Modern Healthcare: Tenet Healthcare Completes Sale Of 4 Hospitals To UCI Health
University of California Irvine's health system said Wednesday it has completed its acquisition of four Tenet Healthcare hospitals and their affiliated outpatient locations in Southern California in an $800 million deal. The deal comprises Lakewood Regional Medical Center, Los Alamitos Medical Center, Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center, and Placentia-Linda Hospital, which are now part of Orange, California-based UCI Health. (Desilva, 3/27)

The Desert Sun: Survey Shows Locals In Favor Of Tenet's Desert Regional Lease Renewal
As the Desert Healthcare District continues to navigate contract negotiations with Tenet Healthcare over Desert Regional Medical Center, community members' opinions were shared on the issue: A majority support renewing another 30-year lease, even if it means selling the hospital, according to a public opinion survey. (Sasic, 3/27)

KQED: California Regulators Investigate Sutter Health Over Unreported Assault On Psychiatry Worker
California regulators are reviewing Sutter Health’s handling of a violent assault on a psychiatry resident after she shared her story with KQED. Dani Golomb was brutally beaten and knocked unconscious by a patient on Sept. 5, 2020, while working in the inpatient unit at California Pacific Medical Center. The patient jumped her from behind, shoving Golomb to the floor. (Stark, 3/27)

Fresno Bee: Valley Children’s News Release Calls $5.1 Million CEO Pay Criticism 'Misinformation'
The nonprofit Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera County responded to a backlash over the millions of dollars it pays its executives with a Wednesday news release, calling the criticism from Fresno City Council members and others the product of “misinformation.” (Galicia, 3/27)

Axios: Hospital Cuts Challenge Expectations Of Post-COVID Rebound
Even as financial conditions improve at health systems across the U.S., a rash of recent stories about layoffs or unit closures underscore a complex picture for the industry. High inflation, worsening reimbursement and increasingly fierce competition for outpatient services are challenging the post-COVID rebound hospitals are hoping for as patients seek delayed care. (Reed, 3/28)

Los Angeles Times: What The Supreme Court’s Abortion Pill Case Could Mean For California
Lee had just been dumped when she found out she was pregnant. With no car, no job and no support, the 23-year-old — who asked that her last name be withheld for medical privacy — ended up at the virtual clinic Hey Jane, where she was quickly assessed and prescribed abortion medication. Four months later, thousands of Californians in a similar situation have been holding their breath as the U.S. Supreme Court weighed a case that could rewrite the rules of care in more than two-thirds of U.S. abortions, limiting access to a popular drug even in states where it remains legal. (Sharp, 3/28)

KQED: The Stakes In The Supreme Court's Abortion Pill Case
The Supreme Court took up abortion access this week for the first since overturning Roe v. Wade two years ago. This time, they’re considering whether to restrict access to abortion pill mifepristone. Marisa talks with POLITICO health care reporter Alice Miranda Ollstein about what the conservative-led court might do. (Lagos, 3/27)

Stat: Abortion Pill Case Raises Question: Who Can Sue The FDA?
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito had a clear question at Tuesday’s arguments over the abortion pill mifepristone: If the doctors who brought that case can’t sue the FDA over a drug’s label, who can? And when? (Owermohle, 3/28)

Politico: Biden Expands Window To Try And Keep Millions More Low-Income Americans Insured
President Joe Biden is widening a critical window for low-income Americans to join Obamacare, in a move aimed at reinforcing a central element of his reelection bid: That he presided over a historic expansion of health care coverage. Tens of millions of people eliminated from Medicaid would now have until Nov. 30 to sign up for new coverage under a plan to be announced Thursday by the Department of Health and Human Services and first shared with POLITICO — an extension from the July 31 deadline initially set for the special enrollment period. (Cancryn, 3/28)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Eases Medicaid, CHIP Enrollment And Renewal Under Final Rule
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued the final rule Wednesday designed to simplify enrollment and renewal of coverage in Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program and Basic Health Program and end coverage interruptions. The Streamlining the Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Basic Health Program Application, Eligibility Determination, Enrollment, and Renewal Processes rule will standardize processes across states and apply consumer protections from the Affordable Care Act. (Desilva, 3/27)

Reuters: UnitedHealth Group Paid Over $3.3 Bln To Care Providers Hit By Cyberattacks
U.S. insurer UnitedHealth Group (UNH.N) on Wednesday said it has advanced more than $3.3 billion so far to care providers impacted by a cyberattack last month on insurance claims system Change Healthcare. UnitedHealth said it has paid more than 40% of that total to so-called safety net hospitals and federally qualified health centers serving high-risk patients and communities. (3/28)

Reuters: US Offers $10 Million Bounty For Info On 'Blackcat' Hackers Who Hit UnitedHealth
The U.S. State Department on Wednesday offered up to $10 million for information on the "Blackcat" ransomware gang who hit the UnitedHealth Group's tech unit and snarled insurance payments across America." The ALPHV Blackcat ransomware-as-a-service group compromised computer networks of critical infrastructure sectors in the United States and worldwide," the department said in a statement announcing the reward offer. (3/27)

San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Whooping Cough Outbreak Reported By County Health Officials
Marin County is experiencing a significant increase in whooping cough cases, primarily centered on one of its largest high schools. The county’s health officer, Matt Willis, issued an advisory last week indicating that out of the 93 cases recorded in the region since mid-December, 65 have occurred at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley. (Vaziri, 3/27)

The Hill: Sacramento Declares Itself A Sanctuary City For Transgender People
The Sacramento City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a resolution declaring the California capital a sanctuary for transgender people. The resolution, which went into effect immediately, guarantees that none of the city’s resources — including staff time — are used to enforce laws passed in other states that restrict access to gender-affirming health care for transgender minors or adults. (Migdon, 3/27)

The 19th: Why Some LGBTQ+ Groups Oppose The Current Kids Online Safety Act
When the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) was introduced in Congress two years ago, it set off alarm bells for many LGBTQ+ groups. The broad and vague bill that aimed to “protect children online” seemed like a censorship nightmare, empowering state attorneys general to determine what kind of content harms kids. The fears that KOSA would be used to shut down LGBTQ+ content were not unfounded. (Mithani, 3/27)

CalMatters: Disabled Students Push UC To Provide Accessible Emergency Exits
Ryan Manriquez opened the door of his second-floor apartment to a blaring fire alarm. It was September 2023, a few weeks into the school year at UC Berkeley, where he’s a graduate student studying public policy. Residents descended the staircase, following lighted exit signs. The alarm was getting louder, urging Manriquez to leave. But he couldn’t. Sitting in his power wheelchair, he looked at the only way out of the building for him — an elevator down the hallway, its doors now shut and inoperable. There was no way out for him. (Wu, 3/28)

Modesto Bee: Bilingual Students With Special Needs Face Unique Hurdles
Some students grapple with special needs. Others navigate learning English as a second language. And some deal with both, in a time when teacher shortages in special education are exacerbating their plight. Since 2015, the number of special education teacher vacancies in Stanislaus County has increased 42%. (Bisharyan, 3/27)

San Diego Union-Tribune: New County Report To Track Stomach Bugs In South Bay Amid Fears Of Sewage Pollution 
The county public health department is stepping up its public reporting on gastrointestinal illness in the South Bay amid growing public calls for a stronger focus on sewage-related suffering connected to the Tijuana River. (Sisson, 3/27)

California Healthline: More Women Are Drinking Themselves Sick. The Biden Administration Is Concerned. 
Historically, alcohol use disorder has disproportionately affected men. But targeted advertising and changes in societal norms over the past 50 years have led to an upsurge in alcohol-related diseases and deaths among women. “It’s a very taboo topic,” one expert said. (Sausser, 3/28)

Los Angeles Times: Campaign Seeks To Double County's Quarter-Cent Homelessness Tax 
An alliance of civic groups is gathering signatures to place a measure on the November ballot that would double L.A. County’s homelessness sales tax to a half-cent to raise more funds for housing, prevention and services. (Smith, 3/27

CNN: Regular Exercise Is Associated With Less Insomnia, Study Shows 
Tired from a restless night spent awake? One of the most helpful things to do might be to get some exercise, according to a new study. (Holcombe, 3/27)

Politico: AI's Not Ready For Depression Diagnoses
How we write our social media posts might reveal whether we’re depressed or anxious. But research methods for finding signs of depression in text don’t work across racial groups, according to a new report funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study is part of an effort by the agency to root out health misinformation among populations that experience higher averages of preventable disease. (Reader, Shumaker and Paun, 3/27)