Saturday, July 31, 2010
The Elizabeth Center for Cancer Detection in Los Angeles — one of the oldest cancer screening clinics in California — plans to shut down today after treating its last patients. The center is a victim of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decision to freeze enrollment in a cancer screening program for low-income women on Jan. 1 and pay for routine mammograms only for women after the age of 50. Those moves caused an abrupt drop in the Elizabeth Center’s patient load and revenues, which had already been strained as its costs exceeded what it was earning from the state. HealthyCal correspondent Megan Baier has the story.
Latino and African American children in Medicaid have high rates of tooth decay but visit dentists less often than children with private insurance, according to a new article in the journal Health Affairs. But the racial and ethnic disparities go beyond economic status. Latino and African American children with private insurance are less likely than white children to see a dentist, and they go longer between visits. And Latino and African American children in Medicaid are more likely than white children in Medicaid to go longer between trips to the dentist.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger caused a stir in the Capitol Monday when he told reporters he wouldn’t sign a budget that didn’t include long-term reforms, even if it means the state goes without a new spending plan until he leaves office in January.
The Obama Administration has rolled out new rules giving consumers the right to an independent appeal when a health insurance company denies their claim, a system similar to one that has been in place in California for many years.
Hundreds of California clinics that provide low-income women with free mammograms and cervical exams are fighting to stay open this summer because of changes in patient eligibility rules and a state budget that is already weeks late with no deal in sight. HealthyCal correspondent Megan Baier has the story.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office has just posted its non-partisan analyses of all of the propositions on the November ballot. If you read or listen to nothing else before the election, read these. They are always the single best place to get grounded on what the props would do and how much they would cost.
California’s Department of Public Health stepped up its warning about the spread of whooping cough today, urging more state residents to get the vaccine to protect against the disease known as pertussis.
California’s unemployment rate dropped a tick in June to 12.3 percent from 12.4 percent the month before, even as the state lost 27,000 jobs, most of them laid-off temporary census workers. The private sector added about 1,300 jobs, according to the Employment Development Department.
The city of El Monte is changing the health of its residents by changing the landscape. With the help of a nonprofit partner and 740 new trees, El Monte is creating an urban forest to remedy its unique environmental and health challenges.
A healthy lifestyle starts with healthy food choices, but for some people, finding healthy food can be a big challenge. See Dr. Ashby Wolfe’s latest blog post.
The CeaseFire program is bringing law enforcement, government and community leaders together to stop the cycle of gang violence by focusing intensely on the small number of individuals who are responsible for most of the violence. At-risk youth and ex-cons are surrounded by support and services to help them join mainstream society and abandon their violent ways. HealthyCal contributor Nik Bonovich has the story.
Sacramento’s Office of Youth Development — created as the only standalone city department dedicated to youth in the Sacramento region — has been folded into the city’s Parks Department to save money in tough economic times. But city officials and community members say they think the office can remain effective if it continues the kind of work that has been typical of its first three years in business.
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Veteran California journalist Daniel Weintraub follows public policy so you don’t have to. Weintraub tracks the latest on public health, land use, community development, violence and more. Read his updates here at least daily.
More about Daniel.
With an aging population and more people gaining insurance coverage thanks to the federal health reform, California might face a shortage of primary care doctors to serve all those who need care. While the number of doctors in the state has kept pace with population in recent years, the number of graduates from California’s eight medical schools has remained relatively flat over the last 15 years, in spite of the 20 percent growth in population.
The University of California, which operates five of the programs, has announced plans to expand enrollment in existing programs in addition to opening two new medical schools.
See a report on the issue from the California Healthcare Foundation here.
Issues
First rule of weight loss: strive to be a better person, not a thinner one
By Ronald Fong, M.D., M.P.H.For reasons that are unclear to me, program coordinators at UC Davis frequently invite me to discuss patient weight management with students and residents at the medical school. I suspect that I am the default candidate since I staff our department’s weight management clinic and I have completed a few marathons. I offer no published expertise, fool-proof regimen or magical elixir to drop pounds. Rather, I share books of personal interest, observations, and perspectives on well-being as opposed to strategies for weight loss.
Will Hiring Ever Return in California?
By Michael BernickIn almost every recession, experts and laypeople alike begin to think that California is undergoing a fundamental structural shift that will mean a permanent loss of jobs. It looks as if employment growth will never come again. Until it does.
On budget, time is not on our side
By David QuackenbushCalifornia has one week. If the state budget is not passed by the constitutional deadline of June 15, health care providers like us will soon begin to experience a delay in payments. This will make things difficult on the clinics and potentially devastating for the fragile population that depends on our services.
An army of the involuntarily under-employed
By Michael BernickThe number of unemployed in California, the rate of unemployment, the average duration of employment: all of these indicators have risen dramatically since 2007. However, there is a less-known job indicator that also has risen dramatically and may have more to do with stalling a job recovery in California than any other: the number of workers involuntarily working part-time.