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What you need to know about the drug price fight in those TV ads

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:08 GMT

Arthur Allen | (TNS) KFF Health NewsIn recent months ominous ads about prescription drugs have flooded the TV airwaves. Perhaps by design, it’s not always clear who’s sponsoring the ads or why.Or, for that matter, why now?The short answer is that Congress is paying attention. House and Senate members from both parties have launched at least nine bills, parts of which may be packaged together this fall, that take aim at pharmacy benefit managers, companies that channel prescription drugs to patients. Here’s a primer to help you decipher what’s happening.What are pharmacy benefit managers?Known as PBMs, these companies were created in the 1960s to help employers and insurers select and purchase medications for their health plans. The industry mushroomed as prescription drug spending grew about 200-fold between 1967 and 2021. In addition to negotiating discounts with manufacturers, the PBMs set payment terms for the pharmacies that buy and dispense the drugs to patients. In effect, the...

Man’s hand partial amputated after hit by boat propeller on Lake Barryessa

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:08 GMT

By Victoria Franco | Bay City NewsA 39-year-old man had part of his hand amputated and suffered major injuries Sunday afternoon after falling off a boat and being struck by the vessel’s propeller at Lake Berryessa, according to the Napa County Sheriff’s Office.The accident was reported about 12:48 p.m. and a deputy found the Richmond man suffering major lacerations on his hand and wrist and applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding, the sheriff’s office said.The man was not wearing a life jacket, but family members were able to pull him back up to the boat, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said.The victim, who had been riding on the front of the bow before he fell into the water, was airlifted to a hospital in Vacaville for surgery.The Napa County Sheriff’s Office is reminding the public that riding on the bow, or forward part of a boat, is not allowed due to safety concerns.Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication,...

West Edge mounts groundbreaking ‘mariachi opera’ in Oakland

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:08 GMT

Throughout his career in opera, baritone Efraín Solís has sung a long list of works steeped in anguish. But he admits that his latest assignment, singing the role of Laurentino in “Cruzar la Cara de la Luna,” moves him in a uniquely personal way.“I feel the responsibility of this character,” Solís explained in a recent interview. “I really want to respect his history, who he represents. Both of my grandfathers have passed away, but I feel them a lot when I’m singing this piece — the weight of them, and the immense responsibility that comes with telling this story.”The opera, by composer Jose “Pepe” Martinez and librettist Leonard Foglia, considers issues of immigration, memory and legacy in what has been called “the first mariachi opera.” Translated, the title is “To Cross the Face of the Moon.”With Solís in the role of family patriarch Laurentino, this groundbreaking work makes its Bay Area premiere at West Edge Opera on July 23, directed by Karina Gutierrez and featuring the...

County agency buys San Jose senior citizens affordable housing complex

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:08 GMT

SAN JOSE — A South Bay government agency has bought another San Jose senior citizens affordable housing complex that had been seized by federal officials through the foreclosure of a delinquent mortgage.The Santa Clara County Housing Authority has purchased the Jardines Paloma Blanca housing complex at 132 North Jackson Avenue in San Jose, documents filed on July 19 with the county real estate officials show.The housing agency paid $2.65 million for the Jardines Paloma Blanca complex, according to the documents filed with the County Recorder’s Office.The U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department sold the 43-unit residential complex to the County Housing Authority after it had foreclosed on a real estate loan it had issued to the prior owner of the complex.This marked the second time within a week that HUD foreclosed on a mortgage for a senior citizens housing center and then promptly sold the complex to the County Housing Authority.On July 13, the county agency paid ...

Relentless, record-breaking heat continues to bake Phoenix

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:08 GMT

By Seth Borenstein and Anita Snow | Associated PressPHOENIX — Phoenix’s streak of dangerously hot days was poised to smash a record for major U.S. cities on Tuesday, the 19th straight day the temperature in the desert city was to soar to 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 C) or more.The nights have offered little relief from the brutal heat. Phoenix’s overnight low only dropped to 94 F (34.4 C) on Tuesday, the ninth straight day of temperatures not falling below 90 F (32.2 C), another record.It’s “pretty miserable when you don’t have any recovery overnight,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Salerno.The thermometer reached 100 F (37.8 C) before 9 a.m. for the sixth straight day on Tuesday.The length of Phoenix’s heat wave is notable even during a summer in which much of the southern United States and the world as a whole has been cooking in record temperatures, something scientists say is stoked by climate change.What’s going ...

SF Giants notes: Luciano promoted to Triple-A; Kruk and Kuip named top MLB broadcast crew

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:08 GMT

The good news down the farm system keeps coming for the San Francisco Giants.The Giants have promoted Marco Luciano, the 21-year-old shortstop ranked as MLB.com’s No. 15 prospect in all of baseball, to Triple-A Sacramento.Ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the Giants’ system, Luciano will now join the No. 1 prospect Kyle Harrison in Sacramento (Harrison is currently out with a hamstring injury).In 56 games at Double-A Richmond, Luciano slashed .228/.339/.450 with 11 homers and 32 RBI. After an injury-riddled 2022, which saw Luciano only play in 57 games at High-A Eugene, his strong 2023 has led to this promotion.Marco Luciano has been promoted to @RiverCats pic.twitter.com/HIjwQb2DIr— SFGProspects (@SFGProspects) July 18, 2023It now means the Giants’ top three prospects, who are all 21, are either in Triple-A Sacramento (Harrison and Luciano) or on the MLB roster (outfielder Luis Matos).Luciano’s move up comes after a flurry of promotions last week, highlighted by their No....

Husband was driving in suspected DUI crash that killed wife on Byron Highway, CHP says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:08 GMT

A Tracy man has been arrested on suspicion of DUI causing death after he lost control of his vehicle and hit an embankment Saturday on the Byron Highway, killing his wife, the California Highway Patrol said Tuesday.Authorities early Tuesday identified the woman as Anna Avaloz, 38, of Tracy, and said she was a passenger in the crash. Her husband, identified by authorities as 36-year-old Andre Avaloz, of Tracy, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence causing death and booked into the Martinez Detention Facility, CHP spokesperson Officer Adam Lane said Tuesday morning. Jail records showed him in custody Tuesday but did not list any information, including a possible bail amount. The crash happened about 11:05 p.m. Saturday in the southbound direction of the Byron Highway just south of Clifton Court Road. CHP investigators said the crash happened when a Chevrolet Suburban lost control and hit a dirt embankment just south of Clifton Court.Anna Avaloz was pronounced dead a...

Boy bitten by rattlesnake in Napa County airlifted to East Bay hospital

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:08 GMT

By Tony Hicks | Bay City NewsA boy in rural Calistoga was bitten by a rattlesnake Sunday afternoon and taken to a hospital by helicopter.The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said on social media it dispatched its helicopter “Henry-1” to a rural area near Calistoga, where a 13-year-old boy was bitten by a rattlesnake.Paramedics determined the boy needed to get to the hospital quickly, where he was treated with anti-venom. There was no word on the boy’s condition Monday.The hot summer weather is bringing out snakes all over the Bay Area. A 7-year-old boy was bitten by a rattlesnake June 7 in Mt. Diablo State Park and was also taken to a hospital via helicopter.RELATED: Bay Area temperatures will go up, and snakes likely will be coming outThe boy’s mother carried him down to a parking lot on the north side of the park near Mitchell Canyon after the snake bite was reported around 4 p.m. The boy was running on a trail — believed to be the Bruce Lee Sprin...

San Jose RV fire spreads to 6 other vehicles

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:08 GMT

(KRON) -- Firefighters are responding to a multi-vehicle fire near the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Savaker Street, according to a tweet from the San Jose Fire Department. The one-alarm fire started in an RV before spreading to other vehicles. San Jose roofing company owner caught in insurance fraud scheme SJFD received multiple calls around 9:39 a.m. reporting smoke in the area, a department spokesperson told KRON4. A single engine was dispatched for investigation and an RV was discovered burning at the intersection of Lincoln and Savaker. The RV was fully engulfed in flames and the fire spread to six other vehicles and a forklift.No injuries have been reported. As of 10:24 a.m., the fire was under control, firefighters said.Eleven units and 26 personnel were dispatched to the scene. The cause of the blaze is under investigation, SJFD said.Motorists are being advised to use caution around fire personnel and equipment.KRON On is streaming live news now.embed-container { posi...

Fatal Tesla crash in California draws federal investigators to site of head-on collision

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:08 GMT

A fatal crash involving a Tesla in California has drawn the attention of federal investigators, who sent a team to the site of the collision in South Lake Tahoe.A Tesla Model 3 and Subaru Impreza collided head on during the evening of July 5, according to state police, and the driver of the Subaru died a short time later. Local media reports say that an infant that had been traveling in the Tesla died last week. Efforts underway to save Anchor Brewing Company The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been looking into a string of accidents involving Teslas that are believed to have had automated driving technology installed.The NHTSA last sent investigators to a March 15 crash in Halifax County, North Carolina, that injured a 17-year-old student. The State Highway Patrol said at the time that the driver of the 2022 Tesla Model Y, a 51-year-old male, failed to stop for the bus, which was displaying all of its activated warning devices.Sending specia...