The San Jose Mercury News: Obamacare: Are Covered California's Numbers Plateauing?
With Covered California's announcement Wednesday that 1.57 million Californians selected health plans during its third open enrollment period, at least one health care expert believes that the nation's bellwether state in implementing the Affordable Care Act is now essentially running in place. Although the latest numbers don't say how many people have paid for their plan to complete their enrollment -- the only figure that really counts and which will be available in a few months -- some experts say that the net gain from last year's 1.3 million total could be minimal. (Seipel, 2/17)

Modern Healthcare: Oscar Debuts In California With Extremely Low Enrollment
Oscar Insurance Corp. expanded to California this year. But the New York-based startup health insurer, known for its tech-based philosophy and subway ads, enrolled very few people. A little more than 2,000 Californians selected an Oscar health plan on the public exchange as of Feb. 7, according to figures from Covered California, the state's insurance exchange. That represents a miniscule 0.1% of the 1.57 million people who renewed or chose a 2016 plan on California's exchange. (Herman, 2/17)

The Associated Press: Hospital Paid 17K Ransom To Hackers Of Its Computer Network
A Los Angeles hospital paid a ransom in bitcoins equivalent to about $17,000 to hackers who infiltrated and disabled its computer network, the medical center’s chief executive said Wednesday. It was in the best interest of Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center to pay the ransom of 40 bitcoins — currently worth $16,664 dollars — after the network infiltration that began Feb. 5, CEO Allen Stefanek said in a statement. (Dalton, 2/17)

Los Angeles Times: Hollywood Hospital Pays $17,000 In Bitcoins To Hackers Who Took Control Of Computers
“The malware locks systems by encrypting files and demanding ransom to obtain the decryption key. The quickest and most efficient way to restore our systems and administrative functions was to pay the ransom and obtain the decryption key,” Hollywood Presbyterian CEO Allen Stefanek said. “In the best interest of restoring normal operations, we did this.” Stefanek said patient care was never compromised, nor were hospital records. (Winton, 2/17)

Modern Healthcare: Hospital Pays Hackers $17,0000 To Unlock EHRs Frozen In 'Ransomware' Attack
Healthcare organizations, along with small businesses and schools, make good targets for ransomware attacks because they don't typically have the sophisticated backup systems and other resilience measures that are typical at large corporations, said Lillian Ablon, a cybersecurity expert with the RAND Corp., a California think tank. For example, two smaller healthcare organizations—a three-physician surgical practice in 2012 and an 18-bed critical-access hospital in 2014—were hit by ransomware attacks. The smaller ransom amount in the Hollywood Presbyterian case is more in line with customary ransomware demands, according to security experts. The demands typically track with the nuisance value of not having to restore databases and computer systems. (Conn, 2/17)

The San Francisco Business Times: Zenefits Executives And Employees Could Face Criminal Charges
Regulatory agencies in California and Washington caution that Zenefits and current or former employees could face criminal charges related to the alleged sale of health insurance without proper brokers' licenses. In Washington state, a decision on whether to pursue legal penalties could come in a matter of weeks, according to a spokeswoman for the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. (Rauber, 2/17)

The San Francisco Business Times: Highly Selective Startup Snags $45M To Take On Deadly Lung Disease
While a handful of companies are targeting a deadly and baffling lung-scarring disease, the CEO of a Redwood City spinout from UCSF believes his company has some key advantages: a well-defined target and a group of scientific founders that are among the best in the world. Pliant Therapeutics Inc. scored $45 million in a Series A round from Third Rock Ventures in its quest to stop — and perhaps even reverse — idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF. The company hopes to push its lead drug into the clinic in 2018. (Leuty, 2/18)

The Associated Press: California Considers Condoms For Porn Actors
Condoms could be coming to porn studios across California if the state agency in charge of enforcing workplace safety adopts proposed new regulations aimed at protecting actors who make adult films. The state Division of Occupational Safety and Health was scheduled to vote on the regulations following a hearing Thursday in Oakland. (Rogers, 2/18)

The Los Angeles Daily News: Porn Performers Set To Protest Thursday Vote Requiring Condoms, Eyewear On Film Sets
More than 100 adult film performers plan to gather in Sacramento Thursday to protest an expected ruling by California regulators that mandates condoms and eyewear for actors on all porn sets statewide. The protests are in response to regulations drawn up by the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, produced after more than six years of discussions and public hearings about protecting actors from bloodborne pathogens and other bodily fluids. But adult film performers say such protections go too far. The use of “personal protective equipment” for eyes, for example, has been interpreted as goggles, which actors have said will ruin the aesthetics and fantasy of pornographic films. (Abram, 2/17)

KQED: California Porn Industry Protests Rules Mandating Condoms
Adult film executives are complaining that proposed state health and safety regulations threaten to drive the industry out of the state. California regulators with the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) will vote on new rules Thursday that would require performers to use condoms, dental dams, and even eye gear on set. (Dembosky, 2/17)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Flu Caseload Spikes In San Diego
The number of confirmed flu cases in San Diego County spiked last week, lending a new dynamic to what’s still a generally mild season at a time of year when influenza activity typically peaks. (Sisson, 2/17)

Green Car Reports: Illegal VW Diesel Emissions: Tallying Public Health Damage
It's clear that the Volkswagen TDI diesel cars equipped with illegal "defeat device" software have contributed to a significant amount of extra air pollution. Some of the affected models were found to emit up to 35 times the legal levels of nitrogen oxides. But how does that looks when viewed in terms of public health? (Edelstein, 2/17)

The San Francisco Business Times: San Francisco AIDS Foundation Names New CEO
The San Francisco AIDS Foundation has named a Chicago public health official as its new chief executive officer, filling the vacancy created when former CEO Neil Giuliano left at year-end to head a Phoenix business group. Joe Hollendoner, the nonprofit's new top executive, will start May 2. (Rauber, 2/17)

The Wall Street Journal: Democratic Economists Say Bernie Sanders’s Math Doesn’t Add Up
Four leading Democratic economists sharply criticized Sen. Bernie Sanders for citing “extreme claims” about the economic effects of his campaign proposals, the latest in a stream of critiques from Democrats over details of his platform. Criticism has also been directed at Mr. Sanders’s plan for a single-payer, government-run health-care plan, with critics saying he underestimates the costs of providing health care to all Americans and overestimates the revenue his plan would generate. (Timiraos and Meckler, 2/17)

The Dallas Morning News: Trump Speaks In MSNBC Town Hall To Counter Cruz, Rubio Appearance On CNN
When asked if all Americans would have access to health care, as they are supposed to under the Affordable Care Act, [Donald] Trump said that he would work out a deal with hospitals and communities. (Wise, 2/17)

NBC News: Trump On Sanders: 'We're Very Similar' In This Way
Consider a political outsider who is tapping into voter anger, delivering a populist message and drawing raucous thousands to rallies. He wants the hedge fund managers to pay more taxes and argues that there should be health care for everyone. Sound familiar? (Timm. 2/17)

Meanwhile, media outlets fact check the candidates' health care claims —

The Washington Post's Fact Checker: Trump’s Truly Absurd Claim He Would Save $300 Billion A Year On Prescription Drugs
Reining in the cost of prescription drugs has become a major issue in the 2016 presidential campaign. Both former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) have proposed detailed plans to control prescription-drug prices, with both calling for Medicare to negotiate directly with prescription-drug companies to get lower prices. Republican candidates have also decried high prescription-drug costs, though generally their policy proposals have been thinner. Developer Donald Trump ... also says he wants to allow Medicare to negotiate directly with drug companies. In fact, he makes the bold claim that he would save $300 billion a year. Is this even remotely possible? (Kessler, 2/18)

The Cincinnati Enquirer: Fact Check: Kasich's Medicaid Expansion Exceeded Projected Costs
Gov. John Kasich's expansion of Medicaid services to lower-income Ohioans — over the objections of GOP lawmakers — hasn't won him many friends among conservatives. (Balmert, 2/17)

The Associated Press: Report: Calls To VA Suicide Hotline Went To Voicemail
A suicide hotline operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs allowed crisis calls to go into voicemail, and callers did not always receive immediate assistance, according to a report by the agency's internal watchdog. The report by the VA's office of inspector general says calls to the suicide hotline have increased dramatically in recent years, as veterans increasingly seek services following prolonged wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the aging of Vietnam-era veterans. (2/17)

NPR: For Fertility Treatment, Wounded Veterans Have To Pay The Bill
The Pentagon's health care system for active duty troops covers IVF. The Department of Veterans Affairs for veterans doesn't. A law passed in 1992 made it illegal for the VA to pay for IVF, which some people oppose because embryos are often destroyed in the process. In the decades since Congress banned IVF for the VA, the procedure has become much more common. And about 1,400 troops came back from Iraq and Afghanistan with severe injuries to their reproductive organs. Thousands more have head injuries, paralysis or other conditions that make IVF their best option. (Lawrence, 2/17)

CBS News: Couple Fights To Change Law Preventing IVF Coverage For Vets
A current law that is the product of anti-abortion politics prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs from covering the cost of in vitro fertilization for any of the estimated 1,800 veterans who have suffered damage to their reproductive organs. (Martin, 2/17)