Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Doctors And Nurses With Addictions Often Denied A Crucial Recovery Option
Programs for health care professionals addicted to opioids generally bar a proven recovery method: the use of drugs like buprenorphine and methadone to relieve cravings. (Emma Yasinski, )
Good morning! Here are your top California health stories for the day.
Trump Threatens To Unleash EPA On San Francisco Because Of Homeless Crisis, Needles In The Ocean: President Donald Trump said Wednesday his administration will issue San Francisco an environmental violation notice within a week for polluting the ocean with needles and other waste via the city’s sewer system — but city officials said such waste is unlikely to get into the ocean through the city’s grated drains. Traveling aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington from a three-day trip to California and New Mexico, Mr. Trump told reporters that San Francisco was in “total violation” of environmental rules because of used needles that were ending up in the ocean. “They’re in total violation — we’re going to be giving them a notice very soon,” the president said, indicating that the city could be put on notice by the Environmental Protection Agency within a week that its homelessness problem was causing environmental damage. In a statement, San Francisco Mayor London Breed said the city has a sewer system that runs effectively, keeping debris from reaching the Bay or the Pacific Ocean. “In San Francisco we are focused on advancing solutions to meet the challenges on our streets, not throwing off ridiculous assertions as we board an airplane to leave the state,” Ms. Breed said. Read more from Michael D. Shear, Michael D. Shear, Thomas Fuller and Peter Baker of The New York Times; Lauren Hernandez and Kurtis Alexander of The San Francisco Chronicle; Rebecca Ballhaus of the Wall Street Journal; and Liam Dillon and Benjamin Oreskes of the Los Angeles Times.
California AG Sues Trump Administration Over Claims It Is Misleading The Public About Coverage For Birth Control: California and 14 other states say in their suit that the Trump administration is falsely suggesting to the public that employers with moral objections to contraception can deny birth control coverage to female employees, despite court orders requiring the coverage to continue. “Your agencies are failing to honestly apprise the public of the legal status of the ACA’s contraceptive coverage mandate,” they said, referring to the Affordable Care Act, the law signed by President Barack Obama in 2010 that provided federally subsidized health coverage. Their accusation was not entirely accurate, because one government website refers briefly to two court injunctions against a version of the proposed rules. Other postings, however, treat the rules as though they were in effect. Read more from Bob Egelko of the San Francisco Chronicle.
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
San Jose Mercury News:
East Bay Mayor Claims ‘Lives Will Be Lost’ If Alta Bates Closes
Nason and El Cerrito Mayor Rochelle Pardue-Okimoto said that the hospital closure would affect residents, the uninsured, homeless, UC Berkeley students and the elderly. Both mayors are members of a task force, convened by Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin, that is working to convince Sutter Health to keep Alta Bates open. (Kawamoto, 9/18)
Sacramento Bee:
Sutter Davis Leader Details $69.5 Million Expansion Plans
The chief executive officer of Sutter Davis Hospital shared details Tuesday on the planned $69.5 million expansion of the facility’s emergency department, birthing center and medical-surgical unit. The construction, she said, should be finished by 2024. (Bollag, 9/18)
Modesto Bee:
Nurses Are Expected To Strike At Modesto, Turlock Hospitals
A one-day strike involving registered nurses at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto and Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock is scheduled for Friday. The walkout will affect hospitals in California, Arizona and Florida owned by Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp. About 5,400 registered nurses work at those facilities. (Carlson, 9/18)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Gov. Newsom Signs AB5, Making Gig-Work Reform Bill Law
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed AB5, California’s landmark gig-worker bill that could turn thousands of independent contractors into company employees with protections and benefits.“ The hollowing out of our middle class has been 40 years in the making, and the need to create lasting economic security for our workforce demands action,” Newsom said Wednesday, in a signing statement released by his office. (Gardiner, 9/18)
Modesto Bee:
How Will CA Uber/Lyft Bill AB 5 Affect Workers, Employers?
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Wednesday that could reframe the state’s economy by compelling industries to give employment benefits to more workers. Assembly Bill 5 was shaped by concerns that gig economy giants like Uber and Lyft have exploited workers, but it would affect many other industries as well.Here’s a look at what the bill will mean for California workers and consumers. (Bollag, 9/18)
KQED:
Can He Do That? Lawyers Doubt Trump Can Kill California's Clean-Air Powers
During a press conference Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom slammed the plan to revoke California's authority and accused the Trump administration of bullying the state and the car companies. He expressed confidence that California would prevail in a legal challenge. He added that the market, as well as the future of the auto industry, are on California's side. (Stark and Arcuni, 9/18)
Sacramento Bee:
Emails Blurred Campaign And Policy Matter In Insurance Agency
When an industry executive reached out on May 1 to California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara’s department staff, he emailed with two meeting requests: a “formal policy discussion” and a “political meeting.” “We would like to schedule two meetings with the commissioner,” United Insurance Company CEO Jamie Sahara wrote to Lara’s special assistant in the department, David Green, in an email that included fundraiser Dan Weitzman. (Wiley, 9/19)
The Associated Press:
25 Californians Charged With $150M In Health Care Fraud
Twenty-five Southern California doctors and others are accused of billing Medicare and other health plans for $150 million in fraudulent charges. Federal cases were announced Wednesday in Los Angeles and Santa Ana. (9/18)
Capital Public Radio:
California Says Nearly All Cannabis Businesses Will Be In Statewide Tracking System By End Of October
California says its system for tracking cannabis products from seed-to-sale will soon cover the entire industry — but regulators still have more work to do. In May, less than 10 percent of licensed cannabis businesses were enrolled in the system known as track-and-trace. Speaking at a press conference Monday, Nick Maduros with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration said the state has since made significant progress. (Rodd, 9/18)
Modern Healthcare:
Dignity Health Loses Transgender Discrimination Appeals Case
In a setback for Catholic hospitals, a California appellate court ruled that Dignity Health discriminated against a transgender man seeking a hysterectomy when one of its hospitals turned him away for the procedure. The 1st District Court of Appeal ruled unanimously Tuesday that the state nondiscrimination law, the Unruh Act, barred discrimination against the patient, Evan Minton. The court sent the case back to the San Francisco Superior Court, which had dismissed the lawsuit on the basis that Minton had quickly received the procedure at another facility. (Meyer, 9/18)
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
UC San Diego To Create $100 Million School Of Public Health To Fight Disease, Aging
UC San Diego is expected to receive permission Thursday to create a $100 million school of public health capable of spotting and fighting disease worldwide, assessing how pollution from wildfires affects specific communities, and evaluating mobile medical devices. The program also will address California’s emerging shortage of health workers, including a projected need for 160,000 home care employees over the next decade. (Robbins, 9/18)
The California Health Report (healthycal.org):
Kids Could Lose Food Stamps, School Meals Under Proposed Federal Change
A Trump administration proposal to change how states determine who qualifies for food stamps could lead to thousands of California children going hungry at home and at school, analysts say. In July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it wants to eliminate the policy called broad-based categorical eligibility, which allows states to enroll households in the national food stamp program—called CalFresh in California—even if their income slightly exceeds federal eligibility standards. The policy is a lifeline for low-income families in high-cost-of-living states, like California, where housing, child care and medical expenses can eat up a large portion of people’s earnings. (Boyd-Barrett, 9/18)
Los Angeles Times:
Who's To Blame For The Nation's Opioid Crisis? Massive Trial May Answer That Question
For the families of the roughly 400,000 Americans who have died of opioid drug overdoses since 1999, a legal drama scheduled to unfold in an Ohio courtroom next month may feel like a true shot at justice. After downplaying the risks of dangerous and highly addictive prescription narcotics, and of profiting from their spiraling misuse, the purveyors of prescription painkillers could be forced to reckon with the consequences of their actions. (Healy, 9/18)
Politico:
Pelosi Steams Ahead With Drug Pricing Plan Amid Liberal Angst
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is making a hard sell to her caucus this week on a signature drug pricing bill. But it’s not yet clear whether she can win over skeptical progressives. The California Democrat has won initial praise from key moderate factions in her drive to push the legislation through by Thanksgiving. But the ambitious plan, and its closed-door drafting process, has left progressives worried that the bill will fall well short of their expectations and that they remain cut out of the talks. (Ferris, Cancryn and Karlin-Smith, 9/18)
Stat:
Democrats Still Have Questions About Nancy Pelosi’s Drug Pricing Plan
For months, Nancy Pelosi has kept even her fellow Democrats in the dark on her plan to lower drug prices. The big reveal, for the lawmakers, came this week: Pelosi barnstormed the Capitol as if campaigning for office, pitching moderate, progressive, and middle-ground Democratic groups on her plan. But for many members of Congress, Pelosi’s presentation left more to be desired — even as she’s expected to publicly release it as soon as today. (Facher, 9/19)
The Wall Street Journal:
Attorney General Probes Support For Gun Background Checks On Capitol Hill
Attorney General William Barr is gauging support among lawmakers for a plan to expand gun background checks, signaling that the administration hasn’t dismissed a significant tightening of gun rules, though President Trump hasn’t indicated what he will endorse. Mr. Barr spent several days on Capitol Hill this week with White House legislative affairs director Eric Ueland floating a plan requiring background checks for all commercial gun sales, including at events such as gun shows where buyers currently can largely avoid them. (Gurman, Andrews and Lucey, 9/18)
The Associated Press:
Teen Vaping Of Nicotine Jumped Again This Year, Survey Finds
A greater share of U.S. teens are vaping nicotine e-cigarettes. About 25% of high school seniors surveyed this year said they vaped nicotine in the previous month, up from about 21% the year before. The University of Michigan study was published online Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers surveyed more than 42,000 students across the country in grades 8, 10 and 12. (9/18)
The Washington Post Fact Checker:
Sanders’s Apples-And-Oranges Comparison On Medicare-For-All Costs
“Joe said that Medicare-for-all would cost over $30 trillion. That’s right, Joe. Status quo over 10 years will be $50 trillion.” — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), remarks during the third Democratic presidential debate, Sept. 12, 2019. Sanders made this comment after former vice president Joe Biden criticized the senator’s Medicare-for-all plan for potentially adding “$30 trillion, $3.4 trillion a year” to the federal budget. In his response, Sanders favorably compared that $30 trillion to what he called the “status quo” for health-care spending — $50 trillion. He added: “Every study done shows that Medicare-for-all is the most cost-effective approach to providing health care to every man, woman and child in this country.” (Kessler, 9/19)
The Washington Post:
Purdue Pharma’s Bankruptcy Plan Includes Special Protection For The Sackler Family Fortune
In 2008, as Purdue Pharma was searching for a new chief executive, Richard Sackler received a memo from an adviser. “In the event that a favorable [recapitalization] deal cannot be structured during 2008, the most certain way for the owners to diversify their risk is to distribute more free cash flow to themselves,” F. Peter Boer, a member of Purdue’s board of directors told Sackler, a prominent member of the wealthy family that owns the company. (Merle and Bernstein, 9/18)
Bloomberg:
GM’s Cave-In On Healthcare Signals Trouble For Other Carmakers
As GM was nearing the expiration of its labor contract with the union last week, the carmaker sought to have hourly workers pay 15% of their healthcare costs, according to people familiar with the talks. But by the time the company presented the union with a deadline offer, GM walked back the proposal and called for keeping contributions steady at about 4%, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private discussions. (Naughton, Welch and Coppola, 9/18)