Daily Edition for Friday, September 6, 2024
Intense Heat Grips California: Temperatures hovered above 100 degrees along parts of the California coast early Friday, creating unbearable conditions past midnight as officials warned that the excessive heat would last through the weekend. “We’re not seeing a ton of release at night. That’s absolutely concerning,” said Bryan Lewis, a meteorologist in Oxnard. The dangerous heat and changing weekend weather patterns will also raise the risk of fires, experts warn. Read more from The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle and CalMatters.
As Record Heat Sweeps the US, Some People Must Choose Between Food and Energy Bills
By Melba Newsome
An increasing number of Americans struggle with energy poverty, the inability to adequately heat or cool one’s dwelling. Health officials and climate experts are sounding the alarm as record-breaking heat sweeps the nation.
Thanks to Reddit, a New Diagnosis Is Bubbling Up Across the Nation
By Rae Ellen Bichell
Social media has helped spread the word about a treatment that involves getting Botox in the neck. It’s for a condition that’s gaining awareness but still often dismissed: the inability to burp.
Gracias a Reddit, un nuevo diagnóstico se está extendiendo por todo el país
By Rae Ellen Bichell
La incapacidad de eructar puede causar hinchazón, dolor, gorgoteos en el cuello y el pecho, y flatulencias excesivas mientras el aire acumulado busca una salida alternativa.
Daily Edition for Thursday, September 5, 2024
Sutter Health Denies Report That It Overcharges Patients: New research from University of Southern California health economists has found evidence that Sutter Health began implementing allegedly anticompetitive contracting practices in the early 2000s that resulted in prices 30% higher than at comparable hospitals. Sutter denied any anticompetitive conduct and says the analysis is flawed. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Boom, Now Bust: Budget Cuts and Layoffs Take Hold in Public Health
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
State leaders are cutting public health spending and laying off workers hired during a pandemic-era grant boom. Public health officials say the bust will erode important advancements in the public health safety net, particularly in rural areas.
Patients Suffer When Indian Health Service Doesn’t Pay for Outside Care
By Arielle Zionts and Katheryn Houghton
The Indian Health Service has a program that can pay for outside appointments when patients need care not offered at agency-funded sites. Critics say money shortages, complex rules, and administrative fumbles often block access, however.
Errors in Deloitte-Run Medicaid Systems Can Cost Millions and Take Years To Fix
By Samantha Liss and Rachana Pradhan
As states wait for Deloitte to make fixes in computer systems, Medicaid beneficiaries risk losing access to health care and food.
Health Secretary Becerra Touts Extreme Heat Protections. Farmworkers Want More.
By Vanessa G. Sánchez
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has a plan to protect farmworkers from extreme heat and wildfire smoke, but farmworkers who pick California grapes say they need more, as climate change brings more extreme weather.
El secretario de Salud Xavier Becerra anunció protecciones contra el calor extremo; trabajadores agrícolas quieren más
By Vanessa G. Sánchez
El máximo responsable de salud del país, que está barajando la posibilidad de postularse para gobernador, se ha convertido en una de las voces principales de la administración Biden sobre el cambio climático.