The New York Times: Senate Leaders Try To Appease Members As Support For Health Bill Slips
Senate Republican leaders scrambled Sunday to rally support for their health care bill as opposition continued to build inside and outside Congress, and as several Republican senators questioned whether it would be approved this week. President Trump expressed confidence that the bill to repeal the guts of the Affordable Care Act would pass. (Pear and Kaplan, 6/25)

The Washington Post: Senate Health-Care Bill Faces Serious Resistance From GOP Moderates
The vast changes the legislation would make to Medicaid, the country’s broadest source of public health insurance, would represent the largest single step the government has ever taken toward conservatives’ long-held goal of reining in federal spending on health-care entitlement programs in favor of a free-market system. That dramatic shift and the bill’s bold redistribution of wealth — the billions of dollars taken from coverage for the poor would help fund tax cuts for the wealthy — is creating substantial anxiety for several Republican moderates whose states have especially benefited from the expansion of Medicaid that the Affordable Care Act has allowed since 2014. (Eilperin and Goldstein, 6/25)

The Washington Post: Senate Republicans Face Key Week As More Lawmakers Waver In Support For Health-Care Bill
The mounting dissatisfaction leaves Senate Republican leaders and the White House in a difficult position. In the coming days, moves to narrow the scope of the overhaul could appeal to moderates but anger conservatives, who believe the legislation does not go far enough to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. A key moment will arrive early this week when the Congressional Budget Office releases an analysis of the bill that estimates how many people could lose coverage under the Republican plan, as well as what impact it might have on insurance premiums and how much money it could save the government. (Parker, Weigel and Costa, 6/25)

The Associated Press: 5 GOP Senators Now Oppose Health Care Bill As Written
Nevada Republican Dean Heller became the fifth GOP senator to declare his opposition to the party's banner legislation to scuttle much of Barack Obama's health care overhaul on Friday, more than enough to sink the measure and deliver a stinging rebuke to President Donald Trump unless some of them can be brought aboard. (6/24)

The Wall Street Journal: Nevada Senator’s Opposition To Health Bill Highlights Political Pressures
“I cannot support legislation that takes away insurance from millions of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Nevadans,” said Mr. Heller, who is seen by analysts on both sides as the most vulnerable Senate Republican in 2018. “Make no mistake, the Affordable Care Act does need fixing. But the bill in front of us today doesn’t make those fixes.” The announcement was in part a recognition that the ACA, a law that Mr. Heller has spent years disparaging, has grown more popular in Nevada. (Hackman, 6/24)

Los Angeles Times: Republican Senators Seek Changes In Obamacare Repeal Bill They Can All Agree On. It Won't Be Easy
After being widely panned by Democrats and Republicans alike for crafting the bill with unprecedented secrecy keeping details even from GOP senators — McConnell may now be eager to convey a sense of open debate and negotiation. But if the process that played out in the House last month is any guide, expect the deal-making to only go so far before Republicans quickly unify — preferring to hold hands and jump off the political cliff together rather than risk losing their best opportunity to fulfill the Republican promise to stop Obamacare. (Mascaro, 6/22)

The Wall Street Journal: GOP Senators Lay Out Demands On Health Bill
Demands for getting on board include adding funds for particular areas, such as opioid treatment. But GOP senators are particularly divided over the bill’s cuts to Medicaid, the federal-state health program for the poor that covers one in five Americans. In addition, four conservative senators object to the bill’s retention of requirements for insurers to cover patients at the same price regardless of their medical history and with set benefits packages. Those provisions have created new consumer protections but also driven up premiums for younger, healthier people in particular, which the senators have cited as a primary concern. “It’s going to be a challenge,” Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) said Sunday on CBS , about ameliorating centrists’ concerns over the Medicaid changes in the bill. (Radnofsky, 6/26)

Politico: CBO Score Sure To Add To McConnell’s Headaches
The CBO is poised to tell Senate Republicans this week that their health plan will leave millions more uninsured than Obamacare — with the losses estimated from 15 million to 22 million over a decade, according to a half dozen budget analysts polled by POLITICO. (Cancryn and Diamond, 6/26)

Politico: Senate Republicans Skeptical Obamacare Repeal Can Pass This Week
Senate Republicans are casting doubt on their leaders’ plans to vote this week on repealing Obamacare, with lawmakers from all wings of the party so far withholding support from the massive reshaping of the health care law that they campaigned on for seven years. (Schor and Kim, 6/25)

The Associated Press: Trump: Not 'That Far Off' From Passing Health Overhaul
Making a final push, President Donald Trump said he doesn't think congressional Republicans are "that far off" on a health overhaul to replace "the dead carcass of Obamacare." Expressing frustration, he complained about "the level of hostility" in government and wondered why both parties can't work together on the Senate bill as GOP critics expressed doubt over a successful vote this week. It was the latest signs of high-stakes maneuvering over a key campaign promise, and the president signaled a willingness to deal. (6/25)

The Associated Press: Promises, Promises: What Trump Has Pledged On Health Care
President Donald Trump is not known for plunging into the details of complex policy issues, and health care is no exception. Since his campaign days, Trump has addressed health care in broad, aspirational strokes. Nonetheless he made some clear promises along the way. Those promises come under two big headings. First, what Trump would do about the Affordable Care Act, his predecessor's health care law, often called "Obamacare." Second, the kind of health care system that Trump envisions for Americans. (6/26)

The New York Times: How Medicaid Works, And Who It Covers
One of the biggest flash points in the debate over Republican legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act is the future of Medicaid. Here are some basic facts about the 52-year-old program. (Goodnough and Zernike, 6/23)

The Associated Press: Medicaid Is Biggest Consumer Story In 'Obamacare' Rollback
Republicans in full control of government are on the brink of history-making changes to the nation's health care system. The impact for consumers would go well beyond "Obamacare." Former President Barack Obama's signature law is usually associated with subsidized insurance markets like HealthCare.gov. But the Affordable Care Act also expanded Medicaid. (6/23)

The Wall Street Journal: Health Bill Provision Favors States That Didn’t Expand Medicaid
As health-care companies parse Senate Republicans’ bill to undo the Affordable Care Act, a rift is emerging in the hospital industry over a provision that would award additional funds in states that didn’t expand Medicaid. The split centers around cuts the Affordable Care Act made to Medicaid subsidies known as “disproportionate share” payments, for hospitals that care for a large share of uninsured patients. Hospitals wouldn’t need the subsidies as more Americans gained insurance coverage, ACA policymakers believed. (Evans, 6/25)

Reuters: Conservative Koch Network Criticizes U.S. Senate Healthcare Bill
Officials with the conservative U.S. political network overseen by the Koch brothers say they are unhappy with the healthcare bill that may be voted on by the Senate this week and will lobby for changes to it. At a weekend event with conservative donors, top aides to Charles Koch, the billionaire energy magnate, said the Senate bill does not go far enough to dismantle former President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, also known as Obamacare. (Oliphant, 6/25)

The Wall Street Journal: What The Health-Care Vote Means For The Midterm Elections
This week’s expected Senate vote on the GOP health-care bill will showcase a sharp partisan divide on the issue in states where Democrats are poised to play defense in next year’s midterm elections. All Senate Democrats are expected this week to oppose Republican legislation that would dismantle and replace much of the Affordable Care Act. Many of their potential challengers in next year’s elections are House Republicans, who supported a similar bill when it passed their chamber in May. (Peterson, 6/26)

Politico: Obamacare Repeal: Why Democrats Can’t Break Through
Even before Senate Republicans released their Obamacare repeal plan last week, a call went out from liberal activists: Head to the airport and greet departing senators with a furious protest. About five dozen demonstrators showed up at Reagan National Airport, chanting loudly and hoisting signs that read “Don’t Take Away Our Health Care” and “Resist.” Organizers hailed the turnout given the short notice, but the contrast with the thousands of people who flocked to the last airport protests — against President Donald Trump’s travel ban — was inescapable. (Schor, 6/26)

NPR: What The Man Who Ran Obamacare Thinks About The GOP Health Care Plan
Andy Slavitt understands the inner workings of the U.S. health care system better than most. From 2015 to 2017, he ran the Affordable Care Act, sometimes called Obamacare, as head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Since leaving that post in January, he's been an outspoken critic of the Republican proposals to dismantle it. Yesterday, shortly after the release of the Senate bill, he tweeted, "It's the ugly step-sibling of the House bill." And this morning his message was, "We must start over. It's too important." (Deahl and Hsu, 6/23)

Los Angeles Times: GOP's Obamacare Repeal Bills Threaten Huge Disruptions Across The Healthcare System
Congressional Republicans, who for years blasted the Affordable Care Act for disrupting Americans’ healthcare, are now pushing changes that threaten to not only strip health coverage from millions, but also upend insurance markets, cripple state budgets and drive medical clinics and hospitals to the breaking point. (Levey, 6/25)

Los Angeles Times: What The Senate Healthcare Bill Could Mean For Californians
The Affordable Care Act has had a huge impact on California, where roughly 4 million people have gained insurance and the percentage of uninsured residents has dropped more than half. [Here] is a breakdown of some of the ways the Senate bill could affect healthcare coverage in California if it becomes law. (Karlamangla, 6/23)

The Orange County Register: State Treasurer Says Health Bill Will Cost Jobs
The state treasurer is backing studies that project a loss of 209,000 California jobs if the Senate GOP version of Obamacare replacement is signed into law.John Chiang, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate traveling the state, said the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, as proposed in the draft bill released Thursday, would put 9 percent of jobs in the state recovered since the recession “in harm’s way.”...Studies show that nationwide the health care industry, in part because of the ACA, employs 1 in 9 Americans. But rising costs are overwhelming state and federal budgets, experts say. Though he has not yet reviewed the Senate bill, Vince Ramos of Placentia, favors a repeal of the ACA. (Whitehead, 6/24)

Orange County Register: Senate Health Plan Would End Payment For Addiction Treatment
Mental health and substance use disorder treatment became “essential services” that health insurance plans had to cover, a rule that ushered in the greatest expansion of such services in a generation, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. That new day soon might be over. The Senate Republicans’ Better Care Reconciliation Act, released Thursday, would “sunset” Obamacare’s essential health benefits requirements on Dec. 31, 2019. (Sforza, 6/23)

KPCC: Planned Parenthood California Branches Vow To Fight Senate Bill
Planned Parenthood affiliates in California are vowing to fight the Senate GOP's proposal to eliminate federal support for the health care organization...  If the funding cut survives the legislative process, it would translate to a loss of $175.7 million in annual federal support for Planned Parenthood in California, according to Hines. (Plevin, 6/23)

The Associated Press: California Assembly Leader Shelves Single-Payer Health Plan
The prospects of a government-run health care system in California dimmed Friday when the leader of the state Assembly announced he doesn't plan to take up the single-payer bill this year. Speaker Anthony Rendon called the bill "woefully incomplete." "Even senators who voted for SB 562 noted there are potentially fatal flaws in the bill," the Los Angeles-area Democrat said in a statement. (6/23)

California Healthline: Blaming ‘Threat’ Of GOP Health Bill, California Hits Pause On Single Payer
A bill pushing a state-based single-payer system was brought to a halt late Friday when Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, declined to move it forward. The bill will not get a hearing by the Assembly Rules Committee before the July 14 deadline, though it could be taken up again in 2018. It passed the California Senate on June 1. (Feibel, 6/26)

Sacramento Bee: California Assembly Stalls Universal Health Care Bill
Democratic Sens. Ricardo Lara and Toni Atkins, who introduced the proposal, acknowledged the bill was dead for the year. Lara and Atkins had described the bill as a work in progress when it passed the Senate earlier this month without a funding plan. A legislative analysis pegged the cost at $400 billion. (Luna and Cadelago, 6/23)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Shelves Single-Payer Health Bill 
California will not be instituting single-payer health care anytime soon. Three weeks after the state Senate passed a bill that aimed to create a $400 billion-a-year single-payer system in California, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Paramount (Los Angeles County), abruptly shelved the measure Friday, calling it “woefully incomplete.” (Ho, 6/23)

The Mercury News: Single-Payer Health Care Put On Hold In California As Leader Calls Bill ‘Woefully Incomplete’ 
Champions of single-payer health care say that it will save Californians money, even though their taxes would increase, because they would no longer pay premiums or deductibles and the system would eliminate insurance-company profits and overhead. A study released last month, commissioned by the nurses, found that such a system could save Californians $37 billion annually on health care spending, even as it covered nearly 3 million people who are now uninsured. Still, few political insiders expected the Assembly to pass the legislation this year, given its cost and the uncertainty surrounding the Affordable Care Act, which Republicans in Congress are trying to repeal. (Murphy, 6/23)

Capital Public Radio: California Single-Payer Health Plan On Hold
A Senate financial analysis estimates the total cost at about $400 billion, double current government spending on health care. (Bradford, 6/23)

Sacramento Bee: Bernie Sanders Unhappy With Parking Of California Universal Health Care Bill
Having recently urged California to be the nation’s leader in instituting universal health care policy, Sanders has been a strong supporter of Senate Bill 562, which would create a universal, publicly funded health care system for the state... In parking the bill, Rendon called the legislation fatally flawed, noting “serious issues, such as financing, delivery of care, cost controls, or the realities of needed action by the Trump administration and voters to make SB 562 a genuine piece of legislation.” (McGough, 6/24)

Orange County Register: Orange Hospital Builds New Kind Of Emergency Room For Growing Mentally Ill Population
Most hospital emergency care centers are ordered chaos — a kid with a broken leg and a worried parent in one room, a mountain biker with a concussion in another, a muttering and bleeding homeless man in a third. But at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange — one of the busiest ERs in Orange County — there now are two separate emergency areas that administrators say allows all patients to receive faster triage while providing mentally ill patients with tailored, comprehensive treatment. (Whiting, 6/23)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: What Is Causing An Outbreak That Has Infected 181 People And Killed Four? 
San Diego County’s public-health officials are focusing on hygiene as they rev up their battle against the state’s largest hepatitis A outbreak in nearly two decades, a scourge that has infected 181 people and killed four since it was first detected in November. Increased vaccination efforts, distribution of educational fliers and specialized field outreach campaigns — by government and nonprofit groups — haven’t been able to stop the spread of this viral disease among the region’s homeless. (Sisson, 6/24)

Orange County Register: California The Over-Regulator? Not For Addiction Treatment 
When it comes to drug and alcohol rehab centers, California channels its inner Texas: few burdens on business and as free-market as possible. That stands in sharp contrast to New York, Massachusetts and a dozen other states, where would-be rehab operators must prove there’s a local demand for their services and obtain a “certificate of need” before snipping opening-day ribbons and scaling those legendary 12 steps. (Sforza, 6/23)

Sacramento Bee: Sniffing Dogs Are Being Trained To Detect Cancer In Urine
A small Japanese city is set to use a unique method to help cancer patients. WBAL TV in Baltimore reports that Kaneyama, a town of about 2,200 people, will be the home for a group of dogs that can detect cancer in humans by sniffing urine. (Harris, 6/25)

Orange County Register: Free Screenings For National HIV Testing Day 
Tuesday, June 27, marks National HIV Testing Day and various Orange County clinics will offer free testing — something they actually do all year. The Orange County Health Care Agency said 6,762 residents have HIV and an estimated 669 people have undiagnosed HIV. (Perkes, 6/23)

In other news from across the state —

Sacramento Bee: Mt. Shasta Issues Boil Water Warning Due To E. Coli Bacteria
The city of Mt. Shasta put out a notice warning residents to bring all water to a boil for a minute before drinking it, cooking with it, making ice, brushing teeth or washing dishes. City officials said in the notice they expect to resolve the problem in seven to 10 days, meaning the issue could continue through the Fourth of July, when the city hosts some of its most popular events. (Garrison, 6/25)

East Bay Times: Mobile Food Pantry Makes Regular Los Gatos Stops 
It’s a hot Thursday afternoon when the West Valley Community Services Mobile Food Pantry rolls into the Los Gatos United Methodist Church parking lot at 111 Church St., ready to hand out free food to low-income and homeless residents. ... West Valley Community Services launched the mobile pantry because it was difficult for people to travel to its Cupertino headquarters for food and services. ... The mobile pantry is stocked with a variety of easy-to-fix food, such as ramen noodles, pop top canned soups, and macaroni and cheese. Granola bars, chips, bread, peanut butter, fresh fruit and toiletries also fill the bins that are set outside under a pop-up canopy. (Peterson, 6/23)