California’s Proposal For Universal Health Care Collapses

Politico: Push To Create Universal Health Care In California Gets Scrapped In Committee
A bill to make California the first state to create universal health care through a single-payer system was shot down Thursday during a state Assembly appropriations hearing. The proposal, Assembly Bill 2200 from Bay Area Democrat Ash Kalra, would have established CalCare, a state-run insurance system for all residents without premiums, deductibles or copays. (Lynch, 5/16)

NBC News: California Bill That Aimed To Combat Tween Skin Care Overuse Fails To Move Forward
A bill in California that aimed to ban the sale of anti-aging skin products to kids under 13 failed to advance in the state Assembly on Thursday after it was brought forward at an Appropriations Committee meeting. Democratic Assemblymember Alex Lee introduced AB 2491 last month to combat the controversial skin care craze influencing young children online. (Yang and Griffin, 5/16)

San Francisco Chronicle: SF Homelessness Rises Despite City Spending More
Despite a massive increase in homelessness funding, San Francisco saw a 7% surge in its unhoused population over the past two years, reversing the gains shown in its last count, according to preliminary data from a one-night snapshot released Thursday. The city counted 8,328 unhoused people across the city, which was up from 7,754 in 2022. Unsheltered homelessness, which includes people living in tents, on sidewalks and in vehicles, dipped 1%, according to city estimates. (Angst, 5/16)

In other news from across the country —

WUSF: The VA Adds A Veterans Health Clinic In An East Tampa Neighborhood
A new satellite clinic run by the Department of Veteran Affairs in East Tampa is open for veterans to get primary care, mental health support and other services. It’s part of a growing partnership between the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense. (Colombini, 5/16)

Chicago Tribune: More Health Care Facilities Would Have To Report Abuse Under New Bill
Doctors’ offices and clinics affiliated with hospitals would have to report allegations of patient abuse to the state health department under a measure introduced by Illinois lawmakers this week — legislation that comes about three months after a Chicago Tribune investigation examined the issue. (Hoerner, 5/16)

USA Today: CDC Looks To Treat US Suicides. People Find Salvation In NYC Clubhouse
Samantha Alexander calls Manhattan's Fountain House her “earthly salvation.” Months ago, while living in a midtown homeless shelter, she attempted to take her own life. Despite being assigned male at birth, she'd known since she was young that she was female. She'd experienced chronic depression since childhood, and had tried various medications to treat it, she said. After her attempt, she agreed to go with a friend to the Fountain House, a mental health nonprofit around the corner from the shelter. (Cuevas, 5/16)

Concord Monitor: NH Senate Votes Down Medical Aid In Dying Proposal
The New Hampshire Senate voted down a bill on Thursday that would have allowed medical aid in dying, taking away the opportunity for terminally ill individuals to end their suffering through self-administered medication. (Gopalakrishnan, 5/16)

St. Louis Public Radio: Pharmacists, Patients Say Express Scripts Limits Access To Meds
Pharmacists and patient rights advocates plan to protest Express Scripts’ business practices Friday outside the company’s headquarters in north St. Louis County. They claim the company’s negotiating tactics result in decreased availability of medicines and higher prices for consumers. (Fentem, 5/17)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: BJC, Encompass Open Rehab Hospital In West St. Louis County
Patients ready to be discharged from the hospital but not quite well enough to return home may sometimes wait for an available room at a rehabilitation facility. That means they are not only holding up a hospital bed for someone who might need it, but also not getting the intensive therapy they need. The opening this month of a 40-bed inpatient rehabilitation facility, The Rehabilitation Institute of St. Louis-West County, hopes to alleviate any wait. (Munz, 5/16)

The Boston Globe: Cape Cod Hospital To Pay $24.4 Million For Medicare Billing Issues
Cape Cod Hospital has agreed to pay the federal government nearly $24.4 million to resolve allegations that it knowingly submitted Medicare claims that failed to comply with billing requirements. A Department of Justice investigation found that cardiac surgeons at the hospital did not sufficiently document patient evaluations for transcatheter aortic valve replacements, known as TAVR, required for Medicare reimbursement. Richard Zelman, a former cardiologist at the hospital who first called attention to the lapses in a 2022 lawsuit against the hospital, will receive nearly $4.4 million of the civil settlement for his whistleblower role. (Johnston, 5/16)

Reuters: Parent Sues Weighted Sleep Sack Company Amid Dispute Over Product Safety
A company that sells weighted sleep sacks for babies was hit with a proposed class action in Massachusetts federal court, amid controversy over whether the products are safe. Los Angeles mother Roz Saedi filed the lawsuit on Wednesday against Nested Bean, accusing the company of selling millions of the sleep sacks while knowing that weighted products are unsafe for babies. Saedi said she used the sack with her baby twice and had concerns the baby was struggling to breathe while wearing it. (Novak Jones, 5/16)

Also —

KFF Health News: Clean Needles Save Lives. In Some States, They Might Not Be Legal
Kim Botteicher hardly thinks of herself as a criminal. On the main floor of a former Catholic church in Bolivar, Pennsylvania, Botteicher runs a flower shop and cafe. In the former church’s basement, she also operates a nonprofit organization focused on helping people caught up in the drug epidemic get back on their feet. (Mahon and Boden, 5/17)