Fresno Bee: Madera Hospital Selects American Advanced As Reopening Partner 
Nearly a year after shutting down operations, Madera Community Hospital has approved a second deal with a financial partner to help it reopen. The hospital board of trustees approved a temporary management service agreement on Monday with American Advanced Management Inc., a Modesto-based hospital management company. Neither party provided further details Tuesday or a timetable for reopening. (Montalvo, 12/20)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Supervisors Name Developer Of General Hospital Revamp
A Culver City-based developer that specializes in bringing capital to low-income communities has been selected to renovate the landmark General Hospital building in Boyle Heights and develop its 25-acre grounds as a community and wellness center. “Revitalizing the historic General Hospital building and developing the surrounding land represents an opportunity to create a significant number of housing units,” said Supervisor Hilda Solis, who spearheaded the project. (Smith, 12/20)

San Gabriel Valley Tribune: Workers Launch 7-Day Strike At 4 Prime Healthcare Hospitals 
Nurses, medical assistants, ER techs and others at four Prime Healthcare hospitals launched their second strike of the year Wednesday, Dec. 20, claiming severe understaffing and high turnover have undermined patient care. (Smith, 12/20)

The Desert Sun: Coachella Valley Behavioral Health Hospital To Open In Indio
Coachella Valley Behavioral Health, a new in-patient psychiatric hospital, will soon open its doors in Indio and be the only free-standing, in-patient mental health facility serving the Coachella Valley. (Sasic, 12/20)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Rady Children's And Children's Hospital Of Orange County To Merge 
On Wednesday, Rady Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Orange County announced their intent to merge, pending regulatory approval from the state attorney general. (Sisson, 12/20)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Investor Carl Icahn Waging Another Proxy Battle Over Illumina's Failed Acquisition Of Grail 
Less than 24 hours after biotech giant Illumina said it would divest early cancer detection firm Grail, activist investor Carl Icahn published a letter announcing he’s ready to do battle against the San Diego company’s board — again. (Rocha, 12/20)

California Healthline: Deep Flaws In FDA Oversight Of Medical Devices, And Patient Harm, Exposed In Lawsuits And Records
Thousands of medical devices are sold, and even implanted, with no safety tests. (Schulte and Hacker, 12/21)

AP: Health Officials Push To Get Schoolchildren Vaccinated As More US Parents Opt Out
Last school year, vaccination waivers among kindergartners hit an all-time high: 3% in total, according to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. Waivers for religious or personal beliefs have been on the rise, driven by some states loosening laws, in others by vaccine misinformation and political rhetoric amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Shastri, 12/20)

The Bakersfield Californian: Covered California Partners With Adventist At Mobile Clinic Downtown 
Covered California joined Adventist Health Bakersfield at a mobile clinic downtown Wednesday as part of an effort to sign up Kern County residents for government-subsidized health insurance. (Cox, 12/19)

NPR: Obamacare Health Insurance Signups Hit Record Numbers In 2023 
The Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplaces appear set to break a record for the number of Americans enrolled, for the third year in a row. More than 19 million people have signed up for the insurance plans often called Obamacare, and there are still three more weeks of enrollment, federal health officials said Wednesday. ... "Four out of five people who are shopping are ending up getting a plan on the marketplace website for $10 or less a month in premiums," Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra tells NPR. (Webber and Louise Kelly, 12/20)

Stat: Why Health Care Costs Have Stayed Mostly Flat Since 2010 
All Americans are worried about inflation. The prices for housing, clothes and food at the supermarket are eyepopping and threatening President Biden’s re-election. But there is one totally unexpected exception to inflation recently: health care. (Ezekiel J. Emanuel, 12/21)

AP: Homeless Numbers In Los Angeles Could Surge Again
In the hours after being elected mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass made a promise that will be an inescapable metric of her time in office: “We are going to solve homelessness.” The Democratic member of Congress, who had been on then-candidate Joe Biden’s short list for vice president, envisioned streets clear of more than 40,000 homeless people — a broken city within a city — and the expansion of housing and health services that would repair troubled lives. (Blood, 12/21)

VC Star: Ventura Ranch Farmworker Housing Project Faces Opposition
Jack Dempsey used to look out at a lemon tree orchard from his backyard in Valley Vista, an unincorporated neighborhood between Ventura and Ojai. Now, he sees the land on 4884 N. Ventura Ave. being prepped for a proposed farmworker housing project called Ventura Ranch. Dempsey and most of his neighbors are against it. (Anjum, 12/20)

CalMatters: Domestic Violence Shelters Face Steep Funding Cuts
By the time the 2,000-plus domestic violence survivors come to the Family Violence Law Center, both their safety and housing are often at risk. A survivor who’s successfully gotten an abusive partner ordered out of their shared apartment must next shoulder the rent on their own, said Erin Scott, executive director of the Oakland nonprofit. Moving out on their own brings them face to face with a daunting Bay Area housing market. Becoming homeless would exacerbate everything for a client already recovering from trauma. (Kuang, 12/20)

CalMatters: California Homelessness Worsens Even As Housing Bills Pass
California’s steady rise in home prices and rents is the primary reason behind the state’s homelessness crisis, which grew even more dire in many parts of the state this year. Housing costs are also the culprit behind California’s sky-high poverty rate and its steady decline in population, as middle- and working-class residents seek cheaper places to live. (Christopher, 12/19)

AP: Homeless People Who Died On US Streets Are Increasingly Remembered At Winter Solstice Gatherings
With his gap-tooth smile, hip-hop routines and volunteer work for a food charity, Roosevelt White III was well known in the downtown Phoenix tent city known as “The Zone.” But like many homeless people, White suffered from diabetes and cardiovascular disease. He died unexpectedly one sweltering September day at age 36. (Snow, 12/21)

Bloomberg: Surging JN.1 Variant In Wastewater Spurs Questions About Covid Shift To The Gut
Spiking Covid-19 cases detected in wastewater have prompted some scientists to ask whether JN.1, the strain driving an explosive winter surge, is selectively targeting peoples’ intestinal tracts. The evidence is extremely limited and theoretical, and there’s no data suggesting that more people are experiencing severe digestive illnesses from Covid. Yet there’s no question that the coronavirus has changed its requirements for entering cells, said Sydney virologist Stuart Turville. This may be consistent with more efficient infection of particular tissues including the gut. (Gale, 12/21)

NBC News: CDC Director: U.S. Not Near Peak Covid Or Flu Levels For Season Yet
Winter officially begins Thursday, and with the cold season comes an expected rise in rates of flu and Covid, said Dr. Mandy Cohen, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The U.S. is seeing a "sharp increase" in flu levels right now, particularly in the south, Cohen said Wednesday in an interview. Covid cases also appear to be climbing nationally, she said, while cases of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, seem to have reached their highest point this season. "We’re seeing RSV peak a bit sooner, but we do not believe we’re near yet at the peak of flu or Covid," Cohen said. (Bendix, 12/21)

CIDRAP: Long COVID Changes Heart Rate Variability, Study Suggests
According to a small case-control study today in Scientific Reports, long COVID can affect heart rate variability (HRV) at rest and during deep breathing, adding to the evidence that persistent symptoms of the virus can be associated with cardiac and dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system (dysautonomia). This system regulates involuntary functions like heartbeat, blood pressure, and sweating. (Soucheray, 12/20)

VC Star: Legislation Calls On Military To Slow Fentanyl's Flow To Ventura County, Central Coast
Legislation that calls for military involvement in the fight against fentanyl will provide more resources and aid efforts to combat an out-of-control epidemic, sheriff’s and district attorneys from Ventura and Santa Barbara counties said Wednesday. (Kisken, 12/20)

California Healthline: Inside The Pentagon’s Painfully Slow Effort To Clean Up Decades Of PFAS Contamination
Cost estimates balloon and complications mount as the Defense Department grapples with PFAS pollution at hundreds of its bases and surrounding communities. (Norman and Kime, 12/21)

Los Angeles Times: Some Mexican Pharmacies Are Selling Full Bottles Of Adderall. But It's Actually Meth.
As a shortage of Adderall stretches into its second year, millions of patients are still struggling to fill their prescriptions in U.S. pharmacies. But in Mexico, some pharmacies are selling the pricey orange pills over the counter, in sealed bottles bearing the names and logos of well-known pharmaceutical companies. One problem: They’re not real. Some are counterfeits made of methamphetamine, while others contain appetite suppressants, acetaminophen or caffeine. (Blakinger, Sheets, Mejia, 12/21)

Bloomberg: Expensive Drugs From Big US Pharma Get More Money From FDA Program
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. has made over $20 billion in worldwide sales from a cystic fibrosis drug approved four years ago that can cost up to $300,000 a year. With blockbuster sales like that, Vertex wouldn’t appear to need government assistance. But thanks to an obscure program designed to incentivize companies to make drugs for uncommon or neglected diseases, the Food and Drug Administration also awarded Vertex a bonus certificate that it can either use to expedite a future drug approval or sell for around $100 million. (Langreth, Rutherford, and Meghjani, 12/21)

NPR: Doxy-PEP, A Morning-After Pill For STDs, May Be Less Effective For Women
There's a treatment that works like a morning-after pill for sexually transmitted infections – an antibiotic taken in the hours after unprotected sex. And it can significantly lower the chance of developing common STIs like chlamydia and syphilis. In fact, the approach has proven effective enough that federal guidelines are now being finalized so that more doctors and public health departments can offer it to those who're at high risk of STIs. Except so far, "doxy-PEP" is only recommended for men who have sex with men and transgender women. (Stone, 12/20)

Stat: Can The FDA Get Companies To Test Drugs In People Of Color?
Sometime next year drug and medical device companies will have to tell the Food and Drug Administration how they plan to include people of color in clinical trials. But planning isn’t the same as doing, the industry’s track record isn’t great, and it’s not clear whether the FDA will twist arms, experts told STAT. (Wilkerson, 12/21)

The Hill: Top Biden Officials Meet With Black, Public Health Leaders Following Menthol Ban Delay
Top Biden administration officials this week met with prominent civil rights and public health leaders in the wake of the administration’s decision to delay a ban on menthol cigarettes. The unannounced meeting was not formally on the public schedule, but it followed a similar call officials had last month with tobacco industry lobbyists — including former lawmakers — who advocated against the proposed ban. (Weixel, 12/20)

Reuters: Juul Seeks US Authorization For Its New Age-Restricted Menthol Pods
Juul Labs said on Tuesday it was seeking U.S. authorization for its new menthol-flavored pods, which require user age verification, to be used with its e-cigarette device that is under review by regulators. Juul's e-cigarettes were briefly banned in the U.S. in June 2022 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded the company had failed to show that the sale of its products would be appropriate for public health. Following an appeal, the health regulator put the ban on hold and agreed to an additional review of Juul's marketing application. (12/20)

Politico: Artificial Intelligence Is Already In Use At HHS
As Washington scrambles to regulate artificial intelligence in health care, the Department of Health and Human Services already uses the technology in its day-to-day work — and expects AI to play a larger role over the next several years. HHS is one of the top agencies using AI — fourth only to NASA and the Departments of Commerce and Energy — according to a recent Government Accountability Office report which looked at implemented or planned AI uses reported by department. (Cirruzzo, 12/20)

Politico: House Dems Call For Hearing On Heat-Related USPS Injuries
House Oversight and Accountability Committee Democrats are pushing the panel to investigate whether the U.S. Postal Service is doing enough to protect employees from extreme heat. In a letter sent Tuesday to Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), 14 Democrats said they were "troubled by reports of unsafe working conditions driven by extreme heat and inadequate workplace safety procedures." (Alvey, 12/20)

Politico: FAA Creates New Panel To Focus On Air Traffic Controller Fatigue
The FAA said Wednesday that it is creating a new panel of experts to review fatigue issues across its air traffic controller workforce. The three-member panel “will examine how the latest science on sleep needs and fatigue considerations could be applied to controller work requirements and scheduling,” the FAA said on Wednesday. Those experts aim to identify potential ways the FAA “could better address” fatigue among its controllers. The study will also review previous controller fatigue research, the agency said. (Pawlyk, 12/20)

San Francisco Chronicle: Plan To Build Biggest California Reservoir In Decades Hit With Lawsuit
A plan to build the largest reservoir in California in decades, Sites Reservoir about 70 miles north of Sacramento, is being challenged as ecologically destructive and not worth the cost in a lawsuit filed by environmental groups Wednesday. (Alexander, 12/20)

CalMatters: Climate Change And Flooding Hit Home In California
California was deluged with storms and floods at the beginning of 2023, bringing home the severity of impacts from climate change, particularly in the low-income communities of Planada in Merced County and Pajaro in Monterey County. Despite the deluge, California’s longstanding groundwater crisis continued. (Becker and Lazo, 12/20)

The New York Times: Supreme Court Will Consider Hold On Biden’s Air Pollution Plan
The Supreme Court announced on Wednesday that it would hear arguments in February on whether it should temporarily stop the Biden administration from requiring factories and power plants in Western and Midwestern states to cut air pollution that drifts into Eastern states. The court’s brief order did not suspend the program in the meantime or add the case to the court’s merits docket. Oral arguments in cases that reach the court by way of an emergency application, as in this case, are quite rare. (Liptak, 12/20)

CalMatters: California Closes Prisons and Transforms Others
The long, loud fights over prison closures in 2022 spilled into 2023 as communities dependent on prison dollars continued to argue for their own survival. Despite protests, lobbying and lawsuits by the affected cities, California still plans to close another five prisons by 2027 as inmate populations keep falling. (Duara, 12/20)

California Healthline: The Year In Opioid Settlements: 5 Things You Need To Know
In the past year, opioid settlement money has gone from an emerging funding stream for which people had lofty but uncertain aspirations to a coveted pot of billions being invested in remediation efforts. Here are some important and evolving factors to watch going forward. (Pattani, 12/21)