Times of San Diego: Sharp Healthcare Workers Enter Third Week Of Protests Over Staffing, Wages
Workers at Sharp Healthcare facilities across San Diego County have entered their third week of picketing with the next protest planned Wednesday in Chula Vista. The demonstrations, which will continue throughout August, spotlight safety concerns and chronic low wages driving a healthcare staffing crisis, organizers said. (Ireland, 8/19)

Becker's Hospital Review: Kaiser Permanente, 2 Systems Back Health Tech Company
The venture capital arms of Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente and two other health systems participated in a $10.5 million funding round Aug. 20 for a supply chain tech startup. Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Houston-based Texas Medical Center Venture Fund, and Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health were among the backers of Clarium, which provides an artificial intelligence-powered supply chain workflow and data platform for hospitals and health systems. General Catalyst led the strategic financing round. (Bruce, 8/20)

Becker's Hospital Review: U Of California Offers Wage Increases To 18,000+ Employees
The University of California in Oakland has offered wage increases totaling $260 million to members of the Union of Professional and Technical Employees who work across its 10 campuses, six academic health systems and three nationally affiliated labs. University representatives offered the wage increases during bargaining Aug. 16. If accepted, more than 18,000 UPTE-represented university employees would see pay raises of as much as 21% over three years, according to an Aug. 19 news release. The changes would affect healthcare, research support and technical professionals, the release said. (Gooch, 8/19)

Becker's Hospital Review: Judge Dismisses Bankrupt California System's Lawsuit Against MultiPlan
A California Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit from a bankrupt health system accusing the data analytics firm MultiPlan and national insurers of using their influence to deny providers billions of dollars since 2012, according to an Aug. 9 court filing. The liquidating trust for Redwood City, Calif.-based Verity Health filed the lawsuit against MultiPlan in 2021. The lawsuit accused MultiPlan of forging a "hub, spoke, and rim" agreement with major payers to artificially reduce out-of-network reimbursement for providers. MultiPlan then allegedly received a cut of money saved on the lower reimbursement rate. (Cass, 8/19)

CalMatters: Why CA Is Moving To Regulate Private Equity In Health Care
California lawmakers are poised to vote for the first time on regulating private equity investments in health care, but the proposal they will weigh in on carves out exemptions for some of the industry’s biggest players. Heavy lobbying from deep-pocketed health care and investor groups forced Assemblymember Jim Wood to agree to exclude for-profit hospitals — about 20% of hospitals — from oversight. (Hwang, 8/19)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Palomar Medical Group Restores Key Digital Services After Cyberattack 
Palomar Medical Group has restored key digital systems after a cyberattack snarled the inland North County medical provider’s operations in early May. (Sisson, 8/19)

Becker's Hospital Review: 3 Key Payer Trends Hospitals Need To Know
Employers are facing legal pushback over high healthcare costs, the Medicare Advantage landscape is getting more tricky, and alternative payment models are growing in popularity. Three key payer trends hospitals need to know. (Emerson, 8/19)

The New York Times: He Regulated Medical Devices. His Wife Represented Their Makers.
For 15 years, Dr. Jeffrey E. Shuren was the federal official charged with ensuring the safety of a vast array of medical devices including artificial knees, breast implants and Covid tests. When he announced in July that he would be retiring from the Food and Drug Administration later this year, Dr. Robert Califf, the agency’s commissioner, praised him for overseeing the approval of more novel devices last year than ever before in the nearly half-century history of the device division. But the admiration for Dr. Shuren is far from universal. Consumer advocates see his tenure as marred by the approval of too many devices that harmed patients and by his own close ties to the $500 billion global device industry. (Jewett, 8/20)

The New York Times: Biden Defends His Record and Endorses Harris: ‘America, I Gave My Best to You’
One by one, Joe Biden ticked through a litany of achievements from the stump speeches of his now-ended campaign: $35 insulin; beating “big Pharma”; burn pits that harmed veterans; appointing a Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court; and more. (Shear, 8/19)

The Washington Post: 5 Takeaways From The Democratic Convention, Biden’s Speech On Day 1
The pandemic was a more surprising focus — but also one with a personal touch. Speakers mentioned Trump’s lack of leadership, his efforts to downplay the threat and his conspiracy theories. And more than one spoke from the heart as the relative of someone who died. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) mentioned the deaths of his health-care-worker mother and stepfather and added, “When Donald Trump and his MAGA extremists like Marjorie Taylor Greene downplayed the horror of the pandemic, it should make us all furious.” (Blake, 8/20)

Politico: Amanda Zurawski, Kaitlyn Joshua And Hadley Duvall Talk About The Consequences Of State Abortion Bans 
Three women who the Harris campaign is leaning on to demonstrate the far-reaching consequences of state abortion bans in the post-Roe era took the stage here in Chicago Monday evening to share their stories. The women — Amanda Zurawski, Kaitlyn Joshua and Hadley Duvall — have emerged as key figures in the Harris campaign’s effort to demonstrate why former President Donald Trump’s leave-abortion-to-the-states approach is insufficient and poses barriers to people receiving needed medical care. (Messerly, 8/19)

Stat: At DNC, Health Care Platform Favors Smaller Goals Over Grand Reform
Gone are the days when Democrats bickered over wholesale reform of the American health care system — including Vice President Harris herself during the 2020 campaign cycle. Instead, their plan this election cycle evokes President Biden’s slogan to “finish the job” — even though they’re running a new candidate. With the notable exception of calling to erase medical debt by working with states, Democrats are largely eyeing marginal extensions or reinstatements of their prior policy achievements. (Zhang, 8/19)

Modern Healthcare: What Democrats Could Do On Healthcare If Kamala Harris Wins
The Democratic National Convention kicks off Monday in an atmosphere of renewed optimism for the party and a new candidate atop its ticket. One thing that won’t be entirely new is the trajectory of health policy should Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz win the White House on Election Day. The top-line item, healthcare analysts and policy experts predict, will still be reproductive healthcare and abortion ... which promises to be a recurring topic at the DNC in Chicago, which runs through Thursday. (McAuliff, 8/19)

Becker's Hospital Review: Kamala Harris And Medicare For All: 5 Notes
Vice President Kamala Harris has a complicated past with Medicare for All, and she's distancing herself from the policy as she heads into her 2024 presidential campaign. The Democrat campaigned on the policy during her 2020 presidential campaign, but her position has evolved since. Today, Ms. Harris' 2024 campaign is not pursuing a progressive Medicare for All plan and is closely aligned with President Joe Biden's centrist work to strengthen and support the Affordable Care Act. (Emerson, 8/19)

Los Angeles Times: Progressive California Lawmakers Rally Against Proposition 36
A group of progressive state lawmakers on Monday rallied against Proposition 36, a ballot measure they are calling an “expensive” crime reform that will lead to the over-policing of underserved communities and incarcerate Californians at rates akin to the 1980s war on drugs.“ For decades Californians have been calling for real safety solutions and to address the root causes that lead to symptoms like petty crime and substance abuse,” said Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles) during a news conference at the state Capitol on Monday morning. “Because we know where petty crime and substance abuse occur. It occurs in the same communities that have underfunded schools, that don’t have food infrastructure, that don’t have public health infrastructure, where the rent is too high.” (Sosa, 8/19)

The New York Times: Matthew Perry’s Death Shines A Harsh Light On Ketamine Treatment
Was Matthew Perry, whose struggles with substance abuse were widely known, a good candidate for a drug used to relieve depression? Doctors say his case raises thorny questions. (Stevens and Hamby, 8/19)

CalMatters: More California Schools Are Banning Smartphones, But Kids Keep Bringing Them
“You should see how bad it is,” Fresno's Bullard High School principal Armen Torigian said. “It’s great to say no phones, but I don’t think people realize the addiction of the phones and what students will go to to tell you ‘No, you’re not taking my phone.’” (Jones and Johnson, 8/20)

Nature: PlayStation Is Good For You: Video Games Improved Mental Health During COVID
Playing video games for a couple of hours a day can improve mental health, according to a study on gamers in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research — which was done from December 2020 to March 2022 — found that even just owning a game console increased life satisfaction and reduced psychological distress. The results were published today in Nature Human Behaviour. (8/19)

San Francisco Chronicle: Did The Supreme Court Just Walk Back Its Position On LGBTQ Rights?
A brief and low-key Supreme Court decision on federal protections for transgender students may have also been a signal of uncertainty for one of the court’s most important, and surprising, civil rights rulings of recent years: the 2020 decision that a federal law banning sex discrimination in employment also prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Last Friday, the justices unanimously allowed 26 Republican-led states to block the enforcement of Biden administration regulations requiring equal treatment for LGBTQ students in schools and colleges and allowing transgender students to use restrooms consistent with their gender identity. The rules do not affect athletic teams, the subject of separate regulations that were proposed in June. (Egelko, 8/19)

Los Angeles Times: Nearly $1 Billion Left Unspent By Centers For Disabled Californians
Nearly $1 billion allocated for regional agencies that purchase supportive services for Californians with developmental disabilities went unspent in a recent year and was ultimately returned to the state, even as some disabled people and their families said they needed more help. California provides assistance to people with autism and other developmental disabilities through a system of nonprofits called regional centers, which are contracted with the California Department of Developmental Services. Twenty-one of them exist across the state, each serving a distinct area. More than 400,000 California children and adults are served through the regional centers annually. (Alpert Reyes, 8/20)

Times of San Diego: California Just Got Its 'Own Damn Satellite' To Track Methane Pollution
Planet Labs successfully launched California’s very own satellite Monday to help track dangerous pollutants in the state’s fight against the climate crisis. This new state-of-the-art tool answers California’s own pledge last year for the state and governments around the world to commit to cutting global methane emissions, one of the worst pollutants. California has set its own goal to reduce 40% of its methane emissions by 2030 compared to 2013 levels. (Ramirez, 8/19)

CBS News: Milk-Drinking Toddlers Sought For University Of California Study That Pays $275 In Gift Cards
The University of California's Nutrition Policy Institute is seeking toddlers who drink cow's milk to participate in a 12-month study. "The purpose of this UC study is to see how the type of milk toddlers drink affects their health, growth and development," Kassandra Bacon, NPI project policy analyst, said Thursday. Researchers are looking for toddlers between 23 and 30 months of age. They plan to randomly assign 625 toddlers to either drink whole fat or 1% fat milk starting at age 2. (8/19)

CIDRAP: Salmonella Outbreak Linked To Pet Turtles Sickens At Least 51 People In 21 States, Including California
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced a Salmonella outbreak linked to contact with small pet turtles, similar to several other outbreaks linked to the animals in previous years. California officials collected a sample from a sick patient's turtle in June. The patient from California had purchased the turtle from a street vendor. (Schnirring, 8/19)

VC Star: COVID On Rise As Schools Open Across Ventura County. Here's How To Keep Your Family Safe
COVID-19’s summer rise continues in Ventura County and could be accelerated by the return of school, public health officials said. (Kisken, 8/19)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Back-To-School In Sonoma, Napa Counties Could Keep Local COVID-19 Infections High, Experts Warn 
The summer surge of COVID-19 appears to be on the verge of decline, but health experts warn rates could remain elevated with kids returning to school. (Espinoza, 8/19)

Los Angeles Times: COVID And Bird Flu Are Rising. Here's How To Keep Yourself Safe
With California’s COVID surge at very high levels, doctors are urging people who are experiencing respiratory symptoms to test themselves or see a medical professional who can check on their illness. ... Of particular concern is the rise of a hyperinfectious subvariant known as KP.3.1.1, which is so contagious that even people who have eluded infection throughout the pandemic are getting sick. (Lin II, 8/20)

CIDRAP: COVID-Related Loss Of Smell Tied To Changes In The Brain 
A new study of 73 adults recovering from COVID-19 finds that those who lost their sense of smell showed behavioral, functional, and structural brain changes. The results were published late last week in Scientific Reports. (Van Beusekom, 8/19)

CIDRAP: Adjuvanted Flu Vaccine Protects Better Than High-Dose Version In At-Risk Older Adults, US Data Show
A study of patient data from the 2019-20 US flu season found that the MF59-adjuvanted flu vaccine was more effective than the high-dose flu vaccine at preventing serious flu complications in older adults with risk factors, researchers reported late last week in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. (Dall, 8/19)

Reuters: Mpox Is Not The New COVID, Says WHO Official 
A World Health Organization official stressed on Tuesday that mpox, regardless of whether it is the new or old strain, is not the new COVID, as authorities know how to control its spread. "We can and must tackle mpox together," said Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, in a media briefing. (8/20)

CNN: US Fertility Rate Dropped To Record Low In 2023, CDC Data Shows 
Women in the United States are having babies less often, and the fertility rate reached a record low in 2023, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2023, the US fertility rate fell another 3% from the year before, to a historic low of about 55 births for every 1,000 females ages 15 to 44, according to final data published Tuesday by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. Just under 3.6 million babies were born last year, about 68,000 fewer than the year before. (McPhillips, 8/20)

NBC News: More Pregnant Women Are Going Without Prenatal Care, CDC Finds
The number of women going through pregnancy without prenatal care is growing — even though the overall number of babies born in the U.S. is falling, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The lopsided trend, published Tuesday by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, may reflect, in part, a growing number of women unable to access OB/GYN care after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. (Edwards, 8/20)

The Atlantic: The Plan to Take Down the Hyde Amendment
For nearly 50 years, the Hyde Amendment has been considered an unassailable fixture of the United States budget. First passed in 1976, just three years after the now-defunct Roe v. Wade ruling, the amendment prohibits federal programs from covering the cost of most abortions, with exceptions for cases of rape, incest, and life-threatening pregnancies. Although the original amendment applied only to Medicaid, Hyde’s restrictions now extend to other programs, including Medicare, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and the Indian Health Service. To many of its supporters, the amendment serves as both a guard against taxpayers funding abortions and a broad-brush check on abortion access. (Tu, 8/19)

The New York Times: Walz Family Fertility Journey Ran Not Through I.V.F. But Another Common Treatment 
Unlike in vitro fertilization, the procedure used by the Walzes does not involve freezing embryos, so it has not been targeted by anti-abortion leaders. (Harmon, 8/19)