The New York Times: Trump To Scrap Critical Health Care Subsidies, Hitting Obamacare Again
President Trump will scrap subsidies to health insurance companies that help pay out-of-pocket costs of low-income people, the White House said late Thursday. His plans were disclosed hours after the president ordered potentially sweeping changes in the nation’s insurance system, including sales of cheaper policies with fewer benefits and fewer protections for consumers. The twin hits to the Affordable Care Act could unravel President Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement, sending insurance premiums soaring and insurance companies fleeing from the health law’s online marketplaces. (Pear, Haberman and Abelson, 10/12)

The Associated Press: Trump To Issue Stop-Payment Order On Health Care Subsidies
The Department of Health and Human Services made the announcement in a statement late Thursday. "We will discontinue these payments immediately," said acting HHS Secretary Eric Hargan and Medicare administrator Seema Verma. In a separate statement, the White House said the government cannot legally continue to pay the so-called cost-sharing subsidies because they lack a formal authorization by Congress. However, the administration had been making the payments from month to month, even as Trump threated to cut them off to force Democrats to negotiate over health care. (10/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump To End Subsidies To Health Insurers
“We believe that the last Administration overstepped the legal boundaries drawn by our Constitution,” acting HHS Secretary Eric Hargan and Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said in a joint statement. “Congress has not appropriated money for [the payments], and we will discontinue these payments immediately.” (Armour, 10/13)

Politico: Trump Will Scrap Critical Obamacare Subsidy
The subsidies, which are worth an estimated $7 billion this year and are paid out in monthly installments, may stop almost immediately since Congress hasn’t appropriated funding for the program. (Dawsey and Demko, 10/12)

NPR: Trump Administration To End Obamacare Subsidies For The Poor
The decision ends speculation about whether the Trump administration would continue making the monthly payments to insurers. That money particularly helps people earning between 100 percent and 250 percent of the poverty level pay for the insurance and health care they get through the exchanges set up by the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. (Kurtzleben and Neuman, 10/12)

The New York Times: What Did Trump’s Health Care Executive Order Do?
President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that he said would begin “saving the American people from the nightmare of Obamacare.” There’s a lot that’s still uncertain about how the order will change the health law. Here’s what we know so far. (Sanger-Katz, 10/12)

Politico: Trump’s Salvo On Obamacare Unlikely To Result In Quick Changes
President Donald Trump may be eager to dismantle the Affordable Care Act after months of failed GOP repeal efforts, but his promise to provide millions of Americans "with Obamacare relief" with the executive order he signed Thursday is sure to collide with the slow grind of the federal bureaucracy. Trump’s order directs a trio of federal agencies to rewrite regulations to encourage the rise of a raft of cheap, loosely regulated health insurance plans that don't have to comply with certain Obamacare consumer protections and benefit rules. They're expected to attract younger and healthier people — leaving older and sicker ones in the Obamacare markets facing higher and higher costs. (Cancryn, 10/12)

CQ: Health Care Rules In Trump's Order Could Take Months
President Donald Trump, frustrated by the lack of action in Congress to roll back the 2010 health care law, used an executive order he signed Thursday to direct three agencies to draft rules that would loosen regulations on insurance. The changes would allow more groups to use association health plans, lengthen the time an individual can be covered by a short-term insurance policy and allow employers to set aside pre-tax dollars for their employees to use for monthly premiums. The administration hopes the new rules would lead to cheaper health care options. (McIntire, 10/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Signs Order Paving Way For Health-Care Changes
Thursday’s executive order paves the way for a proliferation of less-expensive insurance plans with fewer benefits for those who buy their insurance individually, rather than getting it through an employer. A range of next steps are on the table, but White House officials said no final decisions have been made. (Armour, 10/13)

Los Angeles Times: Trump Issues Order To Deregulate Health Insurance, Promising Relief From Obamacare
The broadly worded order leaves many key elements of the new plans uncertain, however, subject to a lengthy administrative process, which means the order’s impact will remain unclear, and the new plans unavailable to consumers, for this year’s open enrollment season and many months to come. Trump avoided that point as he formally released the order at the White House, declaring that it would “provide millions of Americans with Obamacare relief” and would “increase competition, increase choice and increase access to lower-priced, high-quality healthcare options.” (Levey, 10/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Health Order Could Hurt Many Insurers, Help Others
The executive order on the health-care system signed Thursday by President Donald Trump  will likely have a split effect on the health-insurance industry, creating new challenges for many companies but opportunities for others. The impact of the order will take months to become clear, as federal agencies move the changes through the regulatory process. But actuaries and industry officials said the shift could create problems for insurers that offer plans under the Affordable Care Act, both to individuals and small businesses. (Wilde Mathews, 10/12)

Bloomberg: Trump's Health Care Executive Order: Few Silver Linings
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order aiming to make it easier for Americans to buy skimpier and cheaper health insurance. The order isn't as aggressive as it might have been in undermining the ACA, but that's scant reassurance for insurers, who face an administration that seems actively hostile to a law it's supposed to enforce. The order aims to let association health plans -- groups of small employers banding together to buy insurance -- offer coverage throughout the U.S. Insurers consistently oppose selling health insurance across state lines because of varying regulations. (Nisen, 10/12)

The Hill: Hospital Group Warns Trump's Executive Order Could Weaken Insurance Markets 
The largest hospital association warned that an executive order signed by President Trump on Thursday could destabilize insurance markets and make coverage unaffordable for people with pre-existing conditions. "Today’s Executive Order will allow health insurance plans that cover fewer benefits and offer fewer consumer protections," said Tom Nickels, executive vice president of the American Hospital Association, in a statement. (Hellmann, 10/12)

The Hill: Health Groups Warn Trump's Executive Order Could Hurt Patients
Nearly 20 health organizations warn that an executive order signed by President Trump on Thursday could weaken patient protections and destabilize the individual market. ...Trump’s order seeks to expand the ability of small businesses and other groups to band together to buy health insurance through what are known as association health plans. It also lifts limits on short-term health insurance plans. (Hellmann, 10/12)

Reuters: Trump Healthcare Order Could Run Afoul Of Retirement Plan Law
President Donald Trump's plan to make it easier for small businesses to band together and buy stripped-down health insurance plans could violate a federal law governing employee benefit plans and will almost certainly be challenged in court, legal experts said. (Pierson and Raymond, 10/12)

KPCC: Here’s How Trump’s Health Care Order Affects California
The executive order on health insurance President Donald Trump signed Thursday seeks to do away with many coverage requirements under Obamacare. Trump's order directs the departments of Labor, Treasury, Health and Human Services and others to change some of the rules governing health insurance. (Faust, 10/12)

The Hill: New York, California Threaten To Sue Over Health-Care Subsidies 
Attorneys general from California and New York say they are prepared to sue the Trump administration to protect health-care subsides that the White House said would be cut off. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) said in a statement that hundreds of thousands of New York families rely on ObamaCare's subsidies for their health care. (Savransky, 10/12)

Los Angeles Times: Trump Plans To Halt Subsidies To Health Insurers, Further Undermining Obamacare
“This shocking action is several steps beyond the sabotage of our health system, but more the equivalent of Trump swinging a baseball bat wildly in a china shop,” said Anthony Wright, head of Health Access California. “This decision is deliberately destructive and destabilizing for the coverage of millions of Americans.” (Levey, 10/12)

Capital Public Radio: Gov. Brown Signs New 'Rape Kit' Measures 
California law enforcement will have new rules governing their collection of DNA evidence from survivors of sexual assault, under three bills Governor Jerry Brown signed Thursday that focus on the state’s backlog of untested “rape kits.” One measure requires police to hang onto rape kits and other crime scene evidence from unsolved cases for at least 20 years, and to provide sexual assault victims more up-front information about the tests and their rights. (Bradford, 10/12)

In other news from Sacramento —

Sacramento Bee: California Will Provide Free Tampons To Poor Students 
Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday signed Assembly Bill 10, requiring middle and high schools where at least 40 percent of students meet the federal poverty threshold to stock half their campus restrooms with free menstrual products. Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia championed the measure, which she said would maintain educational access for girls who miss school because they cannot afford their own tampons and pads. (Koseff and Cadelago, 10/12)

Los Angeles Times: Northern California Firestorm Brings Illness, Strains Healthcare System
The deadly Northern California fires — by forcing the evacuation of several hospitals and clinics and destroying the homes of many doctors and nurses — have put a strain on available medical services. The Petaluma Health Center canceled all scheduled appointments this week to make time for people requiring urgent care. They’ve treated asthmatics struggling to breathe amid some of the most unhealthy air in Bay Area history, as well as people who sprained their ankles or forgot to grab their medications as they raced from burning homes in nearby Santa Rosa, clinic chief administrative officer Pedro Toledo said. (Karlamangla, 10/12)

Los Angeles Times: California Firestorm Took Deadly Toll On Elderly; Average Age Of Victims Identified So Far Is 79
As authorities begin to identify those killed in the wildfires raging across Northern California, a grim pattern is emerging. Among the dozen people identified by Sonoma and Napa county officials as of late Thursday, the average age of those who died was 79. The youngest victim was 57, the oldest 100. (Tchekmedyian and Bermudez, 10/13)

NPR: Wildfire Smoke Has Made Bay Area Air Quality Its Worst On Record
Air pollution in counties of the San Francisco Bay Area this week has been the worst since 1999 when officials began collecting data. "The pollution is so high it's comparable to high pollution days in China," says Lisa Fasano at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. (McClurg, 10/12)

California Healthline: Fires Prey On Frail Residents Living On Their Own
They were asleep when the fire reached their home. Charles Rippey, 100, and his wife, Sara, 98, had been married 75 years. They died together, after a caregiver struggled to save them but couldn’t get them out in time. A 27-year-old woman had spina bifida and used a wheelchair. In the hours after the fires broke out, her relatives frantically sought information about her whereabouts. When a fire inspector visited her home, he found her body. (Feder Ostrov, 10/13)

KQED: Fire Destroys Santa Rosa School For Students With Autism 
A school in Santa Rosa that serves about 125 students with autism has been destroyed by the Tubbs Fire. The entryway to the Anova school — which is inside the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts — is burnt almost beyond recognition in photos. (Katayama, 10/12)

The Desert Sun: CTE From NFL Ended Her Dad’s Life, But It Won’t Stop Her Son From Playing Football For Palm Desert
And after more than two decades of watching her dad struggle with the most advanced stage of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) – the brain disease detected in scores of deceased former NFL players from Junior Seau to Frank Gifford – [Samantha] Buono is allowing her own son, Luca, to strap on a helmet and play for Palm Desert High School this fall. She’s among the many sons and daughters who’ve witnessed the NFL’s collateral damage and are now making decisions whether to let their own children play the brutal game. Many have distanced themselves from the sport. Buono is still giving it a chance. (John, 10/12)

Los Angeles Times: Nearly 4 In 10 U.S. Adults Are Now Obese, CDC Says
Americans’ obesity rates have reached a new high-water mark. Again. In 2015 and 2016, just short of 4 in 10 American adults had a body mass index that put them in obese territory. In addition, just under 2 in 10 American children — those between 2 and 19 years of age — are now considered obese as well. (Healy, 10/12)

Capital Public Radio: The Future Of The Nursing Profession
The future of nursing remains in flux as many aspects of the industry are rapidly changing. There’s an increased demand for nurses outside of hospitals, the technologies being used are constantly updated and there’s a significant shortage in nurses from what’s needed. (Remington, 10/12)

The Mercury News: Renew California Kids' Health Insurance Funding
It’s one thing to hack away at adult Americans’ access to health care. But children? Until now the Children’s Health Insurance Program, known at CHIP, has had bipartisan support. But House Republicans have hit a new low by playing games with it — allowing funding for the program to expire Sept. 30, putting the health coverage for 9 million children at risk. Congress needs to reauthorize CHIP for five years. It’s up to the Republican leaders who’ve been stalwart supporters of care for children to keep their party from using CHIP as a weapon in the war on Obamacare. (10/10)

Los Angeles Times: 11 Days And Counting: Why Hasn't Congress Renewed Health Insurance Program For 9 Million Children?
We know that Congress is just unimaginably busy right now, so perhaps it’s understandable that 11 days after funding for a crucial children’s healthcare program expired, the lawmakers still haven’t gotten around to restoring it. ... What has Congress and the Trump administration been tied up with, while CHIP renewal has languished? (Michael Hiltzik, 10/11)

Los Angeles Times: The High Price Of The Trump Administration's Waffling On Healthcare
Covered California made it official Thursday: The Trump administration’s waffling will raise health insurance premiums an additional 12.4% for many Californians not covered by large employer plans. In some cases, the Trump-induced surcharge will be 27%. Those increases are on top of an average premium increase of 12.5% due to other factors. In other words, premium increases will be twice as high next year for many Californians, simply because the Trump administration (and Congress) won’t commit to reimbursing insurers for the payments the government requires them to make. (Jon Healey, 10/11)

San Jose Mercury News: David Chui Bill Will Save Money By Housing Homeless
Gov. Jerry Brown can take an important step in recognizing housing is health care by signing Assembly Bill 74 by Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco. Our emergency department staff at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center can do little to prevent a homeless patient from returning again and again to the hospital for preventable and manageable conditions. (Rene G. Santiago, 10/11)

Los Angeles Times: Bad Medicine: California Lags Other States In Empowering Nurse Practitioners 
Not having enough doctors to meet the healthcare needs of that population is frightening. Not taking steps to address this shortfall with a greater number of nurse practitioners is simply foolish. (David Lazarus, 10/10)

Orange County Register: Take A Scalpel To $345 Million In California’s Stem-Cell Research Waste 
Just as good scientists are drawn to conclusions by solid data, the decision whether to spend another $345 million by California’s state-run stem-cell research project should be based on an objective analysis as to whether it would be cost-effective. A rigorous cost-benefit analysis is not only fiscally prudent, it avoids being drawn into the moral dilemmas posed by stem-cell research, especially with respect to cells from human embryos. (Jon Coupal and John Moorlach, 10/7)

Sacramento Bee: To Cut Traffic Deaths, Tackle Distracted Driving
There is no such thing as a traffic “accident.” When cars collide, or when a pedestrian or a cyclist gets hit, it’s the result of an action or a choice, not mere happenstance. In other words, it is preventable. That’s the philosophy behind Sacramento’s Vision Zero initiative to eliminate all fatalities and serious injuries caused by car crashes on city streets by 2027. (Steve Hansen, 10/11)

Los Angeles Times: It's Official: Trump Rolls Back Obamacare's Birth Control Mandate
Finally pulling the trigger on one of the longest-running questions about administration healthcare policy, President Trump on Friday officially rolled back the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate. The action takes effect immediately. The rollback exempts a wide range of employers from the requirement that they offer birth control to their employees without co-pays or deductibles. It’s a sop to religious ideologues in the Republican base, and a flagrant attack on women’s reproductive health rights, and it’s abetted by a clutch of anti-contraception ideologues installed at the Department of Health and Human Services. (Michael Hiltzik, 10/6)

Sacramento Bee: When Do Consumers Tune Out Warnings Supposedly Intended To Protect Them?
An op-ed by Christopher Gavigan and Avinash Kar painted a rosy picture of California-specific labeling legislation, Senate Bill 258. As they described it, almost no one could object to the bill by Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens. However, SB 258 sitting on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk is fraught with litigation traps, confusion and unnecessary manufacturing costs. It will result in over-labeling, adding even more length to those 10-inch long accordion-like consumer labels. (Dorothy Rothrock, 10/10)