Members of the Florida Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine Joint Rules/Legislative Committee on Friday voted to draft a rule that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from California, Florida, and Minnesota.

• California: Telehealth startup Cerebral last week announced that it is laying off 20% of its staff in a restructuring. According to an internal email CEO David Mou sent to Cerebral employees, the layoffs impacted staff members across "all divisions," including operations, support, and clinical care. "This is a challenging time for many companies," Mou wrote in the email. "In order to continue to work towards our mission, we have a duty to our patients to ensure our business is healthy and sustainable throughout challenging economic times." (Perna, "Transformation Hub," Modern Healthcare, 10/24; Swetlitz/Mosendz, Bloomberg, 10/24)

• Florida: Members of the Florida Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine Joint Rules/Legislative Committee on Friday voted to draft a rule that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The drafted rule contains regulatory language that would ban medical and surgical treatments for gender dysphoria—including puberty blockers, hormone therapies, and surgeries—for anyone under the age of 18. According to a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Health (FDOH), the draft rule is expected to be presented to the full committee for a final vote at a Nov. 4 meeting. In August, the boards decided to start drafting rules on treatment for transgender youth, after the FDOH in April released new guidance that advised against the use of gender-affirming care, citing a "lack of conclusive evidence, and the potential for long-term, irreversible effects." Several medical organizations and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups have released statements opposing the guidance, noting that it contradicts the standards of care endorsed by federal health officials and major medical groups, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Psychiatric Association. (D'Ambrosio, MedPage Today, 10/31)

• Minnesota: Medtronic last week announced plans to spin off its patient monitoring and respiratory intervention businesses into a new company—a move that the company said will streamline the company's portfolio and boost revenue growth. Medtronic "has decided the two businesses require greater internal investment than others to drive market leadership/share gain," according to Stifel analysts. The transition is expected to be complete within the next year to 18 months. It is part of the company's ongoing restructuring. "The process continues. This is a next step. This isn't necessarily the last step," said Medtronic Chairman and CEO Geoffrey Martha. (Swetlitz, Bloomberg, 10/24; Reuters/CNBC, 10/24)