On Tuesday, California State Auditor Elaine Howle released the audit report, “Department of Health Care Services: It Has Not Ensured That Medi-Cal Beneficiaries in Some Rural Counties Have Reasonable Access to Care.” The audit came at the request of Senator Jim Nielsen and was approved by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee in August 2018. The…
Read More »This month’s edition of Vital Signs from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) details access to naloxone, the life-saving medication used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Specifically, the report examines naloxone access from pharmacists and other healthcare providers without a prescription under a standing order. Naloxone dispensing has increased…
Read More »The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) recently released a report, “Local Health Department Approaches to Opioid Use Prevention and Response: An Environmental Scan.” The report examines the critical role of LHDs in opioid use disorder-related programming and services throughout the country. By surveying nearly 200 LHDs, the report creates a foundational…
Read More »The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) recently published the report, “Criteria for Selecting the Leading Health Indicators (LHIs) for Healthy People 2030.” The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health has charged NASEM to convene an ad hoc committee to assist in the development of…
Read More »On Thursday, the California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) released a preliminary version of its “California Spending Plan” report which summarizes the annual state budget. The publication details the 2019-20 Budget Act and its significant features approved by the Legislature and signed by the Governor through July 16, 2019. Later this fall, the LAO will release…
Read More »New provisional data released on Wednesday from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate an approximate five percent drop in total drug overdose deaths in 2018, the first decline in deaths since 1990. While the figures are subject to slight adjustments based on the finalization of data from the CDC, federal public…
Read More »The Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) this week released an issue brief as part of its continuation of Pain in the Nation: The Drug, Alcohol, and Suicide Crises series. In 2017, more than 152,000 Americans died from alcohol- and drug-induced fatalities and suicide, the highest number ever recoded and more than twice as many as…
Read More »This month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vital Signs publication examined pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. According to the CDC, about 700 women die each year from complications of pregnancy, finding that about a third of deaths occurred during pregnancy, a third occurred at delivery or in the week after, and…
Read More »On Wednesday, the California Budget and Policy Center (CBPC) released a brief, “Strategies to Improve Maternal Mental Health in California.” The brief examines the impact of untreated maternal mental health conditions on short- and long-term maternal and child health outcomes, including significant medical and economic costs. CBPC finds mothers of color and mothers with lower…
Read More »Health Affairs this week published two health policy briefs as part of its ongoing series, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, on the social determinants of health. The briefs are intended to provide readers with a comprehensive examination of evidence, research, and potential policy interventions that are fundamental to advancing a culture of health….
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