Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Congenital Syphilis Continues To Rise At An Alarming Rate
The number of U.S. infants who acquired syphilis from their mothers during pregnancy rose 40% last year. Just five states, including California, accounted for nearly two-thirds of the cases. (Anna Maria Barry-Jester, 10/8)
Good morning! Here are your top California health stories for the day.
California's Medical Systems Brace For Historic Power Blackouts Aimed At Preventing Wildfires: PG&E Corp. has begun to shut off power to hundreds of thousands of people in California as it seeks to prevent its electric lines from sparking more deadly wildfires, in what is believed to be the largest such pre-emptive blackout ever. Health care providers and officials around Northern California said that PG&E’s electrical grid shutdown, expected to trigger blackouts in 34 of 58 counties on Wednesday, will test on a grand scale whether residents and medical care facilities have done enough to planning for medical emergencies. Health care providers all around the state have been preparing for the worst-case warnings, that they and local residents may have to go without power for a week. Bay Area’s John Muir Health is preparing to move medications that need refrigeration from clinics in Orinda, Lafayette and San Ramon to locations where power will be maintained, said spokesman Ben Drew. Staffers are also reaching out to patients who have appointments scheduled over the next several days to inform them about the potential outage. Read more from Catherine Ho of the San Francisco Chronicle; Cathie Anderson of the Sacramento Bee; Joseph Serna, Jaclyn Cosgrove and Patrick McGreevy of the Los Angeles Times; and Katherine Blunt, Jim Carlton and Erin Ailworth of The Wall Street Journal.
Health Clinics, Hospitals Sound Alarm Over Newsom’s Plan To Consolidate The State’s Prescription Drug Purchases: Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan would move all Medi-Cal patients into a fee-for-service system, meaning the state would oversee all of their pharmacy benefits. That would put a stop to nonprofit health providers taking advantage of the federal program that provides the deep drug-buying discounts. State Medi-Cal Director Mari Cantwell said the shift from the current “fragmented” Medi-Cal pharmacy system would allow patients to get their prescriptions at a larger network of pharmacies contracting with the state — while saving the state $393 million by 2021. But the nonprofits contend that the state has exaggerated the amount a shift will save. They counter that any state savings will come at the expense of the real needs of patients, who might be forced to travel farther to get their insulin, high blood pressure pills or blood thinners, and who would lose access to nurses and pharmacists who personally help them manage their medications. Read more from Elizabeth Aguilera of CalMatters.
State Acknowledges That Number Of Inmates Killing Themselves In California Prisons Is ‘Far Too High’: A new report revealed the inmate suicide rate in California prisons has climbed four years in a row and reached an unprecedented peak last year with 26.3 suicides per 100,000 prisoners — substantially higher than the suicide rate in other large prison systems across the country. A total of 34 California inmates killed themselves last year in a system with about 129,000 prisoners overall. Ralph Diaz, the state’s top prison official, acknowledged in an interview Monday that California has “an inmate suicide crisis.” Read more from Jason Fagone and Megan Cassidy of the San Francisco Chronicle.
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.
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More News From Across The State
Los Angeles Times:
Los Angeles Could Ban All E-Cigarettes And Vaping Devices
Los Angeles officials are considering banning all e-cigarettes and vaping devices in the city, one of the most extreme proposals yet to curb a nationwide outbreak of lung illnesses linked to vaping. Amid reports that more than 1,000 people have been diagnosed with severe lung problems, politicians across the country have been pushing restrictions on e-cigarettes, which have soared in popularity among young people in recent years. (Karlamangla, 10/8)
The New York Times:
Bronx Teenager’s Death Is The Youngest Vaping Fatality In U.S.
A 17-year-old Bronx boy whose death was disclosed by New York State officials on Tuesday is the first teenager in the United States to die of a vaping-related illness, according to federal and state data. The teenager died on Friday after being hospitalized twice in September with a vaping-related illness, becoming the state’s first fatality from the mysterious lung disease, according to state health officials. (Shanahan and Paybarah, 10/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Antitrust Case Against Sutter Health Due To Begin This Week
Opening arguments in a landmark antitrust case against Sutter Health, Northern California’s largest health care system, are poised to begin Thursday, and industry experts say the outcome of the trial could have ripple effects for consumers nationwide. At the heart of the lawsuit, filed in 2014 by a group of self-funded employers — and joined by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra in 2018 — are allegations that Sutter abused its market power to raise prices for employers and insurers. (Ho, 10/8)
Sacramento Bee:
CA Law Protects Special Needs Students At Nonpublic Schools
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill that would protect students with special needs at nonpublic California schools, in response to the November 2018 death of a student who was restrained at his El Dorado Hills school. Assembly Bill 1172 allows the state Department of Education to immediately suspend or revoke the certification of a nonpublic school if a student’s health or safety is being compromised. (Morrar, 10/8)
Los Angeles Times:
Kedren's Acute Psychiatric Hospital Had Series Failures Of Oversight
A Times review of inspection reports and court records has revealed serious failures of oversight in the care of patients at Kedren’s acute psychiatric hospital, a key resource for people struggling with mental illness. Among the cases: One patient reported being choked by a Kedren employee. Another said she had been sexually assaulted by her roommate. There was no evidence the hospital investigated either complaint, according to state inspectors. (Manfield, 10/8)
San Jose Mercury News:
Hayward: City Agrees To $1M For Man Who Died In Custody
The city of Hayward has agreed to pay $1 million to the family of Roy Nelson Jr, who died in police custody despite telling them, “I can’t breathe.” Nelson, 42, who suffered from mental health issues, called police himself on Dec. 19, 2015. He had not been taking his medication and had just come from a visit to a psychiatric hospital, according to his family’s attorney, Adante Pointer of the John Burris law firm. (Ruggiero, 10/8)
Capital Public Radio:
Gun Buyers With A History Of Alcohol Abuse More Likely To Be Arrested For Domestic Abuse, UC Davis Study Finds
Gun buyers who’ve been convicted of driving under the influence are nearly three times more likely to be arrested for domestic violence than those without a record of alcohol abuse, according to a new study out of UC Davis. (Caiola, 10/8)
Capital Public Radio:
California Launches Peer-Run Mental Health 'Warm' Line
California is launching a statewide mental health phone line to help those who need help, but aren't in crisis. Most counties already run a suicide prevention hotline. But only a few have a “warm line,” which offers emotional support and resource referrals for people who are experiencing depression, anxiety and other symptoms but aren’t considering taking their own lives. (Caiola, 10/8)
Sacramento Bee:
New Mumps Cases In Outbreak At Elon, High Point University
Nearly a dozen more cases of the highly contagious mumps virus have been reported at universities in central North Carolina as public health officials work to contain the outbreak. Elon University reported three new confirmed cases of mumps on the Alamance County campus, the school said Monday. And High Point University reported eight more confirmed cases this week, according to ABC11. (Duncan, 10/8)
Modesto Bee:
Davis High Of Modesto CA Student Diagnosed With TB
Davis High students and staff possibly exposed to tuberculosis will undergo tests after school officials learned one of its pupils was diagnosed with the active form of the bacterial infection. The student no longer poses a risk of exposure to other students or staff at the school, the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency said Tuesday. (Mink, 10/8)
The New York Times:
Supreme Court Considers Whether Civil Rights Act Protects L.G.B.T. Workers
In a pair of exceptionally hard-fought arguments on Tuesday, the Supreme Court struggled to decide whether a landmark 1964 civil rights law bars employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender status. Job discrimination against gay and transgender workers is legal in much of the nation, and the wide-ranging arguments underscored the significance of what could be a momentous ruling. If the court decides that the law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, applies to many millions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees across the nation, they would gain basic protections that other groups have long taken for granted. (Liptak and Peters, 10/8)
Reuters:
Democratic Presidential Hopeful Sanders Says He Was 'Dumb' To Ignore Health Warnings
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders said on Tuesday he had wrongly ignored warning signs about his health before suffering a heart attack last week, but that he did not think the scare would damage his campaign for president. Sanders, one of 19 Democrats competing to take on Republican President Donald Trump in the November 2020 election, suffered chest pains on Oct. 1 while in Nevada for a campaign stop and abruptly canceled campaign events. (10/8)
Reuters:
Cracks In Purdue's Proposed Opioid Settlement As Arizona Backs Out
The U.S. state of Arizona withdrew its support for a proposed nationwide opioid settlement with Purdue Pharma LP, saying the maker of OxyContin sought to "undermine material terms of the deal," according to a court filing on Monday. Since Purdue filed for bankruptcy protection in September, Arizona is the first state to switch sides in the looming showdown over the privately-held company's proposed settlement, which it has estimated is worth more than $10 billion. (10/8)
Politico:
Exclusive: Top Drug Lobbyist To Depart Next Year
The CEO of a leading drug industry lobby will depart at the end of 2020, he announced Tuesday, setting up the organization for a major transition as the pharmaceutical industry faces one of its toughest political environments in years. CEO Jim Greenwood will leave the Biotech Innovation Organization after 15 years atop the trade group, which represents companies ranging from Pfizer and Merck to startups that have no approved medicines. BIO also lobbies on behalf of biotechnology innovators in agriculture and energy. (Karlin-Smith, 10/8)
Stat:
ICER Says Drug Price Hikes Without Proof Of New Benefits Cost U.S. $5.1B
During 2017 and 2018, drug makers raised prices on seven widely used medicines by large amounts, but without any new clinical evidence to justify the increases, leading patients and insurers in the U.S. to spend an added $5.1 billion, according to a new analysis. For instance, AbbVie (ABBV) boosted the price on its best-selling Humira rheumatoid arthritis treatment by 15.9%, after accounting for estimated rebates and other discounts, which caused Americans to spend an extra $1.86 billion than they would have if the company had not raised the price during that two-year period. (Silverman, 10/8)
The Associated Press:
Lawsuits Around US Seek To Block Trump's Public Charge Rule
The scene is playing out in courtrooms from coast to coast — federal judges being asked to block a new Trump administration policy scheduled to take effect next week that would deny legal permanent residency to many immigrants over the use of public benefits. Almost a dozen lawsuits have been filed from New York to California with plaintiffs including states, counties, cities, service providers and immigrants to prevent the "public charge" rule from taking effect on Oct. 15. (10/8)
The New York Times:
Pregnant Women Should Get Flu And Whooping Cough Shots, C.D.C. Says
Millions of pregnant women in the United States are not getting two vital vaccines that protect not only their health, but their babies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. The vaccines — against flu and whooping cough — are strongly recommended during every pregnancy. But only about 35 percent of pregnant women in the country are receiving both vaccines, according to a new C.D.C. report, and just over half receive one. (Belluck, 10/8)
The New York Times:
Johnson & Johnson Hit With $8 Billion Jury Verdict In Risperdal Suit
A Philadelphia jury on Tuesday hit Johnson & Johnson with an $8 billion verdict over its marketing of the anti-psychotic drug Risperdal, siding with a Maryland man who argued that the health care giant downplayed risks that the drug could lead to breast growth in boys. The verdict in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas was the first to award punitive damages against Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, said Thomas R. Kline, a lawyer who is part of a legal team representing the man and more than 10,000 people in similar lawsuits. (Zaveri and Thomas, 10/8)