Los Angeles Times: Squeezed Again: Americans Burdened By Obamacare Now Face Even Higher Costs Under Trump
Jim Hansen and his wife considered themselves fortunate when they retired five years ago. The Denver couple, both electrical engineers, were healthy. They’d socked away an ample nest egg. And they found health insurance that, if not cheap, seemed reasonable for two people in their late 50s. Then, the math started to change. Since 2015, the couple’s annual premiums have more than tripled and may hit nearly $18,000 next year. (Levey, 9/29)

KQED: Other States Closely Watching Fate Of California’s Drug Price Transparency Bill
Drugmakers have spent $16.8 million since January 2015 lobbying to kill drug legislation in California, according to data from the Secretary of State’s Office, and have hired 45 lobbyists or firms to fight Senate Bill 17, the drug price transparency bill. Against the backdrop of this opposition campaign, Brown must decide by Oct.15 whether to sign or veto the bill. (Dembosky, 10/1)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Are Gay Men In The Crosshairs Of San Diego's Hepatitis Outbreak?
Hepatitis A outbreaks underway among gay men in many different cities show that it is not just homeless people and drug users who face significant risk from the disease, the physician said. ...Given that recent epidemiological evidence shows that gay men are at a higher risk of hepatitis A infection than the general population, it would not be an unreasonable approach to double down on education and vaccination efforts in this demographic group, [Dr. Robert] Schooley said. (Sisson, 9/29)

Los Angeles Times: Burbank And Glendale Work To Get Ahead Of Countywide Hepatitis A Outbreak
With health officials declaring a hepatitis A outbreak in Los Angeles County last week, the cities of Burbank and Glendale have been working on protecting their homeless populations from the virus. Both cities have started reaching out to the homeless in order to get them screened and vaccinated against hepatitis A. The L.A. County Department of Public Health has said homeless people are most at risk for the infection. (Nguyen, 9/29)

KPBS: Homeless Choir Sings In Solidarity With Hepatitis A Victims 
The Voices of Our City Choir, which is mostly made up of homeless San Diegans, met at the Civic Concourse outside City Hall for nearly an hour dedicating their weekly, open community choir practice to those who have died in the outbreak. So far, 461 people are infected and 17 have died. (Gonzalez, 9/29)

KPBS: Flu Vaccine Campaign Kicks Off In San Diego County 
The peak of San Diego’s flu season is weeks away, but health officials are encouraging everyone six months and older to get vaccinated now — especially those with chronic health conditions such as heart and lung disease. San Diego County launched its annual influenza vaccine campaign on Friday in the Oak Park neighborhood of Southeast San Diego. (Murphy, 10/2)

In other public health news —

Santa Rosa Press Democrat: Breast Cancer Research Active In North Bay 
Researchers at Novato’s Buck Institute wanted to better understand what factors cause some women to have lower breast tissue density, a predictor for those with the lowest risk of breast cancer. The study is just one example of the research underway in the North Bay to advance the fight against breast cancer. The work is being conducted in labs at the Buck Institute’s 250,000-square-foot complex and in local hospital settings where researchers test new drugs and other innovations in clinical trials. (Digitale, 10/1)

Santa Rosa Press Democrat: 'Unbreakable' Blankets Give Cancer Patients Strength 
The black and gray blankets are 6-feet long by 3-feet wide, and the words are printed on the blankets in white, with STRENGTH having the biggest impact in 3-inch-tall lettering. The word also is printed upside down, allowing the cancer patients the opportunity to see it prominently when they’re bundled in the blanket, often during treatments than can last several hours. The goal is to inspire cancer patients to be invincible when they see the words and affirmative phrases right on the blanket. The passages include: “I am a relentless warrior;” “Love is my greatest muscle;” and “I choose optimism.” The brainchild of the blankets is athlete, motivational speaker and clothing designer Leigh Weinraub of San Francisco-based Mind in Motion. (Melnik, 10/1)

KPCC: Program Looks To Stop The Skid Row To Jail Pipeline 
The office estimates one out of every five jail inmates is at risk of homelessness when they come out. The program has served about 500 inmates in its first year, but hasn't been able to meet the growing demand. (Palta, 10/2)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Community Rallies Behind Survivors, Hails Medical Advances At Annual AIDS Walk 
Diagnosed when she was a teenager as HIV-positive, Rebecca Shea has had a tough road to travel for the past 27 years. So covering the four-mile course at Saturday’s AIDS Walk and Run San Diego was something she felt she had to do — even if it came after complications from a vascular condition that resulted in having two hips and one knee surgically replaced. “In the last four years, I’ve been in a wheelchair for the walk,” Shea, a 42-year-old from North Park, said just before the walk began in Hillcrest. “I always said I would never wheel over the finish line. I would get up and walk. And this year, I’m going to do the whole walk.” (Nikolewski, 9/30)

In other news from across the state —

Capital Public Radio: Mexican Consulate To Offer Bilingual Mental Health Services For Stressed Visitors 
A new program at Sacramento’s Mexican Consulate aims to provide mental health check-ups to visitors while they’re waiting for government services. Roughly 1 in 5 Latinos experience mental health challenges in the U.S., and community advocates worry the issue has worsened in light of the recent Mexico earthquake and ongoing immigration raids. (Caiola, 9/29)

Ventura County Star: Ventura Teen's Three-Year Fight With Cancer Ends
Kate Rose Miguel, who wanted to go to college and maybe become an obstetrics nurse, died Tuesday night at her Ventura home after three years of fighting brain cancer. She was 16. "We were all here," said her brother, Daniel Miguel, of her final moments. "She's without a doubt my hero. I don't know if any one of us could go through what she did with the amount of grace and fortitude that she did." (Kisken, 9/29)

Merced Sun Star: Healthy Food Can Be Harder To Find In Merced County, Data Shows 
If you’re living in Merced County, chances are unhealthy food is going to be a lot easier to find than nutritional food. ...Local health officials found this problem has a direct impact on illnesses that are leading killers in Merced County, like heart disease and diabetes, that are seen as preventable. (Velez, 10/1)

Orange County Register: Tustin Panel Postpones Decision On Proposed Mental Health Crisis Center After Debate 
Exodus Recovery, with locations throughout California, wants to put a clinic — its first in Orange County — in 7,600 square feet of office space in Packers Square at the corner of Irvine Boulevard and Newport Avenue. The clinic, which would be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, would provide short-term treatment to patients in the midst of psychiatric crisis, said Luana Murphy, president of Exodus Recovery. (Goulding, 9/28)

Orange County Register: School Officials Allege Flutes Used In Children’s Music Program May Have Been Contaminated With Semen 
Several school districts across Southern California posted updates Saturday, Sept 30 regarding a state and federal investigation into a person suspected of distributing homemade flutes tainted with a bodily fluid to children in school music programs. An official with the Saugus Union School District said she was told the fluid was semen. (Pimentel and Casiano Jr., 9/30)

The New York Times: Trump’s Next Move On Health Care? Choice For Secretary May Offer Clue
President Trump’s selection of a secretary of health and human services could be a turning point in a health care debate that has polarized Washington, as he faces a choice of working with Democrats to fix the current system or continuing his so-far failed efforts to dismantle his predecessor’s program. (Baker and Pear, 9/30)

Politico: Who Will Replace Price?
The rumored short-list includes former Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), who would sail through Senate confirmation but would probably be considered too moderate on Obamacare, to Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardio-thoracic surgeon made famous by his talk show, which Trump has appeared on. Other current or former members of Congress who could be considered include Rep. Fred Upton and former Rep. Dave Camp. (Kenen and Haberkorn, 9/29)

The Associated Press: Price's Exit Adds Another Hurdle To GOP Health Care Push
The ouster of Tom Price as President Donald Trump's health secretary is yet another self-inflicted blow for Republicans wishing to put their own stamp on health care — and the latest distraction for a White House struggling to advance its agenda after months of turmoil. ... "I think health care is a dead letter through the next election," Joe Antos, a policy expert with the business-oriented American Enterprise Institute, said Saturday. (Colvin and Alonso-Zaldivar, 10/1)

The New York Times: Health Secretary Tom Price Resigns After Drawing Ire For Chartered Flights
Tom Price, the health and human services secretary, resigned under pressure on Friday after racking up at least $400,000 in travel bills for chartered flights and undermining President Trump’s promise to drain the swamp of a corrupt and entitled capital. Already in trouble with Mr. Trump for months of unsuccessful efforts to repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s health care program, Mr. Price failed to defuse the president’s anger by offering regret and a partial reimbursement. (Baker, Thrush and Haberman, 9/29)

The Washington Post: HHS Secretary Tom Price Resigns Amid Criticism For Taking Charter Flights At Taxpayer Expense
Price submitted a four-paragraph resignation letter in which he said he regretted “that the recent events have created a distraction” from the administration’s objectives. “Success on these issues is more important than any one person,” he continued. Not long after, HHS staff received a message from Price praising employees as “dedicated, committed” and saying it had been “a great joy” to serve with them. (Eilperin, Goldstein and Wagner, 9/29)

Los Angeles Times: Health Secretary Tom Price Resigns Under Fire — But Other Cabinet Members Are Still Taking Costly Private Flights
“He’s a good man but I’m disappointed in him,” Trump told them at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, as he prepared to board a flight to New Jersey, where he planned to spend the weekend at his golf resort. (Decker, 9/29)

The Wall Street Journal: Tom Price Resigns As Health And Human Services Secretary Amid Travel Uproar
The controversy over the flights and sudden departure of Dr. Price comes as the Trump administration’s efforts to repeal the ACA are at a standstill. After another effort to overturn the law failed Tuesday in the Senate, Republicans now must choose whether to work with Democrats on health care, or continue their efforts to repeal the ACA. If the administration favors regulations to change the ACA, those changes would be spearheaded by HHS. Dr. Price kept a low profile at times during the long legislative fight to undo the ACA, as such officials as Seema Verma, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, sometimes took on a more visible role in talking to lawmakers. Some health experts have suggested Ms. Verma could succeed Dr. Price. (Armour and Hackman, 9/29)

The Hill: Pelosi: 'Price Should Never Have Been In This Role In The First Place' 
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reacted to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price's resignation on Friday by condemning the Trump administration for selecting him "in the first place." Price became the first Trump Cabinet member to resign on Friday after a Politico investigation revealed he had spent more than $1 million in taxpayer dollars on private charter flights. (Bowden, 9/29)

The Hill: 'Saturday Night Live' Mocks Price's Resignation: 'How 'Bout You Pay Us Back The Money?' 
“Saturday Night Live” during its season premiere mocked the resignation of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price over his use of private jets for official business.“ Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price was forced to resign yesterday after he was caught using almost a million dollars in taxpayer money to fly on private jets,” cast member Colin Jost said during the show’s “Weekend Update” segment. (Balluck, 10/1)

The Associated Press: Health Care Defeat Leaves GOP In Crouch, Dems On Offense
Republicans face a big problem following the collapse of their latest push to repeal the Obama health care law: Their own voters are angry and don't trust them. Right now, they don't know what to do about it. That's trouble for a party preparing to defend its House and Senate majorities in 2018 midterm elections that look riskier than most imagined months ago. (9/29)

The Associated Press: GOP Unsure How To Deal With Voters Angry Over Health Care
Republicans face a big problem following the collapse of their latest push to repeal the Obama health care law: Their own voters are angry and don't trust them. Right now, they don't know what to do about it. That's trouble for a party preparing to defend its House and Senate majorities in 2018 midterm elections that look riskier than most imagined months ago. (9/30)

The Hill: Dems Look To Turn ObamaCare Tables On GOP In '18
On Tuesday, Senate Republicans decided against voting by the end of September on a last-ditch effort to repeal the health law, acknowledging the measure wouldn’t have passed. The announcement effectively killed the repeal effort for the immediate future, as the fast-track budget maneuver Republicans were using to gut ObamaCare can't be used this year after Sept. 30. Even without a new GOP-made health care system to run against, Democrats believe they have enough ammo to hit Republicans by pointing to the previous repeal attempts, all of which scored badly in approval polls. (Roubein, 10/1)

The Hill: How The Effort To Replace ObamaCare Failed 
When Republicans unexpectedly captured the White House and retained the Senate in November, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) wanted to capitalize on the GOP’s political momentum right away by quickly passing a straight ObamaCare repeal bill similar to the one that passed both chambers of Congress at the end of 2015. ... What followed was a nine-month odyssey filled with ups and downs and ultimately a failure for Trump and Republicans. (Bolton, 10/1)