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California Healthline Original Stories
Secretive ‘Rebate Trap’ Keeps Generic Drugs For Diabetes And Other Ills Out Of Reach
Patients are often forced into using brand names because drug formularies favor them over cheaper competitors. (Jay Hancock and Sydney Lupkin, )
Good morning! As was expected, HIV, drug prices and late-term abortions made an appearance in President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address to Congress last night. Although advocates are excited that the HIV epidemic was mentioned as a priority, with few details to go on, they’re not sure if Trump’s proposal is realistic. More on that below, but first, here are some of your top California news stories for the day.
About 20,000 Californians Have To Find A New Doctor Because Of Anthem, Sutter Stalemate: Both Anthem and Sutter have issued statements that they’re negotiating in good faith in order to benefit patients and consumers as their Medi-Cal contract dispute drags on. But the stalemate has left about 20,000 California customers scrambling to find a different doctor. There are patient protections in place, however, for situations such as these. Not only do the companies have to alert members about the shift in providers, but patients also have the right to request to continue ongoing treatments with current physicians. “If you’ve been working with a doctor on a treatment or care – if you’re in the middle of chemotherapy, if you’re in the middle of dialysis – then you can stay with them and plan for the handoff for up to a year,” says consumer advocate Anthony Wright in the Sacramento Bee’s coverage.
Negotiations Break Down Over Separate Bills Geared Toward Curbing Police Shootings: Although those involved in the two bills say negotiations aren’t completely dead, lawmakers have decided to move forward introducing the rival legislation. Assemblywoman Shirley Weber’s proposal—backed by civil rights groups and families who have lost loved ones to shootings—would change the legal standard for justifying deadly force, with the terminology changed from “reasonable” to “necessary” for avoiding imminent danger. Law enforcement groups, however, support the second bill, which focus more on departments adopting policies to detail techniques to avoid force and creating a statewide training program. It’s not clear yet if the two policies could eventually co-exist. Read more about them in CALmatters and Capitol Public Radio.
Sacramento Councilman Questions If Adding More Shelters Is Best Way To Spend $16M For Homeless Crisis: Mayor Darrell Steinberg has directed city leaders to find sites in their districts with the goal of opening more triage shelters. But Councilman Larry Carr is questioning if that’s the best way to spend the nearly $16 million in city funds budgeted for homeless initiatives. The significant chunk of change is in addition to state and private funds, with the total coming in at about $36 million for projects to address the crisis. The council will discuss how to spend the money next week. Read more in the Sacramento Bee.
In related news, Los Angeles’ chief accountant is preparing to audit the city because he has doubts that officials are spending voter-approved funds to house the homeless effectively. Read more in the LAist.
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. Media outlets report on news about mental health, hospitals, wildfires, House Democrats' packed-full agenda and more.
More News From Across The State
The Desert Sun:
Indio To Hear Appeal For 80-Bed Mental Health Facility
The Indio City Council on Wednesday could decide the fate of a proposed 80-bed in-patient mental health facility that has stirred fierce opposition from neighbors. Council members will hear an appeal by Tennessee-based Acadia Healthcare for its proposed Indio Behavioral Health Center, which would provide acute psychiatric care for youth, adults and seniors with mental health issues, including depression, bipolar disorders, addiction and schizophrenia. Acadia, a publicly traded company, operates nearly 600 facilities in 40 states and the United Kingdom, including a similar 68-bed psychiatric and chemical dependency facility in Riverside. (Lopez, 2/5)
Sacramento Bee:
Suicide Prevention: Kevin Hines Speaks At Jesuit
Kevin Hines, who survived a suicide attempt in 2000 when he jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge, gave a keynote speech Monday at Jesuit High School for the Catholic school’s mental health and wellness week. (Kumamoto, 2/4)
The Mercury News:
Instagram Deploys 'Sensitivity Screens' For Self-Harm Images
Spurred by the suicide of a British teen, Instagram this week is adding “sensitivity screens” to images of self-harm on its platform. “I have been deeply moved by the tragic stories that have come to light this past month of Molly Russell and other families affected by suicide and self-harm,” said Adam Mosseri, who took over as head of Instagram after its founders left parent company Facebook last year, in an op-ed in the Telegraph published Monday. “We are not yet where we need to be on the issues of suicide and self-harm.” (Sumagaysay, 2/5)
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Sebastopol Health Care District Seeks To Convince Voters On Plan To Lease And Sell Hospital
A plan to lease and potentially sell Sebastopol’s district-owned hospital, which has struggled financially for years, cleared a key hurdle this week and is now headed for a special election next month. On Monday, the Palm Drive Health Care District approved a lease agreement with Modesto-based American Advanced Management Group for operation of the site as a long-term acute care hospital without an emergency department. The agreement includes an option to purchase the hospital. Residents within the district will be asked to vote on the plan by March 5, and district officials have scheduled a series of town hall meetings to outline the lease agreement and potential sale. Ballots went out Monday in the district encompassing Sebastopol, Graton, Forestville, Bodega Bay and other west county communities. (Espinoza, 2/5)
Sacramento Bee:
UCD Offers Less-Invasive Fix For PDA Defect In Preemies
Weighing little more than 3 pounds 7 ounces, tiny Marcellus Brown had a life-threatening problem with his blood flow, one that is common for preemies. To fix it, surgeons at most medical centers cut into these infants’ delicate chests and spread them open to work. Dr. Frank Ing made just a needle prick to perform a procedure that repaired the problem. (Anderson, 2/5)
Sacramento Bee:
Map Shows Where Displaced Camp Fire Wildfire Survivors Live Now
A website and public Facebook group have recently been set up by Camp Fire survivors to tell their stories firsthand. The site, campfiresurvivors.com, appears to have been established in the first few days of February. It includes a section for survivors to write and submit stories about their experience during California’s deadliest-ever wildfire, and for the community and world at large to read those stories. (McGough, 2/5)
Capital Public Radio:
A History Of California Wildfires
See the perimeters of more than 100 years of California wildfires recorded by Cal Fire and the U.S. Geological Survey. (2/4)
KPBS:
San Diego Repeals Ban On People Living In Cars
The San Diego City Council on Tuesday repealed a nearly 26-year-old ban on people living in cars, after a group of disabled people sued the city, arguing the law was discriminatory. The city has been barred from enforcing the "vehicle habitation ordinance" since a federal judge imposed an injunction in the case last year. (Bowen, 2/5)
The New York Times:
Trump Plan To Stop Spread Of H.I.V. Will Target ‘Hot Spot’ Areas
President Trump’s plan to stop the transmission of H.I.V. in the United States will focus on 48 counties where about half of new infections occur, administration officials said on Tuesday. The goal is to reduce new infections by 75 percent over five years and to “end the H.I.V. epidemic in America” by 2030, said Alex M. Azar II, the secretary of health and human services, who coordinated development of the ambitious plan, outlined by Mr. Trump in his State of the Union address. New infections in recent years have remained at roughly the same level, around 40,000 a year. (Pear, 2/5)
The Washington Post:
Trump Announces Goal Of Ending HIV/AIDS Epidemic By End Of Next Decade
In his State of the Union address, President Trump went beyond the promises of any of his predecessors since AIDS appeared as a deadly scourge nearly four decades ago. He announced a strategy to stop the spread of HIV by 2030 by concentrating as-yet-unspecified resources on 48 counties and other “hot spots” where half the nation’s new infections occur. “Scientific breakthroughs have brought a once-distant dream within reach,” the president said in the latter part of his annual agenda-setting speech to both chambers of Congress. “Together, we will defeat AIDS in America and beyond.” (Goldstein, 2/5)
The Associated Press:
Trump Plan To Stop HIV Epidemic Targets High-Infection Areas
Briefing reporters ahead of Trump's State of the Union speech, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and senior public health officials said the campaign relies on fresh insights into where about half of new HIV cases occur — 48 out of some 3,000 U.S. counties, and Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and seven states with at-risk rural residents. "We've never had that kind of 'This is the target,'" said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's pre-eminent AIDS warrior and head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The government has "been trying to address HIV, but never in such a focused way," he said. (2/5)
Stat:
Can The U.S. End The HIV Epidemic In A Decade, As Trump Pledged?
President Trump confirmed Tuesday that his administration will attempt to end the HIV epidemic in the United States within the next decade — but experts have warned that’s a harder task than his simple pledge suggests. Trump’s decision to emphasize the pledge in his State of the Union address, as Politico first reported this weekend, triggered excitement among public health experts who know that with adequate funding for medications and other scientific tools that great inroads could be made in at least reducing the number of infections that occur in the country each year. In 2017, nearly 39,000 Americans contracted HIV. (Branswell, 2/5)
Stat:
In State Of The Union, Trump Tells Congress: 'Do More' To Lower Drug Prices
In his State of the Union address Tuesday, President Trump touted his administration’s work to reduce the price of prescription drugs and called on Congress to take further action. But his remarks on the issue were light on specifics — and in some cases, misleading. “Already, as a result of my administration’s efforts, in 2018 drug prices experienced their single largest decline in 46 years,” Trump said. ...Trump was instead referring to a little-known statistical measurement called the consumer price index for drugs, which did show such a decline. However, researchers have found that particular measure diverges with other ways of estimating drug spending. (Swetlitz, 2/5)
Stat:
Democrats Can’t Decide How To React To Trump’s Call For ‘More’ On Drug Pricing
President Trump on Tuesday left Congress a two-syllable mandate on the issue of prescription drug pricing: “Do more.” To some Democrats, the words presented an open invitation to collaborate. Others were left confused as to what, exactly, the White House wants. In conversations with reporters following Trump’s second State of the Union address, the divide among Trump’s opposition party was apparent — between lawmakers prepared to cross partisan lines, those entirely opposed to Trump’s approach, and others waiting for more detailed direction. (Florko and Facher, 2/6)
The Associated Press:
Fact Check: Trump On Prescription Drug Pricing
Trump is selectively citing statistics to exaggerate what seems to be a slowdown in prices. A broader look at the data shows that drug prices are still rising, but more moderately. Some independent experts say criticism from Trump and congressional Democrats may be causing pharmaceutical companies to show restraint. The Consumer Price Index for prescription drugs shows a 0.6 percent reduction in prices in December 2018 when compared with December 2017, the biggest drop in nearly 50 years. The government index tracks a set of medications including brand drugs and generics. (2/5)
Reuters:
Trump Asks U.S. Congress To Prohibit Late-Term Abortion
U.S. President Donald Trump called for curbs on late-term abortion in his State of the Union address on Tuesday, citing controversies over the issue in New York and Virginia. Using emotive language, Trump waded into what has long been a divisive issue in American politics, even though the procedure was legalized in a Supreme Court ruling more than 40 years ago. (2/6)
The Hill:
Trump Calls On Congress To Ban 'Late-Term' Abortions
“To defend the dignity of every person, I am asking the Congress to pass legislation to prohibit the late-term abortion of children who can feel pain in the mother's womb,” Trump said during his speech. (Hellmann, 2/5)
The Washington Post:
Fact-Checking President Trump’s 2019 State Of The Union Address
“Nearly 5 million Americans have been lifted off food stamps.” About 3.6 million people (not nearly 5 million) have stopped receiving food stamps since February 2017, according to the latest data. But experts say the improvement in the economy may not be the only reason for the decline. Several states have rolled back recession-era waivers that allowed some adults to keep their benefits for longer periods of time without employment. Reports have also suggested immigrant families with citizen children have dropped out of the program, fearing the administration’s immigration policies. Moreover, the number of people collecting benefits has been declining since fiscal 2014. (Kessler, Rizzo and Kelly, 2/5)
The New York Times:
Trump Asks For Unity, But Presses Hard Line On Immigration
Republicans jumped to their feet at the president’s calls to curb immigration, limit late-term abortions and ensure that the United States does not turn to socialism, even chanting “U-S-A, U-S-A” a couple of times as if at a Trump campaign rally. “That sounds so good,” he exulted. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, sitting behind Mr. Trump for the first time, and other Democrats largely remained in their seats without applauding and expressed only tepid enthusiasm even for his mention of goals intended to appeal to them, like infrastructure and paid parental leave. Ms. Pelosi maintained a polite, even amused smile on her face for much of the speech. But the evening was filled with political theater as the president introduced World War II veterans, Holocaust survivors, the Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, a 10-year-old cancer survivor, a police officer shot seven times at last fall’s synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh and the teary-eyed relatives of a couple killed by an illegal immigrant, all sitting with the first lady, Melania Trump. (Baker, 2/5)
The Washington Post:
In Dissonant State Of The Union Speech, Trump Seeks Unity While Depicting Ruin
Rare moments of joint applause came when Trump touted the bipartisan criminal justice law he signed in December, vowed to fight childhood cancer and committed to eliminating HIV in 10 years. Trump began and ended his 82-minute speech with a unifying tone that was in conflict with many of his own actions and statements, especially over the past month, one of the more contentious of his presidency. (Rucker and Olorunnipa, 2/5)
The Hill:
Pelosi Knocks Trump Speech: 'Completely Ignored The Gun Violence Epidemic'
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) panned President Trump's State of the Union address late Tuesday, noting that for all his warnings about threats against the United States, he did not discuss "the gun violence epidemic." "It will take days to fact-check all the misrepresentations that the President made tonight," Pelosi said in a statement after Trump's speech. "Instead of fear-mongering and manufacturing a crisis at the border, President Trump should commit to signing the bipartisan conference committee’s bill to keep government open and provide strong, smart border security solutions. (Samuels, 2/6)
The Wall Street Journal:
Abrams Targets Trump’s Immigration Policy In Democratic Response
Ms. Abrams sought to draw a contrast between Democrats’ support for border security with some of the administration’s most controversial practices, including separating families that cross into the U.S. illegally. “We know bipartisanship could craft a 21st century immigration plan, but this administration chooses to cage children and tear families apart,” she said. “Democrats stand ready to effectively secure our ports and borders. But we must all embrace that from agriculture to health care to entrepreneurship, America is made stronger by the presence of immigrants—not walls.” (Peterson and Andrews, 2/5)
The Associated Press:
Fact Check: Abrams On Children In Cages
A look at one of Democrat Stacey Abrams' statements from her response to President Donald Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday night and how it compares with the facts. "We know bipartisanship could craft a 21st century immigration plan but this administration chooses to cage children and tear families apart," [Abrams said.] The cages that Abrams mentions are actually chain-link fences and the Obama administration used them, too. (2/5)
The Associated Press:
House Democrats Getting Down To The Grunt Work Of Governing
A House committee will hold its first hearing on gun violence in years. Two others will gavel in to address climate change. And three more will debate protecting pre-existing health conditions and the Affordable Care Act. That's before noon on Wednesday. (2/6)
The Wall Street Journal:
Democratic Presidential Hopefuls Amplify Income Inequality Message
Several prominent Democrats are pressing for redistributing wealth to low-income families in a bid to make income inequality a defining term of the 2020 presidential elections. Democrats often seek to raise taxes on the wealthy or increase spending on programs that touch low-income households, such as education, health care or housing. The latest effort is more far-reaching and aims to move supplemental cash directly into the hands of low-income Americans. (Hackman, 2/6)
The New York Times:
‘A Match Into A Can Of Gasoline’: Measles Outbreak Now An Emergency In Washington State
Measles, declared eliminated as a major public health threat in the United States almost 20 years ago, has re-emerged this winter in the Pacific Northwest and other states where parents have relatively broad leeway over whether to vaccinate their children. Seventy-nine cases of measles have been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since the start of this year. Fifty cases of the highly contagious disease were in Washington State. (Johnson, 2/6)
Stat:
Prominent 'Right-To-Try' Advocate Is Getting Treatment Under The New Law
One of the namesakes of the federal “right-to-try” law confirmed Tuesday that he gained access to an experimental treatment thanks to the new law. Matt Bellina, who has ALS, thanked the drug company BrainStorm for providing the treatment on Facebook. “Many of you read last June that Brainstorm would be treating me with the experimental treatment of [NurOwn] under the new federal Right to Try law. Today I want to thank the company and CEO Chaim Lebovitz for following through and keeping their word.” (Florko, 2/5)
The New York Times:
How Trump’s Latest Plan To Cut Drug Prices Will Affect You
The Trump administration has made lowering drug prices one of its top priorities, and last week it unveiled a proposal that could vastly rewrite the way drugs are sold in the United States. The proposal takes aim at the secret deals that drug companies strike with pharmacy benefit managers, the industry intermediaries that negotiate the price of drugs for insurers and large employers. These after-the-fact discounts, called rebates, have come under harsh criticism and are blamed for helping to push up the list price of drugs, which consumers are increasingly responsible for paying. (Thomas and Abelson, 2/5)
The New York Times:
Making New Drugs With A Dose Of Artificial Intelligence
You can think of it as a World Cup of biochemical research. Every two years, hundreds of scientists enter a global competition. Tackling a biological puzzle they call “the protein folding problem,” they try to predict the three-dimensional shape of proteins in the human body. No one knows how to solve the problem. Even the winners only chip away at it. But a solution could streamline the way scientists create new medicines and fight disease. (Metz, 2/5)