[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Clean Air Advocates and Janitors’ Union Urge State to Reduce Toxics and Smog-Forming Emissions from Cleaning Products

By Luis Cabrales
Senior Campaign Associate
Coalition for Clean Air

The products used to clean your home and safeguard your family may be causing harm to your health and the environment. Consumer products, including cleaning products, are expected to be the largest source of smog-forming emissions in the state by 2020surpassing cars! Many of these products contain high concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which contribute to California’s poor air quality and are associated with cancer-causing chemicals.

What’s stored below our kitchen sinks can make us sick and pollute the air. California should be the first state to take the leap forward to eliminate toxics and smog-forming chemicals that we use to clean our homes.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Hanh Kim Quach
Health Care Policy Coordinator
Health Access California

The Senate budget subcommittee that oversees the state's health budget voted to eliminate funding that would have implemented the California Discount Prescription Drug Program. By eliminating the $5.8 million in funding for this program, the work that state officials have done the past two years in negotiating lower rates will go to waste.

As many may recall, health advocates went through a bruising battle against Big PhRMA in 2005 ($80 million spent against us) on the ballot, and then won a year later when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the bill and even had a fancy signing ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda.

The discount drug program would have allowed the state to negotiate discounted drug prices from pharmaceutical company, helping approximately 5.4 million uninsured families -- the people who now pay FULL PRICE for prescription drugs -- buy drugs at fairer prices. If drug companies did not give satisfactory discounts, then the state could have used the purchasing power of Medi-Cal to leverage lower prices.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

• Many health-related bills pass policy committee, head to fiscal committee
• Next steps: Deadline to pass Appropriations is May 23rd
• Deadline to pass full floor vote in the house of origin is May 30th

By Anthony Wright
Executive Director of Health Access California

For those who follow legislation, last week was the deadline for bills that were introduced this year to pass policy committee, in order to move forward in the process this year.

Many bills cleared this hurdle, but some didn't: for example, a bill opposed by consumer advocates to license so-called "discount" health cards died in Senate Health Committee. Other bills passed, but many have a more uncertain fate in Appropriations, where they will be evaluated for their fiscal impact on the state. If they pass that significant hurdle, then they will be considered for a full floor vote in either the Assembly or Senate by the end of May.

BELOW is a list of health consumer bills--it will be updated on the Health Access California website as the session continues.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Hanh Kim Quach
Health Care Policy Coordinator
Health Access California

Kudos to Prof. Tony Sheppard at CSUS, whose careful reading of the newspaper leads us to this story about McCain's recent doctor's visit and cancer screening.

The offending comment:

"Like most Americans, I go see my doctor fairly frequently."

Of course, he can. As a member of Congress, he has access to fancy health coverage through the federal government, which pools together millions of federal workers and provides a really impressive array of options.

For health advocates, though, this off-the-cuff comment belies a deeper concern: Sen. McCain's lack of empathy and understanding for what Americans face is startlingly scary. Because he believes that most have "fairly frequent'' access to the doctor, he sees nothing wrong with his health proposal, a scheme that would cause more people to have worse coverage and bear increasing costs to stay healthy and productive.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

• Reform efforts continue in 2008 on individual market reform and transparency
• Consumer protection measures focus on balance billing and rescissions
• Health advocates oppose bills to lower coverage standards

By Anthony Wright
Executive Director of Health Access California

Undaunted by last year's failure to pass comprehensive health reform legislation , health advocates statewide are forging ahead on a three-year effort to win universal health coverage in California.

A number of bills have been introduced this year, which attempt to address various aspects of the health care market, and build upon last year's momentum and policy discussions. Many of the topics will be familiar to advocates who have worked on reform. In fact, many of the ideas being pushed this year were present -- in some form -- in ABx1 1 (Nunez). Those ideas include the disclosure of cost and quality data by health providers, a statewide public insurer to compete with private plans, and the organization of the individual insurance market into tiers and an ultimate ban on "junk" insurance.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Emily Clayton

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Vegetable and fruit growers in California may be getting a windfallto the tune of several billion dollars from the US farm bill, reportsthe San Francisco Chronicle. However, costly subsidies to other crops,such as corn, wheat, and cotton would continue. A wide rangingcoalition of environmentalists, health advocates, and even somesubsidized farmers are clamoring for reform, but it’s uncertain whetherthe bill will deliver it.

Calitics has more to say about the farm bill, noting in particular that massive corn subsidies are neither financially or agriculturally very smart.