Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Candidates Are Betting Big On Health. Is That What Voters Really Want?
Polls show that health care is at the top of voters’ issues, but the polls also say Democrats, let alone other Americans, are not ready for “Medicare for All.” (Julie Rovner, )
Good morning! Some Dems are selling a “public option” as a more moderate path toward universal coverage, but even that could be a big disruption to the health industry. Read more on that below, but first here are some of your top California health stories of the day.
California State Investigation Reveals PG&E Failed To Maintain Transmission Lines For Years Before Deadly Fires: State regulators said Pacific Gas & Electric failed to adequately inspect and maintain aging power lines that started last year’s devastating Camp fire, which obliterated the town of Paradise and killed 86 people. In a 696-page report filed last week, investigators with the California Public Utilities Commission cited PG&E for violating a dozen state safety rules and regulations. State fire investigators had previously determined that PG&E equipment started the Camp Fire, and the company hasn’t disputed the findings. But the new report goes well beyond earlier findings, alleging numerous serious violations of state rules for maintaining electric lines and specific problems with upkeep of the transmission line that started the fire. Read more from Hailey Branson-Potts of the Los Angeles Times, Russell Gold and Katherine Blunt of The Wall Street Journal, and Kinishka Singh of Reuters.
Top LA County Official for Agency Fighting Homeless Crisis Steps Down: As head of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, Peter Lynn has long been the face of bad news on the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles. “Boy, these have felt like some long five years,” he said in an interview last week. “I mean I have really enjoyed this, this role and this gig and I have also felt quite a lot of wear and tear from it.” Homelessness has increased a total of 33% during Lynn’s tenure, precipitating a public reaction that has produced millions of dollars of new tax revenue but also growing frustration with the lack of visible results. Lynn said that his decision to leave the $242,000-a-year job was partly motivated by a nearly two-month medical absence after an August auto accident left him with a debilitating concussion. Read more from Doug Smith and Benjamin Oreskes of the Los Angeles Times.
Wildfires Exacerbated California’s Air Pollution Problem:Last year’s deadly Camp Fire engulfed Paradise, Calif., in the Sierra Nevada foothills, causing 85 deaths and destroying nearly 19,000 buildings. Smoke from the fire blanketed much of northern California for nearly two weeks, prompting health warnings.In San Francisco, nearly 200 miles south of Paradise, fine particulate pollution reached nearly 200 micrograms per cubic meter at the worst hour, according to Berkeley Earth, a nonprofit research group that aggregates data from air-quality monitoring sites. Average daily air quality hovered between “unhealthy” and “very unhealthy” for 11 days. Schools were closed and cable car service suspended; protective face masks and air filters sold out at local stores. Look up air quality where you are with this New York Times tool.
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
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
Local Schools Chosen To Participate In New Blue Shield Mental Health Program
Ten local schools are among a handful statewide chosen to participate in a new pilot program that brings mental health resources to campus, providing more immediate access to treatment and training designed to provide help as close as possible to where it’s needed. In collaboration with the state Department of Education and three different nonprofits, Blue Shield of California announced Monday that it has started a five-year, $10 million effort to extend one-on-one therapy, teacher mental health training and other resources to school districts in San Diego and Alameda counties. (Sisson, 12/3)
Fresno Bee:
Hate Crime In Fresno, Valley Were On The Rise In 2018
Hate crimes reported to police in Fresno County and across the central and southern San Joaquin Valley reached their highest in a decade in 2018, fueled by an increase in attacks or harassment aimed at African Americans. Of 48 hate-motivated crimes law enforcement agencies reported to the state Department of Justice last year in the six-county region from Merced County in the north through Kern County in the south, 29 targeted victims because of their race or ethnicity. (Sheehan, 12/2)
Los Angeles Times:
Fearing CTE, A Former USC Star's Family Donates His Brain
When a courier service delivered Kevin Ellison’s brain to the Bedford VA Medical Center near Boston just after 2 p.m. on Jan. 22, Dr. Victor Alvarez performed the routine he has done so many times that he’s stopped counting. The neuropathologist unpacked the box, weighed the brain and examined it for contusions or hemorrhages. He snapped dozens of pictures with various exposures to capture differences in shape and color not apparent to the naked eye. Alvarez processes most of the brains donated to the partnership between the Department of Veterans Affairs, Boston University CTE Center and the Concussion Legacy Foundation. (Fenno, 12/3)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Spike In HIV Cases Spurs Clinica Sierra Vista To Increase Local Education Efforts
The last time Kern's HIV numbers spiked like this was 1991 and 1992. But the county's total population was lower, so the rate of infections per 100,000 residents in 2017 was still 40 percent lower than it was during the epidemic years, according to statistics from the Kern County Department of Public health. The county has some of the worst rates of sexually transmitted disease in the state, consistently ranking among the five worst counties for rates of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. Nearly 10,000 new cases of STDs were diagnosed throughout the county in 2017, the health department reported. (Mayer, 12/2)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Tenderloin Medical Van To Serve SF Homeless With Eye To Cutting 911 Calls
A large tie-dye-painted van parked in the Tenderloin aims to cut ambulance calls to the neighborhood and emergency room visits by treating complaints, like wounds, rashes and the common cold. Nonprofit HealthRight 360 will officially unveil its splashy, brightly colored mobile clinic Tuesday. The van, which has two small examination rooms, provides basic primary care services to the city’s homeless. The goal is to reduce 911 calls, improve care and save the city money by treating people before they’re so sick they wind up in the emergency room. (Thadani, 12/3)
Capital Public Radio:
What's The Best Way To Help Homeless Sacramento Residents? Here's What They Say.
As the weather grows colder and wetter, the roughly 5,570 Sacramentans sleeping outdoors on any given night will face harsher conditions. Some will position themselves on boulevards and corners to ask strangers for cash, while others will sit quietly in alcoves and parks, waiting for someone to drop them a few dollars or something to eat. (Caiola, 12/2)
East Bay Times:
San Jose Medical Clinic Offers Hope To People Once On The Street
As more housing built specifically for formerly homeless people opens in the Bay Area, a new clinic in Santa Clara County aims to make sure those residents get good healthcare and stay off the streets. Since opening quietly this spring in downtown San Jose, the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center’s Hope Clinic has seen more than 350 patients. A first-of-its-kind model that may serve as an example in the region, the clinic works with the county’s Office of Supportive Housing and other agencies to help people moving into housing who may have fallen through the healthcare system’s cracks get treatment for everything from diabetes to mental health struggles. (Deruy, 12/2)
The New York Times:
How Far Can Cities Go To Police The Homeless? Boise Tests The Limit
During a recent mayoral debate at a Boise homeless shelter, after disposing of icebreakers like the candidates’ favorite Metallica album, the moderator turned to something more contentious: a decade-old lawsuit, now a step away from the Supreme Court. The case, Boise v. Martin, is examining whether it’s a crime for someone to sleep outside when they have nowhere else to go. The suit arose when a half-dozen homeless people claimed that local rules prohibiting camping on public property violated the Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment. (Dougherty, 12/3)
Los Angeles Times:
Boise, Idaho Is Why L.A. Can't Clear Homeless Encampments
Boise Mayor David Bieter is attempting to challenge a landmark federal court ruling that prohibits cities from ticketing or arresting homeless people for sleeping or camping on public property if there are no shelter beds available as an alternative. The city and county of Los Angeles, along with several local governments in California and elsewhere, have filed court documents supporting Bieter’s bid. (La Ganga, 10/15)
Fresno Bee:
T.J. Cox Announces Bill To Help Poor CA Cities With Dirty Water
Cities like Huron, with a population of 6,926 and a $22,802 median household income, are often too small to expand water access projects that could lower utility rates. While cities like Delano are too big to qualify for rural development projects from the federal government.But a new proposal could soon alleviate those pains. On Monday, mayors and city officials from rural Central Valley cities joined U.S. Rep. T.J. Cox to announce plans to introduce a bill they said could open up millions of dollars to help communities with clean water shortage. (Rodriguez-Delgado, 12/2)
KPBS:
Backed-Up Storm Drain Caused Poway's Water Contamination
Poway officials said Monday they believe backed-up storm drains caused the water contamination that led to the city's first-ever boil water advisory over the weekend. The county health department ordered the closing of all restaurants in the city and residents are being advised to boil their tap water before drinking it or using it for cooking, city officials said. (Hoffman, 12/2)
Los Angeles Times:
Santa Clarita Shooting: Classes Resume At Saugus High For First Time Since Deadly Attack
Among the ribbons, white and blue “Saugus Strong” posters were affixed to fences leading to the school’s gates, professing words of hope for this community: “peace” and “love,” with “faith” written in a heart, above two clasped hands. These symbols and messages welcomed students, staff and parents back to campus Monday, when classes resumed for the first time since a student walked into the school quad on his 16th birthday armed with a .45-caliber handgun and opened fire, killing Gracie Muehlberger, 15, and Dominic Blackwell, 14, and wounding three others before turning the gun on himself. (Kohli and Wigglesworth, 12/2)
Capital Public Radio:
City Of Sacramento Might Add Another Office To Oversee Marijuana Dispensaries
The discovery that two men had cornered a large part of the legal cannabis market in Sacramento has the city scurrying to make sure it knows who is doing what. The city of Sacramento is entertaining the thought of adding oversight of the cannabis industry by hiring someone outside the Office of Cannabis Management to essentially help manage cannabis. (Moffitt, 12/2)
The New York Times:
Why The Less Disruptive Health Care Option Could Be Plenty Disruptive
The single-payer health plans proposed by Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are often assailed as being too disruptive. A government plan for everyone, the argument goes, would mean that tens of millions of Americans would have to give up health insurance they like. Democratic presidential candidates with more moderate brands have their own proposal: a “public option” that would preserve the current private insurance market, while giving people the opportunity to choose government insurance. (Sanger-Katz, 12/3)
Reuters:
Biden Says Buttigieg 'Stole' His Healthcare Plan
U.S. Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden said on Monday that his fast-rising rival Pete Buttigieg "stole" the former vice president's healthcare policy proposals, as the two battle for support in the early nominating state of Iowa. Biden, among the leaders in the 16-member Democratic field for the right to take on Republican President Donald Trump in next year's election, is proposing expanding the Affordable Care Act. (12/3)
The Washington Post:
State Lawmakers Acknowledge Lobbyists Helped Craft Their Op-Eds Attacking Medicare-For-All
Lobbyists either helped draft or made extensive revisions to opinion columns published by three state lawmakers in a way that suggested Medicare-for-all and other government involvement in health care posed dangers, according to emails obtained by The Washington Post. Montana state Rep. Kathy Kelker (D) and Sen. Jen Gross (D) acknowledged in interviews that editorials they published separately about the single-payer health proposal included language provided by John MacDonald, a lobbyist and consultant in the state who disclosed in private emails that he worked for an unnamed client. (Stein, 12/2)
Stat:
The History Of OxyContin, Told Through Purdue Pharma Documents
STAT’s multiyear legal battle to unseal secret Purdue Pharma files in a Kentucky court has produced dozens of documents that lay bare new details about the company’s marketing strategy and the role of Dr. Richard Sackler, a member of the family that founded and controls Purdue, in making OxyContin a top-selling pain pill. ...Below is a timeline of Purdue’s activities as revealed by the newly released documents (and some that were already public), and excerpts from those records. (Chakradhar and Ross, 12/3)
Stat:
Pharma’s Not Nearly As Excited For Cures 2.0 — Yet
The bipartisan duo behind a 2016 law that poured billions into medical research want to repeat their success. But so far, the pharmaceutical industry that helped push the first version across the finish line isn’t nearly so eager to lend the new effort much support. The 21st Century Cures Act has been lauded since its passage for both the funding it included and its revamp of the regulatory landscape for medical breakthroughs. (Florko, 12/3)
The New York Times:
The Crisis In Youth Suicide
The death of a child is most parents’ worst nightmare, one made even worse when it is self-inflicted. This very tragedy has become increasingly common among young people in recent years. And adults — parents, teachers, clinicians and politicians — should be asking why and what they can do to prevent it. In October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that after a stable period from 2000 to 2007, the rate of suicide among those aged 10 to 24 increased dramatically — by 56 percent — between 2007 and 2017, making suicide the second leading cause of death in this age group, following accidents like car crashes. (Brody, 12/2)