The Bakersfield Californian: Kern Supervisors Adjourn Early As Health Care Workers Demand Higher Wages
Home health care workers brought Tuesday morning's county Board of Supervisors meeting to a halt as they demanded fair, living wages before erupting in a singular chant “Forward, not backward,” prompting board Chairman David Couch to gavel a nine-minute recess. (Donegan, 2/27)

The Desert Sun: Desert Regional Nurses Launch Billboard Campaign; Hospital Responds
Registered nurses at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs are putting a spotlight on alleged health and safety concerns at the hospital by rolling out a billboard campaign and sharing videos online, according to the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United. (Sasic, 2/27)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Demand For These Health Care Jobs Is Increasing Most In California
Scrubs could become an essential part of the wardrobe for millions more Americans as health care jobs grow across the country. The aging U.S. population is rapidly increasing demand for many jobs in the health sector, which has become the fastest-growing part of the national economy. (Stacker, 2/27)

Modern Healthcare: Change Healthcare Outage: AHA Advises Staying Disconnected
UnitedHealth Group, the American Hospital Association and the Health and Human Services Department remain focused on a cyberattack that has crippled electronic transactions between pharmacies and payers for nearly a week. The AHA continues to advise member hospitals to remain disconnected from UnitedHealth Group division Change Healthcare's systems, which were attacked last Wednesday. (Berryman, 2/27)

San Francisco Chronicle: Funds At Risk For California Program Steering Drug Users To Treatment
Health providers and addiction experts warn the funding structure is unstable for a California initiative that steers patients with substance use disorder into long-term treatment after they are discharged from emergency rooms, which has already led some critical employees to leave their jobs. Supporters of CA Bridge’s behavioral health navigator program, which started in 2022, say its reliance on one-time money makes it hard for hospitals to retain navigators amid a growing drug crisis. (Sánchez, 2/27)

WCVB: Most Pediatricians Not Prepared To Treat Teen Opioid Use
Even with teen opioid overdose deaths soaring, a new study finds most pediatricians aren't prepared to treat young patients struggling with addiction. The nationwide survey was conducted by researchers at Mass General for Children and Yale School of Medicine. Of those pediatricians surveyed, 48% said they felt prepared to counsel teen patients struggling with opioid use. That's despite the fact nearly all of those surveyed believe it's their responsibility to do so. And, even though 24% said they'd diagnosed Opioid Use Disorder in a young patient, just 5% said they had prescribed any medication considered the standard of care for the disorder. (Brown, 2/27)

Voice of OC: Costa Mesa Eyes Affordable Housing At Senior Center
Seniors living in Costa Mesa – many of whom live on fixed incomes – could soon have access to more affordable housing. It comes as Costa Mesa City Council members took initial steps on building up to 60 affordable housing units for seniors alongside the city’s existing senior center. (Gradillas, 2/27)

Los Angeles Times: A Tent Encampment Rises Outside Ojai's City Hall, Filled With Older Locals Priced Out Of Housing
For three decades, Jamie Nelson has considered Ojai her personal paradise. It’s where she raised her children and cherishes the springtime, when the air smells like jasmine and orange blossoms. “Lots of times, I’ve said, ‘God, I think Heaven probably smells like this,’” Nelson said of this artsy tourist town of 7,500 people. Now, Nelson, a 74-year-old grandmother who has heart problems and bad knees and leans heavily on a cane, is homeless. She lives in a tent outside the historic Ojai City Hall, where a growing encampment filled with older people has vexed a community known for spiritual retreats, chakra-aligning crystals and organic farms. (Branson-Potts, 2/28)

Fresno Bee: 'California Is Buzzing With Norovirus,' Expert Says. What To Know About Stomach Flu Spread
Norovirus is on the rise overall in the United States, federal officials say, even as the West sees a slight dip in reported cases. After peaking in January, cases of the virus were steadily dropping in the western part of the country — including California, Nevada and Oregon — as of Feb. 10, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. (Truong, 2/28)

Los Angeles Daily News: LA Mayor Bass Announces $60M In FEMA Reimbursements For COVID Expenses 
The city of Los Angeles will get nearly $60 million in long-awaited federal reimbursements from FEMA for costs spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic – part of a larger package worth more than $300 million coming to the L.A. area, officials announced Tuesday, Feb. 27. (Tat, 2/27)

CalMatters: Maternal Health: Medi-Cal Benefits For New Moms Are Underused
California offers extensive pregnancy benefits to low-income mothers, but the state’s top health agencies have no way of knowing how many people are getting help or whether the program improves the health of moms and babies, a new report from the California State Auditor asserts. The audit’s findings come at a time when California is grappling with increasing rates of maternal mortality, persistent disparities for Black women and growing maternity care deserts. In 2020, the state reported the highest rate of maternal mortality in a decade, and Black women were three to four times more likely to die of pregnancy-related complications than others. (Hwang, 2/28)

The 19th: Senate Democrats Aim For Expedited Vote To Protect IVF Access
Senate Democrats on Tuesday highlighted their plan to protect IVF, warning their Republican colleagues they will need to decide by Wednesday whether to block a bill that would preserve access to assisted reproductive technologies. (Becker and Davis, 2/27)

The Hill: Republican Circulating Nonbinding House Resolution To Support IVF 
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) is circulating a nonbinding resolution to Democrats and Republicans expressing “strong support for continued access to fertility care” including in vitro fertilization. In an email sent to congressional offices, Mace’s legislative director said the resolution is being introduced “in light of the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling which has jeopardized access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) for couples in the state of Alabama.” (Weixel, 2/27)

Axios: Biden's Next Move On IVF Protections May Be Limited
Fertility providers are talking with the Biden administration about possible steps it can take to ensure access to in vitro fertilization, while legal experts say the administration likely has some limited powers. (Goldman, 2/28)

Axios: Two-Thirds Signal Opposition To Alabama IVF Ruling: Axios-Ipsos Poll
Two-thirds of Americans oppose considering frozen embryos as people, with the issue rapidly resonating with Democrats already charged up by election-year messaging on reproductive rights, a new Axios-Ipsos poll finds. The findings suggest the Alabama Supreme Court decision on in vitro fertilization goes well beyond where public sentiment is in the post-Roe world. (Bettelheim, 2/28)

Stat: FTC Says Pharmacy Benefit Managers Are Stonewalling Requests For Information
A much-anticipated inquiry by U.S. antitrust regulators into pharmaceutical industry middlemen has been stymied because the companies have failed to provide many of the documents that, in some cases, were requested as far back as June 2022. (Silverman, 2/27)

Modern Healthcare: PBM Reform Advocates Hold Out Hope Congress Can Still Act
Advocates for tougher restrictions on pharmacy benefit managers are not giving up after Congress reportedly shelved several proposals this week, even if lawmakers see no immediate path forward. PBM legislation has broad bipartisan support on Capitol Hill. Negotiations appear to have broken down, however, regarding which specific measures to include in the full-year government funding bills that must pass by March 1 and March 8. (McAuliff, 2/27)

The Wall Street Journal: Shutdown Fears Fade After White House Meeting 
Democratic and Republican congressional leaders struck an optimistic tone that they would avert a government shutdown this weekend after a White House meeting in which lawmakers also stepped up pressure on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) to allow a long-stalled vote on Ukraine aid to go forward. Johnson is expected to put forward legislation in coming days that would keep the government fully open, but the details remained uncertain. The Congress has until Saturday at 12:01 a.m. to fund the departments of Veterans Affairs, Transportation, Agriculture, Energy and several other agencies that have been operating on temporary extensions since Sept. 30. The funding for the rest of the federal government expires after March 8. (Wise, Hughes and Linskey, 2/27)

Military.com: VA Has Come A Long Way In Serving Female Veterans, But More Could Be Done, New Report Says 
The Department of Veterans Affairs has made significant progress in providing medical treatment and services to female veterans, but shortfalls still exist, especially in mental health care, largely as a result of gender differences, according to a new report from the nonprofit group Disabled American Veterans. More than 600,000 female veterans receive health care through the VA, and the proportion of those who have a service-connected disability has risen since 2000 from 48% to 73% in 2020. Given that there are more than 2 million female veterans in the U.S., many of whom need support and qualify for VA services but aren't using their benefits, the department should do more to improve services for them, DAV analysts wrote in "Women Veterans: A Journey to Mental Wellness." (Kime and Kheel, 2/27)

San Francisco Chronicle: Smoking Weed Daily Linked To Much Higher Risk Of Heart Attack, Stroke
Smoking cannabis frequently could lead to significantly higher risk of heart attack and stroke, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association on Wednesday. Daily cannabis use, primarily by smoking, is associated with a 25% increased risk of heart attack and 42% increased risk of stroke when compared to not using the drug, the study found. Smoking weekly is associated with a 3% higher risk of heart attack and a 5% higher risk of stroke, according to the analysis, one of the largest studies to examine the relationship between cannabis and cardiovascular events. (Ho, 2/28)

The New York Times: Why Is Mercury Stubbornly High In Tuna? Researchers Might Have An Answer. 
Old accumulations of the toxic metal in the deep sea are circulating into shallower waters where the fish feed, new research found. (Tabuchi, 2/27)

The New York Times: A Fading Weapon In The HIV Fight: Condoms
Gay and bisexual men are using condoms less than ever, and the decline has been particularly steep among those who are young or Hispanic, according to a new study. The worrisome trend points to an urgent need for better prevention strategies as the nation struggles to beat the H.I.V. epidemic, researchers said. Over the past decade, prevention medication known as PrEP has helped fuel a moderate drop in H.I.V. rates. And yet, despite persistent public health campaigns promoting the drugs, they have not been adopted in substantial numbers by Black and Hispanic men who are gay or bisexual. (Ryan, 2/27)

USA Today: Exclusive: CDC Head Aims To Fix U.S. Divisiveness About Public Health
At a time when public health guidance is increasingly politicized and divisive, the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a plan to bring Americans back together. Dr. Mandy Cohen, who took the helm at the agency in July, says the key to addressing health issues is to begin with topics people agree on and build a relationship across the aisle. “This is a journey,” she said in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY. “There’s a lot of threats in the world, let’s start at the places where we have a lot of good agreement.” (Rodriguez, 2/27)

CNN: Drugs Like Ozempic And Wegovy Could Boost The US Economy By A Trillion Dollars In A Few Years, Goldman Sachs Predicts
The US economy is set to reap considerable benefits from Americans taking popular medications used for weight loss, including Ozempic and Wegovy, Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a recent research report. (Mena, 2/27)

Axios: Americans Don't Think Weight-Loss Drugs Will Fix The Obesity Epidemic
Most Americans who've heard of Ozempic and other new GLP-1 drugs think they can help people with severe weight problems, a new Pew Research Center survey finds. The public recognizes the injectable treatments' potential to help on the individual level, but they're less convinced that drugs being touted as a major breakthrough — and already upending markets — will put a major dent in America's obesity problem. (Millman, 2/27)

Stat: Obesity Drug From Viking Hits In Trial, Fueling Competition In The Field
An obesity medication from Viking Therapeutics succeeded in a Phase 2 clinical study, the company said Tuesday, helping patients lose up to nearly 15% of their weight over about three months and further fueling the competition in the exploding obesity drug market. (Joseph, 2/27)