Reuters: Supreme Court Takes Christian-Affiliated Hospital Pension Case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear appeals by Christian-affiliated hospital systems of lower court rulings that gave the green light to employee lawsuits accusing them of wrongly claiming a religious exemption from federal pension law. New Jersey-based St. Peter's Healthcare System, Illinois-based Advocate Health System and California-based Dignity Health each appealed separate federal appeals courts rulings that refused to throw out the employee lawsuits. The justices agreed to hear all three cases. (Pierson, 12/2)

The Washington Post: Trump’s Pick For Defense Secretary Went To The Mat For The Troubled Blood-Testing Company Theranos
Retired Marine Gen. James N. Mattis, reportedly President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of defense, had a long military career, leading the U.S. Central Command before he retired in 2013. But a series of emails obtained by The Post last year revealed that, in a lesser-known incident late in his military tenure, Mattis took the unusual step of personally pushing for a start-up company — the controversial blood-testing Theranos — to land a deal for a military field test. (Johnson, 12/1)

In other news, the head of Zenefits is changing his role and considering his next career move —

The New York Times: Zenefits Chief Quitting And Is Said To Consider Trump Transition Team
Zenefits, a once highflying human resources software start-up that defined Silicon Valley’s recent technology boom, has been trying to recover its footing after being rocked by scandal over its business practices earlier this year. Now David O. Sacks, the chief executive of Zenefits and the tech veteran who was charged with rejuvenating the embattled company, plans to leave his position. Mr. Sacks said that he would become Zenefits’s chairman and that the company was starting a search for a new chief executive. (Isaac and Benner, 12/2)

Los Angeles Times: Health Spending Went Up Last Year Because More People Were Getting Care, Report Says
Health spending in the U.S. picked up again in 2015, but the growth was driven largely by millions of Americans getting coverage through the Affordable Care Act, rather than price increases for care, according to a new government report that tracks the nation’s overall healthcare tab. The 5.8% increase – which pushed total healthcare spending to $3.2 trillion last year – was the highest annual growth rate since before the Great Recession, which began in late 2007. And it outpaced overall economic growth in 2015, making healthcare an even larger share of the U.S. economy. (Levey, 12/2)

Los Angeles Times: Agencies Were Urged To Address Paramount Metal Emissions Years Before Air Toxics Scare
The recent discovery of high levels of a cancer-causing pollutant in Paramount has alarmed residents and led authorities to crack down on dangerous emissions from two metal-processing plants.But the interventions last week by air regulators and health officials followed years of slow and sporadic steps by several agencies in response to health concerns, say residents and activists in the small city southeast of Los Angeles. If regulators had done their jobs properly, they say, they might have found out years ago that toxic emissions from metal businesses were putting neighbors at risk — and taken action. (Barboza, 12/4)

And in other news —

KQED: Oil Spill, Sickening Odor Prompt Vallejo To Consider Buying New Air Monitors 
Vallejo officials are considering buying a new set of air monitoring devices because the ones they do have did not pick up any measurements from an odor that sickened dozens of residents around the same time an oil spill was discovered in San Pablo Bay in September. That smell prompted the local government to urge people to stay indoors. Its cause is still a mystery, and a top Vallejo city official calls that lack of knowledge “alarming.” (Goldberg, 12/2)

Los Angeles Times: Here's Something Americans Disagree About That Has Nothing To Do With Partisan Politics
A new report paints a picture of two Americas divided over something that’s a critical part of their daily life — food. On one side are those who care deeply about the food they eat and how it is produced. These Americans embrace organic foods, are suspicious of genetically modified crops and are guided by the belief that they’ll live a long time if they prioritize nutrition and exercise. On the other side are those who pay little attention to how the food they eat winds up on their plate. These folks are more likely to doubt that scientists have a clear idea about what makes for a healthy diet, and to fall short of their own eating goals. (Kaplan, 12/3)

In other public health news —

San Jose Mercury News: Trouble Sleeping? Updated Remedies For Insomniacs
For people who regularly struggle with disrupted sleep, sticking to consistent bedtimes, cutting back on caffeine or alcohol or removing electronics from the bedroom may not always be enough. Health experts have explored many remedies over the years with varying results, which makes them cautious about hailing some new intervention as the magic cure for people’s sleep issues. “There are a lot of things for insomnia that come along, but if it doesn’t work, it really doesn’t work,” said Anil Rama, director of Sleep Medicine Services at Kaiser Permanente in San Jose. (Ross, 12/2)

KPBS: Amid Lawsuit, San Diego Stem Cell Company Pushes Back On Proposed Regulations
San Diego-based Stemgenex is asking regulators to let patients have access to stem cell treatments it calls "life-altering." But patients currently suing the company claim they were charged thousands of dollars for falsely advertised treatments that didn't improve their health. In a press release issued last week, the La Jolla company outlined its argument against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's proposed plans for regulating stem cell treatments. Stemgenex argues the proposed rules would treat a patient's own stem cells as a drug, subjecting stem cell therapies to a lengthy and expensive approval process. (Wagner, 12/5)

Los Angeles Times: Nurse Fired After 528 Patients' Records Breached At Glendale Adventist Medical Center 
A health-care professional at Glendale Adventist Medical Center was fired Wednesday over a privacy breach involving hundreds of patient medical records. Glendale Adventist officials said in a statement on Friday that the protected health information of 528 patients was accessed without authorization by a hospital employee. The unauthorized access included 88 patient records from Glendale Adventist’s sister hospital, White Memorial Medical Center in Boyle Heights. (Landa, 12/2)

Modesto Bee: Tully Road Adult Day Care For Alzheimer’s Patients Set To Close In Modesto
ResCare HomeCare announced this week that it will close an adult day care center in Modesto that provides a respite for people caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. The ResCare Adult Day Program, at Tully Road and Woodrow Avenue, will close at month’s end, unless supporters are able to work a deal to continue service under a new owner. (Carlson, 12/2)

In other news from across the state —

Ventura County Star: Homeless Shelter Prepares To Open In Oxnard
The west county overnight homeless shelter is set to open Tuesday night, but how long it stays open this season depends on how much money organizers can raise in the coming weeks. The shelter initially will operate from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., but could expand its hours past that starting Dec. 19, said the city of Ventura's homeless liaison, Peter Brown. The details are still being worked out, but services to help people out of homelessness could be offered from 6 a.m. to 9-10 a.m., Brown said. That could happen at either the Oxnard National Guard Armory, where the shelter will be located this year, or someplace nearby, such as the Oxnard Police Activities League building. (Martinez, 12/3)

The New York Times: G.O.P. Plans Immediate Repeal Of Health Law, Then A Delay
Republicans in Congress plan to move almost immediately next month to repeal the Affordable Care Act, as President-elect Donald J. Trump promised. But they also are likely to delay the effective date so that they have several years to phase out President Obama’s signature achievement. This emerging “repeal and delay” strategy, which Speaker Paul D. Ryan discussed this week with Vice President-elect Mike Pence, underscores a growing recognition that replacing the health care law will be technically complicated and could be politically explosive. (Pear, Steinhauer and Kaplan, 12/3)

The Associated Press: Obama: Health Care Act Is Law, US Can't Go Backward
President Barack Obama is urging the public to help save his health care law, which is in serious danger of being repealed under President-elect Donald Trump. In a Facebook Live appearance, Obama says the Affordable Care Act has improved millions of lives over the six years it's been the "law of the land." He says the country can't go "backward." (12/2)

In other national health care news —

The Wall Street Journal: Crossing State Lines Is No Easy Jaunt For Insurers And Local Regulators
As Republicans gear up to overhaul the federal health law, they face pushback from a couple unexpected corners over one of their goals: Giving health insurers greater ability to sell policies to consumers across state lines. Republicans for some time have billed interstate sales of insurance as a way to heighten competition and lower costs. It is one of the few specific health initiatives displayed on President-elect Donald Trump’s transition website. (Armour and Wilde Mathews, 12/5)

The Fiscal Times: Pence Dampens Ryan’s Call For Major Medicare Overhaul Next Year 
Vice President-elect Mike Pence on Sunday dampened speculation that Republicans would turn their attention to a major overhaul of the Medicare program for seniors next year after repealing the Affordable Care Act. He insisted that President-elect Donald Trump would honor his campaign commitment to leave Medicare and Social Security unscathed. (Pianin, 12/4)

The New York Times: Tom Price Is Eager To Lead H.H.S., And Reduce Its Clout
During his 12 years in Congress, Representative Tom Price has made clear what role he thinks the government should play in health care. It can be summed up in one word: less. Throughout his career, Mr. Price — who has been picked by President-elect Donald J. Trump to be secretary of health and human services — has argued that the government should get out of the way of doctors and give patients more control over their health care. (Pear, 12/4)

Modern Healthcare: Wounded Care
The health problems of Native Americans, who represent 2% of the U.S. population, are largely invisible to the broader public. Congress rarely investigates conditions at [Indian Health Services] facilities. The last piece of wide-ranging legislation to tackle its problems—the Indian Health Care Improvement Act—was passed in 1976 and was permanently reauthorized as part of the Affordable Care Act. But it never succeeded in righting the underfunded agency. Frustrated by the failure of the federal government to take their concerns seriously, tribes in other parts of the country over the past several decades have forced out IHS by creating not-for-profit community organizations to run their local facilities. (Hermand and Fei, 12/2)

Stat: Zika Vaccines Are In Rapid Development, But Is There A Market For Them?
When top US health authorities convened in late January to brief President Barack Obama on the Zika outbreak in Latin America, the post-meeting scuttlebutt was that the president was eager to push development of a Zika vaccine. The officials attending the meeting tried to convey an inconvenient reality: Real-world need and vaccine development speed are rarely in sync. Vaccines take years to produce, test, and license. The Zika virus, which had received scant study before 2016, was unlikely to prove to be an exception to that truth. And yet a mere 10 months later, despite funding delays from a fractious pre-election Congress, three experimental Zika vaccines are already being tested in people; another four or five should start human trials between now and next fall. (Branswell, 12/5)