Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
California Vaccine Bill Amended To Appease Governor
In the wake of concerns from Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Medical Board of California, a state senator on Tuesday unveiled significant amendments to his bill to tighten vaccine requirements. A hearing on the measure is likely to draw hundreds of people to the state Capitol on Thursday. (Anna Maria Barry-Jester, )
Why You Should Take A Peek At Your Doctor’s Notes On Your Health
Some patient advocates say your doctor’s notes offer insights you might never hear from your physician, putting patient and provider on the same page. (Victoria Knight, )
‘An Arm And A Leg’: Can You Shop Around For A Lower-Priced MRI?
Doctors routinely order MRIs, but the price patients pay can be unpredictable. Hear how one determined woman scanned her options to find the best deal. (Dan Weissmann, )
Good morning! California gun owners are bracing themselves for strict new rules on the purchase of firearms and ammunition, which will be implemented in July. More on that below, but first here are your top California health stories for the day.
California Bill To Curb 'Doctor Shopping' For Vaccination Exemptions Dialed Back Following Concerns From Governor: A controversial vaccination bill authored by state Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) has been reworked after Gov. Gavin Newsom hinted that he wasn’t in full support of the legislation. The original plan would have given final authority on medical exemptions to a state official rather than a doctor, which Newsom seemed hesitant about. Pan has been working with the governor’s office for two weeks to come up with a compromise. The proposed bill would bar doctors from charging for filing out a medical exemption form and conducting a related medical examination. And health officials would take a targeted approach on exemptions, concentrating on doctors who write five or more exemptions each year and schools with a vaccination rate below 95 percent. Pan also expanded a major provision of the bill that would have restricted doctors to guidelines under the CDC when they administer medical exemptions. The guidelines now include more exemptions that are allowed by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
“I want to thank Gov. Newsom for his leadership on children’s health and standing up for science and the importance of vaccination by supporting SB 276,” Pan said. “I appreciate that the governor has worked with me in crafting a California solution to halting the abuse of medical exemptions that endanger our children.” Pan created the bill after he saw doctors advertising that they would write vaccination exemptions.
California’s Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly said the changes will ensure the bill “protects the doctor-patient relationship, strengthens the state’s ability to target doctors who abuse the medical exemption process and gives state public health officials the tools to identify and protect schools and communities where herd immunity is in danger.”
Read more from Melody Gutierrez of the Los Angeles Times; Hannah Wiley and Sophia Bollag of the Sacramento Bee; Don Thompson of The Associated Press; Anna Maria Barry-Jester of California Healthline; and Dustin Gardiner of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Advocates For Seniors Thrilled With Long-Term Plan To Focus On State’s Unique Aging Needs, But They Don’t Want To Be Forgotten In The Meantime: Gov. Gavin Newsom wants a master plan on aging to address public services, housing, transportation and in-home care for California’s elderly. He has ordered a work group to advise on development of the final document. “We need a plan that brings everyone to the table – local communities, labor, private sector and philanthropy – to help us understand what’s coming and guide us toward taking better care of older Californians,” Newsom said. While advocates are happy that the governor is taking steps to address the aging population’s needs in the future, experts say the reality right now is that nearly half of the state’s elderly currently can’t pay for basic needs. In some parts of the state, seniors are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population. “While we plan, we also need to be working with the governor and the legislature to make sure that we make the investments that need to be made now, so that we’re meeting the needs of the state’s seniors,” said Kevin Prindiville, executive director of the advocacy group Justice in Aging. Read more from Amita Sharma of KPBS.
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
Sacramento Bee:
CA Firearm Ammunition Laws Go Into Effect This July
This July, life will get a little harder for California gun owners. The California Department of Justice is set to implement strict new rules for the purchase of firearms and ammunition in the Golden State. Under a proposed emergency regulation, ammunition buyers would be required to show a federally compliant REAL ID, or else submit additional documentation like a passport, before a sale can be made. (Sheeler, 6/19)
Sacramento Bee:
CA Floats $50 Billion Wildfire Fund, Mostly From Utilities
Heading into a private meeting with Gov. Gavin Newsom and his staff on Wednesday, California lawmakers are floating an expensive plan to address wildfire liability costs and settle victims’ claims. During a panel discussion at the Sacramento Press Club on Tuesday, state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, teased a proposal that would create a catastrophic wildfire fund of up to $50 billion.He said utility companies would provide most, if not all, of the money for the fund, costing “anywhere between $24 billion and $50 billion.” (Anderson, 6/18)
The Hill:
San Francisco Votes To Ban E-Cigarettes Not Approved By FDA
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously voted to ban the sale of e-cigarettes in city limits if they are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The decision brings San Francisco one step closer to becoming the first U.S. city to ban the sale and distribution of e-cigarettes. A final vote is required before it becomes law. (Daugherty, 6/18)
Los Angeles Times:
Cancer Patient Says UCLA Gynecologist Sexually Assaulted Her, Faults University Inaction
A cancer patient sued UCLA and Dr. James Heaps on Tuesday, accusing the former campus gynecologist of repeatedly sexual assaulting her during her two years of treatment. The 44-year-old woman was battling mesothelioma when, in October 2015, she went to Heaps for surgery, she said. (Winton, 6/18)
KQED:
Excessive Force By Police Chief’s Son Leads To Cover-Up At Napa State Hospital
Four Napa State Hospital police officers kept their jobs after state investigators found one of them used excessive force when he slammed a 64-year-old patient’s face into a concrete wall, and three others wrote misleading reports and failed to adequately investigate the March 2017 incident. Jose Alvarez, who has bipolar disorder, was sent to the hospital with a fractured eye socket, broken teeth and cuts to his face. He was arrested and spent seven months in jail before charges were dismissed. (Lewis and Emslie, 6/19)
Sacramento Bee:
U.S. News: UCD-Shriners In Top 10 For Kids’ Orthopedic Care
Sacramento’s UC Davis Children’s Hospital and Shriners Hospital for Children — Northern California ranked among the top 10 medical institutions in the United States for children to get orthopedic care, according to an annual survey released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report magazine. Shriners and UC Davis ranked at No. 8 on the 2019-2020 list, but they have consistently ranked in the top 50 hospitals on the U.S. (Anderson, 6/18)
Ventura County Star:
Hospital Director For Ventura County Medical Center Abruptly Resigns
Kim Milstien, the CEO of Ventura County Medical Center and the affiliated Santa Paula Hospital, has stepped down, officials announced Tuesday.Health Care Agency Director Bill Foley said Milstien’s resignation takes effect July 12 and was voluntary, but that she is no longer working as CEO. He has taken over her responsibilities and hopes to name a permanent or interim successor to Milstien by the end of the week, he said. (Wilson, 6/18)
Sacramento Bee:
CalPERS Health Insurance Rates Increasing In 2020
Health insurance premiums for CalPERS members are going up next year, but rates will be lower than insurers initially requested, according to 2020 rates published Tuesday. Premiums will go up 4.65 percent on average next year. Last month, insurers submitted requests for increases to CalPERS that would have raised rates by an average of 7.2 percent. (Venteicher, 6/19)
KQED:
San Quentin Death Row Inmate Died From Drug Overdose, Autopsy Reveals
A San Quentin inmate convicted of murdering a law enforcement officer died in April after overdosing on heroin, the Marin County coroner's office said Monday. It marks at least the third fatal overdose of a California death row inmate over a five-month span. (Goldberg, 6/18)
Los Angeles Times:
Suicide Rates For U.S. Teens And Young Adults Are The Highest On Record
The rate at which young Americans took their own lives reached a high-water mark in 2017, driven by a sharp rise in suicides among older teenage boys, according to new research. In that year alone, suicide claimed the lives of 5,016 males and 1,225 females between 15 and 24 in the United States, researchers reported Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. (Healy, 6/18)
Los Angeles Times:
Obesity Rates Are Falling For Young Children On WIC, Study Says
Preschoolers on government food aid have grown a little less pudgy, a new study found, offering fresh evidence that previous signs of declining childhood obesity rates in the U.S. weren't a fluke. Obesity rates dropped steadily to about 14% in 2016 — the latest data available — from 16% in 2010, a team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. (Tanner, 6/18)
The New York Times:
Trump, At Rally In Florida, Kicks Off His 2020 Re-Election Bid
President Trump delivered a fierce denunciation of the news media, the political establishment and what he called his radical opponents on Tuesday as he opened his re-election campaign in front of a huge crowd of raucous supporters by evoking the dark messaging and personal grievances that animated his 2016 victory. ... At times, Mr. Trump seemed like any other incumbent president, ticking off a laundry list of claimed accomplishments on veterans’ health care, funding for the military, abandoning the Paris climate accords and defending gun rights. The frenzied crowd seemed to lose some of its passion during those moments. (Haberman, Karni and Shear, 6/18)
The Hill:
Trump Takes Credit For Passing Veterans Bill That Passed Under Obama
President Trump at his 2020 campaign kickoff rally on Tuesday took credit for passing a veteran's health care bill that was signed into law by former President Obama. "We passed VA Choice," he said, referring to a bill that allows veterans to seek health options outside the Veterans Affairs-run system. "You go out now, you get a doctor, you fix yourself up, the doctor sends us the bill, we pay for it. And you know what? It doesn't matter because the life and the veteran is more important, but we also happen to save a lot of money doing that." (Frazin, 6/18)
The New York Times:
We Put 21 Democrats On The Spot: Here Are 7 Takeaways
We spent hours interviewing the enormous Democratic presidential field on subjects ranging from climate change and border control to fast food and personal humiliation. And while many Democrats agree on a broad set of political ideas, there were some telling differences and disclosures that emerged from our conversations. Here are a few of our takeaways. (Burns and Ember, 6/19)
The New York Times:
2020 Democrats On Health Care
Single-payer health care is a dividing line in the race, separating Democrats who want to replace the private insurance system from those who favor improving it. Some candidates — like Bernie Sanders and Michael Bennet — picked a clear side. Others, like Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, took a middle path. (6/19)
The Hill:
Planned Parenthood Head Readies For 2020
If Donald Trump weren’t president of the United States, Dr. Leana Wen might not be the head of Planned Parenthood. Wen, 36, almost didn’t return the call when Planned Parenthood’s search committee approached her about potentially replacing departing President Cecile Richards. She was a new mom serving as Baltimore’s health commissioner, considered by some one of the best public health advocates in the U.S. (Hellmann, 6/18)
The Hill:
Warren Introduces Universal Child Care Legislation
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) introduced legislation Tuesday that would use federal funds to establish universal child care. The Universal Child Care and Early Learning Act seeks to combat the rise of rising child care costs in the face of stagnated wages with a focus on low-income families. The bicameral bill is cosponsored by Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) — like Warren, a 2020 White House hopeful — and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Democratic Reps. Barbara Lee (Calif.), Mark Pocan (Wis.), Jamie Raskin (Md.), John Larson (Conn.), Grace Meng (N.Y.) and Stephen Horsford (Nev.), as well as Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.). (Axelrod, 6/18)
The Wall Street Journal:
Democratic Senate Candidates Have A 2018 House Vibe
The still-growing field of Democratic candidates running for Senate seats in 2020 looks a lot like the Democratic candidates who ran for the House in 2018. While the race is very early, prominent candidates in several races share some key characteristics. Several are military veterans or small-business owners, and the announcement videos each emphasize health care. Many veterans and national security professionals won competitive House seats for Democrats in 2018, and health care was a central issue in the 2018 midterms. (Duehren, 6/18)
Politico:
‘They’re All Fighting Him’: Trump Aides Spar With Health Secretary
White House officials have soured on HHS Secretary Alex Azar, a deepening quarrel that threatens to derail President Donald Trump’s health care agenda as he gears up for his 2020 reelection campaign. The divide has led to stalled projects, disputes over Medicaid and fetal tissue research, duplicated work on Trump’s drug pricing priorities — and bitter personal attacks, say a dozen current and former White House and HHS officials as well as multiple other people familiar with the conversations. (Diamond, Kumar, Pradhan and Cancryn, 6/18)
Modern Healthcare:
Alexander Supports In-Network Guarantee To End Surprise Medical Bills
The chair of the Senate health committee showed his support for the so-called "network matching" policy to end surprise medical bills, a proposal sharply opposed by specialty physician groups and the hospitals that employ them. In a committee hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said the policy, under which hospitals would have to guarantee to their patients that any doctor they see is in-network, is the one he "instinctively liked the best." (Luthi, 6/18)
The Associated Press:
House Votes To Block Military Transgender Ban
The Democratic-controlled House voted Tuesday night to block President Donald Trump's move to restrict transgender men and women from military service. The House passed, by a 243-183 vote, an amendment to block Trump's transgender ban from remaining in effect. The move still faces an uphill battle and a Trump veto threat against the underlying $1 trillion spending bill, which includes the military budget. (6/18)
Stat:
'Alexa, Are You Listening?' A Research Tool Warns Of Cardiac Arrest
When someone’s heart stops beating, there is little time to waste. Half of the people hit by cardiac arrest are outside a hospital, and more than 90% of them die unless they are lucky enough to be near a bystander who can start CPR or call 911. What if the bystander was a smartphone or a digital assistant like Amazon’s Alexa? Researchers from the University of Washington tested that idea, training their digital tool to alert such devices to the gasping sounds — called agonal breathing — that about half of people make shortly after cardiac arrest. Their proof-of-concept study appears Wednesday in NPJ Digital Medicine. (Cai, 6/19)
Stat:
What If AI In Health Care Is The Next Asbestos?
Artificial intelligence is often hailed as a great catalyst of medical innovation, a way to find cures to diseases that have confounded doctors and make health care more efficient, personalized, and accessible. But what if it turns out to be poison? Jonathan Zittrain, a Harvard Law School professor, posed that question during a conference in Boston Tuesday that examined the use of AI to accelerate the delivery of precision medicine to the masses. ...In health care, Zittrain said, AI is particularly problematic because of how easily it can be duped into reaching false conclusions. As an example, he showed an image of a cat that a Google algorithm had correctly categorized as a tabby cat. On the next slide was a nearly identical picture of the cat, with only a few pixels changed, and Google was 100 percent positive that the image on the screen was guacamole. (Ross, 6/19)