Imperial Beach Community Clinic 'Is Falling Apart,' Doctors Allege: Doctors at the 54-year-old clinic, a federally qualified health center that provides care for 10,000 uninsured and low-income patients in Imperial Beach and surrounding communities, are publicly accusing clinic leaders of mismanagement. Read more from Voice of San Diego.
Sonoma County Questions Ambulance Rate Increase: Earlier this year, Sonoma County Fire District requested a 24% increase in ambulance transport and treatment rates. Now, county officials say they are working with the fire district to determine whether that increase is justified. But details about what that process looks like ― including how long it might take and whether an audit has even begun ― are scant. Read more from The Press Democrat.
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
Los Angeles Times:
Who Is The New Front Runner In The California Governor's Race?
With Kamala Harris out of the California governor's race, other candidates are jockeying to be seen as the new front runner. Some candidates — including Xavier Becerra, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Biden administration and a former California attorney general — have also tried to assert that, with Harris out, they are moving up. Some analysts said that's "ludicrous," and that no one stands out yet. (Rector, Mehta and Nelson, 8/2)
Times of San Diego:
Rep. Mike Levin Introduces Bill Combatting Microfiber Pollution
United States Rep. Mike Levin, who represents California’s 49th district, introduced a bill to combat microfiber pollution last month. The Fighting Fibers Act, introduced to the House July 24, would call on the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy to require new washing machines to be equipped with microfiber filtration systems. (Wallace, 8/3)
Times of San Diego:
Thousands Of Kaiser Workers Picket In SoCal For Better Patient Care
From Los Angeles to San Diego, thousands of healthcare workers picketed Saturday at four major Kaiser Permanente sites across Southern California, calling for better patient care and greater respect for their work. ... Nurses, pharmacists, midwives, rehab therapists, and other members of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) organized the informational pickets amid bargaining with the healthcare company, which provides healthcare to one in four Californians. (Sklar, 8/2)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Palomar Delays Nurse Incentive Payments Citing Ongoing Financial Difficulties
Some nurses at Palomar Health in North County are expressing their dissatisfaction with a recent executive decision to delay incentive payments that were due on July 4 due to ongoing financial difficulties at the public health care district with hospitals in Escondido and Poway. (Sisson, 8/4)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Subtle Touches Elevate Newly Opened McGrath Outpatient Pavilion
Many have waited a long time for such an investment. While existing buildings have been remodeled and equipment upgraded at UC San Diego Medical Center, the vast majority of the university health system’s big moves have gone into the La Jolla medical campus south of Genesee Avenue and east of Interstate 5, with the construction of Jacobs Medical Center, the adjacent Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute and the Komen Outpatient Pavilion together representing an investment of more than $1.3 billion. (Sisson, 8/4)
Becker's Hospital Review:
10 Major Cities Where Physician Pay Grew The Most
Average physician pay increased in most metropolitan areas across the U.S., but ongoing Medicare pay cuts and inflation mean physicians are still feeling a pinch, according to data from Doximity’s “Physician Compensation Report 2025.” Physicians in 54 of the 60 major metropolitan areas Doximity surveyed reported pay increases, with two-thirds saying their pay jumped 3% or more in the last year. (Dyrda, 8/1)
CalMatters:
Trump Order Targets Gender-Affirming Care For Youth. California Is Suing To Block It
Trump administration restrictions on gender-affirming care for transgender and nonbinary youth violate the Constitution and undermine state laws that require equal access to medical treatment, according to a lawsuit filed today by Attorney General Rob Bonta and 14 other states and the District of Columbia. (Ibarra, 8/2)
The Bay Area Reporter:
EEOC Sued After Dropping Trans Discrimination Cases
Civil rights groups have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, saying its compliance with one of President Donald Trump’s executive orders violates the rights of transgender workers who say they’ve been discriminated against. The suit was brought by FreeState Justice, the National Women’s Law Center, and Democracy Forward in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland against both the EEOC and its acting head, Andrea Lucas. (Ferrannini, 8/1)
Daily News:
Restraining Order On ‘Roving’ California ICE Raids Upheld By Appeals Court
A federal appeals court panel on Friday, Aug. 1, largely upheld a temporary restraining order that halted the federal government’s month-long immigration crackdown across Southern California. (Carter, 8/4)
Military Times:
VA Leaders Move To End All Abortions At Department Medical Sites
Veterans Affairs officials on Monday formally moved to end all abortions at department facilities, calling policies that provided the services at federal hospitals them “legally questionable” and unnecessary. The decision — outlined in a post in the Federal Register — would undo the September 2022 order by the previous presidential administration allowing VA medical personnel to conduct abortions in cases of rape, incest and pregnancies that endanger the life or health of an individual. (Shane III, 8/4)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
North And East County Could Get 150 New Shelter Beds As Other Services Shrink
The San Diego Rescue Mission now has money to create up to 150 new shelter beds in North and East counties as the number of homeless people asking for aid continues to exceed what resources are available. (Nelson, 8/4)
CalMatters:
California Affordable Housing Programs Are On The Chopping Block After Supreme Court Ruling
East Palo Alto, like cities across California, has a law on the books that forces developers of new housing projects to foot the bill for the state’s shortage of affordable homes. (Christopher, 8/2)
KQED:
The Families Living In San Francisco’s Homeless Shelters
When we talk about homelessness, especially in San Francisco, many of us are usually talking about individuals living on the streets. But the number of families experiencing homelessness in San Francisco nearly doubled from 2022 to 2024, according to the city’s Point In Time Count. And many of them move from shelter to shelter, in a system that’s meant to be temporary but has few permanent housing options to offer. (Guevarra, Johnson, Kariisa and Montecillo, 8/4)
The Oaklandside:
OUSD’s Response To Lead In Schools Was Chaotic And Haphazard, Records Show
A week into the last school year, staff at the Oakland school district’s central office were fielding a barrage of emails. A crisis had exploded after the August 2024 school board meeting, as parents expressed their confusion and frustration at the discovery that drinking water at dozens of schools was contaminated with lead. (Rhoades and McBride, 8/1)
Redding Record Searchlight:
Shasta Supervisors Pressed On Plan For Opioid Settlement Money
County Executive Officer David Rickert said how counties can spend their share of opioid settlement money is "fairly restricted." (Benda, 7/30)
Los Angeles Times:
Man In Need Of Kidney Transplant Finds 1-In-100,000 Match: His Wife
Jim [Irish], now 66, started having trouble with his kidneys about two decades ago. He managed the issue with medication for years. But nearly three years ago, doctors found a mass on his left kidney. Instead of removing it, surgeons performed a cryoablation, a minimally invasive procedure that uses extreme cold to destroy abnormal tissue. Complications during the procedure resulted in another surgery, he said. (Fry, 8/2)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
County Officials Warn Of Potential TB Exposure At South County High School
Southwest High School students, staff and visitors may have been exposed to tuberculosis earlier this year, county officials warn. (Stephenson, 8/1)
Kitsap Sun:
Yes, Lyme Disease Is Found In California. Here's Where
After the singer Justin Timberlake shared that he's been diagnosed with Lyme disease and is struggling with symptoms such as nerve pain, fatigue, and general sickness, online interest in the disease has spiked in California state, with search terms related to the disease topping the charts on Google Trends. (Byik, 8/1)
CBS News:
Freeze Dried Fruit Sold At Sam's Club Recalled Due To Listeria Contamination
Member's Mark freeze dried fruit variety packs were distributed and sold in Sam's Club retail stores across the majority of the country, including California. (Moniuszko, 8/1)