Good Wednesday morning! Staffers for President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continue to talk drug pricing, despite the contentious impeachment inquiry. And the DEA's speed to act on opioids is criticized. More on those national stories below, but first here are your top California health news stories of the day.
Los Angeles County OKs Ban On Flavored Tobacco Products: The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a prohibition on flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco and menthol cigarettes. The move comes amid a growing concern about the appeal and health dangers of such products to young people. The ordinance takes effect in 30 days. Retailers then have 180 days to obtain new licenses and to clear their shelves of flavored tobacco products. The Los Angeles reports more about the board's actions.
And in other vaping-related news, supporters of Proposition C continue to campaign for the ballot initiative aimed at overturning San Francisco's e-cigarette ban, despite Juul pulling out its financial and political backing. Janie Har of The Associated Press has more.
Sacramento Watch: ‘These Injuries Can Be Healed’: California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs SB542, a bill that allows the state's firefighters and emergency responders to seek workers’ compensation for PTSD suffered through job-related injuries. “The job of firefighters and first responders can be very rewarding, but at the same time, extremely unpredictable,” Newsom said. “They can experience high-stress situations and traumatic incidents that can push them to the limit both physically and mentally, and we need to recognize and take those challenges head on.” Read the full story from Hannah Wiley with The Sacramento Bee.
Did State Health Department Help Lead-Industry Lobbyists Fight Bill? Capital & Main's latest story in its investigative series on the California Department of Public Health focuses on agency officials' dealings with the lead-battery industry. "Our investigation found that the CDPH’s amicable relationship with lobbyists isn’t confined to the battery industry and raises questions about the agency’s commitment to protecting public health." Get the full story from Joe Rubin with Capital & Main.
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
San Francisco Chronicle:
‘Hunker-Down Mode’: Juul’s Difficult Path Forward
Juul’s decision to back away from a public fight with its hometown is the first major change the company has announced at the local policy level since new CEO K.C. Crosthwaite, a longtime tobacco executive, took over last week. It marks a notable strategic shift the firm is making to preserve long-term viability — even as the path forward looks to be narrowing each day, industry watchers said. (Ho, 10/1)
Bloomberg:
Juul Backs Off Effort To Overturn San Francisco Vaping Ban
Juul Labs Inc., the largest maker of nicotine vaporizers in the U.S., said it will stop lobbying for a ballot measure to overturn San Francisco’s ban on the sale of e-cigarette products. The measure, called Proposition C, will still appear on the Nov. 5 ballot, but the loss of the biggest financial supporter of the effort comes at a crucial time, in the final weeks when voters are weighing the issue. Michael Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, is funding a campaign to defeat the measure. Ads from both sides have blanketed the city in recent weeks. (Roache, 10/1)
The Wall Street Journal:
Juul Hires Another Top Altria Executive
Juul Labs Inc. is bringing over a second high-ranking executive from Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc. as the vaping startup attempts to repair its damaged relationship with regulators amid a rise in teen vaping. Joe Murillo, who headed regulatory affairs for Altria and previously ran the tobacco company’s e-cigarette business, is now Juul’s chief regulatory officer, according to an internal memo sent Tuesday to staff. (Maloney, 10/1)
The Hill:
Additional Vaping-Related Deaths Bring Total To 16 Dead Across 13 States
The number of deaths tied to vaping has climbed to 16 across the country. State officials in Nebraska, New Jersey and Virginia each reported a death this week, though the death in Nebraska reportedly occurred in May and was only recently revealed to have been caused by a severe lung disease thought to have been brought on by excessive vape usage. (Bowden, 10/1)
The New York Times:
Vaping Lung Illnesses: Tracking The Outbreak
Hundreds of people have been sickened by lung illnesses linked to vaping, most by using THC products. (Corum, 10/1)
The Desert Sun:
After One-Year, $147,000 Probe, County Releases 7-Page Report On Troubled Children's Services Division
Riverside County on Tuesday released a seven-page report on its embattled Children's Services Division following a year-long investigation by an outside attorney. Officials said the report details how the county is "enhancing and expanding safeguards to protect children from abuse and neglect." But outsiders said the brief document does not clearly establish how the county will prevent more of the abuse and neglect alleged in multiple legal cases over the last several years. (Damien, 10/1)
East Bay Times:
Union Representing 12,000 Santa Clara County Workers To Strike Wednesday
After months of protests and allegations of unfair labor practices, the union representing more than 12,000 Santa Clara County workers has called for a strike beginning early Wednesday — the first one in four decades. SEIU Local 521 members authorized a strike in August and notified the county at a rally last Thursday that they could call a strike at any moment. ...For months, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) members have packed Board of Supervisors meetings to complain about the rising cost of living in the Bay Area, staffing issues and difficulties in filling mental health and other key positions. ...Among the county employees SEIU represents are hospital janitors, social workers, mental health providers and clerical staff, as well as employees in parks, law enforcement and libraries. It’s unclear how many workers will participate in the strike. (Vo, 10/1)
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
County Adopts Regional Plan To Bulk Up Services For Seniors
The San Diego region’s older population is growing rapidly, and the county has a plan it hopes will bolster services for seniors. County supervisors adopted a comprehensive regional plan, dubbed the “Aging Roadmap,” intended to meet the needs of older adults in the region and keep seniors in their homes as long as possible. The plan, created by staff in the Health and Human Services Agency’s Aging and Independence Services, aims to build on the the county’s Age Well initiative that began last year and focused on increasing affordable housing, creating inter-generational programs and making the community dementia-friendly. (Clark, 10/1)
Fox News:
LA City Officials Pressuring Newsom To Declare State Of Emergency Amid Homeless Crisis
Officials in Los Angeles are pressuring California Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency as the city and state grapple with a ubiquitous homelessness crisis. Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and City Councilman Joe Buscaino drafted a proposal last week urging Newsom to declare the state of emergency, which could divert state and federal money generally reserved for natural disasters like earthquakes and wildfires into projects to combat homelessness. The move would also suspend or streamline some of the legal red tape that that has stalled affordable housing and shelter projects. (O'Reilly, 10/1)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Why Emeryville Is Building A New Homeless Shelter For Families — From Oakland
Emeryville is building a new homeless shelter in a vacant city property that will house up to 25 families for six months. Fresh meals will be delivered. Laundry will be available on site. Portable showers will be brought in. The shelter is sorely needed for the expanding homeless population in the East Bay, but it isn’t for Emeryville residents. The shelter will house Oakland families. (Ravani, 10/1)
Modesto Bee:
Stanislaus Is Spending Big To House, Shelter The Homeless.
Stanislaus County leaders on Tuesday approved agreements with agency partners to shelter and house the homeless after the Modesto Emergency Outdoor Shelter closes in the coming months. Supervisor Jim DeMartini was in disagreement with the series of board votes approving the agreements. Supervisor Kristin Olsen was absent. (Carlson, 10/1)
Los Angeles Times:
Aliso Viejo Denounces Federal Judge's Statement Alleging It 'Dumped' Homeless In Laguna Beach Shelter
Aliso Viejo says it does not “dump” its homeless people in neighboring Laguna Beach, despite statements by U.S. District Judge David Carter during a settlement hearing between Laguna and a homeless advocacy group. In what Laguna Beach called a “proactive” settlement hearing Sept. 23, Carter praised the city for its efforts with its homeless population and described it as “the one city historically that created an emergency shelter, transitional shelter and ... permanent supportive housing.” (Nguyen, 10/1)
Sacramento Bee:
Drunk Drivers More Likely To Commit Violent Gun Crimes In California, Study Finds
Gun buyers in California convicted of driving under the influence are at greater risk of committing a violent crime or a firearm-related offense, a group of researchers at UC Davis found in a broad study that tracks gun purchasers over the span of a decade. The study, which monitored people who bought guns in 2001 until 2013, builds on previous research that warns of a disturbing connection between alcohol use and gun violence. But the latest work relies on a larger sample of nearly 80,000 records on legal handgun buyers. (Finch, 10/2)
The Associated Press:
Gun Control Risks Losing Momentum As Impeachment Fever Rises
After back-to-back mass shootings in Ohio and Texas this summer, gun control burst back on the scene as a major political issue for Democrats. Now it risks taking a back seat as impeachment fever overtakes Washington. Gun control advocates are determined to prevent that from happening. (Ronayne, 10/2)
The Hill:
Mass Shootings Have Hit 158 House Districts So Far This Year
More than a third of all House lawmakers represent districts where a mass shooting has occurred this year, highlighting the bipartisan pressure on Congress to take action on gun legislation after a wave of killings in Texas and Ohio during August. An analysis by The Hill found that about two-thirds of those shootings have taken place in districts represented by Democrats, many of whom represent cities hard-hit by the scourge of gun violence, while a third occurred in Republican-held districts, from the suburbs to rural communities. (Lancaster, Jarvis, Dunwoodie and Hill, 10/2)
Sacramento Bee:
Settlement After Stillbirth Has A Catch: She Can’t Work For California Prisons Again
Correctional officer Sarah Coogle thought she had ended the legal battle over her baby’s stillbirth when she reached a settlement agreement with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation last month. The $1.7 million agreement would settle her claims that the department failed to adequately accommodate her pregnancy in 2017, when she fell while working at a state prison in Tehachapi and experienced a stillbirth two months later. (Venteicher, 10/2)
Politico Pro:
Planned Parenthood Affiliates Of California Taps Lobbyist Jodi Hicks As New Chief
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California today named Jodi Hicks, a longtime Sacramento health care lobbyist, as its new CEO and president.Hicks has been serving as acting CEO since June, after Crystal Strait, who had been at the helm for two years, stepped down in May for personal reasons. Hicks assumed the role on a permanent basis effective immediately. (Colliver, 10/1)
The Associated Press:
Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Georgia Abortion Law
A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked Georgia’s restrictive new abortion law from taking effect, following the lead of other judges who have blocked similar measures in other states. The law signed in May by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp bans abortions once a “detectable human heartbeat” is present, with some limited exceptions. Cardiac activity can be detected by ultrasound as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, before many women realize they’re expecting, according to a legal challenge. (Brumback, 10/1)
The New York Times:
Hysterectomy May Raise Depression And Anxiety Risk
Women who have a hysterectomy may be at increased risk for depression and anxiety, a new study reports. Researchers used medical records of 2,094 women who had had a hysterectomy without removal of the ovaries, matching them with the same number of women of the same age who had not had the operation. None of the surgeries were performed to treat cancer. They followed them for an average of 22 years. (Bakalar, 10/1)
KPBS and inewsource:
Dangerous San Diego Research Prompts Congress To Hold Hearing On VA
Congress will conduct a hearing to investigate a powerful healthcare office in the Department of Veterans Affairs following inewsource stories that exposed the office’s shoddy review of a dangerous San Diego liver study. A new inewsource analysis shows the agency under scrutiny — the VA’s Office of the Medical Inspector — has a long history of performing poor investigations into veterans’ medical care. (Castellano and Racino, 10/1)
Los Angeles Times:
Campus Gynecologist Caused Spike In Sexual Crime Reports In 2018, USC Officials Say
The annual security and fire safety report, released by the university Tuesday, shows 92 reports of rape and 25 reports of fondling last year, a combined increase of more than 200% from the prior year. In 2017, the university received 17 reports of rape and 17 reports of fondling, according to the document. While the misconduct involving Tyndall allegedly occurred years prior to 2018, university officials say allegations were brought to their attention last year, which is why they are now being reported. (Fry, 10/1)
Sacramento Bee:
UC, CA Company Sue Similac Maker Over Patent Infringement
Using patents licensed from the University of California, Davis’ tiny Evolve BioSystems funneled every dollar it could raise into figuring out how to correct dangerous imbalances in the guts of newborn infants and developing supplements to foster the growth of healthy bacteria. The company’s investment and intellectual property now stands at risk of being compromised because pharmaceutical industry giant Abbott Laboratories is introducing a product that would infringe upon UC and Evolve patents, leaders of the Davis company and UC alleged in a lawsuit they announced Monday. (Anderson, 10/1)
The Associated Press:
Trump And Pelosi Aides Talk Drug Costs Despite Impeachment
Even as the impeachment battle rumbled, senior White House and Democratic aides sat down Tuesday to discuss details of drug pricing legislation, officials on both sides said. Passing a law to curb prescription drug prices remains a top policy priority for President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, despite her decision to launch an impeachment inquiry into the president’s efforts to get a foreign leader to investigate political rival Joe Biden. Both sides stressed they were not negotiating during Tuesday’s meeting at the White House, but instead were exchanging information and asking questions. Joe Grogan, a top domestic policy adviser to Trump, called it “a very cordial and productive working session.” (Alonso-Zaldivar, 10/1)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Invitation For States To Design Wellness Programs Draws Swift Backlash
The Trump administration will let states offer wellness programs in the individual insurance market that tie premium costs to health goals as part of a pilot program that drew swift rebuke from health policy analysts who said older and sicker people who can’t comply could be priced out of coverage. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a bulletin on Monday outlining the project, which will allow 10 states to design wellness programs that could be incorporated into insurance plans people buy on the individual market. (Armour, 10/1)
The Hill:
Democratic Chairman Proposes New Fix For Surprise Medical Bills
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) is proposing a new way to move forward on crafting rules to protect patients from surprise medical bills. Members of both parties have made it a priority to protect patients from getting massive bills when they go to the emergency room and are treated by one or more doctors who turn out to be outside their insurance network. But the effort has stalled amid a fierce lobbying push from doctors and hospitals. (Sullivan, 10/1)
Stat:
Trump Set To Nominate Stephen Hahn As FDA Commissioner, Pending Vetting Process
President Trump is set to nominate Dr. Stephen Hahn to lead the Food and Drug Administration, pending completion of the vetting process, according to two people familiar with the selection process. Hahn, an oncologist, is the chief medical executive at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Trump interviewed him for the job a month ago. A third person familiar with the White House’s thinking confirmed that Hahn remained the frontrunner and that the administration was completing paperwork and final background checks. (Facher and Florko, 10/1)
California Healthline:
The Deep Divide: State Borders Create Medicaid Haves And Have-Nots
State borders have become arbitrary dividing lines between Medicaid’s haves and have-nots, with Americans in similar financial straits facing vastly different health care fortunes. This affects everything from whether diseases are caught early to whether people can stay well enough to work. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. The ACA, passed in 2010, called for extending Medicaid to all Americans earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level, around $17,000 annually for an individual. But the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 let states choose whether to expand Medicaid. Illinois did, bringing an additional 650,000-plus people onto its rolls. Missouri did not, and today about 200,000 of its residents are like Powers, stuck in this geographic gap. (Ungar, 10/2)
California Healthline:
Georgia Sheriff’s Deputy Sues Over Lack Of Transgender Insurance Coverage
A sheriff’s deputy in Perry, Ga., filed a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday against the county where she works over its refusal to allow her health insurance plan to cover her gender-affirmation surgery. Sgt. Anna Lange came out as transgender in 2017 after working in the Houston County Sheriff’s Office since 2006. She has taken hormone therapy and outwardly changed her appearance over the past three years to treat gender dysphoria, the distress resulting from the mismatch between her sex assigned at birth and her gender identity. (Landman, 10/2)
Los Angeles Times:
Justice Department Slams DEA For Allowing Dramatic Oxycodone Production Increase As Opioid Crisis Grew
A new report from the Justice Department’s inspector general found that, despite growing evidence that opioids were being overprescribed and abused, the Drug Enforcement Administration increased oxycodone production quotas by 400% between 2002 and 2013. Department of Justice Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz said in a video announcement Tuesday that the DEA, which is responsible for regulating opioid production quotas and investigating the drug’s illegal diversion, was slow to respond to the opioid crisis despite concerning rates of abuse. (Díaz, 10/1)
The Associated Press:
Johnson & Johnson Settles With 2 Ohio Counties Over Opioids
Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday announced it had reached an agreement worth more than $20 million with two Ohio counties, becoming the latest company to settle a lawsuit to get out of the first federal trial over the nation’s opioids crisis. The deal with Cuyahoga and Summit counties comes a little more than a month after an Oklahoma judge ordered the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based health care conglomerate to pay $572 million over its marketing of opioids in that state. (Mulvihill, 10/1)
Bloomberg:
Opioid Settlement Encourages Sale Of More Opioids, Critics Say
Purdue Pharma LP has proposed a settlement in bankruptcy court that could provide as much as $10 billion to help U.S. communities cope with the opioid epidemic. But for some states, the moral cost of accepting the deal is too high because it relies on even more sales of OxyContin, the highly addictive painkiller that helped create the public-health crisis. The settlement offer calls for Purdue’s owners, the Sackler family, to pay at least $3 billion over seven years, with another $1 billion from current Purdue assets. (Larson and Feeley, 10/2)
Bloomberg:
Trump To Unveil Medicare Plan In Bid To Contrast Democrat Rivals
President Donald Trump will outline his vision for the future of Medicare this week, contrasting plans with Democrats in a speech promising to strengthen the program for the elderly and disabled. Trump is scheduled to travel to Florida on Thursday where he’ll deliver a wide-ranging speech on his administration’s health policy, and announce an executive order regarding the Medicare system, titled “Protecting Medicare from Socialist Destruction.” (Jacobs, Griffin and Wingrove, 10/1)
Modern Healthcare:
CMS Saved $739 Million Last Year From Medicare ACOs
The CMS achieved savings from the Medicare Shared Savings Program last year, marking the second year in a row the agency turned a profit from the program. About 66% of the 548 Medicare accountable organizations produced a total of $1.7 billion in savings in 2018 and the CMS scored a $739.4 million gain, according to new agency data. That's significantly higher compared to 2017 when the CMS saved $314 million from the program. (Castellucci, 10/1)
Modern Healthcare:
Medicare Readmission Penalty Change Helps Hospitals With More Dual-Eligible Patients
Hospitals that treat large populations of patients insured by both Medicare and Medicare appear to be benefiting from the changes made to the CMS' Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program with lower penalties, according to new data. In the recent release of fiscal 2020 penalties for the program, the CMS for the second time risk-adjusted hospitals into five peer groups by proportion of inpatient stays where the patient was dually eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. (Castellucci, 10/1)
CNN:
UPS Broke Into Drone Deliveries Shuttling Medical Samples. Now It's Ready To Take Off
Over the past six months, UPS has already made 1,100 medical sample deliveries at a Raleigh, North Carolina, hospital under a government pilot program. The deliveries travel 150 meters from one hospital location to another. Now UPS plans to expand to more than 20 hospitals over the next two years. (McFarland, 10/1)
Los Angeles Times:
Novartis And Microsoft Join Forces To Develop Drugs Using AI
Novartis and Microsoft announced they are joining forces to apply artificial intelligence to some of the most intractable problems in healthcare, in one of the most expansive tie-ups so far between big pharma and big tech. Under one part of the five-year agreement, which will be reviewed annually, Microsoft will work on new tools intended to make it easier to apply AI to all areas of the Swiss pharmaceutical company’s business, from finance to manufacturing. (Neville and Waters, 10/1)
Stat:
An AI Startup Tries To Take Better Pictures Of The Heart
If the technology holds up, Caption, until recently called Bay Labs, could succeed in solving the problem of making heart sonograms easier to obtain. It’s already impressed some in the life sciences. Among them is health care executive Andy Page, who spent four years as Anne Wojcicki’s right-hand man at 23andMe and a year as the president and chief financial officer at digital health startup Livongo. He was introduced to Caption Health last fall by one of its investors, the billionaire Vinod Khosla. He has chosen to become its chief executive. (Herper, 10/1)
San Francisco Business Times:
Why This Gene Therapy Partner Of Roche And Pfizer Is Targeting A $100M IPO
The Emeryville company says it has improved on the traditional way of delivering corrected copies of genes. (Leuty, 10/2)
Modern Healthcare:
Risk Of Heart Valve Infections Rises In Hospitals
Researchers say a host of new risk factors are driving more hospital-acquired heart valve infections and that should compel healthcare providers to re-evaluate their strategies for reducing the threat to patients. A recent analysis of more than 21,000 records of hospitalized patients in New Jersey from 1994 to 2015 found that beginning in 2004, there was a sharp rise in patients developing heart valve infections while being treated for other health conditions. (Johnson, 10/1)
Modern Healthcare:
Hospitals' Softening Volumes Drove Profitability Declines In August
In what's become a common refrain, a new Kaufman Hall report found softening volumes drove profitability declines for U.S. hospitals in August. Hospitals' operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margins fell 9.4%, or 139 basis points, year-over-year, and operating margins declined 11.4% in that time, or 122.5 basis points. (Bannow, 10/1)
USA Today:
Zantac Pulled Over Cancer Risk: What We Know
Zantac and its generic varieties are coming off store shelves after the Food and Drug Administration revealed it found a chemical that could be linked to cancer. Monday, pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens announced they would suspend sales of Zantac brand pills and generic versions that contain ranitidine, the active ingredient of the drug commonly used to treat heartburn after the FDA found a "low level" of a possible carcinogen called nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). Although the chains suspended sales, the FDA said it's not recommending users stop taking the drug. Zantac maker Sanofi said it isn't halting shipments of the drug in the USA. (Molina, 10/1)
California Healthline:
Cosmetic Surgery And The Secret World Of Instagram Dolls
They call themselves dolls. These are cosmetic surgery patients who document their desires and results on Instagram, but only, most say, for other patients or prospective clients. They use names and hashtags that connect the work to their provider. So, for example, KathySmithDoll would be a woman who underwent surgery with a Dr. Kathy Smith. In an era of patient empowerment, these pages — they’re called “Sx pages,” with “Sx” mimicking the prescriptive “Rx” — form a just-out-of-sight Instagram community. They serve as a cosmetic surgery shopping guide, a best-practices education system, and can also sound the alarm about bad experiences with practitioners. Some presurgery doll pages are more like inspiration pages or mood boards, collecting images of desired shapes. (Giles, 10/2)
NPR:
Workers Are Falling Ill, Even Dying, After Making Kitchen Countertops
Artificial stone used to make kitchen and bathroom countertops has been linked to cases of death and irreversible lung injury in workers who cut, grind, and polish this increasingly popular material. The fear is that thousands of workers in the United States who create countertops out of what's known as "engineered stone" may be inhaling dangerous amounts of lung-damaging silica dust, because engineered stone is mostly made of the mineral silica. (Greenfieldboyce, 10/2)
The Wall Street Journal:
Meat Strikes Back As Diet Wars Rage On
On Wall Street, meat substitutes are all the rage. But in the world of dietary science, meat may be making a comeback. This was underscored by the publication Tuesday of findings by a team of researchers in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The team conducted four systematic reviews of various studies examining links between red or processed meat and cardiovascular health, cancer risk and other health outcomes. They concluded that the evidence isn’t strong enough to recommend that people reduce their consumption of red meat or processed meats. (Back, 10/1)
The New York Times:
Being Young, Active And Physically Fit May Be Very Good For Your Brain
Physically fit young adults have healthier white matter in their brains and better thinking skills than young people who are out of shape, according to a large-scale new study of the links between aerobic fitness and brain health. The findings suggest that even when people are youthful and presumably at the peak of their mental prowess, fitness — or the lack of it — may influence how well their brains and minds work. (Reynolds, 10/2)