Latest From California Healthline:
KFF Health News Original Stories
Supreme Court OKs Local Crackdowns on Homelessness, as Advocates Warn of Chaos
In a momentous 6-3 decision that could affect communities across the nation, the U.S. Supreme Court gave local officials and law enforcement more authority to fine and penalize homeless people living outside. Advocates for homeless people predict the ruling will lead to more sickness and death. (Angela Hart, 6/28)
New Health Laws Go Into Effect Today: In an effort to prevent drink-spiking incidents, most bars and nightclubs now must have drug-testing kits available for sale. Also, schools that instruct third to fifth grade must provide free menstrual products in bathrooms. Read more from KUSI, The Sacramento Bee, and Los Angeles Times.
Local Leaders At Odds Over Encampment Ruling: Many leaders in the L.A. area are up in arms over the Supreme Court’s ruling in support of anti-camping laws, which they fear other municipalities will use to push homeless people into Los Angeles. But leaders in Long Beach and Orange County say it will give cities a new tool to clear encampments. Read more from the Los Angeles Daily News, Voice of OC, and Voice of San Diego. Scroll down for more news on the homelessness crisis.
Below, check out the roundup of California Healthline’s coverage. For today's national health news, read KFF Health News’ Morning Briefing.
More News From Across The State
AP:
California Gov. Gavin Newsom Signs Budget To Close $46.8B Budget Deficit
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday signed California’s budget to close an estimated $46.8 billion deficit through $16 billion in spending cuts and temporarily raising taxes on some businesses. Lawmakers passed the budget Wednesday following an agreement between Newsom and legislative leaders in which both sides made concessions and also had wins as they were forced, for the second year in a row, to pare back or delay some progressive policies that had been fueled by record-breaking surpluses during the COVID-19 pandemic. (6/29)
CalMatters:
Billions For Medi-Cal At Stake With Health Tax In CA 2024 Election
A two-year cash influx or a long-term investment? Come November it will be up to California voters whether to lock billions of special tax dollars into Medi-Cal — the state’s health insurance program for low-income residents — or leave the decision up to lawmakers who might be tempted to use the money elsewhere. The budget deal Gov. Gavin Newsom signed on Saturday commits roughly $2 billion through 2026 to increase payments to some doctors and health providers who see Medi-Cal patients, encouraging them to accept more low-income patients. The deal relies on a special tax that health insurance companies pay. (Hwang, 7/1)
Los Angeles Times:
Signs Of Avian Flu Found In San Francisco Wastewater
Signs of H5N1 bird flu virus have been detected at three wastewater sites in California’s Bay Area, according to sampling data. While positive wastewater samples have been found in seven other states, California is the only one that has yet to report a bird flu outbreak in a herd of dairy cows. (Rust, 6/29)
CBS News:
San Mateo Co. Farmworkers To Receive PPE Amid H5N1 Bird Flu Concerns
Personal protective equipment will be distributed to dairy and poultry farmworkers in San Mateo County to protect against the H5N1 virus, county health officials said Wednesday. Due to a rising concern of H5N1, or bird flu, spreading among dairy cows nationally, the county health department will be participating in a program through the California Department of Public Health to provide a one-time supply of personal protective equipment to businesses and organizations that employ or serve dairy and poultry farmworkers. (6/28)
The New York Times:
How Does Bird Flu Spread In Cows? Experiment Yields Some ‘Good News.’
Ever since scientists discovered influenza infecting American cows earlier this year, they have been puzzling over how it spreads from one animal to another. An experiment carried out in Kansas and Germany has shed some light on the mystery. Scientists failed to find evidence that the virus can spread as a respiratory infection. Juergen Richt, a virologist at Kansas State University who helped lead the research, said that the results suggested that the virus is mainly infectious via contaminated milking machines. The findings have yet to be posted online or published in a peer-reviewed science journal. (Zimmer, 6/29)
CNN:
FDA’s Testing Of Raw Milk Finds H5N1 Bird Flu In Half Of Samples But Confirms Flash Pasteurization Kills Virus
New test results released by the US Food and Drug Administration on Friday found that bird flu virus is making its way from dairy farms and into milk processing plants but also confirmed that the commonly used flash pasteurization method fully neutralizes the virus. (Goodman, 6/28)
Stat:
Bird Flu Snapshot: Dutch Expert Sees Parallels To Q Fever Outbreaks
When pathologist Thijs Kuiken looks at what’s happening in the U.S. response to the H5N1 bird flu outbreak in dairy cows, he’s reminded of a difficult period in the Netherlands, where he lives, back in the late aughts. (Branswell, 7/1)
Los Angeles Times:
COVID Hits L.A. Mayor Karen Bass As FLiRT Variants Boost County Cases
COVID-19 cases are continuing to climb in Los Angeles County, as are the number of people hospitalized with infections, as the typical summer surge in the illness creeps up. Among those recently testing positive for the coronavirus was Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, whose office disclosed the result Friday morning, shortly before she spoke at a press conference virtually, through Zoom. (Lin II, 7/1)
The Washington Post:
GOP Leaders Call For Probes Into Alleged Affordable Care Act Fraud
House Republican leaders are asking government watchdogs to investigate health insurance sign-ups through the Affordable Care Act, citing reports that allege insurance brokers are fraudulently enrolling customers into some ACA health plans and that millions of Americans may be wrongly benefiting from federal insurance subsidies. ... The allegations center on a report from the Paragon Health Institute, a conservative think tank, which concluded that as many as 5 million Americans may be wrongly receiving ACA insurance subsidies. The allegations also are driven by recent KFF Health News reports about unscrupulous brokers falsifying information to enroll customers or wrongly switching customers between plans without their knowledge or consent, a development that has stirred bipartisan anger. (Diamond, 6/29)
The Washington Post:
It Was A $6.6B Deal For 9 Years. Then The Feds Reneged. Did Politics Play A Role?
On the surface, 1-800-MEDICARE is a government success story: a free, popular service helping tens of millions of older Americans understand their health insurance and options for care. The call line boasts a 95 percent satisfaction rate, according to federal officials. But behind the scenes, the multibillion-dollar job of running the Medicare call line and similar services for the Affordable Care Act — one of the richest service contracts offered by the federal government — has sparked a bitter battle between a powerful labor union, a prominent federal contractor and politicians who are now accusing the White House of delivering an election-year favor for its union allies. (Diamond, 6/28)
Stat:
Big Medicare Test Of Kidney Dialysis Care Isn’t Working, Studies Say
A few years ago, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched a big experiment. The agency wanted to see if financial incentives and penalties would improve care for people with end-stage kidney disease. So far, it hasn’t worked, a new study finds. (Cueto, 6/30)
CNBC:
Medicare-Related Stocks Rise After Poor Biden Debate Performance
One group of health insurance stocks appeared to be rallying on the notion that President Joe Biden’s poor debate performance on Thursday night would bring another term for former President Donald Trump. RBC analyst Ben Hendrix chalks up Friday’s rally in Medicare Advantage stocks on the thesis that “a second Trump term would ease regulatory and reimbursement headwinds weighing on the managed care stocks, particularly the Medicare Advantage leaders,” such as UnitedHealth, Humana and CVS Health. These shares have faced pressure because of regulatory changes in reimbursement for Medicare Advantage at a time when medical costs among seniors have seen a resurgence. (Coombs, 6/28)
Health Industry and Pharmaceuticals
Becker's Hospital Review:
Providence To Pay $12M As Plan To Reopen Birthing Center Fizzles
Renton, Wash.-based Providence has agreed to pay $12.3 million to support women's health, behavioral health and community benefit services in Southern Sonoma County instead of reopening the family birthing center at its Petaluma (Calif.) Valley Hospital. The investment is part of an amendment to the asset purchase agreement between the Healthy Petaluma District and Providence. With this amendment, approved on June 26, Providence is no longer obligated to maintain the birthing center for the remainder of its five-year commitment, according to a joint news release. (Gooch, 6/28)
Bloomberg:
Neuralink Surgery Postponed For Brain-Implant Startup’s Second Patient
Neuralink Corp., the brain-implant company founded by Elon Musk and headquartered in Fremont, was set to implant its device in a second patient last Monday, but the surgery was halted due to the patient’s medical condition, said Michael Lawton, chief executive officer of the Barrow Neurological Institute. The patient had health issues that made the person an unsuitable candidate for current participation in Neuralink’s study of its experimental device, Lawton said during a phone call. (McBride, 6/28)
Chicago Tribune:
Error In New Lung Transplant Algorithm Harmed Sick And Dying Patients
The new algorithm was supposed to help distribute lungs more fairly to people who desperately needed life-saving transplants. But a flaw in the process for awarding the organs to sick and dying patients meant some people didn’t receive the care they were entitled to, the Tribune has learned. (Pratt, 6/30)
NBC News:
Scientist Behind Alzheimer’s Drug Candidate Is Indicted On Charges Of Research Fraud
A neuroscientist whose work helped pave the way for an Alzheimer’s drug candidate was indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday on charges of fraud. The indictment, announced Friday by the Justice Department, brings additional scrutiny to the work of Hoau-Yan Wang, who has had multiple studies retracted and faced an investigation by the City University of New York, his employer, that was later halted. (Bush, 6/29)
CBS News:
S.F. Officials Monitor Rise In Domestic Mpox Cases As Global Outbreak Spreads
"Within Pride Month, we want to make sure that we have our community up to date and aware," said Scott Bertani, with the National Coalition for LGBTQ Health. "As of May, the nation has seen roughly about 150 percent increase in cases of the current disease, which is Clade 2." ... "We are far under the total aggregate case numbers of what we saw in 2022 but we are doubling the case numbers of what we saw in 2023, which suggests there remains an opportunity to have lots of ongoing vigilance," Bertani said. (Darrow, 6/29)
The New York Times:
Biden Administration Opposes Surgery For Transgender Minors
The Biden administration said this week that it opposed gender-affirming surgery for minors, the most explicit statement to date on the subject from a president who has been a staunch supporter of transgender rights. The White House announcement was sent to The New York Times on Wednesday in response to an article reporting that staff in the office of Adm. Rachel Levine, an assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, had urged an influential international transgender health organization to remove age minimums for surgery from its treatment guidelines for minors. (Rabin, Rosenbluth and Weiland, 6/28)
ABC News:
LGBTQ People Say Their Mental Health Is Positively Impacted When States Have Protective Laws
Growing up in the 1990s and early 2000s just outside of Akron, Ohio, Shane Stahl felt it was taboo to talk about being part of the LGBTQ+ community or about LGBTQ+ experiences. Stahl, 40, who identifies as a gay man, said that although he grew up in an accepting and supporting family, he didn't feel like it was possible to openly express himself and feared he would be ostracized from his community if he did so. (Kekatos, 6/29)
Berkeleyside:
$20 Billion In New Funding For Bay Area Housing Will Be On November Ballot
Bay Area voters will get to decide on a first-of-its kind housing bond in November. Officials from the Bay Area’s counties and major cities voted unanimously on Wednesday to put a $20 billion regional general obligation bond on the Nov. 5 ballot. If passed by voters, the measure would distribute the sizable chunk of change for affordable housing construction and preservation among nine counties. (Orenstein, 6/28)
LAist:
Why Armed Cops Are The First Responders For The Homelessness Crisis
Talk to any police officer for more than a few minutes about homelessness, and you'll eventually hear the adage, "Well, cops aren't social workers." It's true. Cops are not social workers, but they represent a sizable portion of the day-to-day response to Los Angeles' homelessness crisis, all on the taxpayer's dime. The result is a disproportionately high number of contacts between unhoused residents of Los Angeles and police. (Tinoco, 6/29)
Los Angeles Times:
For The First Time Since 2018, Homeless Count Finds Fewer People Living On L.A. Streets
After climbing for the last five years, overall homelessness leveled off in Los Angeles this year, with fewer people living on the streets, according to the annual count released Friday. The 2024 count, representing a snapshot taken in January, appeared to show the effects of city and county programs to clear out encampments by moving people from tents, makeshift shelters and vehicles into hotels, motels and other forms of temporary housing. (Smith and Zahniser, 6/28)
NPR:
When Little Kids Don’t Have Stable Housing, It Can Affect Their Health Later
Not having secure housing is a huge stress for anyone. But when children experience this, especially in early childhood, it can affect their health years down the line. That’s the finding of a new study in the journal Pediatrics, which says that teens who experienced housing insecurity earlier in life were more likely to report worse health. “Pediatricians, for a long time, have suspected that housing insecurity is associated with negative health outcomes,” says Dr. Hemen Muleta, a pediatrician at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in New York City. (Chatterjee, 7/1)
The New York Times:
Pattern Of Brain Damage Is Pervasive In Navy SEALs Who Died By Suicide
David Metcalf’s last act in life was an attempt to send a message — that years as a Navy SEAL had left his brain so damaged that he could barely recognize himself. He died by suicide in his garage in North Carolina in 2019, after nearly 20 years in the Navy. But just before he died, he arranged a stack of books about brain injury by his side, and taped a note to the door that read, in part, “Gaps in memory, failing recognition, mood swings, headaches, impulsiveness, fatigue, anxiety, and paranoia were not who I was, but have become who I am. Each is worsening.” Then he shot himself in the heart, preserving his brain to be analyzed by a state-of-the-art Defense Department laboratory in Maryland. (Philipps, 6/30)
Axios:
Makeover Of Cosmetics' Regulation Takes Next Step
Starting Monday, the Food and Drug Administration will wield new regulatory powers over makers of lipsticks, shampoos, baby wipes and other cosmetic products that account for more than $40 billion in sales annually. It's part of the phase-in of a 2022 law that calls for more oversight of adverse events and requires companies to clearly label allergens, register their facilities and disclose every product they sell. (Reed, 7/1)
The Washington Post:
Study Suggests Connection Between Anxiety And Parkinson’s Disease
People over 50 with anxiety may be up to twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s disease as their peers without anxiety, a new analysis suggests. The study, published in the British Journal of General Practice, looked at primary care data from the United Kingdom. Researchers compared a group of 109,435 people 50 and older who were diagnosed with a first episode of anxiety between 2008 and 2018 with a control group of 987,691 people without anxiety. (Blakemore, 6/30)
The Washington Post:
In Head Lice Outbreaks, ‘Selfies’ May Be A Surprising Culprit
Anecdotal reports about a global rise in head lice cases have prompted warnings from some experts about a popular and universal activity among children and teenagers: taking selfies. Head lice, itchy parasites that live on the scalp, are typically spread through direct head-to-head contact, mostly among children. And getting close for group selfies — which often means pressing two or more heads together to fit into a cellphone frame — could give head lice an opportunity to crawl from one head to another, as they cannot jump or fly. (Bever, 6/28)