Bay Area News Group: Biden Visits San Francisco, Talks AI, Touts Fight Against Deadly Bacteria
President Joe Biden met with 14 science and technology advisers in San Francisco on Wednesday to talk about artificial intelligence and tout an investment of more than $100 million to combat deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria. (Baron, 9/27)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Where's My Shot? Latest COVID-19 Boosters Slowly Becoming Available In San Diego County 
Though San Diego County public health clinics began vaccinating those without health insurance this week, and some retail pharmacies have the new coronavirus booster shot available, arrival of new doses remains somewhat behind expectations as October arrives. (Sisson, 9/27)

NBC News: Insurance Hurdles For New Covid Vaccines Have Largely Been Resolved, Biden Administration Says
Last week, as the updated Covid vaccines rolled out to pharmacies across the U.S., some people eager to get their doses were met with unexpected insurance issues ... On Wednesday, the Department of Health and Human Services said the issue has been "largely, if not completely," resolved. The insurance companies made it clear that they are "fully covering the new vaccine shots," according to a rundown of the meeting shared by HHS. They described the problem of some people being denied coverage as "systemic technical issues." (Lovelace Jr., 9/27)

Stat: The United States Is Paying Nearly Triple For New Covid Vaccines
After Pfizer and Moderna hiked the prices of their Covid-19 vaccines this year, the federal government will now pay nearly three times more than it did previously for each dose. And it’s paying more than countries that did far less to support vaccine development. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra glossed over the dramatic increase in the amount the government is paying for vaccines in a public appearance last week, when he got vaccinated at a CVS pharmacy in D.C. (Cohrs, 9/28)

Stat: Next-Gen Covid Effort Gives Small Biotech Up To $433 Million
The U.S. government’s “Project Nextgen,” its effort to accelerate and streamline the rapid development of the next generation of Covid vaccines and treatments, said Wednesday that it would give a small biotechnology firm, Gritstone bio, up to $433 million to conduct a 10,000-volunteer clinical trial testing a new approach to creating a vaccine. (Herper, 9/27)

San Francisco Chronicle: Is Breed’s Plan To Drug Test SF Welfare Recipients Destined To Fail?
Mayor London Breed’s proposal to require welfare recipients to submit to drug screenings and commit to treatment before receiving cash assistance from the city appears unlikely to become law. A majority of the city’s supervisors are already on record saying they are skeptical, or oppose, the idea, and several questioned whether the city has close to the number of treatment beds it would need. They said Wednesday that Breed, who announced the proposal a day earlier as Levi’s heir Daniel Lurie was launching a campaign for mayor, hadn’t yet actually submitted any legislation. (Toledo and Barned Smith, 9/28)

Los Angeles Times: California Leaders Want More Power To Clear Homeless Camps
A tense debate across the American West over whether homeless people should be allowed to sleep in public has created some strange bedfellows in California. In recent days, some of the state’s most prominent liberal leaders have pushed back against a set of court rulings that have restricted local authorities from clearing streets in certain situations, such as when people are living outdoors in cities without shelter beds to offer. (Rector, 9/28)

Bay Area News Group: Oakland Can't Solve Its "Pirate" Problem Unless It Fixes Its Homeless Crisis First
In one of the first public meetings since the Alameda boating community raised the alarm over a “pirate” crime wave in the Oakland Estuary, the state agency in charge of ensuring the wellbeing of bay waterways agreed the situation was unacceptable. (McCarthy, 9/28)

Stat: Biogen Shutters Digital Health Group, Ends Apple Study, In Cost Cutting Move
Biogen, the iconic but embattled biotech firm, is shuttering Biogen Digital Health, its roughly 150-person group focused on using new types of data like those from mobile phones and smart watches, and ending a clinical trial being conducted with Apple early, STAT has learned. Biogen confirmed the organizational change, but said it might lean even more on digital tech startups in the future. (Aguilar and Herper, 9/27)

California Healthline: Who Polices Hospitals Merging Across Markets? States Give Different Answers 
Increasingly, hospitals are merging across separate markets within states. It’s a move that health economists and the Federal Trade Commission have been closely watching, as evidence shows such mergers raise prices for patients with no improvement in care. (Liss, 9/28)

Modern Healthcare: Hospitals, Health Systems Facing Credit Rating Downgrades
Lower ratings can result in higher interest rates for borrowing and limited access to capital. (Hudson and Broderick, 9/28)

CBS News: FDA Updates Ozempic Label With Potential Blocked Intestines Side Effect, Also Reported With Wegovy And Mounjaro
The label for the diabetes drug Ozempic — which has become popular for weight loss — now acknowledges reports of blocked intestines following use of the medication. The change comes after the Food and Drug Administration greenlighted a series of updates from drugmaker Novo Nordisk for its product. Ozempic now joins other products in this booming class of so-called GLP-1 agonist medications which acknowledge increased reports of what doctors call ileus, or a blockage in the intestines. (Tin, 9/27)

Stat: FDA Advisers Vote Against ALS Treatment From BrainStorm
A panel of independent advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted overwhelmingly against a polarizing potential treatment for ALS on Wednesday, concluding that the medicine’s messy supporting data did not meet the standard for approval. (Garde, 9/27)

The Hill: How A Shutdown Would Impact Key Health Care Programs
The federal government is staring down a shutdown as a handful of ultra-conservative House Republicans remain opposed to a short-term agreement to keep the government funded. The current spending laws expire at 11:59 p.m. Sept. 30. Without a deal by that night, funding will lapse and many government functions, including some health care programs, will temporarily stop. Here’s how a shutdown will, and won’t, impact health agencies and services. (Weixel, 9/28)

ABC News: Military Families Brace For Loss Of Paycheck, Services Under A Government Shutdown
As the nation nears another government shutdown, military families face an uncertain financial future where they may not receive a paycheck unless a spending deal passes in time.Besa Pinchotti is chief executive officer of the National Military Family Association. Her husband, Dave, is a veteran of the Marine Corps and currently a civilian employed by the Air Force; his paycheck could be affected or cut by the shutdown, if it happens. (Scott and Hensley, 9/27)

California Healthline: Readers Rail At Social Security Overpayments And Insurers' Prior Authorizations
California Healthline gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories. (9/28)

The Sacramento Bee: ‘I’m At My Breaking Point’: Sacramento Sheriff Calls For Jail Health Care Overhaul
Following the discovery that a county medical contractor was smuggling fentanyl into the Sacramento County Main Jail, Sheriff Jim Cooper is calling for an overhaul of the jail’s health care system. “I take responsibility for my deputies — their actions and what they do,” Cooper said during a news conference at the Sheriff’s Office headquarters Wednesday. “This all revolves around jail medical (staff). It’s a big issue. They’re inept. ... I’m at my breaking point.” (Clift, 9/27)

NBC News: Even Short-Term Exposure To Air Pollution May Raise Risk Of Stroke, Study Finds
This past summer, wildfire smoke periodically blanketed the U.S., bringing stinging air and hazy skies to the Northeast and the Midwest, regions that are unaccustomed to the itchy eyes, scratchy throats and breathing problems that come from being downwind of such natural disasters. But with air pollution come more serious health problems, too. Among them, a meta-analysis published Wednesday in the journal Neurology finds, is exposure to air pollution that may increase a person’s risk of stroke within five days. (Sullivan, 9/27)

The Boston Globe: Older Adults Who Sit More Have Higher Dementia Risk, Study Says
Older adults who spend a lot of time sitting could be at a heightened risk for dementia, according to a study published this month in the JAMA medical journal. “Among older adults, more time spent in sedentary behaviors was significantly associated with higher incidence of all-cause dementia,” said the study, which was released Sept. 12 and authored by researchers at the University of Southern California and University of Arizona. “Future research is needed to determine whether the association between sedentary behavior and risk of dementia is causal.” (Andersen, 9/27)

Politico: Young Adult Cannabis Consumers Age Out Of Risky Use, Study Finds
Adult-use marijuana legalization in Ontario, Canada, did not have a major impact in young adults who are most at-risk for substance misuse, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open. Among young adults in the study, those who used “cannabis frequently prelegalization showed significant reductions in use and consequences over time, reflecting an aging out pattern,” researchers wrote. (Zhang, 9/27)

Modern Healthcare: Google Ventures Leads $25M Funding Roundup For Midi Health
GV (Google Ventures) led a $25 million Series A funding round in women's health startup Midi Health, the companies said Wednesday. Midi Health, a telehealth company focused on women between the ages of 35 and 65, will use the funding to expand operations and launch additional partnerships with U.S. health systems and employers. The company's goal is to offer care in 50 states by the end of next year, said Midi Health CEO and co-founder Joanna Strober. (Turner, 9/27)

Axios: Second Republican Debate Reveals Subtle Shifts On Health Policy
Republican candidates during the second GOP presidential debate Wednesday night offered some unconventionally tough talk about the health care industry, even if they failed to offer substantive policy answers. (Owens, 9/28)

Stat: Republicans Aren’t Quite Done Talking About Obamacare, After All
In a far-ranging debate that touched on everything from border control issues to TikTok, Republican presidential candidates could not escape hotly contested health care cost issues. The second GOP primary debate, still missing lead candidate Donald Trump, spanned drug prices, the opioid crisis, gender affirming care, and even the notion to resurrect Obamacare repeal attempts. (Owermohle, 9/27)