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Not a subscriber? Sign up | | | | Daily Edition | | | Latest From California Healthline: California Looked to Them To Close Health Disparities, Then It Backpedaled A statewide initiative to formalize the role of community health workers and expand their ranks was meant to improve the health of underserved communities, particularly Hispanic populations, who often experience higher rates of chronic illnesses. But years in, California has abandoned a certification program and rescinded public support. (Vanessa G. Sánchez, 7/25) Trump's Homelessness Crackdown Met With Concern: Orange County officials and frontline workers are responding with a mix of concern and selective support to President Donald Trump's executive order targeting homelessness, a sweeping directive that leans heavily on law enforcement, civil commitments, and mandatory treatment. The executive order doesn't name California's CARE Court, but the measures it lays out raise questions about how the program might be affected. Read more from The Orange County Register and The Washington Post. Scroll down for more news about homelessness. California Loses Five Planned Parenthood Clinics: Citing President Donald Trump's budget cuts to Medicaid, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, the largest Planned Parenthood affiliate in the U.S., has shuttered five clinics in South San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Gilroy, and Madera, the group said Thursday. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle. Below, check out the roundup of California Healthline's coverage. For today's national health news, read KFF Health News' Morning Briefing. More News From Across The State San Francisco Chronicle: Feds Reject Laguna Honda's Bid To Restore 120 Nursing Home Beds
San Francisco's largest skilled nursing home, Laguna Honda, will not be able to reinstate 120 beds — which would have improved capacity for such care in the rapidly aging city — after federal regulators this month denied the hospital's attempt to gain approval for the expansion. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) turned down Laguna Honda's request to reinstate the beds, citing federal regulations that require nursing facilities certified after 2016 to limit residents to two per room. Reinstating the 120 beds would have meant Laguna Honda would have three residents in some of its rooms. (Ho, 7/24) Argus-Courier: Healthy Petaluma, Petaluma Valley Hospital Announce $830,000 In Grants
A long-simmering dispute between two Petaluma health entities is now behind them with the announcement of a new partnership to disperse millions in grant money to local organizations. (Richardson, 7/24) The New York Times: UnitedHealth Will Cooperate With Federal Probe Of Its Medicare Billing Practices
After months of unconfirmed reports about a potential federal probe into its Medicare business, UnitedHealth Group, the giant health care conglomerate, announced Thursday morning that it was cooperating with the U.S. Department of Justice and responding to both formal criminal and civil requests. UnitedHealth said it had "proactively reached out" to the Justice Department after news reports of a government investigation had surfaced, according to an unsigned company statement. (Abelson, 7/24) LAist: LA County Braces For Potentially Massive Financial Blow As Trump Tries To Crack Down On Homelessness
L.A. County is bracing for a potentially devastating shortfall in funding for homelessness services in the years ahead as the federal government signals cuts, officials said Thursday. The county's financial concerns come amid a perfect storm of local, state and federal funding reductions, said Sarah Mahin, director of the county's new homelessness department. (Schrank, 7/24) Bay Area News Group: Mayors Ask For $1.8 Billion In Measure W Money For Homeless Issues, But Alameda County Supervisors Spread Funds Around
Despite appeals from more than a dozen local mayors asking for all of the $1.8 billion in expected Measure W funding to be used to address homelessness in Alameda County, the Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to direct 20% of the money to fill gaps in food security, mental illness initiatives and healthcare. (Hunter, 7/25) The Oaklandside: Oakland Councilmember Seeks Crackdown On Homeless Sidewalk Camps And Vehicles
Oakland would crack down on homeless encampments that involve vehicles or are located on sidewalks under a proposal introduced today by District 7 Councilmember Ken Houston. Houston wants to significantly change Oakland's Encampment Management Policy, the city's foundational homeless camp law passed in 2020. The policy prohibits camps in most parts of the city, but declares some locations and circumstances to be higher priority than others for removal or cleaning. (Orenstein, 7/24) San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego Judge Orders Trump Administration To Reinstate Services To Separated Migrant Families
"It forced the separation of thousands of immigrant parents from their children, many of whom have yet to be reunified, and it caused profound, devastating, and lasting damage to those families," Sabraw wrote. "The Settlement Agreement, which was the result of painstaking negotiations between Plaintiffs and the Government, aimed to address that damage by providing these families with certain services at the Government's expense, including the behavioral health services, assistance with certain medical costs, and housing assistance at issue here." (Riggins and Davis, 7/24) LAist: Disabled Immigrants Are Being Abused And Neglected Inside Adelanto Detention Center, Report Says
A disability-rights group says immigrant detainees inside a federal detention center near Victorville are being abused and neglected, in part because the population inside the facility has grown rapidly in recent weeks, according to a new report. Investigators with the non-profit watchdog Disability Rights California toured the Adelanto Detention Center late last month. They said they interviewed 18 people during the monitoring visit. (Stoltze, 7/24) Axios: Trump Admin To Burn Nearly $10 Million In Contraceptives For Poorer Nations
The Trump administration plans to incinerate $9.7 million worth of contraceptives intended for poor nations, after declining offers from the United Nations and reproductive organizations to buy or ship the supplies instead, the State Department confirmed to Axios on Thursday. (Walker, 7/24) Military Times: Trump Pick To Lead VA Health Care Reopens Fight Over 'Choice' For Vets
President Donald Trump's pick to oversee veterans' health care operations wants to see more "balance" in options for medical care, with an eye toward making private-sector appointments more easily available. The comments from John Bartrum, nominee to be Veterans Affairs Under Secretary for Health, at his confirmation hearing Wednesday afternoon, add a new chapter to the ongoing fight over whether efforts to loosen rules regarding taxpayer-funded medical care for veterans represents more choice for patients or privatization of federal responsibilities. (Shane III, 7/24) AP: Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court To Allow $783M In NIH Cuts
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to allow it to cut hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of research funding in its push to roll back federal diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. The Justice Department argued a federal judge in Massachusetts was wrong to block the National Institutes of Health from making $783 million worth of cuts to align with President Donald Trump's priorities. U.S. District Judge William Young found that the abrupt cancellations ignored long-held government rules and standards. (Whitehurst, 7/24) Stat: NIH, FDA Plan To Reduce Animal Testing Draws Mixed Reactions Among Scientists
As the Trump administration looks to reshape biomedicine, it is taking aim at one of the most universal ways scientists study disease and determine whether drugs are safe and may work in people: animal research. (Russo and Wosen, 7/25) San Diego Union-Tribune: EPA Director Announces 'Permanent 100% Solution' On Tijuana River Sewage Crisis
Lee Zeldin, director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, announced Thursday that the Trump administration has brokered a "100% permanent solution" to the Tijuana River sewage crisis. (Sisson, 7/24) Los Angeles Times: California Regulators Lay Out Two Paths In Proposed Delta Water Plan
California regulators are supporting a controversial plan backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom — and opposed by environmental groups — that would give water agencies more leeway in how they comply with water quality rules. The Newsom-backed approach is included as part of a proposed water plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, released by the State Water Resources Control Board on Thursday. (James, 7/24) Los Angeles Times: Traveler With Measles Landed At LAX, Stayed At Nearby Hilton
An out-of-country traveler who passed through Los Angeles International Airport this month and stayed in a local hotel was confirmed to have measles, health officials announced Thursday. L.A. County Department of Public Health officials are investigating two sites in Los Angeles the man visited while infectious, according to a news release. Public spaces where others may have been exposed to the infection are LAX and the Hilton Los Angeles Airport, at 5711 W. Century Blvd. (Buchanan, 7/24) San Francisco Chronicle: As School Starts, Bay Area Officials Sound Alarm On Child Vaccinations
With the school year fast approaching and the United States grappling with its worst measles outbreak in more than three decades, Bay Area public health officials urged families on Thursday to make childhood vaccinations a top priority. Their warning comes amid a surge of vaccine misinformation and a troubling decline in immunization coverage. (Vaziri, 7/24) Times of San Diego: Comic-Con Blood Drive Pulls In Donations, Eases Summer Shortage
San Diego Blood Bank is capitalizing on the thousands of people flocking to the city for Comic-Con this long weekend, running its annual Robert A. Heinlein blood drive. The drive began in 1977 and is now in its 49th year. Heinlein, a prominent science fiction writer known for Stranger in a Strange Land among many other works, developed peritonitis in 1970. (Wallace, 7/24) Times of San Diego: California Ranks Lowest Of All States For Youth Vaping
According to a study by the American Lung Association, California ranks the lowest of all states for youth vaping. The study shows California with the lowest percentage of high schoolers who smoke, use e-cigarettes or use tobacco products in general. According to the study, only 5.6% of high school students use e-cigarettes in the state, and only 1.2% smoke. (Wallace, 7/24) Voice Of San Diego: A Crisis Team Responding To A Suicide Attempt Asked For Help, El Cajon Police Refused
Back in May, El Cajon police stopped automatically responding to mental health crisis calls where someone is threatening to harm themselves, but there's no apparent crime or danger to others. The department's policy shift, first reported by Voice of San Diego, followed a federal appeals court ruling that El Cajon police concluded means police could have personal liability if such calls go sideways. (Halverstadt, 7/24) Bay Area Reporter: Gay SF Supe Dorsey's Call To End Same-Sex Partners Benefit Law Sparks Shock
Gay San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey says it is time to consider repealing the city's landmark law that required companies provide unmarried same-sex partners the same benefits as their married heterosexual colleagues. With the country marking the 10th anniversary of same-sex couples having the right to wed, and domestic partnerships largely anachronistic, Dorsey is questioning the need for city officials' continued implementation of the law. (Laird, 7/24) The 19th: Over A Million LGBTQ+ Women Rely On Medicaid. What Happens If They Lose It?
Sara Habein, a mother of two living in northern Montana, recently learned that she has cysts in her brain. Every six months, her doctors want to check that the cysts aren't growing. She may need surgery if they get larger and put too much pressure on her brain. If she didn't have Medicaid, she would either be racking up costs on a payment plan or would have to make a difficult decision about the various other medications and treatments she needs for chronic health issues — all of which she relies on Medicaid to cover. (Rummler and Carrazana, 7/24) Los Angeles Times: L.A. Catholic Church Creates Program To Feed Undocumented Immigrants
Amid a wave of arrests and apprehensions of undocumented immigrants, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced plans to bolster delivery of hot meals, groceries and prescription medicines to parishioners living in fear of deportation amid ongoing enforcement raids. The archdiocese's donation-funded Family Assistance Program seeks to assist some of its 4 million congregants throughout its 288 parishes in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. (Campa, 7/24) The Desert Sun: Amazon Donates $25k To FIND Food Bank To Combat Local Food Insecurity
Desert locals face increased challenges during summer due to the intense heat and seasonality of the region. Many working families have experienced job losses, and children who are home for summer break no longer have access to school meals. (7/25) San Francisco Chronicle: How Trump's EPA Could Impact Air Quality In California - And Your Health
As a Bay Area physician, what worries me is a much quieter, much sneakier threat that is present every day for all region's residents — air pollution. Unfortunately, the Trump administration's blatant disregard for the threat air pollution poses to health isn't helping to alleviate that worry. (John Balmes, 7/24) Capital & Main: Reform Refill: Has Scott Wiener Convinced Gov. Newsom To Rein In Prescription Middlemen?
Ten months ago, California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have forced prescription drug middlemen to be licensed and regulated through a state agency. Now, Newsom appears to be working in concert with the legislator who wrote that bill to do just that — and push back on a business that critics say is significantly responsible for the state's soaring drug costs. What happens next, through both a Newsom budget measure and a legislative bill proposed by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), will determine whether California finally gets into gear and joins more than two dozen other states in licensing pharmacy benefit managers, known broadly as PBMs. (Mark Kreidler, 7/24) Los Angeles Times: Courts Can Protect Trans Healthcare By Recognizing Patient-Physician Privilege
Federal district courts have the authority, and the obligation, to recognize that patient-physician dealings are akin to attorney-client and spousal discussions. Both of the latter benefit from judicially created privileges — or legal shields that individuals can invoke against the state's probing. At a moment when not just gender medicine but also reproductive care more generally is in peril, federal courts can and should step in and shield intimately private medical data as well. (Aziz Huq and Rebecca Wexler, 7/22) | | | | | |
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