- California Healthline Original Stories 1
- Administration Eases Way For Small Businesses To Buy Insurance In Bulk
- Sacramento Watch 1
- Health Care Along For The Ride As California Lawmakers Pass Several 'Budget Trailer Bills'
- Public Health and Education 1
- 'I Would Characterize It More On The Scam End Of The Spectrum': A Look At G. Ford Gilbert's Diabetic Treatment
- Pharmaceuticals 1
- Biotech Company Creates Online Toolkit Of Resources To Help Patients With Multiple Sclerosis
- Around California 1
- Controversial $2.2B Plan To Replace Men's Central Jail In LA Clears Last Procedural Hurdle
- National Roundup 4
- Trump Touts 'Massive' Savings From Association Health Plans, But Critics Still Say They're Junk Insurance
- Anxiety Stemming From Parental Separation Can Cause Chronic Health Problems In Adulthood, Experts Warn
- House Republicans' Budget Plan Would Put Medicare In The Cross Hairs
- Conservatives' New Health Plan Has Little Chance Of Passing -- But It Shows There's Still An Appetite For Repeal
Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Administration Eases Way For Small Businesses To Buy Insurance In Bulk
The Trump administration issued the final rule on association health plans, which supporters say will make coverage more affordable for some employees but led others to warn about “junk insurance.” Officials in California, aware of the state's bad experience with such plans, are eager to avert their return. (Jay Hancock and Julie Appleby, )
More News From Across The State
Health Care Along For The Ride As California Lawmakers Pass Several 'Budget Trailer Bills'
One of the health care measures being voted upon was the funding for a new study group to look at single payer health care.
Capital Public Radio:
California Lawmakers Approve New Online Community College, Expanded Tax Breaks
Even though California lawmakers passed a $139 billion budget last week, more votes remain this week to implement spending on homelessness, health care, affordable housing and a variety of other budget priorities that require policy changes. (Bradford, 6/19)
iNewsource has been investigating a diabetes treatment that's sprouted up in clinics across the country, which has health industry experts crying "scam" more often than not.
PBS NewsHour:
Questionable Diabetes Treatment That Raised Hopes Now At The Center Of Criminal Charges
A national network of clinics claims it offers a miraculous procedure to treat diabetes, but many in the medical community are not convinced. Special correspondent Cheryl Clark from inewsource tells the story of a couple in rural Montana who believed in the treatment and even invested in opening their own clinic, before its founder was arrested on federal public corruption charges. (6/19)
Biotech Company Creates Online Toolkit Of Resources To Help Patients With Multiple Sclerosis
Genentech created the page in response to patients saying what they'd most like is help with day-to-day tasks like chores such as cleaning or cooking.
The Mercury News:
Bay Area Companies Assist Multiple Sclerosis Patients
Genentech created a new resource page to assist the thousands of Bay Area residents living with multiple sclerosis (MS) by connecting them with companies and resources to help meet an array of needs. Genentech — a South San Francisco-based biotechnology company — partnered with Lyft and Instacart, among others, to build GatherMS, an online toolbox to assist MS patients with day-to-day needs and physical and emotional support, Genentech said in a statement Tuesday. (Lee, 6/19)
Controversial $2.2B Plan To Replace Men's Central Jail In LA Clears Last Procedural Hurdle
“The county has an opportunity — in fact, a responsibility — to replace the unacceptable Men’s Central Jail with a facility that directly addresses the health and life-skill needs of our inmate-patients, placing them more quickly on a pathway to recovery and reentry,” Supervisor and Board Chair Sheila Kuehl said in a statement.
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. County Supervisors Approve $2.2 Billion To Build Replacement For Men's Central Jail
A controversial $2.2-billion plan to replace the overcrowded, crumbling Men’s Central Jail downtown cleared its last procedural hurdle Tuesday, when the L.A. County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the project’s budget and certified its environmental impact report. The Consolidated Correctional Treatment Facility, as the new lockup will be known, will be designed specifically to provide treatment and rehabilitation of medically and mentally ill inmates, who make up an estimated 70% of the county’s overall jail population, according to L.A. County Sheriff’s Department officials. (Agrawal, 6/19)
In other news from across the state —
East Bay Times:
Anthropologie To Launch New ‘Wellness’ Shops In Bay Area Stores
Popular retailer Anthropologie is getting into the “wellness” space with new shops that are set to land inside the company’s existing clothing stores.
After debuting its Wellness by Anthropologie shop inside the Palo Alto Anthropologie store earlier this year, Anthropologie plans to open 12 new Wellness shops this June, including in Walnut Creek and Berkeley. The 1,000 square-foot shops inside existing Anthropologie outlets will open in Walnut Creek and Berkeley on June 25 and feature fitness products, hair and skin care items, aromatherapy and essential oils, supplements, coffee and teas, crystals, and books and stationery. [The] brands sold in the shops will include Longemity, Revelry, Wicks & Stones, Bondi Wash, Organic Pharmacy, Vitruvi and WelleCo, among others, according to a news release from Anthropologie. (Sciacca, 6/19)
Fresno Bee:
Tulare's Hospital Closed Last Year. Now Visalia's Hospital Is Offering To Run It
Kaweah Delta Health Care District in Visalia has sent a letter to the board of directors of the health care district that owns Tulare Regional Medical Center offering to manage the now-closed hospital and help get it open again. Although Kaweah Delta can operate the hospital, it cannot afford to bring $22 million to the table as asked by Tulare Local Healthcare District, said Kaweah Delta Chief Executive Officer Gary Herbst. The Tulare hospital closed in October when the new board of directors got into a legal dispute with hospital contract manager Healthcare Conglomerates Associates and declared bankruptcy. (Griswold, 6/19)
Los Angeles Times:
5,000-Gallon Sewage Spill Closes Parts Of Huntington Harbour
Parts of Huntington Harbour are closed to swimming and diving after about 5,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled into the water, the Orange County Health Care Agency said Tuesday. The spill prompted closure of the water between the end of Coral Cay Lane and Park Avenue Beach. (Fry, 6/19)
The Trump administration announced the finalized rule yesterday that would give small businesses access to insurance options like those available to large companies and let them skirt some of the health law's requirements. While President Donald Trump said the rule will save people "massive amounts of money," Democrats and others in the health industry say the insurance plans are "junk" and they will further destabilize the marketplace.
The New York Times:
New Trump Rule Rolls Back Protections Of The Affordable Care Act
A sweeping new rule issued Tuesday by the Trump administration will make it easier for small businesses to join forces and set up health insurance plans that circumvent many requirements of the Affordable Care Act, cutting costs but also reducing benefits. President Trump, speaking at a 75th-anniversary celebration of the National Federation of Independent Business, said the new rule would allow small businesses to “escape some of Obamacare’s most burdensome mandates” by creating new entities known as association health plans. (Pear, 6/19)
The Washington Post:
Trump Administration Expands Use Of Health Plans That Skirt ACA Consumer Protections
The rules, throwing the doors wide open to a type of insurance known as association health plans, accomplish through executive power what congressional Republicans have tried and failed to write into law over the past two decades. Announced Tuesday morning by Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, the final rules expanding access to such health plans come eight months after President Trump directed the government to foster alternatives to the ACA’s insurance provisions and five months after the Labor Department proposed a draft version. They are the most recent piece in the administration’s jigsaw efforts to undercut elements of the ACA through its own powers after the Republican-led Congress failed last year to repeal a broad swath of the sprawling 2010 statute. (Goldstein, 6/19)
The Wall Street Journal:
New Trump Administration Rule To Expand Access To Health Plans Without ACA Protections
The rule makes it far easier for small businesses and self-employed individuals to band together and obtain “association health plans” for themselves and their employees. Many of the plans will be subject to the same rules as larger employers, which means they won’t have to provide comprehensive benefits, such as maternity services, prescription drugs, or mental health care, mandated under the ACA. That is expected to lead to lower prices for people who enroll. “You may be able to buy a policy that’s several thousand dollars cheaper,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.), said in an interview before the rule’s release. “This is the most promising proposal for quality insurance for self-employed people who might make $60,000 to $70,000 but get no subsidies.” (Armour, 6/19)
The Hill:
Trump Officials Move To Expand Non-ObamaCare Health Plans
Democrats strongly oppose the move as allowing for “junk” insurance that will not meet people’s needs and that will cause premiums to rise for those remaining in ObamaCare plans, once some healthier people are siphoned off into the new plans. Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta on Tuesday said the new plans “will offer more health care coverage options at a better price.” (Sullivan, 6/19)
Politico:
Trump’s New Health Insurance Rules Expected To Hurt Obamacare
Critics warn the steps will further destabilize wobbly Obamacare markets by siphoning off younger and healthier customers, who are more likely to favor cheaper plans that cover less. The law’s insurance markets have already been beset by skyrocketing premiums and diminishing competition, problems that are likely to grow worse if the customer base becomes even smaller and sicker. “These plans weaken protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. “No single group that represents physicians, patients, hospitals or nurses is supportive. Not one." (Demko and Cancryn, 6/19)
Thousands of mental health professionals and physicians have criticized the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" policy, which is resulting in migrant children being separated from their parents at immigration facilities.
The Hill:
Zero Tolerance Policy Stirs Fears In Health Community
Thousands of migrant children separated from their families at the U.S. border could face significant health issues in the short and long term, health experts warn. The impact of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, which sends parents to detention centers and kids to government-run shelters, could extend far past the initial trauma of separation. (Hellmann, 6/18)
The Wall Street Journal:
The Effects Of Parental Separation On Children
Many medical associations and thousands of mental-health professionals have criticized the Trump administration’s policy of dividing immigrant families at the southern border, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association. In many cases, professionals cite the negative health effects parental separation has on children. In response to the backlash over his immigration policy, President Donald Trump called on Congress Tuesday to give his administration the power to detain and deport migrant families as a unit, saying he considered that the “only solution to the border crisis.” (Sweedler, 6/20)
The New York Times:
Fact-Checking The Trump Administration’s Case For Child Separation At The Border
President Trump and top administration officials have continued to defend their practice of breaking up families who arrive at the border in the face of bipartisan outcry, criticism from the United Nations and a lawsuit. They’ve denied the existence of a policy and that they were the first to enforce it, pointed to surges in illegal immigration and fraud, trotted out decades-old court cases and human trafficking laws, blamed Democrats and even cited the Bible. Here are their defenses, fact-checked. (Qiu, 6/19)
The Washington Post:
Trump Urges House GOP To Fix Immigration System, Expresses No Strong Preference On Rival Bills Amid Uproar Over Family Separations
President Trump implored anxious House Republicans to fix the nation’s immigration system but did not offer a clear path forward amid the growing uproar over his administration’s decision to separate migrant families at the border. Huddling with the GOP at the Capitol on Tuesday evening, Trump stopped short of giving a full-throated endorsement to immigration legislation meant to unite the moderate and conservative wings of the House Republican conference. (DeBonis, Rucker, Kim and Wagner, 6/19
House Republicans' Budget Plan Would Put Medicare In The Cross Hairs
While its not clear the measure would actually get to the floor before the midterm elections, the House Budget Committee's blueprint shows where Republicans' priorities lie in the coming years. The budget plan would remake Medicare by giving seniors the option of enrolling in private plans that compete with the traditional program.
The Washington Post:
House GOP Plan Would Cut Medicare, Social Security To Balance Budget
House Republicans released a proposal Tuesday that would balance the budget in nine years — but only by making large cuts to entitlement programs, including Medicare and Social Security, that President Trump vowed not to touch. The House Budget Committee is aiming to pass the blueprint this week, but that may be as far as it goes this midterm election year. It is not clear that GOP leaders will put the document on the House floor for a vote, and even if it were to pass the House, the budget would have little impact on actual spending levels. Nonetheless the budget serves as an expression of Republicans’ priorities at a time of rapidly rising deficits and debt. (Werner, 6/19)
In other national health care news —
The New York Times:
Veterans Owe The D.O.D. Thousands For Survivor Benefits. Why Can’t They Opt Out?
On an afternoon in late February, Staff Sgt. John Daniel Shannon, who goes by Dan, got in his truck and drove down the dirt road near his house in Westcliffe, Colo., to meet his son’s school bus at the bottom of the hill. It is one of few tasks Dan, who is 54 and retired, can still manage on his own after being wounded in Iraq in 2004. As he waited, he checked his mailbox, where he found a letter addressed to him from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, an office within the Defense Department. When he opened the letter, his stomach dropped. It said Dan owed the government money for something called the Survivor Benefit Plan and that the department would start deducting the program premiums from his monthly entitlement for combat-related disabilities. The notice also said he owed $23,451 in unpaid premiums, plus interest, that he was expected to pay. (Jerving, 6/20)
Stat:
FDA Says Drug Shortages Fell Last Year, But Don't Blame The Agency For Persistent Problems
There’s good news and bad news in the latest report on shortages from the Food and Drug Administration. There were fewer ongoing shortages at the end of last year, but the number of new shortages rose in 2017. To be specific, the number of new shortages totaled 39 drugs and biologics, bucking a downward trend that was registered during each of the previous two years, when new shortages amounted to 26, according to a new FDA report. On the bright side, this is also much less than the 251 new shortages that occurred in 2011. (Silverman, 6/19)
USA Today:
Feds Oppose Public Reporting Of Hospital Infections
Federal health regulators will have to stop releasing data on hospital infections — which affect one in 25 hospital patients every day — under a proposal set to take effect in November, according to an analysis by patient safety advocates. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) plan, part of a complex 500-page proposed rule, could halt the public disclosure of the "super bug" MRSA, post-operative sepsis and surgical site infections, as well as accidents and injuries ranging from bedsores to respiratory failure after surgery. (O'Donnell, 6/19)
Stat:
Facebook To Redirect Users Searching For Opioids To Federal Crisis Help Line
Facebook users attempting to purchase opioids or seeking out addiction treatment will be instead be redirected to information about a federal crisis help line, the company announced Tuesday, a major step for an industry leader facing pressure to more aggressively police illicit drug sales on its platform. The announcement comes a week before an “opioids summit” convened by the Food and Drug Administration to get Facebook and other tech companies, including Twitter and Google, to take additional measures to help curb the nation’s opioid crisis. (Facher, 6/19)
The New York Times:
More Whites Dying Than Being Born In A Majority Of U.S. States
Deaths now outnumber births among white people in more than half the states in the country, demographers have found, signaling what could be a faster-than-expected transition to a future in which whites are no longer a majority of the American population. The Census Bureau has projected that whites could drop below 50 percent of the population around 2045, a relatively slow-moving change that has been years in the making. But a new report this week found that whites are dying faster than they are being born now in 26 states, up from 17 just two years earlier, and demographers say that shift might come even sooner. (Tavernise, 6/20)
NPR:
A Top Bioterror Danger: Making Existing Bacteria And Viruses More Virulent
New genetic tools are making it easier and cheaper to engineer viruses and bacteria, and a report commissioned by the Department of Defense has now ranked the top threats posed by the rapidly advancing field of "synthetic biology." One of the biggest concerns is the ability to recreate known viruses from scratch in the lab. That means a lab could make a deadly virus that is normally kept under lock and key, such as smallpox. (Greenfieldboyce, 6/19)
Most Republican lawmakers don't want to touch the issue with a ten-foot pool this close to the midterm elections, but conservative groups are still pushing for a change. The proposal, which focuses on giving control to the states, was drafted by groups led by the Heritage Foundation, the Galen Institute and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.).
The Hill:
Conservative Groups Outline New ObamaCare Repeal Plan
A coalition of conservative groups on Tuesday released the outlines of a new plan for repealing and replacing ObamaCare, indicating that at least some corners of the Republican Party are still pushing for repeal. The plan was drafted by groups led by the Heritage Foundation, the Galen Institute and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), who have been leading meetings for months. (Sullivan, 6/19)
The Wall Street Journal:
Conservatives Make New Push To Repeal Affordable Care Act
The proposal risks irking centrist Republicans who want to focus on other subjects. Republican leaders have said they have no appetite for another push to repeal the ACA before the November midterm elections unless such a bill clearly has the votes to pass. Republicans faced a series of obstacles—including internal division and unified Democratic opposition—as their effort to repeal the ACA collapsed last year. There is little evidence those dynamics in Congress have changed. Still, the proposal’s release reflects the continuing eagerness of conservatives to topple the ACA, a longtime Republican promise whose window could close if Democrats make gains in the midterms as expected. But right-leaning groups are already at odds over the proposal, which drew swift condemnation from some organizations that said it retains too much of the health law’s spending. (Armour, 6/19)