Not rendering correctly? View this email as a web page here.
Not a subscriber? Sign up | | | | Daily Edition | | | California Changes Environmental Law That Made It Harder To Help Homeless: Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Monday a bill overhauling the landmark California Environmental Quality Act, which he and housing advocates said will jump-start development and tackle the state's perennial housing shortage. Read more from The Sacramento Bee, the San Francisco Chronicle, KQED, and CalMatters. Tax Hike On Cannabis Goes Into Effect Today: A substantial tax increase for California's faltering legal cannabis market is set to take effect today, rising to 19% from 15%. Taxable cannabis sales for the first quarter of 2025 were the lowest quarterly sales in five years; tax revenues from weed sales provide funding for child care, substance abuse education, impaired driving prevention efforts, and more. Read more from CalMatters. Plus: Other new laws related to health care. 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: UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland Workers End Strike
Unionized health care workers at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland have ended their strike after nearly two weeks. The National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents about 1,300 workers at the hospital, began striking June 18 over cuts to take-home pay under an impending change to employees' contracts slated to take effect in July. (Ho, 6/30) Becker's Hospital Review: Providence Hospice Workers To Hold 1st Strike
Providence workers are set to begin a two-day strike July 2 at Hospice of Petaluma (Calif.) and Memorial Hospice in Santa Rosa, Calif. The action marks their first-ever strike and comes amid ongoing contract negotiations. The strike involves more than 100 nurses, social workers, home health aides, chaplains and other hospice workers, according to their union, the National Union of Healthcare Workers. (Gooch, 6/30) San Diego Union-Tribune: Sharp HealthCare Gives Layoff Notices To 315 Workers, Cuts Executive Pay
Citing significant financial headwinds, Sharp HealthCare, San Diego County's largest medical provider, on Monday announced across-the-board layoffs and pay cuts for its top executives. (Sisson, 6/30) San Francisco Chronicle: UC Health, Blue Shield Extend Contract Deadline, Avert Care Disruption
UC Health and Blue Shield of California, which are at an impasse over the terms of a new contract that could disrupt health care for thousands of Californians, have extended the deadline for reaching a new agreement from July 9 to Aug. 9. This means the thousands of Californians who get medical care at UC Health through Blue Shield of California — including many in the Bay Area who go to UCSF and One Medical, a UCSF affiliate — have an additional 30 days of breathing room before potentially having to find a different health insurer or pay out-of-network rates for services if UC Health and Blue Shield cannot reach a new contract. (Ho, 6/30) Fierce Healthcare: Joint Commission Accreditation Revamp To Cut 700-Plus Standards
The Joint Commission has unveiled an overhaul to its healthcare accreditation and certification process that will cut hundreds of requirements for hospitals, streamline patient safety practices and give stakeholders as well as the public a clearer look into what's expected of an accredited facility. Called "Accreditation 360: The New Standard," the changes are described by the organization as "the most significant, comprehensive evolution of Joint Commission's accreditation process since 1965." (Muoio, 6/30) MedPage Today: Widely Used Oncology Clinical Guidelines Get Digital Makeover To Streamline Access
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) started the roll-out of a new digital format designed to streamline access and use of the organization's 88 clinical guidelines. The digital makeover, called the NCCN Guidelines Navigator, will not replace the traditional PDF-based guidelines but instead will offer a complementary means to navigate through the treatment guidelines and recommendations, NCCN CEO Crystal Denlinger, MD, told MedPage Today. Access to the navigator will be included with every free NCCN account for non-commercial use. (Bankhead, 6/30) Modern Healthcare: CMS Proposes Home Health Pay Cut, Dialysis Rate Hike For 2026
Home health companies stand to lose more than $1 billion in Medicare payments under a proposed rule the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published Monday. The proposed changes would represent a decrease of 6.4%, or $1.14 billion, in Medicare payments to home health agencies in 2026 compared with 2025, CMS said in a fact sheet. (Eastabrook, 6/30) San Diego Union-Tribune: State Attorney General Sues Carlsbad Skilled Nursing Firm For Low Staffing Levels
A new lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta alleges that a multilayered group of for-profit businesses, most based in Carlsbad, intentionally siphoned millions from 19 skilled nursing facilities scattered across the state, providing too little care for residents, a practice that subjected many seniors to bed sores, falls and unsanitary conditions. (Sisson, 6/30) Politico: California AG Says 23andMe Sale 'Does Not Comply' With State Law
Genetic testing company 23andMe's recent sale to a research institute "does not comply" with California's landmark genetic privacy law, state Attorney General Rob Bonta's office said Monday. What happened: Bonta's office said the terms of 23andMe's sale, approved Friday by a federal bankruptcy judge, run afoul of the state's Genetic Information Privacy Act, which requires companies to obtain opt-in consent from customers before selling their genetic information to third parties. (Katzenberger, 6/30) NPR: California Lawmakers Want To Boost Doctors' Menopause Training
Former middle school teacher Lorraine Carter Salazar isn't easily embarrassed. But when she began having hot flashes at school about a decade ago, she worried about how she came off to coworkers, students and parents. "It doesn't convey competence," said Carter Salazar, 62. She recounted how parents could tell she was uncomfortable in meetings. One time, a student even fanned her and remarked that she was used to seeing her grandma feeling the same way. (Myscofski, 7/1) Los Angeles Times: Homelessness Declined In Hollywood, But Not Skid Row, Study Finds
Homeless encampments were markedly reduced in Hollywood and Venice last year, but the number of people sleeping "rough" without a tent, vehicle or makeshift shelter held steady, raising the likelihood that the gains will be harder to sustain in the future, a new Rand report concluded. The total number of unsheltered homeless people was down 15% overall in the three areas Rand studies, the first decrease since the project began in 2021. But the declines — 49% in Hollywood and 22% in Venice were partially offset by a 9% increase in Skid Row. (Smith, 7/1) Sacramento Bee: Sacramento Council Split Over Homelessness Legislation
An effort to reinvent the region's approach to homelessness and housing has divided the Sacramento City Council, with multiple members in support and the mayor pushing back. The disagreement stems from legislation unveiled last week by California state Sen. Angelique Ashby. Under her Senate Bill 802, a new agency for housing and homelessness management would be created in Sacramento County. This new system would effectively replace the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, which has distributed federal money to the county and city of Sacramento since 1982. (Miranda, 7/1) CNN: SCOTUS Orders Judges To Revisit Decisions On Transgender Health Plans, Birth Certificates In Wake Of Blockbuster Ruling
The Supreme Court on Monday tossed aside a handful of lower court rulings that sided with transgender Americans, requiring that judges in those cases revisit their decisions in the wake of a blockbuster ruling this month that upheld a ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth. The justices upended rulings that blocked state policies excluding coverage for gender-affirming care in state-sponsored health insurance plans. The high court also tossed out an appeals court ruling that went against Oklahoma in a challenge to the state's effort to ban transgender residents from changing the sex designation on their birth certificates. In a loss for the transgender Americans who sued, those decisions will now be reviewed again. (Fritze and Cole, 6/30) Los Angeles Blade: Major Victory For LGBTQ Funding In LA County
On Saturday, June 28, 2025, U.S. Congresswoman Laura Friedman (CA-30) celebrated the release of nearly $20 million in HIV prevention investments, previously frozen by the Trump Administration, while also celebrating the anniversary of the Stonewall protests that took place 56 years ago on that date. ... The previously frozen grants total $19,788,675 in federal investment for the period of June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026. This amount in funds also has an increase in the 2025 to 2026 cycle of over $300,000 from the 2024 award. Palomera, 6/30) The Hill: Senate Defeats Susan Collins Proposal To Raise Taxes On Highest Earners To Help Rural Hospitals
The Senate voted early Tuesday morning to defeat an amendment sponsored by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) to create a new top marginal tax rate for the nation's wealthiest income earners and use the money to double the size of a proposed rural hospital relief fund from $25 billion to $50 billion. Senators voted 22 to 78 against a motion to waive a 60-vote budget point of order against the amendment. (Bolton, 7/1) The Hill: GOP Leaders Looking To Expand Enhanced Medicaid Matching Rate To Woo Lisa Murkowski
Senate Republican leaders are discussing a proposal to expand an enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) matching rate to five states, including Alaska and Hawaii, to get the parliamentarian to sign off the proposal, which could be critical to locking down Sen. Lisa Murkowski's (R-Alaska) vote. GOP negotiators are floating a plan to expand the enhanced FMAP rate to North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming — in addition to Hawaii and Alaska — and recalculating the formula for higher federal assistance so that it is based on states' population density, according to a Senate source briefed on the discussion. (Bolton, 6/30) Roll Call: Senate Abortion Provider Defunding Language OK'd By Parliamentarian
Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough advised Monday that language that would block Planned Parenthood from Medicaid funding eligibility would be permissible for inclusion in the sweeping budget reconciliation bill, a major blow for the nation's largest provider of reproductive services. (Raman, 6/30) The Hill: Collins, Murkowski Vote With Democrats On Striking Planned Parenthood Provision From GOP Megabill
Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) on Monday sided with Democrats who were trying to strike a provision from the GOP's megabill that would bar Planned Parenthood health centers from receiving Medicaid funding for services provided to low-income women across the country. The two were the only Republicans to vote for a motion to waive a budget point of order against an amendment to remove the provision. (Bolton, 6/30) Bloomberg: SNAP Food Stamp Cuts Laid Out In Big Beautiful Bill To Hit Millions
President Donald Trump's allies love to talk about the food we're eating here in the US: too sugary, too processed, too artificially dyed. What they're not talking about, though, is how many Americans don't have enough of it, whether it's healthy or not. If the Republicans get their way, the number of them will only go up. Exactly how the right-leaning majorities in the House and Senate will cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as SNAP, is being negotiated. But their intentions are clear: Shrink its reach, reduce the benefits of the people still on it, and leave it to the states to take the blame. (Shanker, 6/30) CNBC: Trump Bill Helps Wealthy, Hurts Low Earners: Yale Report
A massive legislative package Senate Republicans are trying to pass this week would hurt the lowest-earning Americans financially while boosting the incomes of wealthier households, according to a Yale Budget Lab analysis issued Monday. The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" would reduce income by 2.9% (about $700) for the bottom 20% of households, according to the Yale analysis. These households have an income of less than $13,350, it said. (Iacurci, 6/30) Politico: The Senate Megabill Is On A Collision Course With House Fiscal Hawks
House fiscal hawks are looking at the math underlying Senate Republicans' sprawling domestic policy legislation, and they don't like what they see. As Senate Republicans try to muscle President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" for final passage, they're on track to violate a budget framework brokered between House fiscal hawks and Speaker Mike Johnson. Under that framework, if the GOP piles on tax cuts over $4 trillion, they'd need to match them dollar-for-dollar with additional spending cuts beyond the $1.5 trillion in the House-passed bill. (Guggenheim, 6/30) Politico: Elon Musk Says He'll Launch Third Party If Megabill Passes
Elon Musk said Monday he would follow through on threats to establish a third party if President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" is enacted by Congress. Musk said on X his "America Party will be formed the next day" after its passage. He posted as the Senate moved closer to a final vote on what he called an "insane" domestic policy bill. (Svirnovskiy, 6/30) Stat: HHS To Continue Funding Cancer Prevention, Tracking In States
The Department of Health and Human Services will renew funding to states for cancer prevention and tracking efforts, alleviating anxieties among local officials about the future of their work. (Cueto, 6/30) Los Angeles Times: Trump Administration Shuts Down U.S. Website On Climate Change
The Trump administration on Monday shut down a federal website that had presented congressionally mandated reports and research on climate change, drawing rebukes from scientists who said it will hinder the nation's efforts to prepare for worsening droughts, floods and heat waves. The U.S. Global Change Research Program's website, globalchange.gov, was taken down along with all five versions of the National Climate Assessment report and extensive information on how global warming is affecting the country. (James and Haggerty, 7/1) The Washington Post: How A San Diego Scientist Who Studies 'Super Agers' Exercises For A Longer Life
Seventeen years ago, Eric Topol, a cardiologist and founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, set out to discover why some people age so well, when others don't. Aged 53 at the time, Topol considered healthy aging to be of deep scientific — and personal — interest. (Reynolds, 7/1) | | | | | |
Comments
Post a Comment