Los Angeles Times: Obama Administration Moves To Block Health Insurance Mega-Mergers
The Obama administration went to court Thursday to block two major health insurance mergers, siding with consumer advocates and medical groups worried that the consolidation of large national health plans could lead to higher premiums. The long-anticipated move by the Justice Department and attorneys general in California and 10 other states, will at least temporarily prevent Anthem Inc.’s $48-billion purchase of Cigna Corp., a combination that would create the nation’s largest health insurer. And it will stop Aetna Inc.’s $34-billion bid to acquire Humana Inc., a merger that would have combined the nation’s third- and fifth-biggest health plans. (Levey and Puzzanghera, 7/21)

KQED: California Attorney General Joins Federal Suit To Block Anthem-Cigna Merger
California Attorney General Kamala Harris is joining a federal Justice Department antitrust lawsuit to block the proposed health insurance mega-merger between Anthem and Cigna, a consolidation that would create the country’s largest health insurer. While Harris acknowledged that mergers can create benefits for consumers, this deal “does not strike that balance and would drive up costs for consumers and reduce access to quality healthcare for millions of Californians,” she said in a statement. The lawsuit was filed by the Justice Department and attorneys general in nine other states, in addition to California. (Aliferis, 7/21)

USA Today: Hospitals, Doctors Funded Consumer Opposition To Insurance Mergers
Hospital and doctor groups helped fund the consumer opposition to the two big health insurer mergers the Justice Department sued to block Thursday. Hospitals, which have been merging fast and furiously on their own, jump started the campaign against the mergers of Aetna and Humana and Anthem and Cigna by funding the Campaign for Consumer Choice with unions. Insurers said they needed to consolidate to deal more effectively with ever-larger hospital companies, which have also been gobbling up doctors' practices. (O'Donnell, 7/21)

The Wall Street Journal: Antitrust Suits Could Upend Health Insurers’ Strategies
If the Justice Department wins its two health-insurance antitrust cases, the four companies involved would face business challenges as they move forward alone. All four— Aetna Inc., Humana Inc., Anthem Inc. and Cigna Corp.—would be left without the additional scale that they said would help them pare costs and boost their products. They would remain substantially smaller than the industry’s largest player by revenue, UnitedHealth Group Inc., and could turn to other smaller deals to gain at least some heft in key markets. (Wilde Mathews, 7/21)

Reuters: Aetna, Humana Map Legal Strategy To Salvage Merger
Health insurer Aetna Inc, whose $33 billion purchase of Humana Inc has been spurned by the U.S. government, faces a tough but not impossible legal battle to try to reinstate the deal. Aetna vowed to fight “to the very end” after the Department of Justice filed suit earlier on Thursday to block the merger, which had been in the works for more than a year. Antitrust reviewers say the combination will hurt consumers and the companies' proposed fix - selling some health plans to a competitor - is insufficient. (Humer, 7/22)

Center for Investigative Reporting: ‘I Was Greedy And Stupid’: Workers’ Comp Attorney Admits To Bribes
Sean E. O’Keefe was a well-known attorney in San Diego, advertising on his website that his team put injured workers’ needs first. In recently released court records, O’Keefe testified that he paid a firm to send him two-thirds of his clients. He also promised the recruiter, Carlos Arguello, that he would make sure those workers ran up bills at certain medical providers who offered MRIs, sleep studies, psychology, medications and toxicology screenings. (Jewett, 7/18)

Los Angeles Times: New Warning Rule For Users Of Generic Drugs Is Left In Limbo
Five years after the Supreme Court blocked most personal-injury lawsuits against makers of generic drugs, a rule designed to strengthen patient protections have stalled, leaving what consumer groups warn is a safety gap for millions of users. After several delays, the Food and Drug Administration said last year it would to issue a new rule by the end of this month to require generic drug makers to update their warning labels in response to newly revealed risks. But the agency quietly said recently it had put off a final decision until early next year. (Savage, 7/21)

KQED: Oakland, S.F. Revise Medical Marijuana Regulations In Face Of New State Law
A new state law has Oakland and San Francisco remaking their medical cannabis laws in the face of new state requirements. The actions are distinct from a November statewide ballot measure that would legalize recreational marijuana for adults over 21 years old. The present law, passed last fall, imposes new regulatory measures on medical pot businesses in California. Previously, businesses needed only a city license. (Levi, 7/21)

Bloomberg: Taking Bids On The Hospital Of The Future
As Silicon Valley’s principal hospital system and insurer, Kaiser has a history of focusing on advances rooted in technology, but in the past few years, instead of forcing its 10.6 million patients to use the systems on offer, it’s begun pushing hardware and software makers to respond to patient demands, and supply what it thinks they’ll want in 10 years. “It frees us up so we don’t get so stuck on the realities of today,” says Chief Executive Officer Bernard J. Tyson. The auditions take place in a spartan 37,000-square-foot warehouse in the Oakland suburb of San Leandro. (Chen, 7/22)

In other hospital news —

Mercury News: Stanford Hospital Expansion On Target
Construction of the $2 billion expansion of Stanford Hospital is three-quarters complete. Hospital officials announced Monday that the new facilities are on schedule to open for patient care in 2018. The project is designed to be a model of environmental sustainability and is expected to use 35 percent less energy than the average hospital, according to the Stanford University Medical Center. (Lee, 7/21)

Sacramento Bee: Three Sutter Facilities Make Best Places To Work List
Three Sutter Health hospitals have made a list of best places to work. Sutter Amador Hospital, Sutter Davis Hospital and Sutter Center for Psychiatry were named by Modern Healthcare magazine as three of the 100 best places to work in healthcare in 2016. It is the 8th year in a row that Sutter Davis Hospital has made the list, the fifth year for Sutter Center for Psychiatry and the first time for Sutter Amador Hospital. (Lindelof, 7/20)

The Desert Sun: These Are The Propositions On The California Ballot
Proposition 52 requires a two-thirds vote in the legislature to amend the hospital fee program in order to ensure that the state uses matching Medicaid dollars for the intended purpose of supporting Medi-Cal patients and to help pay for low-income children’s health care. The state estimates savings of more than $1 billion annually by 2020 and increased revenues for public hospitals of $250 million annually by 2020. (Marx, 7/21)

Orange County Register: Doctor Faces Discipline After Patient Opiate Overdose
An Anaheim doctor faces California Medical Board discipline after a patient he repeatedly prescribed opiates to died of an accidental drug overdose, according to board legal documents made public this week. Dr. Clyde Ikuta is accused of gross negligence in the death of an unidentified 25-year-old man who saw Ikuta for pain from August 2010 to May 2011. ... According to the documents, despite the patient’s history of heroin abuse, Ikuta prescribed methadone without ever giving him a drug test or checking to see if other doctors were also prescribing opiates to him. (Perkes, 7/21)

Orange County Register: Doctor Sanctioned For Poor Supervision Of Assistant Who Improperly Prescribed Opioids
A Dana Point doctor has been placed on five years probation by the California Medical Board after failing to supervise a physician’s assistant who improperly prescribed opiate painkillers to eight patients, including one with a history of drug abuse. Dr. Richard Berton Mantell reached a settlement with the board that also suspended him from practicing for 15 days, and barred him from supervising physician assistants or from prescribing certain types of controlled substances. According to the documents, Mantell ran a medical marijuana clinic but was hired to oversee an unidentified physician assistant at another medical office by reviewing and signing his patient charts. (Perkes, 7/21)

Roll Call: Obama Administration Announces Added $60 Million To Fight Zika
Some $60 million will soon flow to states, cities and territories to fight the Zika virus, White House officials announced Thursday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will begin awarding nearly $60 million to localities to "support efforts to protect Americans from the Zika virus," including protecting against the birth defect microcephaly, the agency said in a press release Thursday. CDC said new funding will be available to jurisdictions Aug. 1. ... An Office of Management and Budget aide confirmed on background that the additional $60 million comes from the $589 million in total funds the administration reprogrammed in April to fight the virus, in the absence of Congress appropriating $1.9 billion in emergency funds that were requested in February. (Mejdrich, 7/21)

The Washington Post: Zika Is Found In Common Culex Mosquitos, Signaling A Potentially Larger Risk
Brazilian researchers said Thursday they have found Zika in Culex mosquitoes in the northeastern city of Recife in what could prove to be an important discovery. But they cautioned that more study was needed. Until now, Zika was believed to be carried mainly by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is much less numerous, lives in clean water and is more likely to bite during the day. Aedes aegypti thrives in tropical and subtropical climates — it is found in Southern U.S. states such as Florida, but is absent in large parts of the United States. The virus is also carried by the Aedes albopictus mosquito, which lives in more rural environments. (Phillips, 7/21)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Previews How Hospitals Will Fare On New Star Ratings
Ahead of the release of its much-anticipated star ratings for overall hospital quality, the CMS published data Thursday showing how those star ratings are distributed according to hospital characteristics, such as size and status. The agency said it planned to post overall hospital star ratings "shortly" on its Hospital Compare website. (Whitman, 7/21)

The Hill: Humana To Leave 'Substantially All' ObamaCare Markets
Humana, one of the nation’s top health insurers, is pulling out of ObamaCare plans in all but a handful of states after a year of nearly $1 billion in losses. The company plans to exit nearly half of the markets next year, it announced during an earnings report Thursday. It will take part in “no more” than 11 state marketplaces, down from 19 states this year, the company said. (Ferris, 7/21)

ProPublica: The Secret Documents That Detail How Patients’ Privacy Is Breached
As part of its examination into the impact of privacy violations on patients, ProPublica has posted about 300 of these “closure letters” in our HIPAA Helper tool. The app allows users to review details of these cases and track repeat offenders. We obtained the letters under the Freedom of Information Act and this is the largest repository of them ever made public. Most of the letters we’ve received were sent to two large providers, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and CVS Health. (Ornstein, 7/21)

Orange County Register: Address Drug Abuse
With fatal drug overdoses at a 10-year high in O.C., it is important to take the time to reevaluate our approach to drug abuse and tackle the harms of such abuse through evidence-based practices proven to save lives. According to reporting by the Register, at least 400 people lost their lives last year due to drug overdoses. More than two-thirds of the overdoses last year were tied to opioids. Given the tremendous stigma around drug use and abuse, it is often too difficult for people with substance abuse problems to reach out for help. Ingrained and institutionalized attitudes against drug use have in turn left few resources beyond the criminal justice system to actually assist those in need. (7/17)

The Sacramento Bee: We’ve Missed Chances To Boost Mental Health
California has not solved the mental health crisis; neither has Congress. We see the reality of the crisis every day in every community. We have made progress, but we have missed opportunities that could have helped more people, more families. Take the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act (HR 2646) that was passed by the U.S. House on July 6. Assuming it becomes law, it will fund programs for people in psychiatric hospitals and those in crisis. (Carmela Castellano-Garcia, 7/20)

Los Angeles Times: Starbucks Unveils A Private Health Insurance Exchange. Is That A Good Thing?
To hear Starbucks tell it, the company’s introduction this week of expanded insurance choices for workers represents a major advance in health coverage. ... By switching to a plan “that better meets their individual needs,” the company said, employees could save as much as $800 a year. The savings for those with family plans could reach $2,600 annually, it said. ... The danger for the U.S. healthcare system is that this can result in higher costs for people desiring, or requiring, stronger coverage. This is known in insurance circles as “adverse selection,” or higher costs for the sick because they’re no longer pooling risk with the healthy. (David Lazarus, 7/22)

Los Angeles Times: Obama Is Not A Scientist. JAMA Shouldn't Pretend He Is
The Journal of the American Medical Assn. recently published a very unusual article: a scientific study authored by a sitting president of the United States. That’s never happened before. In a sense, it’s cool that President Obama cares enough about science to want to publish a paper in one of the world’s leading medical journals. But JAMA has set a bad precedent. The article, on healthcare reform in the United States, is problematic not only in its content but in the threat it poses to the integrity of scientific publishing. (Alex Berezow and Tom Hartsfield, 7/18)

The Sacramento Bee: Foster Youth Deserve Good Health Care, Wherever They Are
I’ve been caring for at-risk children for three decades. Children enter foster care having already experienced abuse, neglect and other traumas, such as exposure to domestic violence. These accumulated traumas can leave them with extensive behavioral and mental health needs. To heal, these children need regular and quality health care services. (Moira Szilagyi, 7/19)

The Fresno Bee: Black Babies Matter, Too: We Must Not Rest Until We’re The Best
Just a year ago this month, our county was forced to confront a sad and sobering reality. Research showed that our black infants were three times more likely to die in their first year of life than white and Hispanic infants. Hold on to your politics. These are babies. They have done nothing but bring joy into the world. Yet in Fresno County, a shameful number of them never lived to their first birthday. (7/15)

Los Angeles Times: Forget Melania Trump. The Republican Party Platform Is The Circus We Need To Watch.
Because here’s what the official document — a document that, unlike Melania Trump, addresses numerous important national issues — says the Republican Party aims to do. I want to directly quote the platform’s language without interpretation, so that I can’t be accused of sensationalizing or misstating it. ... On abortion, the platform states: “We assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to children before birth.” This is an argument to amend the constitution in order to make abortion illegal. (Melissa Batchelor Warnke, 7/19)

Oakland Tribune: Caregivers Vital In Hospital Readmission Fix
Each year, taxpayers and hospitals across the U.S. spend billions of dollars to treat patients, many of them seniors, who have been readmitted to a hospital within 30 days of their previous discharge. But many of these readmissions are actually avoidable if proper discharge planning and care coordination are put into place before a patient leaves the hospital. One of the leading causes of hospital readmission is the lack of proper support following a hospital discharge. (Francesca Vogel, 7/21)

Oakland Tribune: Oakland Must Stop Deceptive Abortion Advertisements
Misleading or lying to pregnant women who are seeking time-sensitive medical care can be extremely harmful. Last month, we introduced the Pregnancy Information Disclosure and Protection Ordinance in Oakland to call attention to this fraud and to send a clear message to those responsible: Our city will not stand for intentional deception of patients seeking health care. On July 5, the Oakland City Council approved the ordinance, which is cosponsored by Councilman Abel Guillén and Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan. (Annie Campbell Washington and Barbara J. Parker, 7/18)

Los Angeles Times: In Herbalife Ruling, FTC Helps Draw The Line Between Legit Methods And Pyramid Schemes
One of the basic tenets of consumer goods is that companies live or die based on the demand for their products. But some companies have charted a path to prosperity by selling something else: the lure of riches hidden in their products’ sales chain. That’s been one of the keys to success for Los Angeles-based Herbalife, which sells nutrition and personal care products through a global network of ordinary people who act as distributors. But like many other companies of its ilk, Herbalife has been dogged by accusations that its distributors are actually victims of a scam designed to enrich the company and a few people at the top of the distribution chain. (7/20)

The Sacramento Bee: Requiring Labels For GMO Foods Makes No Sense At All
The bill that passed Congress last week requiring labeling of genetically engineered foods is a step toward better consumer information. Or it’s a gift to the food industry because it does not require clear information on the label. Food companies could use icons or a barcode that would require scanning to get the information. In truth, though, neither of those views makes sense because the whole idea of labeling GMO foods is simply illogical, unless and until information comes to light that indicates the food is in any way dangerous to human health. (Karin Klein, 7/18)