "epidemic" of young people vaping.
The New York Times:
F.D.A. Plans To Seek A Ban On Menthol Cigarettes
In a landmark move bound to further shake the tobacco industry, the Food and Drug Administration plans to propose a ban on menthol cigarettes next week as part of its aggressive campaign against flavored e-cigarettes and some tobacco products, agency officials said. The proposal would have to go through the F.D.A. regulatory maze, and it could be several years before such a restriction took effect, especially if the major tobacco companies contest the agency’s authority to do so. None of the major tobacco companies would comment on the possibility of barring menthol cigarettes at this early stage. (Kaplan, 11/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
FDA To Propose Ban Of Menthol Cigarettes
It could take a year or more for a rule banning menthol to be finalized, and then another year for it to be enforceable in the marketplace. But a ban on menthols would be a big blow to British American Tobacco PLC, which sells the Newport brand of cigarettes in the U.S. (Maloney, 11/9)
USA Today:
FDA To Tighten Age Restrictions On E-Cigarettes, Limit Flavored Vapes
The FDA will ban convenience store and gas station sales of flavors other than tobacco, mint and menthol next week, the official said. Stricter age-verification requirements are also planned for online sales of e-cigarettes. The overwhelming majority of e-cigarette sales are through brick-and-mortar retail outlets, so the FDA's move would have a huge negative effect on business. It also is likely to draw legal action. (O'Donnell, 11/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
Juul To Stop Sales Of Most Flavored E-Cigarettes In Retail Stores
E-cigarette startup Juul Labs Inc., faced with a regulatory crackdown and criticism that its marketing has attracted underage users, plans to stop selling most of its flavored nicotine liquids at bricks-and-mortar stores, according to people familiar with the matter. Juul plans to keep selling menthol- and tobacco-flavored products in stores, while all flavors, including cucumber and mango, will remain on its website, which has age-verification controls, the people said. The planned restrictions could heavily affect Juul Labs, according to analysts who say more than half of its sales come from flavors other than tobacco, mint and menthol. (McKay and Maloney and Chaker, 11/9)
Although both Vitamin D and fish oil drugs have gained popularity recently, a massive study found that healthy people who take the supplements do not lower cancer rates nor do they reduce the rate of major cardiovascular events. Meanwhile, new guidelines recommend a more tailored approach to treating high cholesterol.
The New York Times:
Vitamin D And Fish Oils Are Ineffective For Preventing Cancer And Heart Disease
In recent years, many Americans have embraced vitamin D and fish oil pills, their enthusiasm fueled by a steady trickle of suggestive research studies linking higher levels of vitamin D with lower rates of cancer and other ills, and fish consumption with reduced heart disease. Now a large and rigorous government-funded randomized trial — the only such study of omega-3 fish oils ever carried out in healthy adults, and the largest trial ever done of high-dose vitamin D — has found the supplements do not lower cancer rates in healthy adults. (Rabin, 11/10)
The Washington Post:
Fish-Oil Drugs Protect Heart Health, Two Studies Say
The large, multiyear research efforts tested different formulations and quantities of drugs made with Omega-3 fatty acids on two groups of people: one that suffered from cardiovascular disease or diabetes and another that represented the general population. Both studies found that people who took the drugs every day enjoyed protection against some heart and circulatory problems compared with those given a placebo. In a look at another commonly consumed supplement, vitamin D, researchers found no effect on heart disease but saw a link to a decline in cancer deaths over time. (Bernstein, 11/10)
Reuters:
New Drug Options, Risk Factors Added To U.S. Heart Guidelines
Updated U.S. guidelines on heart health advise more personalized assessment of risk as well as two newer types of cholesterol-lowering drugs for people at particularly high risk of heart attack or stroke. The recommendations from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, last issued in 2013, acknowledge recent research showing the benefit of very low levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol, which contributes to fatty plaque buildup and narrowing of arteries. (Beasley, 11/10)
The Wall Street Journal:
New Guidelines For Treating High Cholesterol Take A Personal Approach
“Risk is more of a process than a calculation,” said Donald Lloyd-Jones, chair of the department of preventive medicine at Northwestern University and a member of the panel that wrote the guidelines. “We can help personalize the decision. ”Nearly one in every three American adults has high levels of LDL, the AHA says, which contributes to buildup of fatty plaque and narrowing of the arteries. Research shows that people with LDL of 100 or lower have lower rates of heart disease and stroke, according to the AHA. (McKay, 11/10)
Los Angeles Times:
With Better Drugs For High Cholesterol, Doctors Become More Ambitious With Their Treatment Goals
When recommending the more aggressive treatment of those who are at highest risk of heart attacks and strokes, “it helps patients and providers when you give them numbers and targets,” Nissen said. “Because if you’re constantly checking, you keep patients staying focused on compliance, what it takes to stay healthy.” Nearly 800,000 people die of heart attacks, strokes and other manifestations of cardiovascular disease in the United States each year, making it the country’s leading cause of death. But while 78 million Americans — close to 37% of the adult population — either take or should consider taking medication to lower their cholesterol, close to half don’t do so. (Healy, 11/10)
The Associated Press:
Heart Meeting Features Fish Oil, Vitamin D, Cholesterol News
Good news for everyone: You no longer have to fast before a blood test to check cholesterol. Don't stop at the doughnut shop on your way to the clinic, but eating something before the test is OK for most folks, the guidelines say. They're from the Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology and are endorsed by many other doctor groups. No authors had financial ties to drugmakers. (11/11)
Stat:
Generic Arthritis Drug Comes Up Short Against Inflammation In Heart Disease
The trial, called the Cardiovascular Inflammation Reduction Trial (CIRT) and sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, tested methotrexate in people who had previous heart attacks or strokes in addition to having diabetes or metabolic syndrome, which can lead to inflammation. Methotrexate was an attractive option because people who took the relatively inexpensive, oral drug to treat their rheumatoid arthritis also appeared in observational studies to have lower rates of heart disease. The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the meeting of the American Heart Association in Chicago. (Cooney, 11/10)
The New York Times:
Too Much Caffeine May Stress The Heart
As my brother neared the end of a smooth, swift recovery from open-heart surgery to bypass an 80-percent blockage in his heart’s most important artery recently, he reverted to a longstanding habit of downing many cups a day of strong coffee. I objected, but he insisted that the caffeine doesn’t affect him, meaning it doesn’t disturb his sleep. (Brody, 11/12)