Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Employers Urged To Find New Ways To Address Workers’ Mental Health
Pressure is growing on employers to better address the mental health needs of workers. Some big companies have begun to offer options such as peer support groups, and California has adopted a new law that calls on employers to act. (Brian Rinker, )
Good morning! Here are your top California health stories for the day.
Nearly Two-Decade Battle Against Paint Companies Over Lead Clean-Up Resolved With $305M Settlement: Three paint manufacturers will pay $305 million to eight counties, including many in the Bay Area, and three cities to clean up lead paint, which poisons tens of thousands of children in California every year, the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office said Wednesday. The settlement came nearly 20 years after litigation initiated by the Santa Clara County Counsel’s Office began. “This landmark settlement will allow thousands of homes to be remediated, and as a result current and future generations of California children will no longer face the threat of lead poisoning,” said James Williams, County Counsel for Santa Clara County. ““We’re pleased that we’ve been able to hold lead paint manufacturers accountable and responsible.” The resolution marks a rare success for a public nuisance claim, under which counties and municipalities can sue corporations for past activities - including those conducted decades ago - they say have harmed communities. Yet the glacial pace and complex twists in California’s lead paint case highlight just how difficult it can be to use the public nuisance strategy against corporations, even in a state whose courts are particularly consumer friendly. Read more from Miranda Leitsinger of KQED; Bob Egelko of the San Francisco Chronicle; and Joshua Schneyer of Reuters.
When It Comes To Its Food Stamp Program, California Is Leaving Federal ‘Money On The Table,’ Advocates Say: California consistently ranks near the bottom when it comes to enrolling low-income people in CalFresh, which translates to a lot of federal money that California forsakes each year. Just 72 percent of eligible Californians were enrolled in CalFresh, the fourth lowest rate in the nation in 2016, the last year for which national data is available. Low-income Californians would have received an additional $1.8 billion in 2016 in federal funding if CalFresh reached every eligible person, estimates California Food Policy Advocates. “It’s outrageous that so many Californians struggle to put food on the table,” said Senator Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat. “We’re leaving money on the table and people aren’t getting the food that they need. It’s time to kick into gear, streamline the system, get people signed up and stop with the excuses.” Read more from Jackie Botts of the Sacramento Bee.
Newsom Takes Aggressive Stance Against Counties That Don’t Provide Enough Mental Health Practitioners: Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration has withheld a total of $12 million over the past month from mental health plans managed by the 10 counties, mostly situated in the Central Valley. But county leaders say they struggle with a severe provider shortage across geographic regions larger than some U.S. states. Needs span from child psychiatrists to adult clinical social workers. They also say they lack enough funding to attract and retain the mental health providers they need, a problem that gets worse when the state withholds funding. “Counties want to ensure access and quality, but being able to demonstrate you have an adequate network is a heavy lift for many of them,” said Molly Brassil, a behavioral health policy expert for Harbage Consulting who served previously as director of public policy for the County Behavioral Health Directors Association. Read more from Angela Hart of Politico Pro.
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
CalMatters:
California’s Attempt To Reduce Police Shootings, Explained
Civil rights advocates have long sought increased accountability for law enforcement in California, particularly in recent years, as police shootings and the Black Lives Matter movement have roiled cities nationwide. But even in a Democrat-controlled Capitol, those efforts — to make police misconduct records public, to require the release of body camera footage, to create an independent body to investigate police shootings — have historically failed amid objections from law enforcement organizations and their influential unions. (Rosenhal, 7/18)
Sacramento Bee:
UC Davis Study: Minecraft Teaches Leadership, Community-Building
Video games often come under fire for their violent and potentially addictive properties. But a new study from a UC Davis researcher and a Swiss colleague has found that they can have their benefits. UC Davis researcher Seth Frey and Swiss scholar Robert W. Sumner studied users of the online game “Minecraft,” in which players build structures, creations and artwork by breaking three-dimensional blocks. The game has nearly 65 million users and is “one of a few games with a decentralized, amateur-driven hosting model and a large user base,” UC Davis spokeswoman Karen Nikos-Rose said in a press release. (Ghisolfi, 7/17)
Sacramento Bee:
Online Team Builds Hospital Bed That Minimizes Pressure Ulcers
Pressure ulcers affect more than 2.5 million people in the United States annually, according to federal health officials, and 60,000 die because of them each year. That’s why a team of online engineering students across the country, led by an Elk Grove dad pursuing his degree from home, spent a year building a prize-winning solution. Also known as bedsores, pressure ulcers are skin injuries resulting from prolonged pressure, often from spending long periods of time in a bed or chair without changing positions, according to the Mayo Clinic. People with limited mobility and the elderly are particularly at risk. (Ghisolfi, 7/17)
The New York Times:
Feeling Lonely? Perhaps You’d Like To Talk To Some Strangers
When Ankit Shah graduated from college and moved to the Bay Area in 2013, he didn’t know a single person there. Hungry for connections, he asked his Facebook friends to ask their Bay Area-based friends if they’d like to have tea with him, a stranger. “I was very nervous that people would be like ‘who’s this weirdo on the internet?’” Mr. Shah said. “But sure enough, my friends started tagging their friends in the comments — some even shared it on their own page — and eventually, there were more people interested in getting tea than I could keep up with.” (Hotz, 7/18)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento CA Mayor Says State Must Provide Homeless Shelter
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg is calling for an enforceable statewide “right to shelter” mandate that would require communities to have enough shelter space or other housing to accommodate their homeless populations, a strategy modeled after a decades-long program in New York City. (Clift, 7/17)
The California Health Report:
As Homelessness Rises In Many Parts Of California, Counties Search For Solutions
Many California’s counties reported having more homeless residents this year, according to the 2019 Point in Time surveys, which aim to count the number of people experiencing homelessness on a given night. The surveys are completed once every year or two years depending on the county. San Francisco and San Jose counties reported increases of 17 percent and 42 percent in the last two years, respectively. Los Angeles County experienced a 16 percent spike since last year. Alameda, Santa Clara, Ventura, Orange and Kern counties also reported having more homeless residents in their 2019 survey.While a statewide report won’t be available for several more months, last year’s estimate marked the first time in four years that the homeless population in California declined, albeit slightly. (DiNapoli, 7/17)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Downtown SF Businesses To Tax Themselves To Pay For Clean Streets, Homeless Outreach
Merchant corridors have for years created commercial benefit districts, or CBDs — special zones where primarily commercial property owners elect to tax themselves a little extra to pay for additional services. And at a time when the city is straining to keep its streets clean and attend to its homelessness and mental health crises, CBDs are increasingly stepping in to fill gaps in services. (Fracassa, 7/17)
San Jose Mercury News:
Fremont Residents Square Off Online About Proposed Homeless Navigation Center
Taking a page from residents across the state who have rallied to stop city officials from setting up large-scale processing centers for the homeless, several hundred people swarmed into the Fremont City Council meeting Tuesday night to raise their concerns about the center being planned for one of two locations. As scores of protesters gathered outside, hundreds more crowded into the council chambers in a highly emotional demonstration, the Mercury News’ Joseph Geha reported. (May, 7/17)
Capital Public Radio:
These California Counties In Fire-Prone Areas Don’t Have Access To A Federal Emergency Alert System
Even after the deadly Camp and Carr Fires roared through parts of two Northern California communities last year, some counties have yet to sign up to be able to access a federal notification system that could help them save lives. The Wireless Emergency Alert system allows a city or county to send an alert to every cell tower in a certain area. (Moffitt, 7/17)
Sacramento Bee:
Sticker Shock As CA Faces Insurance Crisis In Wildfire Areas
Jennifer Burt knows she lives in a fire-prone community. That’s why she’s done everything she can to fire-proof her home in Meadow Vista, in the bushy, densely wooded Placer County foothills, even installing a sprinkler system on the roof. Yet a few weeks ago, her insurance carrier — Lloyd’s of London, known for insuring high-risk properties — told her it was declining to renew her homeowners’ policy. Lloyd’s also dropped coverage on two rental properties Burt owns in Graeagle, a heavily forested community northwest of Truckee. (Kasler, Sabalow and Reese, 7/18)
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
SMART Rail Agency Spearheading Suicide-Prevention Effort To Curtail Train Deaths
Leaders of the SMART public transit agency Wednesday confronted the spate of recent train-collision fatalities by pledging to spearhead a broad suicide-prevention effort by bolstering community health services. During the somber first meeting of the agency’s board of directors since five people have been killed after being hit by SMART trains in the past three weeks, the agency’s general manager called the dire situation a public health crisis. Three of those individuals were men who took their own lives. (Fixler and Bordas, 7/17)
The New York Times:
Sanders Calls For Rivals To Reject Money From Health Care Industry
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, seeking to bring fresh momentum to his presidential campaign, offered a vigorous defense on Wednesday of his signature issue, “Medicare for all,” and called for all Democratic candidates to pledge to reject contributions from the health care industry. Mr. Sanders argued in a formal address, whose themes were familiar to anyone who has followed his political career, that the current health care system was an “international embarrassment,” and he offered his own vision for a single-payer program that he said would guarantee health care for every American. (Ember, 7/17)
Politico:
Sanders Calls On Democratic Rivals To Reject Drug, Insurance Industry Donations
"You can’t change a corrupt system by taking its money," Sanders plans to say Wednesday, according to prepared remarks shared with reporters. "If we are going to break the stranglehold of corporate interests over the health care needs of the American people, we have got to confront a Washington culture that has let this go on for far too long." Sanders, who is among the top-tier candidates in the Democratic race, pointed to data that the pharmaceutical and insurance industries have spent more than $330 million on lobbying in the past two decades. (Diamond, 7/17)
ABC News:
Bernie Sanders Accepted Pharma Executives' Donations Prior To New Pledge
Bernie Sanders called on his fellow Democratic presidential candidates Wednesday to reject donations from health insurance and pharmaceutical industry executives during what was labeled as a "major address" in Washington, D.C., but an ABC News review of FEC records earlier in the day found that Sanders himself accepted some of the same types of donations earlier in the campaign cycle. (Kim, Kelsey and Rodriguez, 7/17)
The Associated Press:
Sanders Defends 'Medicare For All' After Criticism By Biden
Bernie Sanders vigorously defended his signature "Medicare for All" proposal Wednesday after criticism from his 2020 rival Joe Biden and called on his fellow Democratic presidential candidates to join him in refusing to accept contributions from the health care industry. Saying he wanted to address "some of the half-truths" and "outright lies" about his single-payer health care plan, Sanders insisted that coverage for seniors would increase and that Americans would be able to choose their own doctors and clinics without worrying whether their health care provider is in network. (7/17)
The New York Times:
House Votes To Repeal Obamacare Tax Once Seen As Key To Health Law
In the heat of the legislative fight over the Affordable Care Act, Obama administration officials argued that including a steep tax on high-cost, generous health insurance plans was critical to the law because it would hold down soaring costs while helping to pay for its expanded health benefits. On Wednesday, that feature, once considered central to Obamacare, was dealt a blow by an unlikely foe: Democrats. (Goodnough, 7/17)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Moves To Shift Patients’ Chronic Illness Costs To Insurers
Millions of Americans in high-deductible health plans may find it easier to access insulin, inhalers and other treatments for chronic health problems under guidance released Wednesday by the Trump administration. Currently, people in high-deductible plans with pretax health-savings accounts have to pay down their deductible before their insurance covers treatment for chronic diseases such as diabetes or high blood pressure. The change will allow insurers to begin providing coverage for those treatments, such as glucose or blood-pressure monitors, before the deductible is paid. (Armour, 7/17)
The New York Times:
Drug Overdose Deaths Drop In U.S. For First Time Since 1990
Three decades of ever-escalating deaths from drug overdoses in the United States may have come to an end, according to preliminary government data made public Wednesday. Total drug overdose deaths in America declined by around 5 percent last year, the first drop since 1990. The decline was due almost entirely to a dip in deaths from prescription opioid painkillers, the medicines that set off the epidemic of addiction that has lasted nearly two decades. Fatal overdoses involving other drugs, particularly fentanyl and methamphetamine, continued to rise. (Goodnough, Katz and Sanger-Katz, 7/17)
The New York Times:
A Messy Exit Leaves Planned Parenthood At A Philosophical Crossroads
Leana Wen had already made a name for herself as Baltimore’s health commissioner when Planned Parenthood hired her as its new president last fall. Dr. Wen, a 36-year-old physician, had used innovative policies to combat the opioid epidemic and delivered a widely watched TED Talk. She regularly appeared on lists of the most influential health care leaders and government officials. But Dr. Wen’s tenure at Planned Parenthood was rocky and short, ending after eight months on Tuesday when the board of directors ousted her following several weeks of tense and sometimes acrimonious negotiations. (Kliff and Goldmacher, 7/17)
The Wall Street Journal:
Antiabortion Movement Begins To Crack, After Decades Of Unity
Close to five decades after the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling enshrined a woman’s constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy, the unity of the antiabortion movement is cracking. For years, those opposed to abortion have largely hewed to a legal strategy to pass laws adding incremental limitations to the historic 1973 ruling. Now, an ascendant, activist wing is pressing for legislation that doesn’t just limit the procedure, but outlaws it. Emboldened by President Trump’s Supreme Court picks, the activists have grown impatient with what they see as small developments, and instead are actively seeking a legal fight with the goal of overturning Roe. (Gershman and Campo-Flores, 7/17)
NPR:
Why High Drug Prices Are Not Like Cars' Sticker Prices
High drug prices are a hot topic in politics right now. President Trump has made lowering them a cornerstone of his re-election bid and is pushing a variety of ideas to get that done. But politicians — of either party -- who want to rally the public around this have a challenge: Drug pricing is incredibly complex and convoluted. Just explaining what it is — let alone how to fix it — is really hard. You know what's great for understanding complicated things? Analogies. (Simmons-Duffin, 7/17)
Politico:
Rand Paul Blocks Attempt To Permanently Fund 9/11 Victims Fund
Democrat Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand accused Republicans of playing “political games” after a GOP senator Wednesday blocked her effort to permanently fund the 9/11 victim compensation. Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) attempted to pass the legislation by voice vote but was blocked by GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who cited costs and concerns about its effect on the budget. (Levine, 7/17)