Los Angeles Times: Judge Accepts L.A. County's Proposal To End Lawsuit Over Homelessness
A federal judge signed off Thursday on Los Angeles County’s commitment to produce 3,000 new mental health and substance use treatment beds, settling a 3½-year lawsuit that alleged city and county officials had done little to address homelessness, while adding language to ensure the agreement was transparent and effectively monitored. (Smith, 9/29)

Los Angeles Times: Retired Judge Walks Through Skid Row To Prepare For Assignment
The walking tour was part tutorial and part tryout — one federal judge passing on to another his knowledge of Skid Row while testing his colleague’s tolerance for its sights and sounds and the daily struggles of its hard-pressed inhabitants. The day after signing off on a historic settlement that requires Los Angeles County to provide 3,000 new mental-health and substance-use treatment beds and commit hundreds of millions of dollars in services for homeless housing, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter staged a hands-on test of the fellow judge nominated as monitor to ensure those terms are met. (Smith, 10/2)

The Bakersfield Californian: Serious Mental Health Reforms Await Voters' Consideration In March
Pending a signature by the governor, voters across California will decide next spring the fate of how localities deal with serious mental health issues in a ballot measure on whether the public thinks the money could be spent better. This comes a month after the Legislature's passage of a bill to overhaul the state’s Mental Health Services Act, a ballot measure approved by voters in 2004 that levies a 1% tax on personal incomes above $1 million to fund programs and services for those with serious mental health issues. (Donegan, 9/30)

California Healthline: Police Blame Some Deaths On ‘Excited Delirium.’ ER Docs Consider Pulling The Plug On The Term.
The American College of Emergency Physicians will vote in early October on whether to disavow its 2009 research paper on excited delirium, which has been cited as a cause of death and used as a legal defense by police officers in several high-profile cases. (Hawryluk and Rayasam, 10/2)

AP: California's New Mental Health Court Rolls Out To High Expectations And Uncertainty
An alternative mental health court program designed to fast-track people with untreated schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders into housing and medical care — potentially without their consent — kicked off in seven California counties, including San Francisco, on Monday. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom created the new civil court process, called “CARE Court,” as part of a massive push to address the homelessness crisis in California. Lawmakers approved it despite deep misgivings over insufficient housing and services, saying they needed to try something new to help those suffering in public from apparent psychotic breaks. (Har, 10/2)

KQED: Gov. Newsom Names Laphonza Butler To Dianne Feinstein’s Senate Seat
Longtime Democratic advisor and labor leader Laphonza Butler will be California’s next U.S. Senator, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office confirmed late Sunday. She will become the second openly lesbian person to serve in the U.S. Senate and only the third Black woman. Butler, currently president of the pro-choice women’s fundraising group EMILY’S List, will fill the seat left empty by Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s death Thursday at the age of 90. She has advised Vice President Kamala Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and has close ties to Newsom’s inner circle. (Lagos and Marzorati, 10/1)

San Francisco Chronicle: Who Is Laphonza Butler? What We Know About Newsom’s Senate Pick
Laphonza Butler, a woman who once worked to elect pro-choice candidates, is soon to be California’s newest senator. ... Here is what we know about Newsom’s appointee. (Mishanec, 10/1)

Los Angeles Times: Dianne Feinstein's Cause Of Death Likely Wasn't Dementia
No cause of death has been disclosed for Dianne Feinstein, the longtime California senator who struggled with evident health problems in her final years before her death Friday. She was absent from the U.S. Senate for nearly three months earlier this year while recovering from a case of shingles that led to encephalitis, a rare complication that causes inflammation and swelling in the brain. She was briefly hospitalized in August after falling at her home and was often seen in a wheelchair in public. (Purtill, 9/29)

Los Angeles Times: Feinstein's Death Reignites Discussion About Term Limits
Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s death while in office has reignited a discussion about congressional term limits, and an ongoing, uncomfortable conversation about the age of elected public officials. (Gyamfi Asiedu, 9/29)

San Francisco Chronicle: East Bay Residents Scramble For New COVID Vaccine Amid Short Supply
At a CVS store in the East Bay Friday, appointments for the new COVID vaccinations were fully booked — and even more folks were hoping to get shots soon. Bay Area pharmacies and medical providers began giving the jabs by appointment only in mid-September. Demand is apparently high for the latest version of the vaccine, which is reformulated to protect against a strain of the coronavirus that was dominant throughout most of 2023. Several people in and near the CVS pharmacy on Solano Avenue in Albany said it has been difficult to get timely bookings at convenient locations. (Cabanatuan, 10/1)

Bloomberg: One In 20 Covid Patients Used Ivermectin, Hydroxychloroquine As Treatment
One in 20 people who had Covid used questionable treatments championed by groups that spread misinformation during the pandemic, a new study found. In a survey conducted from December to January, of nearly 13,500 participants who had Covid at any point during the pandemic, 5.9% reported using ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug typically used in livestock, or hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug, with some using both. Neither is approved to treat Covid but both have been promoted as remedies by vaccine skeptics and right-wing groups. (LaPara and Rutherford, 9/29)

Los Angeles Times: O.C. Doctor Charged With Defrauding COVID Healthcare Program Of $150 Million
An Orange County doctor was charged last week of allegedly defrauding a federal COVID-19 healthcare program for uninsured patients by submitting false claims in a scheme that netted him about $150 million, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. Anthony Hao Dinh, 64, of Newport Beach is facing 12 counts of wire fraud, five counts of money laundering and a count of obstructing justice. Dinh, a licensed doctor of osteopathy and an ear, nose and throat specialist, is out of custody on a $7-million bond, according to prosecutors and court records. (Fry, 10/1)

Modern Healthcare: Sutter Health To Acquire Sansum Clinic Monday 
Sutter Health's strategy to expand its network across California will take a step forward Monday when its acquisition of outpatient care organization Sansum Clinic takes effect. Sacramento, California-based Sutter said Friday it will integrate Sansum, headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, into its network over the next few years and make significant investments that include clinic renovations and new equipment. Additions include three new operating rooms at Sansum's Foothill Surgery Center in Santa Barbara. (Hudson, 9/29)

The Wall Street Journal: Find Hospitals Deemed Ready To Treat Children In Your Area
Preparing emergency rooms to treat young patients saves children’s lives, research has found, because many hospitals don’t have experience seeing enough young kids to ensure proper care. Only 14% of emergency departments across the U.S. have been deemed pediatric ready or specialize in kids, The Wall Street Journal found. The Journal put together the first comprehensive list of hospitals nationwide that have received state certification of some level of readiness for pediatric emergencies. The tally also includes certain children’s hospitals and certain pediatric trauma centers, which specialize in caring for kids. (Evans, Dapena, Essley Whyte and Friedman, 10/1)

KCRA: Bringing Latino Representation Into Medicine
Oct. 1 is Latino/a Physicians Day, and the California Society of Anesthesiologists is speaking out on the importance of Latino representation in medicine. Only 6% of U.S. physicians are Latino/Latina, despite Latinos making up 19% of the total population. The day hopes to raise awareness about the need for Latino representation in medicine to erase the cultural and language barriers that exist in society. (10/1)

Modern Healthcare: Obesity Certifications Sought Amid Ozempic, Wegovy Popularity
Physicians across specialties are pursuing a certification in obesity medicine, including internists, pediatricians, endocrinologists and gastroenterologists. Nearly 1,900 physicians have applied to take the annual exam in October, compared with about 1,250 in 2022, according to the American Board of Obesity Medicine, which administers the exam. In 2019, applications totaled less than 900. (Hudson, 10/2)

The Hill: Biden Administration Looking To Expand Coverage Of OTC Birth Control, Other Products
The Biden administration is asking for public comment on whether to require most health insurance plans to cover a range of over-the-counter (OTC) preventive products, including contraception, for free. The Affordable Care Act requires insurers to cover preventive services, including specific types of birth control, but only if they are prescribed. Insurers usually don’t cover OTC products. (Weixel, 9/29)

The Hill: Federal Judge Denies Request To Block Medicare Negotiation
Along with denying the Chamber’s request for an injunction, Newman also denied a request from the federal government to dismiss the case entirely. The government is arguing the Chamber has no standing to sue over Medicare negotiation since it’s not a pharmaceutical company itself. (Choi, 9/29)

San Francisco Chronicle: Researchers Probe Whether Vaccines Could Solve The Opioid Drug Crisis
Twelve years ago, pharmacologist Marco Pravetoni was among the scientists trying to develop a nicotine vaccine that could help people quit smoking — a type of experimental shot that eventually fizzled out after testing showed it benefited only a subset of people who took it. ... He pivoted his research to focus on another highly addictive substance, oxycodone. ... The result of that work — a vaccine that prevents oxycodone overdose in lab rats and mice — is now heading toward Phase 1 human clinical trials. (Ho, 9/29)

Stat: WHO Recommends Dropping Component Of Many Flu Vaccines
The World Health Organization has recommended dropping a component of many flu vaccines because the viruses it protects against appear to have been driven into extinction in the Covid-19 pandemic. (Branswell, 9/29)

AP: Navy Will Start Testing SEALs And Other Troops For Steroids
he Navy will begin randomly testing its special operations forces for steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs beginning in November, taking a groundbreaking step that military leaders have long resisted. Rear Adm. Keith Davids, commander of Naval Special Warfare Command, announced the new program Friday in a message to his force, calling it necessary to protect their health and military readiness. The Navy will be the first to begin random testing, but Army Special Operations Command said it will soon follow suit, although no start date has been set. (Baldor. 9/29)

NBC News: Short Bursts Of Activity May Lower Risk Of Heart Attack And Stroke, New Study Finds
Even short bursts of physical activity — the kind that come from simple, daily tasks — can benefit people’s health, according to a large study published Thursday in the journal The Lancet Public Health. The research found that engaging in a few minutes of physical activity, such as walking, gardening or household chores, each day was linked to lower risks of heart attack, stroke and early death. (Lovelace Jr., 9/29)

NPR: Scientists Probe Genetic Causes Of Autism With A New Tool Made Of Brain Cells
A team of researchers has developed a new way to study how genes may cause autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders: by growing tiny brain-like structures in the lab and tweaking their DNA. These "assembloids," described in the journal Nature, could one day help researchers develop targeted treatments for autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, schizophrenia, and epilepsy. (Hamilton, 10/2)

California Healthline: Facing Criticism, Feds Award First Maternal Health Grant To A Predominantly Black Rural Area
Mississippi has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the U.S. Now, it also has a federal grant to help in rural areas. The award could signal more flexibility from federal officials. (Tribble, 10/2)