CalMatters: How Medicaid Cuts Would Threaten California Mental Health System
California under Gov. Gavin Newsom has made sweeping changes to its behavioral health system, pouring billions of dollars into new services and support programs. But the state’s ambitious plans face a looming threat: the proposed federal spending cuts that Congress is currently considering are seen as all but certain to impact Medicaid and could bring to a halt some of the headway the state has made in responding to its behavioral health crisis. (Ibarra, 4/7)

Capital & Main: A Mother’s Battle To Protect Her Son’s Care
As an adult with severe autism, [Josh] Lockwood-Wewer depends on around-the-clock support from multiple aides. His caregivers prepare his meals and watch as he eats to make sure he doesn’t choke. They drive him everywhere from doctor’s appointments to his favorite restaurant, a fast food joint called Paul’s Place where he orders two chicken tenders every time. And they administer his regimen of a dozen daily medications to control his psychosis, depression and anxiety. Lockwood-Wewer can only afford that support thanks to publicly funded programs — In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) and the Regional Center of Orange County — that fully cover his in-home care and community-based services, which would otherwise be prohibitively expensive. (Lindenfeld, 4/7)

Modern Healthcare: What The Senate Budget Resolution Means For Medicaid Cuts
Congressional Republicans agree that cutting taxes is their top priority, but the House and Senate have diverged on how, and how much, to cut Medicaid. The Senate approved a budget resolution in the early hours of Saturday that calls for $4 billion in spending cuts to offset a small portion of the $5.8 trillion cost for the tax cuts. By contrast, the House-passed budget resolution seeks at least $1.5 trillion in spending reductions including $880 billion from the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over Medicaid. (McAuliff, 4/7)

The Wall Street Journal: Private Medicare Plans To Get Big Payment Boost From Trump Administration
The Trump administration will substantially increase payment rates for Medicare insurers next year, generating more than $25 billion in additional revenue for the industry and doubling the boost proposed in January. The rate increase of 5.06%, compared with 2.23% in the earlier proposal from the Biden administration, overshoots even optimistic expectations from many Wall Street analysts, and will likely lead to a rally in the shares of big Medicare insurers such as UnitedHealth Group, Humana and CVS Health, parent of Aetna. (Wilde Mathews, 4/7)

Los Angeles Times: California Signals Possible Defiance Of Trump Anti-DEI Order
California education officials have signaled they could defy a Trump administration order intended to end all diversity, equity and inclusion programs — even as federal officials threaten to cut off billions of dollars per year in federal education funding. The U.S. Department of Education on Thursday had given states 10 days to collect certifications from each school district confirming that all DEI efforts have ended — and warned that failure to comply puts federal funding at risk. The Trump administration argues that DEI programs are a form of race-based discrimination and violate civil rights laws. (Blume, 4/8)

NPR: HHS Guts Sexual Violence Prevention Division, Leaving Local Efforts Adrift
April 1 was the first day of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. It's also the day the Department of Health And Human Services fired the teams that work on sexual violence prevention. The layoffs were part of a round of dramatic cuts to the federal health agencies, amid the Trump administration and Elon Musk's efforts to shrink the federal workforce. (Simmons-Duffin, 4/8)

Stat: Entire Chronic Pain Research Division Eliminated In NIH Layoffs 
Last week’s layoffs across the Department of Health and Human Services left a significant casualty in the vast ecosystem of government-backed science: an entire division focused on researching pain. (Facher, 4/8)

Modern Healthcare: Nursing Home Staffing Mandate Struck Down By Federal Judge
A federal judge in Texas late Monday blocked a federal nursing homes staffing mandate former President Joe Biden's administration rolled out last year. United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk said in his decision the Health and Human Services Department did not have the authority to go beyond laws passed by Congress governing nursing homes staffing. (Eastabrook, 4/7)

Modern Healthcare: HHS Restructuring Leaves PACE Operators Uncertain Over Growth
A government reorganization of a program aimed at keeping older adults out of nursing homes is raising concerns that changes could hamper the program's growth. Some organizations that offer Programs of All-Inclusive Care for Elderly worry changes in how Health and Human Services Department plans to manage PACE could make it more difficult to launch new programs and enroll participants. (Eastabrook, 4/7)

The New York Times: Why Cameras Are Popping Up In Eldercare Facilities
The assisted-living facility in Edina, Minn., where Jean H. Peters and her siblings moved their mother in 2011, looked lovely. “But then you start uncovering things,” Ms. Peters said. Her mother, Jackie Hourigan, widowed and developing memory problems at 82, too often was still in bed when her children came to see her in mid-morning. ... Most ominously, Ms. Peters said, “we noticed bruises on her arm that we couldn’t account for.” Complaints to administrators — in person, by phone and by email — brought “tons of excuses.” (Span, 4/7)

LAist: This LA County Program Can Prevent Homelessness — If It Can Convince People It’s Not A Scam
To slow the rise of homelessness, one program in Los Angeles County has been using artificial intelligence to find and offer help to people before they lose their housing. The program has shown promise at preventing homelessness. But first, outreach workers need to convince people the help they’re offering isn’t a scam. “We hear all the time from our clients that our program sounds too good to be true — what’s the catch?” said Dana Vanderford, head of the Homelessness Prevention Unit run by the L.A. County Department of Health Services. (Wagner, 4/7)

Berkeleyside: Berkeley Gets $4M To Help Clean Aquatic Park, Prevent I-80 Collapse
Berkeley received a $4.1 million state grant last month after trying twice before in recent years for funding to repair or rebuild the deteriorating 100-year-old tubes running under Interstate 80, said Scott Ferris, head of the city’s parks and waterfront department. Prone to cracking and clogging, the failing tubes are believed to be primary culprits for [Aquatic Park] lagoon’s chronic pollution, as they’re less and less efficient in channeling [San Francisco Bay] water in and out of lagoon with the tides, a cleansing action. Of particular concern are the lagoon’s periodic but persistent high rates of enterococcus bacteria, a health risk for humans. (Darby Rauch, 4/7)

San Francisco Chronicle: Metallica Offers Fans Who Donate Blood An Exclusive T-Shirt
Metallica is partnering with the American Red Cross to encourage blood donations across the U.S. during the band’s M72 World Tour. Through its nonprofit foundation, All Within My Hands, the band aims to ensure hospital blood supplies remain steady throughout the summer, a time when donations typically dip, according to the Red Cross. (Vaziri, 4/7)

The New York Times: Kennedy Calls For States To Ban Fluoridated Drinking Water
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. kicked off a tour through southwestern states on Monday by calling on states to ban fluoride in drinking water supplies, a move that would reverse what some medical experts consider one of the most important public health practices in the country’s history. The announcement came at a news conference in Utah, the first state to enact such a ban into law. The state’s new law is set to take effect in early May, despite concerns from public health experts who consider fluoridation of water core to preventing tooth decay. (Baumgaertner Nunn, 4/7)

NBC News: Invasive Strep Infections Have More Than Doubled In The U.S., CDC Study Finds
Severe, possibly life-threatening strep infections are rising in the United States. The number of invasive group A strep infections more than doubled from 2013 to 2022, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Prior to that, rates of invasive strep had been stable for 17 years. Invasive group A strep occurs when bacteria spread to areas of the body that are normally germ-free, such as the lungs or bloodstream. (Bendix, 4/7)

Newsweek: Scientists Find MRI Scans Could Leave Toxic Metal Behind In Your Body
A new study has found why MRI scans may leave harmful metals behind in a person's body. The University of New Mexico (UNM) study explored health risks caused by toxic rare earth metal gadolinium, which is used in MRI imaging. Gadolinium-based contrast agents, which create sharper images of the scan, are injected into the body before an MRI to explore any potential issues in the body. (O'Connor, 4/7)