Los Angeles Times: Kaiser To Pay For Wheelchair Years After California Woman Sued
Nearly three years after wheelchair user Beth Smith sued Kaiser for capping coverage well below the costs of many motorized chairs, the Albany resident is slated to get thousands of dollars for a new chair. Smith, 64, was among the plaintiffs in a class-action suit against Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and the state over limits on insurance coverage of wheelchairs, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars. (Alpert Reyes, 8/21)

Modern Healthcare: General Catalyst, Kaiser Permanente Ventures Invest In Clarium
Hospital supply chain software company Clarium raised $10.5 million in a funding round, the startup said Tuesday. The round was led by venture capital firm General Catalyst, with backing from the venture arms of Oakland, California-based Kaiser Permanente and Houston-based Texas Medical Center. New Haven, Connecticut-based Yale New Haven Health also joined the round. Other investors included venture capital firms AlleyCorp, 1984 Ventures and Alumni Ventures. (Perna, 8/20)

Becker's Hospital Review: Pediatric Psych Beds Haven't Budged Since 2017
Children's Hospital Los Angeles researchers found there has been no significant increase in pediatric inpatient hospital beds since 2017. The study, published Aug. 19 in JAMA Pediatrics, analyzed the American Hospital Association Survey Database from 2017 to 2020, focusing on hospitals that reported having pediatric inpatient psychiatric beds. The study estimated changes in the number of hospitals with pediatric inpatient psychiatric beds and the overall bed count by location. (Taylor, 8/20)

Modern Healthcare: How Biden's Nursing Home Reforms Impacted Transparency, Oversight
Two years ago, President Joe Biden set out to tackle chronic safety and quality problems in the nursing home sector. Whether he succeeded won't be known until after he exits the White House. The nursing home campaign launched at the State of the Union address in 2022, in the aftermath of devastation that COVID-19 wrought on nursing homes. ... Considering these and other efforts, Biden oversaw the most consequential period in nursing home regulation since President Ronald Reagan enacted the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, said David Grabowski, a health policy professor at Harvard Medical School. (Early, 8/20)

Modern Healthcare: FTC's Noncompete Ban Blocked By Federal Judge
The Federal Trade Commission does not have authority to enact its ban on noncompete agreements, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. Judge Ada Brown wrote the FTC's near-total ban is "unreasonably overbroad without a reasonable explanation," siding with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and tax firm Ryan LLC. Many healthcare organizations include noncompete agreements in employment contracts. (Hudson, 8/20)

Modern Healthcare: Epic's Judy Faulkner Debuts New Prior Authorization, AI Features
Epic is planning to deepen its relationships with health insurance companies, the electronic health record giant said at its annual user group meeting Tuesday. The EHR company is working with health systems and large insurers such as CVS Health subsidiary Aetna, Elevance Health and multiple Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans to streamline prior authorization requests and ease provider appeals to payers, Epic founder and CEO Judy Faulkner said during a keynote address. (Turner, 8/20)

Los Angeles Times: COVID Reduced California Life Expectancy, According To CDC
It was the year COVID-19 vaccines became widely available, and the pandemic’s startling death toll in California and elsewhere appeared close to being reined in. Instead, life expectancy in California fell by more than 8 months in 2021, dropping the Golden State to 10th place in the nation, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An analysis of all 50 states and the District of Columbia found that babies born in California in 2021 could expect to live 78.3 years — down from 79 years in 2020, when California ranked fourth in the nation. (Kaplan, 8/21)

Voice of OC: Calls Mount For OC’s District Attorney To Figure Out Where $13 Million In COVID Funds Went
Calls are growing for DA Todd Spitzer to look into the issues raised by a new series of lawsuits between county leaders and two nonprofits that county staff alleges fraudulently took over $13 million in federal pandemic funds. A lawyer for one of the nonprofits has denied that claim, saying that while the nonprofit failed to keep close track of the funds, it all went toward its intended purpose of feeding the elderly. The controversy is shedding more light than ever on how the County of Orange disbursed more than $200 million in federal COVID relief funds – something Voice of OC has been asking questions about since the process was first unveiled. (Biesiada, 8/21)

Los Angeles Blade: US Contributes More Than $90 Million To Fight Mpox Outbreak In Africa
The U.S. has contributed more than $90 million to the fight against the mpox outbreak in Africa. The U.S. Agency for International Development on Tuesday in a press release announced “up to an additional” $35 million “in emergency health assistance to bolster response efforts for the clade I mpox outbreak in Central and Eastern Africa, pending congressional notification.” The press release notes the Biden-Harris administration previously pledged more than $55 million to fight the outbreak in Congo and other African countries. (Lavers, 8/20)

San Diego Union-Tribune: As San Diego Homelessness Spending Tops $230M, Budget Experts Call For Comprehensive Plan, Transparency 
With San Diego set to spend tens of millions of dollars more on homelessness this year than last, the city needs a more comprehensive spending plan so the public can better monitor its success, budget experts said in a new report. (Nelson, 8/20)

KQED: What Rights Do Unhoused People Have Amid Heightened Sweeps?
Since December 2022, a legal ruling has protected unhoused people in California from facing criminal punishment for living on the street – as long as there’s no shelter available as an alternative. That all changed in June, when the 2022 ruling by the Ninth Circuit – the court that covers most of the country’s western states – was overturned. Instead, in the case of the City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Gloria Johnson, the conservative-heavy Supreme Court ruled that cities should have greater leeway to fine or jail people for camping on sidewalks and in parks, even if no alternative shelter exists. (Khan, 8/21)

Capital & Main: California Legislators Say New Laws Must Protect Farmworkers From Extreme Heat
State lawmakers, responding to a report that the agency charged with ensuring worker safety in California has sharply cut back on enforcement of outdoor heat-protection laws, said new legislation is needed to protect employees amid escalating periods of extreme heat. Their comments addressed an investigation by Capital & Main that found that field inspections by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, known as Cal/OSHA, dropped by nearly 30% between 2017 and 2023. The number of violations issued to employers during that period fell by more than 40%. (Lopez, 8/21)

AP: 3 People Charged After Death Of Federal Prison Worker Who Opened Fentanyl-Laced Mail 
A federal prison inmate and two other people were charged Tuesday with conspiring to mail drugs to a penitentiary in California where a mailroom supervisor died this month after opening a letter that prosecutors said was laced with fentanyl and other substances. According to prosecutors, Jamar Jones, a prisoner at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atwater, California, plotted with Stephanie Ferreira, of Evansville, Indiana, and Jermen Rudd III of Wentzville, Missouri, to send him drugs that he could sell at the prison. They disguised the shipment as “legal mail” from a law office, investigators said. (Sisak, 8/20)

KVPR: Mushroom Edibles Are Making People Sick. Scientists Still Don't Know Why
Dr. Michael Moss couldn’t explain why the man in his hospital’s ICU had started convulsing after trying a chocolate bar, but he knew there was more to the story. The patient recounted eating a mushroomed-infused candy, packaged with trippy artwork – purchased legally at a local store. (Stone, 8/20)

LAist: Why LAUSD Is Betting School Wellness Centers Can Keep Students Healthy — And In The Classroom
About one-third of Los Angeles Unified students miss close to a month of school — or more — in a given school year. On-campus health care may play a role in helping students attend school more consistently. There are now 20 wellness centers on LAUSD campuses that are open to students and community members. They offer a range of services; all offer primary care, and many also offer mental health services and dental care. They are run by outside healthcare providers. (Dale, 8/21)

Los Angeles Times: From An Inflatable IUD To Free Condoms, Reproductive Rights Showcased At DNC
Democrats gathering in Chicago were greeted with a giant inflatable intrauterine device, trucks offering free vasectomies, condoms condemning Project 2025 and several speakers focused on using the issue of abortion to persuade Americans to vote blue. Messaging about abortion is playing a key role in much of the programming at the Democratic National Convention this week, and it particularly resonates with young people, women of color and women in general — including Republicans, said Jodi Hicks, chief executive officer and president of Planned Parenthood California. (Mehta and Pinho, 8/20)

Fox News: Pro-Life Groups Answer Planned Parenthood Abortion Van With Outreach Near DNC
Pro-life groups countered Planned Parenthood's mobile abortion clinic Tuesday morning by staging a protest against its services and presenting an alternative van equipped with an ultrasound machine and abortion pill reversal medication. John Mize, CEO of Americans United for Life, was one of the pro-life individuals outside the clinic just a few blocks away from the Democratic National Convention (DNC), attempting to talk to women going into the Planned Parenthood van about their options. (Joseph, 8/20)

The Hill: Kate Cox Says 'Nothing Pro Family About Abortion Bans' At DNC Appearance
Kate Cox, the Texas woman who fled the state to receive an abortion, made a brief appearance during the Democratic National Convention’s ceremonial roll call Tuesday to voice her support for Vice President Harris and warn of former President Trump’s risk to abortion rights. “I’m Kate Cox and I love being a mom. I have two beautiful children, and my husband and I have always wanted a third but when I got pregnant, doctors told us our baby would never survive, and if I didn’t need an abortion, it would put a future pregnancy at risk,” Cox said during the roll call for Texas Tuesday night. “But Trump didn’t care and because of his abortion bans and I had to flee my home,” she continued. “There’s nothing pro family about abortion bans. There’s nothing pro-life about letting women suffer and even die today because I found a way to access abortion care.” (Nazzaro, 8/20)

Politico: Tammy Duckworth Uses Her IVF Story To Slam Republicans 
Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth has been public about her fertility struggles and her decision to conceive her two daughters through in vitro fertilization. But on Tuesday night, Duckworth, a former Army helicopter pilot who lost both legs in a 2004 rocket-propelled grenade attack in Iraq, put it in the starkest of terms as she sought to frame the far-reaching consequences of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade two years ago. "My struggle with infertility was more painful than any wound I earned on the battle field," Duckworth said. (Messerly, 8/20)

Politico: Michelle Lujan Grisham Boosts Kamala Harris’ Record On Health Care 
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham knows health care. She's a former state health secretary, after all, whose name was once floated as a potential Health and Human Services secretary under Joe Biden. Now, she's using her credentials to boost Vice President Kamala Harris' profile on health care issues. Lujan Grisham said on the convention floor Tuesday evening that Harris took on drug companies that "jacked up prices" and hospitals that "overcharged patients," voted "hell no" on repealing the Affordable Care Act and cast the tie-breaking vote on legislation that capped insulin costs at $35 for Medicare beneficiaries. (Messerly, 8/20)

Politico: What, No More 'Obamacare'?
Former President Barack Obama spent much of his Tuesday remarks talking up the reasons Kamala Harris should win. But he did take a moment to remind Democrats gathered in the United Center about his signature domestic achievement: the Affordable Care Act. “We should all be proud of the enormous progress that we've made through the Affordable Care Act providing millions of people access to affordable coverage, protecting millions more from unscrupulous insurance practices and notice,” Obama said. Then he pointed out it's no longer referred to by its old nickname: “I’ve noticed, by the way, that since it's become popular, they don't call it Obamacare no more.” (Booker, 8/20)

Politico: Trump Says He Would Not Enforce Comstock Act, Angering Anti-Abortion Groups
Former President Donald Trump gave his clearest answer to date on the federal regulation of abortion pills, and it’s not what conservatives wanted to hear. After months of avoiding specifics, Trump told CBS News on Monday that he would not use the 150-year-old Comstock Act to ban mail delivery of the drugs if elected in November, adding: “The federal government should have nothing to do with this issue.” Many prominent conservatives and anti-abortion activists were outraged by the remark, calling it “nonsensical” and “cowardly,” and warning that it could dampen turnout and enthusiasm on the right heading into a close election. (Ollstein, 8/20)

The Hill: Kamala Harris Blasts Donald Trump Over Roe V. Wade Comments
Vice President Harris on Tuesday ripped former President Trump for comments in a new interview in which he said he had no regrets about the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. Harris rallied thousands of supporters in Milwaukee, roughly 90 miles up the road from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where she seized on comments Trump made to CBS News a day earlier. “Yesterday, when he was asked if he had any regrets about ending Roe v. Wade, Donald Trump – without even a moment’s hesitation, you would think he would reflect on it for a second – said no. No regrets,” Harris said. Trump told CBS News the issue of abortion should be handled by the states and suggested people were “very happy about it.” (Samuels, 8/20)

NBC News: JD Vance Accuses Tim Walz Of Lying About IVF Experience
After he talked about his family's fertility struggles on the campaign trail, Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz is facing criticism from his opponent for not accurately having identified the treatment his wife, Gwen, received. The Republican vice presidential nominee, Sen. JD Vance, of Ohio, accused Walz on Tuesday of lying about having conceived his children via in vitro fertilization. Vance seemed to be responding to an article in Glamour magazine, in which Gwen Walz said she had undergone a fertility treatment called intrauterine insemination. (Bendix, 8/21)

Bay Area Reporter: Biden Administration Touts $1.4 Billion For HIV Drug, Care Programs
Federal health officials are touting $1.4 billion in funding for national programs that assist low-income Americans living with HIV in obtaining their necessary medications and health care. It comes as the 2024 National Ryan White Conference on HIV Care & Treatment kicks off in Washington, D.C. Timed with the start of the HIV confab that has drawn 6,500 people to the nation's capital, the Health Resources and Services Administration Tuesday morning announced the new allocation in Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program funding for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program and HIV health care and support services under what is known as Ryan White's Part B. (Bajko, 8/20)

Stat: Lilly’s Zepbound Slashed Risk Of Developing Diabetes
Eli Lilly’s obesity drug Zepbound significantly cut the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, showing the benefits of long-term use of the blockbuster therapy. In a Phase 3 trial that lasted over three years, people with pre-diabetes taking Zepbound had a 93% lower risk of progressing to diabetes compared with people on placebo, Lilly said Tuesday. The company did not report absolute risk rates. (Chen, 8/20)

Bloomberg: Study Of Potential Ozempic Suicide Link Stokes Safety Debate
A new study that found evidence of a higher rate of suicidal thoughts among patients taking Novo Nordisk A/S’s popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs is adding to a debate among doctors about the drugs’ safety. The study published Tuesday in JAMA Network Open is the first to mine the World Health Organization’s global database of suspected drug side effects for reports of suicidal thinking in patients who have taken the drugs. (Kresge, 8/20)

Bloomberg: Eli Lilly Tests Zepbound For Psoriasis, Immunology
Eli Lilly & Co. is using its runaway success in obesity as a bridge into another lucrative area of medicine: immunology. This fall, the company will begin recruiting for trials to test its popular weight-loss shot Zepbound with psoriasis drug Taltz to see if the combination boosts effectiveness, Chief Scientific Officer Daniel Skovronsky said. The Indianapolis-based drugmaker is also exploring combination studies with Zepbound in inflammatory bowel disease, another immune disorder. (Muller, 8/20)

Modern Healthcare: Gene Therapy, GLP-1 Costs To Drive Up Employer Costs For 2025
Employers are bracing for the largest surge in healthcare costs in more than a decade as pharmacy spending is expected to continue accelerating next year. Growing demand for pricey medications, including glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists, cancer treatments, and cell and gene therapies, has employers budgeting for a 7.8% increase in healthcare costs in 2025, according to the Business Group on Health’s annual survey, published Tuesday. (Berryman, 8/20)

The New York Times: Eating Meat Is Linked With Type 2 Diabetes, New Studies Suggest 
For sausage, salami and steak lovers, the news has not been good. Scientists have been consistently finding links between red and processed meat consumption and heart disease, some types of cancer and earlier death. And now, two recent studies have added to the growing body of evidence that a meat-heavy diet may increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes. (Callahan, 8/20)