San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego Takes Over Ambulance Service, Hikes Patient Fees
San Diego took control over city ambulance service Monday to improve response times and eliminate financial incentives private ambulance companies have had to reduce service and hours. (Garrick, 7/31)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Palomar Health Says It's Not Worried About New Kaiser Hospital Opening Next Month In San Marcos 
Kaiser Permanente plans to open San Marcos Medical Center, its new hospital in North County, in early August. While surely a boon for Kaiser members living in the northern reaches of the region, some might expect this grand opening to cause severe budgetary indigestion at nearby Palomar Health. (Sisson, 7/31)

Fresno Bee: Will Bankrupt Madera Hospital Reopen? Why Some Are Optimistic, Despite Challenges Ahead
Bankrupt Madera Community Hospital has identified a new partner and a path toward reopening, but low-income Madera County residents seeking medical care could be relying on area health clinics or emergency departments in neighboring counties for the better part of a year. (Montalvo, 7/31)

The Desert Sun: Sale Of Borrego Health Clinics To DAP Health Finalized: What Patients Need To Know
Despite the sale of Borrego Health's clinics and other services to DAP Health, little should change for Borrego Health patients. Here's what to know. (Sasic, 7/31)

The Bakersfield Californian: Valadao, Legislators Push To Bring More Doctors To America 
In an effort to bring more doctors to understaffed hospitals nationwide, bipartisan legislation is working its way through Washington. (Donegan, 7/31)

Los Angeles Times: An Actor's Heart Problems Highlight Health Insurance Concerns Amid SAG-AFTRA Strike 
The SAG-AFTRA strike is showing how industry uncertainty leads to actors losing their health insurance or not qualifying in any given year. (Evans, 7/31)

Fierce Healthcare: Amazon Clinic Expands To All 50 States With Telehealth Services
Amazon Clinic is expanding to all 50 states, including nationwide telehealth services to offer access to clinicians through its website and mobile app. The online retail giant unveiled Amazon Clinic back in November as a virtual medical clinic to provide care for 30 common health concerns like urinary tract infection, pink eye, and acid reflux. Launched as a message-based virtual consultation service, Amazon Clinic connects consumers with licensed clinicians who can diagnose, treat and prescribe medication for a range of common health and lifestyle conditions. (Landi, 8/1)

CalMatters: Medical Cannabis Paved The Way For Legalization In California. Now Patients Feel Left Behind
Frustration runs deep among medical cannabis patients and advocates who — by persuading voters to pass Proposition 215 in 1996 — paved the way for legal weed in California, but now feel left behind in a post-Proposition 64 era. In a profit-centered system focused on recreational sales, they argue there is little consideration for patients and their unique needs. (Koseff, 8/1)

ABC News: Biden Administration Opens New Office To Study Long COVID Response, NIH Begins Clinical Trials
The Biden administration announced Monday it is forming a new Office of Long COVID Research and Practice to study the condition and help those who have been diagnosed with it. The office, which will be under the Department of Health and Human Services, "is charged with on-going coordination of the whole-of-government response to the longer-term effects of COVID-19," according to a news release. (Kekatos, 7/31)

AP: Brain Fog And Other Long COVID Symptoms Affect Millions. New Treatment Studies Bring Hope
Monday’s announcement from the NIH’s $1.15 billion RECOVER project comes amid frustration from patients who’ve struggled for months or even years with sometimes-disabling health problems — with no proven treatments and only a smattering of rigorous studies to test potential ones. “This is a year or two late and smaller in scope than one would hope but nevertheless it’s a step in the right direction,” said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly of Washington University in St. Louis, who isn’t involved with NIH’s project but whose own research highlighted long COVID’s toll. (Neergaard, 8/1)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Slight Uptick In COVID-19 In Sonoma, Napa Counties, Though Infections Mostly Mild
For months, the number of COVID-19 tests turning up positive at Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital was 6% to 11%.In the past two weeks, however, that number has jumped to between 15% and 18%, a clear sign of an “uptick” in COVID-19 infections, said Dr. Gary Green, a Sutter Health infectious disease expert. (Espinoza, 7/31)

Politico: What The New Covid-19 Surge Really Means 
Covid-19 hospitalizations are rising for the first time since the beginning of 2023, but public health experts and the White House appear confident the U.S. is well-positioned to manage the virus heading into the fall. It is more difficult than earlier in the pandemic to know how many infections are circulating in the U.S. due to the end of state data reporting requirements that were tied to the public health emergency, which ended in May. But a 10.3 percent increase in weekly Covid-19 hospital admissions in mid-July to 7,109 is a reminder that the virus is still a public health challenge. (Lim, 7/31)

Stat: National Panel Will Explore Requiring Free Covid Tests
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force will discuss recommending Covid-19 screening, the first step in requiring insurers to permanently cover the tests at no cost to patients. The national panel of experts will convene and “determine whether and how Covid-19 screening might be considered within the Task Force’s scope,” chair Michael Barry wrote in a letter to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) exclusively shared with STAT. (Owermohle, 7/31)

USA Today: US News & World Report Hospital Rankings: Find Out Which Hospitals Made The 'Honor Roll'
U.S. News and World Report on Tuesday released their latest “Best Hospital” rankings for the 34th consecutive year amid criticism from schools and public officials, and recent changes to their rating system. The report ranks 484 regional hospitals, evaluating them on 30 medical and surgical services. Of those facilities, 22 hospitals were named to the national “Honor Roll.” This year, the outlet decided to scrap ordinal rankings in favor of an “Honor Roll” in no particular order. (Rodriguez, 8/1)

U.S. News & World Report: America's Best Hospitals: The 2023-2024 Honor Roll And Overview 
Rankings by region and specialty, with an honor roll of hospitals that excel in complex specialty care. (Harder, 8/1)

Axios: Medicare Pilot Aims To Coordinate Dementia Care
The Biden administration on Monday rolled out a new Medicare pilot program aimed at improving the quality of life for people with dementia and reducing the burden on unpaid caregivers. The new payment model from Medicare's innovation lab will test a standardized approach to providing coordinated care to patients with dementia, who often have complex health care needs. (Millman, 7/31)

Stat: Medicare's Plan To Improve Alzheimer’s Care Sidesteps Drug Prices
Medicare announced Monday a pilot program aimed at improving dementia care and reducing the strain on unpaid caregivers, but it does not deal with controlling the price of new Alzheimer’s drugs. (Wilkerson, 7/31)

Axios: Alzheimer's Prevalence In California 
California has one of the highest rates of Alzheimer's disease in the country, according to a new study. It's critical for public health officials, policymakers and others to have a clear look at the number of Alzheimer's cases in a given area, the authors say — in part because caring for those with the disease cost an estimated $321 billion nationwide last year, much of which came via Medicare and Medicaid. An estimated 12% of adults 65 or older in California have Alzheimer's disease, according to data published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia. (Fitzpatrick and Dickey, 7/31)

Reuters: Quest Diagnostics Launches Alzheimer's Blood Test For Consumers
Quest Diagnostics on Monday launched the first direct-to-consumer blood test to detect abnormal levels of beta amyloid, a key Alzheimer's disease protein that can appear years before dementia symptoms arise. The $399 test, called AD-Detect, uses the same technology as a blood test the company began selling for use by doctors in early 2022. (Seenhuysen, 7/31)

Bay Area News Group: Red Tide Returns To San Francisco Bay
A toxic red tide has returned to San Francisco Bay, raising fears of a reprise of last summer’s unusually large fish die-off. Experts report that harmful blooming algae was detected last weekend in rust-colored water samples from Emeryville, the Berkeley Marina, Albany and Marin County’s Richardson Bay and Muir Beach. (Krieger, 7/31)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Hiking When It's Hot Can Quickly Veer From Fun To Fatal. 'They're Usually Just Not Prepared.'
During the peak heat of the day under a cloudless sky on Friday, hikers — some in groups, others with dogs or solo — could be seen climbing Cowles Mountain in San Diego during the late morning and early afternoon. Despite the temperature reaching the low 80s midday, some were heading up the trails without water, hats or other protective gear. (Mapp and Alvarenga, 7/29)

Stateline: In A Summer Marked By Extreme Heat, Some Suggest It Is Time For A National Cooling Standard
Heat, humidity and the quest for air conditioning are a part of every summer. But Ashley Ward believes this summer is a wake-up call for many Americans. Ward directs the Heat Policy Innovation Hub at Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability. Her work focuses on the health impacts of climate extremes and community resilience. “We’re not talking about a heat wave anymore,” Ward said in a media briefing last week. “We’re talking about a season. We’re talking about a marker of a shift in our heat regime that we need to pay attention to.” (Henkel, 7/31)

CalMatters: Don’t Call It ‘Toilet To Tap’ — California Plans To Turn Sewage Into Drinking Water
Waste would undergo extensive treatment and testing before it’s piped directly to taps, providing a new, costly but renewable water supply. The state’s new draft rules are more than a decade in the making. (Becker, 8/1)

San Diego Union-Tribune: 'Where Did They Go?' Enforcement Begins On San Diego's New Homeless Camping Ban 
Police began enforcing San Diego’s controversial new camping ban Monday, and although officials said they’ve so far focused only on Balboa Park, the new ordinance combined with other enforcement of laws long on the books has already made notable changes in the encampment landscape. (Nelson, 7/31)

CIDRAP: Study Shows Proctitis As Predictor Of Mpox Among Symptomatic Men
Proctitis was the strongest predictor of clinically confirmed mpox in thousands of patients with suspected illness who presented for testing, according to a new study in Clinical Microbiology and Infection. (Soucheray, 7/31)

The Washington Post: The Hepatitis C Cure Rate Is Far Behind U.S. Goal For 2030, CDC Says 
Just 34 percent of Americans diagnosed with the most common type of hepatitis — hepatitis C — are being cured of the liver infection, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The finding stems from the analysis of data on more than 1.7 million people who tested positive for hepatitis C from 2013 through 2022. (Searing, 7/31)

USA Today: As Florida Leprosy Cases Rise, What To Know About Causes, Spread, Cure
The number of reported leprosy cases across the country has doubled over the past decade, according to the CDC. Citing data from the National Hansen’s Disease Program, the CDC says there were 159 new cases reported in the U.S. in 2020. Nearly 70% of these new cases were reported in Florida, California, Louisiana, Hawaii, New York and Texas. (Girod and Crowley, 7/31)