CalMatters: CA To Require LGBTQ Demographic Questions On Health Forms
State Sen. Scott Wiener has introduced 52 bills this session, but he’s annoyed that he had to author one in particular. “I’m gonna be honest that it’s frustrating that I had to bring this bill,” he told the Assembly Public Health Committee this week. “I should not have had to bring it.” (Sabalow, 6/21)

CalMatters: What To Know About California's New Health Care Minimum Wage 
It’s no surprise that California health care workers have questions about a new state law that will give them a higher minimum wage. It has different pay scales based on where they work and who they work for. And, Gov. Gavin Newsom has turned its start date into a moving target, confusing both workers and employers. (Ibarra, 6/20)

Modern Healthcare: International Nurse Visa Pause Extended Despite Staffing Gaps
The government paused its processing of new visa applications until fiscal 2025, leaving thousands of international nurses in limbo as they look to fill health systems’ pervasive staffing gaps. Each year, a pool of around 8,600 eligible, internationally educated nurses compete with other professionals that have bachelor’s-level degrees for 40,000 employment-based visa slots. (Devereaux, 6/20)

Modern Healthcare: How Apprenticeships, Float Pools Help Providers Fight Labor Costs
Providers are relying on out-of-the-box thinking to navigate historically high labor costs that show no sign of easing. Hospitals, health systems and other providers are investing billions of dollars to attract and retain the talent they need. Inflation and higher wage expectations are driving up costs, and contract workers remain necessary in some markets to fill care gaps. Meanwhile, a limited supply of workers is stoking fierce competition between healthcare organizations and with other industries. (Hudson, 6/20)

Politico: HHS Overstepped With Web Tracking Guidance, Judge Rules
The Department of Health and Human Services overstepped its authority when it issued a guidance last year warning hospitals that tracking visitors to their websites was a violation of health privacy rules, a federal district court in Fort Worth, Texas, ruled today. The decision, by Judge Mark T. Pittman, is a victory for the American Hospital Association, which sued in November. “HHS tried to tweak the definition [of “individually identifiable health information to include web visits] and got caught,” he wrote in his decision. (Reader, 6/20)

The Hill: Biden Administration Bans Kaspersky Software Over Russian Ties
The Biden administration is issuing a total ban on the use of Kaspersky Lab’s software over its ties to Russia. The company’s software has been a concern of the U.S. government since at least 2017 because of the Russian government’s alleged influence over the software. The Russian government has total access to Kaspersky systems and access to all its customer’s data, ABC News reported. (Irwin, 6/20)

AP: Change Healthcare To Start Notifying Customers Who Had Data Exposed In Cyberattack
Change Healthcare is starting to notify hospitals, insurers and other customers that they may have had patient information exposed in a massive cyberattack. The company also said Thursday that it expects to begin notifying individuals or patients in late July. (6/20)

San Diego Union-Times: County To Consider Expanding Efforts To Investigate Sewage Crisis Impacts On Public Health
San Diego County may soon expand its efforts to investigate potential public health risks from the cross-border sewage crisis. (Murga, 6/20)

Bay Area News Group: Nearly $1 Billion Contra Costa County Project Reveals The Changing Science Of Keeping Drinking Water Safe
As the Bay Area’s drinking water is increasingly clouded with particles from wildfires, atmospheric rivers, algae blooms and chemical contaminants, the East Bay’s largest water district is set to undertake the most ambitious infrastructure project in the region to try to keep it clean. (Lauer, 6/20)

Los Angeles Times: Wildfire Risks In California Heightened By Upcoming Heat Dome 
Much of interior California is expected to see moderate or major heat risks Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and in some areas through at least Tuesday. The San Joaquin Valley and Sierra Nevada foothills are expecting “dangerously hot conditions,” with an excessive heat watch going into effect Saturday through at least Monday, when temperatures up to 110 degrees are possible. (Toohey, 6/19)

The New York Times: Pregnant Women Are Particularly Vulnerable To The Heat, Doctors Warn
The heat wave sweeping through the United States poses a particular threat to pregnant women, especially those in their third trimester, doctors are warning. “Heat is an underappreciated risk for the health of the pregnancy,” said Dr. Nathaniel DeNicola, an environmental health expert at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. “Of all the associations that we hear about connecting environmental factors like what you eat or what you drink to risks, this one has quite a bit of science behind it,” he said. (Caryn Rabin, 6/20)

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: A Sizzling Summer May Be Even More Painful For Migraine Sufferers 
As temperatures continue to rise, so will cases of migraine headaches. That’s the latest from a new study helmed by University of Cincinnati College of Medicine researchers. (Boyce, 6/20)

San Diego Union-Tribune: The U.S. Supreme Court Could Soon Say When Cities Can Clear Homeless Encampments. San Diego’s Paying Attention. 
Any day now, the nation’s top court could rewrite the rules for clearing homeless encampments. San Diego County is well aware. Amid growing numbers of people on local streets and an increased willingness by some leaders to boost penalties for sleeping outside, liberal and conservative officials across California have symbolically signed onto a U.S. Supreme Court case brought by a small Oregon city to ask for more leeway when pushing people off sidewalks. Western states for years have had to work their homelessness laws around a related federal appeals ruling, Martin v. Boise, that said police generally can’t cite people for living in a tent when no shelter’s available. (Nelson, 6/20)

Los Angeles Daily News: LA’s Latest Homeless Housing Project, At Nearly $600K A Unit, Opens In Skid Row 
The biggest homeless housing project so far in the city of Los Angeles celebrated its grand opening on Wednesday, June 19, with elected officials and homeless services providers expressing hope that it will help improve and transform Skid Row, the epicenter of the region’s homelessness crisis. The first of two high-rise buildings that will make up Weingart Towers and will house the homeless is now complete. (Tat, 6/19)

NBC News: Democrats Target 150-Year-Old 'Zombie Law,' Warning The GOP Could Use It To Ban Abortion
A group of Senate Democrats is pushing to repeal a 150-year-old law that reproductive rights advocates fear could be used to further curb access to abortion, specifically abortion pills. The Comstock Act of 1873, which has not been widely enforced for decades, bans lewd, obscene or abortion-producing materials from being sent through the mail. As the abortion pill mifepristone faces legal challenges, its defenders fear a future president could use the Comstock Act as a tool to curtail abortion access nationwide, including in states where it is legal. (Vitali and Kapur, 6/20)

The Hill: Supreme Court Abortion Pill Decision Ties Issue To Trump-Biden Race
The Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss a challenge to the abortion pill mifepristone means the drug’s future is now firmly tied to the 2024 presidential election. Anti-abortion groups said they were dealt only a temporary setback by last week’s ruling and are planning the path forward on how best to restrict access or get the drug removed from the market completely. (Weixel, 6/20)

Stat: Gestational Diabetes Needs Earlier Intervention, Experts Say
Gestational diabetes has long been diagnosed between weeks 24 and 28 of pregnancy. But a recent randomized control study called Treatment of Booking Gestational Diabetes Mellitus, or TOBOGM, which was started in 2018 and whose results were published earlier this year, found that treating gestational diabetes before week 20 reduced the risk of severe perinatal complications, including preterm birth, low birthweight, stillbirth, and respiratory distress. (Merelli, 6/20)

USA Today: Hypertension Is Up Among Pregnant Women. Why Is Treatment Lagging?
Far more women are experiencing a life-threatening condition during pregnancy but they aren't being treated for it, according to a study published this week. This problem is largely avoidable and experts have urged providers to take action, with one official calling it a "missed opportunity" to protect heart health. The study found the rate of chronic high blood pressure in pregnant women doubled over a 14-year period. (Cuevas, 6/21)

Stat: Top FDA Official Peter Marks Overruled Staff To Approve Sarepta Gene Therapy
For a third time, Sarepta Therapeutics has convinced a top Food and Drug Administration official to overrule the prevailing view of their staff and approve a drug for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. (Mast and Herper, 6/20)

Reuters: US FDA Proposes To Remove Switching Study Requirement For Biosimilars 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has proposed that biosimilar drugs seeking agency's interchangeable designation will no longer need studies showing the impact of switching between them and the branded drug. (6/20)

AP: WHO, Eli Lilly Caution Patients Against Fake Versions Of Weight-Loss Drugs
The World Health Organization and drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co. are warning people to be wary of fake versions of popular weight-loss and diabetes medicines. WHO said Thursday that it has fielded several reports of fake semaglutide — the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Ozempic — in all geographic regions of the world since 2022. (6/20)

Reuters: US, China Hold High-Level Talks On Anti-Narcotics Cooperation
The United States and China held high-level talks on anti-narcotics cooperation on Thursday, following a breakthrough in bilateral work this week that saw them jointly go after a major drug-linked money laundering operation. The U.S. and China restarted talks on counter-narcotics and law enforcement cooperation at the start of the year and China's public security department has lauded the case as a successful example of anti-drug cooperation between the two superpowers. (Slodkowski, 6/20)

Capital & Main: Finding Alzheimer’s Support In The Black Church
There is a brutality, to borrow a term from a doctor, to Alzheimer’s in Black communities. In California the rate of Alzheimer’s is highest among African Americans. Alzheimer’s care costs Black families in Los Angeles more than other groups. So an annual gathering in South Los Angeles of Black church leaders, doctors, representatives of government agencies and African American caregivers to discuss Alzheimer’s would seem dispiriting. There was prayer. There was networking. Even exercise. But I left with hope, having witnessed a model that may help Alzheimer’s patients and caregivers find support — financial, medical as well as social. (Sanchez-Tello, 6/20)

Los Angeles Times: What We Want From Food: Energy, Muscle Strength And Better Health 
Quite a lot rides on Americans’ food choices, including trillions of dollars in spending and our collective risk of developing a slew of chronic diseases. That’s why the International Food Information Council conducts an annual survey on food and health. “It’s about understanding the mindset of the consumer,” said Kris Sollid, a registered dietitian and senior director of nutrition communications for the industry-funded nonprofit. (Kaplan, 6/19)

NPR: Gen X Cancer Rates Projected To Outpace Boomers
As they head into their golden years, Gen-Xers are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than the generation born before them, the Baby Boomers, a new National Cancer Institute study finds. If current cancer trends continue, the paper published this month in JAMA Network Open concludes, “cancer incidence in the U.S. could remain unacceptably high for decades to come.” What’s driving the projected rise in rates of invasive cancer remains an open question. (Cohen, 6/20)

CNN: 6 Types Of Depression Identified In Stanford Study
For some people with depression, finding the right medication can be a process of trial and error lasting for months or even years, which can worsen symptoms. But what if doctors, when diagnosing someone with depression, could assess exactly how depression is affecting a patient’s brain and prescribe a treatment that gets it right the first time? (Rogers, 6/20)

Los Angeles Times: Mifepristone Is Safe. Is Your Uterus?
Huge sigh of relief. In a ruling that I happily admit surprised me, the Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed the obvious: Women should have the right to safe medication abortions. But ladies, our uteri are not safe yet. For now, in a unanimous decision, the justices have tossed a case that would have prevented the drug mifepristone from being used by women seeking to end pregnancies. (Anita Chabria, 6/13)

San Francisco Chronicle: When Your Caregiving Role Ends, How Do You Stop Caring?
My quest to locate a window washer’s business card among my father’s belongings led me down the rabbit hole of memory. I hadn’t looked at his things since shoving them in a closet shortly after he died three years ago. I never intended to preserve his room in amber. As someone who has been a caregiver in some way or another most of my life, I naively thought I could predict how grief would unfold. After all, I had weathered loss before. My mother died when I was 16, and my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer 19 years ago. I’d had time to prepare. (Stacy Torres, 6/21)

Fresno Bee: Los Angeles Public Schools Will Ban Cellphones. What’s Not To Like? 
Last month, the California Assembly passed a bill that would prohibit smartphone use by students in public schools. The bill is now being considered in the state Senate. (Robin Abcarian, 6/20)