The Orange County Register: Kaiser Strike Ends Without Labor Agreement For 31,000 Healthcare Workers
As many as 31,000 union nurses and healthcare professionals ended their five-day strike against Kaiser Permanente in the Western U.S. without a labor agreement early Sunday, Oct. 19. (Maio, 10/19)

Becker's Hospital Review: California Hospital Interim CEO Resigns After 2.5 Months
Fred Vitello is no longer interim CEO and interim CFO of the John C. Fremont Healthcare District, which operates a critical access hospital in Mariposa, Calif., a spokesperson confirmed to Becker’s. He resigned Oct. 10 after eight months with the district, including two and a half months as interim CEO, according to communications manager Zack Peckinpah. (Gooch, 10/17)

Becker's Hospital Review: ‘This Is Always Fixable’: 1 Struggling California Hospital Sees Silver Lining
Struggling Lone Pine, Calif.-based Southern Inyo Healthcare District has seen significant financial improvements since Becker’s connected with its CEO Kevin Flanigan, MD, in late September. ... The improvements have come through a number of cost-cutting measures. Dr. Flanigan told Becker’s Oct. 16 that voluntary self-furloughs from facility employees resulted in an approximately 20% reduction in payroll costs. The hospital also laid off around 6% of its workforce, which has not affected any ongoing services. (Ashley, 10/17)

The Modesto Bee: Stanislaus County Forums Offer Help With Medicare Program Changes Expected In 2026
UnitedHealthcare announced recently it was discontinuing a long-standing Medicare Advantage HMO in Stanislaus County, effective Jan. 1. There’s also concern the fallout from federal Medicare spending cuts next year will result in rate increases or decisions by insurers about their plans in the county. (Carlson, 10/18)

Becker's Hospital Review: Sutter Health Boosts Breast Cancer Detection With AI
Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health has expanded its AI-enabled breast cancer screening program across more than 60 imaging sites using Ferrum Health’s clinical platform. Since implementation, Sutter’s detection rates have risen from 4.8 to over 6.0 cases per 1,000 screenings, according to an Oct. 16 news release. The use of AI has also helped reduce false positives and unnecessary subsequent follow-ups and procedures. (Jeffries, 10/17)

AP: How Listening To Music May Help Ease Pain From Surgery Or Illness 
Nurse Rod Salaysay works with all kinds of instruments in the hospital: a thermometer, a stethoscope and sometimes his guitar and ukulele. In the recovery unit of UC San Diego Health, Salaysay helps patients manage pain after surgery. Along with medications, he offers tunes on request and sometimes sings. His repertoire ranges from folk songs in English and Spanish to Minuet in G Major and movie favorites like “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Patients often smile or nod along. Salaysay even sees changes in their vital signs like lower heart rate and blood pressure, and some may request fewer painkillers. “There’s often a cycle of worry, pain, anxiety in a hospital,” he said, “but you can help break that cycle with music.” (Larson, 10/18)

Becker's Hospital Review: What’s Next For Ambient Tech?
Ambient listening technology is often framed as a fix for documentation fatigue and clinician burnout. But for many nursing informatics leaders, that is just the first chapter of the story. What comes next, they told Becker’s, is a quiet but profound shift in how care itself is delivered — one where ambient tools become clinical partners, predictive systems and even subtle shapers of the care environment. (Jeffries, 10/17)

Politico: California Democrat Ro Khanna: ‘I Agree With Marjorie Taylor Greene’ On Health Care 
Rep. Ro Khanna surprised Fox News host Shannon Bream on Sunday when he said he agrees with Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) on health care. The California Democrat’s remarks came as the ongoing government shutdown appears to be without end as Democrats and Republicans blame each other. In their discussion on the shutdown during “Fox News Sunday,” Bream pointed out that Democrats are demanding an extension of Covid-era subsidies through the Affordable Care Act. When asked why Democrats are holding the line over a policy that was “always supposed to sunset,” Khanna replied: “I agree with Marjorie Taylor Greene. The health care system is broken.” (Daniels, 10/19)

The New York Times: Higher Obamacare Prices Become Public In A Dozen States, Including California
Health insurance prices for next year under the Affordable Care Act are now available in about a dozen states, giving Americans their first look at the sharp increases many will pay for coverage if Congress does not extend subsidies that have made some plans more affordable. People shopping for coverage can now preview the costs they face from potentially expiring subsidies and sharply rising premiums in many markets, including California, New York, Nevada, Maryland and Idaho. Some consumers also found out that they would have fewer choices because their insurers dropped out of some markets for 2026. (Abelson and Sanger-Katz, 10/17)

The Wall Street Journal: The Government Shutdown Fight Over ACA Subsidies Is Running Out Of Time
“Actually being able to write something that can be put in effect between now and Nov. 1? I don’t know how it gets done,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R., S.D.). “There are fundamental differences between what Republicans want and what Democrats want on this issue.” (Wise, Mathews and Ferek, 10/19)

Politico: Nearly 3 Weeks In, White House And GOP Remain Aligned On Shutdown
The White House feels as confident about the shutdown on day 19 as it was on day one– in part because congressional Republicans have, for the most part, remained largely in line. “There’s no discussions at all at the rank-and-file level, and what is there even for Republicans to be skittish about?” said a Senate GOP aide granted anonymity to discuss the dynamics between the White House and Congress. (Gangitano, 10/19)

The Washington Post: Here’s Who Pays When Undocumented Immigrants Get Health Care In America
Republicans have attacked Democratic health care demands in shutdown debate as funding medical care for undocumented immigrants. The reality is more complicated. Immigrants living in the United States illegally are ineligible for federal health plans, including Medicaid and Medicare, as well as insurance sold through Affordable Care Act marketplaces. But federal money can indirectly help those immigrants by reimbursing hospitals that are required to provide emergency care to all patients and by supporting state Medicaid programs that use their own money to offer coverage to patients without legal status. (Ovalle, 10/20)

CalMatters: The Feds Want To Know More About The People On Food Stamps. How Newsom Responded
A law that allowed the sharing of limitless amounts of personal data across the state to find people eligible for CalFresh was rescinded [last] week. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 593 by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, a Democrat from Oakland, that forbids state and local departments from sharing sensitive personal data to increase food stamp enrollment. (Huss, 10/17)

CalMatters: CalMatters Shined A Light On Struggling Birthing Centers. Newsom Just Signed A Law To Help Them
Women in California today have fewer places to give birth than they did a decade ago. Legislation signed this week by Gov. Gavin Newsom aims to create more options for them by making it easier for birth centers to operate outside of hospitals. (Hwang, 10/17)

Voice of OC: New Law In California For MENA Community Data Collection
A state bill recently signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom aims to shine a spotlight on the hidden inequities felt in one of California’s most diverse communities – Middle East and North African residents. ... Amin Nash, a policy and research coordinator with the Arab American Civic Council who advocated for the bill, said the new law will require government agencies to collect data that can save lives by tracking health trends in the Middle Eastern community. (Elattar, 10/20)

Los Angeles Times: LGBTQ+ Youth's Mental Health Struggles Are Getting Worse, According To A New Survey
There are many stresses that come with being an LGBTQ+ youth: fear, isolation, bullying, feeling as if the world hates you, loved ones pressuring you to change. Those realities come into sharper view in the first release of findings from an ongoing study by the Trevor Project to track the mental health of about 1,700 youth across the U.S. over an extended period of time. (Beason, 10/20)

LAist: College Students Are Reporting Less Depression. Researchers Think They Know Why
The study’s been conducted for nearly 20 years. This year’s survey gathered nearly 85,000 responses from 135 colleges and universities across the country. The identity of the institutions is confidential, but Daniel Eisenberg said California campuses are part of the study results. Most of the respondents were enrolled in four-year schools, but more than a quarter attended community colleges. (Guzman-Lopez, 10/17)

San Francisco Chronicle: Are Neighbors The Key To Solving The Loneliness Epidemic?
For an hour on Thursday afternoon, inside the spacious St. John of God Church in San Francisco’s Inner Sunset District, Georgia Seibert and about 30 other older adults — mostly from the neighborhood — did tai chi, arm circles and stepping to the beat of the music in unison as part of a group exercise class. ... The event was part of the “Meet Six Neighbors” initiative, led by a statewide program called Neighbor-to-Neighbor, which began during the COVID pandemic to help Californians tackle social isolation and strengthen community bonds. This fall, the state partnered with the city of San Francisco to launch the Meet Six Neighbors campaign locally, challenging residents to forge social connections with six people who live nearby. (Ho, 10/19)

The Oaklandside: Oakland Mayor Lee Hosts Bay Area Mayors At Gun Violence Prevention Conference
Leaders of several East Bay cities gathered with gun violence prevention experts in Oakland for a day-long conference on Friday. Convened by Mayor Barbara Lee, the gathering focused on two central themes: collaboration at a regional level to address gun violence, and focusing on the supply side of the problem — the flow of illegal firearms on the streets of cities like Oakland. (BondGraham, 10/17)

inewsource: San Diego County Expands Family Justice Centers To South Bay
San Diego County’s newest family justice center is now open in National City to help people who have experienced trauma. (Alarian, 10/17)

San Francisco Chronicle: Nitrous Oxide Sold At California Stores Is Endangering Young Users
Commonly known as laughing gas or whippits, nitrous oxide can deliver users a short, dizzying high  — as well as inflict lasting neurological harm, including paralysis and seizures. Even though California law prohibits the possession of nitrous oxide for recreational use, it can be purchased by anyone 18 or older, with products typically labeled for food purposes only. This year, several California counties banned retail sales of nitrous oxide, tightening this culinary use loophole — but families like Kalie’s believe more must be done to protect other lives. (Park, 10/20)

Los Angeles Times: How Bad Will California's Flu-And-COVID Season Be This Year?
Last year’s flu season was the worst California had seen in years — and state health officials warn this year could potentially be just as bad. While forecasting disease isn’t an exact science, there are some troubling signs. In Asia, the flu has made an early comeback, and quickly swelled to epidemic proportions in Japan and Taiwan. And stateside, some experts are sounding the alarm about continued lower uptake of the flu vaccine. (Lin II, 10/20)

Stat: MRNA Covid Shots May Boost Effects Of Cancer Immunotherapy
The study found that advanced cancer patients who received a Covid vaccine within 100 days before taking an immunotherapy drug during the pandemic lived longer than patients who did not, in a retrospective analysis. Researchers from MD Anderson Cancer Center presented the study at the European Society for Medical Oncology conference in Berlin on Sunday. The results are intriguing cancer immunologists and oncologists, who reacted with both excitement and caution.  (Chen, 10/19)

The New York Times: Peanut Allergies Have Plummeted In Children, Study Shows 
Food allergies in children dropped sharply in the years after new guidelines encouraged parents to introduce infants to peanuts, a study has found. For decades, as food allergy rates climbed, experts recommended that parents avoid exposing their infants to common allergens. But a landmark trial in 2015 found that feeding peanuts to babies could cut their chances of developing an allergy by over 80 percent. In 2017, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases formally recommended the early-introduction approach and issued national guidelines. (Bajaj, 10/20)