Becker's Hospital Review: UCLA Hospital Receives $20M Gift For Expansion Project 
Los Angeles-based UCLA Health will expand capacity at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center with a $20 million commitment from the Steven C. Gordon Family Foundation. The renovation project will convert the fourth floor of the medical center into the Laurie and Steven C. Gordon Pavilion, which will include 103 beds for adult and pediatric critical and acute care patients, according to an Oct. 8 health system news release. The move will increase inpatient capacity at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center by 23%. (Kuchno, 10/8)

LAist: Another Hospital In Southern California Will Close Its Maternity Ward. Here's Where Things Stand
The Corona Regional Medical Center in Riverside County will close its maternity ward at the end of January. In a statement, the hospital said the “decision was based on the decline in the number of births at Corona Regional over the past two years and the declining birth rate in the county, which is expected to continue.” (Yu, 10/8)

The Modesto Bee: Thousands Of Stanislaus Patients Need Medicare Advantage Switch To Keep Doctors
Healthcare providers are dealing with a shakeup in Medicare Advantage coverage in Stanislaus County. UnitedHealthcare will discontinue three Medicare plans that provided extra benefits for residents 65 years and older and for certain disabled individuals. The change will take effect Jan. 1. (Carlson, 10/8)

Capitol Weekly: Q&A: Health Access Exec. Dir. Amanda McAllister-Wallner
This year we’ve seen two major legislative actions that will have an outsized impact on healthcare access here in California. The first was H.R. 1 in Congress, President Donald Trump’s so-called Big Beautiful Bill, that makes pretty drastic cuts to Medicaid and other social safety net programs. The other was the California budget, which has its own significant impacts on Med-Cal. We sat down with Amanda McAllister-Wallner, Executive Director of Health Access California, a consumer advocacy coalition that advocates for more accessible, equitable, affordable, quality health care for all Californians. (Ehisen, 10/8)

Becker's Hospital Review: Amazon One Medical Launches In-Office Pharmacy Kiosks
Amazon is rolling out pharmacy kiosks at One Medical clinics that will dispense medications to patients right after their appointments. The Amazon Pharmacy kiosks are set to debut in December at One Medical locations in the Los Angeles area, including Downtown and West Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Long Beach, and West Hollywood. More clinics around the country are to follow. (Bruce, 10/8)

LAist: Hundreds Of Angelenos In Recuperative Care Facilities Face Homelessness After Health Net Ends Contract
Hundreds of people living in Soul Housing recuperative care facilities across Los Angeles County are expected to be discharged this week after their health insurance plan ended its contract with the company, authorities said. (Schrank, 10/8)

San Francisco Chronicle: Mayor Daniel Lurie Revamped S.F.’s Street Crisis Teams. Is It Working?
Mayor Daniel Lurie overhauled the teams in March by consolidating their ranks, focusing most of them on specific neighborhoods and putting them under the oversight of one city leader — [Adrienne] Bechelli. The restructuring was meant to simplify what had become in recent years a dizzying — and questionably effective — network of outreach workers who offer assistance to those in crisis on city streets. Now, more than six months after the revamp, the teams are settling into their new format, even as Bechelli and other local leaders admit that San Francisco has a long way to go to bring enduring improvements to the city’s most troubled neighborhoods. While the emergency department says the teams have helped thousands of people over the last half year, some who work on the teams have complained about a disorganized rollout, poor communication and limited resources hindering their effectiveness. (Morris and Angst, 10/9)

The Wall Street Journal: Drug Rehabs Lure In Patients For Insurance Money—Then Leave Them On The Street 
SIMI VALLEY, Calif.—Penny Lamb and Jeffery Lichtenberg were 1,500 miles from their home in Oklahoma with no money and no prospects when they were kicked out of their drug rehab program. None of it had gone as expected. Months earlier, Lichtenberg said, a man he knew from a past prison stay had promised to help if they ever wanted to kick their meth habits. The man texted photos of rehabs that looked like Hollywood mansions for movie stars, with swimming pools and hot tubs. They wouldn’t have to pay a cent, he said, including for their flight to California—and he would help them sign up for a health insurance policy that would cover the rehab costs. (Elinson and Wernau, 10/8)

Voice of OC: Santa Ana Police Health Benefits Audit Sparks Controversy
A controversial audit that city officials have not released is sparking concerns as to whether Santa Ana officials are spending too much or too little to insure their over 400 local police officers, employees and retirees. It’s the biggest question emerging over a controversial audit that initially found Santa Ana officials overpaid $3 million for police health benefits in 2023, pitting the police union – one of the biggest spenders in local elections – against one of its biggest critics on the city council. (Elattar, 10/8)

The Modesto Bee: Board Student Reps Work To Boost Engagement Across The District
As this year’s student representatives on the Modesto City Schools Board of Trustees, senior Sabrina Toor and junior Juliana Garcia are looking to take on student apathy and the lingering impacts of the pandemic on student motivation. (Iyer, 10/8)

Los Angeles Times: After Palisades Fire Failures, L.A. Promises To Beef Up Staffing During High-Risk Fire Weather
Los Angeles firefighters will remain on duty for an additional shift during red flag weather warnings in a mandatory protocol instituted after top fire officials failed to pre-deploy engines to Pacific Palisades in advance of the devastating Jan. 7 fire. Mayor Karen Bass’ announcement came after the Fire Department released a long-awaited after-action report finding that firefighters were hampered by an ineffective process for recalling them back to work, as well as poor communication, inexperienced leadership and a lack of resources. (Tchekmedyian, 10/8)

inewsource: National City Council Delays Decision On Fuel Transfer Project, Weighs 'Zero Emission' Condition
National City leaders have delayed a decision on whether to allow a Texas-based company to build a fuel transfer station in a neighborhood the state has slated for reducing industrial pollution due to high asthma rates. (Salata, 10/8)

Los Angeles Times: Cold-Water Immersion May Offer Health Benefits — And Also Presents Risks
Dr. Mark Harper recalls his first cold-water swim in the south of England 20 years ago. It was August, but the initial jolt from the plunge took his breath away. The shock to his system lasted a minute or two until he was “recombobulated and able to think about something other than the cold,” Harper says. A surprise sensation soon replaced his discomfort. (Wade, 10/9)

Los Angeles Blade: Trans And Nonbinary Immigrants Experience Greater Levels Of Poverty, New Report Finds
In a new report published by the Williams Institute, a local research center focused on conducting studies around LGBTQ+ communities and public policy, analysts reviewed data from the 2023-2024 L.A. County Trans and Nonbinary Survey and concluded that transgender and nonbinary immigrants face significantly greater rates of unemployment and homelessness than trans and nonbinary Angelinos who are not immigrants. (Song, 10/8)

The New York Times: ‘Bluetoothing’: Blood-Sharing Drug Trend Fuels Alarming Global H.I.V. Surge 
A dangerous drug trend called “bluetoothing,” in which people inject themselves with the blood of other drug users to get a cheap high, is contributing to spikes in H.I.V. rates in infection hot spots around the world. The blood-sharing practice, which is many times riskier than sharing needles, has helped fuel one of the fastest-growing H.I.V. epidemics in Fiji and grown widespread in South Africa, another infection capital, according to public health authorities and researchers. (Baskar, 10/8)

Politico: The CDC And Its Advisers Have Quietly Expanded Access To The Covid-19 Vaccine For Pregnant Women
The CDC and its independent panel of vaccine advisers have quietly opened the door to wider access to Covid-19 vaccination during pregnancy, softening an earlier decision by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to stop recommending that pregnant women get the shots. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted in September to advise that adults get the Covid-19 shot through shared clinical decisionmaking between patients and providers. (Gardner, 10/8)

The Sacramento Bee: Do I Have Covid, Flu, Or RSV In California? Experts Tell How To Identify Symptoms
While respiratory viruses including the flu, COVID-19 and and respiratory syncytial virus spread all year, they’re typically more active from October through March, according to the California Department of Public Health. (Rodriguez, 10/9)

Bloomberg: Key Meeting On US Vaccine Recommendations Delayed From October
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will reschedule a late October meeting of an influential vaccine panel that’s been weighing changes to long-standing advice around childhood shots. The Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices, or ACIP, will no longer meet on Oct. 22 and 23, according to the panel’s website. No indication was given of when a future meeting will take place or why it was moved. (Cohrs Zhang and Nix, 10/8)

NBC News: How People Are Finding Ways To Get Covid Shots Despite Eligibility Limits
A Covid vaccine rollout unlike any other has given rise to confusion over who’s eligible and concerns that the shots might be harder to obtain this fall — especially for young children. Unlike in past years, when the vaccines were approved and recommended for everyone 6 months and older, the Food and Drug Administration this summer approved updated Covid shots only for people 65 and older and those with medical conditions that put them at risk of severe illness. (Bendix, 10/8)

ABC News: HHS Hits Back At Former Surgeons General Who Wrote Op-Ed Saying RFK Jr. Is Endangering Nation's Health
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) hit back at an op-ed written by the most recent six surgeons general, who said they wanted to warn the U.S. about the dangers of Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The op-ed, published in The Washington Post on Tuesday, called the health secretary’s policies and positions an "immediate and unprecedented" threat to the nation’s health. In a statement to ABC News, HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said the doctors are the same officials "who presided over the decline in America's public health." (Kekatos, 10/8)

The Washington Post: Why RFK Jr.'s Surgeon General Pick Says You Shouldn’t Always Trust Your Doctor
Casey Means, the surgeon general nominee, has criticized the medical establishment. She could be put in position to change it. (Weber and Roubein, 10/9)

MedPage Today: HHS Social Media Takes On Influencer Vibes
Federal health officials have been sharing videos on social media, ranging from wacky to downright dangerous, which experts say contribute to a broader shift in social media strategy. Many of the videos are posted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s official health secretary accounts and feature other top officials. (Robertson, 10/8)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego Medical Providers Continue Telehealth Appointments Despite Shutdown
UC San Diego Health reported that it maintained all telehealth appointments thus far, but will eventually need to take action if the shutdown does not resolve soon. Scripps Health, by comparison, has already rescheduled hundreds of telehealth appointments, asking many with Medicare coverage to instead visit their doctors or other medical professionals in person. Kaiser Permanente generally serves Medicare patients through Advantage plans, which are not affected. (Sisson, 10/8)

Axios: Dems Open To Income Cap On ACA Subsidies
Some moderate Senate Democrats say they are open to placing an income cap on eligibility for Affordable Care Act tax credits to help facilitate a deal with Republicans. (Sullivan, 10/8)

Stat: House Speaker Supports Emergency Medical Care For Immigrants 
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Wednesday that Republicans don’t want to change a law requiring hospitals to provide care to any individual experiencing a medical emergency, including immigrants without legal status. His remarks capped off more than a week of comments from Republican politicians related to the idea of undocumented immigrants receiving medical care. (Wilkerson, 10/8)

Bloomberg: Trump To Undergo Regular Physical Exam At Walter Reed On Friday
President Donald Trump will undergo a physical exam on Friday following mounting questions about his health prompted by noticeable bruising and swelling in recent months. “On Friday morning, President Trump will visit Walter Reed Medical Center for a planned meeting and remarks with the troops. While there, President Trump will stop by for his routine yearly check up,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Wednesday. “President Trump is considering going to the Middle East shortly thereafter.” (Dezenski, 10/8)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Excludes Generics From Big Pharma Tariff Plan
The Trump administration said it isn’t planning to impose tariffs on generic drugs from foreign countries, after months of wrangling over whether to impose levies on the vast majority of drugs that are dispensed in the U.S. The administration has been weighing duties on a range of pharmaceutical products and ingredients, using a tariff investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which covers threats to national security. President Trump last month posted online that he would impose 100% tariffs on name-brand drugs on Oct. 1, but didn’t mention generics. (Bade, 10/8)