- California Healthline Original Stories 1
- California Drug Price Transparency Bill Clears Key Committee
- Sacramento Watch 2
- Assembly Health Committee OKs Drug Pricing Transparency Legislation
- Marijuana Initiative Officially On Ballot In California
Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
California Drug Price Transparency Bill Clears Key Committee
The controversial measure was amended to address drugmakers’ concerns; some lawmakers were confused by the legislation. (Pauline Bartolone, )
More News From Across The State
Assembly Health Committee OKs Drug Pricing Transparency Legislation
The measure would require drugmakers to alert the state when introducing high-cost drugs and to provide notice and justification before increasing the price of a drug.
Capital Public Radio:
Drug Transparency Bill Passes Assembly Health Committee
A key committee in the California Legislature has passed a prescription drug transparency bill after an hour-long debate Tuesday. The bill would require drug manufacturers give advance notice to purchasers when prices increase by more than 10 percent or when a new drug costs more than $10,000. Sen. Ed Hernandez, D- West Covina, introduced the bill. He says lawmakers should work to ensure affordability since individuals are required to purchase health insurance. (Johnson, 6/29)
California Healthline:
California Drug Price Transparency Bill Clears Key Committee
A measure that would compel pharmaceutical companies to disclose and justify drug price increases overcame a show of skepticism by Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday afternoon, passing the Assembly Health Committee 12-4 on a party-line vote. The bill — softened from earlier versions — would require drug manufacturers to notify state agencies and health insurers within days of federal approval for a new drug that cost $10,000 or more per year or for one course of treatment. (Bartolone, 6/29)
Marijuana Initiative Officially On Ballot In California
The initiative would allow adults ages 21 and older to possess, transport and use up to an ounce of cannabis for recreational purposes and would allow individuals to grow as many as six plants.
Los Angeles Times:
Initiative To Legalize Recreational Use Of Pot In California Qualifies For November Ballot
An initiative that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in California officially took its place on the Nov. 8 ballot on Tuesday as its campaign took a commanding lead in fundraising to battle the measure’s opponents. The Secretary of State’s Office certified that a random sample showed sufficient signatures among the 600,000 turned in to qualify the measure. The initiative is backed by a coalition that includes former Facebook President Sean Parker and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. (McGreevy, 6/28)
Orange County Register:
Effort To Legalize Marijuana Makes California Ballot; Here Are Some Questions Answered
It’s official: Come Nov. 8, Californians will be voting on whether to legalize recreational marijuana. An initiative that would allow adults to consume cannabis became eligible for the ballot Tuesday, after election officials verified it had received more than the required 365,880 valid signatures. If it’s approved by voters, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act will allow Californians 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana, up to 8 grams of concentrated cannabis and up to six plants. (Edwards Staggs, 6/28)
Capital Public Radio:
Recreational Marijuana Measure Qualifies For November Ballot
California voters will decide this fall whether to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. The Secretary of State's office announced late Tuesday afternoon that counties have validated enough voter signatures to place an initiative on the November ballot -- setting the stage for a pivotal battle this fall. ... The measure becomes the 12th to become eligible for the November ballot. Six more are likely to qualify by Thursday's deadline. (Adler, 6/28)
Blue Shield Hit With New Charge Of Inadequate Rebates For Excessive Administrative Costs
The health insurer rejects allegations from state officials that it did not pay policy holders back enough after a series of administrative errors in 2014.
Los Angeles Times:
Blue Shield Faces New Criticism Of Shortchanging Consumers In California
Blue Shield of California, already under scrutiny by state officials, is facing new criticism that it didn’t adequately pay back policy holders for excessively spending on administrative costs in 2014. Officials from the health insurer strongly rejected the allegation, made by a former company executive in a complaint to state regulators. But if substantiated by investigators, the accusation could force the insurer to pay additional rebates to customers. (Levey, 6/28)
LA-Based Xencor Nets $150M Deal To Work On Experimental Cancer Drugs
The biotech firm will partner with Swiss giant Novartis on drugs targeting acute myeloid leukemia and B-cell malignancies.
LA Times:
Xencor Signs Cancer-Drug Deal With Novartis; Its Stock Surges 32%
Shares of Los Angeles-area biotech firm Xencor Inc. soared Tuesday by 32% after the company announced a deal with Swiss drug giant Novartis. Under the agreement, Novartis will pay Xencor $150 million now and potentially much more in the future as the companies work to develop and commercialize two experimental cancer drugs. Monrovia-based Xencor will keep the rights to the drugs in the U.S. while Novartis will have those commercialization rights in the rest of the world. (Petersen, 6/28)
Oakland Considers False Advertising Ban Targeting Anti-Abortion Clinics
Officials are particularly concerned with the pregnancy centers buying search ads for terms like “abortion” or “pregnancy test” so links for their clinics will appear on users’ screens when they enter searches for those terms. Their websites often say they offer “abortion information” or “counseling for women seeking abortion.”
KQED:
Oakland Seeks To Ban False Advertising By Anti-Abortion Clinics
Oakland officials are considering an ordinance that would allow the city to fine pregnancy centers that claim to offer abortion services, but do not. Officials say some anti-abortion groups’ internet advertising and mass transit billboards are misleading, and intended to lure pregnant women in for counseling against abortion. (Dembosky, 6/28)
In other news, the Los Angeles Times reports on the repercussions of the Supreme Court Texas ruling —
Los Angeles Times:
Expect A State-By-State Rollback Of Abortion Restrictions, Advocates Say
Texas abortion clinics at risk of being closed by a restrictive state law will remain open, and some of those shuttered probably will be able to reopen in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling Monday that could block similar laws in other states across the so-called “abortion desert” of the South and Midwest. Supporters of abortion rights said they now expected a steady state-by-state rollback of laws that restrict the ability to get an abortion, erasing gains that opponents have notched in recent years. (Hennessy-Fiske, 6/28)
History Of Distrust Stymies Non-European Genetic Research
Clinical trials almost exclusively feature individuals of European ancestry, and Keolu Fox, a Ph.D. student, wants to change that. He has started a project called IndiGenomics, with the goal of collecting DNA information on indigenous people by educating and inviting them to partner with scientists on studies rather than be subjects of gene research.
KQED:
‘Indigenizing Genomics,’ Or, How To Erase The European Bias In Gene Research
“So that begs the question: Who is the Human Genome Project actually for?” asks (Keolu) Fox. “Just like we have different-colored eyes and hair, we metabolize drugs differently based on the variation in our genomes. So how many of you would be shocked to learn that 95 percent of clinical trials have also exclusively featured individuals of European ancestry?” It has been difficult for scientists to recruit ethnically diverse study participants because researchers have misused data in the past. (McClurg, 6/28)
In other public health news —
Los Angeles Times:
What Germs Are Riding The Subway With You? You'll Be Surprised
What microbes are lurking in the Boston subway system? A team of scientists armed with sterile cotton swabs and a bit of soap rode the Red, Orange and Green lines of the T to find out. ... “From what we found, the bugs you encounter riding the T is not any worse than what you would expect from shaking someone’s hand,” said Curtis Huttenhower, a computational biologist at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. “Sure, a lot of microbes are involved, but it’s nothing to worry about.” (Netburn, 6/28)
With $5.36B Budget, San Diego Puts More Emphasis On Mental Health
The county's budget includes a nearly $60 million bump to behavioral health services and adds 240 new positions to the Health and Human Services Agency.
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
Supervisors Approve $5.36B Budget
The county is putting a particular emphasis on mental health services, an issue that supervisors have pushed for years. Chief Administrative Officer Helen Robbins-Meyer said it includes $500 million for behavioral health services, up by $59 million. The spending plan also adds 240 new positions and $89 million in additional spending in the Health and Human Services Agency. Those workers will, in part, help eligible county residents enroll in social assistance programs. (Stewart, 6/28)
In other news from around the state —
The Desert Sun:
Health Care District Hires Firm To Help With CEO Search
The Desert Healthcare District will work with a local recruitment firm in its search to find a new CEO. District board members voted 4-1 Tuesday to hire McCormack+Kristel to find a replacement for former CEO Kathy Greco, whom the board abruptly dismissed in May. While McCormack+Kristel was approximately $23,000 more expensive than a competing search firm, board members said its stronger local ties would help it draw top candidates to the desert. (Newkirk, 6/28)
Ventura County Star:
County Transfers Counseling Services
A Ventura County agency is transferring some counseling services to a new provider starting Friday.
Ventura County Behavioral Health officials are shifting the counseling they offer for Medi-Cal recipients and in the Positive Parenting Program from City Impact to a new provider, New Dawn. (6/28)
Democrats Block Zika Bill; Tension Mounts As Lawmakers Trade Barbs Ahead Of Recess
The Republicans are accusing Democrats of being "sore losers," while the Democrats are saying that including poison pills in the legislation is a "cynical ploy." Meanwhile, the vote against the funding leaves very little time for the two sides to work out their differences before summer recess.
The New York Times:
Zika Bill Is Blocked By Senate Democrats Upset Over Provisions
Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a federal spending bill that would have provided $1.1 billion to fight the mosquito-borne Zika virus, saying Republicans had sabotaged the legislation with politically charged provisions. The move raised the possibility that no new money would be available soon to fight the disease as Southern states brace for a summer outbreak. The stalemate, accompanied by a sharp war of words on the Senate floor, raised the prospect that the partisan divide in Congress was hindering the government’s ability to respond effectively to a pressing public health emergency. (Herszenhorn, 6/28)
McClatchy DC:
Why The Zika Filibuster Is A Major Setback For Wounded Veterans
Sen. Patty Murray felt compelled Tuesday to vote against one of her top priorities for veterans — a plan that she’s pursued for four years. Her decision to join a Democratic filibuster that blocked the Republican Zika-funding bill also dealt a setback to her plan to pay for in-vitro fertilization services for veterans whose fertility was damaged or destroyed while in the military. Murray, D-Wash., won a big vote in May, when the Senate agreed to require the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department to spend $88 million over the next two years to pay for the treatment. The House of Representatives followed suit last week. (Hotakainen, 6/28)
In other Zika news —
Los Angeles Times:
Two New Vaccines Can Protect Against Zika After A Single Shot
Just five months after the Zika virus was declared a global public health emergency, a scientific team’s feverish efforts to create a vaccine against the viral threat have borne promising fruit: With a single shot of either of two different types of vaccine, experimental mice gained near-total immunity to Zika for at least two months. Writing in the journal Nature on Tuesday, a U.S.-Brazilian team of scientists reported that two distinct vaccine candidates conferred powerful protection from Zika infection when each was delivered by intra-muscular injection to mice. (Healy, 6/28)
The New York Times:
Peril On Wings: 6 Of America’s Most Dangerous Mosquitoes
With the spread of the Zika virus, the threat posed by the tiny mosquito has been magnified into shark-size proportions. But among the more than 3,000 species of the insect worldwide, only two in the Americas are known carriers of the virus: the yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) and the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus). The potential range of the two species in the United States helps explain where Zika could be a threat. (Rueb, 6/28)
The Washington Post:
Zika Infections Last Much Longer During Pregnancy, Monkey Study Shows
New research on monkeys found some good news that could have implications for humans: One infection with the Zika virus protects against future infections. But along with good news were some troubling findings. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and Duke University found the virus persisted in the blood of pregnant monkeys for much longer — up to 70 days — compared to the 10 days it lasted in males and non-pregnant female monkeys. (Sun, 6/28)
Official Tells Hill Panel Medicare May Revise Controversial Drug Payment Proposal
The Senate Finance Committee grilled Dr. Patrick H. Conway, a deputy administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, over an administration plan to change how Medicare pays for drugs administered in doctors' offices.
The New York Times:
Latest Plan To Cut Medicare Drug Payments Leaves Senators Skeptical
Under fire from senators in both parties, a senior federal health official told Congress on Tuesday that the Obama administration would adjust its plan to reduce Medicare payments for many prescription drugs, but those assurances did not fully allay deep concerns. The official, Dr. Patrick H. Conway, a deputy administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, indicated to the Senate Finance Committee that the administration would probably go ahead with its proposal in some form, and he promised that officials would try to prevent any harm to patients. (Pear, 6/28)
In other national health care news —
The Wall Street Journal:
Gilead Gets FDA Approval For Combo Hepatitis C Drug
Gilead Sciences Inc. received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for its Epclusa hepatitis C combination drug and priced the treatment below its older drugs for the disease. ... The new drug, a combination of the biopharmaceutical company’s Sovaldi with its new velpatasvir therapy, is the first drug that treats all six major strains of the disease. Gilead priced Epclusa lower than its older hepatitis C drugs, at $74,760 for a course of treatment before discounts, according to a company spokeswoman. (Stynes and Rockoff, 6/28)
Stat:
Biden To Unveil Effort To Speed Researchers’ Access To Cancer Drugs
The Obama administration on Wednesday is rolling out a series of initiatives to build momentum for cancer research, announcing that it will try to expedite scientists’ access to experimental drugs for research purposes and partner with foundations and the private sector to fund more “precompetitive” studies. (Nather, 6/29)
The Wall Street Journal:
Public-Private Partnerships Aim To Bolster ‘Cancer Moonshot’ Initiative
Vice President Joe Biden announced a series of partnerships involving government, industry and academia that are aimed at bolstering the White House’s proposed $1 billion “cancer moonshot” to speed up the national fight against the disease. The alliances were disclosed Wednesday at the outset of more than 270 events around the country to kick off the cancer effort, including a meeting at Howard University in Washington, D.C., billed as the Cancer Moonshot Summit. Mr. Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, were scheduled to speak, as was Greg Simon, executive director of the Cancer Moonshot Task Force. (Burton, 6/29)
The New York Times:
In Pat Summitt, A Toughness Greater Than Invincibility
[Pat] Summitt died Tuesday at 64 after years of struggling with Alzheimer’s-type dementia. In her 38 years as a head college coach, she won 1,098 games, more than any other Division I coach, man or woman, and led Tennessee to eight national championships. You can talk about her toughness: She once dislocated her shoulder while chasing an aggressive raccoon off her porch, in an attempt to protect her Labrador retriever, and spent two hours trying to pop her shoulder back into place before calling for medical help. ... ut it’s also important to remember how Summitt dealt with dementia, and what a perfect reflection it was of her personality. (Macur, 6/28)
The Washington Post:
The Days Of The Dreaded Annual Pelvic Exam For Women May Be Numbered
There's great news for women who dread that annual pelvic exam (i.e. basically everyone). On Tuesday, a panel made up of medical experts that advise the government said that there's not enough evidence to support doing them for women who are healthy and not pregnant. The conclusion, issued as a draft recommendation by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, is a strong endorsement of the recent evidence that has been building against the practice that is performed 63 million times annually and is estimated to cost $2.6 billion. This is the first time the task force has made a statement related to pelvic exams for gynecologic conditions and is likely to impact what millions of women decide to do about the test and what insurers will cover. (Cha, 6/28)