The New York Times: In California, Houses Burned. So Did The Toxic Chemicals They Contained.
The long, laborious process of returning Paradise and neighboring towns to a safe state will begin next month when crews in masks, Tyvek suits and booties begin combing through every last property in this town that was decimated by wildfire. Their targets are things like burned bottles of bleach, melted cans of paint, and corroded car batteries, which will be tagged and removed. Next, they will test the surrounding soil and, if needed, scrape away layers to get to clean earth, free from oil and gasoline. “You’d be surprised how much of that stuff survives a fire,” said Adam W. Palmer, an environmental scientist with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control who is helping lead the cleanup. (Nir, 11/29)

Los Angeles Times: Rain Triggers Debris Flows As Storm Rolls Across Fire-Scarred Regions Of California
A cold front that brought wind and heavy rain to California on Thursday unleashed debris flows in fire-ravaged neighborhoods, triggering evacuations and school closures as crews up and down the state rescued people trapped in homes and cars and, in one case, a man clinging to a tree in the Los Angeles River. (Fry and Tchekmedyian, 11/29)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: New Center At UCSD Aims For Pancreatic Cancer Prevention 
Pancreatic cancer often causes no symptoms until it has spread to other organs, leading to a very low survival rate after diagnosis. But a new effort underway at UC San Diego Moores Cancer seeks to increase patients’ odds of successful treatment by detecting potential pancreatic problems earlier. Opened this month alongside a recently-announced research effort that explores using complementary drugs to treat the disease, the Pancreatic Cancer Prevention and Screening Clinic at Moores is following special risk-based protocols to screen those with known risk factors for early signs of potential malignancy. (Sisson, 11/29)

LAist: First Flu-Related Death Is Reported In Los Angeles
The first flu-related death of the season in Los Angeles County was announced Thursday. The individual who died was elderly, and had other, underlying health conditions, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. (Ogilvie, 11/29)

Ventura County Star: Ventura Ag Officials Frustrated With E. Coli Investigation
An E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce continues to be investigated by the U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture, which has listed Ventura County as a possible source. The FDA announced Monday that the California Central Coast region appeared to be the source of the outbreak. Included in the FDA investigation are Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and Ventura counties. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 43 people across 12 states have been infected by the E. coli outbreak, although no deaths have been reported. (Hersko, 11/29)

Modern Healthcare: Mental Health Coverage Limits In Self-Insured Plans Hang On Judge's Ruling
A federal judge is set to decide how much flexibility insurers that administer self-insured health plans have in limiting coverage for treatment of mental health and substance use disorders. The decision could have wide ramifications in terms of holding insurers to a standard in what has to be covered in the fast-growing behavioral healthcare segment. The case stems from two consolidated class action lawsuits filed in 2014 against United Behavioral Health, the nation's largest behavioral health insurer, that went to trial in October 2017 before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero in San Francisco. (Meyer, 11/28)

KPBS: San Diego Doctors Volunteer To Treat Migrants In Crowded Tijuana Shelters 
Some San Diego doctors are volunteering to care of migrants at Tijuana’s overflowing shelters, where as many as 6,000 people are living side-by-side in tents and under blankets surrounded by trash and soiled clothing. Dr. Julie Sierra, an internal medicine physician with UC San Diego Health, volunteers as part of a network of doctors organized by San Diego Border Dreamers. (Murphy, 11/29)

San Francisco Chronicle: SF Getting A $415 Million Windfall. How Will The Mayor And Supes Spend It?
San Francisco is getting an unexpected $415 million windfall, and the mayor and supervisors already have plenty of ideas on how they might use it. More than half the money, which is coming from excess revenue in a county education fund, must go to budget reserves, the Municipal Transportation Agency, public libraries, tree maintenance, public schools and child care and youth services under rules set by the City Charter. (Thadani, 11/29)

In other news from across the state —

Capital Public Radio: Valley Vision Study Shows High Quality Of Life, Underlying Tensions In Sacramento Valley 
People like living in the Sacramento Valley, but they have concerns about the lack of affordable housing, growing homelessness and issues of safety. A new study from Valley Vision and Sacramento State's Institute for Social Research shows respondents rate the quality of life quite high here but also uncovered some underlying tensions. (Ruyak, 11/29)

USA Today: 26-Year-Old On Face Transplant: 'It's Important To Share My Story'
A 26-year-old man from Yuba City, California revealed his new face to the world Thursday after undergoing a life-changing facial transplant in June 2018. Cameron Underwood was injured by a self-inflicted gunshot wound on June 27, 2016. Over the next year, he would undergo several "conventional" surgeries to try to reconstruct his face as he hid the damage to his cheeks, nose and mouth behind a medical mask.  (Pitofsky, 11/29)

Fresno Bee: Coalinga Hospital Accepts Modesto Company Lease Offer To Reopen
Coalinga Regional Medical Center has chosen a Modesto-based company to take over the closed hospital with a goal or reopening it next year. Hospital CEO Wayne Allen said the district board has accepted a proposal by Coalinga Medical Center LLC/American Advanced Management Group to lease the hospital with an option to purchase. (Anderson, 11/29)

The Hill: HHS Says It May Take A Month To Retroactively Fingerprint Workers At Migrant Tent City 
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says it could take a month to retroactively fingerprint workers at the migrant tent city in Texas. The pledge comes days after an HHS watchdog report raised concerns that none of the staff at a refugee camp in Tornillo, Texas were subject to an FBI fingerprint checks. More than 2,300 teens are currently being held at the tent city, the AP reported. (Birnbaum, 11/29)

In other national health care news —

The Associated Press: Abortion Foes Seek Trump's Help To Offset Midterm Setback
Anti-abortion leaders are seeking help from the Trump administration as they shift their political strategies now that the U.S. House will be controlled by Democrats who support abortion rights. Under Republican control, the House tried repeatedly, though unsuccessfully, to halt federal funding for Planned Parenthood, and it passed a bill that would have banned most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The Democratic-led House that takes office in January is likely to push legislation that would expand access to abortion, even if such measures die in the GOP-controlled Senate. (11/29)

The Hill: GOP Lawmakers Air Concerns With Trump Drug Pricing Move In Meeting With Health Chief 
Republican lawmakers who worked as doctors expressed their concerns about President Trump's controversial proposal to lower drug prices with the president's health chief Thursday. The lawmakers in the GOP Doctors Caucus questioned Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar in the meeting about a proposal Trump put forward in October to lower certain Medicare drug prices by tying them to lower prices paid in other countries. (Sullivan, 11/29)

Reuters: U.S. Judge Raises Prospect Of Not Approving CVS-Aetna Deal
In an unusual move on Thursday, a federal judge raised the prospect of not approving CVS Health Corp's deal to buy insurer Aetna Inc, which closed earlier this week, during a routine portion of the legal process. Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia objected to what he said was the government’s and companies’ treatment of him as a "rubber stamp" for the deal, noting that CVS had closed its deal to buy Aetna for $69 billion on Wednesday. (11/29)

The Washington Post: Bloomberg Philanthropies Will Donate $50 Million To Battle Opioid Epidemic
Bloomberg Philanthropies will donate $50 million to states fighting the opioid epidemic, an effort to support current programs and encourage new approaches. Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg is scheduled to announce the three-year program Friday morning during the second day of a health conference in Washington hosted by another of his ventures, the Bloomberg American Health Initiative. (Bernstein, 11/30)

CNN: Destroyed: How The Trashing Of Rape Kits Failed Victims And Jeopardizes Public Safety
A CNN investigation into the destruction of rape kits in dozens of agencies across the country found that police trashed evidence in 400 cases before the statutes of limitations expired or when there was no time limit to prosecute. The number is likely higher and was arrived at through an analysis of the departments’ own records. The destruction occurred since 2010 and followed flawed and incomplete investigations that relegated rape kits to shelves in police evidence rooms until they were destroyed. Dozens were trashed mere weeks or months after police took custody of the evidence, records showed. (Fantz, Hernandez and Vashi, 11/29)

The New York Times: As Measles Surges, ‘Decades Of Progress’ Are In Jeopardy
Reported cases of measles worldwide surged by nearly a third last year, partly because parents did not vaccinate their children, health organizations said Thursday. The increase in measles, a highly contagious scourge that had been nearly eradicated in many parts of the world just a few years ago, was “deeply concerning,” the organizations said in a report on the fight to eradicate measles. (Gladstone, 11/29)

The Washington Post: New Insurance Guidelines Would Undermine Rules Of The Affordable Care Act
According to advice issued Thursday by federal health officials, states should be free to re­define the use of those subsidies, which began in 2014. They represent the first help the government ever has offered middle-class consumers to afford monthly premiums for private insurance. States could allow the subsidies to be used for health plans the administration has been promoting outside the ACA marketplaces that are less expensive because they provide skimpier benefits and fewer consumer protections. In an even more dramatic change, states could let residents with ­employer-based coverage set up accounts in which they mingle the federal subsidies with health-care funds from their job or personal tax-deferred savings funds to use for premiums or other medical expenses. (Goldstein, 11/29)

Bloomberg: Trump To Let States Divert Obamacare Funds To Other Health Plans 
“For far too long, states have looked to Washington with a ‘Mother, may I?’ approach,” said Seema Verma, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “Today we are saying the states have the power to make the individual markets work through innovative policies that best meet the needs of your citizens.” (Tozzi, 11/29)

The New York Times: Federal Subsidies Could Expand To Health Programs That Violate Obamacare
The Trump administration said Thursday that states could bypass major requirements of the Affordable Care Act by using federal funds for a wide range of health insurance programs that do not comply with the law. Federal officials encouraged states to seek waivers from provisions of the law that specify who is eligible for premium subsidies, how much they get and what medical benefits they receive. (Pear and Goodnough, 11/29)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Allows States To Get Creative With Federal Exchange Funds Under 1332 Waivers 
States can use 1332 waivers to launch new financing options that resemble health savings accounts, according to CMS Administrator Seema Verma. But a former agency official warns that using any of the new flexibilities outlined could result in litigation. This new account-based program would help subsidize healthcare expenses. Under this approach, states would provide a cash contribution to an account that people can use to pay both premiums and any out-of-pocket health expenses. (Dickson, 11/29)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Administration Details Health-Law Waivers For States
“The specific examples laid out today show how state governments can work with HHS to create more choices and greater flexibility in their health insurance markets, helping to bring down costs and expand access to care,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. The flexibility being offered to states marks a fundamental shift in approach, health analysts say. The Obama administration sought to make sure people had a minimum level of coverage, while the waivers show the focus now is on making sure people have access to some kind of coverage. (Armour, 11/29)

Kaiser Health News: Is Trump Pushing Health Insurance Innovation Or An ACA Rollback?
Policy experts predict the ideas would further foster a parallel market of cheaper, less robust coverage that could draw younger or healthier consumers, but drive up premiums for those who remain in ACA market plans. “Invariably, the coverage is going to be more expensive for people who really need comprehensive coverage,” said Timothy Jost, a retired Washington and Lee University law professor who follows the ACA closely. (Appleby, 11/29)

Los Angeles Times: California's Right-To-Die Law Needs High Court Intervention
A Riverside County appeals court upheld California’s right-to-die law this week, ending months of legal limbo after a Superior Court judge invalidated the law in May because he believed it had been improperly enacted. That’s great news for the state’s terminally ill patients whose doctors may have been reluctant to write a life-ending prescription while the law was being contested in the courts. The law is now officially valid again — at least until the plaintiffs file a new challenge. (11/29)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Will Pay For Congress’ Health Care Failures
A new report by the UC Berkeley Labor Center and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research projects a substantial increase in the statewide uninsured rate by 2020 and an even larger increase by 2023. Specifically, the researchers are projecting that 11.7 percent of Californians under 65 will lack insurance by 2020 — about 4.02 million people — and about 12.9 percent will lack it in 2023 — about 4.4 million people. (11/28)

San Francisco Chronicle: Gavin Newsom Will Not Fulfill His Health Care Promise
Candidate Gavin Newsom promised the people of California that he would get them universal health care. Gov. Gavin Newsom is not going to fulfill that promise. And that’s fine. He won’t be the first politician to make a commitment on the campaign trail that didn’t happen once he took office. He certainly won’t be the last. (Dan Schnur, 11/26)

Los Angeles Times: Americans May Be Ready For Medicare For All, But Congress Isn’t 
Now that the 2018 election has swung control of the U.S. House of Representatives from right to left, some progressive Democrats are pushing for a vote in the new Congress on Medicare for all, a national health insurance program covering all Americans without charging premiums, deductibles or co-pays. ...Some moderate Democrats have pushed back, noting that such a vast expansion of Medicare doesn’t stand a chance of passing the Republican-controlled Senate, let alone being signed into law by a president who campaigned against it (with characteristic hyperbole) in the weeks leading up to the November election. There could be political consequences too: Forcing newly elected House members from formerly Republican-held districts in the Midwest to take a tough vote on a government-run health insurance system could usher Democrats back into the House minority. (11/24)

Los Angeles Times: As The World Warms, Deadly And Disfiguring Tropical Diseases Are Inching Their Way Toward The U.S.
Although the environmental costs of global warming may still seem distant to some Americans, there is a growing threat that many may find harder to ignore: infectious disease. As another new report, the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, makes clear, warming poses a great diversity of risks for human health. More and more, hot summers will increase mortality and limit our capacity for outdoor labor. Superstorms in some regions will cause flooding of sewage systems and thereby spread gastrointestinal disease, while severe droughts in other regions will increase rates of asthma. Food production will be severely reduced in many countries. Many regions will see increased risks of infection. Although environmental destruction may not scare us in an immediate way, infectious diseases very well could. (Fred Cohan and Isaac Klimasmith, 11/30)

Sacramento Bee: California Must Improve Conditions For The Workers Who Help Prevent Fires
California’s latest mega-fire disasters have refocused attention on the state’s challenge of the future: how to manage forests and scrubland so wildfires will be less frequent and catastrophic. But often missing from the discussion are the underpaid, marginalized laborers who make up much of the state’s wildlands management workforce. The work of thinning forests, clearing brush, replanting timberland and restoring ecosystems involves backbreaking work with chainsaws and other tools. These jobs typically come with low pay, dangerous work conditions, no job security, little labor law enforcement and scarce training for increasingly complex tasks. (Collier and Wilmsen, 11/27)

San Jose Mercury News: How California Can Model Caring For The Mentally Ill
Too few individuals with a mental health issue get the care they need. Consider that in 2016 only one in 10 people needing substance use treatment were able to gain access to a specialty facility. California’s health care system — like the rest of the country — remains fragmented, with mental health being seen as a separate and distinct element from physical care. (Norris and Miller, 11/29)

Los Angeles Times: Take A Holiday From Your Cellphone 
As the whirlwind of the holidays descends, you may find yourself wishing that you could slow down time. Here’s the thing: You can.You just need to put down your cellphone. I first discovered this myself a few years ago when, as an experiment, my husband and I took a 24-hour break from all our screens starting at sundown Friday. Saturday morning we accomplished more by 11 a.m. than we’d normally get done in an entire day. We cooked. We talked. We cleaned. We read. I practiced guitar. We played with our daughter. I felt like I’d unlocked a time-stretching superpower that I hadn’t known I possessed. (Catherine Price, 11/30)

Stat: Why Aren't Gay Teens Taking A Daily PrEP Pill To Prevent HIV?
Every 30 hours, a gay or bisexual adolescent boy under 18 in the U.S. is diagnosed with HIV. Gay and bisexual teen boys are disproportionately affected by HIV, accounting for almost two-thirds of new infections among adolescents. Young gay and bisexual men of color are hit especially hard, accounting for over three-quarters of these infections. HIV rates are rising among Latino adolescent boys , and 1 in 2 black men who have sex with men are expected to become HIV positive in their lifetimes. Given these alarming numbers, you might expect that substantial efforts are aimed at HIV prevention in these groups of boys. But that’s just not the case — out of 61 HIV prevention programs endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that focus on changing HIV risk behavior, zero are for gay or bisexual teen boys. (Kathryn Macapagal, 11/26)