Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Meth Vs. Opioids: America Has Two Drug Epidemics, But Focuses On One
In the West and Midwest, 70% of local law enforcement says meth is the bigger threat. It's also a more difficult addiction to treat. (April Dembosky, KQED, )
Good morning! Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing a five-year elimination of sales taxes on purchases of diapers and menstrual products—a move that advocates say will help struggling families in the state. More on that below, but first here are some of your top California health stories for the day.
Debate Erupts Throughout Beverly Hills Over Proposal To Almost Completely Ban Sale Of All Tobacco Products: Beverly Hills already restricts the sale of menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products. But the proposed ordinance would go much further, banning all tobacco products from grocery stores, pharmacies, hotels and gas. Cigar smokers most likely wouldn’t have to sacrifice if the ordinance is adopted: A city staff report recommends exempting three cigar lounges in Beverly Hills. "They're going to chase the tourists out of here," said retired businessman John Davis. Others are worried about friends who run stores that sell cigarettes. Health advocates said that while they regretted the possibility that owners will have to lay off staff, people's health was more important. Read more from The Associated Press.
Measles Outbreak Shines Light On Persistent Problem: The Dearth Of School Nurses: Data show that nearly half of California’s school districts don’t have an adequate number of school nurses on campus. While the issue was thrust into the spotlight recently with the Los Angeles teachers’ strike, the problem persists statewide. And advocates say that especially in moments of crisis—like the national measles outbreak—their presence is missed sorely. Experts say nurses play a key role in containing communicable diseases by spotting and isolating infected students and keeping track of children who haven’t been vaccinated. Nurses also can more easily detect whether parents are using a bogus medical exemption to prevent their children from getting vaccinated. “Throughout the state, we have districts that have one nurse for roughly 1,000 students to one nurse for 14,000 students. It’s all over the map in California,” said Pamela Kahn, president-elect of the California School Nurses Organization. Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
California Poised To Offer Overhaul Of Sex Education Guidelines: The California State Board of Education is scheduled to consider the proposal today in a meeting that is expected to draw a crowd of angry parents. The changes include creating a framework to help teachers to talk to kindergarteners about gender identity, discuss masturbation with middle-schoolers and recommend books that teach healthy practices for LGBT high schoolers. "This stuff should be taught at home," said Stephanie Yates, a mother of three who started a Facebook group to protest the changes. The more-than-700-page document compiled over three years does not require schools to teach anything, but it is designed to expose teachers to current research about health education and give guidance about how to teach it. Read more from The Associated Press.
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
Los Angeles Times:
No More Sales Taxes On Diapers And Tampons Under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Proposed Budget
Embracing an idea advocates say will help struggling California women and families, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday proposed a five-year elimination of sales taxes on purchases of diapers and menstrual products — proposals that his predecessor rejected. Newsom, who will submit a revised state budget to the Legislature on Thursday, said he will also double the size of his earlier proposal to create a new income tax credit for low-income parents. (Myers, 5/7)
KQED:
Newsom Proposes Scrapping State Taxes On Tampons, Diapers
At a meeting with the Legislative Women's Caucus, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday announced plans to include the parent-friendly sales tax exemptions in his budget proposal for the coming fiscal year. The move would cost the state upward of $56 million a year in lost tax revenue, according to previous estimates. (Lagos, 5/7)
Fresno Bee:
Gavin Newsom Wants To End CA Sales Taxes On Tampons, Diapers
Newsom also said he will add $130 million for childcare and will double a proposed tax credit for families with children under 6 from $500 to $1,000 when he unveils his updated budget proposal this week. He’s framing the plans as an effort to help young families afford to live in the state, which has some of the highest living costs in the country. “I don’t care how well you’re doing. It hits the pocketbook,” he said, referencing his experience buying diapers for his own four children. (Bollag, 5/7)
CALmatters:
'Governor Dad' Newsom Budgets Tax Breaks For Diapers, Focuses On Families
Fatherhood—and an interest in the public policies that impact parenting—have emerged as a stark contrast between Newsom, who is 51, and former Gov. Jerry Brown, 81, both Democrats. Brown, who once studied for the Roman Catholic priesthood, is childless. (Rosenhall, 5/7)
San Jose Mercury News:
County Approves $325 In Bonds To Finance Hospital Purchases
Santa Clara County supervisors on Tuesday approved spending $325 million in bonds to finance the county’s recent purchase of O’Connor Hospital in San Jose, Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy and DePaul Health Center in Morgan Hill and and to pay for upgrades to all three. The county acquired the three medical facilities in March for $235 million after the former owner, nonprofit Verity Health Systems, filed for bankruptcy in August. The county was the only bidder for the two hospitals and urgent care clinic. (Vo, 5/7)
Stat:
California Cites Cardinal Health For Shipments To Dead Pharmacist
As the opioid crisis continues unabated, California authorities are taking one of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical wholesalers to task for failing to oversee shipments of controlled substances, including instances where deliveries were accepted by a pharmacist — who was already dead. In a March 1 complaint that was posted late last month on its website, the California Board of Pharmacy accused Cardinal Health (CAH) of delivering controlled substances to Lane Medical Pharmacy, where at times, someone other than the licensed pharmacist signed for the shipments. (Silverman, 5/7)
Fresno Bee:
CA Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris Visits Fresno
California’s new surgeon general Dr. Nadine Burke Harris on Tuesday stopped in Fresno at the California Endowment offices for the latest leg of her statewide listening tour. Burke Harris has already paid a visit to other parts of the state like Los Angeles and Orange counties. (Amaro, 5/7)
KQED:
Valero Restarts Benicia Refinery, Further Easing Statewide Gas Price Spike
Valero is restarting its Benicia refinery more than 40 days after a major malfunction and pollution release forced the energy giant to shut down the facility, contributing to the state's recent spike in fuel costs. ...That flaring began Tuesday morning, according to a state hazardous materials database, and included a release of sulfur dioxide. (Goldberg, 5/7)
The New York Times:
Trump Administration Seeks To Redefine Formula For Calculating Poverty
The Trump administration is proposing regulatory changes that could result in cuts in federal aid to millions of low-income Americans. The proposal by the Office of Management and Budget on Monday would change how inflation is used to calculate the official definition of poverty used by the Census Bureau to estimate the size of the country’s poor population. The measure is also often applied to determine eligibility for government benefits. (Karni, 5/7)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Considers Poverty-Gauge Change That Could Trim Rolls On Aid Programs
The change in the poverty calculation would fit with other steps taken by the White House to reduce access to federal welfare programs, a policy shift that has alarmed consumer groups while appealing to conservatives who call for reducing spending on social programs. The administration has allowed states to impose work requirements in Medicaid. It has also backed a plan to make it harder for legal immigrants who use public assistance programs to come to the U.S. or stay permanently. The number of people affected by the change would be small at first but would grow over time, said Aviva Aron-Dine, vice president for health policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research and policy institute. She said it could affect the income thresholds used to determine Medicaid eligibility. (Armour, 5/7)
Reuters:
77% Of Americans Say Kids Should Get Measles Shot Even If Parents Object: Reuters Poll
Three out of four Americans believe children should be vaccinated against measles even if their parents object, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found, showing little sympathy for the anti-vaccination movement that U.S. officials blame for the ongoing outbreak. Some 764 cases of the disease have been confirmed in the United States so far this year, the most seen in 25 years, in an outbreak that public health officials have called "completely avoidable" and largely linked to misinformation campaigns against the vaccines. (5/7)
Stat:
Pharma Companies Court Pro-Business Democrats
Facing hostility from nearly every corner of Capitol Hill, drug makers have spent recent weeks aggressively courting a group of business-friendly Democrats. PhRMA and BIO, the two major drug industry trade groups, met last week with the New Democrat Coalition, according to multiple Democratic aides. The group, which includes more than 100 members and describes itself as politically moderate and “pro-growth,” has also scheduled meetings with the drug companies Pfizer and Genentech, as well as the California Life Sciences Association (CSLA), which represents drug makers including AbbVie and Allergan. (Facher and Florko, 5/8)
Modern Healthcare:
Tennessee Will Test CMS' Willingness To Block-Grant Medicaid
Tennessee Republicans have decided to test the Trump administration's willingness to radically restructure Medicaid by turning it into a state block grant program. The GOP-dominated legislature passed a three-page bill last Thursday ordering the governor to submit a Section 1115 waiver request to the CMS within six months. The waiver would seek the CMS' approval to transform TennCare, the state's $12 billion Medicaid program covering 1.3 million Tennesseans, from an open-ended entitlement program to one where the federal government makes fixed payments. (Meyer, 5/7)
USA Today:
Pregnancy And Childbirth Deaths Are Largely Preventable, CDC Says
For every five mothers dying in the United States from pregnancy and childbirth, three could have been saved if they had received better medical care, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new report published Tuesday. The report details how mothers are dying needlessly before, during and up to a year after giving birth from pregnancy-related complications and health conditions aggravated by childbirth. The agency's latest analysis of national maternal mortality data adds to the growing body of evidence that more than half of deaths are preventable. And it further illustrates how delayed and missed diagnoses by medical providers, failures to recognize warning signs, and a lack of patient access to healthcare are all fueling this country's status as the most dangerous place to give birth among developed nations. (Young, 5/7)
The New York Times:
Huge Racial Disparities Found In Deaths Linked To Pregnancy
African-American, Native American and Alaska Native women die of pregnancy-related causes at a rate about three times higher than those of white women, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Tuesday. The racial disparity has persisted, even grown, for years despite frequent calls to improve access to medical care for women of color. Sixty percent of all pregnancy-related deaths can be prevented with better health care, communication and support, as well as access to stable housing and transportation, the researchers concluded. (Rabin, 5/7)
The New York Times:
School Shooting In Colorado Leaves 1 Student Dead And 8 Injured
Last month, as the 20th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting approached, STEM School Highlands Ranch joined hundreds of schools near Denver in closing temporarily amid security concerns. The anniversary came and went, and schools returned to their routines. But on Tuesday afternoon, the STEM school’s worst fears were realized when nine of its students were shot, one fatally, and two fellow students were being held as suspects. (Healy and Stack, 5/7)