Daily Edition for Monday, September 9, 2024
‘California’s Dr. Fauci’ Is Stepping Down: Mark Ghaly, who had a leading role in California’s handling of covid-19, is stepping down as the state’s health and human services secretary. He will be replaced by Kim Johnson, the director of the California Department of Social Services. Read more from Politico, The Sacramento Bee, and CalMatters.
Longtime Head of L.A. Care To Retire After Navigating Major Medi-Cal Changes
By Bernard J. Wolfson
John Baackes, who steered Medi-Cal’s largest health plan following the Affordable Care Act expansion, and later prepared it for a state overhaul of Medi-Cal, will retire after this year. Baackes believes low payments to doctors and other providers, along with an acute labor shortage, hamper Medi-Cal’s success.
With TV Drug Ads, What You See Is Not Necessarily What You Get
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
The pharmaceutical industry has invented a new art form: finding ways to make their wares seem like joyous must-have treatments, while often minimizing lackluster efficacy and risks.
En los comerciales de medicamentos en TV, lo que ves no siempre es lo que es
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
Los anuncios de medicamentos han sido omnipresentes en la televisión desde finales de la década de 1990 y se han extendido a internet y las redes sociales. Pocas naciones en el mundo los permiten
Daily Edition for Friday, September 6, 2024
Intense Heat Grips California: Temperatures hovered above 100 degrees along parts of the California coast early Friday, creating unbearable conditions past midnight as officials warned that the excessive heat would last through the weekend. “We’re not seeing a ton of release at night. That’s absolutely concerning,” said Bryan Lewis, a meteorologist in Oxnard. The dangerous heat and changing weekend weather patterns will also raise the risk of fires, experts warn. Read more from The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle and CalMatters.
As Record Heat Sweeps the US, Some People Must Choose Between Food and Energy Bills
By Melba Newsome
An increasing number of Americans struggle with energy poverty, the inability to adequately heat or cool one’s dwelling. Health officials and climate experts are sounding the alarm as record-breaking heat sweeps the nation.
Thanks to Reddit, a New Diagnosis Is Bubbling Up Across the Nation
By Rae Ellen Bichell
Social media has helped spread the word about a treatment that involves getting Botox in the neck. It’s for a condition that’s gaining awareness but still often dismissed: the inability to burp.
Gracias a Reddit, un nuevo diagnóstico se está extendiendo por todo el país
By Rae Ellen Bichell
La incapacidad de eructar puede causar hinchazón, dolor, gorgoteos en el cuello y el pecho, y flatulencias excesivas mientras el aire acumulado busca una salida alternativa.
Daily Edition for Thursday, September 5, 2024
Sutter Health Denies Report That It Overcharges Patients: New research from University of Southern California health economists has found evidence that Sutter Health began implementing allegedly anticompetitive contracting practices in the early 2000s that resulted in prices 30% higher than at comparable hospitals. Sutter denied any anticompetitive conduct and says the analysis is flawed. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Health Secretary Becerra Touts Extreme Heat Protections. Farmworkers Want More.
By Vanessa G. Sánchez
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has a plan to protect farmworkers from extreme heat and wildfire smoke, but farmworkers who pick California grapes say they need more, as climate change brings more extreme weather.
