- California Healthline Original Stories 3
- Everything You Need To Know About Block Grants — The Heart Of GOP’s Medicaid Plans
- In A Liberal Pocket, Assisted Living Residents Fear Obamacare’s Death
- Republicans Standing Behind Price
- Hospital Roundup 1
- State Has Lagged In Inspecting Hospitals For Infection Rates, Consumer Group Claims
- Sacramento Watch 1
- Fresno State Could See First Medical School Not At A University Of California Campus
- Public Health and Education 2
- STD Rates Are Skyrocketing And Officials Don't Really Know Why
- Massive Gap Between Cancer Deaths In Rich Vs. Poorer Counties Highlight Startling Health Disparities
Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Everything You Need To Know About Block Grants — The Heart Of GOP’s Medicaid Plans
Republican plans to transform Medicaid could help set debate on the role of government and entitlements. Here's an explanation of how it could work. (Shefali Luthra, )
In A Liberal Pocket, Assisted Living Residents Fear Obamacare’s Death
Seattle seniors at an upscale assisted living center lament Washington’s rush to repeal and replace Obamacare with no alternative on the table. (JoNel Aleccia, )
Republicans Standing Behind Price
KHN’s Julie Rovner is interviewed on WBUR’s “Here and Now” about the Senate Finance Committee’s hearing on the nomination of Rep. Tom Price to head HHS, as well as President Donald Trump’s recent executive order on the health law. ( )
More News From Across The State
State Has Lagged In Inspecting Hospitals For Infection Rates, Consumer Group Claims
Hospitals that have fallen into the gap include Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center and USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Los Angeles Times:
California Fails To Inspect Several Dozen Hospitals With High Infection Rates
Scores of California hospitals with high rates of patient infections have not been inspected within the last five years, according to a petition filed Monday by Consumers Union. California law requires hospitals to be inspected every three years, but the state has fallen so far behind that the period has stretched to at least five years for 131 hospitals, the group said. (Peterson, 1/24)
In other hospital news —
San Francisco Business Times:
UCSF's $200M Research Building At Zuckerberg San Francisco General Will Bring Researchers Under Same Roof
UCSF expects final city approvals this month to build a new $200 million research building on the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital campus. The project will bring a staff of 800 researchers spread throughout nine buildings under one roof, and in the process hopefully boost efficiency and collaboration. Many of the current research buildings built in 1915 do not meet seismic safety standards, and UCSF’s research buildings must be shuttered by October 2019. (Siu, 1/24)
Fresno State Could See First Medical School Not At A University Of California Campus
Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula is concerned with the slow progress at being made to establish a medical school at UC Merced.
Fresno Bee:
Assemblyman Arambula Proposes Medical School For Fresno State
Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno, introduced legislation Monday to establish a medical school at Fresno State, which if approved by lawmakers would be the first in the state not at a University of California campus. Arambula voiced interest in Fresno State as a site for a medical school at a meeting in September to discuss health-care needs. Historically, California has relied on the UC system for medical education, but Arambula said the state has allowed other advanced degrees to be offered at state universities such as California State University, Fresno. (Anderson, 1/24)
In other news —
Sacramento Bee:
Marijuana Regulations Won't Meet Deadline, California Senator Says
Californians legalized recreational marijuana in November, and the state is expected to begin distributing licenses to businesses by January 1, 2018. But least one state senator, who represents California’s marijuana-rich northern counties, doubts the state will be able to write regulations fast enough to hit the deadline. (Luna, 1/24)
California Lawmakers Stick To Party Lines On Vote Over Federal Abortion Funding
The U.S. House passed a largely symbolic measure to make the ban on federal funding permanent.
Los Angeles Times:
California's House Members Vote Along Party Lines On Permanently Banning Federal Funds For Abortion
California's House delegation split along party lines Tuesday on a bill to permanently prohibit the use of certain federal funds for abortions. President Trump promised the anti-abortion community during the campaign that he would make the funding ban — commonly called the Hyde Amendment — permanent. It passed the House 238-183 and goes next to the Senate. The 52 members who represent California in the House split along party lines, with 36 Democrats voting for it, and 14 Republicans voting against it. (Wire, 1/24)
The Associated Press:
House Passes Bill To Bar Federal Funds For Abortion
Emboldened by a Republican in the White House, the GOP-led House on Tuesday backed legislation that would permanently bar federal funds for any abortion coverage. The measure, which passed 238-183, would also block tax credits for some people and businesses buying abortion coverage under former President Barack Obama's health care law. Republicans passed a similar bill in 2015 under veto threat from Obama and the legislation went nowhere. (1/24)
STD Rates Are Skyrocketing And Officials Don't Really Know Why
In Orange County, the most recent data shows a 412 percent increase in syphilis cases from 2011 to 2016, a 204 percent increase in gonorrhea, and a 59 percent increase in chlamydia.
Orange County Register:
Syphilis Up 412%, Gonorrhea 204%: Why Are Orange County STD Rates Through The Roof?
Public health officials throughout Southern California are grappling with alarming increases in syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia that are part of a national epidemic. In 2015, total combined cases of the three sexually transmitted diseases reached an all-time high, according to a late 2016 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report noted that gonorrhea rates were at historic lows and syphilis was close to elimination earlier in the 2000s but now the STDs pose “a substantial health challenge.” (Perkes, 1/24)
In other public health news —
San Jose Mercury News:
Latex-Detecting Dog Is Woman's Weapon Against Dangerous Allergy
The black Labrador Retriever is part of a growing trend in service dogs primed to protect allergy sufferers from potentially deadly encounters with everything from soy to nuts. “I know she’s got my back,” Hayes said of the playful but obedient pooch that returned with her this week to college in New York. When Andromeda pinpoints any odor of latex, she drastically increases sniffing, brackets the source of the latex with her body, then sits and stares at the item to alert Hayes to stay away. Her owner rewards the dog’s efforts with lavish praise, big hugs, and a delicious treat. (Seipel, 1/24)
Massive Gap Between Cancer Deaths In Rich Vs. Poorer Counties Highlight Startling Health Disparities
Although nationally cancer deaths fell by 20 percent, there are still worrying pockets throughout the country that have had a spike in rates.
Los Angeles Times:
Death Rate From Cancer Down 20% Since 1980, But Clusters Of High Mortality Remain
The mortality rate due to cancer is falling nationwide, but worrisome pockets of deadly malignancy persist — and in some places have worsened — in regions throughout the country, according to the first-ever county-by-county analysis of cancer deaths across the United States. The death rate attributed to various types of cancer declined 20% between 1980 and 2014, according to research published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. During that time, the number of cancer deaths per 100,000 Americans dropped from 240.2 in 1980 to 192 in 2014. (Healy, 1/24)
Doctor Settles With Medical Board Over Prescribing Behavior Tied To An Overdose Death
Clyde Ikuta has relinquished his medical license.
Orange County Register:
Anaheim Doctor Relinquishes Medical License After Patient Overdose
An Anaheim doctor has given up his medical license to settle state Medical Board allegations of gross negligence, including repeatedly prescribing opiates to a patient who died of an accidental drug overdose. Clyde Ikuta surrendered his license, effective Jan. 19, according to board documents recently made public. His attorney, Garrett Gregor, declined to comment on Tuesday. According to the documents, Ikuta saw an unidentified 25-year-old man for pain from August 2010 to May 2011. Despite the patient’s history of heroin abuse, Ikuta prescribed methadone without ever giving him a drug test or checking to see if other doctors were also prescribing opiates to him. (Perkes, 1/24)
In other news from across the state —
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Report: Medical Care At Donovan Prison Adequate, But Could Improve
The prison scored 17 percent in conducting annual tuberculosis screenings, failing to properly test any of the 15 sampled patients requiring a skin test in addition to annual screening for signs and symptoms, the report said. The facility scored 33 percent on monitoring and timely administration of all tuberculosis medication doses for the sampled patients during the study period. Medication practices and and storage controls were problematic, with the facility meeting standards in only 48 percent of the tested criteria, the report said. Nursing staff followed proper hand-sanitizing protocols at three of eight sampled locations, and staff at two other locations didn’t have accessible sinks to wash their hands, the report said. (Cook, 1/24)
Price Avoids Being Pinned Down On Details During Grilling At Second Senate Hearing
Despite Democrats pressing HHS nominee Tom Price on the future of the health law, Medicare and Medicaid, Price mostly demurred and downplayed the role he will have in such decisions. Ethical questions regarding the Georgia congressman's stock investments were also raised.
The New York Times:
Tom Price’s Heated Hearing Is Unlikely To Derail His Nomination
In a heated confirmation hearing that focused on ethical issues, President Trump’s nominee for secretary of health and human services, Representative Tom Price, defended his trading of medical and pharmaceutical stocks on Tuesday, saying, “Everything that I did was ethical, aboveboard, legal and transparent.” Democrats accused Mr. Price of a potential conflict of interest at a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, saying he held more than $100,000 in stock in companies that could have benefited from legislation he promoted. Mr. Price, a Georgia Republican, denied any wrongdoing. (Pear and Kaplan, 1/24)
Los Angeles Times:
Trump's Health Secretary Pick Faces Scrutiny Over Reform Plans In Round 2 Of Senate Hearings
Democrats on the finance panel repeatedly quizzed Price about what would happen to patients. Price kept his answers vague. In a round of questions about Medicare, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) asked: “Are you willing to commit that we won’t see increased costs or less coverage for seniors under a revision of Medicare that you might advocate or that the president might pursue?” Price responded: “Our goal is to make certain that seniors have access to the highest quality healthcare possible at an affordable price.” (Levey, 1/24)
In other national health care news —
USA Today:
Trump Hiring Freeze Includes The Short-Staffed VA
A federal hiring freeze imposed by President Trump on Monday affects thousands of open jobs at the Department of Veterans Affairs, despite the half-million veterans still waiting longer than a month for VA appointments. White House press secretary Sean Spicer confirmed Tuesday that the VA is covered under the freeze, which exempted the military and other positions deemed necessary for national security and public safety. (Slack, 1/24)
CNN:
GOP In Health Care Holding Pattern Heading Into Philly Getaway
Republican lawmakers are heading to Philadelphia Wednesday for two days of intensive work on replacing Obamacare with hopes that some of the biggest questions can be answered by the often confounding President Donald Trump. House and Senate Republicans will pack the city, not far from where Democrats nominated Hillary Clinton just six months ago, for their annual retreat -- and crafting a replacement plan for Obamacare is at the top of their list. (LoBianco, 1/25)
The Washington Post:
Key House Committee Will Hold Hearings On First Obamacare Replacement Bills Next Week
In a sign that Republican lawmakers are set to move swiftly on plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, key House committees are scheduling hearings and drafting legislation to unravel former president Barack Obama’s major domestic achievement. On Tuesday, the House Budget Committee is holding a hearing titled “The Failures of Obamacare: Harmful Effects and Broken Promises,” while the Ways and Means Committee is set to examine the “effectiveness” of the individual mandate to buy insurance, a linchpin of the ACA’s model to expand insurance and make it more affordable. (DeBonis, 1/24)
The New York Times:
Are New Drugs For Hepatitis C Safe? A Report Raises Concerns
Drugs approved in recent years that can cure hepatitis C may have severe side effects, including liver failure, a new report suggests. The number of adverse events appears relatively small, and the findings are not conclusive. But experts said the report was a warning that should not be ignored. It involves nine widely used antiviral drugs that were heralded as a huge advance because they greatly increased cure rates, seemingly with few side effects. (Grady, 1/24)
The Washington Post:
Judge Says Aetna Dropped Out Of Some Obamacare Markets To Help Win Its Merger Fight
Aetna announced it would pull out of most of the state exchanges where it sold health insurance under the Affordable Care Act last August, citing financial losses. But a U.S. District Court judge who rejected the company's proposed merger with Humana on Monday revealed in his opinion that profitability wasn't the only concern driving the company's decision -- Aetna also exited several markets as part of an effort to "improve its litigation position." (Johnson, 1/24)