San Francisco Chronicle: Kaiser To Lay Off Dozens Of Bay Area Employees
Kaiser Foundation Hospitals is set to reduce its workforce by more than 70 employees by April, primarily in the East Bay, according to information provided last week to the California Employment Development Department. In regulatory filings, Kaiser’s Human Resources Director Christine Neubauer said the layoffs would affect 49 workers at the company’s Pleasanton location, one in Oakland, two in Stockton, and 20 from elsewhere around the state, mainly in Pasadena. (Vaziri, 3/4)

Modesto Bee: Sutter Acquires Cancer Treatment Centers In Modesto, Stockton
Sutter Health has purchased radiation oncology centers in Modesto and Stockton as it expands cancer treatment services in the Central Valley and other regions in the state. Sutter acquired the GenesisCare treatment centers at 1316 Nelson Ave. in Modesto and 4722 Quail Lakes Drive in Stockton. The transactions closed Friday. Treatment services will continue as usual at the GenesisCare centers during a 90-day transition, a Sutter representative said. (Carlson, 3/4)

Sacramento Business Journal: Marshall Medical Center Reports $9.5 Million In Income For Fiscal 2023
A Placerville hospital ended last year on a good note, with a positive operating margin and $9.5 million in total income. (Hamann, 3/4)

Sacramento Business Journal: Health Care Systems Feel The Costs Of Building For Tomorrow While Meeting The Demand Of Today
Health care systems are pouring billions of dollars into building new facilities as they try to meet the demand from a growing number of patients clamoring for care. However, the ballooning cost of construction, wages and supplies is making health care more and more expensive. (Hamann, 3/4)

The Desert Sun: Gelson's Pharmacy In Rancho Mirage Has Closed. What To Know
Gelson's said in a statement that "Over the last 3-4 years, due to impacts from escalating costs and lower reimbursements from insurance providers and third-party benefits managers, the pharmacy business continues to be unprofitable and we do not see a pathway to improve those prospects." (Sasic, 3/4)

San Francisco Chronicle: Marin County Issues Warning Over Sudden Surge In Fentanyl Overdoses
Marin County health officials have issued an advisory highlighting a surge in fentanyl overdose deaths. Dr. Matt Willis, the public health officer for Marin County, said in an advisory on Friday that between Feb. 14 and March 1, five people have died of suspected fentanyl-related overdoses, marking a notable increase for the region. (Vaziri, 3/4)

San Francisco Chronicle: New Overdose Reversal Drug Could Save Lives. California Isn’t Using It
In the face of California’s escalating overdose crisis, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Department of Public Health recently took necessary action by introducing a statewide standing order to streamline the distribution and administration of the opioid reversal medication naloxone across the state. However, this move, while laudable, does not fully address the complexities of the crisis, especially with the rise of synthetic opioids like fentanyl. This inadequacy becomes all too apparent when considering the tragic and heartbreaking incident of a 2-year-old in Sacramento who, despite receiving two doses of naloxone, still died from an accidental — and preventable — overdose. (Layne, 3/4)

Stat: U.S. Sidelines Methadone And Buprenorphine Despite Opioid Crisis 
The opioid overdose epidemic has burned through the U.S. for nearly 30 years. Yet for all that time, the country has had tools that are highly effective at preventing overdose deaths: methadone and buprenorphine. (Facher, 3/5)

Stat: How To Get '50% Less People' Dying Of Overdose: Nora Volkow 
In 2003, the year Nora Volkow was appointed director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, roughly 4,000 Americans died of opioid overdose. In the two decades since, the overdose crisis has morphed into a full-fledged public health emergency, with 80,000 Americans dying from opioid overdoses each year. But in that stretch, relatively little has changed about the way the U.S. treats opioid addiction. (Facher, 3/5)

Fierce Healthcare: Opioid Treatment Retention Improves With Insurance Coverage
Insurance network coverage dramatically impacts whether a person remains in treatment for opioid use disorder, according to results shared by treatment provider Ophelia. A new study finds that nearly three-quarters (72.3%) of patients receiving opioid treatment through network insurance stayed in treatment for at least six months. Patients received telehealth treatment from Ophelia. (Tong, 3/5)

Stat: Opioid Withdrawal Is Agony. How Can Medication Prevent It?
Over 2 million Americans have opioid use disorder, according to some estimates. Illicit opioids such as heroin and fentanyl were responsible for over 80,000 U.S. overdose deaths in 2023. Despite the known risks, these drugs are notoriously hard to stop using — due in large part to how debilitating withdrawal can be. (Hogan, 3/5)

The Mercury News: 70% Of California Homeless People Live On Street. Lawmakers Aim To Add Shelter
California lacks anywhere near enough homeless shelters for everyone living on the street. To bring more people indoors and out of harm’s way, Bay Area lawmakers are pushing a new bill to fast-track building tiny homes and other kinds of temporary shelter statewide. “People are dying on our streets every day,” said State Sen. Josh Becker, a Democrat from Menlo Park, while unveiling the legislation Monday at a recently completed shelter in San Jose. (Varian, 3/4)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Pushes To Expand Abortion Access With Physician Assistants
California’s efforts to expand access to abortion care are enabling more types of medical practitioners to perform certain abortion procedures — potentially a boon for patients in rural areas especially, but a source of concern for doctors’ groups that have long fought efforts to expand the role of non-physicians. The latest move is a law that enables trained physician assistants, also known as physician associates, to perform first-trimester abortions without a supervising physician present. (Udesky, 3/4)

AP: First Over-The-Counter Birth Control Pill Begins Shipping In US
The first over-the-counter birth control pill will be available in U.S. stores later this month, allowing American women and teens to purchase contraceptive medication as easily as they buy aspirin. Manufacturer Perrigo said Monday it has begun shipping the medication, Opill, to major retailers and pharmacies. A one-month supply will cost about $20 and a three-month supply will cost around $50, according to the company’s suggested retail price. It will also be sold online. (Perrone, 3/4)

The New York Times: Women Turn To Drugs Like Ozempic For Weight Loss Before Pregnancy 
Excess weight may increase the risk of miscarriage and pregnancy complications. But little is known about the impact of drugs like Ozempic on a fetus. (Blum, 3/4)

San Francisco Chronicle: Chlamydia, Syphilis Infections Plummeted After S.F. Did This One Thing
Rates of chlamydia and syphilis dropped dramatically among men who have sex with men and transgender women after San Francisco began offering them prescriptions for antibiotics to take after having unprotected sex, according to a report released Monday. The preliminary report, shared at the international Conference for Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Denver, could have a tremendous impact on how the United States approaches soaring rates of sexually transmitted infections nationwide, researchers said. (Allday, 3/4)

ProPublica: Syphilis Is Killing Babies. The U.S. Government Is Failing To Stop The Disease From Spreading. 
Karmin Strohfus, the lead nurse at a South Dakota jail, punched numbers into a phone like lives depended on it. She had in her care a pregnant woman with syphilis, a highly contagious, potentially fatal infection that can pass into the womb. A treatment could cure the woman and protect her fetus, but she couldn’t find it in stock at any pharmacy she called — not in Hughes County, not even anywhere within an hour’s drive. Most people held at the jail where Strohfus works are released within a few days. “What happens if she gets out before I’m able to treat her?” she worried. Exasperated, Strohfus reached out to the state health department, which came through with one dose. The treatment required three. (Barry-Jester, 3/4)

Bloomberg: Updated Covid-19 Vaccine Expected To Come This Fall, CDC Director Cohen Says
Americans should expect yet another update of the Covid-19 vaccine this fall at about the same time as flu shots are available, the top US public health official said Monday. Researchers are working on selecting a strain for the upcoming version, and will probably wait until May to pick one to target with vaccines, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Mandy Cohen said in an interview at Bloomberg’s offices in Washington. (Denham and Griffin, 3/4)

The Hill: Free COVID-19 Test Program To Be Suspended For Now 
The federal government’s free at-home COVID-19 test program will be suspended beginning Friday in response to a drop in respiratory diseases. The Biden administration brought back the free test program last year ahead of the respiratory viral season. By going to COVIDtests.gov, households could order a free pack of four at-home COVID-19 tests. This most recent batch of free tests was the sixth round made available. (Choi, 3/4)

The Hill: Federal Appeals Panel Skeptical Of ObamaCare’s Preventative Care Authority
A federal appeals panel appeared skeptical Monday of the constitutionality of an Affordable Care Act (ACA) provision requiring insurers to cover specific preventive services. Judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans questioned whether the members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) have the legal power to make recommendations, since its members are not appointed by the president or confirmed by the Senate. (Weixel, 3/4)

Politico: White House Turns To Health Care In Biden’s Latest Move Against ‘Corporate Greed’
The White House plans to announce a new federal task force focused on easing health care costs, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter. The move comes as President Joe Biden seeks new ways to show voters he’s cracking down on the so-called corporate greed that he has increasingly blamed for high prices — a message he is expected to highlight during his State of the Union address on Thursday. (Sisco, Cancryn and Wilson, 3/4)

The Hill: All Drugmakers Send In Counteroffers In Medicare Price Negotiations 
All of the manufacturers whose drugs were chosen for the federal government’s Medicare price negotiation program have sent back counteroffers for what they consider to be a maximum fair price, the White House said Monday. President Biden confirmed in a statement Monday that all companies are continuing to engage in the negotiation process, despite the host of legal battles to block the program. (Choi, 3/4)

Stat: White House Is Told Big Three PBMs Are 'Everything Wrong With This Industry'
As part of its battle to blunt the growing cost of medicines, the White House on Monday held a so-called listening session in hopes of finding ways to rein in big pharmacy benefit managers, which occupy an opaque but crucial role in pharmaceutical pricing in the U.S. (Silverman, 3/4)

Politico: What Biden Did On Health Care: From Drug Prices To Abortion Rights
Joe Biden took office with big challenges in health care, foremost among them ending the pandemic. They only grew after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. On Thursday, Biden could point to the Inflation Reduction Act, which for the first time gave Medicare the power to negotiate prices on drugs, or the American Rescue Plan, which made Obamacare plans more affordable. (3/5)

Axios: Hospitals And PBMs Get A Reprieve From Congress
Hospitals and pharmacy benefit managers who've repeatedly been targeted in congressional debates over health spending appear to have ducked major federal reforms that could have upended how they do business. The big congressional spending deal that was unveiled this week with health policy attachments largely keeps the status quo for the two powerful industries, potentially leaving patients exposed to higher health costs. (Sullivan, 3/5)

The New York Times: The Bipartisan Spending Bill To Prevent A Government Shutdown: What’s In It? 
Congress is expected later this week to take up and approve a package of six spending bills to fund half the government through the fall, after months of bitter negotiations as Republicans pressed for cuts and conservative policies. The $460 billion legislation would fund a slew of government agencies and programs, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Justice Department and veterans affairs. It must pass in order to avert a partial government shutdown at the end of the week. (Edmondson, 3/4)

Axios: Health Providers Ask Feds To Intervene In Cyber Outage
Health providers are slamming UnitedHealth Group's response to the crippling ransomware attack against its subsidiary Change Healthcare and are pressing the Biden administration to intervene. Hospitals and a host other health interests have seen payment systems slow to a crawl because of the attack against Change, with some warning they're running dangerously low on cash as they await a fix. (Reed, 3/5)

Modern Healthcare: Change Healthcare Outage: AHA Slams UnitedHealth’s Funding Plan
The American Hospital Association slammed UnitedHealth Group's offer of financial assistance for some healthcare providers in the wake of the cyberattack on Change Healthcare and called on Congress for assistance. AHA President and CEO Richard Pollack said Change Healthcare parent company UnitedHealth Group's temporary loan program misses the mark in a letter sent Monday to UnitedHealth Group President and Chief Operating Officer Dirk McMahon. (Berryman, 3/4)

Military Times: Pentagon Inspector General To Assess Navy’s Suicide Prevention Efforts
The Pentagon’s independent watchdog is looking into the Navy’s efforts to prevent and respond to suicides, according to a project announcement posted Tuesday. The review follows an internal Navy audit spurred by two clusters of suicides within the same command during 2022. The project began in February, according to the announcement, and will assess whether the “Navy effectively took actions to prevent and respond to incidents of deaths by suicide, suicide attempts, and suicidal ideation among members of the Navy assigned to sea duty or shore duty,” according to the announcement. (Myers, 3/4)

Los Angeles Daily News: Riverside Mother, Daughter Found Guilty Of Involuntary Manslaughter For Deadly Butt-Lift 
A Riverside mother-daughter duo on trial for the death of a Reseda woman who died after they performed a butt-lift on her in October 2019 were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter Monday, March 4. (Cain, 3/4)