- California Healthline Original Stories 4
- Feds To Waive Penalties For Some Who Signed Up Late For Medicare
- Hospitals Now Tap Lawyers To Fulfill Patients’ Legal Needs
- Cuts In Federal Housing Help Would Hurt People’s Health, Research Suggests
- Recovery On The Reservation: Montana Sisters Help Peers Stop Using Drugs
- Sacramento Watch 1
- Critics Concerned Single-Payer Isn't Really The Answer To All California's Health Woes
- Covered California & The Health Law 1
- With Wolves Nipping At Their Heels, Calif. Republicans Defend Health Law Vote
- Public Health and Education 2
- Dignity Therapy Lets Gravely Ill Leave Behind Their Stories
- How To Protect Yourself From Botulism
Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Feds To Waive Penalties For Some Who Signed Up Late For Medicare
Medicare has not sent notice of the temporary penalty waiver to enrollees in exchanges run by the states. But Covered California plans to notify its members who are about to turn 65 — or already have — sometime this summer. (Susan Jaffe, )
Hospitals Now Tap Lawyers To Fulfill Patients’ Legal Needs
About 300 health care systems around the country have set up medical-legal partnerships to help patients who are dealing with legal problems that affect their health. (Michelle Andrews, )
Cuts In Federal Housing Help Would Hurt People’s Health, Research Suggests
A study in Health Affairs shows that people who receive federal housing vouchers and other forms of public housing assistance are more likely to have health insurance and get regular medical care. (Shefali Luthra, )
Recovery On The Reservation: Montana Sisters Help Peers Stop Using Drugs
A grass-roots effort to corral Montana's meth crisis hinges on the idea that people who are successful in conquering addiction are uniquely qualified to coach others. (Nora Saks, Montana Public Radio, )
More News From Across The State
Critics Concerned Single-Payer Isn't Really The Answer To All California's Health Woes
They point to access problems and structural issues that could come along with the system.
Capital Public Radio:
Single-Payer Bill Met With Skepticism On Its Accessibility To Health Care
The California Senate has passed a single-payer health care bill last week, but many key questions about the proposal remain unanswered. Supporters and opponents both question how much more accessible health care would become to Californians if signed into law. (Schilling, 6/5)
In other news from Sacramento —
Capital Public Radio:
Bill Would Require New Public Restrooms Be Built With Diaper-Changing Stations
California lawmakers are considering a bill requiring new public restrooms be built with diaper-changing stations. That goes for places like department stores and restaurants, and for women’s and men’s restrooms. Backers say that’s needed, moms aren’t the only ones who change diapers. Susanna Conaway, a Berkeley mother of two, says parenting is evolving, even if restrooms don’t always reflect that. (Potter, 6/5)
Covered California & The Health Law
With Wolves Nipping At Their Heels, Calif. Republicans Defend Health Law Vote
Democrats have already identified the group of California Republicans as vulnerable for the next election.
Politico:
Vulnerable California Republicans Struggle To Sell Obamacare Repeal Vote
Rep. David Valadao’s colleagues privately thought he’d vote against the House GOP bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. The California Republican’s Hispanic-populated swing district went for Hillary Clinton by a whopping 15 percent margin. And with more than half his impoverished constituency here in rural San Joaquin Valley on Medicaid, opposing a bill to cut $800 billion from the low-income health care program certainly would have been the politically prudent thing to do. (Bade, 6/5)
Dignity Therapy Lets Gravely Ill Leave Behind Their Stories
The therapy, which involves multiple 30- to 60-minute question-and-answer sessions usually conducted by a psychologist, social worker or trained chaplain, is becoming more popular for those at the end of life.
Sacramento Bee:
What Will Your Last Words Be? Legacy Therapy Helps Dying Patients Tell Their Stories
Maureen Cleveland inhaled deeply as she recalled the scent of the fresh tomatoes that her father brought home each summer from the cannery where he worked. The thin 60-year-old woman, who’s battling late-stage breast cancer, talked for an hour in her Carmichael home, smiling almost constantly as she described picnic days with her family of seven and other scenes from her Bay Area childhood. Visiting hospice chaplain Connie Johnstone listened intently from the foot of the bed, egging Cleveland on with questions and scribbling down the occasional quote. (Caiola, 6/6)
In other aging news —
The Mercury News:
Burden Of Care For Elderly Afflicted With Dementia Falls Mostly On Women
After Steve Williams’ dementia worsened a year ago, his wife Noree quit her job as a school music teacher to care full time for her husband of 46 years — and decided they should move closer to their eldest daughter and her family in San Jose for additional support. “There came a point when I could no longer leave him by himself,” said Noree Williams, 65. “It was hard. I’m at the point now when I can no longer get him out of bed. It’s very hard on my body — he needs help with everything now.” (Bansal, 6/6)
How To Protect Yourself From Botulism
Linda Harris, a food safety microbiologist at UC Davis, offers advice on how to avoid the toxin following a local outbreak.
Sacramento Bee:
Botulism Outbreaks Usually Tied To Home Canning, UC Davis Expert Says
A major outbreak of botulism, a rare type of food poisoning, struck 10 people in Northern California over the last month, killing one Antioch man. Sacramento County health officials traced the illness to a gas station in Walnut Grove, where the victims were sickened after eating nacho cheese sauce from a dispenser. Botulism is caused by a dangerous nerve toxin created when a bacteria called clostridium botulinum multiplies in food. Symptoms begin with vomiting and blurred vision followed by a slow paralysis that can lead to respiratory failure if an antitoxin is not administered in time. (Caiola, 6/5)
Berkeley Requests Feedback From Residents On $25M Mental Health Services Plan
The plan would be funded under the state Mental Health Services Act, which places a 1 percent tax on every dollar of personal income over $1 million to be allocated to local mental health agencies.
East Bay Times:
Berkeley Seeks Residents' Input On Mental Health Plan
The city is asking residents for input to develop a three-year plan to strengthen mental health services, particularly in the areas of prevention, early intervention and wellness enhancement. The services, which include outreach, assessment and treatment, are aimed at children and adults, with a focus on racial and socioeconomic equity, according to a press release from the city. The three-year plan, to be funded by a total of $25 million under the state Mental Health Services Act, is expected to come before the City Council in July. (Lochner, 6/5)
In other news from across the state —
Orange County Register:
11 Students At McFadden Intermediate School, Under Influence Of Prescription Drug, Taken To Hospital
Eleven students from McFadden Intermediate School were found to be under the influence of a prescription anti-anxiety medication and taken to local hospitals Monday, authorities said. All but three were released by late afternoon, and those three were expected to go home by Monday evening. The students – 9 girls and two boys – ranged in age from 11 to 14 and showed signs of mild to moderate lethargy, authorities said. (Schwebke, 6/5)
Innovators In Neurotech Field Dream Of Perfect Marriage Between Humans' Brains, Computers
A fully functional brain-computer interface, in theory, turns a person into a programmable, debuggable machine—just like a computer.
The Wall Street Journal:
A Hardware Update For The Human Brain
Emily Borghard has a computer inside her skull, but you wouldn’t know it to look at her. A small bump behind her left ear, the only external evidence of her implant, is partially covered by a tuft of hair that’s still growing in from the last time she had the batteries changed. Before Borghard received a brain implant, she was having as many as 400 “spikes” of seizure-like activity a day, along with multiple seizures. This unrelenting storm of abnormal neural activity turned her teenage years into a semiconscious nightmare. (Mims, 6/5)
Not Wanting Health Care To Consume Entire Calendar, GOP Leaders Aim For Summer Vote
“I don’t think this gets better over time,” said Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). “So my personal view is we’ve got until now and the Fourth of July to decide if the votes are there or not. And I hope they are.” Meanwhile, the many cooks the Republicans have in the kitchen could be impeding their progress.
The Wall Street Journal:
GOP Leaders To Present Senate Republicans With Proposals To Shape Health-Care Bill
GOP leaders are planning to present to Senate Republicans options for the major policy decisions shaping their health-care bill during a closed-door lunch Tuesday, Senate GOP lawmakers and aides said Monday. The proposals are expected to include a prolonged phaseout of the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion. There is also growing interest in possible steps to shore up fragile individual insurance markets, according to people familiar with the discussions. (Armour and Peterson, 6/5)
The Associated Press:
Senate GOP Aiming For Vote This Month On Health Legislation
"We've been talking about this for seven years, so now is the time to start coming up with some tangible alternatives and building consensus," GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said Monday. (Werner, 6/5)
Politico:
Senate GOP Aims For June Vote On Obamacare Repeal
It’s a gut-check situation for Republicans, who are about to be confronted with tough choices that may result in millions fewer people with insurance coverage as a condition for cutting taxes and lowering some people’s premiums. “I don’t think this gets better over time,” said Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), a member of leadership. “So my personal view is we’ve got until now and the Fourth of July to decide if the votes are there or not. And I hope they are.” (Haberkorn and Everett, 6/5)
The Hill:
Too Many Cooks Threaten GOP Healthcare Bill
Senate Republicans may have too many cooks in the kitchen when it comes to healthcare, and it’s complicating efforts to draft an ObamaCare replacement bill. The main Senate group working on crafting healthcare legislation is the task force of 13 men backed by Senate leaders. It won negative attention early on for its lack of women, at which point GOP leaders opened it up to all members. (Weixel, 6/6)
The New York Times:
Obamacare Didn’t Destroy Insurance Markets, But It Also Didn’t Fix Them
Republican lawmakers and President Trump have criticized Obamacare, saying it took away people’s ability to choose their health plans and doctors, pointing to a recent exodus of insurers that could leave areas with a single insurer or none at all. Mr. Trump has insisted the markets are failing. Supporters of the Affordable Care Act hoped the law would spur more competition among insurers across the country. But so far, the law has not delivered on that promise, especially in states that never had much competition, but it didn’t create the lack of choice in those states, according to a Times analysis of insurer participation provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (Abelson and Park, 6/6)
VA To Ditch Antiquated Electronic-Records System For One Used By Defense Department
Secretary David Shulkin says the change will let the agencies' systems work together seamlessly.
The Wall Street Journal:
Veterans Affairs To Adopt Medical-Records System Defense Department Uses
The head of the Department of Veterans Affairs said Monday the agency will scrap its current electronic-records system and use the same system as the one now operating at the Defense Department. Dr. David Shulkin, the VA secretary, said the department will transition away from its antiquated electronic-records system and use a system interoperable with that used by the Defense Department, a yearslong goal for the two departments. (Kesling, 6/5)
KCUR:
VA Awards Big Electronic Health Records Contract To Cerner
Shulkin said the VA will adopt the same EHR system as the Defense Department, which is based on Cerner’s Millenium product. Until now, the two organizations have not adopted the same EHR system, instead spending hundreds of millions of dollars on “interoperability” – or ensuring the different IT and software systems can communicate with one another. (Margolies, 6/5)
The Associated Press:
Trump Tweets That VA's Planned Records Overhaul 'Is One Of The Biggest Wins' For Veterans In Decades
Under the proposed change, the VA will work immediately to sign a contract with Cerner Corp., which designed the Pentagon's system, known as MHS Genesis. Shulkin said that because all the VA's patients originate in the Pentagon system, the VA would be better served if it could "trade information seamlessly." To expedite the process, Shulkin said he intended to bypass competitive bidding in favor of Cerner, noting that it took the Pentagon 26 months to finalize its contact. (6/5)
In other national health care news —
Reuters:
Top Court Exempts Church-Affiliated Hospitals From Pension Law
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that church-affiliated hospital systems do not have to comply with a federal law governing employee pensions, overturning lower court decisions that could have cost the hospitals billions of dollars. The court ruled 8-0 that church-affiliated organizations are exempt from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, a 1974 law that forces private employers to follow rules aimed at protecting pension plan participants. (Chung, 6/5)
The Washington Post:
America Is A World Leader In Health Inequality
The divide between health outcomes for the richest and poorest Americans is among the largest in the world, according to a new study. Of people in households making less than $22,500 a year, 38 percent reported being in poor or fair health in a survey taken between 2011 and 2013. That's more than three times the rate of health troubles than faced by individuals in households making more than $47,700 a year, where only 12 percent of people reported being in poor to fair health, according to the findings published in Health Affairs. (Johnson, 6/5)
Stat:
The 20 Most-Googled Diseases
More than a third of all American adults have gone online to find a diagnosis, according to a 2013 Pew survey, and half of those people wound up discussing what they found with their health care provider. Looking for a digital diagnosis can either increase or alleviate concerns about a possible illness, according to Microsoft researchers. And there’s even a word that’s cropped up — “cyberchondria” — to describe what happens when searching for medical information starts to become a condition unto itself. (Sheridan, 6/6)