Los Angeles Times: Verity Health May Sell St. Vincent And Its Other Hospitals
The nonprofit Verity Health System is considering selling one or more of its six California hospitals because of financial pressures. ...The hospitals, many of which are in lower-income neighborhoods, have been struggling for years to keep their doors open. Just a year ago, Nantworks, the Culver City company controlled by Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, bought Integrity Healthcare, the management company that provides guidance to Verity, which owns and operates the hospitals. Soon-Shiong also provided an undisclosed amount of funding to Verity. “The top priority of Verity’s board and management team is to establish a long-term, sustainable path forward for our hospitals, which are of critical importance to the communities they serve,” Rich Adcock, Verity’s chief executive, said this week in a statement. (Petersen, 7/11)

Capital Public Radio: ‘Loving Brown Babies’: How Black Families In Sacramento Talk To Their Kids About Violence 
Parents in Sacramento’s low-income, largely black neighborhoods say a proactive family figure like [Latrell] Ludd isn’t always there for kids. And children in these ZIP codes die at more than twice the rate of white children from homicide, child abuse, unsafe sleeping conditions and stress-related birth complications, according to Sacramento County. To counter that trend, the Black Child Legacy Campaign recently launched Loving Brown Babies, a web page where African-American families share their hardships and successes in hopes of helping other families. (Caiola, 7/11)

In other public health news —

Los Angeles Times: If You're An Adult In America, There's About A 50-50 Chance You've Been On A Diet In The Past Year
Dieting has become the new normal in the U.S. If you doubt this is true, just ask two American adults whether they’ve tried to lose weight in the past year. Odds are, one of them will say yes, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Between 2013 and 2016, 49.1% of Americans ages 20 and up told interviewers with the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey that they made an effort to shed some pounds in the previous 12 months. (Kaplan, 7/12)

Los Angeles Times: Citing Health Study, Lancaster Mayor Wants To Ban Workplace Necktie Requirements For City Employees
Californians aren’t exactly known for their stuffy workplace attire. Even so, Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris wants to forbid all city employers from requiring workers to don the enemy of the casual wardrobe: neckties. ... Last week, the mayor came across a new study published in the journal Neuroradiology that suggests wearing neckties may lower blood flow to the brain, potentially curbing creativity and analytical thinking. (Newberry, 7/12)

Orange County Register: Sovereign Health Tells Workers They Won’t Be Paid; Closes California Drug Rehab Facilities 
One of the bigger addiction treatment providers in Southern California, Sovereign Health, is closing its doors amid financial difficulties and an ongoing investigation following allegations of insurance fraud. ... Sovereign Health, which operated centers for recovering drug addicts and the mentally ill, is among many in the addiction industry accused of abusing insurance rules while churning addicts through rehab programs with little regard for their long-term sobriety. (Schwebke, 7/11)

In other news on the opioid crisis —

Modesto Bee: Why A Stanislaus County Law Enforcement Officer Might Be An Opioid User’s Best Friend 
More than 500 Narcan doses have been issued to Stanislaus County law enforcement by Aegis, the recipient of six of 19 California Department of Healthcare Services grants. (Alfaro, 7/12)

The Delano Record: Medical Academy Camp Exposes Students To Health Care Careers
Students from all three Delano high schools came together for a first-ever medical camp for high school students. The California Endowment and The Kern Community College District collaborated with Delano Joint Unified School District to launch the first-of-its-kind Delano Medical Academy Camp June 26 through June 29 for a group of incoming district ninth-grade students. All the students were selected because of their involvement or interest in the medical field. The objectives of the camp are to provide participating students exposure and increase awareness to careers in the health care field, to build college and career readiness, and to facilitate transitioning from junior high to high school. (Garaygordobil, 7/12)

In other news from across the state —

Sacramento Bee: Mercy Medical Center In Redding Fired Worker With Vision Loss, Lawsuit Seeking Compensation Alleges
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is alleging that Dignity Health violated federal law when it did not accommodate an employee at its Mercy Medical Center in Redding after she suffered a loss of vision, the agency announced Wednesday. ....But when she tried to return to work, Dignity cited a 20/40 vision requirement it had not used during Sorling's prior employment, according to the disability discrimination lawsuit filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. (Holzer and Anderson, 7/11)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Parking Structure Approved For Tri-City Medical Center 
Plans to build a three-level parking structure and a new main entrance on Vista Way were approved this week for Tri-City Medical Center. The structure would have 495 parking spaces and an additional 92 surface spaces to serve the existing and new structures planned at the Oceanside hospital and to ease parking and traffic circulation throughout the campus. Oceanside planning commissioners approved the project on a 6-0 vote Tuesday, with Commissioner Curtis Busk absent, despite initial concerns about adding a new traffic signal and entrance on Vista Way. (Diehl, 7/11)

Reuters: Democrats Refocus Fight Against Trump's Supreme Court Nominee On Healthcare
Democrats on Wednesday were reorienting their uphill push to block U.S. Senate confirmation of President Donald Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, moving healthcare to the center of their strategy and putting less emphasis on abortion rights. While the two issues are closely linked, the change aligns with polling that shows healthcare is a major concern for swing-state voters ahead of November's congressional elections, with abortion rights more divisive. (7/11)

Politico: Dems Pitch Mixed Messages In Supreme Court Fight
As they start a Supreme Court battle with control of the Senate on the line, Democrats want to talk about Obamacare. And Roe v. Wade. And the special counsel’s investigation into President Donald Trump. That’s not to mention Democratic concerns about how Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh would rule on guns, unions, voting rights and more. While the GOP is promoting Trump’s pick with a singular message — touting Kavanaugh’s ample qualifications — Democrats are offering multiple arguments against him that each speak to multiple parts of their base and the electorate. The multi-part strategy reflects a perennial challenge for a party that has struggled to succinctly communicate its agenda to voters. (Schor and Caygle, 7/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Health Law Is An Issue In Fight Over Supreme Court Pick Brett Kavanaugh
Almost any nomination to the high court spurs debates about abortion, affirmative action, and similar social issues. In this case, Democrats see the health-care issue as a particularly effective way to galvanize opposition to the Kavanaugh nomination, while the judge’s supporters say it shows the weakness of their case against him. “They will have, if they get this nominee, a Supreme Court ready to rule against protections for people with pre-existing conditions,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.). Organizations supporting the ACA plan to hold rallies and events in key battleground states such as Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, and Ohio, hoping to mirror the strategy used to block the ACA repeal last year. (Armour and Peterson, 7/11)

Los Angeles Times: Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh Lauded Late Chief Justice Rehnquist For Dissenting In Roe Vs. Wade And Supporting School Prayer
Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, gave a revealing speech last fall in which he lauded former Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist for having dissented in Roe vs. Wade and for rejecting the notion of “a wall of separation between church and state.” He also praised the late chief justice’s unsuccessful effort to throw out the so-called “exclusionary rule,” which forbids police from using illegally obtained evidence. (Savage, 7/11)

The Hill: Conservatives, Liberals Both Agree: Nominee A Pivotal Vote On Abortion 
Conservatives and liberals alike think Trump nominee Brett Kavanaugh could shift the Supreme Court further right on abortion issues. The question, they say, is not whether Kavanaugh’s addition to the court would be a shift, but whether it will lead to a complete overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion or the upholding of restrictions that would make the decision obsolete. (Hellmann, 7/11)

The New York Times: Democrats Zero In On Kavanaugh’s Defense Of Presidential Power
Democrats who once saw health care and abortion as their best lines of attack against Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, are recalibrating their approach to go after him for his view that a sitting president should not have to answer questions in a criminal case, much less face indictment. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, said in an interview on Wednesday that Judge Kavanaugh’s belief in broad presidential authority was “just off the deep end.” (Stolberg, 7/11)

The Associated Press: Smile! Supreme Court Nominees And The Art Of The Schmooze
Brett Kavanaugh's wooing of the Senate is part of a time-honored tradition, including awkward grip-and-grin photo ops and light conversation that skirts the contentious issues that lie ahead. Here's what to watch for as Kavanaugh makes the rounds on Capitol Hill ahead of his confirmation hearing to become the next Supreme Court justice. (7/11)

The Associated Press: 2 Supreme Court Nominations Made, Trump May Have None To Go
What would it take for President Donald Trump to get yet another Supreme Court pick? Probably the death of a justice. Trump has speculated that he could appoint a majority of the nine-member court. But it has been three decades since a president has been able to name more than two justices to their life-tenured posts, and Trump tied that number this week. The court's oldest remaining justices, two liberals and a conservative who are 85, 79 and 70, haven't suggested they're going anywhere and appear in fine health. (7/12)

The Washington Post: Every Current Supreme Court Justice Attended Harvard Or Yale. That’s A Problem, Say Decision-Making Experts.
It is not hard to see similarities between President Trump’s last two Supreme Court nominees: They are both white male conservatives who attended Ivy League law schools, clerked for retiring Justice Anthony M. Kennedy and went to the same exclusive private prep school. The elite background does not end with them. If the Senate approves Trump’s nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, every justice sitting on the Supreme Court will have attended either Yale's or Harvard’s law school. (Ruth Bader Ginsburg started at Harvard and transferred to another Ivy, Columbia.) (Wan, 7/11)

The New York Times: Trump Administration To Speed Reunions Of Families Separated At Border
Facing pressure to expedite the reunion of migrant families separated at the border, the Trump administration is expected to announce on Thursday that it will streamline the process, immigration advocates say. The government will stop requiring a litany of steps before a child can be released from a shelter, the American Civil Liberties Union confirmed. It has sued the government over the family separations. (Jordan, 7/12)

The Associated Press: Lawmakers Battle Over Migrants Crossing Border Illegally
Congress' fight over President Donald Trump's abandoned policy of separating migrant families has stirred anew, drawing fresh attention to an issue that has divided Republicans and that Democrats hope will propel voters their way in the midterm elections. The battling at the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday underscored how both parties still see vast political potency in immigration, even as congressional votes have shown that partisan differences and divisions within the GOP make it unlikely anything will reach Trump's desk soon. (7/12)

Reuters: Tech Issues Plague U.S. Web Portal Tracking Separated Children
In late June, attorney Sebastian Harley tried to log into a U.S. government web portal to check on a Guatemalan child who had been separated from his parent at the border. He got an error message saying there were too many users. “I just couldn’t get in,” he said. “The system appeared to be down.” (7/11)

Stat: What Pfizer, Trump, And Consumers Got Out Of A Surprising Deal
After months of pledging he would get pharmaceutical companies to lower their prices, President Trump can now say that he pressed the CEO of a major drug maker, Pfizer, to back down on a series of price hikes. Pfizer, in turn, has earned glowing praise from Trump and his administration and will likely not suffer much, if at all, financially. (Merhson and Swetlitz, 7/11)

The Hill: Top Dem Demands More Details On Pricing Deal Between Pfizer And Trump
The top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee is demanding details on an agreement between President Trump and drug company Pfizer to temporarily hold off on drug price increases. ...Pfizer announced Tuesday evening it would defer previously announced price increases on 100 drugs following "an extensive discussion" with Trump to give the administration more time to work on its plan to lower costs. (Hellmann, 7/11)

Reuters: Pfizer Separates Consumer Health Unit In Business Rejig
Pfizer Inc announced plans on Wednesday to reorganize into three units, separating its consumer healthcare business that the U.S. drugmaker has been trying to sell since last year. The company said it is still looking for options for the lower-margin, non-core consumer healthcare business that makes products ranging from painkiller Advil to lip balms and is worth about $15 billion. (Mishra, 7/11)