San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Tech Layoffs: Cancer Screening Company To Cut 20% Of Workers
Freenome, a South San Francisco-based biotechnology company, plans to reduce its workforce by approximately 20%. The decision will impact over 100 employees across various departments, part of an effort to streamline operations, the company said in a LinkedIn post Tuesday. The announcement comes on the heels of Freenome securing $245 million in funding in February to develop its early cancer detection blood tests. (Vaziri, 4/24)

Modern Healthcare: Anthem Blue Cross Faces Lawsuit Over Discharge Delay Allegations
The California Hospital Association is suing Anthem Blue Cross of California, alleging the insurer does not follow state laws related to patient discharge requirements. The suit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleges the payer delays patient discharges and refuses to transfer patients from hospitals to post-acute care facilities or services such as skilled nursing, behavioral health, long-term care, rehabilitation facilities or home health services. (DeSilva, 4/24)

Becker's Hospital Review: Adventist Health Reorganizes Post-M&A
Roseville-based Adventist Health is modifying its service area models in California and Oregon after adding hospitals to its system from Tenet Healthcare. ... The system is appointing Ryan Ashlock, president of Adventist Health Castle in Kailua, Hawaii, as president of its Adventist Health Central Coast Service Area in California. The service area includes the two newly acquired hospitals — Adventist Health Sierra Vista in San Luis Obispo and Adventist Health Twin Cities in Templeton — along with two imaging centers and 11 primary care and specialty clinics. Mr. Ashlock's appointment is effective June 9. Additionally, Eleze Armstrong will serve as the operations executive of the Adventist Health Central Coast Service Area and continue as president of Adventist Health Twin Cities. (Gamble, 4/24)

Becker's Hospital Review: How Leaders Are Building The Healthcare Workforce Pipeline
The workforce is top of mind for hospitals and health systems, and executives are investing in retention and upskilling to address shortages and reduce reliance on contract labor. While leaders understand they must address short-term workforce needs, they also understand they must build a robust talent pipeline with candidates who are ready to fill roles years down the road. (Gooch, 4/24)

Modern Healthcare: Vertical Integration In Healthcare Under Fire From Republicans 
The call to rein in giant healthcare corporations isn't just coming from the left. Conservative lawmakers on Capitol Hill are growing increasingly vocal with their own demands to crack down on consolidation and vertical integration in the industry, spurred on most recently by the Change Healthcare ransomware attack. (McAuliff, 4/24)

The Washington Post: Groups Sue To Block FTC’s New Rule Barring Noncompete Agreements
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups on Wednesday sued the Federal Trade Commission over a new rule that would make most noncompete agreements illegal, setting up a potential showdown over the scope of the agency’s authority. (Mark, 4/24)

CNN: Ozempic, Wegovy: Sanders Launches Senate Investigation Into ‘Outrageously High’ Pricing Of Drugs
Sen. Bernie Sanders is taking aim at the high prices of the blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. The Vermont senator, an independent who has long called out drug manufacturers for their costly products, is launching an investigation into the “outrageously high prices” Novo Nordisk charges for the drugs. (Luhby and Dillinger, 4/24)

Los Angeles Times: Supreme Court Wary Of Idaho's Ban On Some Emergency Abortions
The Supreme Court justices voiced doubt Wednesday about a strict Idaho law that would make it a crime for doctors to perform an abortion even for a woman who arrives at a hospital suffering from a serious, but not life-threatening, medical emergency. Solicitor Gen. Elizabeth Prelogar, representing the Biden administration, said such cases are rare and tragic. They are not elective abortions, she said, but pregnancies that have turned into medical emergencies. (Savage, 4/24)

The Hill: Female Supreme Court Justices Push Back Most Strongly On Idaho Abortion Ban 
The four female justices, including conservative Amy Coney Barrett, pushed back the hardest against Idaho’s assertion that its law, which prohibits doctors from performing an abortion except when a woman’s life is in danger, supersedes the federal emergency care statute known as EMTALA, or the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. (Weixel, 4/24)

CNN: Takeaways From The Supreme Court’s Oral Arguments Over Emergency Abortions 
To prevail, the Biden administration will need the votes of two members of the court’s conservative bloc, and with Justice Brett Kavanaugh signaling sympathies toward Idaho, the case will likely come down to the votes of Chief Justice John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett. The two justices had tough questions for both sides of the case. Here are the key takeaways from oral arguments. (Sneed and Fritze, 4/24)

Bloomberg: US Births Fell Last Year To Lowest Total Since 1979, Report Says
US births declined in 2023 to their lowest level in more than 40 years, continuing a two-decade trend of Americans having fewer children. Total births for the year fell 2% to 3.59 million, according to preliminary data released Thursday from the US National Center for Health Statistics, a level not seen since 1979, when about 3.4 million US babies were born. The rate of US women of child-bearing age having babies is the lowest since the center began compiling statistics, said Brady Hamilton, an NCHS demographer and lead author of the report. (Nix, 4/25)

CBS News: Pitt Study Sees "Dramatic Increase" In Tubal Ligation Rate In Young People After Roe V. Wade Overturned
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, the issue of reproductive rights has been center stage across the country. While it might be a hot-button political issue, it's also very personal, and many women and men are taking the step of permanent contraception. The demonstrations, debates, and court rulings since Roe v. Wade was overturned have had personal impacts on people in their prime reproductive years. (Shumway, 4/24)

Los Angeles Times: The Supreme Court's Homelessness Decision Could Backfire On California
As the nation’s highest court heard arguments this week in a case expected to shape homelessness policies in the years to come, Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath listened angrily. The case involved a small Oregon town seeking to rid its streets and parks of encampments, and leaders across California had joined in calling for the Supreme Court to take up the issue, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and L.A. City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto. But not Horvath. (Rector, 4/25)

Voice of San Diego: North County Report: Cash To Clear Encampments Comes With Strings Attached
We’ll pay for your homeless programs, but only if you show us they’re working. That was Gov. Gavin Newsom’s message to cities across California, like Oceanside and Carlsbad, receiving homeless funding from the state. Last week, we learned two North County cities, Oceanside and Carlsbad, received a $11.4 million grant to move homeless people camped along state Route 78 into shelter. But now new requirements will force the city to track spending or risk future state funding. (Layne, 4/24)

San Francisco Chronicle: East Bay High School Nurse Revives Student With Narcan On Campus
A high school nurse in Antioch administered Narcan to a student Tuesday who was apparently overdosing on drugs at lunchtime, a spokesperson for the school district said Wednesday. The Deer Valley High School nurse administered 4 mg of Narcan to a student who was “under the influence” and unconscious just before 12:08 p.m., spokesperson Lindsay Wisely told the Chronicle. ... Wisely said the student, whose age was not immediately known, had recovered and planned to return to school Wednesday. (Vainshtein, 4/24)

The Wall Street Journal: McKinsey Under Criminal Investigation Over Opioid-Related Consulting 
The Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation into consulting firm McKinsey related to its past role in advising some of the nation’s largest opioid manufacturers on how to boost sales. Federal prosecutors are also probing whether McKinsey or any of its employees may have obstructed justice in relation to records of its consulting services for opioid producers, according to people familiar with the investigation, which has been ongoing for several years.  (Gladstone, 4/24)

AP: More Doctors Can Prescribe A Leading Addiction Treatment. Why Aren't More People Getting Help? 
It’s easier than ever for doctors to prescribe a key medicine for opioid addiction since the U.S. government lifted an obstacle last year. But despite the looser restrictions and the ongoing overdose crisis, a new study finds little change in the number of people taking the medication. Researchers analyzed prescriptions filled by U.S. pharmacies for the treatment drug buprenorphine. The number of prescribers rose last year after doctors no longer needed to get a special waiver to prescribe the drug, while the number of patients filling prescriptions barely budged. (Johnson, 4/24)

Military.com: Toxic Exposure Screenings: Vets Report Spotty Follow-Up On Questionnaire Meant To Boost Health Care And Benefits 
Confusing. Lackluster. Generic. A little bit of a letdown. Those are some of the ways veterans are describing toxic exposure screenings they've gotten at Department of Veterans Affairs health centers, screenings that were designed as a tool to get more vets help after medical evidence accumulated that service had made many sick. Rolled out with great fanfare in November 2022, toxic exposure screenings for all VA patients were mandated by the PACT Act, the sweeping law passed in August of that year that expanded benefits and health care for millions of veterans exposed to environmental hazards during their military service. (Kheel, 4/24)

NBC News: USDA Orders Dairy Cows To Be Tested For Bird Flu If Moved Across State Lines
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday issued a federal order that any dairy cows being transported from one farm to another across state lines should be tested for bird flu. The new order comes one day after the Food and Drug Administration said that fragments of the bird flu virus were found in samples of pasteurized milk on store shelves. (Edwards and Syal, 4/25)

Los Angeles Times: Federal Government Says Virus Found In Milk Is Safe To Drink
After identifying remnants of bird flu virus in grocery store milk, federal officials announced Wednesday that they “believe” the nation’s milk supply is safe and that the virus is inactivated by pasteurization.“ ... FDA scientists said they have identified genetic material from the current bird flu strain in samples of pasteurized milk from grocery shelves. The DNA testing done so far was unable to determine conclusively whether the viral particles were active or inactive. (Rust, 4/24)

NPR: What Consumers Should Know About The Milk Testing Positive For Bird Flu
The FDA said there haven't been any studies specifically on whether pasteurization inactivates bird flu in cow's milk because bovine infections are so new. However, it added that previous studies have shown that pasteurization is "very likely to effectively inactivate heat-sensitive viruses, like H5N1" and that pasteurization has inactivated bird flu in eggs, a process that occurs at a lower temperature than for milk. The FDA said it detected bird flu in milk using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) tests, which "do not represent actual virus that may be a risk to consumers." (Hernandez, 4/24)

The Washington Post: As Bird Flu Spreads In Cows, Fractured U.S. Response Has Echoes Of Early Covid 
Federal agencies with competing interests are slowing the country’s ability to track and control an outbreak of highly virulent bird flu that for the first time is infecting cows in the United States, according to government officials and health and industry experts. The response has echoes of the early days of 2020, when the coronavirus began its deadly march around the world. (Sun and Roubein, 4/25)

CIDRAP: Teen Vaccination Cut COVID-19 Cases By 37% In California, New Data Show 
JAMA Network Open has published a new study showing that, from April 1, 2020, to February 27, 2023, in California, an estimated 146,210 COVID-19 cases were averted by vaccination in teens aged 12 to 15 years, representing a 37% reduction. Researchers also estimated that 230,134 cases were averted in kids aged 5 to 11 years, a 24% reduction.  (Soucheray, 4/24)

CIDRAP: Data: Optimal Initiation Of Paxlovid In Hospitalized COVID Patients Is 3 To 5 Days
Taking the SARS-CoV-2 antiviral drug nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) 3 to 5 days after COVID-19 symptom onset—not earlier or later—may result in the greatest reduction in viral loads, viral transmission, and viral rebound in hospitalized patients, a University of Hong Kong–led study finds. (Van Beusekom, 4/24)

The Washington Post: Fauci Agrees To Testify In Congress On Covid Origins, Pandemic Policies
Anthony S. Fauci has agreed to testify in front of the House panel investigating the nation’s coronavirus response, the first time the prominent infectious-disease expert will publicly face Congress since leaving government nearly 1½ years ago. Fauci, who helped steer the Trump and Biden administrations’ efforts to fight the virus, is scheduled to testify June 3 in front of the House Oversight select subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic, with lawmakers expected to press him on the still-unknown origins of the pandemic, the government’s vaccine mandates and other issues that remain politically divisive, more than four years after the outbreak began. (Diamond, 4/24)

Los Angeles Times: Why Are Southern California Officials Releasing More Mosquitoes?
Jennifer Castellon shook, tapped and blew on a box to shoo out more than 1,000 mosquitoes in a quiet, upscale Inland Empire neighborhood. The insects had a job to do, and the pest scientist wanted every last one out. Their task? Find lady mosquitoes and mate. But these were no ordinary mosquitoes. Technicians had zapped the insects, all males, with radiation in a nearby lab to make them sterile. If they achieve their amorous quest, there will be fewer baby mosquitoes than there would be if nature ran its course. That means fewer mouths to feed — mouths that thirst for human blood. (Seidman, 4/25)

Los Angeles Times: Summer Heat Is Coming. A New Interactive Tool Can Help You
Despite the cooler temperatures across Southern California, the summer heat is just months away and a new interactive tool is available to help you assess how the impending high temperatures can affect your health and suggest steps to take avoid heat-related illnesses. ... HeatRisk is an online dashboard that enables users to check the seven-day forecast according to their ZIP Code. Instead of temperature degrees, the forecast uses a five-level color scale to indicate the health risk imposed by the heat, taking into consideration heat exposure and the role of humidity in the air. (Garcia, 4/24)

CNN: Surgeons Perform First Combined Heart Pump And Pig Kidney Transplant 
The first transplant surgery to combine a mechanical heart pump as well as a gene-edited pig kidney has been completed at NYU Langone Health, the system said Wednesday. (Dillinger, 4/24)

The New York Times: F.D.A. Approves Antibiotic for Increasingly Hard-to-Treat Urinary Tract Infections
It is the first time in two decades that the F.D.A. has approved a new antibiotic for U.T.I.s, which annually affect 30 million Americans. U.T.I.s are responsible for the single-greatest use of antibiotics outside a hospital setting. (Jacobs, 4/24)

Los Angeles Times: TikTok To Crack Down On Disordered Eating And Weight-Loss Posts
Saying it does not want to promote negative body comparisons, TikTok is cracking down on posts about disordered eating, dangerous weight-loss habits and potentially harmful weight-management products. The wildly popular social media app updated its community guidelines last week, introducing a slate of new rules that it hopes will make the platform a safer place for its roughly 1 billion users worldwide. (Chang, 4/25)

Los Angeles Times: Proposed L.A. County Budget Adds Mental Health Workers, Homelessness Funding
Los Angeles County’s proposed budget for next year is about $1.4 billion smaller than the previous year’s but adds more mental health workers and increases funding to address homelessness. County Chief Executive Fesia Davenport said at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting that her budget of $45.4 billion ensures that the county can provide crucial safety net services while remaining financially solvent. (Cosgrove, 4/24)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Sonoma County Sales Tax Measure Dollars Go Unspent On Mental Health, Homelessness 
A quarter-cent sales tax that Sonoma County voters approved to fund mental health, substance abuse and homelessness services has been fully in place for three years but tens of millions of dollars that it has generated remain unspent. (Hay, 4/24)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Migrant Services Groups Ask To Weigh In On How To Spend Federal Funds 
Local migrant services groups are urging San Diego County leaders to collaborate with those working directly with migrants on the ground before deciding how to spend its recent $19.6 million allocation from the federal government. (Alvarenga, 4/25)