- California Healthline Original Stories 3
- California Tests Electronic Database For End-Of-Life Wishes
- Health Law’s Test Kitchen For Payment Reforms Could Offer Tool For GOP Ideas
- Some GOP Voters Skittish On Full Repeal, Poll Finds
- Covered California & The Health Law 2
- It's 'Not Going To Be Unwoven Overnight': Health Officials Taking Wait-And-See Approach On ACA
- Post-Election, Americans Aren't As Eager To Repeal Health Law, Poll Finds
- Marketplace 2
- San Bernardino Victims Struggle With Coverage Under One-Size-Fits-All Workers' Comp Law
- Microloan Program Will Help Nail Salons Adopt Healthier Workplace Practices
Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
California Tests Electronic Database For End-Of-Life Wishes
San Diego and Contra Costa counties are piloting a registry so emergency responders can know quickly how much treatment patients want. (Anna Gorman, )
Health Law’s Test Kitchen For Payment Reforms Could Offer Tool For GOP Ideas
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation was charged by the health law with exploring payment reforms that could cut health care costs and possibly improve quality. But its future is hinged to whether GOP lawmakers see value in its work. (Julie Appleby, )
Some GOP Voters Skittish On Full Repeal, Poll Finds
Trump backers expressed support for some of the health law’s consumer protections, such as allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26. (Jordan Rau, )
More News From Across The State
Covered California & The Health Law
It's 'Not Going To Be Unwoven Overnight': Health Officials Taking Wait-And-See Approach On ACA
“If the president-elect thinks that he can eliminate some things while retaining others easily, he is naive," says Shirlee Zane, Sonoma County’s 3rd District Supervisor.
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Sonoma County Health Officials Wary About Obamacare’s Future
As the Republican-controlled Congress and President-elect Donald Trump declare the end of Obamacare, local health care officials and providers are taking a “wait and see” approach, some of them skeptical that Washington could so easily and quickly unravel a massive law that has been in effect for six years. Since the beginning of its implementation in 2010, tens of thousands of Sonoma County residents have taken advantage of the federal Affordable Care Act, which included a dramatic expansion of Medicaid eligibility that nearly doubled the number of local residents eligible to receive health coverage through Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program. The county’s community health centers greatly expanded their services, built new facilities and hired doctors, nurses and social workers. Hospitals, physicians groups and health care giants such as Kaiser Permanente adapted to significant shifts in how medical care is provided and paid for, with a focus on quality and health outcomes. (Espinoza, 11/30)
In other health law news —
Capital Public Radio/KXJZ:
Uncertainty For California Program Extending Health Coverage To Undocumented Children
Earlier this year, California granted all undocumented children the chance to have health coverage through the state's Medicaid program. Now, that opportunity may be hindered by the federal government's plans to change the program. President-elect Donald Trump has proposed giving states block grants for their Medicaid programs, which would significantly reduce the amount of funding from the federal government. States would have to re-allocate money or cut programs to make up the difference. (Johnson, 11/30)
Post-Election, Americans Aren't As Eager To Repeal Health Law, Poll Finds
Only one in four Americans want a full repeal, down from nearly one-third in October.
Los Angeles Times:
Trump Promised To Repeal Obamacare, But It Turns Out Americans Like Most Of It, A Poll Finds
Despite sharp partisan differences over the Affordable Care Act, Democrats and Republicans, including voters who backed President-elect Donald Trump, strongly support most of the law’s key provisions, a new national poll indicates. And although most Trump voters still favor repealing the law, often called Obamacare, an increasing share of Americans overall oppose that approach, according to the poll, which was conducted in mid-November, following Trump’s election. (Levey, 12/1)
San Bernardino Victims Struggle With Coverage Under One-Size-Fits-All Workers' Comp Law
The shooting on Dec. 2, 2015, was a workplace attack, not covered by regular insurance. Instead, their treatment comes under the workers’ compensation system.
The New York Times:
‘Victimizing Me All Over Again’: San Bernardino Victims Fight For Treatment
Almost a year after a terrorist’s bullets ripped through her, after so many operations and infections she has lost count, Valerie Kallis-Weber has a paralyzed left hand, painful bone and bullet fragments in her pelvis, psychological trauma and tissue damage, including a fist-size gouge in her thigh where a bullet tore away the muscle. ... But the visits from the health aide have been reduced, and she has been told they will end soon. Approval of her antidepressant medication was withdrawn. Her occupational therapy was cut off, and her physical therapy stopped, restarted and stopped again. (Perez-Pena, 11/30)
Microloan Program Will Help Nail Salons Adopt Healthier Workplace Practices
The goal is to reduce exposure to toxic chemicals by both employees and customers.
The Mercury News:
Bay Area Nail Salons Get Help To Improve Worker Health
Oakland-based Asian Health Services received a $120,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to pilot a microloan program for nail salons in Alameda, San Francisco, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties that want to achieve the status of “Healthy Nail Salon” — a designation established by the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative for salons that avoid certain toxic ingredients and commit to certain requirements. The microloan program will help nail salons get no-interest, no-fee loans to buy nail products without toxic ingredients (including what health experts call “the toxic trio”: dibutyl phthalate, toluene and formaldehyde) and to purchase equipment to better ventilate their spaces. (Sciacca, 11/30)
Marijuana Legalization Advocates Wary About Trump's AG Pick
The nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions, R- Ala., who has said “good people don’t smoke marijuana,” is causing Californians to brace for battle over their recently passed law.
Los Angeles Times:
California Backers Of Legalized Marijuana Fear Possible Battle With Attorney General Pick Jeff Sessions
Backers of laws allowing marijuana use in California are girding for a possible political and legal battle against President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, Sen. Jeff Sessions, a staunch foe of pot legalization. Marijuana industry leaders in the state and around the U.S. have launched an opposition campaign to the Senate confirmation of the Republican senator from Alabama and are appealing to the Trump camp to make sure the president-elect’s policies are consistent with his campaign comments that he favors allowing states to decide how to enforce marijuana laws. (McGreevy, 12/1)
The Washington Post:
Obama Says Marijuana Should Be Treated Like ‘Cigarettes Or Alcohol’
In an “exit interview” with Rolling Stone magazine, President Obama said that marijuana use should be treated as a public-health issue similar to tobacco or alcohol and called the current patchwork of state and federal laws regarding the drug “untenable.” “Look, I’ve been very clear about my belief that we should try to discourage substance abuse,” Obama said. “And I am not somebody who believes that legalization is a panacea. But I do believe that treating this as a public-health issue, the same way we do with cigarettes or alcohol, is the much smarter way to deal with it.” (Ingraham, 11/30)
It 'Saved My Life': Hallucinogenic Mushrooms Offering Cancer Patients Much-Needed Peace
Just a single dose of the drug offered patients lasting relief from their profound distress, a new study found.
Los Angeles Times:
Ingredient In Magic Mushrooms Is Shown To Ease Anxiety And Depression In Cancer Patients In One Dose
“This drug saved my life and changed my life,” said Dinah Bazer, a Brooklyn, N.Y., woman who was administered a single dose of psilocybin at a New York treatment center in 2011. In the wake of treatment for ovarian cancer, Bazer said, her anxiety at the prospect of its return was “eating her alive.” Under the influence of a single high dose of psilocybin, Bazer said Wednesday, she became “volcanically angry” as she visualized her cancer as a dark mass bearing down on her. With an epithet, she then saw herself throwing it off. (Healy, 11/30)
In other public health news —
Los Angeles Times:
Experiments With Embryos Suggest Ways To Make 3-Parent IVF Safer For Babies
Using [three-parent IVF], couples obtain eggs from a healthy donor, remove the nuclear DNA and replace it with nuclear DNA from the would-be mother. This combination egg is then fertilized by sperm in a dish, incubated for a few days in the lab and then transferred into the would-be mother’s uterus — just as with regular in vitro fertilization. (Kaplan, 11/30)
Oakland Tribune:
These Toys Can Be Hazardous To Kids, CALPIRG, Doctors Say
As families are flooding toy stores and browsing online sites this holiday shopping season, a consumer group is warning buyers to beware of toys that could be dangerous to children’s health. The California Public Interest Research Group released its annual “Trouble in Toyland” report, an annual survey of potentially hazardous toys that shows some toys that have been recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for lead, powerful magnets and other hazards are still available in online stores. Some of the recalled toys that researchers found were still available for sale at online stores include a toy glockenspiel (a percussion instrument) that was recalled in February because of high levels of lead in the paint. If the paint is scraped off and ingested, the lead can cause “adverse health effects,” the report said. (Sciacca, 11/30)
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Santa Rosa Program Helps Latinos Battle Diabetes, Heart Disease
The class is part of the center’s larger strategy to combat diabetes and heart disease in the North Bay, and its growing focus on Latinos.It’s a population at greater risk for developing Type 2 diabetes and related health conditions that can lead to heart disease or stroke, according to the American Diabetes Association. In Sonoma County, nearly 11 percent of Latinos have Type 2 diabetes versus about 6 percent for the county’s white residents, according the 2014 Portrait of Sonoma County, a blue-ribbon report chronicling disparities in economic and social conditions...The [Northern California Center for Well-Being] recently expanded its Spanish language diabetes prevention services with the addition of a Spanish-speaking “patient navigator” who helps them complete the course named Diabetes y Su Salud, providing intensive outreach, vouchers for transportation and a food box of nutrient-rich foods to encourage healthy meal preparation. (Espinoza, 11/30)
Sacramento Bee:
New California Pesticide Rules Worry Farmers, Satisfy Some Parents
The policy, released in September and open for public comment until Dec. 9, would ban pesticide application by aircraft, sprinkler, powder and gas between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday to Friday within a quarter-mile of schools and child care facilities. Farmers have historically needed county permits for pesticide applications near schools, but the new rule would be the first state policy to put a blanket restriction on such aerial spraying. (Caiola, 11/30)
Caltrain Partners With Crisis Text Line To Help Those Considering Suicide
Caltrain will start promoting the service with fliers aboard trains and at stations.
The Mercury News:
Caltrain Promotes Bay Area Suicide Crisis Line: 'Help Is Just A Text Away'
Crisis Text Line, launched in 2013, is already available to “anyone, anytime, anywhere,” said Mary Gloner, executive director of Project Safety Net, another Crisis Text Line partner. Through Crisis Text Line, 2,400 volunteer counselors nationwide provide crisis help purely via text messaging. The service is free, confidential and available 24/7. (Lee, 11/30)
In other news from across the state —
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
Palomar To Open New Escondido Birth Center Thursday
After more than a year of work, Palomar Health is set to move its birth center four miles west Thursday afternoon. Citing the high cost of keeping its aging downtown medical center open, Palomar’s board voted in the summer of 2015 to close the structure and shift its remaining services to Palomar Medical Center on Citracado Parkway and other locations in inland North County. But it took longer to secure the necessary state operating permits than the public health care district expected. (Sisson, 11/30)
After Easily Passing Through House, Cures Bill Now Faces More Vocal Detractors In Senate
The house votes to approve the wide-sweeping legislation, 392-26. The Senate is expected to take action next week.
Los Angeles Times:
House Approves Sprawling Bill That Would Expand Medical Research
The House overwhelmingly backed broad legislation Tuesday to increase federal support for medical research, advancing a long-anticipated bill that is expected to clear the Senate soon and get President Obama’s signature. The $6.3-billion bill — known as the 21st Century Cures Act — attracted strong bipartisan support, with 218 Republicans and 174 Democrats voting for it, despite warnings from some consumer groups that the hastily assembled bill would jeopardize patient safety. (Levey, 11/30)
GOP Embraces Repeal-Now, Replace-In-Three-Years Strategy On Health Law
Congressional Republicans plan to vote to repeal the health law immediately to fulfill campaign promises, but are giving themselves up to three years to come up with a replacement for the legislation that wouldn't leave millions without coverage. Meanwhile, when they do come up with a new bill, they'll need to work with Democrats to get it through the Senate.
Politico:
GOP May Stall Obamacare Replacement For Years
Prepare for the Obamacare cliff. Congressional Republicans are setting up their own, self-imposed deadline to make good on their vow to replace the Affordable Care Act. With buy-in from Donald Trump’s transition team, GOP leaders on both sides of the Capitol are coalescing around a plan to vote to repeal the law in early 2017 — but delay the effective date for that repeal for as long as three years. (Bade and Everett, 12/1)
The Wall Street Journal:
Getting Obamacare Replacement Through Senate Will Be A Test
Republicans on Capitol Hill are grappling with the likelihood that they will need Democratic support to pass parts of any plan replacing the Affordable Care Act, setting up a complex legislative battle over the law’s future. President-elect Donald Trump is expected in his first days in office to take executive action voiding parts of the health law that the administration has discretion to change. Soon after that, lawmakers likely would start on their efforts to repeal and replace the law. (Armour, Peterson and Radnofsky, 11/30)
In other national health care news —
The New York Times:
Democrats See Medicare As Winning Wedge Issue
Republicans are talking about messing with Medicare again, and Democrats couldn’t be more enthusiastic. After an election that has thrown them back on their heels, they are grasping at the politics of Medicare as a path to potential revival in 2018. “We say to our Republicans that want to privatize Medicare, go try it, make our day,” said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the incoming Democratic leader, mustering his best Clint Eastwood/Ronald Reagan impersonation. (Huse, 11/30)
Stat:
AMA Endorsement Of Trump Health Secretary Spurs Backlash
When Donald Trump this week tapped a surgeon-turned-congressman to run the Department of Health and Human Services, the nation’s largest physicians group swiftly endorsed the choice. The blowback started almost at once. Liberal doctors peppered the American Medical Association with furious tweets decrying the group’s endorsement of Representative Tom Price as a betrayal of patients and physicians. And by Wednesday night, 500 doctors had signed an online open letter titled “The AMA Does Not Speak For Us” started by the Clinician Action Network, a left-leaning advocacy group. (Robbins, 12/1)
The New York Times:
Mike Pence And ‘Conversion Therapy’: A History
Since Gov. Mike Pence was chosen as Donald J. Trump’s running mate in July, he has faced complaints from groups critical of his record on gay and transgender rights, who said he has long been an opponent of the gains made by the L.G.B.T. community in recent years. Mr. Pence has been particularly dogged by accusations that he is a supporter of “conversion therapy,” the practice of trying to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. (Stack, 11/30)