Latest California Healthline Stories
Daily Edition for Wednesday, June 18, 2025
5-Day Strike Will Shutter Most Of Children’s Hospital Oakland: Health care workers at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland plan to begin a five-day strike today over what they say are cuts in take-home pay under new union contracts slated to take effect in July. The hospital system’s outpatient locations — in Walnut Creek, San Ramon, Brentwood, and Emeryville — will largely be closed to in-person activities such as appointments and procedures. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Daily Edition for Tuesday, June 17, 2025
States Agree To New $7.4 Billion Purdue Pharma Opioid Settlement: California will receive up to $440 million to fund addiction treatment and other services under a nationwide settlement agreement announced Monday with Purdue Pharma, the company responsible for inventing, manufacturing and marketing the highly addictive opioid OxyContin. Read more from KQED.
Daily Edition for Monday, June 16, 2025
Wojcicki's Nonprofit Wins Bidding War To Buy Most Of 23andMe Assets: A nonprofit controlled by Anne Wojcicki, former chief executive of San Francisco-based 23andMe, has won the bidding process to buy the bankrupt genetic testing company. Read more from the Los Angeles Times.
Daily Edition for Friday, June 13, 2025
Hospital To Shutter Transyouth Health Center: Citing “external pressure” — the Trump administration is attempting to block gender-affirming care for youth — Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has announced that it will close its Center for Transyouth Health and Development on July 22. Read more from LAist.
Daily Edition for Thursday, June 12, 2025
Blue Shield-UC Health Contract Dispute Could Spell Trouble For Thousands Of Patients: Many Californians who get medical care at UC Health through Blue Shield of California — including many in the Bay Area who go to UCSF and One Medical, a UCSF affiliate — may need to find a different health insurer or pay out-of-network rates for services if the parties cannot reach a new contract by July 10. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Daily Edition for Wednesday, June 11, 2025
‘Less Lethal’ Weapons Reportedly Used In Protests Could Prove Costly For Los Angeles: There are reports that the LAPD is using rubber bullets against protesters, but it could end up costing the city: In March 2023, a federal jury awarded $375,000 to a man shot in the face with a rubber bullet by an LAPD officer during a May 2020 protest. Read more from Newsweek. Plus: WIRED explains how rubber bullets and tear gas affect the human body.
Daily Edition for Tuesday, June 10, 2025
California Democrats Reject Newsom's Deep Budget Cuts: California legislative leaders announced Monday that they reached a budget proposal to address the state’s $12 billion expected deficit, leaning heavily on borrowing from other state funds to continue providing social services rather than making the deep cuts Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed. Read more from CalMatters.
Daily Edition for Monday, June 9, 2025
South Coast AQMD Rebuffs Efforts To Phase Out Some Gas-Powered Appliances: After a contentious, five-hour hearing, Southern California air quality regulators on Friday rejected measures that would have phased out residential gas-powered water heaters and furnaces in the Los Angeles basin. The rules were aimed at reducing emissions of smog-contributing pollutants linked to asthma, allergies, premature death, and more. Read more from CalMatters and AP.
Daily Edition for Friday, June 6, 2025
Asthma care; Medicare, Medicaid, and ACA changes in tax bill; AmeriCorps cuts; nursing homes; homelessness; brain health; and more.
Daily Edition for Thursday, June 5, 2025
Gun violence prevention funding; the homelessness crisis; Medicaid cuts; ICE raids in hospitals; 23andMe; and more.