Los Angeles Times: California's Mentally Ill Inmate Population Keeps Growing. And State Money Isn't Enough To Meet Needs, Lawmaker Says
Gov. Jerry Brown has earmarked $117 million in his new state budget to expand the number of treatment beds and mental health programs for more than 800 mentally ill inmates found incompetent to stand trial. State officials said they have struggled to keep up with the needs of a population that has jumped in size by 33% over the last three years, as judges are increasingly referring defendants to treatment. But one state lawmaker says additional funds are not enough. (Ulloa, 2/2)

The Mercury News: California Failing Youngest And Poorest Children, Study Says
Among findings in the 2018 California Children’s Report Card, only half of California’s 3- and 4-year-olds attend preschool — now considered a critical launchpad for a child’s learning — and just one-quarter of infants and toddlers have access to licensed child care. Only 14 percent of low-income children are in publicly funded child care. (Noguchi, 2/1)

In other public health news —

KPBS: When A Tragedy Occurs, San Diego's TIP Volunteers Respond With Emotional Support 
When tragedy strikes, survivors are often overwhelmed. They don’t know what to do. They don’t know who to ask for help. That’s when people from the nonprofit Trauma Intervention Programs, or TIP, jump into action. TIP volunteers are specially trained to provide emotional first aid to people who have experienced a sudden death in the family, or other traumatic event. (Goldberg, 2/2)

Ventura County Star: When Will Flu Season 2018 End?
The number of flu deaths this season in Ventura County has climbed to 35, public health officials said. Doctors and officials at several sites report the deadliest flu season in at least a decade may be diminishing, although others say their volume of feverish, aching patients remains high. Fatalities linked to flu this season are starting to slow but nearly equal the 36 flu deaths recorded in the county over the previous five seasons combined. (Kisken, 2/1)

Santa Rosa Press Democrat: Post-Fire Health Survey Now Open To North Bay Residents
Researchers at UC Davis hope to enlist thousands of Northern California residents in an online survey designed to gather the personal experiences, household circumstances and health effects from devastating wildfires that burned over 245,000 acres in six counties and killed 44 people. About 140 people signed up in advance to take the survey, which went live Thursday. But the push to get the word out is just beginning, with particular focus in hard-hit Sonoma and Napa counties, said Irva Hertz-Picciotto, an epidemiologist and director of the UC Davis Environmental Health Sciences Center. (Callahan, 2/1)

Los Angeles Times: Orange County’s Only Needle Exchange Shuts Down After Santa Ana Denies Permit
Orange County's first and only needle exchange program has shut down after Santa Ana city officials denied its permit application, a move some local advocacy groups and the state's leading public health agency say could negatively affect public welfare. However, the city contends the move was necessary because of an increased number of discarded syringes in the Santa Ana Civic Center, for which it says the needle exchange was at fault. (Brazil, 2/1)

Orange County Register: Orange County’s Only Needle Exchange Shuts Down; Advocates Fear Increased HIV Transmission 
The needle exchange’s founders warn that the demise of the program likely will lead to increased transmission of HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and other diseases that spread when drug users share needles. Numerous studies have shown that needle exchanges lower the rate at which those diseases are contracted. “This action (by the city) will prevent people from getting the resources to help keep them safe,” said Miriam McQuade, 26, an Orange resident who co-founded the needle exchange.(Graham, 2/1)

Los Angeles Times: California Cities Say Pension Costs Are High — And Will Get Even Higher In The Next Few Years
Citing limited options for raising local taxes, the association representing hundreds of California cities warned that rising public employee pension costs might mean fewer services and longer emergency response times over the next several years. (Myers, 2/1)

In other new from across the state —

Los Angeles Times: L.A.'s Homelessness Surged 75% In Six Years. Here's Why The Crisis Has Been Decades In The Making
Some of the poorest people in the city spend their days in the shadow of Los Angeles City Hall, napping on flattened cardboard boxes. On any given day, as many as 20 people take to the City Hall lawn, across the street from LAPD headquarters. They're there to "escape the madness" in downtown streets, a 53-year-old homeless man named Lazarus said last week. At night, they fan out to doorways or deserted plazas to wait for daybreak. (Holland, 2/1)

Modesto Bee: Racial Bias Lawsuit Against Schools After Teen’s Suicide Moves Ahead, But Changes Made 
A civil rights lawsuit involving Modesto schools will go forward, a federal judge ruled in a case brought by the mother of a black teen who committed suicide after receiving school discipline in 2015. However, pretrial judgments have significantly pared the case from its original scope. (Stapley, 2/1)

Oakland Tribune: Contra Costa Supervisors Appoint Health Services Director
Anna Roth, a health care executive and registered nurse, is the new director of Contra Costa Health Services, replacing William Walker, who led the county’s largest department for two decades. The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors appointed Roth to the post on Jan. 30. “Anna is a seasoned health services executive working in CCHS for nearly 25 years and we look forward to her leadership in addressing the many issues facing the health department in the coming years,” said Contra Costa County Administrator David Twa. (White, 2/1)

San Jose Mercury News: Dangerous Toxins Detected In Shellfish From Monterey County
Dangerous levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) have been detected in the shellfish from this area. Cooking the mussels doesn’t destroy the toxin either and it’s poisonous enough to cause illness or death. (Mayberry, 2/2)

Oakland Tribune: Contra Costa Grocery Outlet Cited For Safety Violations
Health inspectors around the Bay Area are taking a closer look at a popular grocery chain after photos went viral of raw pig carcasses being wheeled in shopping carts into stores in San Jose and Richmond. The Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health is already looking into operations at a 99 Ranch Market store in San Jose, and last week, a team from Contra Costa County’s environmental health department visited the 99 Ranch Market at Richmond’s Pacific East Mall after receiving a report of unsanitary handling and storage of raw port at the grocery store, said Contra Costa Environmental Health director Dr. Marilyn Underwood. (Kelly, 2/1)

KPCC: A New Warrior Pose: On The Front Lines Of VA's Wellness Transformation 
When President Trump signed an executive order last month committing the VA to offering mental health care to veterans in their first year of separation from the military, the order touted the expansion of some Whole Health programs to every facility in the country. The VA describes Whole Health as providing a personalized health plan for veterans, encouraging them to practice “self-care,” and providing a comprehensive array of services that “considers the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and environmental elements that work together to provide the best quality of life” for patients. (Denkmann, 2/2)

East Bay Times: San Leandro Hospital To Get Renovations, New In-Patient Rehab Unit
The once-embattled San Leandro Hospital is undergoing a $26.8 million renovation as part of a multi-year effort to move in-patient rehabilitation from Fairmont Hospital. Fairmont Hospital and San Leandro Hospital are both part of Alameda Health System, a public health consortium of five hospitals, including Highland Hospital in Oakland, and four wellness centers. (Moriki, 2/2)

Politico: Republicans Give Up On Obamacare Repeal
Republicans are giving up on their years-long dream of repealing Obamacare. Though the GOP still controls both chambers of Congress and maintains the ability to jam through a repeal-and-replace bill via a simple majority, there are no discussions of doing so here at House and Senate Republicans’ joint retreat at The Greenbrier resort. Republicans doubt they can even pass a budget providing for the powerful party-line “reconciliation” procedure used to pass tax reform last year, much less take on the politically perilous task of rewriting health care laws in an election year. (Everett, 2/1)

In other national health care news —

Stat: Physicians, Ethicists Urge Congress Not To Pass 'Right To Try' Legislation
Dozens of doctors, medical ethicists, and lawyers are warning Congress that legislation to allow Americans with life-threatening conditions access to unapproved, experimental drugs risks harming patients’ health. The letter was drafted by Alison Bateman-House, associate professor of medical ethics at NYU Langone Health, along with some of her colleagues. It is addressed to the leaders of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, the committee currently considering a so-called “right-to-try” bill. The letter was circulated for online signatures on Thursday, and organizers said they planned to send the letter on Feb. 5. (Swetlitz, 2/1)

The Hill: Right To Try Act Gains Momentum After Trump Pitch 
Advocates of “right to try” legislation have been given a jolt of momentum by President Trump’s decision to tout the bill during his State of the Union address. The legislation would allow patients with a serious illness to request access to experimental medicines that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn’t yet approved. (Roubein, 2/1)

The New York Times: Businesses Look At Washington And Say, ‘Never Mind, We’ll Do It’
Can private businesses solve public policy problems better than the government? It’s a question that has persisted for decades and taken on new resonance now that a career businessman is in the White House. There has never been a clear answer. For every sign of success — a smooth privatized toll road or a gleaming charter school — there have been obstacles revealing just how difficult public works can be. But companies haven’t stopped trying. (Gelles, 2/1)

Reuters: U.S. Government Proposes 1.84 Percent Hike In 2019 Payments To Medicare Insurers
The U.S. government on Thursday proposed an increase of 1.84 percent on average in its 2019 payments to the health insurers that manage Medicare Advantage insurance plans for more than 20 million elderly or disabled people. The proposed rate, which affects how much insurers charge for monthly healthcare premiums, plan benefits and ultimately, how much they profit, was near analyst expectations, and insurer shares were largely unchanged in after-hours trading. (Humer, 2/1)

The Washington Post: CDC Employees Are Delighted That Their Acting Director Is Back In Charge
It took several hours Wednesday before employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention heard who was going to run the nation’s leading public health agency. Brenda Fitzgerald had just resigned after barely six months in the job because of conflicts over financial interests. When the notice finally went out on the CDC’s internal announcement board that the principal deputy director, Anne Schuchat, 58, with nearly three decades of CDC experience, would be taking over (again) as acting director, employees were very happy to hear the news. (Sun, 2/1)

The Washington Post: CDC To Cut By 80 Percent Efforts To Prevent Global Disease Outbreak
Four years after the United States pledged to help the world fight infectious-disease epidemics such as Ebola, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is dramatically downsizing its epidemic prevention activities in 39 out of 49 countries because money is running out, U.S. government officials said. The CDC programs, part of a global health security initiative, train front-line workers in outbreak detection and work to strengthen laboratory and emergency response systems in countries where disease risks are greatest. The goal is to stop future outbreaks at their source. (Sun, 2/1)

Los Angeles Times: Trump Once Again Vows To Lower Drug Prices, And Once Again You Shouldn't Believe Him
President Trump told some whoppers in this week's State of the Union speech: His tax cuts were the biggest ever (they weren't), he has added 2.4 million new jobs (only if you count former President Obama's last few months in office), wages are finally rising (they've been slowly but steadily climbing for years). But the one that really got my attention was Trump's declaration that he's committed to addressing "the injustice of high drug prices." (David Lazarus, 2/1)

The Orange County Register: Some Fresh Competition Might Be Just What US Health Care Needs
Industrialists creating a separate health alliance to protect their employees out of frustration with both the quality of care and the rapidly upwardly spiraling costs — there’s a story ripped from this week’s headlines. But doesn’t it also sound familiar? During World War II, that’s what Oakland shipbuilder Henry Kaiser and his executives did, first by putting doctors and hospital beds in a hut on their Liberty Ship construction site and later expanding Kaiser Permanente into an all-inclusive medical and insurance nonprofit for anyone throughout California and Hawaii who wanted to sign up. (1/31)

Los Angeles Times: Universal Coverage, Courtesy Of The Corporate World? It's Possible
Took 'em long enough. After decades of government leaders fumbling efforts to introduce some rational thinking to the over $3-trillion U.S. healthcare system, the corporate world has finally stepped in with an initiative that, in the best of all possible worlds, could provide a breakthrough that shows the way to universal coverage. (David Lazarus, 1/30)

Sacramento Bee: Don’t Turn Campus Health Centers Into Abortion Clinics
Senate Bill 320 will require University of California and California State University campus student health centers to become abortion clinics by forcing them to distribute chemical abortion pills, intended to end human life as long as ten weeks into pregnancy. Despite what the author of the bill suggests (“College students need easier access to abortion pill,” Viewpoints, Jan. 30), SB 320 only provides abortion, abortion and more abortion while ignoring the real needs of pregnant students. (Wynette Sills, 2/1)

Sacramento Bee: California College Students Need Easier Access To Abortion Pill
When Kaitlyn Trevino went to the student health center at UC Berkeley and found out she was pregnant, she was upset about the unintended pregnancy but grateful for the kindness and compassion of the nurse. Ending the pregnancy was far more difficult than she expected. First, there was an emergency room visit to check if the pregnancy was ectopic, which cost $200 she couldn’t afford and forced her to spend most of the night at the hospital and miss two shifts at an internship. Then, there was an appointment with a social worker to get a referral, which prompted uncomfortable questions from her employer, and going alone to an off-campus clinic. (Connie M. Leyva and Kaitlyn Trevino, 1/29)

Los Angeles Times: The First Projections For Trumpcare 2019 Are In: Expect Rate Increases Of Up To 30%
If anything is predictable about the vandalism of the Affordable Care Act perpetrated by President Trump and his healthcare henchmen, it's that the costs of their handiwork will be felt by ordinary Americans for years to come. Now, thanks to Covered California, the state's ACA insurance exchange, we have the first estimate of what those costs will be for 2019. The bottom line is premium increases in the range of 16% to 30%. (Michael Hiltzik, 1/26)

Sacramento Bee: Doctors Don’t Just Heal The Sick. They Create Jobs
During some of the worst wildfires in California’s history, medical professionals stepped up to provide aid to neighbors and strangers, alike. The incredible response is a testament to our collective strength. Heroes include Michael Witt, who risked personal safety to help evacuate babies from Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital, and the staff at Kaiser Santa Rosa who helped evacuate patients attached to IVs as flames threatened the hospital. (Theodore M. Mazer, 2/1)

Sacramento Bee: Sen. Pan Is A Champion For Health Care
Richard Pan is a pediatrician and educator who has admirably represented our region in the state Senate, standing up for the health and safety of working families. As a life-long Democrat, he is asking for the party endorsement on Saturday. Pan is a fearless champion for our children and community who authored a landmark vaccine bill. He is not afraid to stand up to special interests and demand sound science in policy-making, a quality we sorely need when too many politicians deny climate change and other scientific truths to pursue their ideological goals. (Alexandra Gallardo-Rooker, 1/26)

Los Angeles Times: What Do We Do When The Homeless Don't Want Our Help?
By all means, let the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors move ahead with its quest to step up forcible treatment of mentally ill people who appear unable to recognize the gravity of their circumstances or seek help on their own — as long as we understand the practical limits and potential hazards of such a move. (1/30)

Los Angeles Times: U.S. News Is Wrong About What Constitutes The Best Diet
Dieter beware: U.S. News & World Report, in its high-profile January cover story on "best diets," calls the DASH and Mediterranean diets tops for health, though these regimens represent the failed nutritional status quo of the last 50 years. DASH is listed first in the U.S. News rankings, but authoritative reviews have found that it's been tested on only about 2,000 subjects (mostly middle-aged hypertensives) in studies lasting no longer than six months. Its effects can hardly be generalized to all Americans. (Gary Taubes and Nina Teicholz, 1/28)