‘Separate and Unequal’: Critics Say Pricey Medicaid Reforms Leave Most Patients Behind
MLK Community Hospital in South Los Angeles is surrounded by poverty, homeless encampments, and food deserts. Regardless that California Gov. Gavin Newsom is funneling billions of taxpayer money into an ambitious initiative to supply some low-income patients with social services, hospital executives and other critics say it won’t improve access to basic care. (Angela Hart,
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BSC Sues California Over Medi-Cal Changes: Blue Shield of California sued the state’s Department of Health Care Services over an alleged failure to supply documents about the way it plans to contract with for-profit health insurers across the nation who need to take part in the state’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal. Read more from Fierce Healthcare.
State Hasn’t Released Data On Heat-Wave Deaths: California endured its worst heat wave ever recorded in September. But for all the info on soaring temperatures, there was little information on the warmth wave’s human toll, or how many individuals had been sickened and even killed. Some public health experts say the dearth of timely information puts lives in jeopardy. Read more from the Los Angeles Times.
Below, try the roundup of California Healthline’s coverage. For today’s national health news, read KHN’s Morning Briefing.
Politico:
Gavin Newsom Makes One other Unorthodox Play On Abortion
Gov. Gavin Newsom is launching his first TV ads of the election cycle in California — and he isn’t asking voters to support his campaign. As a substitute, the California Democrat is spending $2.5 million over the subsequent two weeks to implore Californians to back Proposition 1, a measure on the autumn ballot that may enshrine the best to abortion and contraceptives within the state structure. (Cadelago, 10/10)
San Francisco Chronicle:
It’s Not Just About Congress: Bare-Knuckle Abortion Rights Politics Go Micro-Local In California
Statewide abortion rights activists don’t normally become involved in smaller local races. But in an indication of how abortion politics are intensifying within the post-Roe world, activists are zeroing in on a San Mateo City Council candidate who they feel hasn’t been clear on where he stands on a lady’s right to terminate a pregnancy. Candidate Rod Linhares has done something that few non-Republican candidates would dare within the blue parts of California: not disclose his position on Proposition 1, which might enshrine abortion and contraceptive rights into the state structure. (Garofoli, 10/9)
Voice Of San Diego:
Why Assessor Candidates Flipped On Abortion, Coastal Height Limit
One among the fiercest debates at Politifest this 12 months featured the 2 candidates for the obscure office of county assessor/recorder/clerk. Jordan Marks, a Republican, who works within the office now as taxpayer advocate and former City Councilwoman Barbara Bry, a Democrat, who ran for mayor in 2020, had some intense criticisms for one another, their backgrounds and talent to administer the office going forward. (Lewis, 10/10)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Abortion Rights Backers Rally In Oakland For Ballot Measure As Part Of Women’s March
Greater than 100 abortion rights supporters gathered in front of Oakland City Hall on Saturday to rally in favor of Proposition 1, a November ballot measure that may enshrine abortion access into the California structure. The event was a part of pro-abortion rights actions in dozens of cities coordinated by Women’s March, the movement formed in protest of former President Donald Trump. (Li, 10/9)
Reveal:
The Religious Right’s Campaign Against Hormonal Birth Control
When the Supreme Court’s decision undoing Roe v. Wade got here down in June, anti-abortion groups were jubilant – but removed from satisfied. Many within the movement have a recent goal: hormonal contraception. It seems contradictory; doesn’t stopping unwanted pregnancies also prevent abortions? But anti-abortion groups don’t see it that way. They claim that hormonal contraceptives like IUDs and the pill can actually cause abortions. (Mostafa, Butler and Mieszkowski, 10/8)
The Washington Post:
Spread Of Catholic Hospitals Restricts Abortion, Birth Control Access
The Supreme Court decision overturning the constitutional right to abortion is revealing the growing influence of Catholic health systems and their restrictions on reproductive services including contraception and abortion — even within the diminishing variety of states where the procedure stays legal. Catholic systems now control about 1 in 7 U.S. hospital beds, requiring religious doctrine to guide treatment, often to the surprise of patients. Their ascendancy has broad implications for the evolving national battle over reproductive rights beyond abortion, as bans against it take hold in greater than a dozen Republican-led states. (Sellers and Venkataramanan, 10/10)
Fox 5 San Diego:
San Diego Monkeypox Cases Reach 419
The California Department of Public Health on Friday provided an update on the state’s Mpox outbreak, confirming a complete of 419 reported cases within the San Diego region. Data released by the CDPH’s Division of Communicable Disease Control shows the realm rating third in highest case counts statewide. Neighboring Los Angeles was at the highest of list with a complete of two,049 cases. (Coakley, 10/8)
NPR:
Monkeypox Cases In The U.S. Have Been Falling Since A Peak In Early August
Latest day by day monkeypox cases have been falling, and the CDC says cases are probably going to plateau or decline over the subsequent few weeks. (10/11)
CIDRAP:
Monkeypox Study Spotlights Role Of Sexual Transmission
A big proportion of patients reported attending large mass gatherings before developing monkeypox symptoms. Of 161 patients with available information, 37 (23%) met their sexual partners at such gatherings, including the Maspalomas Festival on Spain’s Gran Canaria island, and various other Pride-related festivities in Europe and america, the authors said. Thirty percent of patients said they developed lesions or rash as a primary symptom. (Soucheray, 10/10)
Los Angeles Times:
With COVID On The Retreat, How Protected Are Holiday Gatherings?
COVID-19 has scrapped many large holiday celebrations through the last two years. But with the pandemic in a lull and plentiful resources available to assist thwart the worst the coronavirus has to supply, there’s hope that fall and winter gatherings — including Halloween, Thanksgiving and other end-of-year holidays — could possibly be closer to normal for a lot of Californians. (Money and Lin II, 10/10)
Reuters:
White House Says COVID Booster Campaign Going Well, Should Pick Up
The White House expects the speed of vaccination in its fall booster campaign to select up over the approaching weeks, and its COVID response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha on Friday characterised the initial pace as “a extremely good start.” Jha estimated that between 13 million and 15 million Americans could have gotten the so-called bivalent booster by the top of [last] week. (Aboulenein and Erman, 10/7)
Reuters:
AstraZeneca’s COVID Vaccine Suffers A Setback In Nasal Spray Trial
Attempts by Oxford University researchers and AstraZeneca Plc to create a nasal-spray version of their jointly developed COVID-19 shot suffered a setback on Tuesday as initial testing on humans didn’t yield the specified protection. An antibody response within the respiratory mucous membranes was seen in just a minority of participants within the trial, which was in the primary of normally three phases of clinical testing, the University of Oxford said in a press release on Tuesday. (10/10)
The Mercury News:
California Doctor Pleads Guilty To Illegally Prescribing More Than 120,000 Opioid Pills
A Tustin doctor whose prescriptions were linked to a driver who killed an off-duty Costa Mesa fire captain and the suspected gunman within the mass shooting on the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks pleaded guilty Friday, Oct. 7 to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances after being accused of illegally prescribing greater than 120,000 opioid pills over a six-year span. Dr. Dzung Ahn Pham, who owned Irvine Village Urgent Care, distributed the pills and not using a legitimate medical purpose in exchange for money and insurance payments, in accordance with his plea agreement. (Antonios, 10/10)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Supervisors To Consider Plan To Compel Schools To Teach Students About Dangers Of Fentanyl
The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider a plan to work with schools to lift more awareness in regards to the dangers of fentanyl and make naloxone, a drug that may reverse opioid overdoses, more accessible to oldsters and students. (Hernandez, 10/10)
Modesto Bee:
Latest Data: Fentanyl Deaths Sharply Rise In Stanislaus County
Newly released numbers show the fentanyl crisis is accountable for a pointy increase in drug overdose deaths in Stanislaus County. County public health has counted 229 deaths involving illegal fentanyl since 2020, when drug addiction counselors noticed that fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills were harming or killing people in Modesto. (Carlson, 10/10)
Capital & Primary:
Los Angeles County Struggling To Shrink Black Infant Death Rate
Early in 2018, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced an ambitious health care goal for 2023: Cut the gap between Black and white infant mortality in L.A. County by 30%.For many years, Black babies in L.A. County were dying at a significantly higher rate than white babies, primarily because they were born too early or too small. (Ross, 10/5)
Capital & Primary:
Toxic Pollutants A Growing Concern For Pregnant Moms And Babies
Deborah Bell-Holt lives near a decades-old drilling site in South L.A., where oil sucked to the surface comes laced with dangerous pollutants like benzene, formaldehyde, methane and toluene. What comes up must go somewhere, and Bell-Holt is sick on the prospect of how much toxic pollution finally ends up contained in the bodies of her family and friends. “There are moments where I’m so furious,” says Bell-Holt, 69, who has fostered six children. All of them, like her, suffer chronic asthma, an issue linked to the proximity of oil drilling. Some children have terrible skin problems. Her husband has been battling leukemia for several years. As if that wasn’t enough, Bell-Holt now worries a few recent generation. “My oldest child is 26, and she or he has a baby that’s 3 years old, they usually’re each asthmatic, they usually each live here.” (Ross, 10/6)
Capital & Primary:
Latest Solutions Unveiled To Curtail L.A. County’s Black Infant And Maternal Death Rates
Earlier this 12 months, Los Angeles County opened the applying window on a recent universal basic income (UBI) program called “Breathe,” which guarantees 1,000 residents $1,000 a month for 3 years. Participants have to be 18 or older, live in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods and have household incomes at or below 100% of the county’s Median Household Income threshold. Anyone who suits the factors, including expectant moms, can apply to “Breathe.” (Ross, 10/7)
San Francisco Chronicle:
A Suicide At Stanford Exposed Deep Problems. Is It Still ‘Turning A Blind Eye’?
The death of Stanford University soccer captain Katie Meyer last spring provoked shock across the Bay Area and the nation. She was the fourth Stanford student to die from suicide in only over a 12 months, and within the aftermath, students railed against what they saw as chronic and systemic problems with mental health services on the university. Officials acknowledged the necessity for more resources. They promised motion. But six months later, with the brand new school 12 months under way, some students say little has modified. (Echeverria and Newcomb, 10/10)
Technical.Ly:
Rose Health Was Just Acquired By California’s Precise Behavioral
Rose Health, a mental healthcare startup based in DC, will now operate under the umbrella of a much bigger, California-HQed behavioral health company. Precise Behavioral, based in Westlake Village, acquired Rose Health for an undisclosed amount. Founded earlier this 12 months by Nitin Nanda, who also created Aligned Telehealth, Precise Behavioral offers staff and other management services for behavioral health operations. (Althouse, 10/10)
KPBS:
Mental Health Concerns Amongst Youth Prompt Call For More Resources
A recent study found alarming rates of mental health challenges in young adults in California. The California Endowment polled nearly 800 Californians ages 18 to 24, and located over 75% of them reported experiencing anxiety within the last 12 months. Greater than half reported depression, and 31% experiencing suicidal thoughts. (Thorne, 10/10)
KTLA:
Mental Health Assistance In California
“You will not be alone” is a message you might continuously see as you scroll through Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. The encouraging message being shared broadly is a option to rejoice World Mental Health Day. The day is designated for people to lift awareness for mental health issues and support mental health assistance efforts, The World Health Organization said. California offers multiple avenues for people looking for mental health resources. (Palm, 10/10)
AP:
As Suicides Rise, US Military Seeks To Address Mental Health
After ending a tour in Afghanistan in 2013, Dionne Williamson felt emotionally numb. More warning signs appeared during several years of subsequent overseas postings. “It’s like I lost me somewhere,” said Williamson, a Navy lieutenant commander who experienced disorientation, depression, memory loss and chronic exhaustion. “I went to my captain and said, ‘Sir, I want help. Something’s incorrect.’” Because the Pentagon seeks to confront spiraling suicide rates within the military ranks, Williamson’s experiences shine a light-weight on the realities for service members looking for mental health help. For many, simply acknowledging their difficulties will be intimidating. And what comes next will be frustrating and dispiriting. (Khalil, 10/10)
NPR:
A Lawsuit Accuses Amazon Of Selling Suicide Kits To Teenagers
Amazon is facing a lawsuit accusing it of selling so-called suicide kits, brought by the families of two teenagers who bought a deadly chemical on the corporate’s website and later used it to take their very own lives. (Hernandez, 10/9)
Stateline:
Many Patients Cannot Afford Health Costs Even With Insurance
The variety of Americans with medical health insurance has climbed to historic highs through the COVID-19 pandemic, but inside that silver lining is a darker hue. Many Americans have policies that only provide limited financial protection, to the purpose that many patients report forgoing needed medical care or prescriptions to avoid being hit with punishing out-of-pocket costs. (Ollove, 10/7)
The Latest York Times:
‘The Money Monster Was Insatiable’: How Insurers Exploited Medicare for Billions
A Latest York Times review of dozens of fraud lawsuits, inspector general audits and investigations by watchdogs shows how major health insurers exploited this system to inflate their profits by billions of dollars. (Abelson and Sanger-Katz, 10/8)
USA Today:
Medicare Part D Drug Prices Vary Widely Between States
Latest data from the Medicare startup Chapter shows the price of prescriptions can vary widely from one state to a different and even from one zip code to a different. For seniors with chronic medical conditions, a difference in geography could mean paying hundreds of dollars more per 12 months out-of-pocket for a similar medicine. (Wedell, 10/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
Why A $158,000 Drug With Unclear Advantages Hurts Whole Health System
Like many patients affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS—also often known as Lou Gehrig’s disease—Layne Oliff didn’t have any time to waste. Even before the drug Relyvrio was approved late last month by the Food and Drug Administration, he has had his own do-it-yourself method: He gets sodium phenylbutyrate in liquid form from a Latest Jersey pharmacy and taurursodiol online from Amazon. That costs him over $7,000 a 12 months, but he says it has been well price it because he feels the mixture has helped stabilize a disease that usually causes death inside just a few years. (Wainer, 10/10)
CalMatters:
STD Rate Soars Across Central Valley, State As Public Health Funding Dwindles
Today, California has the sixth-highest rate of congenital syphilis within the country, with rates increasing every 12 months. In 2020, 107 cases per 100,000 live births were reported, a staggering 11-fold increase from a decade prior. (Hwang, 10/10)
USA Today:
Farmworkers Face Health Risks During Wildfire Season. How Bad Is It?
Farmworkers are an understudied population, yet vulnerable to certain health risks and barriers during wildfires, that are being exacerbated by temperature-revving climate change that’s increasing their frequency, in accordance with research from the University of Washington and others. (Hassanein, 10/10)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Alzheimer’s San Diego Goals To Raise $500,000 During Annual Walk Fundraiser
Alzheimer’s San Diego is preparing for its seventh annual Walk4ALZ fundraiser to be held Saturday, Oct. 15., in Balboa Park. (Mapp, 10/7)
KQED:
How Will Biden’s Cannabis Pardon Affect California?
On Friday, President Biden issued a blank pardon for Americans federally convicted of possessing small amounts of cannabis, urged governors to do likewise on state offenses and called for a review on whether cannabis needs to be listed as a less serious drug from its current Schedule I listing. As a serious cannabis producer, California is poised to turn out to be one in every of the states most affected by Biden’s cannabis move. (Pelit and Thorsen, 10/10)
Voice Of San Diego:
Fletcher Says City Budgets Need To Prioritize Homelessness
County Board of Supervisors Chair Nathan Fletcher has been critical of San Diego cities that didn’t apply for a recent $10 million grant program to fund recent homeless shelters, secure parking lots, secure camping lots and other homeless facilities. Only three of the county’s 18 incorporated cities applied – Oceanside, Vista and San Diego. (Layne, 10/10)
CNN:
A Colonoscopy Study Has Some Wondering If They Should Have The Procedure. What You Should Know
A recent European study on colonoscopies – the biggest of its kind – has complicated results, and it’s left some people wondering whether or not they must have the procedure to screen for colon cancer. (Cohen, 10/10)
Stat:
In Gold-Standard Trial, Colonoscopy Fails To Cut Rate Of Cancer Deaths
For many years, gastroenterologists put colonoscopies on a pedestal. If everyone would get the screening only once a decade, clinicians believed it could practically make colorectal cancer “extinct,” said Michael Bretthauer, a gastroenterologist and researcher in Norway. But recent results from a clinical trial that he led throw confidence in colonoscopy’s dominance into doubt. (Chen, 10/9)
Stat:
Second U.S. Oncology Provider Plans To Go Public
The U.S. is about to haven’t only one, but two, standalone publicly-traded oncology providers. (Bannow, 10/10)
The Latest York Times:
After Giving Up On Cancer Vaccines, Doctors Start To Find Hope
It looks as if an almost inconceivable dream — a cancer vaccine that may protect healthy people at high risk of cancer. Any incipient malignant cells can be obliterated by the immune system. It will be no different from the way in which vaccines protect against infectious diseases. Nevertheless, unlike vaccines for infectious diseases, the promise of cancer vaccines has only dangled in front of researchers, despite their arduous efforts. Now, though, many hope that some success could also be nearing in the hunt to immunize people against cancer. (Kolata, 10/10)
NBC News:
Toxic Herbicides: Map Showing How High Exposure Is By State
On a day by day basis, many individuals within the U.S. could possibly be exposed to a potentially cancer-causing chemical used on the earth’s commonest weedkillers. Data shows that folks within the Midwest, parts of the South and Colorado have the best exposure. (Jefferies, 10/10)
The Hill:
Voters Want More Protection From Harmful Chemicals: Poll
Most American voters say they need more government and industry protection from toxic chemicals, a recent poll has found. Not only do the 1,200 respondents to the survey overwhelmingly want assurances that consumer products are free from harmful chemicals, but also they are willing to pay more for the privilege. Within the poll — commissioned by the University of California, San Francisco’s (UCSF) Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment — 92 percent of voters agreed that the federal government should require products to be proven secure before reaching the market, while 63 percent strongly agreed. (Udasin, 10/11)
