KHN Weekly Edition: July 2, 2021

Unprecedented Lobbying Effort Scores Big Win for California Public Health
By Angela Hart After years of unstable funding, California’s 2022-23 budget will include a dramatic new investment in public health. Insiders say a powerhouse lobbying campaign made all the difference.

California Lawmakers Push Feds to Allow a Therapy That Pays Meth Users to Abstain
By Mark Kreidler The approach, known as contingency management, has helped thousands of veterans kick the methedrine habit, but a federal government ruling has limited its use. California hopes to challenge that and make the treatment a Medi-Cal benefit.

Hospital Prices Must Now Be Transparent. For Many Consumers, They’re Still Anyone’s Guess.
By Julie Appleby A Trump administration rule mandating that hospitals disclose true prices on their websites took effect this year. But compliance is spotty and even when the data is public, it’s hard to find and understand.

How One Rural Town Without a Pharmacy Is Crowdsourcing to Get Meds
By Markian Hawryluk As more independently owned community pharmacies close, a Colorado town is crowdsourcing ways of getting prescription medicines delivered to those who can’t travel the long distance to the closest pharmacy. But even those stopgap measures don’t always work.

Damage to Children’s Education — And Their Health — Could Last a Lifetime
By Liz Szabo Black and Hispanic students have lost up to 12 months of learning, which could lead to lower incomes and shorter, sicker lives.

Desperate for Home Care, Seniors Often Wait Months With Workers in Short Supply
By Phil Galewitz The covid pandemic and President Joe Biden's agenda — a planned $400 billion infusion of support — have focused national attention on the need to expand home- and community-based long-term care services designed to keep people out of nursing homes. But the need far outpaces the staffing.

States Step Up Push to Regulate Pharmacy Drug Brokers
By Katheryn Houghton In an ongoing effort to control prescription drug costs, states are targeting the companies that mediate deals among drug manufacturers, health insurers and pharmacies. The pharmacy benefit managers say they negotiate lower prices for patients, yet the nitty-gritty occurs largely behind a curtain that lawmakers are trying to pull back.

Without Enough Boots on the Ground, California’s Vaccination Efforts Falter
By Angela Hart California’s vaccination rates have stagnated, particularly in Black and Latino inner-city neighborhoods and in rural towns. County health officials, who say trust is their most important commodity, need more money for one-on-one interactions with holdouts, but the state has instead largely funneled money to advertising firms and tech companies.

Analysis: Why We’ll Likely Never Know Whether a Covid Lab Leak Happened in China
By Elisabeth Rosenthal If international scientific sleuths are hoping to see a lab log or find a whistleblower, that sort of information won’t be revealed. In China today, it is dangerous to say what you know if it challenges the official government narrative.

Covid’s Lingering Effects Can Put the Brakes on Elective Surgeries
By Michelle Andrews Even after recovering from covid, many patients experience respiratory or other problems and, since this effect of the virus is so unpredictable, medical experts aren't sure when it is safe to undergo elective surgery. But medical experts are setting up guidelines.

Doctors’ Lobby Scores ‘Major Victory’ on Bill to Hold Physicians Accountable
By Samantha Young Patients and some lawmakers have long blasted the Medical Board of California for failing to discipline negligent or abusive physicians. But the politically powerful California Medical Association, which represents doctors, has mobilized against the latest attempt to give the board more money and power to investigate complaints.

A Hospital Charged $722.50 to Push Medicine Through an IV. Twice.
By Rae Ellen Bichell A college student never got an answer for what caused her intense pain, but she did get a bill that totaled $18,736 for an ER visit. She and her mom, a nurse practitioner, fought to understand all the charges.

Children and Covid: Journalists Explore Grief and Vaccine Side Effects
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Un-Trumping the ACA
The Biden administration is moving to undo many of the changes the Trump administration made to the enrollment process for the Affordable Care Act to encourage more people to sign up for health insurance. Meanwhile, Congress is opening investigations into the controversial approval by the Food and Drug Administration of an expensive drug that might (or might not) slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of Insider and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews Marshall Allen of ProPublica about his new book, “Never Pay the First Bill: And Other Ways to Fight the Health Care System and Win.”