The New York Times: Trump Declares Opioid Crisis A ‘Health Emergency’ But Requests No Funds
President Trump on Thursday directed the Department of Health and Human Services to declare the opioid crisis a public health emergency, taking long-anticipated action to address a rapidly escalating epidemic of drug use. But even as he vowed to alleviate the scourge of drug addiction and abuse that has swept the country — a priority that resonated strongly with the working-class voters who supported his presidential campaign — Mr. Trump fell short of fulfilling his promise in August to declare “a national emergency” on opioids, which would have prompted the rapid allocation of federal funding to address the issue. (Davis, 10/26)

Los Angeles Times: Trump Calls Opioid Epidemic An 'Emergency' But Offers Few New Resources To Combat It
Speaking at the White House on Thursday, surrounded by the families of Americans touched by the epidemic, Trump insisted he is committed to an unprecedented new effort to take on the spread of opiates, including heroin, prescription painkillers and dangerous synthetic drugs such as fentanyl. (Levey, 10/26)

The Washington Post: Trump Declares Opioid Crisis A Public Health Emergency; Critics Say Plan Falls Short
With Trump’s declaration, the federal government will waive some regulations, give states more flexibility in how they use federal funds and expand the use of telemedicine treatment, according to senior administration officials. But the president stopped short of declaring a more sweeping national state of emergency that would have given states access to funding from the federal Disaster Relief Fund, as they would after a tornado or hurricane. Officials who briefed reporters said that such an emergency declaration would not be a good fit for a longtime crisis and would not offer authorities that the government doesn’t already have. (Wagner, Bernstein and Johnson, 10/26)

The Associated Press: Trump Calls For Liberation From 'Scourge' Of Drug Addiction
Trump's declaration, which will be effective for 90 days and can be renewed, will allow the government to redirect resources in various ways and to expand access to medical services in rural areas. But it won't bring new dollars to fight a scourge that kills nearly 100 people a day. "As Americans we cannot allow this to continue," Trump said in a speech Thursday at the White House, where he bemoaned an epidemic he said had spared no segment of society, affecting rural areas and cities, rich and poor and both the elderly and newborns. (10/27)

The Washington Post: How The Government Can Fight The Opioid Epidemic Under A Public Health Emergency
At this point in the nation's opioid epidemic, fighting back is mainly about quickly making money available: Money for treatment. Money for the overdose antidote naloxone. Money to hire more people to help overwhelmed cities and states battle a crisis that killed an estimated 64,000 Americans last year. President Trump did not identify any big new sources of funding when he declared the situation a  public health emergency Thursday afternoon. But his official pronouncement will help the government speed any available resources to communities, where the epidemic is playing out on the streets every day, and will eliminate some obstacles that stand in the way of providing assistance. (Bernstein, 10/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump’s Opioid-Crisis Declaration Draws Praise, Criticism
Officials and activists on the front lines of the opioid crisis split Thursday over President Donald Trump’s designation of a “public health emergency,” with some praising it as a necessary move and others saying more money is needed. Ryan Hampton, a national recovery activist in Pasadena, Calif., who is personally recovering a struggle with opioids, called the president’s announcement “a welcome step in the right direction” but also said the president’s words require funding support. “The big, open-ended question, though, is will there be follow through, will there be action?” Mr. Hampton said. (Kamp and Mahtani, 10/26)

Politico: Trump's Call To Bolster Virtual Opioid Treatment Lacks Muscle, Critics Say
The first item in Trump’s public health emergency declaration was to use telemedicine — video and phone-enabled communications with doctors, pharmacists and nurses — to remotely prescribe drugs for substance abuse and mental illness. Under a 2008 law, doctors have been barred from prescribing anti-addiction medications to patients they haven’t seen in person first. The law created a barrier for addicts in rural, doctor-starved places that have been hit hardest by the crisis — and that voted for Trump in droves last November. (Pittman, 10/26)

The Hill: Advocates Pan Trump Effort On Opioid Crisis 
Advocates for greater opioid treatment panned the president’s long-awaited declaration of a public health emergency, saying they need dollars to fight the epidemic killing tens of thousands of Americans every year. President Trump’s declaration, promised in August, doesn't include millions in new federal funding. Nor did it ask Congress to appropriate any new money, and Democrats are calling for tens of billions in more funds. (Roubein and Weixel, 10/26)

NPR: 'They Need Help': Trump Faces Backlash For Slow Response To Opioid Crisis
The president's announcement gives states more leeway to spend federal money in response to the rise in drug overdose deaths. It also broadens the reach of medical services in rural areas. "I think declaring an emergency is important, but it is not going to make much difference if we don't actually put resources towards this public health crisis," says Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. (Raphelson, 10/26)

NPR: Trump Administration Declares Opioid Crisis A Public Health Emergency
Dr. Andrew Kolodny, co-director of the Opioid Policy Research Collaboration at Brandeis University's Heller School, calls the announcement "very disappointing." Without funding for new addiction treatment, he says, declaring a public health emergency isn't enough. "This is not a plan," he says. "The administration still has no plan" for dealing with opioids, he says. (Allen and Kelly, 10/26)

Stat: Naloxone Is Missing Puzzle Piece In Trump Opioid Plan, Advocates Say
[Trump's] announcement included nothing about access to naloxone, the overdose-reversal drug that first responders across the country have credited with saving innumerable lives. “I think this was a missed opportunity,” said Regina LaBelle, the chief of staff for the Office of National Drug Control Policy under former president Barack Obama. “They could have purchased naloxone and distributed it to hard-hit areas, to local governments as well as to community groups.” (Facher and Joseph, 10/26)

KPCC: Is SoCal's Diversity One Reason The Opioid Epidemic Is Less Acute Here?
President Trump brought renewed attention to the opioid epidemic Thursday when he declared it a national public health emergency, but experts say it won't likely lead to increased funding to fight the problem in Southern California. That's because the problem is not as acute as it is elsewhere in the country; a public health official says ethnic diversity may be one reason why. (Faust, 10/26)

The Mercury News: How Does California Fit Into The Opioid Crisis?
While states like West Virginia, Ohio and New Hampshire have carved out unenviable reputations in the headlines as bastions of prescription painkiller abuse, California has hardly been spared the ravages of this public-health crisis: more than 183,000 deaths in the state from 1999 through 2015 have been attributed to the epidemic. ... So how does California compare? From the California Department of Public Health and its Opioid Overdose Surveillance Dashboard, here are some numbers that paint a troubling picture for the state as the president declares war on the crisis. (May, 10/26)

The Bakersfield Californian: What Does A National Public Health Emergency Mean Locally? Health Officials Aren't Sure 
Kern County health officials say they’re not sure what to expect locally from President Donald J. Trump’s announcement Thursday that he intends to authorize a robust fight against the devastating opioid epidemic spreading throughout the country. ...Hardly a community has been left untouched. Kern County ranked ninth statewide in opioid overdose deaths in 2016. Fifty-one people died last year, ranging in age from 15 to 85. Twenty-four of those who died, however, were between 55 and 74, data show.Kern’s death rate of 5.7 per 100,000 people hovers above the state average of roughly 4.6 per 100,000. (Pierce, 10/26)

The Mercury News: Milpitas Police To Collect Unwanted Prescription Drugs This Saturday
The Milpitas Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration will co-host an unwanted prescription drug take-back event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at police headquarters, 1275 N. Milpitas Blvd. The event gives the public the opportunity to turn in potentially dangerous, expired, unused or unwanted prescription drugs to prevent pill abuse and theft. (Bauer, 10/26)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Spin Doctors Or Health Experts? PR Firms Volunteer Time On San Diego's Hepatitis Crisis.
Two outside communications firms have been enlisted in the City of San Diego’s response to the hepatitis A health crisis, and the Mayor’s Office says they have done the work at no charge. One of the experts was the Steve Alexander Group of La Jolla, a strategic and crisis communications firm that has worked for Qualcomm, the American Red Cross, Scripps Health and others. The other was Southwest Strategies, a public affairs firm that has worked for San Diego Gas & Electric, the San Diego Association of Governments and others. The company has charged other government agencies as much as $200 an hour for services of its consultants. (McDonald, 10/26)

KPCC: How Dirty Is The Air Right Outside Your Door? Now You Can Afford To Find Out
Dominic Massetti’s house is sandwiched between a power plant and the 405, but despite that, he didn’t think much about air quality until this past summer. That’s when he read a study that found that elderly people who breathe even marginally polluted air were 7 percent more likely to die early. He realized that was him. (Guerin, 10/26)

In other news —

Capital Public Radio: Wildfire Recovery Will Stretch California's Toxic Cleanup Capacities
The massive task to clean up toxic debris in the neighborhoods affected by this month's devastating wildfires is expected to be complete sometime early next year. Federal and state agencies working on the project gave a progress report Thursday. Officials said once work begins on a property, it should be ready for new construction within about a month. However, there will be some challenges along the way. (White, 10/26)

KPCC: LA Unveils First-Ever Plan To Close LA River For Polluted Water
Seven weeks after failing to notify the public about alarmingly high bacteria levels in the Los Angeles River, city of Los Angeles officials have established a protocol to close the river when the water is unsafe for kayaking and other recreation. The plan was developed after a KPCC investigation revealed multiple government agencies, including the city, failed to act in early September after harmful E.coli levels spiked well above federal safety limits. (Guerin, 10/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Health-Benefits Broker Zenefits, Co-Founder Conrad Settle With SEC
Health-benefits broker Zenefits and its co-founder Parker Conrad have settled charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that they misled investors, the regulator said Thursday. Zenefits will pay a $450,000 penalty and Mr. Conrad will pay $534,000 to settle the charges without admitting or denying the findings that they violated securities laws. The SEC charged that the company and Mr. Conrad made false statements to investors about whether its employees were properly licensed to sell insurance. The company offers businesses free human-resources software in hopes of selling them health-insurance plans. (Winkler, 10/26)

Reuters: Zenefits And Co-Founder Parker Conrad To Pay SEC Fine Of Nearly $1 Million
Silicon Valley business software startup Zenefits and its co-founder Parker Conrad have been fined nearly $1 million by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as part of a settlement over charges that they misled investors. Zenefits will pay a $450,000 penalty and Conrad, who resigned as the company's chief executive in early 2016, will pay more than $533,000 to settle charges that the company lied about its compliance with state insurance regulations. (Somerville, 10/26)

Capital Public Radio: UOP School Of Pharmacy To Hold Medicare Health Fair
Seniors have until December 7 to enroll in Medicare Part D for their prescription medicine. Choosing a plan can be confusing but a group of pharmacists and pharmacy students can help recipients save thousands of dollars. Medicare Part D has some 30 different plans and choosing the wrong plan can be an expensive mistake. (Ibarra, 10/26)

In other news from across the state —

Sacramento Bee: 10 Sacramento-Area Residents Step Up To See If They’re A Kidney Match
Ten Sacramento-area residents – nine women and one man – say they are willing to be tested to see whether their kidneys might be a match for Chelsea Roman, a 32-year-old Sacramento woman whose kidneys are failing. “It’s just so incredible. I’m shocked,” Roman said, when The Bee told her about the response. “When my sister told me she spent yesterday making phone calls, I was brought to tears.” (Anderson, 10/26)

Fresno Bee: Tulare Hospital Closes To Patients Until New Management Found
Tulare Regional Medical Center and clinics will not be open for patients beginning midnight Sunday, leaving the city without a hospital and health workers potentially without jobs. The district issued a notice Thursday afternoon stating it is voluntarily suspending its license with the state of California to operate the 112-bed hospital, clinics and other outpatient facilities. The district set Sunday to stop operations, but Kevin Northcraft, district president, said people indicated at a Wednesday night board meeting that 23 patients would be moved out of the hospital Thursday. ... The company and the district board have been in a legal dispute. (Anderson, 10/26)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego Doctor Becomes 150th President Of The California Medical Associaiton 
Dr. Theodore “Ted” Mazer is the latest in a line of physicians stretching back to 1856 to lead the California Medical Association. Inaugurated last weekend, Mazer, a San Diego ear, nose and throat specialist, will serve a one-year term as the association’s 150th president, following Dr. Ruth Haskins of El Dorado Hills. Leading an organization that represents 43,000 doctors statewide started last year when Mazer, whose practice is in La Mesa near Alvarado Hospital, became president-elect. He is known for his work on a wide range of health care policy issues which culminated this year with the phasing out of Medicare’s “rural” designation for San Diego County. (Sisson, 10/26)

Sacramento Bee: California Needs More Than Trump Is Offering On Opioids
Try as the Trump administration might, there really is no good way to spin the president’s plan to fight the nation’s out-of-control opioid epidemic with a shoestring budget for treatment, a multibillion-dollar border wall and a redux of the “Just Say No” campaign. What public health officials in California and across the country wanted Donald Trump to do was declare a “national state of emergency.” That designation would’ve treated the epidemic with the urgency of a hurricane – well, a hurricane in Texas, not Puerto Rico – giving states immediate access to dollars from the federal Disaster Relief Fund. (10/26)

Sacramento Bee: CA Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act Needs To See Major Reform
It was midnight and I paced around my bedroom holding ice packs on my head. I realized, this is not normal. I went to Sutter Medical Center emergency room in Sacramento. With tears running down my face, I told the doctor I had the worst headache of my life. I was given pain medication and sent home, diagnosed with a migraine. But I was actually in the early stages of an impending stroke. (Shawnda Westly, 10/27)

Orange County Register: California’s New Prescription Drug Law Won't Lower Prices
California’s regulatory efforts don’t change the underlying factors driving up pharmaceutical costs. Part of the path toward more effective medicines and cheaper prescription drugs requires less government, not more. (Ronald Bailey, 10/24)

Stat: Why A California Law To Rein In Drug Prices May Not Make Much Difference
For one, the law does not actually allow the state to control pricing. Instead, the effort is really designed to “shame and blame” companies by publicly calling out those that boost list prices for their drugs more than 16 percent cumulatively over two years. To an extent, this approach makes sense, because drug makers want to avoid scrutiny. As a result, companies “will try, at least initially, to minimize being an outlier,” Leerink analyst Geoffrey Porges wrote investors. But over time, he suggested it might backfire, as some drug makers could raise prices significantly higher than the 16 percent mark, “since if they go above the threshold, they might as well go well above it.” (Ed Silverman, 10/24)

Los Angeles Times: Three Weeks And Counting: As Congress Dithers On Children's Health Program, More States Face Crisis
Congress has hardly slathered itself with glory in its current session, but among its most shameful failures surely is its failure to renew funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides coverage for about 9 million low-income children and pregnant women. As we’ve reported before, Congress failed to renew CHIP before its previous two-year reauthorization expired on Sept. 30. The clock has now ticked off more than three weeks without a vote, with nothing further scheduled for at least another week. (Michael Hiltzik, 10/25)

Los Angeles Times: CBO: Congress Waited Too Long To Avoid Obamacare Premium Increases For 2018
There’s good news and bad news in the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of the bipartisan Senate deal to save some Obamacare provisions from President Trump and his wrecking crew. The good news is that the so-called Alexander-Murray compromise, named after its godparents, Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), would accomplish its goal of reducing premiums and would even cut the federal deficit, without raising the number of Americans without health coverage. (Michael Hiltzik, 10/25)

Los Angeles Times: Why Did Trump Make The Obamacare Reimbursement Payments He Claims Are Illegal And Unconstitutional?
The ACA requires insurers to reduce deductibles and co-pays for low-income buyers on the individual insurance market, and it requires the government to reimburse the insurers for those reductions; but because the ACA didn’t specifically provide an appropriation for the payments, congressional Republicans have maintained that they can’t be made. In other words, the payments are mandated by law, and also illegal (and unconstitutional). President Trump cited this argument on Oct. 12, when he said through his press office that “the government cannot lawfully make the cost-sharing reduction payments.”... But that raises an important question: If the payments are illegal, why did the Trump administration make them every month after it took office, from February through September? (Michael Hiltzik, 10/20)

Orange County Register: Proposition 65 Warnings In Need Of Reform
Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, was intended to protect Californians from potentially dangerous chemicals, but over time, the law has developed its own toxic side-effects. Prop. 65 requires businesses to warn consumers if their products or premises contain chemicals “known to the state of California to cause cancer, reproductive or developmental harm.” A business that fails to post a warning may be liable for penalties of $2,500 per day, per exposure. That can add up to millions of dollars if a company’s products are widely distributed. (10/25)

Los Angeles Times: New-Age Medicine Star Andrew Weil Defends UC Irvine Against Charge That It's Partnering With Quacks
Dr. Andrew Weil, perhaps the nation’s best-known purveyor of “New Age” medicine, has written The Times to “take umbrage” at my recent column warning that UC Irvine risks becoming a haven for quacks if it’s not careful about deploying a $200-million gift from the Samueli family. (Michael Hiltzik, 10/24)

Los Angeles Times: Latest Apple Watch Shows Potential As Very Sweet Medical Device
I went into a test drive of the Apple Watch Series 3 thinking it could be a real game changer for diabetes management. Now I’m thinking it should be considered by anyone with a chronic illness. I’ll tell you why in a sec. First, the most important Series 3 feature for people with diabetes isn’t available yet, but it will be soon, maybe within the next few months, after the Food and Drug Administration gives its blessing. (David Lazarus, 10/26)

Sacramento Bee: California Now Has Fairer Laws On HIV
Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 239 into law, putting California at the forefront of states modernizing HIV laws. These laws – which criminalize otherwise legal conduct of people living with HIV and increase criminal penalties based on a person’s HIV-positive status – were passed at the height of the AIDS crisis, when the public perceived HIV as a death sentence, and there was no effective treatment. (Ayako Miyashita, 10/20)

Sacramento Bee: Instead Of Health Care For All, Assembly Has Do-Nothing Committee
On Monday, an Assembly select committee will hold its first hearing “to determine the best and quickest path forward toward universal health care,” in the words of Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. However, the committee has no authority to act on legislation. (Deborah Burger, 10/20)