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breaking health news & updates

April 16, 2025

California OKs $2.8B to Close Medicaid Funding Gap After Expanding Immigrant Coverage

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Monday to close a $2.8 billion budget gap in the state's Medicaid services and ensure coverage through June for 15 million people, including immigrants, who receive health care via the program.


The legislation is part of the state's solution to solve the $6.2 billion hole in the state's Medicaid budget. It comes a year after California launched an ambitious coverage expansion to provide free health care to all low-income adults regardless of their immigration status. The expansion is costing far more than the state projected and could force the Democratic governor and Democratic lawmakers to reevaluate future coverage for millions of people.


California also is bracing for major budget hits should Republicans in Congress follow through with a plan to slash billions of dollars in Medicaid and potentially jeopardize coverage for millions of people. California provides free health care to more than a third of its 39 million people.


Here’s what to know about California’s Medicaid gap:


Did expanding coverage to adult immigrants cause the gap?


Partly. California first extended health care benefits to low-income children without legal status in 2015 and later added the benefits for young adults and people over the age of 50. The program was expanded again last year to cover adults ages 26 to 49.


The cost of the recent expansion to cover all low-income adults is $2.7 billion more than the state budgeted because California underestimated the number of people who would sign up for services. California officials said they only had a month of data last year when the state had to produce projections for the budget.


The state hasn’t said how many people have enrolled through the expansion. Last year, the state projected that about 700,000 state residents who are living in the U.S. illegally would gain full health coverage to access preventive care and other treatment. U.S. News & World Report Read more

Trump Administration Restores Dementia Research It Gutted as Part of Its DEI Purge


The National Institutes of Health reversed its termination of a $36 million grant to a UC Davis researcher studying dementia, a day after CalMatters wrote about the canceled grant and the researcher filed an appeal. 


The National Institutes of Health cancelled the grant last month, following the Trump administration’s ban on federal spending on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.


Charles DeCarli, a neurologist at UC Davis and lead researcher on the project, got a notice from the agency Friday morning that he could again use the grant’s funds and conduct his research. The agency gave no reason for the reversal. The project included 1,700 participants with mild cognitive impairments plus 28 research and clinical sites across the country. 


The notice came after DeCarli and UC Davis officials submitted an appeal contesting the termination last Wednesday. A CalMatters story detailing the fallout from his grant’s cancellation ran last Thursday morning.


DeCarli’s grant was among the roughly 30 projects that the National Institutes of Health cut at the University of California since February. Those projects included developing a coronavirus vaccine, studying HIV prevention, and assessing how racial discrimination affects the health of older gay men. The UC grants were worth $173 million and the terminated portions totaled $38 million. Nationally, the agency killed off more than 700 grants. The NIH is the world’s largest funder of health science research.


In addition to DeCarli’s, other grants at the University of California were reinstated, said UC office of the President spokesperson Stett Holbrook on Saturday. He didn’t indicate which ones were brought back or when those notices appeared. CalMatters Read more

Local News

Castro Valley Forum Announces Ed Hernandez as ETHD Chair


The community newspaper the Castro Valley Forum has published a piece about our chair Ed Hernandez. The article discusses his background and achievements at Eden Health District. Read it here

ETHD Directors Attend St. Rose Ribbon Cutting; Cherryland Eggstravaganza


It was a busy weekend for the Eden Health District directors. On Friday, Directors Lewis, Faria, and Aranda joined CEO Mark Friedman for a ribbon cutting at St. Rose Hospital. Speakers included Hayward Mayor Mark Salinas, Alameda County Supervisor Elisa Marquez, State Assemblywoman Liz Ortega, Alameda Health System (AHS) CEO James Jackson, and AHS COO Mark Fratzke. Several speakers acknowledged the important role the Eden Health District played in saving the hospital, and our very own Mariellen Faria and Pam Russo were singled out by AHS CEO James Jackson for their great contributions.


Then on Saturday, we gave a sponsorship check for $1,000 to the Cherryland Community Association at the association’s annual Eggstravaganza. It’s not a giant cardboard one but that means it can actually be cashed at the bank!

Directors Lewis, Faria, and Aranda at the ribbon cutting.

Director Lewis handing the check over to the Cherryland Community Association President Cindy Torres.

Free 8-week Diabetes Class


Glad Tidings International is offering a free eight-week diabetes class. Led by a registered dietitian, participants will learn how to manage diabetes with confidence and track their progress through A1c levels, blood pressure, and weight measures. Participants will also receive a workbook and weekly giveaways to support them. The class starts Wednesday, April 30 at 5 p.m. and runs to June 25. The location is Glad Tidings Family Life Complex in Hayward. For more information, call 510-293-8685 or register at https://tinyurl.com/GladTidings2025.

Oakland Police Launch Investigation After Fentanyl Death of Top Prosecutor’s Estranged Husband


Police have opened a felony investigation into the death of Terrell Hegler, a vice president of a prominent anti-homelessness nonprofit and estranged husband of the top deputy of state Attorney General Rob Bonta. Hegler, 40, was found dead of an apparent fentanyl overdose last month at a waterfront apartment on Oakland’s 8th Avenue.


Police searched the apartment and seized Hegler’s cellphone in an attempt to figure out how he acquired the deadly drug, according to court records. Hegler’s death, which resulted in an outpouring of grief across the East Bay, where he was known well beyond the nature of his work, demonstrates how the devastating effects of the fentanyl epidemic have permeated society. The tragedy also coalesces two national crises that have rocked the Bay Area. East Bay Times Read more



COVID News

A New UV Light May Help Stop Future Pandemics


Five years after COVID-19 first hit the U.S., scientists are already brainstorming how to stop the next big virus. One possible solution? A special kind of ultraviolet light called far-UVC, CBS News reported. Unlike regular UVC light, which can be harmful to people, far-UVC has a shorter wavelength. That means it can kill viruses and bacteria in the air without damaging your skin or eyes.


"UV light really doesn't care about the details of whether it's a bacteria or a virus. It can kill all of them, essentially," Columbia University physicist David Brenner said. Right now, far-UVC is being tested in places like a Boston nightclub, a dental clinic at Columbia as well as a rehab center at Mount Sinai Hospital. U.S News & World Report Read more

California, Other States Sue Trump Administration Over Clawback of COVID School Funds


California and a coalition of other states sued to block the Trump administration’s attempt to take back hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding intended to support the academic recovery of students whose education was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.


The previously awarded funding—including more than $200 million for California alone—is currently being used by schools for after-school and summer learning programs, student mental health services, new classroom technology, and other infrastructure needs, all of which would be in danger if the funds are stripped away, California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said in an interview. While the COVID-19 emergency has ended, the negative impacts of school closures and online learning persist, with students across the country lagging behind academically, Bonta said. LA Times Read more

Pregnancy Might Offer Protection Against Long COVID


Pregnancy might offer women some protection from developing long COVID, a new study says. Women infected with COVID-19 during pregnancy were 14% to 30% less likely to develop lasting symptoms from their illness, researchers reported recently in the journal Nature Communications. “Though we observed that pregnant women have a significant risk of long COVID, it was surprisingly lower than those who were not pregnant when they had SARS-CoV-2 infection,” lead researcher Dr. Chengxi Zang, an instructor in population health sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, said in a news release. U.S News & World Report Read more

RFK Jr.’s Purge of FOIA Staff at FDA Spares People Working on COVID-19 Vaccine Lawsuits


Mass firings at the FDA have decimated divisions tasked with releasing public records generated by the agency’s regulatory activities in sectors including tobacco, food, medical devices, and veterinary medicine. But as the dust settled on the layoff melee, a notable exception emerged among the agency’s staff charged with responding to Freedom of Information Act requests.


The cuts spared at least some workers who furnish documents in response to court orders in FOIA lawsuits involving the FDA division that regulates vaccines, which includes litigation brought by an ally of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s who represents anti-vaccine interests, according to four current or former agency employees. CA Healthline Read more



State/National/International News

Dentists Turned Them Away. Now, Disabled Californians Are Gaining New Access to Care


Martha Rodriguez spent years searching for a dentist. Several turned her away because she has Down syndrome, and they felt they could not accommodate her. Her plight “broke my heart,” said Dr. Maxmillian Chambers, an Imperial County dentist who agreed to treat her. Today, she is one of his favorite patients at the Innercare community health clinic in El Centro, and she’s inspiring a new investment in care. Thanks in part to a new state grant, Chambers is opening a dental surgical center for special needs patients in Imperial County and the surrounding areas. The $5 million from the state will cover construction costs for eight chairs and two surgical theaters. CalMatters Read more

First Baby Born from Robot-Controlled IVF


The world’s first baby conceived through robot-controlled fertilization has been born, researchers say. The boy was born to a 40-year-old woman in Guadalajara, Mexico, following a previous in vitro fertilization (IVF) attempt that had produced only one mature egg and no embryos, researchers said. Her newborn was conceived using a fully automated, digitally controlled version of an IVF procedure called intracytoplasmic sperm injection, or ICSI.


Remote operators in Guadalajara and in New York – 2,300 miles away – oversaw the automated system as it selected a sperm, prepared it for injection, and then injected it into a waiting egg. In ICSI, skilled lab technicians manually inject a single sperm directly into an egg, potentially creating an embryo that can then be implanted into the mother. U.S. News & World Report Read more

As Flu Deaths Finally Slow, The Season’s Death Toll Is Emerging


This year’s late flu season has turned out to be the deadliest in recent memory. Now, as test positivity rates have finally come down, and weekly deaths are starting to slow, the overall death toll is emerging. At least 1,504 people died from complications of the flu by the 13th week of this year, the week ending Mar. 29, according to the most recent weekly respiratory virus report from the California Department of Public Health. East Bay Times Read more

Engineers Develop Tiny Pacemaker, Smaller Than a Grain of Rice


A new, tiny pacemaker—smaller than a grain of rice—developed at Northwestern University could play a sizable role in the future of medicine, according to the engineers who developed it. Researchers unveiled the device, which they say is the smallest pacemaker in the world, in a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature.


Though the device is still years away from being used in humans, it could eventually be useful for infants with congenital heart defects and also for adults, the researchers say. “I think it’s really exciting technology that will change how electrical stimulation is done,” said Igor Efimov, a Northwestern experimental cardiologist who co-led the study.


The device can be inserted with a catheter or syringe. After it is placed in or on the heart, it’s paired with another small, patch-like device worn on the patient’s chest. When the device on the chest detects irregular heartbeats, it emits pulses of light into the chest that activate the pacemaker, delivering electrical stimulation to the heart. East Bay Times Read more

Slashed Federal Funding Cancels Vaccine Clinics Amid Measles Surge


More than a dozen vaccination clinics were canceled in Pima County, Arizona. So was a media blitz to bring low-income children in Washoe County, Nevada, up to date on their shots. Planned clinics were also scuttled in Texas, Minnesota, and Washington, among other places.


Immunization efforts across the country were upended after the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention abruptly canceled $11.4 billion in COVID-related funds for state and local health departments in late March. A federal judge temporarily blocked the cuts last week, but many of the organizations that receive the funds said they must proceed as though they’re gone, raising concerns amid a resurgence of measles, a rise in vaccine hesitancy, and growing distrust of public health agencies. CA Healthline Read more

2 U.S. Hospitals Top 2025 World's Best Hospitals Ranking


American hospitals are being recognized as some of the best in the world, according to the recently released World's Best Hospitals 2025, produced by Newsweek in partnership with global data platform Statista. The Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio were identified as the top two hospitals in the world, with Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland and Massachusetts General also included in the global Top 10. Newsweek Read more

How Does the Brain Create, Retrieve Memories? Scientists Figured It Out


Scientists have long wondered how the brain updates itself with new information and memories. Some ideas revolve around chemical changes in specific neurons, while others focus on structural shifts among brain cells. Dr. Tomás Ryan from Trinity College Dublin is among the neuroscientists who have explored these questions by tracking cells involved in learning. New findings suggest memory formation hinges on connections between groups of engram cells, which are neurons thought to capture and store distinct experiences. Earth.com Read more

Homelessness

How Bad Is California’s Housing Crisis? A First-In-The-Nation Bill Would Let Students Live In Cars.


A progressive Democratic lawmaker is seeking a simple but jarring remedy of last resort for California’s college students navigating the state’s housing crisis: Let them sleep in their cars. While roughly half a dozen state legislative proposals this year seek to fund student or faculty housing or loosen building regulations, the benefits would come far too late for current students struggling to stay afloat. With one in four California community college students experiencing homelessness in the past year, Democrats — who have a supermajority in the statehouse — face increasing pressure to deliver on affordability issues. Politico Read more

Illegal Camping Arrests are Soaring in S.F. What Does It Mean For the Homeless Crisis?


Historically, San Francisco police officers arrested very few people for setting up tents on public property, and those arrests very rarely landed a person in court. But that changed last summer when the U.S. Supreme Court gave cities broad powers to punish unhoused people for sleeping outside — regardless of whether they had a shelter bed to offer them. 


In the wake of that ruling, Gov. Gavin Newsom directed city and county officials to clear dangerous encampments, and then-Mayor London Breed vowed to launch a “very aggressive” crackdown on encampments in San Francisco. Illegal lodging arrests in San Francisco soared as a result, and Mayor Daniel Lurie’s administration has continued the push. 


Since the city began increasing enforcement last summer, San Francisco police officers have made 756 illegal lodging arrests, which is more than the prior six years combined. Last month, the city recorded 119 such arrests — the highest of any month in the last seven years. SF Chronicle Read more

Homeless Man Wins $1 Million Jackpot on California Lottery Scratcher


A man apparently living on the streets of San Luis Obispo recently won a $1 million jackpot on a California Lottery scratcher bought at a local liquor store. The win was confirmed Monday by Wilson Samaan, manager of Sandy’s Deli-Liquor, who called the unidentified man a “loyal customer.” “He deserved every penny of it,” Samaan told the Chronicle. “He’s a good guy.” SF Chronicle Read more



Mental Health

Wildfire Smoke Increases Risk of Mental Health Problems


Smoke from wildfires driving you mad? You’re not alone, a new study says. Short-term exposure to air choked with wildfire smoke increases people’s risk of mental health problems, according to findings published April 4 in JAMA Network Open. Hospital emergency rooms experience surges in patients with mental health conditions on days when smoke pollution is at its worst, researchers found.


“Wildfire smoke isn’t just a respiratory issue — it affects mental health, too,” said corresponding author Dr. Kari Nadeau, chair of environmental health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “Our study suggests that—in addition to the trauma a wildfire can induce—smoke itself may play a direct role in worsening mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, and mood disorders,” Nadeau added in a news release. U.S. News & World Report Read more

The Body Remembers: Trauma Leaves Lasting Biological Imprints


Survivors of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing continue to carry hidden biological imprints of trauma, even decades after the event and in the absence of visible mental health issues. A new study reveals subtle yet significant changes in stress biomarkers, including cortisol levels, heart rate, blood pressure, and inflammatory interleukins.


While survivors report resilience and low PTSD or depression scores, their physiological responses show heightened alertness and immune system changes. These findings underscore the lasting physical impact of trauma, even when emotional recovery appears complete. Neuroscience News Read more

California Has Big Plans for Improving Mental Health. Medicaid Cuts Could Upend Them


California under Gov. Gavin Newsom has made sweeping changes to its behavioral health system, pouring billions of dollars into new services and support programs. But the state’s ambitious plans face a looming threat: the proposed federal spending cuts that Congress is currently considering are seen as all but certain to impact Medicaid and could bring to a halt some of the headway the state has made in responding to its behavioral health crisis.


It’s not that all of California’s behavioral health policies are explicitly tied to Medicaid, but many state and local mental health programs draw funding from it. Less Medicaid money means less money for those efforts. “When you remove resources of this size and scope everything is at risk,” said Alex Briscoe, principal with the nonprofit Public Works Alliance and who previously led the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency. “To be fair, the behavioral health reform landscape of California was just written, and we are still very much moving from promise to practice." CalMatters Read more



Fentanyl Crisis/Drug Trends

San Francisco Records First Fatal Overdose Involving Dangerous New Street Drug


A potent animal tranquilizer increasingly reported in illicit drug supplies across the U.S. has made its way to San Francisco. The San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed that the city in February recorded its first fatal overdose victim with the synthetic drug medetomidine in their system. The victim, a 46-year-old woman, had a mix of several drugs in her system, including fentanyl, medetomidine, and benzodiazepines, a class of depressants often used to treat anxiety, insomnia and seizures. The Department of Public Health called the discovery “concerning” and said that “surveillance in San Francisco is ongoing.” SF Chronicle Read more

Estrogen and Progesterone Stimulate the Body to Make Opioids


Female hormones can suppress pain by making immune cells near the spinal cord produce opioids, a new study from researchers at UC San Francisco has found. This stops pain signals before they get to the brain. The discovery could help with developing new treatments for chronic pain. It may explain why some painkillers work better for women than men and why postmenopausal women, whose bodies produce less of the key hormones estrogen and progesterone, experience more pain. The work reveals an entirely new role for T regulatory immune cells (T-regs), which are known for their ability to reduce inflammation. UCSF News Read more

Hit Hard by Opioid Crisis, Black Patients Further Hurt by Barriers to Care


In recent years, the rate of overdose deaths from opioids—originally dubbed “Hillbilly heroin” because of their almost exclusive misuse by white people—has grown significantly among Black people. This is largely due to the introduction of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times as powerful as morphine, which is often mixed into heroin and cocaine supplies and can be consumed unknowingly.


In North Carolina, Black people died from an overdose at the rate of 38.5 per 100,000 residents in 2021—more than double the rate in 2019, according to NC Department of Health and Human Services data. Terica Carter, founder of Hajee House Harm Reduction, a Charlotte-based nonprofit that co-organized the event with the county’s public health office, has been working to change that statistic. Seven years ago, she founded Hajee House after the overdose death of her 18-year-old son, Tahajee, who took an unprescribed dose of Percocet that he didn’t know was laced with fentanyl. East Bay Times Read more

Critics Say GOP Medicaid Cuts Could Slash Fentanyl Addiction Treatment


As Republican lawmakers search for deep spending cuts, a growing number of critics fear a roll-back of Medicaid dollars spent helping Americans slammed by the street fentanyl crisis. A report released Monday by Democrats on the Congressional Joint Economic Committee warned medical treatment for more than a million people in the U.S. now receiving medical treatment for opioid addiction, including fentanyl, could be affected. NPR Read more



Fast Facts

Stress Is Contagious. Here’s How Not to Catch It.


Global turmoil has many of us stressed. Even if we are not directly affected by conflict, job losses or market changes hurting our retirement savings, we may know others who are. Keeping stress at bay can be challenging. And at times when many people are stressed, avoiding stress contagion — the transmission of stress from one person or group of people to others — can be difficult.


Building strong social connections, taking a step back when you feel overwhelmed, focusing on things you enjoy and trying not to contribute to a problem are some ways to deal with stress contagion, researchers said. Washington Post Read more

About Eden Health District

The Eden Health District Board of Directors are Chair Ed Hernandez, Roxann Lewis, Mariellen Faria, Sabrina Aranda, and Ronna Jojola Gonsalves. The Chief Executive Officer is Mark Friedman.
The Eden Health District is committed to ensuring that policy makers and community members receive accurate and timely information to help make the best policy and personal choices to meet and overcome the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other health issues. 
We welcome your feedback on our bulletin. Please contact editor Rebekah Moan.
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