Mental Illness in California Prisons

New York Times (Opinion)

There are about 33,000 mentally ill prisoners in state prisons in California, close to 30 percent of the prison population. The number of suicides in state prisons has soared in recent years, to about 24 suicides per 100,000 inmates a year, a rate nearly twice the national average.

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CVS customers say unauthorized prescription refills still occur

Los Angeles Times

Barbara De Maria received calls from her local CVS store in Glendale recently saying that her son's prescription had been automatically refilled, as per his instructions. Problem was, De Maria's son had given no such instructions, and the prescription was for a temporary skin problem, not any type of chronic condition. No refills were needed. Even worse for CVS: De Maria, 60, works in the drug industry and knows a thing or two about how the game gets played.

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Another patient of O.C. doctor dies of prescription drug overdose

Los Angeles Times

An Orange County doctor featured in a Times investigative report because 16 of his patients fatally overdosed on drugs he prescribed has had another patient death, according to recently released coroner's records. Wayne Oviatt, a patient of Dr. Van Vu of Huntington Beach, fatally overdosed in January. The onetime Mammoth "ski bum," as his brother called him, suffered from chronic pain. He was known to abuse his medications and mix them with alcohol, and obtained drugs from various doctors, coroner's records state.

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Legislators threaten to kill state medical board

Los Angeles Times

In an unusual display of concern, lawmakers overseeing the Medical Board of California have threatened to dissolve the agency unless it "shows significant progress" in protecting patients from dangerous doctors. In a letter, state Sen. Curren Price (D-Los Angeles) and Assemblyman Richard Gordon (D-Menlo Park) called on the board to be more aggressive in monitoring the state's 100,000-plus physicians.

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Public Health Advocates and Families Urge California Assembly Appropriations Committee to Pass New Overdose Prevention Bill

eNews Park Forest

In a showing of bipartisan support yesterday, the Assembly Health Committee voted in favor of Asm. Richard Bloom’s (D-Santa Monica) AB 831, a bill that would require a temporary state task force of experts to develop a comprehensive plan to address the state’s overdose crisis, as well as establish a modest funding source for groups working to reduce overdose deaths. The bill now moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee before a floor vote of the full Assembly later this session.

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Teens Push for Drug Drop Box

Laguna Beach Independent

Thanks to the initiative of some high school students, a secure prescription drug drop box was installed this week outside the Laguna Beach Police Department. Located in an alcove to the left of the lobby doors, the box serves the public as a repository for the safe disposal of any prescription drugs they no longer need or that have expired. Five Laguna Beach High School students involved with the Laguna Prescription Drug Awareness group teamed up with the police department’s Detective Larry Bammer in an effort to combat prescription drug abuse by teens. Senior Ryan Cook, juniors Cyanna Atkinson, Nathanial Colburn and Garrett Burk, and sophomore Chloe Jackson asked the City Council last month to install a drop box. They voted unanimously in favor of the idea.

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Study: Health Care Costs Higher for Young Adults Newly Covered by ACA

California Healthline

Young adults who enrolled in a parent's employer-sponsored health plan after an Affordable Care Act provision took effect incurred about 15% more in health care costs than those who already were covered under their parents' plans, according to a study by the Employee Benefits Research Institute, The Hill's "Healthwatch" reports.

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Labor-backed plan would fine large employers who send workers to Medi-Cal

Sacramento Bee

A new and controversial proposal in California's health care overhaul calls for fining large employers if the wages they pay are not high enough to keep workers off Medi-Cal rolls. Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez will formally unveil the measure as Assembly Bill 880, perhaps today, in a drive sponsored by the California Labor Federation and United Food and Commercial Workers.

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Undocumented workers deserve health care

San Diego Union-Tribune

As if in a perfect storm, the politics of health and immigration reform have suddenly and unexpectedly clashed, creating a contentious atmosphere to debate the arguments for and against certain health reform initiatives. Within this context, as a public health advocate for underserved and vulnerable people, I believe that, as a society, we have an ethical and social responsibility to provide health care coverage to the undocumented immigrant community.

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Report: Fewer Californians get health care at work

Fresno Bee

Far fewer Californians are getting health insurance through their employers compared to a decade ago, a change that comes as the nation is about to undergo major reforms in the health care system, according to a report released Wednesday. The report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which funds health research and programs, found that the number of Californians receiving employer-sponsored insurance dropped by 1.3 million, or 8.4 percent, over the past decade.

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State Highlights: Blue Shield Could Lose Contract For Calif. Workers, Retirees

Kaiser Health News

A selection of health policy stories from California, Texas, Oregon, Florida and Minnesota. Los Angeles Times: Blue Shield May Lose Exclusive CalPERS HMO Contract. Blue Shield of California may be losing its longtime grip on one of the health care industry's most coveted insurance contracts. Officials at the California Public Employees' Retirement System are recommending breaking up Blue Shield's current statewide HMO contract and replacing it with as many as four health plans for more than 400,000 public workers and their families.

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Dave Jones criticizes health insurance company for rate increases

Insurance News Report

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has strong criticism against some of the state’s health insurance companies this week. The Commissioner, who has long been wrestling with insurers over the cost of health insurance coverage, denounced Anthem Blue Cross for the company’s latest rate increase proposal. Jones calls the rate increase “excessive” and “unreasonable.” In the past, rate increases have been targeted mostly at consumers, but the latest increase from Anthem Blue Cross is aimed at small businesses.

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Obama Releases Budget Proposal That Includes $400B in Health Cuts

California Healthline

On Wednesday, President Obama released his $3.77 trillion budget proposal for fiscal year 2014, which would raise taxes on higher-income individuals and cut spending on health care programs by $400 billion, the Los Angeles Times' "Politics Now" reports. Obama's FY 2014 spending blueprint joins rival proposals drafted by House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Budget Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) as Congress prepares to enter negotiations this summer on how to reduce the national debt (Hennessey, "Politics Now," Los Angeles Times, 4/10).

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Obama budget impact on California: Win some, lose some

Los Angeles Times

President Obama’s budget offers a mixed bag to California: money eagerly sought by Los Angeles to expand its transit system, but no federal funds to help the state pay its nearly billion-dollar bill for jailing illegal immigrants. The budget sent to Congress provides $130 million to help fund the start of the first segment to extend the Los Angeles subway to the city’s Westside and begin work on the downtown Regional Connector.

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Republicans push overhaul of California budget process

Los Angeles Times

Republican lawmakers are trying to resurrect parts of a failed ballot measure in hopes of increasing transparency in the state budget process. Most of the ideas in the Republican proposal come from Proposition 31, which was pushed by the nonpartisan organization California Forward and rejected by voters in November. "Proposition 31 had too much in it and it offended too many people," Assemblyman Jeff Gorell (R-Camarillo) told reporters on Wednesday. "People didn't understand it and voted no."

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California March revenue tops budget estimate by $395.5 million

Reuters

A strong inflow of personal income taxes helped lift California's March revenue by $395.5 million, or 7.2 percent, above the estimate in Governor Jerry Brown's state budget plan, the state controller's office said on Wednesday. From the July start of its current fiscal year through March, California collected $64.7 billion in general fund revenue, or $4.7 billion more than forecast by Brown's office, State Controller John Chiang's office also said in its monthly revenue report.

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Seize opportunity of Affordable Care Act

San Francisco Chronicle (Opinion)

What if you lose your job, your income and, with it, your health insurance? What are your options for getting the coverage you need to get health care for you and your family? Today, many who are between jobs or who otherwise don't get employer-provided health insurance are often not able to buy coverage as individuals. For some Californians, it is unavailable at any price, as they are denied for having a pre-existing medical condition. For many others, a health plan is just unaffordable, especially in tight times.

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Viewpoints: Decisions critical to make health reform work

Sacramento Bee

The hope of health reformers, myself included, is that putting the Affordable Care Act into place will resemble the end of "It's a Wonderful Life." After a bumpy transition, everything will be just as it was but better. Zuzu's petals will be in our pockets, and the whole neighborhood will have shown up to help those in need. This happy ending would be virtually guaranteed if Congress had passed the law Democrats originally introduced. The wild political process that created the law, though, led to the weakening of the supports that help keep the current system in place.

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Tax credits will help 3 million Californians pay for health insurance

Sacramento Business Journal

About 3 million Californians — including 146,900 in the four-county Sacramento area — will be eligible for premium tax credits to help them pay for health insurance next year, according to a new study by Families USA. The subsidies will be paid directly to the health plans in which individuals and families enroll, offsetting the total cost of premiums. This way, they don’t have to lay out the money up front and go to the IRS to recoup some of it.

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Budget cuts force California courts to delay trials, ax services

Los Angeles Times

California courts, reeling from years of state budget cuts, are delaying hearings and trials, allowing records to sit unprocessed for months and slashing services at public windows, a judge's committee has reported. The report by the Trial Court Presiding Judges Advisory Committee was based on a survey of all presiding judges and prepared for the Judicial Council, the policy-making body for the courts. All but 10 of the state's counties responded to the survey.

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Exclusive: Obama budget includes $235 million in new mental health spending

Washington Post (Blog)

President Obama’s budget proposal will include $235 million in funding for new mental health programs, focused initiatives to help schools detect early warning signs and train thousands of new mental health professionals. These proposed new commitments come after the Newtown, Conn. shootings increased interest in the relationship between gun violence and mental health.

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Sacramento County 'three-striker' freed under Prop. 36 learning to live with freedom

Sacramento Bee

Eugene Dey knew what he had to do. He had just gotten out of the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad as one of the first Sacramento County "three-strikers" released from his life sentence under last year's voter-approved Proposition 36. Dey said he knew what the data said, what the studies showed: Two years of in-prison drug treatment, followed by a year of sober living in a program on the outside, and he would have an excellent chance to make it all the way back.

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Stockton Neighbors Furious Over Halfway Home Discovery Following Resident’s Death

CBS Sacramento

Residents in Stockton are demanding answers following a murder at a halfway house in their neighborhood — claiming they had no idea that recovering addicts were living in the home. Residents are wondering how a halfway house suddenly moved into their neighborhood in the 440 block of West Flora Street, and about the fatal shooting of resident Terrence Willis about a week later.

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Same-Sex Spouses Can Face Barriers On Health Care Under Federal Law

Kaiser Health News

Mike Bosia and Steven Obranovich, of Hardwick, Vt., were married three years ago after Vermont legalized same-sex marriage. As Bosia's spouse, Obranovich is entitled to health insurance through Bosia's employer, Saint Michael's College in Colchester. But that coverage comes at a cost. The couple estimates that they have had to pay $4,500 in additional federal income tax and filing-related expenses because the federal government is prohibited by the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) from recognizing same-sex marriages. Bosia, 51, has to pay that tax on the value of the health coverage he gets for Obranovich, 45.

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Sedatives Used for PTSD Treatment Despite Warnings

Military.com

Department of Veterans Affairs doctors are continuing to prescribe tranquilizers such as Valium and Xanax to veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder -- despite VA guidelines advising against their use for the condition. Almost a third of veterans being treated for PTSD are prescribed benzodiazepines, a class of sedatives commonly used to treat insomnia, anxiety, seizures and other conditions, according Dr. Nancy Bernardy, a clinical psychologist with the VA’s National Center for PTSD.

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Modesto Bee

Patricia Pinckney of Modesto has stayed clean for almost 90 days. As a result, child welfare officials allowed her two children, Noah and Lila, to see her at the Redwood Family Center. After the four-hour visit, and hugs and kisses were exchanged, the children went home with foster parents. The kids will start living with their mother at Redwood if she stays clean.

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Mendocino County awash in alcohol

PressDemocrat.com

There's no obvious “ground zero” for alcohol sales or consumption in Ukiah, no skid row scene replete with liquor stores and run down bars. In fact, the landscape of this rural Mendocino County hub looks, for the most part, pretty dry. And yet each convenience store, restaurant, pub, wine bar, gas station and pharmacy has led to a unique situation here: Mendocino County is drowning in alcohol.

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How Obamacare Will Distort the Health-Care Market

Bloomberg (Opinion)

President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats sold many Americans on the Affordable Care Act largely by emphasizing two arguments: The law would help to reduce overall health-care costs, and it would provide health insurance to those who, for financial or health reasons, cannot get it now. Unfortunately, both of these arguments are flawed. The law creates market distortions that will significantly raise premiums and costs for many Americans -- including some middle- income families. And there are less costly, less distortionary and less intrusive ways to address the problem of the uninsured.

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Army veteran, a UCLA student, teaches class on combat and military life

UCLA Newsroom

UCLA senior Andrew Nicholls served eight years in the U.S. Army, including a year in Iraq. Now, he's sharing his firsthand perspectives about the military and combat in a UCLA psychology course he's teaching this quarter called "Fast Cars and Battle Scars: Understanding the Modern Combat Veteran and PTSD." "We'll discuss the entire process, from who chooses to serve in the military, what it's like to be trained to kill somebody and how that affects you, to things that happen in combat, as well as military culture and civilian life when you leave the military," said Nicholls, a 29-year-old psychology major who will graduate in June. "I thought undergraduates who never served in the military should have some idea what it's like … so that as future voters and perhaps policymakers, they can think about veterans' issues in a more nuanced way."

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