By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Senator Ricardo Lara and Toni Atkins, authors of Healthy California Act.

June 4, 2017 Sacramento) – Both houses of California’s Legislature have passed a landmark bill  called the “Healthy California Act”  to create a single-payer, universal healthcare system and eliminate private insurance companies  from covering anything covered by the state plan, which is broad.   

If enacted  the measure coauthored by Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) would  cover all Californians, with no premiums, copays or deductibles, for all medical, dental, vision care, mental health and chiropractic services.   

But Senate bill 352 must go back to the Assembly to remedy a major flaw: the bill was advanced without details on how to pay for it, in order to meet legislative deadlines, and contains a clause that without the Secretary of Health and Human Services determining that a new Healthy California Trust Fund has sufficient revenues to fund the bill’s costs,  it will not become law.  

By Jose A. Alvarez, County of San Diego Communications Office

Video by James Kecskes

May 30, 2017 (San Diego's East County) - More than one-third of local fifth, seventh and ninth graders in public schools are overweight or obese.

This the key finding in the 2016 State of Childhood Obesity report released today by the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative, a public-private partnership tasked with reducing and preventing childhood obesity in the region.

By Miriam Raftery

May 25, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – House Republicans passed repeal of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and  passage of their own American Health Care Act (Trumpcare) without waiting for a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Now the CBO’s report is published—and shows mostly negative consequences of the Republican plan now before the Senate. 

May 23, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting-edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Growing an entire baby from skin cells could happen in a decade, scientists say (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Many Canned Foods Still Contain Toxic Chemical  (KPBS)
• From A Millennial to Her Peers: Want to Help the Underserved? Sign Up for Insurance (NPR)
• Gene therapy completely heals severe bone fractures in animal study (San Diego Union-Tribune)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Top hacker conference to target voting machines (Politico)
• Cities need 'hedges as well as trees' for environment (BBC)
• London City Airport's flights to be controlled from 70 miles away  (Reuters)
• Anti-drone fence used in Guernsey prison (BBC)
• Do humans come with a built-in sense of obligation to one another? (CS Monitor)
• 2017 Whitley Gold Award winner: 'Fish loved me but people didn't' (BBC)
• Fossils cast doubt on human lineage originating in Africa (Reuters)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

Source: American Psychiatric Association

Photo: Hurricane Katrina damage

May 21, 2017 (San Diego) – Adolescents exposed to natural and environmental disasters show higher levels of alcohol misuse and emotional trauma than their peers, according to new research presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in San Diego. The findings indicate the importance of mental health services for youth that have experienced emotional trauma.

May 18, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting-edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• The painful truth about teeth (Washington Post)
• Heroin Epidemic Is Driving a Spike in Hepatitis C Cases, CDC Says (NPR)
• Plant chemicals hope for 'alternative contraceptives' (BBC)
• How to Do a Really Good Job Washing Your Hands (NPR)
• Doctors Who Are Moms Say They Face Discrimination at Work (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Global ‘Wana’ Ransomware Outbreak Earned Perpetrators $26,000 So Far (Krebs)
• Iguana chase wins Bafta for Planet Earth II (BBC)
• Tesla begins taking orders for its solar roof (CNN)
• Could these mini reactors replicate the power of the Sun? (BBC)
• It might be time to say goodbye to the MP3 - so let's look back at its life (BBC)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

May 18, 2017 (San Diego) -- Did you know that one in five adults in the U.S. lives with a mental health condition? Did you know one in 25 adults in the country lives with a serious mental illness?

Lakeside resident Dave Thomas among honorees feted for overcoming life-altering injuries

East County News Service

May 17, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – Lakeside resident Dave Thomas will be among those honored at the 2017 “Victories of Spirit” event celebrating the power of rehabilitation and the strength of the human spirit.  The 27^th annual celebration held by Sharp Rehabilitation and Sharp HealthCare Foundation  will begin at 6 p.m., Friday, May 19, at the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego.  The title sponsor is United Healthcare. The event will honor the power of rehabilitation and pay tribute to extraordinary individuals and community organizations for their inspirational achievements and contributions to others.

By Miriam Raftery

May 14, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) - You’ve heard of Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Rabbit Fever—all diseases spread by ticks, and all have spread to our region after first starting elsewhere in the country.  But now there’s a tick-borne illness that’s much deadlier than those ailments.  It’s called Powassan, or Pow for short.

East County News Service

May 11, 2017 (Spring Valley) -- Mothers across the country are telling their personal stories of drug war damage with stories, articles and interviews in honor of Mother’s Day. By sharing these powerful stories of losing loved ones to drug-prohibition-related violence, incarceration, overdose and addiction, they are bringing focus to what they believe is a need to reform our nation’s drug policies.  The effort is being led by Gretchen Burns Bergman of San Diego, whose two sons have struggled with addiction.

East County News Service

May 10, 2017 (La Mesa) - The volunteer citizens group monitoring the spending of millions of dollars in public funds for new and improved patient care facilities at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa has a new member. Lindsey Ryan, the hospital’s Manager of Nursing Education and Professional Development, has joined the Independent Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee (ICBOC).

East County News Service

Photo via Mike Mozart on Flickr

May 6, 2017 (San Diego's East County) - A New Jersey company is recalling Aunt Jemima frozen pancakes, waffles and French toast due to a listeria contamination.

Pinnacle Foods issued the recall Friday night.  It affects products distributed in the United States and Mexico, but does not include dry mixes and syrups.

Hunter and Issa cast deciding votes

By Liz Alper

May 5, 2017 (Washington D.C.) - On Monday, ECM reported that a bill that could repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, was heading to a rushed vote in the House on Thursday.  That bill, the American Healthcare Act, passed yesterday narrowly.

The bill passed by a four-vote margin with San Diego Republicans Duncan Hunter and Darrell Issa both voting in favor. Had they voted against, the vote would have been tied and the measure would not have passed.

By Miriam Raftery

May 3, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – House Republican leadership is pushing for a rushed vote on a revised proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare and replace it – without bothering to wait for a nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis. But the American Medical Association (AMA), the nation’s largest doctors’ organization, has sent a Tweet warning patients to contact their representatives and urge a no vote.

By Miriam Raftery

April 30, 2017 (Sacramento) – The state Senate Health Committee has approved 5-2 a bill that would provide free healthcare to all Californians, including medical, dental, vision, mental health, chiropractic, emergency and nursing home care.