Fresno Bee: Without Action By Congress, This Health Program For Kids And Pregnant Women Is At Risk
Tens of thousands of low-income children and pregnant women in the central San Joaquin Valley rely on a health insurance program that could lose its federal funding by the end of the year. Statewide, about 2 million children and pregnant women depend on the Children’s Healthcare Insurance Program that Congress has yet to renew for this fiscal year, which began Oct. 1. In Fresno County, 53 percent of children are on Medi-Cal, which includes those on the Children’s Healthcare Insurance Program. (11/30)

The Associated Press: Health Care Fallout: Fate Of 8M Low-Income Children In Limbo
TC Bell knows what life is like without health insurance after growing up with a mother who cobbled together care from a public health clinic, emergency room visits and off-the-books visits to a doctor they knew. That memory makes Bell, of Denver, grateful for the coverage his two daughters have now under the Children's Health Insurance Program — and concerned about its uncertain future in Congress. "There's an incredible security that I have with CHIP," said Bell, 30, who has gone back to community college to reboot his life after working a series of low-paying jobs. (Karnowski, 11/30)

Capital Public Radio: Type 2 Diabetes Rising In California
Rates of type 2 diabetes have skyrocketed across California and prevention methods are not keeping up. The state is spending $27 billion on treatment for the illness as 46 percent of Californians are now considered pre-diabetic. (Remington, 11/30)

CALmatters: Diabetes Hits Hard As California Spends Billions On Treatment, Little On Prevention
A teenage girl walks the hardscrabble streets of Richmond, a Bay Area city, rapping about the challenges of drugs, violence—and diabetes. Here, she says, big dreams are “coated in sugar,” and innocence is “corrupted with Coke bottles and Ho Ho cupcakes.” She’s performing in a video by a local youth group that counts diabetes, a national epidemic that has hit California hard, as one of the killers in her neighborhood. Type 2 diabetes, which is spreading and driving up health costs, now impacts more than half the state’s adults, especially people of color and the poor. (Aguilera, 11/27)

Sacramento Bee: County Where ‘Madman’ Killed Five Has Just Two Psychiatrists
Only two psychiatrists work in the rural county where Kevin Janson Neal shot and killed five people earlier this month, state records show. ... Neal suffered from delusions and other mental health issues for years, according to his sister, Sheridan Orr. (Reese, 11/30)

KPCC: DACA Uncertainty Taking A Toll On Mental Health
Youth homelessness is on the rise in Los Angeles, and officials are looking to quell it by targeting kids exiting foster care. One of the bigger surprises coming out of January's annual count of homeless living in L.A. County was a dramatic rise in homelessness among children and young adults. The count found 6,000 homeless 18 to 24-year-olds. (Garrova, 12/1)

And more mental health care news —

NPR: How The Loss Of U.S. Psychiatric Hospitals Led To A Mental Health Crisis
A severe shortage of inpatient care for people with mental illness is amounting to a public health crisis, as the number of individuals struggling with a range of psychiatric problems continues to rise. The revelation that the gunman in the Sutherland Springs, Texas, church shooting escaped from a psychiatric hospital in 2012 is renewing concerns about the state of mental health care in this country. A study published in the journal Psychiatric Services estimates 3.4 percent of Americans — more than 8 million people — suffer from serious psychological problems. (Raphelson, 11/30)

Stat: Despite Laws Requiring Equal Coverage, Gaps Are Still Wide Between Coverage For Behavioral And Physical Health
A new report paints a grim picture of compliance with laws mandating parity in health coverage for physical and behavioral health conditions — increasingly a focus as health officials turn their attention to insurers’ role both in perpetuating and solving the nation’s drug addiction crisis. The report, published by the consulting firm Milliman and commissioned by the Bowman Family Foundation, highlights coverage gaps and significantly lower reimbursement rates stemming from the non-enforcement of decades-old laws meant to ensure those with mental and behavioral health needs — an umbrella term that includes treatment for substance use disorders — have equal access to care. (Facher, 11/30)

Los Angeles Times: Costa Mesa Paramedic Is On The Front Line In Effort To Prevent First-Responder Suicides
[Mike] Ruhl, a 31-year-old Mission Viejo resident, was recognized as Costa Mesa Fire and Rescue’s Team Member of the Month in November, partly because of his passion for identifying and counseling firefighters and paramedics suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or suicidal thoughts. “Fortunately, I haven’t had anyone close to me go down that path [suicide],” Ruhl said. Though it hasn’t gained the same attention as suicide among military veterans, suicide among firefighters is a national problem. (Langhorne, 11/30)

KQED: High Levels Of Lead Detected In Tap Water At Some San Francisco Schools
New documents obtained by KQED reveal that half of San Francisco schools have lead in their water, though levels vary widely from school to school. Information obtained as a result of a request under the California Public Records Act shows water from one tap measured more than 370 times the allowable concentration of lead. (Hossaini, 11/30)

The North Bay Business Journal: Retail Clinics Soar In Popularity
They succeed by bringing services where the consumers are, as opposed to patients going to their doctor’s office. ... Founded by two emergency room doctors and based in San Francisco, Direct Urgent Care has four locations in Berkeley, Mountain View, Oakland and is opening an office by the end of the year in Vacaville. All are in or near retail centers. (Sweeney, 11/29)

KPBS: Biotech Incubator Lets Clairemont Students Tackle Real-Life Problem 
The county and city have deployed hand-washing stations, tents and nurses armed with vaccines to stop the spread of hepatitis A in San Diego. Now, Clairemont High School students are putting their heads together to develop new ways to counter the virus. The exercise is part of a San Diego Unified effort to connect students to the region’s biotech sector. (Burks, 11/30)

Politico: Will GOP Finally Take Down Obamacare With A Tax Bill?
After spending nearly a year on a failed effort to repeal Obamacare, Republicans on Capitol Hill are on the verge of repealing the law’s individual mandate as a footnote to their rewrite of the American tax system. At least two of the three Senate Republicans who blocked the repeal effort over the summer have no problem undoing the requirement that nearly all Americans carry insurance — a provision Democrats say is vital to keeping the Affordable Care Act afloat. (Haberkorn, 11/30)

The New York Times: Without Obamacare Mandate, ‘You Open The Floodgates’ For Skimpy Health Plans
The drive by Senate Republicans to repeal the requirement that most Americans have health insurance is not only likely to discourage people from signing up for coverage during the current enrollment period, but also could result in higher premiums. If repeal is approved, people could opt out of buying policies because they would no longer face a tax penalty and millions could go uninsured. With the Affordable Care Act already weakened by the Trump administration, big drops in enrollment would deal yet another body blow to the law and wreak more havoc in the individual insurance market. (Abelson, 11/30)

The Hill: Insurance Officials Worry Mandate Repeal Will Damage Markets
Many state insurance officials, even some in red states, are warning that repealing ObamaCare's individual mandate in the GOP tax-reform bill would cause damage to their markets. Insurance commissioners warn that premiums would rise, insurers could drop out of the market and more people would go without coverage if the mandate is repealed, as Senate Republicans are poised to do as part of their tax bill this week. (Sullivan, 11/30)

The Hill: McConnell Promises Collins Tax Bill Won't Lead To Medicare Cut
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell  (R-Ky.) is promising the GOP tax bill, which is projected to add $1.4 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, will not result in cuts to Medicare next year. McConnell offered the vow to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a key swing vote, during a Wednesday meeting in his office. (Bolton, 11/30)

The Hill: House Conservatives Won't Back Spending Bill With ObamaCare Payments
House conservatives said they won't support a short-term spending bill to fund the government if it contains provisions to "bail out" insurance companies. A deal between moderate GOP Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would likely attach two bipartisan measures to stabilize ObamaCare's insurance markets to the spending bill in exchange for her vote on tax reform. (Hellmann, 11/30)

The Wall Street Journal: House GOP To Propose Short-Term Spending Bill
Since the short-term bill through Dec. 22 will be a must-pass piece of legislation, lawmakers are certain to try to cram other measures onto it. Most prominently, Sen. Susan Collins (R., Maine) said this week that her support for the Senate GOP tax-overhaul bill—which repeals the Affordable Care Act requirement that most people have health insurance or pay a penalty—will depend on whether Congress also passes a bipartisan health-care bill aimed at offsetting any resulting increases in premiums. Ms. Collins said that bipartisan bill, from Sens. Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D., Wash.), would likely be folded into the short-term spending bill. (Peterson, 11/30)

The Associated Press: Health Nominee Azar Is No Stranger To Management Controversy
Alex Azar, who’s in line to replace a Trump Cabinet secretary who was forced out in controversy, is no stranger to sticky management problems. In Washington, he’s been nominated to replace Tom Price, who resigned in September over questions about his use of private jets. Back in Indiana, Azar was an influential member of a public airport board, tasked with oversight of human resources matters, when he defended the conduct of the airport CEO who was under fire for spending public money on travel, golf fees, steak dinners and Super Bowl tickets. (Slodysko, 12/1)

Bloomberg: Trump Health Nominee Embraces Obamacare Programs The Last Guy Ended
President Donald Trump’s nominee to oversee Medicare says he’s a fan of paying doctors and hospitals in new, potentially more efficient ways through experimental payment programs set up under Obamacare. The federal agency he’s been picked and that administers the programs to run just killed off three of them. (Armstrong, 11/30)

Reuters: Exclusive: U.S. Health Regulator Verma Eyes New Methods For Drug Pricing
The U.S. government is considering setting new payment methods aimed at curbing costs for Medicare and Medicaid coverage of breakthrough medical treatments with very high prices, particularly novel gene-based therapies for cancer and other diseases, a top health official said on Thursday. (Humer, 11/30)

Politico Pro: Verma Says 1332 Waivers Are Too Restrictive, As States Seek Flexibility
Seema Verma, the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said Thursday that her agency's ability to provide states flexibility and freedom from Affordable Care Act regulations is limited absent congressional action, casting doubt on the effectiveness of special ACA waivers. Some Obamacare opponents have hoped states could use 1332 waivers to fashion a more conservative health care system without running afoul of the law. (Goldberg, 11/30)

KFSN: Tulare Regional Medical Center Seeking Investors To Reopen Hospital, Date Still To Be Determined
The lights have been out at Tulare Regional Medical Center for over a month but families are far from discouraged. Instead, they crammed into the hospital's regular board meeting Wednesday. Taking the chance to start anew, personally. "I think they are amazing, I think their heart and soul is into opening up this hospital, and I want to come back," said former employee Nancy Korovilas. (Fan, 11/29)

Popular Science: Hospitals Are Scrambling To Solve Their Air Pollution Issue
The health care group Kaiser Permanente saw desflurane use drop by almost 60 percent in its Northern California region after educating physicians and anesthesiologists about its environmental impact. “Our goal in the next few years is to eliminate it completely,” says Alan Zneimer, chair of the chiefs of anesthesia for Kaiser Permanente in Northern California. Decreasing usage doesn’t change anything medically, Zneimer says, because there’s not much difference between desflurane and sevoflurane, which they still use. (Wetsman, 11/30)

HIT Consultant: Tahoe Hospital Goes Live On Epic EHR For Single Unified Patient Record
Tahoe Forest Health System, working in partnership with Mercy Technology Services, has announced the go-live of its new Epic EHR system. The new Epic EHR system provides a new single unified patient record for the district hospital serving two rural counties across 3,500 square miles in California and Nevada. (Pennic, 12/1)

East Bay Express: Alameda Health Systems Removes License Plate Reader Surveillance Camera From Highland Hospital In Oakland
A controversial automated license plate reader camera that was installed at the driveway entrance of Oakland's Highland Hospital in 2014 has been removed by the hospital. (BondGraham, 11/30)

The Wall Street Journal: CVS Health Closes In On Deal To Buy Aetna
CVS Health Corp. is moving closer to a deal to buy Aetna Inc. for more than $66 billion in cash and stock. The deal, which could be announced by Monday, would create a health-care behemoth selling everything from drugs to insurance. The companies are in advanced stages of negotiating a deal, according to people familiar with the matter. It would likely be valued at between $200 and $205 per Aetna share and consist mainly of cash, some of the people said. (Mattioli and Wilde Mathews, 11/30)

Bloomberg: Express Scripts CEO Open To Insurer Deal, Ties With Amazon
Express Scripts Holding Co.’s chief executive said he’s open to a deal with a health insurer or partnering with Amazon.com Inc. CEO Tim Wentworth’s pharmacy benefits company has been battered by departing clients and the vague specter of Amazon’s entry into the drug business. If a major insurer was interested in a deal, “I would be open to it,” Wentworth said on the sidelines of a conference in New York sponsored by Forbes. “We don’t need to sell to be very successful in the future, but we are always open to others who may all of sudden conclude they want what we have.” (Langreth, 11/30)

Los Angeles Times: National Science Panel Calls For Aggressive Steps To Control Drug Prices
The U.S. must take urgent steps to rein in the out-of-control cost of prescription drugs, including aggressive government intervention to negotiate lower prices for American patients, a panel of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommended Thursday in a sweeping new report on pharmaceutical pricing. (Levey, 11/30)

NPR: Report: Here's What The Feds Can Do To Cut Drug Prices
Drug prices are too high, and we had better do something about it. That is the nutshell conclusion of a 201-page report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. "High and increasing costs of prescription drugs coupled with the broader trends in overall medical expenditures, which now equals 18 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, are unsustainable to society as a whole," says Norman Augustine, the former CEO of defense contractor Lockheed Martin and the chair of the committee that conducted the study released Thursday. (Kodjak, 11/30)

Stat: 8 Ways To Lower Drug Prices, But National Academies Says 'the Time To Act Is Now'
If the U.S. wants to effectively combat high drug costs and make medicines affordable, the federal government needs to take several aggressive, if controversial steps, according to a sweeping and ambitious report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. ...“In the end, drugs that are not affordable are of little value and drugs that do not exist are of no value. … Each month of delay in implementing important reforms adds another month of hampered access to medicines,” the panel wrote in its report. “… The time to act is now.” (Silverman, 11/30)

Bloomberg: Purdue Pharma Discloses Negotiations With AGs On Opioids
Purdue Pharma LP acknowledged in a letter that the maker of the opioid painkiller Oxycontin is in “negotiations’’ with state attorneys general over lawsuits accusing the company of creating a public-health crisis with its mishandling of the drug. Maria Barton, Purdue’s general counsel, chastised Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine for pulling out of a multistate probe of the drugmaker by 41 of his fellow attorneys general. He did so shortly after signing an agreement to preserve his state’s legal claims “while the investigation and negotiations were conducted,’’ according to a copy of the Nov. 28 letter provided by Purdue officials. (Feeley and Hopkins, 11/30)

The Associated Press: More US Kids In Foster Care; Parental Drug Abuse A Factor
The number of children in the U.S. foster care system has increased for the fourth year in a row, with substance abuse by parents a major factor, according to new federal data released on Thursday. The annual report from the Department of Health and Human Services counted 437,500 children in foster care as of Sept. 30, 2016, up from about 427,400 a year earlier. (Crary, 12/1)

The Washington Post: A Navy Admiral Lost His Son To Opioid Addiction. Now He’s Marshaling Support To End The Epidemic.
Retired Navy Adm. James “Sandy” Winnefeld once had the ability to project military power anywhere on Earth. But when it came to finding help to pull his son Jonathan back from the depths of drug addiction, the former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was at a loss. ... The Winnefelds and military health-care experts stressed that Tricare’s limitations mirror the civilian health-care system, where care for drug addiction and mental health issues has not kept pace with the widening opioid epidemic. (Horton, 12/1)

Meanwhile, the government takes action: President Donald Trump donates his 3Q salary to drug epidemic; FDA OKs a new injectable opioid treatment; and House Democratic lawmakers introduce a bill —

Stat: Trump Is Donating His Salary To Fight The Opioid Crisis. Here's What It Would Buy
President Trump has pledged to donate his third-quarter salary to fight the opioid crisis. So what will that buy, exactly? We’re not sure yet. But it won’t go too far — considering the White House itself has said the opioid epidemic costs the nation about $500 billion a year in costs for medical care, law enforcement, and lost productivity. (Blau, 11/30)

Stat: FDA Approves Indivior’s Monthly Injection To Treat Opioid Addiction
A new form of a widely used opioid addiction treatment that is injected monthly instead of taken daily as a tablet was approved Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration. Experts say the eagerly anticipated new version of the drug may help patients reduce relapses, disrupt the treatment market, and possibly dispel misconceptions about the drug’s potential for abuse. Indivior is the first company to gain approval for a monthly injection of buprenorphine. The company is best known for Suboxone, a daily formulation that combines buprenorphine with naloxone into a film that dissolves under the tongue. (Blau, 11/30)

The Hill: House Dems Introduce Bill To Provide $45B For Opioid Epidemic
Four House Democrats introduced a bill Thursday to provide $45 billion over 10 years to fight the opioid epidemic. In late October, President Trump declared the opioid epidemic a national public health emergency — a move that didn’t free up millions of dollars to fight the increasing rate of opioid overdose deaths. (Roubein, 11/30)

Stat: Gottlieb Signals Support For Both ‘Gold Standard’ And Expedited Review For Drug Approvals
Regulatory standards for some clinical trials may soon slacken, per a new statement from Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. And though his words are vague, they’ve been enough to raise red flags in some corners. Testifying today before a Congressional committee on the 21st Century Cures Act, Gottlieb sent a mixed message: He wants the agency to “remain steadfast to our gold standard for safety and efficacy,” while making the development of breakthrough products “more scientifically modern and efficient, to meet the urgent needs of patients.” (Keshavan, 11/30)

The Wall Street Journal: FDA To Allow Quicker Approval Of Some Promising Cancer Drugs
The Food and Drug Administration plans to allow quick approval of some cancer drugs if they show early and “outsized” survival benefits for patients even in small studies, the FDA’s commissioner said Thursday. Scott Gottlieb told the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health that the agency expects to see this situation more, given the advent of drugs that precisely target the genetic underpinnings of diseases. (Burton, 11/30)

Los Angeles Times: On Children's Health Coverage, Congressional Inaction Has Brought Us To The 'Nightmare Scenario'
Child healthcare advocates have been warning, and warning, and warning that Congress' delay on reauthorizing funds for the Children's Health Insurance Program places health coverage for as many as 9 million children and pregnant women at risk. But since the funding expired Sept. 30, there has been no action by Congress. (Michael Hiltzik, 11/27)

San Francisco Chronicle: Children’s Health Care Could Blow Hole In California’s Budget
The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) usually flies under the radar, but this year it’s about to blow a massive hole in California’s budget. ... This year, Congress blew its Oct. 1 deadline to renew CHIP funding, mostly because it was focused on a lamentable effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act. (11/28)

San Francisco Chronicle: 6.2 Million Californians Risk Losing Care Through Community Health Centers
In September, House Speaker Paul Ryan let the Community Health Center Fund lapse. Now, unless Congress acts to renew this funding, our health centers are bracing for a 70 percent budget cut. (Barbara Lee, 11/28)

Los Angeles Times: Sen. Rubio Tells A Secret: After Giving A Tax Cut To The Rich, GOP Will Cut Social Security And Medicare
Advocates for seniors and the middle class have been warning for weeks that the Republican drive to cut taxes for the wealthy is the prelude to a larger attack on Social Security and Medicare. In a videotaped interview with two Politico reporters Wednesday, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said the quiet parts out loud. Asked by interviewers Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman how to address the federal deficit, he replied: “We have to do two things. We have to generate economic growth which generates revenue, while reducing spending. That will mean instituting structural changes to Social Security and Medicare for the future.” (Michael Hiltzik, 11/30)

Sacramento Bee: It’s Dangerous To Deny Coverage To Chronically Ill
For thousands of Californians suffering from chronic and persistent illnesses, access to quality, affordable medical care is essential to their overall health. Yet, these patients have a one-in-four chance of being denied coverage by their insurance provider, according to a recent poll. (Seth Ginsberg, 11/28)

Los Angeles Times: Want L.A's Hepatitis A Crisis To Get Even Worse? Follow Venice Beach's Lead
With Southern California confronting a deadly epidemic of hepatitis A, a highly contagious ailment that spreads through contact with the feces of an infected person, urban centers ought to be doing everything possible to improve sanitation. That's especially true in enclaves frequented by the homeless. (Conor Friedersdorf, 11/20)

Stat: If Biden Runs For President, He'll Need To Reboot His Record On Drug Prices
Joe Biden wants to be president, the champion of working families. But there is another side to the former vice president: protector of big pharmaceutical companies, indifferent to the harsh consequences of high drug prices. If Biden wants to pursue a future in politics, he ought to consider a reboot on drug pricing issues. (James Love, 11/30)

The New York Times: Kellyanne Conway Might As Well Be ‘Opioid Czar’
Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Trump, has no public health background, a reputation for bending the truth, and a knack for generating government ethics complaints. Yet Ms. Conway does have the ear of the president. She has also studied America’s opioid epidemic in recent months as part of her portfolio. She is not the “opioids czar,” as some news outlets reported this week, but her stepping out as point person on the government response to this public health crisis stirred hope of concrete action from a White House that so far has offered little more than talk. (11/30)

The Washington Post: Trump Wants To Gut America’s Progress Against AIDS
Trump’s tweets are also distracting from other important matters of governance. And here is one that can’t get lost in the general madness: The Trump administration is proposing a reduction in funding and a shift in strategy in the fight against global AIDS that together would increase infections, cost lives and threaten the extraordinary progress of the past 15 years. (Michael Gerson, 11/30)