- California Healthline Original Stories 1
- Lifting Therapy Caps Is A Load Off Medicare Patients’ Shoulders
- Sacramento Watch 1
- With Single-Payer Out Of Reach At Moment, Lawmakers Set Aim On Public Insurance Option
- Marketplace 1
- Theranos CEO To Be Barred From Company, Pay $500K To Settle SEC's 'Massive Fraud' Charges
- Women's Health 1
- Fertility Center Where Eggs Were Damaged Faces Accusations Of Gross Negligence In Class-Action Suit
- Public Health and Education 2
- 'We're Tired Of Waiting' For Adults To Do Something: Students Walk Out In Protest Over Gun Violence
- Brown Proposes Fund To Pay For Clean Water For Those Exposed To Contaminated Systems
Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Lifting Therapy Caps Is A Load Off Medicare Patients’ Shoulders
Last month’s budget deal means Medicare beneficiaries are eligible for physical and occupational therapy indefinitely. Plus, prescription drug costs will fall for more seniors. (Susan Jaffe, )
More News From Across The State
With Single-Payer Out Of Reach At Moment, Lawmakers Set Aim On Public Insurance Option
Some advocacy groups and lawmakers would want to see the government compete with private insurers in the health care marketplace and offer more coverage choices in regions with few current options or high-priced plans.
Sacramento Bee:
CA Lawmakers Tackle Health Care Bills To Improve Obamacare
A new coalition of California labor and health advocacy groups – including Health Access California and the Service Employees International Union – will unveil the latest legislative push Thursday, outlining Democratic-led efforts supporters say will improve the state's health care financing and delivery system. Legislation is still being crafted, but any major overhaul will face steep political and financial challenges. (Hart, 3/14)
CPRN:
Is Single Payer Still An Option For California? Some Lawmakers Say Yes — But Not Anytime Soon
After months of discussions — including seven hearings — a special bipartisan Capitol committee tasked with revamping the health-care system released an update on Tuesday. The findings? Get ready to keep waiting. The Assembly Select Committee on Health Care Delivery Systems and Universal Coverage was convened by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon last summer, just a few months after he turned down a single payer proposal, calling it “woefully incomplete.” (Caiola, 3/14)
Theranos CEO To Be Barred From Company, Pay $500K To Settle SEC's 'Massive Fraud' Charges
Elizabeth Holmes did not admit or deny the allegations that she exaggerated or lied about her blood-testing technology while raising $700 million from investors.
The New York Times:
Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos C.E.O. And Silicon Valley Star, Accused Of Fraud
Holding up a few drops of blood, Elizabeth Holmes became a darling of Silicon Valley by promising that her company’s new device would give everyday Americans unlimited control over their health with a single finger prick. Ms. Holmes, a Stanford University dropout who founded her company, Theranos, at age 19, captivated investors and the public with her invention: a technology cheaply done at a local drugstore that could detect a range of illnesses, from diabetes to cancer. (Thomas and Abelson, 3/14)
The Associated Press:
Holmes Surrenders Theranos, Pays $500K After 'Massive Fraud'
Elizabeth Holmes, a Stanford University dropout once billed as the "next Steve Jobs," has forfeited control of Theranos, the blood-testing startup she founded, and will pay $500,000 to settle charges that she oversaw a "massive fraud. "Under an agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Holmes is barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for 10 years. The SEC said Wednesday that it will pursue its case against the president of the company, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, in federal court. (3/14)
The Wall Street Journal:
SEC Charges Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes With Fraud
The SEC began investigating Theranos after The Wall Street Journal reported in October 2015 that the lab instrument developed as the linchpin of the company’s strategy handled just a small fraction of the tests sold to consumers. Some employees also were leery about the machine’s accuracy, the Journal reported. Theranos was valued at more than $9 billion at the time and Ms. Holmes’s majority stake at more than half that. (Carreyrou, 3/14)
Fertility Center Where Eggs Were Damaged Faces Accusations Of Gross Negligence In Class-Action Suit
Pacific Fertility is one of two centers that experienced glitches on the same day that compromised frozen eggs, which shook the industry.
The Washington Post:
Class-Action Lawsuit Filed Against Pacific Fertility For Loss Of Up To Thousands Of Embryos And Eggs
A woman whose frozen eggs were stored at the Pacific Fertility Center has filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco, accusing the company of gross negligence in its maintenance, inspection and monitoring of a storage freezer that malfunctioned in early March. Pacific Fertility is one of two centers that separately reported problems in liquid-nitrogen tanks where thousands of eggs and embryos were kept. Officials at both facilities have acknowledged that some — or potentially all — of the tissue may have been damaged. (Cha, 3/14)
The Washington Post:
FAQ: Are My Frozen Embryos Safe? Everything You Need To Know About The Freezer Malfunctions.
In what many reproductive health experts have called a stunning coincidence, two fertility centers in different parts of the country experienced malfunctions in their freezing tanks on the same weekend in early March. Thousands of eggs and embryos were probably lost. Would-be parents are suing. Here's what we know about what happened at the University Hospitals Ahuja Medical Center's Fertility Center in Cleveland and the Pacific Fertility Center in San Francisco, how the country's regulatory process works with reproductive health services and how investigations could unfold. (Cha, 3/14)
California Veterans Center Where Three Were Killed Closing 'Indefinitely'
The Pathway Home’s board of directors said veterans' care will be supported by other local providers.
The New York Times:
Veterans Health Program Closes ‘Indefinitely’ After Killings
The Pathway Home program in Yountville, Calif., is shutting down “indefinitely” less than a week after three employees were taken hostage by a gunman and killed. The program, part of the Veterans Home of California, provided post-Sept. 11 veterans with academic and vocational support as they prepared to re-enter the civilian world after deployment. (Salam and Stevens, 3/14)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Yountville Veterans Center Where 3 Were Shot To Death Suspends Operations
The nonprofit Pathway Home, which has treated hundreds of veterans of post-9/11 wars for debilitating emotional trauma, was serving a half-dozen men at the time of last week’s shootings. They have been directed to mental and health services from federal and Napa County providers, and Pathway’s seven surviving employees have been given severance packages, said Larry Kamer, a spokesman for the center. Pathway’s governing board hopes the center can continue, but it’s unclear in what form, Kamer said. The building that houses the treatment center, on the campus of the state-run Veterans Home of California-Yountville, has been closed since the shootings. (Alexander, 3/14)
'We're Tired Of Waiting' For Adults To Do Something: Students Walk Out In Protest Over Gun Violence
Students across the state showed their solidarity for the victims of the mass shooting in Florida, and raised their voices about gun control.
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. Students Join Nationwide Walkouts And Actions To Remember Parkland Victims, Push Gun Control
At Hamilton High School, the protest began with a young man and a bullhorn. Ari Elkins, a senior, stood on the front lawn of his Palms school and in a voice both firm and loud, cried out: "No more silence! End gun violence!" Seconds later, hundreds of his fellow students came pouring out the building's double doors. (Jennings, Kohli, Blume and Bermudez, 3/14)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento Student Walkout Protest: Thousands Honor Florida Victims
Student walkouts across the nation were billed as a mass protest against the National Rifle Association and a call for stricter gun control measures in response to the February shooting at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 people dead. (Lillis, Lambert, Chabria and Kobin, 3/14)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Students Walk Out, Embrace ‘Fight Of Our Lives’ To End School Gun Violence
It was one of the biggest shows of force by the nation’s youngest generation, and throughout the Bay Area, thousands of school children walked out of class at exactly 10 a.m. to protest school shootings and honor the 17 victims of last month’s massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Similar scenes played out at schools across the country, as speeches were made and moments of silence were held. (Tucker, Lyons and Haigney, 3/14)
KQED:
Thousands Of Bay Area Students Join National Walkout To End Gun Violence
Thousands of students across the Bay Area and California joined a nationwide school walkout Wednesday to protest gun violence and to press for stricter gun laws, exactly one month after a mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school left 17 dead. Organizers estimate nearly 3,000 walkouts, sit-ins and other forms of protest were planned across the U.S. following the Valentine's Day massacre of 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. (Clyde, 3/14)
Modesto Bee:
Modesto, Turlock, Ceres, Riverbank Student Walkout Protest
Gun control, campus security, bullying and other issues were on the minds of students in Modesto, Turlock, Ceres and Riverbank on Wednesday morning when they joined in the Enough: National School Walkout. The 17-minute demonstrations for better gun control and safer schools took place in over 2,500 schools across America. (Ahumada and Farrow, 3/14)
Brown Proposes Fund To Pay For Clean Water For Those Exposed To Contaminated Systems
In many cases, those residents, who are predominately low income, spend up to 10 percent of their income on purchasing clean drinking water.
Sacramento Bee:
Jerry Brown Wants Fees To Pay For Clean Drinking Water
As part of his final budget proposal, Gov. Jerry Brown wants new fees on water to provide clean and affordable drinking water to the approximately 1 million Californians who are exposed to contaminated water in their homes and communities each year. The fund would pay for short- and long-term improvements to water infrastructure and help clean up contaminated drinking water systems that affect primarily rural, low-income regions. (Kobin, 3/14)
In other public health news —
The Washington Post:
Traffic Deaths Continue To Soar Despite Cities’ Pledges To Get Them To ‘Zero’
D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser stood in the heart of Union Station on Feb. 20, 2015, and promised to lead the nation’s capital into an era free of traffic fatalities. “We are taking our first step toward realizing a ‘Vision Zero’ where no lives are lost on our streets or at our intersections,” said a newly elected Bowser, setting a goal of zero road deaths by 2024. Instead, the number of traffic fatalities has steadily increased since then, frustrating city officials and advocates, and seemingly putting the goal further from reach. (Lazo, 3/14)
San Diego Union-Times:
Another 13 Flu Deaths, County Reports
Thirteen recent influenza-related deaths have brought the season's total to 302 in San Diego County, health officials said Wednesday. This has been a particularly severe flu season in the region and across the country. At this time last year, just 68 deaths were reported. “The increased number of reported deaths is the result of the severe flu season we are having, but is also due to better surveillance methods, which allow the county to more easily identify and classify flu fatalities,” said Dr. Wilma Wooten, county public health officer. “Flu cases are still occurring throughout the region, so people should continue getting vaccinated and taking other preventive measures.” (3/14)
Sonoma's Department of Health Services Hit With Second High-Profile Departure In Recent Weeks
Dr. Karen Milman said she’d been thinking about leaving her post for “a long time, since before the October fires.”
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Dr. Karen Milman Resigns As Sonoma County Health Officer
Sonoma County’s health officer, Dr. Karen Milman, has stepped down from her job, marking the second high-profile shakeup in the county’s Department of Health Services in recent weeks. Milman’s last day was Monday, a week after the departure of the county’s mental health and substance abuse services director, Michael Kennedy. Kennedy went on paid leave last week and county officials are seeking to fill his post with an interim director. County officials would not elaborate on the circumstances of his job status, including whether the leave was ordered or voluntary, and whether he was set to return to work in a different post. Dr. Michael Kozart, the Health Services department’s medical director and lead psychiatrist, is filling the role on a temporary basis. (Espinozza, 3/14)
In other news from across the state —
The Mercury News:
Marin Regains Rank As State’s Healthiest California County
Marin has regained its mantle as the healthiest county in California, based on rankings by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. The annual rankings compare California’s 58 counties on more than 30 factors that influence health including length of life, quality of life, health behaviors, access to health care, socioeconomic factors and physical environment. The years of data used to create the rankings vary widely by data category. (Halstead, 3/14)
Modesto Bee:
Modesto Backs Homeless Shelter Plan, But Mayor Raises Questions
The City Council voted 7-0 on Tuesday evening in favor of “supporting the vision of an immediate action plan for a temporary low barrier emergency shelter/day center with minimal supportive services (shelter) for the homeless population,” according to the resolution passed by the council. ...County officials have stressed this project is for a temporary shelter that will provide immediate relief for the homeless crisis while they work on the permanent solution: opening an access center that will offer comprehensive services with the goal of moving the homeless into permanent housing. (Valine, 3/14)
The Mercury News:
San Jose Officer Cleared In Fatal Shooting Of Mentally Ill Man With Knife
A San Jose police officer was deemed legally justified when he shot and killed a violently mentally ill man who charged at him with a knife during a frantic encounter in front of the man’s home last year, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. (Salonga, 3/14)
Marin Independent Journal:
Bay Area Mussel Eater Gets Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning
A person who was collecting mussels over the weekend at Dillon Beach has been hospitalized for shellfish poisoning, according to the Marin County Public Health Department. The health department confirmed Tuesday a case of paralytic shellfish poison, a naturally occurring toxin found in bivalves such as mussels, clams and oysters. (Prado, 3/14)
For now Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin's job seems to be safe because of his powerful supporters. And the fact that no one else really wants the job.
Politico:
Trump Administration Dials Back Shulkin Firing Rumors — For Now
President Donald Trump may be itching to fire him, but Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin has the support of GOP lawmakers and veterans, and the lack of a preferred successor may keep him at the agency’s helm at least for now. Trump’s consternation with Shulkin bubbled over Monday, as he was meeting with Energy Secretary Rick Perry and planning Rex Tillerson’s ouster from the State Department. Trump didn’t offer Perry the job, nor did he ask if Perry wanted it, but the events prompted speculation that a major Cabinet shakeup was in the works. (Woellert and Allen, 3/14)
In other national health care news —
The New York Times:
Trump’s Vow To Make More Federal Benefits Depend On Having A Job Faces An Uncertain Future
In his State of the Union speech two months ago, President Trump vowed to end welfare as he defined it, heralding a plan to force recipients off federal housing vouchers, food assistance and Medicaid if they were not willing to do “a hard day’s work.” Days before the speech, as part of the plan, several federal departments took steps to impose the stricter work requirements on able-bodied adults receiving noncash aid. The move could result in the loss of subsistence benefits for as many as four million poor, single adults over the next few years, experts say. (Thrush, 3/15)
Politico:
Head Of Major Insurer Lobby Stepping Down After Turbulent Term
Marilyn Tavenner is stepping down after three tumultuous years at the helm of America’s Health Insurance Plans, a K Street powerhouse that's seen its influence decline as Washington grew more hostile to Obamacare. Tavenner oversaw AHIP as Republicans took full control of the federal government, hellbent on dismantling the 2010 health care law. The industry group was forced to take on that fight with diminished resources, with three of the country’s largest insurers — UnitedHealth Group, Aetna and Humana — dropping out of the organization in recent years. AHIP spent $6.5 million on lobbying last year — a nearly 40 percent decline from four years earlier. (Demko, 3/14)
The New York Times:
Hepatitis C Drugs Save Lives. Sick Prisoners May Never Find Out.
Any national campaign to eliminate hepatitis C, an insidious virus that kills tens of thousands of Americans a year, would almost certainly involve prisons. One in seven state inmates are believed to be infected, and the regimented environment of a prison has its advantages when it comes to screening and treatment.The problem is, the drugs that effectively cure the disease are priced in the tens of thousands of dollars — far more than prisons can pay. In 2015, state corrections departments were treating less than 1 percent of those inmates known to be infected, a survey found. (Alcorn, 3/15)
The Hill:
Exit Poll Shows Health Care A Top Issue In Pa. Special Election
The majority of voters in Tuesday’s special election in Pennsylvania considered health care to be one of the most important issues in deciding who to vote for, according to an exit poll released Wednesday. For 52 percent of voters, health care was ranked as a top issue when deciding who to vote for, while 19 percent said it wasn’t at all important to them, according to Public Policy Polling, a Democratic polling firm. (Hellmann, 3/14)