Daily Edition for Wednesday, October 15, 2025
San Francisco Sees Dip In OD Deaths: Accidental overdose deaths in San Francisco have dropped to the lowest monthly number so far this year. According to the Department of Public Health, 38 people died from accidental drug overdoses in September. That’s 10 fewer deaths than the city recorded in August. Read more from KQED.
In Mississippi, Medicaid Coverage of Weight Loss Drugs Fails To Catch On
By Phil Galewitz
In Mississippi, a state with one of the highest obesity rates in the nation, Medicaid covers weight loss drugs, but few enrollees have signed up for the benefit.
RFK Jr. Misses Mark in Touting Rural Health Transformation Fund as Historic Infusion of Cash
By Arielle Zionts
The health secretary’s statement doesn’t consider the impact that the Medicaid cuts advanced in the same law will have on health care in rural America.
Daily Edition for Tuesday, October 14, 2025
Newsom Signs, Vetoes Several Health-Related Bills: Among them, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have given Californians easier access to HIV prevention medications known as PrEP or PEP. Read more from The Bay Area Reporter. Scroll down for more news from the governor’s office.
Why Brittle Bones Aren’t Just a Woman’s Problem
By Paula Span
More men are now living long enough to develop osteoporosis. But few are aware of the risk, and fewer still are screened and treated.
California’s Health Insurance Marketplace Braces for Chaos as Shutdown Persists
By Bernard J. Wolfson
Jessica Altman, the head of California’s Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace, warns letters will be sent out this week with sky-high premiums unless Washington extends covid-era enhanced tax credits by then. Even if Congress acts later and rates are lower than feared, she says, shoppers could be scared off.
Senators Press Deloitte, Other Contractors on Errors in Medicaid Eligibility Systems
By Rachana Pradhan and Samantha Liss
As contractors position themselves to cash in on a gush of new business managing Medicaid work requirements, a cadre of senators has launched an inquiry into the companies paid billions to build eligibility systems.
Daily Edition for Friday, October 10, 2025
KP Lays Off Employees Across California Ahead Of Strike: The health care provider is eliminating more than 200 positions, mostly in IT and food services, across 15 hospitals and clinics. More than 30,000 nurses and health professionals will go on strike Tuesday. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle and The Orange County Register.
Cops on Ketamine? Largely Unregulated Mental Health Treatment Faces Hurdles
By Katja Ridderbusch
Ketamine, long used as an anesthetic or illegal party drug, is being combined with psychotherapy to treat severe depression and post-traumatic stress — a potential tool for those with high trauma rates, like firefighters and police officers. Yet the drug’s stigma and unregulated marketplace leave first responders in uncharted territory.
Trump Called Digital Equity Act ‘Racist.’ Now Internet Money for Rural Americans Is Gone.
By Sarah Jane Tribble
President Donald Trump called the Digital Equity Act unconstitutional, racist, and illegal. Then the $2.75 billion program for rural and underserved communities to gain internet access disappeared.
