Posts Tagged: drugs

Opinion

Guide helps voters navigate the election labyrinth

An election-season shirt and tag. (Photo: IQConcept,via Shutterstock)

OPINION: It’s been called the most important election in our lifetimes. Indeed, the 2016 election will go down in history as truly unusual and at times, unpredictable. Here in California, voters have taken note, with registrations hitting a record high. But this year, the nearly 18 million California voters heading to the polls in November will face the most complex and expensive statewide election in decades.

News

Voters turn attention to drug costs

A handful of prescription medication. (Photo: vepar5, Shutterstock)

Californians face one of the highest-stakes ballots ever on Nov. 8, including fierce and expensive campaigns involving sex, guns, and drugs. Especially drugs.

Opinion

A prisoner’s plea: Invest in education

Sunlight streaming through the bars of a prison cell. (Photo: nobeastsofierce, Shutterstock)

OPINION: I am a 50-year-old man who has spent 39 years of my life behind bars. Millions of taxpayer dollars were spent to incarcerate me in juvenile camps and the state’s prison system, where I was given a life sentence for murder. Life could have turned out differently for me, if I had the guidance and support I needed as a child who took to the streets to escape family dysfunction and abuse.

Opinion

Costly drugs or access to health care: Should we really have to choose?

A physician flanked by the California flag. (Illustration: Niyazz, via Shutterstock).

OPINION: Prices for prescription drugs are rising precipitously, seriously threatening public and private healthcare budgets, and creating barriers preventing patients from accessing needed therapies. Pharmaceuticals now account for 19 percent of employer spending and Medicare spending on healthcare and, with a slew of approvals of new $100,000+ medications, there is no relief in sight.

Opinion

Drug problem at the root of crime

A photo illustration of the temptation of drug use. (Photo: David Orcea, Shutterstock)

OPINION: As a public safety officer for nearly 20 years, I am often asked what I believe is an effective way to suppress crime in our nation. The answer is simple: Solve our drug problem. And while many envision street drugs as the problem, the misuse of prescription drugs is a huge crisis with no bias toward any community in this state. Prescription opioid abuse is estimated to cost the United States about $56 billion annually due to health costs, criminal justice costs and lost productivity.

News

Trial looms in shooting case linked to Senate sergeant

A drug- and alcohol-fueled gun battle that left one man dead at the suburban Sacramento residence of a legislative security officer has shed light on the unusual power of a longtime Senate employee and ended the career of the Senate’s chief sergeant at arms. Two suspects in the robbery, kidnapping and ensuing gun play during the early morning hours of Dec. 22, 2012, stand trial on Wednesday in Sacramento County Superior Court.

Opinion

Insurers’ ‘specialty tiers’ imperil health care

OPINION: Rather than paying a fixed copayment, Californians whose medications are placed on specialty tiers are often forced to pay coinsurance – or a percentage of the total cost of the drugs – which can mean hundreds or even thousands of dollars per month in out-of-pocket costs for a single medication.

News

Legal loophole hurts chronically ill patients

Health care cost containment is a critical issue facing every participant in the health care system. Efforts to contain costs, however, appear to have given rise to dangerous financial arrangements between health insurers and pharmacists that may be jeopardizing the health of California patients.

 

A loophole in California law allows your health insurer to

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