Los Angeles Times: What To Do If You Evacuate Without Your Medications
The Los Angeles fires have forced thousands to evacuate indefinitely from their homes, often without necessary medications or medical devices. Here’s what to do if you find yourself without access to the things you need to stay on top of chronic conditions. (Purtill, 1/14)

Los Angeles Times: What Threats Lurk In The Smoke And Ash Of L.A.-Area Fires? 
As Santa Ana wind conditions continue to stoke fears of resurgent wildfires across Los Angeles County, health officials are warning of yet another wind-borne threat: ash and dust from active fire zones and burn scars. On Tuesday, the county Department of Public Health issued a windblown dust and ash advisory until 7 p.m. Wednesday. (Garcia, 1/14)

Los Angeles Times: FEMA Centers Open In Pasadena And West L.A. To Assist Fire Victims
The Federal Emergency Management Agency opened two disaster recovery centers Tuesday to assist people ... whose homes were destroyed in the Eaton and Palisades fires and were looking for help to put their lives back together. The FEMA disaster centers — one in Pasadena and another in West L.A. — will remain open for the foreseeable future as fire victims seek assistance. (Solis, 1/14)

Los Angeles Times: Former Westside Pavilion Now Serving As Disaster Recovery Center
Amid the parade of surreal images from the last few days, few have been stranger than this one: a FEMA disaster recovery center for L.A. fire victims inside the former Westside Pavilion. Alongside the escalators and signs for the now-defunct movie theater in the carcass of what was once L.A.’s premiere shopping mall, dozens of government agencies have gathered to offer fire aid. (Wick and Kaleem, 1/14)

Becker's Hospital Review: Henry Schein Launches $300K Relief Fund For LA Wildfire Recovery
Henry Schein is launching a relief fund to provide essential medical supplies to support victims of the Los Angeles wildfires. The company is committing up to $300,000, including $150,000 in cash and $150,000 in essential healthcare supplies to aid relief efforts, according to a Jan. 14 news release from the company. (Murphy, 1/14)

inewsource: Courts Give Go-Ahead For Unifying Imperial County Hospitals
A California Superior Court judge says a plan to consolidate distressed hospitals in Imperial County under a single health care district can move forward, dismissing a lawsuit that sought to block the plan. Last April, Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District, which operates a hospital of the same name in Brawley, sued the Imperial Valley Healthcare District, created by a 2023 state law, AB 918, to become the sole health care district in the county. The law says the new district will absorb and manage Pioneers, the El Centro Regional Medical Center and the Heffernan Healthcare District, which has only operated health programs since its acute care hospital closed in 1998. (Salata, 1/14)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Amid Heavy Criticism, Palomar Health Directors Delay Bylaws Revision 
At the urging of local legislators and others, Palomar Health directors tabled plans to revise the public health care district’s bylaws Monday, indicating that they may revisit the issue after the organization resolves its current budget difficulties. (Sisson, 1/14)

Bay Area News Group: Antioch 911 Dispatchers Balance Chaos, Compassion, And Crises
Similar to other communities across the country, these unsung heroes in Antioch are a team of dispatchers who handle bustling emergency calls. They navigate daily crises, all the while using empathy and efficiency during someone’s darkest hours. (Sivanandam, 1/14)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Illumina Partners With Nvidia On AI-Powered Genomic Sequencing 
Illumina is a global leader in developing the tools that help scientists analyze strands of DNA as well as large amounts of complex genetic data through multiomic sequencing. Researchers and pharmaceutical companies use this technology to develop new and more precise drug targets. (Rocha, 1/14)

KQED: How Cutting Medi-Cal Could Leave A Generation Of Californians Without Health Care
What happens when Medi-Cal, a lifeline for 2 in 5 Californians, faces potential cuts? The state’s health insurance program is vital for children, low-income families, and seniors. But with Trump back in the White House and a Republican-controlled Congress, sweeping cuts are on the table. (McClurg, 1/14)

Becker's Hospital Review: Sutter Health, GE Ink $1B AI Deal
Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health has signed a seven-year partnership with GE HealthCare to bring AI-powered medical technology to its health system. Called the Care Alliance, the partnership will start by introducing advanced imaging technologies like PET/CT, SPECT/CT, MRI, CT, X-ray, nuclear medicine, and ultrasound, according to a Jan. 14 news release. (Diaz, 1/14)

Becker's Hospital Review: Nurses Across US To Rally Over AI Safeguards
On Jan. 16, thousands of registered nurses will hold marches, protests and rallies to demand the hospital industry ensure safe staffing levels and artificial intelligence safeguards, a Jan. 14 National Nurses United news release said. ... The nationwide protests will include marches in Washington D.C., Texas and California. The goal is to highlight the consensus among nurses to prioritize quality patient care over profits, according to the release. (Taylor, 1/14)

Becker's Hospital Review: To Build Trust In AI, Involve Nurses Early, Leaders Say
As AI-powered platforms enter healthcare, industry leaders told Becker's that involving nurses early in AI implementation discussions can help alleviate concerns and build trust. Some nurses are creating AI-powered healthcare solutions and nursing schools are implementing AI into their programs, but many front-line nurses are hesitant about the technology's role in patient care. (Twenter, 1/14)

CIDRAP: H5N1 Confirmed In More Cats As Probe Into Raw Pet Food Widens
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) yesterday reported three more H5 avian flu infections in pet cats after exposure to raw food or raw milk. In other avian flu developments, federal officials confirmed those and several more H5N1 detections in domestic cats from California and other states. (Schnirring, 1/14)

NBC News: Bird Flu Crisis: Trump, Biden Officials Begin Talks On Outbreak
Amid an escalating bird flu outbreak spreading in the United States, federal health officials have begun to brief members of the incoming Trump administration about how they’ve responded to the crisis so far. “We sent them all of the information on our work,” said a Biden administration health official familiar with transition briefings within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Lovelace Jr., Edwards and Khimm, 1/14)

AP: Biden Health Officials Say They Built Up US Pandemic Defenses. Trump Promises Changes
The Biden administration on Tuesday released a “roadmap” for maintaining government defenses against infectious diseases, just as President-elect Donald Trump pledges to dismantle some of them. The 16-page report recaps steps taken in the last four years against COVID-19, mpox and other diseases, including vaccination efforts and the use of wastewater and other measures to spot signs of erupting disease outbreaks. (Stobbe, 1/14)

CIDRAP: Even Kids With Most Severe MIS-C Typically Fully Recover By 6 Months, Study Reveals
A study yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics suggests that even the kids who get most sick from an uncommon but serious condition that affects multiple organ systems after COVID-19 infections recover fully by 6 months after infection. The retrospective cohort study followed outcomes seen among pediatric patients diagnosed as having multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) associated with COVID-19 infection, one of the most severe outcomes seen during the pandemic. (Soucheray, 1/14)

CalMatters: Newsom's Plan For CA To Produce Insulin Is Behind Schedule
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ambitious plan to produce a cheap, generic insulin for the 3.2 million Californians with diabetes is behind the schedule he announced and unlikely to make it to market for several years, industry experts say. Civica, Inc., the nonprofit drug manufacturer contracted to produce insulin for California, has not started clinical trials or applied for approval from the federal Food and Drug Administration, both of which are likely to take more than a year to complete. (Hwang, 1/15)

NBC News: Top Three Insurers Reaped $7.3 Billion Through Their Drug Middlemen's Markups, FTC Says
The three largest drug middlemen inflated the costs of numerous life-saving medications by billions of dollars over the past few years, the Federal Trade Commission said in a report Tuesday. The top pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) — CVS Health’s Caremark Rx, Cigna’s Express Scripts and UnitedHealth Group’s OptumRx — generated roughly $7.3 billion through price hikes over about five years starting in 2017, the FTC said. (Kopack and Kaplan, 1/14)

The Hill: Nearly Half Of Americans Skeptical Trump Admin Will Lower Health Costs: Poll
Nearly half of Americans don’t believe that the incoming Trump administration will lower health costs, according to a new Gallup poll. The research, conducted after the presidential election, found 48 percent of Americans are pessimistic about the new administration’s ability to lower healthcare costs, while 45 percent feel the same about prescription drug costs. But much of the public’s opinion is colored by partisanship. The poll found 84 percent of Democrats said they think any future policy from the Trump administration on health costs is headed in the wrong direction, along with nearly half of independents. (Weixel, 1/15)

San Francisco Chronicle: ‘Any Alcohol Use’ Can Cause Cancer, Contentious Federal Study Finds
A controversial federal study with the power to influence public health guidelines has concluded that alcohol consumption even at “low levels” is associated with a higher risk of death. The study, published by a group called the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD), is the latest chapter in a fierce debate over the health risks of drinking, and has attracted significant criticism during the past year. In response to the report’s publication, U.S. Representative Mike Thompson (D-Napa), said in a statement on Wednesday, “It’s concerning that the agencies in charge of researching and producing our updated dietary guidelines created a new, less transparent review process to issue alcohol consumption guidance to Americans.” (Mobley and Lander, 1/14)

The Hill: FDA's Cigarette Warning Label Requirement Temporarily Blocked
A federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from enforcing a requirement that cigarette packages include graphic warnings on the impacts of smoking. On Monday, U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker in Tyler, Texas, ruled in favor of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and others, finding the FDA does not have the authority to require cigarette packaging and advertising to include one of 11 different warning labels. (O’Connell-Domenech, 1/14)

NPR: The FDA Calls For At-A-Glance Nutrition Labels On The Front Of Packaged Foods
The Food and Drug Administration wants to change how packaged food is sold in the U.S. In the waning days of the Biden administration, the agency has proposed requiring a new label on the front of most packaged food and drinks aimed at helping Americans make healthier food choices.The proposed labels would flag whether a packaged food or drink contains low, medium or high levels of sodium, added sugar and saturated fat, while also detailing the percent of the daily value of these nutrients the product contains. (Godoy, 1/14)

CNN: Both Healthy And Enjoyable Eating Are On The Decline, Data Shows
Fewer people are eating in a way they consider healthy –– and they don’t even like it, according to new data. “In some instances, we’re still seeing strong majorities of people saying that they enjoy their food,” said Andrew Dugan, consulting principal researcher at Gallup. “But the decline has been pretty stark.” (Holcombe, 1/14)

MedPage Today: Experts Pitch Major Overhaul To How Obesity Is Diagnosed
Medical experts from around the globe proposed a more nuanced approach to diagnosing obesity that does not rely exclusively on body mass index (BMI) alone. Writing in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, the global commission argued that to reduce misclassification, other measures of body fat -- such as waist circumference or direct fat measurement -- should also be used, along with signs and symptoms of ill health at the individual level. (Monaco, 1/14)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Hiking For Fitness, Program That Caters To Health Care, Explores Sonoma County’s Scenic Park Trails 
To lose more than 100 pounds, five years ago Brittany Stewart all but starved herself on a popular weight loss program. The medically prescribed dietary odyssey worked for that purpose. But it left Stewart in no shape to further pursue her health goals. (Espinoza, 1/14)

MedPage Today: USPSTF Unveils Final Recs For Osteoporosis Screening To Prevent Fractures
All women ages 65 and older and at-risk postmenopausal women under 65 should be screened for osteoporosis to prevent fractures, according to a final recommendation statement from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). USPSTF said with "moderate certainty" that screening for osteoporosis to prevent osteoporotic fractures has a moderate net benefit in all women 65 and older and in postmenopausal women ages 40 to 64 who have at least one risk factor for osteoporosis (both grade B recommendations). (Monaco, 1/14)

The 19th: Biden Administration Withdraws Proposal For Free Over-The-Counter Birth Control
The White House has withdrawn a proposed rule that would have ensured private health insurance plans cover birth control when it is purchased over the counter. The withdrawal will be published in the Federal Register on Wednesday. (Luthra, 1/14)

PolitiFact: Medical Experts Talk Meta Policy That Allows Calling LGBTQ+ People 'Mentally Ill' 
Alongside the announcement that Meta was ending its relationship with independent fact-checkers, the social media company outlined new "hateful conduct" policies. Those policies explicitly permit users to call LGBTQ+ people "mentally ill" or "abnormal" without violating platform rules. These changes are part of a larger shift in how Meta plans to moderate content and speech on its platforms, Facebook, Instagram and Threads. But these carve-outs could also allow the spread of misinformation. (Abels, 1/14)

The 19th: House Votes To Amend Title IX To Ban Trans Girls From Women’s Sports In Schools
The House on Tuesday voted 218-206 to ban transgender girls and women from girls’ sports in federally-funded schools by amending Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in educational institutions. This bill, the first federal anti-trans law brought to a vote in a newly GOP-controlled Congress, is Democrats’ first test on whether they will fight an expected wave of proposed anti-trans laws under President-elect Donald Trump. (Rummler, 1/14)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Federal Environmental Public Health Agency To Investigate Tijuana River Sewer Gas Impacts
A federal environmental public health agency said it will investigate the potential harm caused by exposure to hydrogen sulfide in the air near the sewage-tainted Tijuana River and issue recommendations to protect the public, if warranted. (Murga, 1/14)

CNN: ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Sludge Used To Fertilize Farms Can Pose A Health Risk To People, EPA Says
Chemicals found in sewage sludge that some farmers use to fertilize fields and pastures can pose a threat to human and animal health, the US Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday. Exposure to food from farms that use the sewage sludge can raise a person’s risk of developing cancer or other health conditions, it said. Under certain conditions, the human health risks from sludge used on farms are “several orders of magnitude” above what the EPA considers acceptable, the agency said. (Christensen, 1/14)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Prebys Foundation Making $5.2 Million Bet On Healing Value Of Arts And Nature 
While this allocation represents only about 10% of the foundation’s total expected annual awards, Grant Oliphant, the organization’s chief executive officer, said that this endeavor seeks to add to the growing pile of evidence that engaging in creative and natural endeavors appreciably improves mental health. (Sisson, 1/15)

ProPublica: Trump Could Drastically Reshape NIH. Here’s What’s At Stake.
Lifesaving HIV treatments. Cures for hepatitis C. New tuberculosis regimens and a vaccine for RSV.These and other major medical breakthroughs exist in large part thanks to a major division of the National Institutes of Health, the largest funder of biomedical research on the planet. (Barry-Jester, 1/15)

Stat: NIH Wants Wider Access For Medicines Based On Government-Funded Research
After years of prodding, the National Institutes of Health has adopted a new policy requiring companies seeking licenses to sell medical products invented with government research to submit plans for ensuring greater access to patients. (Silverman, 1/14)

The Hill: Trump's Greenland Demands May Impact Ozempic Costs
President-elect Trump’s threat to tariff Denmark if it resists his acquisition plans for the island territory of Greenland could disrupt one export that is wildly popular in America: Ozempic. ... Danish multinational pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk is the sole owner of semaglutide, the active ingredient in both Ozempic and Wegovy. A month’s supply of Ozempic is close to $1,000 without insurance, though manufacturer coupons and patient assistance programs are available. Novo Nordisk was estimated to be responsible for half of Denmark’s gross domestic product growth in 2024. (Choi, 1/14)

The Washington Post: Dr. Oz’s Medicare Leadership Team At CMS Takes Shape
President-elect Donald Trump appears poised to tap a trio of health policy experts to serve as top deputies to Mehmet Oz, his pick to oversee the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, according to seven people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. (Diamond, 1/14)

Huffpost: Pete Hegseth Says Alcohol Allegations Are 'False,' Also Vows Not To Drink On Job
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Defense said Tuesday that all the reports of his excessive drinking were false. Pete Hegseth also said at his confirmation hearing that he wouldn’t drink another drop if he’s confirmed by the Senate to lead the U.S. military. (Delaney, 1/14)

Military Times: Hegseth Promises To Reinstate, Repay Troops Who Refused COVID Vaccine
During comments at his confirmation hearing Tuesday, Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth vowed to reinstate and reimburse troops dismissed from the ranks for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine years ago. The surprise statement came amid unrelated questions about Hegseth’s views towards diversity and discrimination policies in the military. Hegseth, who previously served in the National Guard, said past Pentagon policies requiring the vaccine amounted to its own form of religious discrimination. (Shane III, 1/14)

Politico: The Cost Of Opposing RFK Jr.
How much money is going into a campaign to convince senators to block the confirmation of President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead HHS, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.? More than $1 million, according to a spokesperson for the “Stop RFK War Room” initiative, helmed by the Democratic-aligned health care advocacy group Protect Our Care, POLITICO’s Daniel Payne reports. (Cirruzzo, 1/14)