Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
A 'No-Brainer'? Calls Grow For Medicare To Cover Anti-Rejection Drugs After Kidney Transplant
Banking on new cost estimates, a bipartisan coalition in Congress is poised to try — once again — to end a three-year limit on coverage for lifesaving medication required to keep the organs functioning. (JoNel Aleccia, )
Good morning! A cut in payments to physicians in California could be a preview of a bigger fight looming on the horizon over surprise medical billing. More on that below, but first, here are your top California health stories of the day.
Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars For Updating County Jails Are Going Unspent, While Sometimes Fatally Dangerous Conditions Persist: New and improved facilities are a critical pillar of California’s corrections transformation. But bureaucratic roadblocks, indifference from county sheriffs and critical errors in planning by local officials have meant dozens of California jails remain broken and dangerous, unable to adequately serve an influx of inmates, while hundreds of millions of dollars to fix the aging facilities go unspent, a McClatchy and ProPublica investigation has found. Statewide, officials have awarded money for 65 jail construction projects since realignment began eight years ago, according to state project status reports. Only 11 have opened. Most of the rest of the projects are several years behind schedule, records show. State and county officials have encountered a variety of delays, from securing land to passing inspections. Three jails from the earliest financing effort in 2011 have still not started construction. Advocates say that when considering safety, politicians and the public only pay attention to the number of officers on staff. “They look at the force, the law enforcement people,” Kelsey said. “They look at the people, they don’t look at the building.” Read more from Jason Pohl and Ryan Gabrielson of the Sacramento Bee and ProPublica.
California’s ‘Health Navigators’ Try To Help Ease The Way For Immigrants Seeking Insurance Coverage: The mission of the “health navigators” program is to guide, inform and support individuals in need of health coverage. At the same time, health navigators clarify often incorrect information that reaches patients, such as which services immigrants can access without putting their visa applications at risk. The future of the program, which until recently was uncertain, became clearer last month after Gov. Gavin Newsom dedicated funding for it in the state budget. “Health navigation and advocacy centers are necessary,” said Lynn Kersey, executive director of Maternal and Child Health Access (MCHA) in Los Angeles. “We help not only pregnant or undocumented women, but also homeless pregnant women, men and the elderly. We need people to fight for them.” Read more from Jacqueline Garcia and Virginia Gaglianone, of the USC Center for Health Journalism Collaborative.
‘Count The Kicks’ Ambassadors Reach Out To Pregnant Women In Effort To Lower Stillbirth Rates In States: California loses 2,465 babies a year to stillbirth. Count the Kicks is a national prevention public health campaign launched by Healthy Birth Day, a nonprofit started by a group of mothers in Iowa who had experienced stillbirths. Nora Nicholson, a California ambassador for the program, said the goal of the California campaign is to follow the success of Iowa and reduce stillbirths by 26 percent, which would save the lives of 712 babies each year in California. While some health care professionals encourage expectant moms to count their baby’s kicks in the third trimester, Nicholson said the guidelines aren’t universal. “When I told my nurse practitioner that I had been feeling my son moving less, she just shrugged it off,” Nicholson said. “That conversation still haunts me because of how powerless I felt.” Read more from Linda Childers of the California Health Report.
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
Bloomberg:
Anthem’s Fight With Doctors Shows Risks For Surprise-Billing Fix
Doctors fighting a reimbursement battle with one of the biggest U.S. health insurers want to make sure that ending surprise medical bills doesn’t come at the expense of their pay. Anthem Inc. cut payments to some California physicians last month as part of what it called a routine adjustment to fees. Physicians say the move was the result of a 2016 state law that keeps patients from being forced to pay the difference when insurance companies and care providers clash over health costs. (Tozzi, 7/16)
KQED:
This Will Be A Sweltering Century In California And The Nation
If emissions aren’t seriously curbed -- that is, even if the climate continues to warm with some abatement -- researchers at the Union of Concerned Scientists say millions more people in California alone can expect at least a month of extreme heat days each year, those days bringing with them more health risks and rippling environmental impacts. ...The study’s authors ran climate models with two different emissions scenarios: one, where emissions begin to be curbed by mid-century; and a second, where no policies achieve significant reductions in emissions. (Peterson, 7/16)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. Child Welfare Takes Heat For Death Of 4-Year-Old Palmdale Boy
L.A. County’s child welfare chief faced sharp questioning Tuesday over why a 4-year-old Palmdale boy, who died earlier this month under what authorities call suspicious circumstances, wasn’t removed from his parents’ home amid abuse claims — despite a recent court order. “This death happened on my watch,” Bobby Cagle, director of the county Department of Children and Family Services, told the Board of Supervisors. “I fully accept the responsibility for the work that was done. I also fully accept the responsibility for understanding what went wrong, what we can do better, and to implement that as quickly as possible.” (Stiles, 7/16)
Ventura County Star:
Hospital Owner Testifies In Trial Over Ex-Worker's Sexual Misconduct
Dr. Soon K. Kim, targeted in a multi-million dollar lawsuit over a former Aurora Vista del Mar employee's sexual misconduct with patients, testified Tuesday about how the psychiatric hospitals he owns largely call their own shots. Kim, 77, is owner and founder of Signature Healthcare Services, the corporation that owns and manages for-profit Vista del Mar in Ventura and 15 other hospitals in six states. He took the stand in a trial that revolves around sexual activity in 2013 involving ex-employee Juan Pablo Valencia and three female patients. Valencia was arrested twice in 2015 because of the accusations and pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge of having sexual contact with a confined person and felonies of rape of an incompetent person and sexual penetration with a foreign object. (Kisken, 7/16)
The New York Times:
A Girl, 15, Reported A Sexual Assault, Then The Detective Abused Her Too
A Los Angeles County sex crimes investigator accused of raping a teenager after having been assigned to investigate her previous sexual assault allegations has pleaded guilty to lesser charges, and is expected to be sentenced to three years in prison. It was at least the third time the detective, Neil David Kimball of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, had been accused of misconduct while on duty, though he was not charged as a result of the first two allegations. (Zraick, 7/16)
Los Angeles Times:
Homeless Activists Protest L.A.'s Latest Plan To 'Gentrify' Skid Row
Alarmed by the threat of gentrification, a coalition of advocates on Tuesday accused Los Angeles of wanting to give the bulk of skid row over to luxury housing developers, ignoring the desperate straits of thousands of people living in tents and shelters in the blighted downtown district. ...The plan, which must clear several hurdles before going before the L.A. City Council for approval next year, would limit development in the heart of the 50-block area, which is now lined with tent cities, to housing that’s affordable for people who earn $10,000 to $58,000 a year.
(Holland, 7/16)
The New York Times:
Planned Parenthood Ousts President, Seeking A More Political Approach
Planned Parenthood on Tuesday removed its president after less than a year in the job, seeking new leadership at a time when abortion rights have come under increasing attack from statehouses and Republicans in Washington. The sudden ouster reflected a widening disagreement between the president, Leana Wen, and the board of directors over her management style and which direction to steer one of the nation’s leading women’s reproductive rights groups. Her departure followed a series of negotiations that appeared to end acrimoniously on Tuesday. (Goldmacher, 7/16)
Reuters:
Head Of Planned Parenthood Groups Departs, Cites Differences Over Abortion
Dr. Leana Wen, the first physician in nearly 50 years to lead the federation and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said she took the job last September intending to advocate for a broad range of public health policies, not just abortion. The federation's board, however, decided to "double down" on making abortion rights a key priority as the group engages in legal and political battles after some states passed severe restrictions women's ability to terminate pregnancies, Wen said. (7/16)
The Associated Press:
Planned Parenthood President Forced Out After Only 8 Months
Wen, in a Twitter post, said she learned that Planned Parenthood's board "ended my employment at a secret meeting." She indicated the board wanted more emphasis on political advocacy, while she sought to prioritize Planned Parenthood's role as a provider of health care services ranging from birth control to cancer screenings. "We were engaged in good faith negotiations about my departure based on philosophical differences over the direction and future of Planned Parenthood," Wen said. "I am stepping down sooner than I had hoped." (7/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
President Of Planned Parenthood Is Ousted
In a statement, Dr. Wen said she had significant philosophical differences with the leaders of the organization’s board. “I believe that the best way to protect abortion care is to be clear that it is not a political issue but a health care one,” she said in the statement. (Hackman, 7/16)
Politico:
Planned Parenthood Ousts Head Amid Heightened Attack On Abortion Rights
Planned Parenthood said in a statement it had named Alexis McGill Johnson acting president and CEO of both the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its political arm, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. She had served on both boards and has long been involved with the organization. Planned Parenthood said it would start searching for a new permanent CEO next year. “Alexis is a renowned social justice leader, lifelong political organizer, and a tireless advocate for reproductive rights and access to quality, affordable health care,” Planned Parenthood board chair Aimee Cunningham and Action Fund chair Jennie Rosenthal said. (Kenen and Ollstein, 7/16)
The Associated Press:
Planned Parenthood To Defy Trump Abortion Referral Rule
Federally funded family planning clinics, including Planned Parenthood, are defying the Trump administration's ban on referring women for abortions, drawing a line against what they say amounts to keeping patients in the dark about legitimate health care options. "We are not going to comply with a regulation that would require health care providers to not give full information to their patients," Jacqueline Ayers, the group's top lobbyist, said in an interview Tuesday. "We believe as a health care provider it is wrong to withhold health care information from patients." (7/16)
Politico:
Exclusive: Trump To Order Drive For Improved Flu Vaccine
President Donald Trump is readying an executive order that would direct HHS to overhaul the development of flu vaccine and encourage more Americans to get vaccinated, say nine people with knowledge of the plan and according to internal documents reviewed by POLITICO. The move represents a significant reversal from a president who spent years attacking the safety of vaccines prior to taking office. However, it would largely codify work that's already underway at HHS, and budget officials and Congress have yet to sign off on additional funding, said four individuals with knowledge of the strategy. (Diamond, 7/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
In Iowa And Beyond, Older Voters Are Key To 2020 Democratic Presidential Nomination
The math is simple: Voters 50 and older are expected to make up more than half of Iowa caucus-goers in 2020, and more than three-quarters of the Democratic field is on hand to court them in the first state on the nomination calendar. AARP, the largest advocacy group in the U.S. for people 50 and older, is flexing its muscles by bringing 19 of the Democratic candidates in front of its members for five different forums this week across the Hawkeye State. Several of the candidates are also pushing out policy proposals on health care, drug prices, Medicare and other issues of special importance to older voters, timed to coincide with the gatherings. (McCormick, 7/16)
ProPublica:
A Border Patrol Agent Reveals What It’s Really Like To Guard Migrant Children
The Border Patrol agent, a veteran with 13 years on the job, had been assigned to the agency’s detention center in McAllen, Texas, for close to a month when the team of court-appointed lawyers and doctors showed up one day at the end of June. Taking in the squalor, the stench of unwashed bodies, and the poor health and vacant eyes of the hundreds of children held there, the group members appeared stunned. Then, their outrage rolled through the facility like a thunderstorm. One lawyer emerged from a conference room clutching her cellphone to her ear, her voice trembling with urgency and frustration. “There’s a crisis down here,” the agent recalled her shouting. (Thompson, 7/16)
The Washington Post:
Largest U.S. Drug Companies Flooded Country With 76 Billion Opioid Pills, DEA Data Shows
America’s largest drug companies saturated the country with 76 billion oxycodone and hydrocodone pain pills from 2006 through 2012 as the nation’s deadliest drug epidemic spun out of control, according to previously undisclosed company data released as part of the largest civil action in U.S. history. The information comes from a database maintained by the Drug Enforcement Administration that tracks the path of every single pain pill sold in the United States — from manufacturers and distributors to pharmacies in every town and city. The data provides an unprecedented look at the surge of legal pain pills that fueled the prescription opioid epidemic, which has resulted in nearly 100,000 deaths from 2006 through 2012. (Higham, Horwitz and Rich, 7/16)
The Associated Press:
New Clues On Why Women's Alzheimer's Risk Differs From Men's
New research gives some biological clues to why women may be more likely than men to develop Alzheimer's disease and how this most common form of dementia varies by sex. At the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday, scientists offered evidence that the disease may spread differently in the brains of women than in men. Other researchers showed that several newly identified genes seem related to the disease risk by sex. (7/16)