Modern Healthcare: California Considers Taxing Prescription Opioids
California is looking to impose a surcharge on prescription opioids to fund treatment for addicts. The move in such a large state could have a ripple effect through the rest of the country dealing with spiking rates of overdoses. The proposed measure introduced Wednesday by California Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, of Sacramento, would place a one-cent-per-milligram tax on prescription opioids. Prescription opioid wholesalers would be responsible for paying the tax, but it is likely those charges would fall onto the shoulders of insurers and consumers. (Johnson, 3/3)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Sharp Reports Theft Of Information On 757 Patients
The San Diego Police Department and Sharp HealthCare are investigating the theft of 757 health screening records taken from a locked cabinet inside the Sharp Memorial Outpatient Pavilion on Feb. 6. According to a statement released by Sharp Friday afternoon, someone took a computer and “external memory device” that contained records collected during wellness screenings for blood pressure and/or cardiac health studies Sharp is conducting. The records included the name, date of birth, age, current medications, family history and screening type for each patient. No financial information or social security numbers were part of the breach. (Sisson, 3/3)

The Mercury News: Planned Parenthood Funding Threat Could Hit California Hard
Already the federal government prohibits any federal dollars from paying for abortions except in cases of rape, incest or to save the mother’s life. But the new effort seeks to block federal funds from paying for any other kind of health care by providers who also perform abortions. If they succeed, the impact would be particularly strong in California — a state where legislators over the years have interpreted federal laws and rules in ways that have allowed more federal dollars to flow to Planned Parenthood clinics. (Young, 3/5)

Sacramento Bee: Microbiome Research Reveals Dangers Of Oversanitizing 
Scientists are only beginning to understand the millions of microbes that make up the human microbiome, said UC Davis microbiologist Jonathan Eisen, but researchers are finding that antibiotics, household disinfectants and other sanitizing products are also killing the “good bacteria” that help our bodies fend off disease. Many believe that the shortage of certain microbes explains recent spikes in childhood allergies and asthma. (Caiola, 3/4)

In other public health news —

East Bay Times: CDC Report: Youth Suicide Rates In Santa Clara County Highest In Palo Alto, Morgan Hill 
Palo Alto and Morgan Hill have the highest suicide rates in Santa Clara County among youths 10 to  24 years old, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released today. From 2003 to 2015, Palo Alto’s youth suicide rate per 100,000 people was 14.1 and Morgan Hill’s 12.7, according to the report. Both were much higher than the county rate of 5.4 deaths per 100,000. In raw numbers, however, San Jose saw the most youth suicides. During that period, 113 young San Jose residents died by suicide in the city or elsewhere. In the city itself, 76 youths died by suicide. (Lee, 3/3)

Orange County Register: Is Alzheimer's Treatment Of Injecting Stem Cells Into The Brain A Breakthrough Or Quackery? 
His doctor, Christopher Duma, hopes Jack Sage goes down in history as the one-man turning point in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, while others are skeptical about what Duma has done to Sage’s brain. Everyone agrees that Alzheimer’s disease is an exploding problem. (Sharon, 3/5)

Orange County Register: Even Toxics Control Successes Can Leave Affected Southern California Neighborhoods On Edge
With the region’s leading air-quality watchdog facing criticism over a string of high-profile releases of hazardous substances into Southern California neighborhoods, government regulators have eagerly pointed to what they consider an environmental enforcement success: hard-won progress in cleaning up a suburban metals-processing plant that for years emitted a potentially cancer-causing carcinogen also known as chromium-6. Through monitoring and other actions stretching back almost a decade, the South Coast Air Quality Management District -- whose jurisdiction spans Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties -- warned and cited Hixson Metal Finishing for violations and ultimately secured millions of dollars in emission-control upgrades. (Leung, 3/4)

Modesto Bee: Residents React To Modesto Smoking Ban 
Modesto’s effort to ban smoking in its parks and on its trails – including the Virginia Corridor – drew mixed responses from parkgoers Sunday, from those who support it and say it promotes a healthy lifestyle to those who believe the city is being heavy-handed and question whether it can enforce the prohibition. The City Council on Feb. 28 voted 6-1 to ban smoking in city parks and trails and within 100 feet of the entrance and exit of a hospital. The council is expected to give its final approval to the ban Tuesday, and it would take effect 30 days after that. Modesto would join Patterson, Hughson and Turlock in banning smoking in parks. (Valine, 3/5)

In other news from across the state —

KPBS Public Media: Clinic Restores San Diego Seniors' Smiles With Much-Needed Dental Care
Cavities, gum disease and lost teeth are commonplace among seniors. That’s due in part to the fact that Medicare doesn’t pay for dental care. That means a trip to the dentist is a luxury many seniors can’t afford. A new dental clinic in downtown San Diego is trying to make dentistry more affordable for needy seniors. (Goldberg, 3/6)

The Associated Press: Republican Health Care Push Coming; Success A Question Mark
Republicans seem set to start muscling legislation through Congress reshaping the country’s health care system after seven years of saber rattling. Don’t confuse that with GOP unity or assume that success is guaranteed. Unresolved disputes over taxes and Medicaid rage and conservatives complaining that Republican proposals don’t go far enough could undermine the effort, or at least make GOP leaders’ lives difficult. (Fram, 3/4)

Los Angeles Times: Facing Big Political Hurdles, House Republicans Ready An Ambitious Legislative Push To Repeal Obamacare
House Republicans, despite stiff political headwinds, are readying an ambitious push this week to begin moving legislation to replace major parts of the Affordable Care Act, a crucial test of their ability to fulfill one of their party’s main campaign promises. The plan marks the first time GOP lawmakers will do this since Obamacare was enacted seven years ago and will provide an early indication of whether President Trump can rally his party’s members of Congress, many of whom are anxious about how to repeal and replace the healthcare law. (Levey and Mascaro, 3/5)

The Wall Street Journal: Conservative Groups Jeopardize GOP Plan To Repeal Affordable Care Act
Conservative groups are raising alarms over central provisions of the House GOP’s emerging plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act, pushing lawmakers to buck House Speaker Paul Ryan and oppose the Republican blueprint. The groups—including Heritage Action, the Club for Growth and Freedom Partners, an organization funded by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch—are troubled by the notion of refundable tax credits to help consumers pay for health insurance, a central tenet of Mr. Ryan’s plan that President Donald Trump appeared to endorse in his address to Congress last week. (Hackman, 3/5)

The New York Times: Repeal Of Health Law Faces A New Hurdle: Older Americans
Republican plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act have encountered a new obstacle: adamant opposition from many older Americans whose health insurance premiums would increase. AARP and its allies are bombarding congressional offices with objections as two House committees plan to vote on the Republicans’ bill this week. If the law is repealed, the groups say, people in their 50s and 60s could see premiums rise by $2,000 to $3,000 a year or more: increases of 20 percent to 25 percent or higher. (Pear, 3/5)

The New York Times: Patience Gone, Koch-Backed Groups Will Pressure G.O.P. On Health Repeal
Saying their patience is at an end, conservative activist groups backed by the billionaire Koch brothers and other powerful interests on the right are mobilizing to pressure Republicans to fulfill their promise to swiftly repeal the Affordable Care Act. Their message is blunt and unforgiving, with the goal of reawakening some of the most extensive conservative grass-roots networks in the country. It is a reminder that even as Republicans control both the White House and Congress for the first time in a decade, the party’s activist wing remains restless and will not go along passively for the sake of party unity. (Peters, 3/5)

The New York Times: ‘Really Sick And Really Scared’ Voters Temper Action On Health Law
Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Republican of West Virginia, has voted more than 50 times in Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act. She plans to do it again this spring. But talking with voters in her impoverished state, which has a high rate of drug addiction, obesity and poor health, has given Ms. Capito a new sense of caution. “I met a woman the other day with a terrible illness,” she said. “She is really sick and really scared.” (Steinhauer, 3/5)