In a bold strategy to drive down prescription drug prices, Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing that California become the first state in the nation to establish its own generic drug label, making those medications available at an affordable price to the state’s 40 million residents. The proposal, part of the new state budget Newsom sent […]
healthcare
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UPDATE: Covered California Has Extended Deadline to Friday, Officials Say New Subsidies and Eligibility Requirements Are Available
UPDATE: The state has extended the deadline to sign up and receive Covered California coverage beginning Jan. 1 until Friday due to a surge in enrollment. According to a press release, “Covered California saw tens of thousands of people sign up for coverage” beginning late last week. “Open enrollment is full-steam ahead, and this year’s […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
The (Single-Payer) Elephant in the Room
There’s the ancient Buddhist story about blind men describing an elephant. One grasps the tail: “An elephant is like a rope.” One has an ear: “An elephant is flat and floppy.” Another, a leg: “An elephant is like a tree trunk.” These isolated conclusions do not describe an elephant. This has relevance to what people […]
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St. Joseph Hospital Donates $2 Million to Jumpstart HSU’s New Nursing Program
Humboldt State University is bringing back its nursing program and St. Joseph Hospital has a committed a $2 million grant to help implement and sustain the new partnership between the College of the Redwoods and HSU. The program is hoped to help address health care shortages and “keep quality healthcare close to home” by allowing […]
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Open Door Officially Opens in Fortuna
Open Door Community Health Centers officially added a new facility to its already formidable collection Oct. 26, when officials cut the ribbon on its new state-of-the-art health center in Fortuna. The event, which drew North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman and Second District Humboldt County Supervisor Estelle Fennell, among other notables, marked the official opening of […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
A Real Answer to the Single-Payer Debate
We pay taxes and local fees for water, sewage, garbage and protection, for essential services and infrastructure — an expected, rational cost for the common good. But there is one area of overlooked expense, one fraught with irrationality and inequity; namely, the literally millions of our local dollars going to buy health plans, including some […]
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Huffman, Humboldt Residents, Decry House Passage of ‘TrumpCare’
Shortly after H.R. 1628 passed by a narrow margin in the House of Representatives, Rep. Jared Huffman’s office fired off a press release denouncing the passage of “TrumpCare” as a “disaster.” The bill, which includes an amendment that may remove coverage for patients with pre-existing conditions, can still be altered significantly in the Senate. Huffman […]
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Blind, Sick, Alone
Local law firm Janssen Malloy, LLC, which recently filed two complaints alleginglleging patient neglect and abuse against local skilled nursing facilities, has added another case to its slate, accusing Eureka Rehabilitation and Wellness Center of dumping a dependent adult in a hotel room without proper medical care in October of 2016. The man, who was […]
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Huffman Celebrates Failure of TrumpCare
Rep. Jared Huffman issued a press release this afternoon in response to the failure of Republicans to bring the so-called “TrumpCare” bill to a vote. President Donald Trump, who ran on a platform of repealing the Affordable Care Act, indicated today that he would consider drafting a new bill once the ACA “explodes.” The Republican […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
A Singular Solution
The reason Republicans haven’t come up with a credible plan to replace Obamacare over the last seven years is because they’ve never thought it was important for all Americans to have access to health care. “Replace” was only recently tacked onto their dogged, unthinking attempts to repeal when they realized that taking away health insurance […]
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UPDATE: Local Palliative Care Outfit Launches Pilot Program
UPDATE: ResolutionCare has launched its education portion, Project ECHO, in a nine-month pilot program, also in conjunction with Partnership HealthPlan of California. Project ECHO uses a hub and spoke model to ” demonopolizes the scarce resource of a palliative care team,” according to a press release (see the illustration below, and read more about it here.) […]