Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Hidden Reports Masked The Scope Of Widespread Harm From Faulty Heart Device
The Food and Drug Administration allowed one company to send 50,000 reports of harm or malfunctions to an internal database even as patients worried about faulty defibrillators lodged in their hearts. (Christina Jewett, )
Good morning! A panel discussion between advocates and a state lawmaker about California’s mental health system was summed up by state Sen. Jim Beall when he said, “We need to start from scratch.” More on that below, but first here are some of your other top California health stories for the day.
California Governor, Legislature Headed For Showdown Over Coverage For Undocumented Immigrants: While California lawmakers want to expand coverage to everyone in the state, regardless of immigration status, Gov. Gavin Newsom says that expanding Medi-Cal to all adults over 25, who typically have higher health care costs than the young, could be financially unsustainable. Both steps would be first-in-the-nation expansions, but the scope of it is causing a rare disagreement between the governor and the lawmakers in his party. With Democrats controlling about 75% of the seats in California’s legislature, there has been no vocal opposition to including illegal immigrants in Medi-Cal. The debate is only over how many and how quickly. “They work in our hotels, they work picking the fruit and vegetables, they work as landscapers, they work in hospitals,” said Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, a Los Angeles Democrat and author of the broader expansion. “I don’t think they should be treated differently from other Californians.” Read more from The Wall Street Journal, The Desert Sun, and The Associated Press.
‘There’s No Accountability’: Elder Care Homes Continue To Operate In California Illegally After Failing To Pay Workers: In 2015, former Gov. Jerry Brown signed the Fair Day’s Pay Act, which aimed to thwart wage theft in California. It barred companies with outstanding wage theft judgments from conducting business in the state. But an investigation has found that the state Department of Social Services’ Community Care Licensing Division, which is in charge of licensing facilities for the elderly and disabled, has not acted. Legal experts say proving a connection between residents’ health and safety and wage theft is not required under the Fair Day’s Pay Act for state licensing officials to take action. In addition, some argue that licensing officials could revoke the licenses of care homes that fail to pay judgments because wage theft inflicts harm on workers and seniors, a violation of the state’s health and safety code. Read more from Reveal.
California Chain Of Faith-Based Clinics Sues HHS Over Family Planning Rules: Because a judge has halted loosened regulations about around family planning funds, the California clinics are forced to comply with existing standards that require recipients to offer contraception and counseling that includes discussing abortion. "Obria and its clinics are now put to a Hobson’s choice," the lawsuit states. "They may either accept the money — which would mean accepting the abortion referral requirement to which they have deep religious objections — or they can decline to do so, meaning that the funds will be forfeited and Obria clinics will be unable to provide much-needed healthcare to needy women across California." The watchdog Campaign for Accountability, which is suing HHS over access to documents connected to the policy changes, says Obria should have never sought grant money under rules antithetical to its religious beliefs. Read more from Politico.
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
Modern Healthcare:
Private Plans Pay California Hospitals More Than Double The Medicare Rate
Private insurers paid California hospitals more than two times as much as Medicare for similar services in 2015 and 2016, according to a study published Monday by West Health Policy Center. The study found that private insurers paid hospitals an average 209% of Medicare, though there was wide variation across hospitals. Private insurers paid the costliest hospitals 364% of Medicare on average, while they paid the least expensive hospitals an average 89% of Medicare. The most expensive hospitals tended to be private not-for-profit hospitals, while the least costly were public hospitals. (Livingston, 5/20)
CALmatters:
"If You Think The System Works, You’re Dead Wrong:" A Discussion On California's Mental Health System
A physician, an advocate, a public health specialist, a suicide-attempt survivor and a California state lawmaker gathered in downtown Sacramento today to offer their diagnosis of the state’s mental health system. The consensus was summed up by Sen. Jim Beall: “We need to start from scratch.” “I haven’t heard a lot of cheerleaders for the status quo,” said Beall, a Democrat from San Jose and the author of several bills that would expand access to mental health treatment. “If you think the system works, you’re dead wrong.” The panel discussion, hosted by CALmatters and the California Health Care Foundation, builds off an ongoing CALmatters reporting project by Jocelyn Wiener and Byrhonda Lyons on the state’s fragmented, sometimes fatally dysfunctional mental health system. (Christopher, 5/20)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Support Falters For Law To Compel Treatment Of SF’s Mentally Ill
A law that would allow San Francisco to expand involuntary treatment for the city’s mentally ill population is on thin ice, and it’s unclear if it has the votes to pass the full Board of Supervisors next month. But if the board knocks down the legislation at its June 4 meeting, one supervisor said he is open to another plan: putting the issue before voters in November. (Thadani, 5/20)
San Francisco Chronicle:
In A Little Yellow House, SF Supes See Model For Getting Mentally Ill Off Streets
They don’t know that inside live people who are now stable after experiencing severe mental health or drug addiction crises like those that play out before horrified San Franciscans on our downtown sidewalks every day. Those crises make us wonder why such a rich city — with an $11 billion annual budget — can’t do better.San Francisco can do better, and the little yellow house is one solution. (Knight, 5/21)
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Union Accuses Kaiser Of Inadequate Mental Health Evaluations
The union representing Kaiser Permanente mental health workers is accusing the major health care provider of cutting corners on initial mental health patient evaluations, resulting in rushed and inadequate care, misdiagnoses and long waits for follow-up care. The National Union of Healthcare Workers claims Kaiser’s mental health assessments via telephone do not meet professional psychiatric standards of care and are merely a way of getting around California requirements for timely initial treatment. (Bordas and Espinoza, 5/20)
Ventura County Star:
Ventura County Medical Center Layoffs Looming
County supervisors will be asked Tuesday to eliminate 137 positions that are vacant or unfunded in the Ventura County Health Care Agency, a precursor to layoffs coming down at the end of the month. The move gives hiring managers a more accurate idea of how many positions actually exist so they're not advertising jobs that could disappear in a layoff, officials said. Both regular and per diem jobs would come off the books if the Board of Supervisors approves the recommendation. (Wilson, 5/20)
Orange County Register:
Former Inmate Alleges Medical Neglect At Joshua Tree Jail Cost Him His Legs And A Hand
A former inmate at the San Bernardino County sheriff’s jail in Joshua Tree alleges in a federal lawsuit that medical neglect he suffered while in custody led to the amputation of his legs and left hand. Perry Belden, 28, and his mother, Robin Olds, both of Twentynine Palms, allege in their lawsuit filed May 13 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles that during his weeklong stint at the Morongo Basin jail in Joshua Tree, Belden was denied medical treatment to the point where he was ultimately hospitalized and diagnosed with severe dehydration, sepsis and renal failure. (Nelson, 5/20)
The Associated Press:
Senate GOP Leader Would Raise Age For Buying Tobacco To 21
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, whose home state of Kentucky was long one of the nation's leading tobacco producers, introduced bipartisan legislation Monday to raise the minimum age for buying any tobacco products from 18 to 21. The chamber's top Republican, who said he was making enactment of the bill "one of my highest priorities," issued his proposal at a time when the use of e-cigarettes is growing and underage vaping has soared, raising concerns by health expert s. The measure would apply to all tobacco products, e-cigarettes and vapor products and was co-sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., whose state has also been a major tobacco producer. (Fram, 5/20)
The Associated Press:
'Medicare For All's' Rich Benefits 'Leapfrog' Other Nations
Generous benefits. No copays. No need for private policies. The "Medicare for All" plan advocated by leading 2020 Democrats appears more lavish than what's offered in other advanced countries, compounding the cost but also potentially broadening its popular appeal. While other countries do provide coverage for all, benefits vary.But the Medicare for All plan from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders would charge no copays or deductibles for medical care, allowing only limited cost-sharing for certain prescription drugs. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 5/21)
Politico:
Disaster Relief Package On Fast Track After Shelby Relents
Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby is caving on his demand to add a key parochial provision to a long-stalled disaster aid bill, potentially clearing the way for its passage later this week. The Alabama Republican agreed to drop the fight — which had held up a deal for weeks and even begun to rattle members of his own party — after a meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday yielded a commitment to address harbor maintenance provisions outside the disaster relief package. (Levine, Ferris and Bresnahan, 5/20)
The Hill:
Pro-ObamaCare Group Launches Ad Campaign To Protect 20 House Dems
A pro-ObamaCare group on Monday announced it is launching a seven-figure advertising campaign aimed at protecting 20 House Democrats who could face tough reelections. The ad campaign by Protect Our Care will highlight the Democrats’ work on health care and argue that Democratic lawmakers are protecting people with pre-existing conditions, an issue that helped the party win back the House in the 2018 midterm elections. (Sullivan, 5/20)
The New York Times:
Measles Outbreak Now At 880 Cases, With Fastest Growth Still In New York
There have now been 880 measles cases reported in this year’s outbreak, already the largest since 1994, federal health officials said on Monday. An additional 41 cases were reported last week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, 30 were in New York State, which is having the country’s most intense outbreak, largely in Orthodox Jewish communities. Most of those new cases were in New York City, and nine were in suburban Rockland County. (McNeil, 5/20)
NPR:
The Other Reasons Kids Aren't Getting Vaccinations: Poverty And Health Care Access
The toddler looking up at Dr. Melanie Seifman in her Washington, D.C., exam room seems a little dazed. It could be because she just woke up from a nap at daycare. It could be that she remembers the shots she got last time, and she knows what's coming. The little girl is catching up on some vaccines she's behind on: missing doses of the DTaP and polio vaccines. She's over two years old — both of those shots are supposed to happen at a baby's six-month check up. (Simmons-Duffin, 5/20)
The Associated Press:
5th Migrant Child Dies After Detention By US Border Agents
A 16-year-old Guatemala migrant who died Monday in U.S. custody had been held by immigration authorities for six days — twice as long as federal law generally permits — then transferred him to another holding facility even after he was diagnosed with the flu. The teenager, identified by U.S. Customs and Border Protection as Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez, was the fifth minor from Guatemala to die after being apprehended by U.S. border agents since December. (Merchant, 5/20)