State Highlights: Vaccine Referendum Effort Fails In Calif.; New Questions On Iowa Medicaid Changes
News outlets report on health care issues in California, Iowa, Massachusetts and New Jersey.
The San Jose Mercury News:
California Vaccine Law: Opponents' Repeal Effort Fails, But Fight Goes On
The fight to repeal California's controversial new mandatory vaccine law officially ended this week before it even got to the ballot box, as opponents on Wednesday conceded an ill-fated petition drive fell woefully short on signatures. But while the latest setback is forcing one of the state's most vocal and embittered activist groups to acknowledge an organizational breakdown and lack of resources, parents and politicians behind the cause refuse to give up the larger battle: overturning -- or, at least, weakening -- a law they say violates their parental rights. (Seipel, 10/7)
Des Moines Register:
Testimony Calls Into Question Medicaid Savings Estimate
The $51 million in savings that Iowa has cited as a key reason to privatize its Medicaid program is a midpoint of wide-ranging estimates from unidentified experts, some of whom predict no savings, a state official has acknowledged in court testimony. In addition, a check by the Register with two other states that have privatized their Medicaid programs found that savings were elusive. (Clayworth, 10/7)
NPR:
Despite Sweeping Death-With-Dignity Law, Few Will Have That Option
The death-with-dignity movement took a giant step forward this week, with 38 million people coming under its umbrella in a single swoop when California Gov. Jerry Brown signed the End of Life Option Act on Monday. But the law still leaves out a wide range of people who might want to be covered: people with progressive debilitating diseases that don't have an obvious six-months-to-live prognosis and people with dementia, the fastest-growing health threat in the U.S. That's also true of similar laws in Oregon, Washington, Montana and Vermont. (Henig, 10/7)
NPR:
Reversing Opioid Overdoses Saves Lives But Isn't A Cure-All
With overdoses from heroin and opioid painkillers a leading cause of accidental deaths in the U.S., people on the front lines of the opioid battle are increasingly turning to Narcan [a drug that can reverse the overdose] (also known as naloxone) to save lives. In many cities, police, school nurses, and family and friends of drug users, as well as drug users themselves, commonly carry Narcan now. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the use of naloxone kits by laypeople reversed at least 26,463 overdoses between 1996 and June 2014. But being saved in the short run from an overdose is no guarantee that someone will stop using drugs. (Becker, 10/7)
The Associated Press:
Getting Clean: Heroin Addict Goes Through Pioneering Program
Kylee Moriarty has experienced her share of ups and downs since deciding to kick her heroin habit this past summer. The 26-year-old's journey started in early July when she showed up, beaten and gaunt, at the police station in Gloucester, Massachusetts, looking to take advantage of the department's pioneering policy of connecting addicts with treatment rather than throwing them in jail. ... the department had drawn attention for offering heroin addicts a radical proposition: Commit to getting clean and police will fast-track you into treatment, no questions asked. The program, which by now has been replicated in a number of other cities, has placed more than 200 addicts into treatment. (Marcelo, 10/8)
California Healthline:
Parents Of Developmentally Disabled At Regional Centers Get A Fiscal Break
The cost of 24-hour out-of-home care through the state's regional centers for children with developmental disabilities will drop for some parents in California. Gov. Jerry Brown (D) this week signed into law AB 564 by Assembly member Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton). The new law raises the threshold for paying a parental fee for those families with a child in 24-hour out-of-home care through the regional centers, so that families earning between 100% and 200% of federal poverty level can now be exempted from the fee. (Gorn, 10/7)
The Associated Press:
New Jersey Agency: Nurse Giving Flu Shots Reused Syringes
A nurse administering flu shots to dozens of employees of a pharmaceutical company reused syringes, the state Department of Health said Wednesday. There is a low risk of infection and syringes that hold the vaccine, not needles, were reused, they said. But state and local health officials, as well as the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are recommending testing for hepatitis B and C and HIV, which can spread via blood. (10/7)