Capital & Main: Governor’s Budget Includes Painful Cuts To Housing, Homelessness And Welfare Programs
With a $44.9 billion revenue shortfall anticipated for the next fiscal year, Gov. Gavin Newsom has indicated he’ll institute budget cuts that advocates say will severely affect the poorest Californians and hamper the state’s efforts to address its homeless and affordable housing crises. At the same time, he is holding fast to his plan to expand Medi-Cal coverage to more Californians, a major goal for his administration. (Nagano, 5/14)

Los Angeles Times: Judge Dismisses California Children's Climate Lawsuit
After a federal judge dismissed a landmark climate lawsuit filed by 18 California children against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the youth plaintiffs plan to amend and resubmit their allegations, their attorneys say. The children — who have lost homes in wildfires, suffered health problems from breathing polluted air, missed weeks of education due to climate change-related school closures and been forced to ration tap water due to unprecedented droughts — sued the EPA for allegedly violating their constitutional rights by allowing pollution from burning fossil fuels to continue despite knowing the harm it poses to kids. (Wigglesworth, 5/14)

Stat: Hottest Summer In 2,000 Years Puts Focus On Extreme Heat, Health 
Last summer’s heat waves demonstrated all the ways that extreme heat takes a toll on the human body. In cities across the U.S. from Phoenix to New York, people suffered from heat exhaustion, heat stroke, heat cramps, and more. In Texas, more than 300 people died from heat last year — the highest number since the state started tracking the deaths in 1989. (Gaffney, 5/14)

NPR: Study Finds Over 200 Million Seniors Face Extreme Heat Risks In Coming Decades
A person in their 40s now will be nearing 70 in the year 2050. And they won't be alone, because the world is undergoing an unprecedented and inexorable shift: by 2050, scientists project, more than 20% of Earth's population will be over 60. That demographic shift coincides with another major change: the Earth heating up because of human-caused climate change.The confluence of those two factors represents an enormous risk, says Giacomo Falchetta, the lead author of a new paper published Tuesday in Nature Communications. (Borunda, 5/14)

Los Angeles Times: There’s A New Highly Transmissible COVID-19 Variant. Could FLiRT Lead To A Summer Uptick? 
Two new COVID-19 subvariants, collectively nicknamed FLiRT, are increasingly edging out the winter’s dominant strain ahead of a possible summer uptick in coronavirus infections. The new FLiRT subvariants, officially known as KP.2 and KP.1.1, are believed to be roughly 20% more transmissible than their parent, JN.1, the winter’s dominant subvariant, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious diseases expert at UC San Francisco. (Lin II, 5/14)

San Diego Union-Tribune: FDA Says To Throw Out COVID-19 Tests Made By San Diego's Cue Health 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration told consumers Monday to throw out any at-home COVID-19 tests made by San Diego biotech, Cue Health, because it could give users false results. (Rocha, 5/15)

Los Angeles Times: Drownings Rose Among Young Kids. Experts Say Pandemic May Be To Blame
During the pandemic years of shuttered pools and difficult-to-find swim lessons, the drowning rate of very young children increased significantly in the U.S., following decades of declines, according to a new federal report. Drowning rates among children 1 to 4 were about 28% higher in 2021 and 2022, compared to 2019, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2022, 461 children ages 1 to 4 died in a drowning accident, which is the number one cause of death among babies and toddlers. Rates are not yet available for 2023 or 2024, so it’s unknown whether deaths have declined since then. (Gold, 5/14)

Los Angeles Times: Deadly Overdoses Fell In U.S. For First Time In 5 Years, Estimates Show
Deaths from drug overdoses fell last year in the United States as fewer people lost their lives to fentanyl and other opioids, marking the first time the death toll had dropped in five years, according to newly released estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Reyes, 5/15)

California Healthline: Tribal Nations Invest Opioid Settlement Funds In Traditional Healing To Treat Addiction
Hundreds of Native American tribes are getting money from settlements with companies that made or sold prescription painkillers. Some are investing it in sweat lodges, statistical models, and insurance-billing staffers. (Pattani and Orozco Rodriguez, 5/15)

Becker's Hospital Review: About 200 Exposed To Measles At UC Davis Health, Officials Say
Sacramento public health officials have confirmed one pediatric measles case and about 200 potential exposures after a child visited the UC Davis Medical Center's emergency department in early May. (Twenter, 5/14)

Times of San Diego: After A Five-Year Respite, San Diego County Sees Third Case Of Measles In 2024
San Diego County health officials have confirmed a 13-month-old child presented with a case of measles, the third in the region this year. This year’s measles cases, all of which occurred in people who traveled overseas, are the first such incidents in the county since 2019. County health officials, who made the announcement Tuesday, say none of the cases are connected. (Binkowski, 5/14)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Mendocino County Reports Rise In Syphilis And HIV Cases 
Mendocino County public health officials are warning residents that syphilis and HIV transmission is on the rise. Health officials said that 24 syphilis cases have been recorded in the past 5 months, a rate that could exceed that of 2023 if the rate of infections persists. (Espinoza, 5/14)

Los Angeles Times: Hepatitis A Is Spreading Among L.A.'s Homeless Population
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is investigating an outbreak of the highly contagious liver disease hepatitis A among its homeless population. Health officials said five cases of hepatitis A have been reported since mid-March among people experiencing homelessness. The virus, which can spread among people even before they have symptoms, can be found in the stool and blood of those who have been infected. Symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, dark urine and yellow eyes and skin. (Vives, 5/14)

Reuters: US Relaxes Regulations For Labs Handling Bird Flu Samples To Ease Virus Response
U.S. government officials have temporarily relaxed strict guidelines on how public health laboratories and healthcare facilities handle, store and transport H5N1 bird flu samples, which are considered high-risk pathogens, in response to the recent spread of the virus to dairy cattle. The revised guidance, which has not been previously reported, came at the request of the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), which represents state and local labs that monitor and detect public health threats. (Steenhuysen, 5/14)

Los Angeles Times: Avian Flu, Cows, And Raw Milk Concerns: Your Questions Answered
There is a bird flu outbreak going on. Here is what you need to know about it. (Rust, 5/15)

Modern Healthcare: Talkspace Enters Medicare Space With Services In 11 States
Behavioral health provider Talkspace rolled out services Tuesday to 13 million Medicare members across 11 states and will expand to 33 million members nationwide by the end of the year. Talkspace services are available to those with traditional Medicare in California, Florida, New York, Ohio, New Jersey, Virginia, Missouri, Maryland, South Carolina, New Mexico and Idaho. The company plans to offer services to Medicare Advantage members later on, as well. (DeSilva, 5/14)

Axios: Studies On Ecstasy For PTSD Called Into Question
Clinical trials using the drug known as ecstasy to treat PTSD may have been tainted by investigator biases and understated possible harmful effects, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review said in a report on Tuesday. (Bettelheim, 5/15)

Politico: Social Media Bills Aim To Protect Kids’ Health
The Kids Online Safety Act, which Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sponsored, would require social media platforms to prevent the spread of harmful content, such as material related to suicide or eating disorders, on their sites. Why it matters: Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has warned that social media might be contributing to an increase in mental illness among youth. (Payne, Reader and Schumaker, 5/14)

Stat: The White House Hikes Tariffs On Chinese Medical Products
The Biden administration announced Tuesday that it’s raising taxes on a range of imported products from China, including syringes, needles, and surgical gloves. Pitched as a plan to support American workers, the tariffs are meant to protect domestic manufacturers from China’s “unfair trade practices” and “artificially low-priced exports.” (Lawrence, 5/14)

Modern Healthcare: Aetna, Humana Expect Medicare Advantage Membership Losses In 2025
Industry heavyweights CVS Health Aetna and Humana foresee Medicare Advantage membership losses next year. Anticipated changes to health plan offerings and benefit design to achieve long-term business profitability could mean losing a significant portion of their Medicare Advantage membership, executives told investors at the Bank of America Securities Healthcare Conference on Tuesday. (Tepper and Berryman, 5/14)

Stat: CVS Is Willing To Dump 10% Of Its Medicare Advantage Members
CVS Health is preparing to make significant changes to its 2025 Medicare Advantage plans, which could potentially drive away 10% of its membership, the company’s chief financial officer said at an investment banking conference Tuesday. (Herman, 5/14)

Becker's Hospital Review: The Cost Of Unnecessary Hospital Days In 8 Numbers
Hospitals across the U.S. are having capacity issues, leading to unnecessary stays and higher costs overall. Kaufman Hall reported in a February 2024 analysis associated lower length of stay as one of with top financial performance because patients are able to move through the hospital more efficiently and incur lower unnecessary costs. In the most recent "National Hospital Flash Report" for April 2024, Kaufman Hall reported average length of stay for the month dropped 5% since 2021 but has been relatively flat year over year. (Dyrda, 5/14)

'An Arm And A Leg' Podcast: Digging Into Facility Fees
“An Arm and a Leg” is looking for listener stories about facility fees for a new project. (5/15)

AP: Will AI Replace Doctors Who Read X-Rays, Or Just Make Them Better Than Ever?
How good would an algorithm have to be to take over your job? It’s a new question for many workers amid the rise of ChatGPT and other AI programs that can hold conversations, write stories and even generate songs and images within seconds. For doctors who review scans to spot cancer and other diseases, however, AI has loomed for about a decade as more algorithms promise to improve accuracy, speed up work and, in some cases, take over entire parts of the job. (Perrone, 5/14)

Becker's Hospital Review: Weight Loss Drugs And Surgery Complications: New Study
Ozempic, Mounjaro and other GLP-1s do not increase the risk of surgical complications, according to research published May 14 in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. Nearly a year after the American Society of Anesthesiologists recommended patients skip a dose of their GLP-1s — which are medications approved for Type 2 diabetes and weight loss — because of regurgitation and aspiration risks, a review of 130 million patient records found no increased risk. (Twenter, 5/14)

Politico: Novo’s Weight-Loss Drug Could Be Taken For Life, Expert Says
Long-term use of a popular obesity drug significantly reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke while sustaining weight loss over time, a study has shown, raising the prospect of lifetime treatment with the drug. Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk presented data on the effects of semaglutide — sold under the brand names Wegovy for obesity and Ozempic for diabetes — over a four-year period, at the European Congress on Obesity in Venice, on Tuesday. (Ciappa, 5/14)

Los Angeles Times: Kelly Clarkson Shuts Down Ozempic Rumors Amid Weight Loss
Kelly Clarkson might not be on Hollywood‘s Ozempic bandwagon, but she recently revealed she’s getting weight-loss help from another medication. The “Breakaway” singer and host of “The Kelly Clarkson Show” opened up about her weight loss in an episode that aired Monday. She bonded with guest Whoopi Goldberg, who admitted she was “doing that wonderful shot that works for folks who need some help.” (Del Rosario, 5/14)

San Francisco Chronicle: Exclusive: Oakland's Homeless Population Rose 9%, According To Count
An important survey of homelessness in Alameda County found that Oakland’s unhoused population grew by 9% over the past two years. That’s despite a 3% overall dip across the county, according to the data released Wednesday. Oakland’s jump was smaller than those seen in previous counts, suggesting the city is doing a better job of slowing down the inflow of newly homeless people, and Alameda County’s numbers marked the first reduction observed in years. (Angst and Fagan, 5/15)

Military Times: Vets Bill Would Expand Caregiver Support, Boost In-Home Care Options
House and Senate lawmakers on Tuesday unveiled a bipartisan package of veterans bills which would dramatically expand in-home care for aging veterans, boost assistance for homeless veterans and mandate specific progress points for the department’s electronic health records overhaul. The measure — expected to cost $1.7 billion over the next 10 years — has the support of key leaders from both chambers and could be passed into law in the next few weeks, provided party leaders can navigate potential congressional roadblocks. (Shane III, 5/14)

Politico: Congress Considers Deadline For VA To Fix Beleaguered Health Record System
Congress is poised to set a hard two-year deadline for the VA and contractor Oracle Cerner to hit quality metrics for the agency’s beleaguered project to modernize its electronic health record system or terminate the contract. Lawmakers have repeatedly threatened to rein in the project, which the agency has told POLITICO is tied to at least four veterans’ deaths and estimated to cost more than $50 billion after initial estimates put it at $10 billion. (Leonard, 5/14)

Orange County Register: Cal State Fullerton’s Degree Programs Open Career Doors For Nursing Students
Established in 1974, Cal State Fullerton’s School of Nursing within the College of Health and Human Development is committed to providing highly competitive nursing education programs for Titan students. Now celebrating its 50th year, CSUF offers a range of nursing program options, including a variety of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree paths. And with a strong reputation for local job placement, those looking for a career in nursing will find the support they need at CSUF to achieve their goals. (Russo, 5/14)

CalMatters: California Farmworkers: Why Are They Still Dying In Crashes?
After a tragedy 25 years ago, state lawmakers and the California Highway Patrol acted to make farmworkers’ commutes safer. But workers still die in crashes — in vans the law doesn’t cover. (Kuang, 5/14)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Sonoma County Supervisors Approve Revised Ordinance Banning E-Cigarette, Flavored Tobacco Sales 
Seven months after an initial ban faced rebuke from area businesses, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has approved a revised ordinance to ban the sales of e-cigarettes and flavored tobacco. The goal remains the same this time around: to make it harder for children and teens to obtain vapes. But the ordinance has fewer restrictions related to businesses than the version originally set to go into effect last December. (Smalstig, 5/14)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Dr. Wilma Wooten, San Diego County's Public Health Director, Wins Statewide Award 
Citing her 23 years of service as San Diego County’s public health director, the California Department of Public Health gave Dr. Wilma Wooten its highest honor last week during an awards ceremony in Sacramento. (Sisson, 5/14)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: New Device Could Identify Which Babies Will Struggle With Breastfeeding
Doctors traditionally use a finger to gauge how well a baby suckles, but researchers at UC San Diego have come up with a new way to more precisely measure just how well each child gets the job done. (Sisson, 5/14)