Capital Public Radio: Insurance Industry Backs Brown's Tax On California Health Plans
Support is growing for Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to restructure California’s tax on health insurance plans. A key interest group is backing the tax – and some Republicans are hinting that they might too. The federal government says California must overhaul its managed care organization (MCO) tax to avoid losing $1 billion for Medi-Cal, the state’s health care program for the poor. (Adler, 2/10)

The Associated Press: Insurers Back Proposed California Health Plan Tax
Most of California's health insurance companies said Wednesday they're supporting Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to restructure a tax on health plans. As the administration worked to line up votes, state Assembly and Senate committees heard a generally supportive message from the industry that would pay the tax. Support from insurers, and their assurance that premiums won't rise, is critical to winning support from the needed two-thirds of lawmakers. (Cooper, 2/11)

The Press Democrat: Sen. Mike McGuire Floats Bill To Increase Sales Tax On Medical Marijuana
State Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, introduced legislation Wednesday that would establish a 15 percent statewide sales tax on medical marijuana, a move he said was needed to help cover local government costs to control the booming cannabis industry. The tax would be in addition to the existing sales tax — roughly 8 percent on goods and services — and is expected to generate more than $100 million a year, with a 30 percent share available to cities and counties for costs associated with medical cannabis. (Kovner, 2/10)

The Associated Press: Excise Tax On Medical Marijuana Sales Proposed In California
A state senator from Northern California has introduced a bill that would impose a 15 percent tax on retail sales of medical marijuana. Sen. Mike McGuire estimated that the excise tax he proposed Wednesday would bring the state over $100 million annually. The Healdsburg Democrat's SB987 directs 30 percent of the revenues collected to the new state agency charged with enforcing the new medical marijuana licensing regulations the Legislature approved last year. (2/10)

The Wall Street Journal: Walgreens Threatens To End Theranos Agreement
Theranos Inc.’s main retail partner threatened to terminate its relationship with the blood-testing company unless it quickly fixes the problems found by federal inspectors at a laboratory in California, people familiar with the matter said. The warning from drugstore chain Walgreens was issued in a letter to Theranos late last month and gives closely held Theranos, based in Palo Alto, Calif., a 30-day deadline that expires near the end of February to resolve major infractions that violate the U.S. law governing clinical labs, these people said. (Weaver, Siconolfi and Carreyrou, 2/10)

The San Francisco Business Times: Zenefits Lost Its Biggest Client Days Before CEO Resigned
Days before losing its CEO amid a regulatory compliance scandal, San Francisco-based human resources company Zenefits lost its biggest client, the company confirmed Wednesday. (McDermid, 2/10)

The San Francisco Business Journal: Fitbit Shares Soar On 'Benioff Boost' As Salesforce CEO Takes Stake
Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff has taken a 5.3 percent stake in San Francisco-based Fitbit, news that sent shares of the fitness tracking company up more than 5 percent in trading Wednesday. Fitbit (NYSE: FIT) has seen its share price crater more than 30 percent over the last month, but a "Benioff boost" could be good news for the Bay Area wearables company. The stake was revealed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday. (McDermid, 2/10)

Modern Healthcare: Centene Still Waiting For Final Health Net Approval In California
Centene Corp. continues to fight for regulatory approval over its Health Net acquisition, and the insurer is banking on a March 1 closing date. Centene announced its $6.8 billion deal for Health Net last July and anticipated the transaction would close this month, creating the nation's largest Medicaid managed-care company. Bill Scheffel, Centene's CFO, built his retirement around that assumption. (Herman, 2/10)

The Sacramento Bee: Yolo County Confirms Case Of Zika Virus
A Yolo County person has tested positive for Zika virus after recently returning from international travel, adding to worries about the virus’ spread from Latin America into parts of California and the United States. (Caiola, 2/10)

Capital Public Radio: Confirmed Zika Case In Yolo County
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Wednesday that a person who lives in Yolo County has tested positive for Zika virus, according to Yolo County. Yolo County officials say the individual recently traveled out of the country and had a mild case of Zika. (Joyce, 2/10)

The Los Angeles Daily News: The Southern California Mosquitoes Capable Of Carrying Zika Virus, Explained
The small, black-and-white-striped insect responsible for spreading a disease that health officials fear has caused neurological birth defects in newborns across Brazil and in other countries is a familiar foe of Southern California residents. Despite the invasive mosquitoes’ prevalence in the region and across the state, health officials agree that an outbreak of Zika virus is unlikely in California. (Baer, 2/10)

Reuters: Catholic Group Urges Pope To Allow Contraception To Fight Zika
A Roman Catholic group appealed to Pope Francis on Wednesday to allow Church members to "follow their conscience" and use contraception or to let women have abortions to protect themselves against the Zika virus. The appeal came as the World Health Organization (WHO) advised women in areas with the virus to protect themselves, especially during pregnancy, by covering up against mosquitoes and practising safe sex with their partners. (Pullella, 2/10)

The Los Angeles Times: Two Nonprofits Face More Than $47,000 In Fines Over L.A. Lobbying Forms
Two nonprofits could face fines totaling more than $47,000 from the city Ethics Commission for failing to accurately report how much they had spent on lobbying at City Hall. ... Ethics Commission investigators found gaps in the lobbying forms filed by the Hospital Assn. of Southern California. The group has spoken up about city issues, pushing to exempt hospitals from the city makeover of its trash hauling system and opposing the formation of a city health department. (Reyes, 2/10)

The Los Angeles Daily News: California Hospitals Struggle To Control Some Infections
Infection rates in California hospitals and other settings have shown some improvement, but the presence of one particular bacteria is on the rise, according to a report released Wednesday by the state’s Department of Public Health. (Abram, 2/10)

The Associated Press: Surprise Insurance Fees Often Follow Medical Emergencies
Recovering from a medical procedure is always a challenge, but getting hit with unexpected insurance fees can add financial hardship to the process. As health insurance plans become increasingly complicated, more patients are facing unexpected fees when they step outside their plan's coverage network. In many cases, patients don't realize they've received out-of-network care until they're slapped with a bill for hundreds or thousands of dollars. (2/10)

The Wall Street Journal: Healthy? You’ll Spend More On Health Care In Retirement
The healthier you are, the more money you need to save for health care in retirement. That’s the counterintuitive finding of new research by the Empower Institute, which is sponsored by Empower Retirement, a division of Great-West Financial that administers $440 billion in retirement plans. “Excellent health, ironically, can actually raise an individual’s lifetime health spending” simply because healthier people can generally expect to live longer, says the report, released Wednesday. (Tergesen, 2/10)