Daily Edition for Thursday, August 3, 2023
Two Major Hospitals Hit In Cyberattack: Good Samaritan Hospital and Regional Medical Center may have been impacted by a wide-ranging cyberattack that exposed patient names, ZIP codes, phone numbers, and other private information. Read more from Bay Area News Group.
Medi-Cal Covers Gender-Transition Treatment, but Getting It Isn’t Easy
By Bernard J. Wolfson
Pasha Wrangell has faced delays getting gender-affirming care because of red tape and limited providers. Over more than two years, Wrangell has received only about half the total electrolysis sessions recommended. Wrangell’s insurer through Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, acknowledges the shortage of practitioners.
Doctors Sound Alarm About Child Nicotine Poisoning as Vapes Flood the US Market
By Liz Szabo
Popular e-cigarettes lack packaging that stops kids from consuming the hazardous nicotine inside.
‘Conscience’ Bills Let Medical Providers Opt Out of Providing a Wide Range of Care
By Carly Graf
Opponents of the wave of state legislation say the measures place health providers’ preferences over patients’ rights.
Daily Edition for Wednesday, August 2, 2023
Opioid settlement funds, “implicit bias” law, drug shortages, covid cases rise, maternal health, psychedelics, and more are in the news.
The Real Costs of the New Alzheimer’s Drug, Most of Which Will Fall to Taxpayers
By Arthur Allen
The annual cost of lecanemab treatment quadruples if the expense of brain scans to monitor for bleeds and other associated care is factored in. The full financial toll likely puts it beyond reach for low-income seniors at risk of Alzheimer’s, experts say.
Repeating History: California County Plugs Budget Gap With Opioid Settlement Cash
By Aneri Pattani
State attorneys general vowed that opioid settlement funds — unlike the tobacco settlement of the 1990s — would go toward tackling the underlying crisis. But in Mendocino County, officials have found a way to use some of its share to help fill a budget shortfall — a throwback to what agreement architects hoped to avoid.
Daily Edition for Tuesday, August 1, 2023
An illegal lab, tainted water, ambulance fees, covid, medical cannabis, hospital rankings, and more are in the news.
Epidemic: Do You Know Dutta?
Who gets credit for wiping smallpox from the planet? American men have been widely recognized while the contributions of South Asian public health workers have been less celebrated. Episode 2 of the “Eradicating Smallpox” podcast tells the story of Mahendra Dutta, an Indian public health leader, whose political savvy helped usher in a transformative approach to finding and containing smallpox cases.
Daily Edition for Monday, July 31, 2023
Cancer test, homelessness, hunger, mental health care, nursing shortage, RSV and covid vaccines, gun violence, and more are in the news.
