McClatchy: Obamacare Repeal Is A Giant Risk For California’s Dwindling Republicans
The last major Republican stronghold in California is one of the nation’s most dependent areas on Obamacare, creating an enormous political risk for the GOP congressmen who represent the area and are eager to repeal the health care law. They represent the inland expanse from the Mojave desert through the Central Valley, an area emerging as an important flashpoint in the battle over Obamacare. The tension is so heightened that a conservative group tied to Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan is employing Spanish-language ads to build local support for replacing the health care law. (Cockerham, 2/2)

In other news —

Modesto Bee: Modesto Hospital Would Take Financial Hit From ACA Repeal; Job Cuts Are Less Certain 
After one study predicted 3,000 job losses in Stanislaus County from an Affordable Care Act repeal, local hospital executives were asked for their assessment.Warren Kirk, chief executive officer of Doctors Medical Center of Modesto, agreed to discuss the potential impacts on Doctors and said a loss of funding from an ACA repeal won’t necessarily translate into major job cuts at the Florida Avenue hospital. The hospital will need staff members to care for an increasing number of patients, even though it won’t get paid for many patients if certain ACA provisions are abolished and not replaced. Registered nurses are probably safe because the hospital has to comply with the state’s mandatory nurse-to-patient ratios. (Carlson, 2/2)

Los Angeles Times: This California Lawmaker Wants To Limit Use Of Those Coupons People Use For High-Cost Drugs
Drug companies often offer coupons or vouchers to take the sting out of certain medications' high price tags. But one Democratic lawmaker says such offers actually contribute to high healthcare costs — and is proposing legislation to limit their use. Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) has introduced a measure that would prohibit the use of coupons for medications when there are cheaper drug options available. (Mason, 2/2)

Previous California Healthline coverage: Drug Prices, Opioids, And Obamacare: A Conversation With Assemblyman Jim Wood

In other news, California and other states are taking steps to protect patients when insurers want to raise medication prices or cease coverage in the middle of the year —

Stateline: New Rules Aim To Keep Patients On Medications That Work
[M]ore states are adopting policies that prevent insurers from ceasing to cover a medication in the middle of the year, when a patient is still locked in to a particular plan, unless there is a good medical reason for doing so. The laws also limit midyear increases in what patients must pay for a drug. In the last two years, California and Nevada have adopted such rules. Florida is considering and Tennessee is expected to consider similar legislation this year, and Massachusetts has created a commission to explore the idea. (Ollove, 2/2)

Los Angeles Times: UC Would Lose $9 Billion For Research, Healthcare, Education If Trump Cut Federal Funds 
New treatments for genetic diseases. Advances in solar-based sustainable energy. Financial aid for needy students and medical assistance for the elderly. All of that — and much more — is supported by the $9 billion in federal funds given annually to the University of California for research, education and healthcare. Those funds drew widespread public attention Thursday, when President Trump tweeted that UC Berkeley’s federal funds might be at risk after campus officials cancelled an appearance by conservative firebrand Milo Yiannopoulos to safeguard the public from violent protesters. (Watanabe and Khan, 2/3)

In other news —

Los Angeles Times: UCI Nursing Program Officially Becomes A School 
UC Irvine nursing students put on their scrubs for class this week ready to practice their care and examination skills as scholars of the newly approved Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing. After receiving approval from the University of California Board of Regents last week, UCI's 10-year-old nursing program has achieved school status, making it the fourth nursing school in the UC system. (Chan, 2/2)

Modesto Bee: Lack Of Students Results In Temporary Closure Of New Health College In Salida
The doors are locked at a Salida vocational college that opened four months ago to educate students for jobs in the health care industry. A representative for American Specialty College said the school is closed temporarily while courses are revamped and more students are recruited. Classes are expected to resume in April, said Gia Smith, chief executive officer of the local parent company, American Specialty Healthcare. (Carlson, 2/2)

San Jose Mercury News: Neighbors Get Say In Spending $1.2 Million On Samaritan Medical Project
Developers working on an expansion project at Samaritan Medical Center in San Jose are seeking the public’s suggestions on how to spend more than $1 million for traffic safety enhancements. The Schoennauer Co., which is developing the project on Samaritan Drive, is already required by the city to make some traffic improvements. As part of its plan to construct five buildings totaling 475,000 square feet of medical office space and approximately 1,500 parking spaces on both sides of Samaritan, it also will add six safety and traffic calming measures. (Baum, 2/2)

The Associated Press: Residents Demand Aliso Canyon Be Closed Permanently
With more than 100 deep underground wells, Aliso Canyon is the largest natural gas storage site in the West and is considered crucial to the Los Angeles area for home heating and to power gas-fired electricity plants during energy spikes. However, the Southern California Gas Co. facility has been crippled more than a year since a blowout discovered in October 2015 released tons of methane into the air for four months, drove 8,000 families from their homes in and around the Porter Ranch neighborhood and led to mass complaints of health issues ranging from headaches to cancer. (2/2)

KPBS: Raucous Crowd Opposes Reopening Aliso Canyon Gas Field
A fed-up crowd of San Fernando Valley residents commandeered the first of two meetings on the reopening of the Aliso Canyon underground gas storage field Wednesday night, rising to their feet, roaring, “Shut it down!” The crowd of about 350, packed to standing room, overwhelmed a mediator hired to shepherd the meeting. They demanded more time to describe health problems, they said, still plague them a year after a blown gas well in hills above their home was finally brought under control. (Lobet, 2/2)

In other news —

San Jose Mercury News: After December Shell Refinery Incident, Watchdog Group Calls For Better Reporting
A December “flaring” incident that resulted in the release of almost 4,800 pounds of toxic sulphur dioxide into the air around the Shell Martinez Refinery was likely triggered by human error, according to a report submitted to the Contra Costa Health Services’ Environmental Health division. Meanwhile, an environmental attorney said refineries need to be more open about giving details about such releases, even if they are adhering to the law with reports to regulatory agencies 30 or 60 days after an incident. (Richards, 2/2)

Sacramento Bee: It’s About Cancer, Not Sex, Say Doctors, As CDC Urges HPV Vaccine For Preteens 
HPV, or human papillomavirus, is a common sexually transmitted infection that can lead to cancers of some of the most private places: the cervix, vagina, penis and throat. Although there’s been a vaccine to prevent HPV for about a decade, vaccination rates among kids and teens have stayed relatively low, both in California and nationwide. Because HPV is sexually transmitted, some parents shy away from the vaccine, feeling it isn’t necessary for their preteens. Others contend the vaccine isn’t proven. (Buck, 2/2)

In other public health news —

San Jose Mercury News: UCSF Study: "Dense Breasts'' Exceed All Other Breast Cancer Risk Factors
A new UC San Francisco-led study shows that women with “dense breasts” are at increased risk for breast cancer compared with women with a family history of the disease, their own history of benign lesions, or a first full-term pregnancy over age 30. The findings were published Thursday in the journal JAMA Oncology. (Seipel, 2/2)

Orange County Register: Laguna Woods Man Is First Reported Flu Death Of Season In Orange County 
A Laguna Woods man in his 50s is the first person under 65 to die of complications from the flu this season in Orange County, the Health Care Agency reported Thursday. The man died last week and lab testing confirmed that he was infected with influenza A virus, officials said. This death is a somber reminder of the serious threat posed by the flu, Dr. Eric Handler, the county’s health officer, said in a statement. (Bharath, 2/2)

The New York Times: G.O.P. Campaign To Repeal Obamacare Stalls On The Details
Congress’s rush to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, once seemingly unstoppable, is flagging badly as Republicans struggle to come up with a replacement and a key senator has declared that the effort is more a repair job than a demolition. “It is more accurate to say ‘repair Obamacare,’” Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee and chairman of the Senate health committee, said this week. “We can repair the individual market, and that is a good place to start.” (Pear and Abelson, 2/2)

In other national health care news —

USA Today: HHS Nominee Tom Price Bought Stock, Then Authored Bill Benefiting Company
President Trump's nominee to be the nation's top health official introduced legislation last May that benefited a health company he had recently invested in. The $15,000 purchase of shares in McKesson is but the latest financial action raising questions about possible conflicts of interest during the confirmation battle over Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga.  The orthopedic surgeon was approved by the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday and his nomination will soon be voted on by the full Senate. (O'Donnell, 2/2)

The Wall Street Journal: House Lawmaker Pushes Bill To Rein In Drug Prices
A powerful House lawmaker said he would push for legislation to stymie drug price-gouging by encouraging development of generic copies, after attending a meeting at the White House Tuesday with drug-company executives. Rep. Greg Walden (R., Ore.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, announced at a hearing Thursday his support for a bill that was introduced last year largely with Democrat support but then languished. (Rockoff, 2/2)

USA Today: House Votes To Strike Rule Banning Guns For Some Deemed Mentally Impaired
The House of Representatives approved its first effort of the new Congress to roll back gun regulations, voting to overturn a rule that would bar gun ownership by some who have been deemed mentally impaired by the Social Security Administration. The House voted 235-180 largely along party lines Thursday to repeal an Obama-era rule requiring the Social Security Administration to send records of some beneficiaries to the federal firearms background check system after they’ve been deemed mentally incapable of managing their financial affairs. (Gaudiano, 2/2)

The New York Times: Trump Takes The Hair-Growth Drug Propecia. How Does It Work?
The revelation by his longtime doctor that President Trump takes a medication to prevent hair loss has piqued curiosity about the drug. In an interview with The New York Times, the physician, Dr. Harold N. Bornstein, said that Mr. Trump takes finasteride, also marketed as Propecia. The drug, a one-a-day pill, is a popular treatment for so-called male-pattern hair loss, in which the hairline recedes and hair thins at the temples and crown, sometimes to the point of leaving just a horseshoe-shaped fringe around the sides and the back of the head. (Grady, 2/2)

The Washington Post: Trump’s Vaccine Views Are At Odds With Those Of Most Americans, Study Says
The criticism of vaccines voiced by President Trump and some other public figures is at odds with the attitudes of most Americans, who overwhelmingly support requiring public school children to be vaccinated for measles, mumps and rubella, according to a Pew Research Center survey released Thursday. Overall, 82 percent of Americans support requiring students in public schools to be vaccinated for those three diseases. In addition, the survey found, their perceptions of the benefits of that combination vaccine are strongly positive, with about 88 percent saying the benefits outweigh any risks. About 73 percent of Americans see high preventive health benefits, and 66 percent say there is a low risk of side effects. (Sun, 2/2)

Los Angeles Times: Looking For A Really Good Obamacare Replacement? Here It Is
Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) has introduced a bill that would expand Medicare to “provide for comprehensive health insurance coverage for all United States residents.” In other words, it would build on the successful single-payer insurance program that already covers more than 55 million people and bring the United States in line with almost all other developed nations in providing taxpayer-funded health coverage for everyone. Needless to say, the legislation — HR 676 — has no chance of passage by the Republican-controlled Congress. However, the fact that such a bill exists serves as a reminder that there are some in positions of power who understand the pitfalls of the U.S.’s private-sector-dominated health insurance system, and who are willing to place national interest ahead of corporate profits. (David Lazarus, 2/3)

Los Angeles Times: Don't Worry: Obamacare Repeal Won't Hurt Congress' Own Health Coverage
President Trump and Republican members of Congress charge full speed ahead with repealing and replacing Obamacare, [a reader] asks: “What is the current state of congressional reps’ coverage?” Another way of phrasing that might be: Aren’t these guys shooting themselves in the foot? (David Lazarus, 2/1)

Los Angeles Times: A Health Insurance CEO Explains How Republican Actions Could Sabotage Obamacare
Molina Healthcare, a Long Beach-based health insurer known traditionally as a Medicaid provider, is also one of the more important insurers in the Affordable Care Act marketplace, covering roughly 600,000 ACA enrollees in nine states. So when its chief executive warns that Republican dithering over repealing and replacing Obamacare has the potential to damage the marketplace, it’s time to sit up and listen. (Michael Hiltzik, 1/27)

Los Angeles Times: Obama Focused On Healthcare Over Jobs At Great Cost. Will Trump Do The Same? 
Early in his presidency, Barack Obama invested his political capital in a push to reform the health insurance system. Universal coverage was a long-held liberal priority. It was not, however, the priority of most Americans during the Great Recession. Although Obama succeeded in passing the Affordable Care Act, he paid an immense political price. His choice to focus on healthcare — and therefore sideline economic initiatives — led to his party’s historic losses in Congress and undercut Democrats’ appeal to many working-class voters who went on to support Donald Trump. Now President Trump is committing a similar mistake. (David Paul Kuhn, 2/2)

Los Angeles Times: Citing GOP Delay On Replacement, Aetna Signals Full Withdrawal From Obamacare In 2018 
Healthcare experts have been warning that Republican dithering on a replacement for the Affordable Care Act would be a further discouragement for participating insurance companies. Now, the first shoe has dropped: Aetna, which sharply reduced its ACA footprint this year, is signaling that it will be entirely out of the market in 2018. (Michael Hiltzik, 2/1)

Sacramento Bee: A Jurist Who Sees The Law As A Defense For The Weak
It is the gist of much Neil Gorsuch coverage that he is a brilliant jurist with one large weakness: being firmly anti-choice. Exhibit A is his book, “The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia,” in which he scandalously defends the “idea that all human beings are intrinsically valuable.” “The intentional taking of human life by private persons is always wrong,” he continues, along the same shocking lines. (Michael Gerson, 2/2)

Los Angeles Times: Politicians Aiming To Cut Social Security And Medicare Use Weasel Words To Hide Their Plans. Let's Call Them On It. 
In this era in which the Orwellian manipulation of language by politicians to say the opposite of what they mean has reached a fever pitch, we should be especially wary when conservatives hide their plans to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits behind a smokescreen of euphemism. Jared Bernstein, a fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and a former chief economist to Vice President Joe Biden, has put in a plea to journalists to call out policy makers when they pull this stunt—and not to empower politicians by doing the same thing. (Michael Hiltzik. 2/1)

Los Angeles Times: Another Casualty Of Trump's Muslim Ban: U.S. Medical Training And Rural Healthcare 
The chaos among immigrant families and at airports wreaked nationwide by President Trump’s executive order barring nationals of seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States has been well documented. Not as well understood are the effects his order will have on U.S. medical training and healthcare, especially in poor and rural neighborhoods. (Michael Hiltzik, 2/1)

Los Angeles Times: 'Calexit' Would Be A Disaster For Progressive Values 
Imagine if President Trump announced that he wanted to oust California from the United States. If it weren't for us, after all, Trump would have won the popular vote he so lusts after by 1.4 million. Blue America would lose its biggest source of electoral votes in all future elections. The Senate would have two fewer Democrats. The House of Representatives would lose 38 Democrats and just 14 Republicans. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, among the most liberal in the nation, would be changed irrevocably. And the U.S. as a whole would suddenly be a lot less ethnically diverse than it is today. (Conor Friedersdorf, 1/27)

San Francisco Chronicle: Navigation Centers Offer A Path Off The Streets To Homeless 
Although people living on our streets and in encampments are literally in the public eye, the depth of the trauma and crisis that they face is often hidden. Neighborhoods share the consequences of the untreated trauma and crisis unfolding on our streets. To help people resolve their individual problems and support neighborhoods with these challenges, our department has been leading a coordinated citywide effort with two efforts — Navigation Centers and the new Encampment Resolution Team — at the core. It is important that San Franciscans understand these programs. (Jeff Kositsky, 1/31)