Center for Public Integrity: How Big Tobacco Lobbies To Safeguard E-Cigarettes
Nowhere has the tobacco fight been bigger, or more expensive, than in California, which has attracted at least two-thirds of tobacco companies’ state-level political donations since 2011. Public health advocates here say tobacco companies have used a potent combination of campaign contributions and behind-the-scenes lobbying to win enough friends in key places. The strategy is most apparent on the Assembly’s Governmental Organization Committee, which oversees an odd combination of issues, including public records, state holidays, gambling, alcohol and tobacco. (Kusnetz, 3/25)

Modern Healthcare: Centene Completes Health Net Deal After Protracted Review
It took almost two months longer than expected, but Medicaid insurer Centene Corp. finally closed on its Health Net deal after winning approval from skeptical California regulators. The value of the deal, including debt, has been revised to $6 billion. (Herman, 3/24)

The Wall Street Journal: Gilead To Pay Merck $200 Million In Damages Over Hepatitis C Drug Patents
A federal jury in California ordered Gilead Sciences Inc. to pay Merck & Co. and a partner $200 million for infringing two Merck patents in a case involving Gilead’s two blockbuster drugs for treating hepatitis C, Merck said Thursday. The award follows the jury’s decision on Tuesday upholding the validity of two patents held by Merck and its partner Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. that Merck says should entitle the companies to a portion of the sales of Gilead’s drugs Sovaldi and Harvoni. (Winslow, 3/24)

Reuters: Gilead Ordered To Pay Merck $200M In Drug Patent Dispute
A federal jury on Thursday ordered Gilead Sciences Inc to pay Merck & Co $200 million in damages for infringing two Merck patents related to a lucrative cure for hepatitis C. The damages award is far less than the $2 billion Merck had demanded. On Tuesday, the same jury in San Jose, California, upheld the validity of the patents, which lie at the heart of the dispute over Gilead's blockbuster drugs Sovaldi and Harvoni. Together the medicines had more than $20 billion in U.S. sales in 2014 and 2015. (3/24)

The San Francisco Business Times: S.F. General Hospital Rebuild Sets Standard For Modern Health Care
Sometime this spring, the hospital formerly known as San Francisco General Hospital will open its shiny new inpatient tower. The circular, 284-bed building, shimmied between two seismically suspect but historic brick buildings and the existing hospital structure, is everything the surrounding structures are not: Sleek, contemporary, seismically enhanced and inviting for patients, family members and other visitors, doctors, nurses and staffers. (Rauber, 3/25)

The Los Angeles Daily News: ‘Kissing Bug’ Sickens More In LA Than Zika, But Few Know They Have It
Some call it the kissing bug because it leaves a painless bite near a sleeping person’s lips. But among health experts, including those from the federal government, the cone-headed Triatomine is no prince awakening a sleeping beauty. It’s an assassin, because it leaves behind a parasite in its love bite that can be deadly. (Abram, 3/24)

In other public health news —

The Associated Press: California: Chemical Warning May Scare Poor From Canned Food
California plans to delay state-required warnings on metal cans lined with the chemical BPA, arguing too-specific warnings could scare stores and shoppers in poor neighborhoods away from some of the only fruits and vegetables available canned ones, officials said Thursday. (Knickmeyer, 3/24)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: UCSD Caught In Debate Over Fetal Tissue Research
UC San Diego and one of its renowned neuroscientists have become embroiled in a national debate over the legality and ethics of using human fetal tissue to study various diseases. A special House committee requested wide-ranging records from the university about the acquisition and distribution of such tissue, and researcher Larry Goldstein faced some sharp questioning when he testified on the topic before the panel this month. (Robbins, 3/24)

The Bakersfield Californian: Call For On-Site Nurses In Kern High Schools
While elementary school districts and middle schools in Kern County have school nurses, the high schools have been left out. That could change if some in the community have their way. “The high schools at this point, no matter how much we advocate, are not looking at adding nurses, but they truly need to for the safety of the kids,” said Deborah Wood, student health and neighborhood support programs coordinator for the Bakersfield City School District. Wood has been a nurse for over 30 years. (Castro, 3/24)

The New York Times: Report Offers A Mixed View Of Health Care Law Costs

The Associated Press: New Analysis: 'Obamacare' Coverage Costs Rising

The Washington Post: Budget Scorekeeper: Obamacare Costs Rising As More Enroll In Medicaid

The Wall Street Journal: Enrollment In Health Law’s Exchanges Projected To Reach 12 Million In 2016

The Wall Street Journal: FDA Issues New Generic Painkiller Guidance Amid Opioid-Abuse Concerns

The Associated Press: FDA Outlines Standards For Anti-Abuse Generic Painkillers

The Sacramento Bee: The Price Of Dying Is Going Up
Martin Shkreli, the poster child for vulture capitalists preying on the sick, is getting a run for his money. In some ways, it’s even more outrageous. While Shrkeli bought life-saving drugs and jacked up their prices, Valeant Pharmaceuticals is profiting from the drug typically used by terminally ill patients in physician-assisted suicide. As KQED reported this week, Quebec-based Valeant purchased Seconal last February – a month after California legislators proposed an aid-in-dying bill – and immediately doubled the cost for a lethal dose to $3,000. (3/23)

The Los Angeles Times: Ending The Supreme Court Stalemate
On Wednesday, an eight-member Supreme Court heard a challenge to the requirement under Obamacare that employer health insurance plans cover birth control. The case was brought by nonprofit organizations with religious objections to contraception. (3/24)

The Los Angeles Times: Birth Control And Obamacare Are On Trial Yet Again In The Supreme Court
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in yet another challenge to the implementation of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. Although the legal issues are complex, the case of Zubik vs. Burwell can be summed up in an old saying: “No good deed goes unpunished.” The good deed in this case is the Obama administration's decision to accommodate religiously affiliated employers who believe birth control to be immoral. (3/22)

Los Angeles Daily News: Six Years In, Affordable Care Act Is Enhancing Lives, Health Of Americans
In terms of significance, the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 is often compared to the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. The ACA grew out of advances in coverage provided by Medicare and Medicaid — in fact, President Teddy Roosevelt first proposed a national health insurance program in 1912! We celebrate over 100 years of health care progress in 2016. The ACA turns six on March 23, and its elder sibling, Medicare, turns 51 a few months later. Both programs continue to evolve, enhancing the lives and health of Americans. (Melissa Stafford Jones, 3/22)

The Los Angeles Times: Surprise! You're Covered For The Hospital, Not The Doctors
Nearly a quarter of Californians who had hospital visits since 2013 were surprised to find that at least some charges at in-network hospitals were at out-of-network rates, according to a survey last year by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. (David Lazarus, 3/25)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Vaccination Progress Threatened In California
The California Legislature responded smartly to a measles outbreak last year by adopting a law that will ban “personal belief” vaccination exemptions for students starting in July. The action triggered an angry backlash from parents who buy New Age baloney about vaccinations being toxic and not one of the public health establishment’s greatest tools to limit human misery. But Gov. Jerry Brown and most state lawmakers held firm, knowing the importance of having nearly everyone vaccinated to maintain “herd immunity” to infectious diseases. (3/21)

The Sacramento Bee: Backers Of Crisis Pregnancy Centers Try To Intimidate Opponents
The last time I checked, California’s laws were made by the Legislature. The pro-choice voters of California elected legislators to pass laws protecting abortion rights and bucking a national trend of relentless attacks on reproductive freedom. But now the Legislature’s willingness to break new ground has attracted attention from the anti-choice movement wreaking havoc around the country. Multimillion-dollar organizations have filed five separate lawsuits to try to stop the Reproductive FACT Act, a law designed to provide women with critical information when they are making time-sensitive decisions about pregnancy. (Amy Everitt, 3/22)

The Los Angeles Times: Soaring Prescription Prices Cause A Nasty Divorce In The Healthcare Market
Money always ranks high among the reasons for divorce. In the failing marriage between Anthem Blue Cross and Express Scripts, it's reasons one through 15 billion. That's how many dollars the party of the first part thinks its been cheated by the party of the second part. (Michael Hiltzik, 3/22)

Los Angeles Daily News: Scorched Lungs, Scorched Earth; Tobacco Threatens Health, Democracy
California has long been a national leader in combating tobacco use. But being out front has never been easy. In the 1990s, the tobacco industry used libel suits to threaten California television stations into taking anti-smoking ads off the air. Last year, they threatened to sue Healdsburg, forcing the city of 11,000 to reverse a law to raise the age to buy tobacco products to 21. Now a bill to raise the age to 21 statewide is headed for Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk, along with five other anti-smoking bills that could save thousands of lives. So it’s no surprise that the industry is now threatening a “scorched earth” campaign against democracy in our state. (Afif El-Hasan, 3/22)

The Sacramento Bee: Time To Act On Sacramento School Kitchen To Feed Students’ Brains
Sacramento City Unified School District trustees have before them a tremendous opportunity to adhere to the will of their voters, and model a gold standard for student health and nutrition. In 2012, district voters overwhelmingly supported Measure R, a bond measure that, among other things, called for a central kitchen that can provide locally sourced, nutritious meals in a cost-effective way. It is time to make good on this commitment and break ground on a central kitchen. The importance of proper nutrition for learning is scientifically proven. (Patrick Kennedy and Jessie Ryan, 3/22)

The Los Angeles Times: Ted Cruz Just Named Phil Gramm His Economic Advisor. Here's Gramm's Economic Legacy.
[Sen. Ted] Cruz made the appointment Friday, when he collected [Phil] Gramm's endorsement of his quest for the Presidency. He cited Gramm's role as an opponent of the healthcare reform measures proposed in the 1990s by President Bill Clinton, as well as Gramm's record as a professor of economics at Texas A&M University before becoming a U.S. Representative in 1979 and moving up to the Senate in 1985. He retired from Congress in 2002. (Michael Hiltzik, 3/21)

Orange County Register: A State Soda Tax Should Fizzle Out – Again
The food police are back at it in Sacramento. New taxes on soda and candy are on the docket as our betters in the state Legislature try to use the power of government to influence what we eat and drink, while lightening our pockets to the tune of billions of dollars each year. Assembly Bill 2782, by Assemblyman Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica, would impose a 2-cents-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages – 24 cents for a standard 12-ounce soda – and is estimated to generate between $2 billion and $3 billion a year in taxes, or “health impact fees,” as they are euphemistically called. (3/21)

The Ventura County Star: County Should Slow Down On Child Mental Health Changes
The Ventura County Board of Supervisors is set to act Tuesday on a long-term agreement to provide mental health care for the county's children. The agreement before the board is to hire an Oakland-based company to operate the $6 million annual program and facility. We believe a decision is premature because county officials apparently have not fully discussed all options. (3/19)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Why Was Tri-City CEO Pushed Out?
Poor old Tri-City. Just when the long-troubled public hospital district appears to be taking a step forward, it takes a step backward. Per the dogeared “employee privacy” playbook, a veil has been drawn over the reason(s) why CEO Tim Moran, after two boffo years in the leading role, has been replaced by the hospital district’s chief financial officer, Steve Dietlin. (Jenkins, 3/19)

Los Angeles Times: Has Robert De Niro's Tribeca Film Festival Sold Out To Anti-Vaccine Crackpots?
The festival, which was co-founded by Robert De Niro in 2002, has placed a film purporting to defend Wakefield and accusing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of a cover-up on its program this spring. The film is called "Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Conspiracy." Its director: Andrew Wakefield. (Michael Hiltzik, 3/23)

The Oakland Tribune: From East Oakland To Lifesaving Health Careers
The innovative program, run by the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency, trains young men between the ages of 18 and 26 for careers in emergency medical services. It's part of a broader national effort, which includes President Barack Obama's My Brother's Keeper initiative. The goal is to create a laser focus on improving the life outcomes for boys and men of color who are disproportionately dropping out of school, facing mass unemployment, getting incarcerated and dying on the streets. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a major funder. (Tammerlin Drummond, 3/18)