KPCC: Study Says Californians Missing Out On Health Care Subsidies 
A new study estimates that hundreds of thousands of Californians who buy individual health insurance plans are missing out on opportunities for subsidies. Researchers from Harvard Medical School and the Mongan Institute Health Policy Center at Massachusetts General Hospital estimate 31 percent of those eligible for one or more types of subsidies are either enrolling in plans outside of Covered California or choosing plans that are ineligible for subsidies. (Lavender, 1/18)

In other health law news —

KPBS Public Media: California Reps Who Voted To Repeal Obamacare Keeping Low Profile 
Right before the House of Representatives went on recess Friday, 13 members of California's congressional delegation voted in favor of a budget resolution to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Since then, according to the nonprofit group Health Access California, none of those members have town halls or other public events this week listed on their websites. (Goldberg, 1/17)

Sacramento Bee: Research Groups Tout Contrasting Proposals And Priorities For Obamacare 
Separate reports released Tuesday offered differing strategic advice and policy recommendations for lawmakers grappling with the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act. A new report by The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says any repeal-and-replace legislation should embody three basic principles: Reduce the national debt, replace or strengthen the health care law’s cost-control measures, and maintain or improve Medicare solvency. A similar report by the Urban Institute urged lawmakers to address complaints and correct problems with the health law through legislative fixes rather than the disruptive process of repealing and replacing the law. (Pugh, 1/17)

Orange County Register: Health Advocates Denounce Obamacare Repeal At LGBT Center In Santa Ana 
Community groups that serve residents who have gained health insurance through Obamacare said Tuesday they will fight Republican efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act. In a press conference at the LGBT Center in downtown Santa Ana, representatives said the future of millions of Americans is in jeopardy if they lose coverage that keeps them healthy for work or school. Last week, Congress took the initial steps to roll back the law. (Perkes, 1/17)

Los Angeles Times: Repealing Obamacare Without Replacement Would Hike Premiums 20% And Leave 18 Million Uninsured, Report Says
Repealing Obamacare without a replacement would result in higher costs for consumers and fewer people with insurance coverage, according to a report Tuesday from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. In the first year, insurance premiums would jump by 20% to 25% for individual policies purchased directly or through the Obamacare marketplace, according to the report. The number of people who are uninsured would increase by 18 million. Those numbers would only increase in subsequent years. Premium prices would continue to climb by 50% the next year, with the uninsured swelling to 27 million, as full repeal took effect, the report said. (Mascaro, 1/17)

KQED News: 18 Million People Could Lose Insurance In First Year After Partial Obamacare Repeal
The CBO based its estimates on a bill passed by Republicans and vetoed by President Obama in 2015. That bill amounted to a partial repeal of the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, eliminating the penalty for people who didn’t have health insurance. It also cut out the government subsidies that currently help people pay their premiums. (Hersher, 1/18)

Los Angeles Times: Senate Panel To Hear From Trump's Health Secretary Pick Amid Rising Ethics Questions
Amid rising criticism of his record and questions about his extensive trading in healthcare stocks, Rep. Tom Price is set to appear before the Senate Health Committee on Wednesday in his bid to become President-elect Donald Trump’s Health and Human Services secretary. Price, an orthopedic surgeon and fierce opponent of the Affordable Care Act, has garnered strong support from fellow congressional Republicans, who are moving ahead with efforts to repeal the healthcare law, commonly called Obamacare. (Levey, 1/18)

Los Angeles Times: Trump's Health Secretary Pick Fought To Limit Coverage In One Of America's Neediest States
From the packed hallways of Atlanta’s massive county hospital to the thousands of patients who line up around the state every year to get Obamacare, yawning gaps in Georgia’s overburdened healthcare system aren’t hard to find. “The need for care is just tremendous,” said Dr. Charles Moore, a Harvard-trained ear, nose and throat specialist who runs an Atlanta clinic for poor patients. Georgia has some of the worst health outcomes in the country, with high rates of untreated illness and death from preventable diseases. (Levey, 1/18)

Sacramento Bee: Hundreds Rally To Support Planned Parenthood At California State Capitol 
Pink scarves, hats and boxing gloves symbolizing opposition to threats to defund Planned Parenthood were the fashion du jour Tuesday outside the state Capitol, where hundreds of people from around Northern California rallied to support the network of health clinics that treat many of the state’s low-income women. The midday mix of protest and party featuring pink-clad legislators and celebrities pushed back against federal threats to block Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funding. Beneath the festivities in downtown Sacramento, however, roiled worry from patients about where they’ll find affordable health care if the clinics close their doors. (Caiola, 1/17)

Mercury News: Lena Dunham, Wilson Cruz To Speak At Planned Parenthood Rally
Actors Lena Dunham and Wilson Cruz on Tuesday decried congressional efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, saying it was an attack on women, the poor and others who rely on the clinics for basic health services and family planning... The “Pink Out” rally on the Capitol steps, just three days before Donald Trump takes office, drew hundreds of demonstrators and a dozen or more state lawmakers. Many of the politicians wore bright pink scarves — and some of them put on pink boxing gloves — to show their support. (Murphy, 1/17)

Capital Public Radio/KXJZ: "Pink-Out" Rally For Planned Parenthood On Capitol Steps 
Leading California Democrats are mounting yet another show of resistance to President-elect Trump and congressional Republicans – this time, pushing back against vows to defund Planned Parenthood. “Defunding Planned Parenthood is not a women’s rights issue; it is a human rights issue,” Senate leader Kevin de León told a “pink-out” rally on the Capitol steps Tuesday, at which many lawmakers sported pink scarves and pink boxing gloves. He was joined by the speaker of the Assembly and Governor Brown’s chief of staff, as well as actress Lena Dunham. (Adler, 1/17)

Los Angeles Times: Abortion Rate Declines To Historic Low, With Obamacare A Likely Contributor, Study Says
The U.S. abortion rate has hit its lowest point since the procedure became legal nationwide in 1973, according to a new study. The researchers estimated that there were 926,200 abortions in 2014, or 14.6 abortions for every 1,000 women of reproductive age. That was down 14% from three years earlier. “We saw declines in abortion in almost every single state,” said Jenna Jerman, a public health researcher at the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive rights think tank in New York, and a coauthor of the study, which was published Tuesday in the journal Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. Though the study did not look at the reasons for the decline, the authors and other experts suggested that improved access to contraception played the biggest role by preventing unintended pregnancies. (Agrawal, 1/17)

Los Angeles Times: Gardens Regional Hospital And Medical Center To Close After Failing To Find Buyer
A struggling Hawaiian Gardens hospital will close because it could not find a buyer willing to set aside a state-mandated level of funding for uninsured patients who can’t afford treatment. Gardens Regional Hospital and Medical Center found an interested buyer in a bankruptcy auction in July, according to court documents, but the state attorney general’s office said in November that it would approve the $19.5-million sale to Strategic Global Management Inc. only if, among other things, the new operator agreed to provide $2.25 million per year in charity care for six years. (Ehehad, 1/17)

In other news —

The Desert Sun: Desert Healthcare District Leader Changes Mind About Resignation
Desert Healthcare District board member Jennifer Wortham now says she is not resigning. Her announcement Tuesday came 11 days after Wortham told The Desert Sun she was leaving a post she'd been elected to just two months earlier. Wortham said she and board President Carole Rogers, along with district CEO Herb Schultz, worked out plans to examine any potential conflicts of interest between Wortham's role at the district and her job working on health issues for Riverside County. (Newkirk, 1/17)

Ventura County Star: Four Flu Deaths Reported In Ventura County
A flu season that may be peaking has already played a role in at least four Ventura County deaths since mid-December, Ventura County's public health officer said Tuesday. Dr. Robert Levin said three of the fatalities involved elderly people. All of the deaths involved pre-existing conditions that increased the risk of flu complications. He cited patient privacy in not offering details about where the cases happened or specifics about the victims. (Kisken, 1/17)

In other news from across the state —

San Diego Union-Tribune: After Loss, Parents Turned Grief Into Foundation For Sick Kids 
In 2008, Brad and Beth Thorp buried their 18-year-old son, Mitchell, after an excruciating five-year medical odyssey that maxed out their insurance, emptied their bank account and led them to specialists all over the country. But during those black-cloud years, the Carlsbad couple said there was a silver lining. Friends and strangers organized a 2006 walk-athon that raised $70,000 the family used to pay down medical bills. It was a gift the Thorps never forgot. Just nine months after they lost their son, the couple launched the Mitchell Thorp Foundation, which each year provides more than $250,000 in support and counseling to the parents of children with life-threatening illnesses. (Kragen, 1/17)

Orange County Register: 88 Syringes Among 1,803 Pounds Of Trash Collected At Orange County Beaches 
If volunteers can find 53 unwrapped syringes along a small stretch of beach in just four hours, how many more are out there? That’s a question Tony Soriano, chairman of the Surfrider Foundation’s Huntington Beach/Seal Beach chapter, is asking after volunteers found those at Bolsa Chica State Beach during a Saturday cleanup... While it’s not uncommon for a few syringes to pop up during beach cleanups, the numbers found in recent weeks is unprecedented, the volunteers said. (Connelly, 1/17)