Los Angeles Times: GOP Bill Will Be 'Devastating' For California Healthcare, Newsom Warns
As many as 3.4 million Californians could lose their state Medi-Cal health insurance under the budget bill making its way through the U.S. Senate, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday. Newsom said the proposed cuts to healthcare in the “one big, beautiful bill,” a cornerstone of President Trump’s second-term agenda, could force the closure of struggling rural hospitals, reduce government food assistance for those in need and drive up premiums for people who rely on Covered California, the state’s Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace. (Nelson, 6/27)

San Francisco Chronicle: California's Top Officials Excoriate Trump's Big Bill
California’s top Democrats condemned President Donald Trump’s signature domestic policy package Sunday, as the U.S. Senate continued to debate its version of Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” The legislation is a vast array of tax breaks and spending cuts, plus additional money for national defense and deportations, that Republicans say are crucial to keeping the country running. Democrats, however, have said it will destroy state budgets and lives, particularly among the most vulnerable who rely on government-funded programs. (Dizikes, 6/29)

The New York Times: Senate Version Of Trump’s Policy Bill Would Slash Medicaid Spending Even More
Republicans’ marquee domestic policy bill that is making its way through the Senate would result in deeper cuts and more Americans losing health insurance coverage than the original measure that passed the House last month, according to new estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. According to a report published late Saturday night, the legislation would mean 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034. Federal spending on Medicaid, Medicare and Obamacare would be reduced by more than $1.1 trillion over that period — with more than $1 trillion of those cuts coming from Medicaid alone. (Sanger-Katz, 6/29)

CBS News: Senate To Begin Marathon Vote Series On Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill" As GOP Eyes July 4 Deadline
The Senate is set to kick off what's expected to be a marathon session Monday, after the chamber debated President Trump's massive tax package into the wee hours of the morning as Republicans work to pass the centerpiece legislation of Mr. Trump's second term agenda. (Hubbard, 6/30)

The Hill: House To Vote On GOP Spending Bill As Soon As Wednesday
The Senate is scheduled to begin what is known as a vote-a-rama Monday morning at 9 a.m., giving senators in both parties an opportunity to introduce and vote on an unlimited number of amendments to the package. It remains unclear when the process will wrap up. Afterward, the chamber will hold a final passage vote. ... The House could vote on the GOP’s “big, beautiful bill” as early as Wednesday morning, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s (R-Minn.) office announced Sunday, officially notifying members that they will have to return to Washington, D.C., to vote on the megabill. (Schnell, 6/29)

San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego's Partial Takeover Of Ambulance Service Is Shrinking Response Times
Ambulance response times in San Diego have improved significantly since the city switched to a new partnership where private ambulances transport patients while the city handles deployment, staffing and billing. (Garrick, 6/28)

Becker's Hospital Review: UCI Health To Open Nation's 1st All-Electric Acute Care Hospital
Orange, Calif.–based UCI Health is planning to open the nation’s all-electric acute care hospital. The UCI Health-Irvine hospital is a 144-bed facility expected to open in December, according to a June 26 system news release. (Taylor, 6/27)

Los Angeles Times: Blue Shield Of California Draws Alarm Over Out-Of-State Restructuring
Last year, regulators approved a request by Blue Shield of California, the state’s third-largest health insurer, to restructure and establish a new parent corporation in Delaware. The Oakland-based nonprofit got the go-ahead from the Department of Managed Health Care, or DMHC, to create an entity called Ascendiun Inc., which is now the out-of-state corporate parent of Blue Shield. The insurer said that the restructuring would allow it to better serve its members “with less bureaucracy and faster results, while making health care more affordable.” (Darmiento, 6/30)

Becker's Hospital Review: 9 Hospital Projects Worth $1B+ In 2025
So far in 2025, Becker’s has reported on nine health systems that unveiled or advanced hospital projects worth $1 billion or more. Three of the projects involve new hospital campuses in California. (Kuchno, 6/27)

Los Angeles Times: Hims & Hers' Split With Wegovy Maker Weighs On The Telehealth Company
Hims & Hers, the high-flying telehealth company that rapidly ascended from a buzzy startup selling Viagra to a multibillion-dollar business with a Super Bowl ad, had a hard week. The San Francisco company’s shares took a dive Monday after its partnership with Novo Nordisk crumbled. The Danish drugmaker abruptly ended its agreement to let Hims & Hers directly sell its popular weight-loss drug, prompting the companies to spar publicly. (Wong, 6/28)

Modern Healthcare: CMMI To Add Prior Authorizations To Some Medicare
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will test a new model that adds prior authorization requirements to some services for traditional Medicare. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation unveiled the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction, or WISeR, demonstration Friday. (Tepper, 6/27)

CBS News: Supreme Court Upholds Federal Health Task Force That Sets No-Cost Coverage For Preventive Services
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the structure of a federal health task force that recommends preventive medical services that must be provided to patients at no cost under the Affordable Care Act. The ruling from the Supreme Court in the case known as Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, Inc. leaves intact the 16-member U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. The task force is part of the Department of Health and Human Service and has for decades been making recommendations on preventive medical services to avoid serious health conditions. (Quinn, 6/27)

The Bay Area Reporter: PrEP Funding Quietly Survives Supreme Court Review
One case at the U.S. Supreme Court Friday potentially jeopardized funding for preventive care for HIV, breast cancer, and other serious illnesses. But the case - Kennedy v. Braidwood (aka HHS v. Braidwood) - was not about funding for those issues. It was about who has the authority to choose which preventive care options the federal government can mandate health insurance covers. And in a 6-3 ruling, a majority of the justices said the recommendations were already being properly set by a task force under the Department of Health and Human Services. (Keen, 6/27)

Voice of OC: ICE Raids Spur Aid Network In Orange County
Orange County community groups, activists and many residents aren’t waiting for local politicians to help curb the impact of ICE raids. They’re not waiting for official local government programs to give them critical assistance. ... Community leaders have also established a network of direct aid to some of OC’s most impacted families. (Custodio and Leopo, 6/28)

The Washington Post: DOGE Loses Control Of Process For Awarding Billions In Federal Funds 
The U.S. DOGE Service has lost the power to control the government’s process for awarding billions of dollars in federal funds, the latest sign of the team’s declining influence following Elon Musk’s high-profile exit from Washington, according to two people familiar with the situation and emails obtained by The Washington Post. Three months ago, DOGE employees wrested control of a key federal grants website, grants.gov, which serves as a clearinghouse for more than $500 billion in annual awards, The Post reported. For most of the program’s existence, federal agencies including the Defense Department posted their funding opportunities directly to the site, where thousands of outside organizations could see and apply for them — until April, when DOGE staffers changed the website’s permissions to give themselves power to review and approve all grants across the government. (Diamond and Natanson, 6/27)

Military.com: New Army Shaving Policy Will Allow Soldiers With Skin Condition That Affects Mostly Black Men To Be Kicked Out 
The Army is preparing to roll out a new policy that could lead to soldiers diagnosed with a chronic skin condition that causes painful razor bumps and scarring to be kicked out of the service -- an issue that disproportionately affects Black men. The new guidance, expected to take effect in the coming weeks, would bar permanent shaving waivers and require medical personnel to craft formal treatment plans for affected troops, according to multiple service officials and internal documents reviewed by Military.com. (Beynon, 6/27)

San Francisco Chronicle: How Much Do Execs At SF Homeless Agencies Earn? Salaries May Shock You
Nonprofits serving homeless people in San Francisco work with the city’s poorest and most vulnerable people, yet some of their top executives are earning salaries and benefits totaling more than double the city’s average household income, a Chronicle analysis has found. Non-governmental organizations in San Francisco play a crucial role in the city’s efforts to address its homelessness crisis, and experts say transparency regarding executive pay, the organization’s fiscal health and program outcomes is integral to ensuring accountability and building donor trust. (Angst, 6/27) 

Index-Tribune: Homeless Action Sonoma Seeks Donations To Address Budget Shortfalls
Facing a reduction in federal funding, Homeless Action Sonoma is requesting community contributions to match a $75,000 donation from a private donor. (Johnson, 6/27)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Catholic Charities Seeks To Open Youth Homeless Shelter In Santa Rosa
The closure of SAY’s flagship Dream Center, a 24-bed hub in Bennett Valley, along with other services, left a vacuum that local agencies are still struggling to fill. (Gutierrez, 6/27)

Voice of San Diego, CalMatters and LAist: They Were Repeatedly Ticketed Because Of Their Homelessness. What Did It Change?
Deadra Walicki has lived in the same spot for more than a decade: a cracked patch of asphalt in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley, squeezed between a boarded-up grocery store and Amtrak tracks so close that passing trains shake the ground beneath her tent. The air carries the scent of diesel fumes from busy Van Nuys Boulevard below and rotten food from the dozens of garbage bags piled up near her mattress, baking in the summer sun. (Kendall, Schrank and Halverstadt, 6/27)

San Diego Union-Tribune: In San Diego’s Largest Jail, Some Detainees Spend Out-Of-Cell Time In Small, Cage-Like Enclosures
“Because no one is allowed in the dayroom, a person cannot even converse with another incarcerated person through their cell door; the lack of human contact is extreme,” wrote Dr. Pablo Stewart, a psychiatrist and expert witness in a class-action lawsuit seeking to improve conditions in San Diego jails. (Davis, 6/29)

KVPR: Mariposa County Is A Maternity Care Desert. Doulas Are Bridging The Gap.
Doulas like [Tynesha] Bennett, 43, provide support for families from the beginning stages of pregnancy to up to one year after the birth. Having a doula for someone without insurance can cost anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. But [Jennifer] Phipps has Bennett. That’s because of a new state law that added coverage for doula services to Medi-Cal plans in 2023. (Livinal, 6/27)

San Diego Union-Tribune: ‘It’s Music And Love’: How San Diego NeuroDance Uses Movement For Neurorehabilitation
A neurological disease diagnosis starts with a spark of fear and spreads like a wildfire, transforming the landscape of life. Those afflicted with conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s disease and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) scramble for cures or interventions to stop the progression. (Luttrell, 6/29)

KQED: From Dugout To Zen Den, San Francisco Giants Champion Mental Wellness
Down in the underbelly of Oracle Park, tucked off a cement hallway known as the “tunnel,” there’s a tiny windowless office that San Francisco Giants team psychologist Shana Alexander calls her “Zen Den.” The lights are low, the wall art conjures lily pads and dandelions and the leather couch is long enough for a 6-foot-2-inch pitcher to lie down. What Alexander offers over a backdrop of airy flute music is no ordinary guided meditation. (Dembosky, 6/30)