Latest From California Healthline:
KFF Health News Original Stories
How To Get A Cheaper Prescription Before Leaving The Doctor’s Office
A pricing tool embedded in their electronic health record and prescribing system lets doctors see how much patients will pay out-of-pocket based on their insurance and the pharmacy. But doctors have been slow to adopt the technology, which has limitations. (Phil Galewitz, 7/9)
Good morning! An appeals court in New Orleans will hear oral arguments about the constitutionality of the health law in a case that’s being defended by Democratic attorneys general including California’s Xavier Becerra. Read more on the case below, but first here are your top California health stories for the day.
'Have We Become Too Careless?': Alleged IVF Mix-Up At Calif. Clinic Highlights Role Human Error Can Play In Medicine: A Los Angeles clinic is accused of a fertility treatment mix-up that left a New York woman carrying twin boys unrelated to her or to each other — babies she had to give up to their biological parents after giving birth, according to a lawsuit the couple filed against the clinic. The couple said they spent more than $100,000 on travel and medical care as they worked with the clinic to grow embryos from the couples’ sperm and eggs, and then to implant them in the woman through in vitro fertilization. The lawsuit accuses the clinic and doctors of medical malpractice, negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract and more. Human error, however, is not uncommon at IVF facilities, according to expert Jake Anderson. "It's this agonizing process to grow embryos. And it involves almost over 200 different steps and when you assume this happens to thousands of patients every year within that laboratory, all of a sudden you've got a lot of moving parts," Anderson said. Read more from Jared Gilmour of the Sacramento Bee; Sonja Haller of USA Today; and CBS News.
Juul Beefs Up Lobbying Efforts As It Braces For A Brutal All-Or-Nothing Fight Against Vaping Bans: San Francisco’s recently passed a ban on e-cigarettes is a sign of the times. Across the country, states, counties and cities are taking steps to crack down on vaping and other tobacco products. But the San Francisco fight has another layer to it—the city is home to Juul’s headquarters. Seemingly unfazed by the prospect of regulation and bent on expanding, Juul announced its purchase two weeks ago of a 28-story downtown office building. It's also helping bankroll a proposed ballot initiative that pushes back at the city's ban by proposing a new system allowing sales of vaping products. With just days to go before the deadline to submit signatures, the measure appears to have more than twice the number needed to appear on the November ballot. The company argues that it’s acting aggressively to curb underage vaping and that a citywide ban would create a “thriving black market” for its products. Read more from Victoria Colliver of Politico.
Calif. Senate Shepherds Newsom’s Wildfire Liability Plan Through Chamber On Notion That It’s Not Perfect, But It’s Better Than Inaction: The California Senate approved a far-reaching proposal Monday to overhaul the state’s system for handling wildfire liability. Under the plan, the state’s three largest utilities — PG&E, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric — would be able to access the $21 billion insurance fund if first they invest a combined $5 billion in safety improvements. The utilities would also need to receive a new safety certification from the state, which tightens requirements for wildfire mitigation and prevention. PG&E would have to meet additional requirements to access the fund, including the submission of a plan to emerge from bankruptcy within the next year. Supporters say the proposal, while imperfect, would help stabilize California’s largest utilities and hold them accountable for future wildfire damages. “It would help compensate past and present victims, prevent future disasters and protect utility ratepayers from substantial and unfair rate increases,” said Democratic Senator Bill Dodd during a committee hearing Monday afternoon. Read more from Scott Rodd of Capital Public Radio; and Taryn Luna of the Los Angeles Times.
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 California Health Report:
In Effort To Stop Domestic Violence, Advocates Teach Financial Independence
[Alejandra] Aguilar is a program specialist for the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence and has been working on domestic violence prevention for the past 10 years. She teaches financial literacy to women and girls, in the hopes that being financially independent will help them find healthy relationships and prevent domestic violence from happening. ...Domestic violence affects people from all walks of life—more than one in four women in the U.S. have experienced sexual or physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. But abuse and economics, as Aguilar’s story shows, are sometimes linked. A new report from the Prevention Institute, an Oakland-based nonprofit, describes three main ways in which economic security is tied to safe relationships. (Kandil, 7/8)
Los Angeles Times:
UCLA Has Paid More Than $3.5 Million In Settlements Over Former Gynecologist
A patient who alleged she was sexually assaulted by a UCLA Health gynecologist was awarded $2.25 million in a settlement finalized last month with the University of California regents, according to university records released Monday. The patient’s accusation stemmed from a February 2018 appointment with Dr. James M. Heaps. Heaps was charged in early June with sexual battery and exploitation in connection with his treatment of two patients — including the woman whose claim was settled last month. (Cosgrove, Watanabe and Winton, 7/8)
Los Angeles Times:
Psychiatrist Who Admitted Altering Notes In Menendez Brothers’ Murder Trial In The ’90s Surrenders License
A psychiatrist who caused an uproar in the 1990s when he admitted altering clinical notes in the infamous Menendez brothers’ murder trial has agreed to surrender his medical license over new allegations of wrongdoing, according to the Medical Board of California. The decision, which became effective last month, came after the state accused Dr. William Vicary of gross negligence, repeated negligent acts, prescribing without an appropriate exam, excessive prescribing and inadequate record keeping. (Miller, 7/9)
Modesto Bee:
Funding For Stanislaus Doctor Training Program In Jeopardy
The Valley Consortium for Medical Education in Modesto could lose millions in federal funding in October if legislation is not passed to continue the Teaching Health Centers program. The Valley consortium oversees a family practice residency that trains about 35 new physicians at Doctors Medical Center and the county health clinics. It graduates a dozen primary care doctors a year. (Carlson, 7/8)
Ventura County Star:
Ventura County Bartenders Being Trained In Suicide Prevention
The story is the kind stirring a new Ventura County Behavioral Health Department prevention program. It's called Bartenders as Gatekeepers. The concept was conceived from numbers. Of the 95 Ventura County residents who killed themselves in 2018, 77 were men and 34 of them were between the ages of 46 and 70, according to data provided by behavioral health officials. They concluded the people most likely to pursue life-ending action are middle-aged white men. (Kisken, 7/8)
The Desert Sun:
Sanctuary Clinics Offer Respite For Undocumented Residents Amid Immigration Raids
The case of 10-year-old Rosa María Hernández gained national attention in October 2017 when she was detained by immigration agents while traveling in an ambulance for medical treatment in Texas. Hernández, who is physically and mentally disabled, needed emergency gallbladder surgery and was sent to a Corpus Christi hospital. On the way, the ambulance passed through an immigration checkpoint. Even though Hernández was accompanied by an adult cousin who was a U.S. citizen, federal authorities followed the ambulance to the hospital. After the surgery, Hernández was held in a juvenile detention facility for more than a week before she was released to plead her case to stay in the country. (Garcia and Gaglianone, 7/8)
Los Angeles Times:
Want To Do Something About Global Warming? Talk About It With Your Family And Friends
There's the old saying that you should never discuss politics or religion in polite company. Nowadays, it seems climate change has joined that list. Barely more than a third of Americans broach the subject often or even occasionally, according to a recent survey by researchers at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. All this not talking about climate change has given Americans a rather skewed perception of what the rest of the country thinks about the issue. (Rosen, 7/8)
Sacramento Bee:
Bird With West Nile Virus Confirmed In Sacramento County
The first bird of the season has tested positive for West Nile virus in Sacramento County, and officials said they are on alert for the mosquito-borne disease that killed 11 people and infected more than 200 in California last year. A yellow-billed magpie found dead last week near Elverta in north Sacramento County tested positive for the virus, the Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District confirmed Monday in a news release. (Ghisolfi, 7/8)
The New York Times:
Obamacare In Jeopardy As Appeals Court Hears Case Backed By Trump
A federal appeals court panel will hear arguments Tuesday on whether a federal judge in Texas was correct in striking down the Affordable Care Act, a case with enormous stakes not only for millions of people who gained health insurance through the law but for the political futures of President Trump and other candidates in the 2020 elections. The case, which could make its way to the Supreme Court ahead of those elections, threatens insurance protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions and many other sweeping changes the 2010 law has made throughout the health care system. (Goodnough, 7/9)
The Associated Press:
Latest 'Obamacare' Court Battle Plays Out In New Orleans
It's unclear when the panel will rule in a case that appears destined for the Supreme Court, which has reviewed the law before. The ultimate outcome will affect protections for people with pre-existing conditions; Medicaid expansions covering roughly 12 million people; and subsidies that help about 10 million others afford health insurance. Tuesday's arguments are the latest in a lawsuit filed by Republican officials in 18 states, led by the Texas Attorney General's Office. It was filed after Congress — which didn't repeal the law, despite pressure from President Donald Trump — reduced to zero the unpopular tax imposed on those without insurance. (7/9)
Politico:
Long-Shot Legal Challenge Could End Obamacare During The 2020 Campaign
Legal experts across the political spectrum, who had earlier dismissed the lawsuit as a long shot, contend Reed’s decision was an overreach. Even if the individual mandate was unconstitutional, they say unrelated provisions of the law — like the expansion of Medicaid to millions of low-income adults in nearly two-thirds of states — should be allowed to stand. Even a pair of Republican attorneys general in Ohio and Montana, which both expanded Medicaid, have argued that O’Connor’s ruling went too far and would have detrimental consequences. “There’s a pretty strong bias … to try to preserve things under law, rather than knock them down,” said Tom Miller, a health care expert at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. “The preponderant stance has been to go minimal in terms of knocking out broad federal laws.” (Demko, 7/8)
Los Angeles Times:
Trump Officials Tell One Court Obamacare Is Failing And Another It’s Thriving
As they push a federal court to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Trump administration lawyers are arguing the law is no longer workable because Congress eliminated a penalty on people who don’t have health insurance. But for months, senior administration officials and lawyers have been making the exact opposite case in other settings, a review of government reports, court filings and public statements made by Trump appointees shows. In fact administration officials, including White House economists, this year repeatedly have hailed the strength of insurance marketplaces created by the 2010 law. (Levey, 7/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Hopes To Stem Tide Of Legal Setbacks On Health Care
The broader legal fight will likely stretch beyond the 2020 election. Whoever is elected will decide whether to drop or defend lawsuits over such issues as contraception coverage, family planning funding, and health plans that don’t comply with the ACA. “Medicaid work requirements? Another administration will not defend that,” said Loren Adler, associate director of the Center for Health Policy at the Brookings Institution. He said the Trump administration has seemed to stretch legal boundaries more than previous administrations. (Armour, 7/8)
The New York Times:
Judge Blocks Trump Rule Requiring Drug Companies To List Prices In TV Ads
A federal judge ruled on Monday that the Trump administration cannot force pharmaceutical companies to disclose the list price of their drugs in television ads, dealing a blow to one of the president’s most visible efforts to pressure drug companies to lower their prices. Judge Amit P. Mehta, of the United States District Court in the District of Columbia, ruled that the Department of Health and Human Services exceeded its regulatory authority by seeking to require all drugmakers to include in their television commercials the list price of any drug that costs more than $35 a month. The rule was to take effect this week. (Thomas and Rogers, 7/8)
Politico:
Trump Aims To Shake Up Kidney Care Market
The Trump administration this week will announce a series of initiatives to encourage more kidney transplants and treatment at home, the start of a process intended to overhaul a market in which the federal government spends more than $100 billion per year. President Donald Trump is slated to unveil the strategy in a speech Wednesday morning and is eyeing additional actions like a possible executive order, according to four individuals with knowledge of the upcoming announcement. (Diamond and Roubein, 7/8)
The New York Times:
Aid In Dying Soon Will Be Available To More Americans. Few Will Choose It.
On Aug. 1, New Jersey will become the eighth state to allow doctors to prescribe lethal medication to terminally ill patients who want to end their lives. On Sept. 15, Maine will become the ninth. So by October, 22 percent of Americans will live in places where residents with six months or less to live can, in theory, exercise some control over the time and manner of their deaths. (The others: Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Montana, California, Colorado and Hawaii, as well as the District of Columbia.) But while the campaign for aid in dying continues to make gains, supporters are increasingly concerned about what happens after these laws are passed. (Span, 7/8)
The New York Times:
Supplements And Diets For Heart Health Show Limited Proof Of Benefit
Millions of Americans use dietary supplements and a variety of diets to protect their heart health. But a large new analysis found that there was strikingly little proof from rigorous studies that supplements and some widely recommended diets have the power to prevent heart disease. The new research, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, reviewed data from hundreds of clinical trials involving almost a million people and found that only a few of 16 popular supplements and just one of the eight diets evaluated had any noticeable effect on cardiovascular outcomes. (O'Connor, 7/8)