San Francisco Chronicle: Covered California Health Insurance Signups Begin For Those Without Benefits
Open enrollment begins Monday for Californians who want to sign up for health insurance through Covered California, the state-run marketplace that sells plans to people who don’t receive health benefits through work or the government. Consumers have until Dec. 15 to sign up for coverage that takes effect Jan. 1, and until Jan. 15 to sign up for coverage that takes effect Feb. 1. (Ho, 10/15)

Orange County Register: Covered California Open Enrollment: Here's What To Know
Linda Greenfeld, executive director of commercial products, at L.A. Care, talked to the Southern California News Group about some of the most common questions and concerns people have during this time. (Bharath, 10/12)

Capital Public Radio: Why Proposition 8 Is One Of The Most Contentious, And Confusing, Ballot Measures In Play
Californians will vote in November on Proposition 8, which would regulate dialysis clinic spending. It’s a move that could either improve patient conditions or degrade them, depending on who you ask. (Caiola, 10/12)

KQED: Health Care Is Top Issue In California Swing Districts, Search Data Shows
Searches from California's most competitive swing districts are reflecting an outsize interest in health care issues, according to search data from Google Trends. In nearly all of the seven districts rated "Lean" or "Toss Up" by the Cook Political Report, election searches around health care issues outnumbered interest in issues like immigration or the economy. (Marzorati, 10/13)

San Francisco Chronicle: Suit Against Sutter Spawns Fight With Bay Area Hospitals Over Trade Secrets
In Silicon Valley, trade secrets are often thought of as a coveted technology or a patent for a lucrative device. But for hospitals, it is their confidential contracts with health insurance companies, which determine how they get paid, that they guard with their life. (Ho, 10/14)

In other news —

Sacramento Bee: 39,000 Union Employees Will Picket UC Medical Centers
The largest employee union at the University of California, AFSCME Local 3299, announced Friday that its patient-care technical workers will go on a three-day strike Oct. 23-25 at Sacramento’s UC Davis Medical Center and the four other UC health systems across the state. The job action will involve as many as 39,000 workers statewide, composed of the 15,000 members of AFSCME 3299’s patient-care unit, 9,000 from AFSCME’s service unit and 15,000 research, technical and health-care professionals represented by UPTE-CWA. (Anderson, 10/13)

Reuters: In Crackdown, U.S. FDA Seeks Details On New Electronic Cigarettes
Faced with a proliferation of new electronic cigarettes and a sharp rise in teen vaping, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday sent letters to 21 electronic cigarette manufacturers seeking information to assess whether the products are being marketed illegally. (10/12)

The Washington Post: FDA Investigating Whether Dozens Of E-Cigarette Products Are Being Illegally Marketed
The FDA said it has asked 21 manufacturers and importers to provide information about whether more than 40 products were on the market before Aug. 8, 2016. Products introduced or changed after that date must receive FDA clearance before going on sale. If the FDA determines that the products are being sold illegally, the companies could face fines, seizures or a court order to take them off the market. Friday’s move is the agency’s first large-scale action to enforce the requirement that products introduced after the August 2016 date get advance agency clearance, officials said. (McGinley, 10/12)

The Bakersfield Californian: Valley Fever Medication Poses Added Risk For Pregnant Women
As with the general population, most pregnant women who contract valley fever overcome the disease with no symptoms and no need for treatment. But what worries epidemiologists is a handful of rare, severe cases, in which five babies were born with skeletal defects. Their mothers had all been taking the antifungal drug fluconazole during their first trimester. ...Left untreated, the disease can in rare cases spread throughout the body or lead to fatal meningitis. That’s why some women with especially severe symptoms, or who are already in treatment when they become pregnant, may be willing to take fluconazole despite the risks. “It just means you’ve got to have a discussion about pros and cons — what are the risks, are there alternatives, are those alternatives feasible?” said [Dr. Daniel] Boken. (Klein, 10/14)

In other public health news —

The California Health Report: Smart Inhaler Project Aims To Reduce Asthma Attacks Among LA's Low-Income Children
A new pilot project in Los Angeles County aims to reduce the burden of childhood asthma in low-income communities and on the public health system by putting “smart” inhalers in the hands of kids. Led by the recently formed non-profit group SmartAirLA, the project will distribute inhalers with Bluetooth sensors to about 150 low-income, asthmatic children. The inhalers will remind children when it’s time to take their medication and help parents and doctors track whether kids are following their medication regimen correctly. The inhalers will also collect information about when and where children experience asthma attacks, allowing researchers to identify asthmatic hotspots that can potentially be mitigated through government and community action, such as rerouting traffic or planting trees. (Boyd-Barrett, 10/11)

San Francisco Chronicle: Those Dietary Supplements You’re Taking May Be Contaminated, Study Shows
Nearly 800 dietary supplements sold in the United States were found to be contaminated with unapproved ingredients — in some cases, drugs that have been banned by the Food and Drug Administration — in an industry analysis by California public health scientists. Most of the tainted supplements were marketed for sexual enhancement, muscle building or weight loss, and the ingredients found in them were often pharmaceutical drugs — such as steroids or the active ingredient in Viagra — that consumers normally need a prescription to take. (Allday, 10/12)

California Healthline: Hidden Drugs And Danger Lurk In Over-The-Counter Supplements, Study Finds
Many of these products contain unapproved and unregulated pharmaceutically active ingredients, according to a study published Friday in JAMA Network Open. The authors wrote that the substances represent “a serious public health concern. ”Researchers from the California Department of Public Health found that, from 2007 to 2016, 776 products marketed as dietary supplements contained hidden active ingredients that are unsafe or unstudied. Among them, dapoxetine, an antidepressant that is not approved in the United States; and sibutramine, which was included in some weight-loss supplements but was banned from the U.S. market in 2010 because of cardiovascular risks. (Bluth, 10/12)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Meant To Help With Mental Illness, Money From Tax On Millionaires Piles Up 
While the hepatitis A virus ran unchecked through the streets and homeless camps of San Diego last year, claiming 20 lives and sickening hundreds of others before it was corralled, $170 million in special funding for mentally ill people sat in a county bank account. So much Mental Health Services Act revenue piled up, San Diego County collected more than $12 million in interest from the unspent cash. Even today, as the homeless crisis deepens and suicide remains persistently high, critics say too much of the money the county spends from the fund goes to consultants, reports, public relations and pilot projects rather than direct treatment for patients most affected by mental illness. (McDonald, 10/14)

In other news from across the state —

Los Angeles Times: This Student Activist Graduated To Fighting Healthcare Inequities, Building A Free Clinic Into AltaMed Health Services Corp. 
AltaMed Health Services Corp. Chief Executive Castulo de la Rocha, 69, has dedicated his life to the less fortunate, from his youthful participation in the Chicano civil rights movement to the present, running the largest community healthcare system in California funded under the federal Health Care Consolidation Act. The nonprofit has 2,800 workers and 300,000 clients, who receive service regardless of their ability to pay or their immigration status. (White, 10/14)

Santa Rosa Press Democrat: North Coast Cannabis Marketplace Sees Surge Among Health And Wellness Users
The legalization of cannabis for recreational use this year has brought new consumers into the fold of the multibillion-dollar retail marketplace in California — but not all are looking to get high. In fact, the easing of the stigma over cannabis has caused a surge this year of people using the plant for health and wellness reasons, even though medical marijuana has been legal in the Golden State for more than 20 years, industry officials said. The newer users range from women looking to ease the nausea from chemotherapy and treatments for breast cancer — a disease which cannabis advocates say the plant appears to be uniquely suited for — to lawyers looking to reduce stress after a difficult workweek. (Swindell, 10/13)

Politico: The Great American Health Care Panic
With whiffs of cigarette smoke wafting from the adjoining Band Box bar, surrounded by the nonstop clatter of bowling pins, Donna Brown and Kaci Rickert sat across from each other at a little low table one recent evening at the shabby, homey Levittown Lanes. The women’s league teammates ate salad and ziti and made small talk. Brown got up for her turn, and Rickert offered an admission in what was almost a whisper. “We’re on two different sides of the political aisle,” she said, “but we don’t discuss it.” There was, however, one perennial problem they wanted to talk about. And when they started, they couldn’t stop. (Kruse, 10/15)

The Associated Press: Democratic Candidates Focus On Health Care As Midterms Near
In a windowless conference room, Republican Senate candidate Martha McSally was asking executives at a small crane manufacturing company how the GOP tax cut has helped their business when one woman said: "I want to ask you a question about health care." Marylea Evans recounted how, decades ago, her husband had been unable to get health insurance after developing cancer, forcing the couple to sell some of their Texas ranch to pay for his treatment. Now she was worried about Democratic ads saying McSally, currently a congresswoman, supported legislation removing the requirement that insurers cover people with pre-existing medical conditions. (10/15)

The Washington Post Fact Checker: Democratic Attack Ad Falsely Knocks Republican On Preexisting Conditions
This is a story about how relatively minor procedural votes make their way into campaign ads. A key issue in the debate over the American Health Care Act (AHCA), the failed House Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, was Obamacare’s popular provisions barring insurance companies from refusing people with preexisting health conditions — or charging them more. As we have documented, the GOP bill would have weakened those protections, with states having the option to make changes that could have left people with preexisting conditions vulnerable to large increases in premiums, according to the Congressional Budget Office. (Kessler, 10/15)

The Hill: Vulnerable Republicans Throw ‘Hail Mary’ On Pre-Existing Conditions 
Dozens of vulnerable House Republicans have recently signed on to bills or resolutions in support of pre-existing conditions protections, part of an eleventh-hour attempt to demonstrate their affinity for one of ObamaCare’s most popular provisions. Thirty-two of the 49 GOP incumbents in races deemed competitive by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report have backed congressional measures on pre-existing conditions in the past six weeks, according to an analysis by The Hill. (Hellmann, 10/14)

Modern Healthcare: Tight Iowa Congressional Races Key On Pre-Existing Condition Protections
The battle over keeping the Affordable Care Act's strong insurance protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions has surged to the center of tight House and Senate contests across the country. But the issue has become particularly heated in two toss-up House races in Iowa. Unregulated Farm Bureau health plans will go on sale Nov. 1, and they can consider pre-existing conditions under a new state law. It's expected that some Iowans applying for the cheaper Farm Bureau plans will get turned down or will be quoted higher rates based on their health status. That could raise the stakes for voters. (Meyer, 10/12)

The Associated Press: Ohio US Senate Candidates Spar Over Health Care, Immigration
Candidates in Ohio's U.S. senate campaign sparred Sunday over health care, approaches to climate change, student loan debt, immigration, tariffs and gun control in the first of three debates. Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci repeatedly criticized incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown as being a Washington insider, citing Brown's connections to Democratic New York Sen. Chuck Schumer multiple times. (10/14)

The New York Times: First Came A Flood Of Ballot Measures From Voters. Then Politicians Pushed Back.
The South Dakota Legislature’s social calendar was busy this year. Video lottery operators held a hog roast. Truckers put on an ice cream sundae social. Beer distributors organized an especially sought-after gathering featuring plenty of samples. And the American Legislative Exchange Council, known for drafting conservative-leaning model legislation, hosted a wine and cheese party. The gatherings — 107 events in all during the Legislature’s 38-day session — are popular with lawmakers, but less so with the public. (Williams, 10/15)

The New York Times: Medicare Advantage Plans Found To Improperly Deny Many Claims
Medicare Advantage plans, the popular private-insurance alternative to the traditional Medicare program, have been improperly denying many medical claims to patients and physicians alike, federal investigators say in a new report. The private plans, which now cover more than 20 million people — more than one-third of all Medicare beneficiaries — have an incentive to deny claims “in an attempt to increase their profits,” the report says. (Pear, 10/13)

In other national health care news —

The New York Times: Inside The Vast Tent City Housing Migrant Children In A Texas Desert
On a barren patch of desert near the border, the incident commander stepped into the Incident Command Post trailer. Walkie-talkies were charging in the corner. Flat-screen TVs and computer monitors showed surveillance camera footage and weather forecasting models. The 911 dispatch center, in a nearby trailer, was quiet, and so were the ambulances and fire trucks. (Fernandez and Dickerson, 10/12)

Politico: Trump Set To Force Drugmakers To Post Prices In Ads
The Trump administration will require drug companies to post their list prices in consumer ads under a proposal to be announced next week — a prominent part of its drug price agenda, according to four individuals with knowledge of the plan. The move — which follows months of battles between the administration, congressional leaders and the pharmaceutical industry — is one of many proposals in President Donald Trump's blueprint to lower drug prices. But experts caution that the impact may be relatively insignificant and it could even confuse patients, considering the complexities of drug pricing. (Diamond and Karlin-Smith, 10/12)

The New York Times: Code Name Jane: The Women Behind A Covert Abortion Network
The no-frills advertisement, printed at times in student and alternative newspapers, went straight to the point: “Pregnant? Don’t want to be? Call Jane.” A telephone number followed. This was nearly half a century ago, when abortion was illegal almost everywhere in the country and alternative newspapers were in their heyday. There was no Jane, though, not literally anyway. Yet at the same time, Jane was anybody. (Haberman, 10/14)

The New York Times/ProPublica: Sloan Kettering Researchers Correct The Record By Revealing Company Ties
Top researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have filed at least seven corrections with medical journals recently, divulging financial relationships with health care companies that they did not previously disclose. The hospital’s chief executive, Dr. Craig B. Thompson, disclosed his relationship with companies including the drug maker Merck, and Dr. Jedd Wolchok, a noted pioneer in cancer immunotherapy, listed his affiliations with 31 companies. (Ornstein and Thomas, 10/12)

Stat: The Fertility Business Is Growing, And So Is Investor Interest
The field of fertility medicine is booming right now. Women are waiting longer and longer to have children. Same-sex couples looking to start families are increasingly turning to in vitro fertilization. And investors are pouring money into startups pitching egg freezing and genetic testing and other services to young women.There are few observers more qualified to weigh in on this business than Dr. David Sable. Sable previously spent years as an IVF doctor and now he invests in biotech on Wall Street, as a portfolio manager for the firm Special Situations. (Robbins, Feuerstein and Garde, 10/12)