Scripps Health stripped from Anthem Blue Cross insurance networks

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz. It’s Friday, January 3rd.

Scripps Health has been removed from Anthem Blue Cross insurance networks

More on that next. But first, let’s do the headlines.

A San Diego State University Student from Florida is among those injured in the deadly New Year's day attack in New Orleans.

South Florida media are reporting that Steele Idelson was taken to a hospital following the attack. The extent of her injuries, however, is not known.

According to S-D-S-U officials, Idelson, who's from Fort Meyers, is currently enrolled as a student.

The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance clinches top honors for the second year in a row at the annual Rose Parade.

Their float celebrated the giant pandas’ return to the zoo.

The two bears made their public debut at the San Diego Zoo last August.

The Alliance received the Sweepstakes Trophy given for most beautiful entry, encompassing float design, floral presentation and entertainment.

Helix Charter High School will honor basketball legend Bill Walton today at the boy’s varsity basketball game.

Walton began his basketball career at the high school, and graduated from Helix in 1970. He passed away last May.

The tribute to Walton is scheduled for halftime during the 6 p.m. game against University City.

Helix High graduate and local entertainer Gary Seiler will read narratives written by Walton’s high school teammates Mike Dupree and Randy Madsen.

Former players and staff members, including coach Gordon Nash, will reunite in the gym for the first time in more than 50 years.

From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now. Stay with me for more of the local news you need.

As of this week, Scripps Health is no longer a part of the Anthem Blue Cross insurance network. Reporter Melissa Mae looks into what this means for patients.

After months of failed contract negotiations, Scripps Health has been removed from 125-thousand San Diegans’ Anthem Blue Cross insurance networks. Nathan Kaufman is a healthcare consultant and the managing director of Kaufman Strategic Advisors. “Unfortunately you have these for profit insurance companies that want to grow. And then you have hospitals who are seeing huge cost inflation and absolutely need the rate increases.” Scripps Health and Anthem Blue Cross both expressed they are open to discussion and coming to a reasonable agreement. Kaufman says agreements like this can be resolved in weeks or it may take months. Melissa Mae KPBS News.

A Catholic school in El Cerrito is fighting to keep its doors open after the diocese of San Diego said it could no longer cover its budget deficit. Reporter Katie Anastas says the school has less than a month to find enough money to stay open.

St. Katharine Drexel Academy opened six years ago with just over 150 students. The goal was to reach 200 students. Current enrollment is about half that. “When we received a letter on October 18th from the diocese that the school was closing, it was kind of a gut punch to the community.” Steve Carter leads the school’s parent teacher group. “We knew we had some challenges with fundraising and with enrollment, but we didn't know it was that dire.” The Catholic Diocese of San Diego says the school is facing a large deficit this year, and likely a larger one next year. Pandemic relief funds and diocese support have helped cover previous years’ deficits. Now that the diocese has filed for bankruptcy, it says it can no longer fill the gap. The diocese says if the school can raise $500,000 and enroll 30 more students for the next school year by Feb. 1, it can stay open. Otherwise it will close its doors at the end of this school year. Kevin Eckery is a spokesperson for the diocese. “I hope the families are successful in raising the money that's needed to keep it open. But we'll just have to see how it pans out.” Donors have raised more than $12,000 so far. Katie Anastas, KPBS News.

California will have more of a buffer starting this year when it comes to releasing people from state mental hospitals.

As Cap Radio’s Kate Wolffe reports, the new law is in response to a violent crime.

San Francisco’s Chinatown was rocked last spring when a 61 year old man stabbed a worker at a bakery he’d been fixated on for years. The man had been released from a state mental hospital a week beforehand, after a judge agreed his mental health condition was under control. The man had been in prison for a previous violent offense.The bill’s author, San Francisco democrat Matt Haney, says officials didn’t have enough time to prepare a plan for the man’s release. “There is an incredible amount of work that needs to be done when we release somebody in this situation to ensure the safety of the community and the safety of the individual. Medication, housing, continued treatment, and five days simply is not enough.” The new law would allow hospitals to take up to 30 days to release someone. In Sacramento, I’m Kate Wolffe.

San Diego County health officials say they have spent the last year planning for updates to civil detention and conservatorship laws. Detailed information about new laws and their roll out in the county is available online at San-Diego-County dot gov.

The avian flu is wreaking havoc on the poultry and dairy industries, but very few people have contracted it. Sci-tech reporter Thomas Fudge asks what would happen if the flu started spreading among humans.

The avian flu, called H5N1, began spreading in 2022 and wild birds have carried it coast to coast, devastating chicken farms and dairy farms. The humans who have caught it from animals, have not gotten terribly sick but there is reason for concern. Alessandro Sette is a researcher at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology. He says if the avian flu jumped to humans and started spreading among them, it could be a serious pandemic because the flu people are used to fighting off is another variety … known as H1. “That’s why people are scared that if this starts to spread into humans people would not have antibodies to H5.” But new research from Sette’s lab shows we are not defenseless against H5N1. They found T cells in our blood do recognize the bird flu … which means we do have some immunity. “Tcells play an important role not in preventing infection but in making the disease less severe.” Another creature very susceptible to avian flu are cats. In Washington State the bird flu reportedly killed four cougars and a tiger at a wildlife sanctuary. Thomas Fudge, KPBS News. 

Swipe left if you voted for Trump. Swipe right only if you are pro choice. Politics has seeped into the dating world. Here with me to discuss dating in a deeply divided time is Public Matters reporter Amita Sharma.

Amita, I remember a time not so long ago when honesty, a sense of humor and kindness were what you looked for in a prospective partner. What’s changed? Everything has changed, Debbie.  As we’ve discussed many times, since the 2016 presidential election we’ve seen even deeper lines drawn over a woman’s right to control her own body-basically the abortion issue, treatment of undocumented people, race, lgbtq rights and climate change. People perceive that these issues cut straight to their basic beliefs and principles and are now using them to vet who they date. I spoke with a local high school dance PE teacher by the name of Ashley Harbecke. She says that those issues important to her - especially reproductive rights. They  are about personal autonomy and power, and really just transcend politics. “What are your values and I feel like who you are voting for right now speaks leaps and bounds.” We know that more young people are single and marriage and birth rates are on decline. Doesn’t adding political ideology to a list of traits for a partner make it more difficult to find one? It definitely narrows the pool…at a time when Pew Research Center says 47 percent of adults under 30 are single. Now, Harbecke says her values mean so much to her that for a while, she even compromised on other traits, such as looks and whether the guy fit into her friend group. She later found out that those issues matter as well. Twenty-six-year-old Josh Bell, who I also spoke with. He is an actor who also works at a production company. He is an Independent. He is open to dating someone who doesn’t perfectly match his political beliefs. But…only if those beliefs don’t contradict his moral code. “Basic human rights like freedom of speech and things like that of that nature, climate change, and how it's directly being affected with certain laws that are passed current day, the current effects of mental health on society today.:” So, How deeply has politics sunk into people’s dating lives? Very deeply. I spoke with another voter by the name of Hally De Groot. She is 30 years old. She says she views life and the world through a political prism. She says dating someone who is NOT pro-choice is a no-go and feels that it would be unsafe for her. She would even consider the political ideology of a prospective partner’s family in her dating decisions. She does NOT believe she has set too high a bar…in fact she says women’s standards have been too low…for too long. “We should have been able to be more selective or like pickier all along, and now we're dealing with the fallout.” Amita, did you speak to anyone who thinks politics is irrelevant in dating choices? Yes. Eddie Rosenfeld is a 27-year-old Republican who works in operations at a tech company. He says a potential mate’s political ideology is about as important to him as her favorite color. All he requires is that she be receptive to other ideas. He said he has dated both Democrats and Republicans. “When I dated someone that was liberal, I had a much better relationship with them because they were just more open and understanding and not very judgmental, and the person that I dated that was a little bit further right, was a little bit more passionate about those views and would stand on those values very strongly and strongly oppose the other side…to me that was more of a turn off.” And clearly Debbie, it’s easier for people who are not under direct threat by President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming policies, such as undocumented people or the LGBTQ community, to be lighter or more detached about whether the person they date holds the same political views. Amita, thank you. Thank you.

That’s it for the podcast today. This week’s podcasts were produced by Elaine Alfaro and Brenden Tuccinardi – edited by Brooke Ruth and Quinn Owen. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend.