The Sacramento Bee: Fighting Opiate Abuse: Lawmakers, Families Demand Action
In the deadly world of opioid overdoses, fentanyl is only the latest high-profile killer. Opioid abuse cuts across all demographics, from celebrities such as Prince, whose recent death was confirmed as an “accidental” fentanyl overdose, to victims in upscale El Dorado Hills neighborhoods and worn south Sacramento streets. Calling it a public health epidemic, legislators, law enforcement, health officials and families here and across the country are ramping up new efforts to combat opiate addiction and deaths, including those attributed to fentanyl. (Buck, 6/15)

KQED: Why Stand-Alone Family Planning Clinics Struggle To Survive In Age Of Obamacare
For free checkups, testing, treatment and contraceptives, (Mary-Michael) Watts has referred hundreds of students — many of whom are low income — to the New Generation Health Center, about a mile from Mission High. ... So Watts and her young patients were shocked to learn that New Generation was supposed to close down in July due to financial troubles. ... New Generation’s troubles stem in part from the very specialization in reproductive health that has made it such a valuable resource for young patients in the Mission District, say experts. They contend that the Affordable Care Act has changed the business model for clinics like this, forcing most to transform by adding primary care services or merging with other health centers in order to remain competitive. (Romero, 6/15)

San Francisco Business Times: Theranos Competitor Looks To Expand Test Centers In Safeway Stores
Quest Diagnostics Inc. — one of the medical lab testing players threatened by upstart blood-testing company Theranos Inc. — will open a dozen testing sites in Safeway supermarkets in California and select other states within two months. (Leuty, 6/15)

Meanwhile, Terumo Corp. has acquired Sequent Medical, which makes aneurysm treatment implants —

Orange County Register: Aliso Viejo-Based Aneurysm Treatment Maker Sequent Acquired For $280 Million
Aliso Viejo-based Sequent Medical Inc. has been acquired by Terumo Corp. for $280 million, the companies said Tuesday. Sequent makes a minimally invasive brain aneurysm treatment implant called Web, which the company said has been used on over 3,000 patients worldwide. The deal marks the second time Terumo, a manufacturer of medical devices such as syringes, blood bags and IV solutions, has bought a life sciences company created by Rosenbluth and Cox. (Madans, 6/14)

Oakland Tribune: Considering A Career Path In The California Pot Industry? Here'S What You Should Know
As public support and legalization of cannabis spreads, those who've quietly worked in California's medical marijuana industry are slowly emerging from the shadows. And professionals who never would have considered joining the industry a couple of years ago are leaving behind traditional careers in law, real estate and finance as they flock to what they see as the next big boom. (Staggs, 6/15)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento’s West Nile Virus Arrives Early In Mosquitoes, Dead Birds
West Nile virus is showing up earlier and faster this summer in Sacramento, with the count of infected mosquitoes and dead birds exceeding that recorded in mid-June last year. That’s according to the Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito & Vector Control District, which announced Wednesday that 47 dead birds and 30 mosquito samples have tested positive for West Nile, mostly in Arden Arcade, North Highlands and other neighborhoods north of the American River. (Buck, 6/15)

In other public health news, researchers are studying the link between brain development and music —

KPCC: USC Study Continues To Provide Data On Music And Brain Development
New brain imaging data from researchers at the University of Southern California's Brain and Creativity Institute shows that music training accelerates brain development in children. "It will take a long time to be absolutely certain of the results, but a little bit to our surprise, strong results began to emerge earlier," said Antonio Damasio, director of the Brain and Creativity Institute, acknowledging that more data and analysis is required. (Neely, 6/15)

The Hill: White House Urges States To Resist ObamaCare Hikes
The White House is urging states to be more aggressive against health insurance companies as it looks to prevent expected and widespread premium hikes of 10 percent or more this year. The federal health department announced Wednesday that it will dole out about $22 million to boost state-level "rate reviews," considered one of the strongest weapons against premium increases. Under the system, health insurers are required to justify rate increases to state insurance departments, some of which have the power to reject “unreasonable” increases. With the new funding, federal health officials hope states can hire outside insurance experts to dig deeper into the proposed rates and prove the hikes are unjustified. (Ferris 6/15)

The Hill: GOP ObamaCare Replacement Will Leave Out Key Dollar Figures
House Republicans’ ObamaCare replacement plan will not include specific dollar figures on some of its core provisions, and will instead be more of a broad outline, according to lobbyists and aides. The plan, set to be released next week, will include a tax credit to help people afford insurance and a cap on the current exclusion of employer-based health insurance plans from taxation. However, it will not include specific dollar amounts on how large the tax credit would be, nor will it note which employer health insurance plans would be subject to taxation, lobbyists and aides said. (Sullivan, 6/15)

In other national health care news —

The Associated Press: Spiraling Drug Costs Prompt Call For Major Medicare Changes
Calling the rising cost of drugs "unsustainable," congressional advisers on Wednesday recommended major changes to Medicare's popular outpatient prescription program, now 10 years old.The proposal from the nonpartisan Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, or MedPAC, steers clear of calling for the government to negotiate drug prices directly, an option both presidential candidates advocate. For beneficiaries, the plan is a mixed bag. All seniors would get better protection from extremely high costs, but some may have to spend more. (6/15)

The Associated Press: Zika Infections Late In Pregnancy Led To No Defects In Study
A study of women who were infected with the Zika virus late in pregnancy found that none had babies with apparent birth defects. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine online Wednesday, seems to confirm that the greatest risk to infants comes early in pregnancy. Researchers tracked women infected in Colombia and also found troubling cases of severe birth defects in babies born to women who never realized they had contracted Zika. (6/15)

The New York Times: Orlando Shooting Renews Debate Over Limits On Gay Men Donating Blood
In the aftermath of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., 53 people were alive but wounded, many in desperate need of blood. Blood banks in the area put out a call for donors. Gay men were ready to volunteer. Rumors even went around that blood centers in Orlando had relaxed a ban on donations from sexually active gay men. But the rumors were false. The ban, imposed by the Food and Drug Administration, remains in place, infuriating some gay rights activists. (McNeil, 6/15)

The Associated Press: In Wake Of Mass Shootings, Dem Senator Wages Filibuster
A Democratic senator who mourned the loss of 20 children in his home state of Connecticut four years ago waged a nearly 15-hour filibuster into the early hours of Thursday morning, demanding votes on gun control measures just days after a mass shooting at a Florida nightclub. As compromise on the gun issue remained improbable, Sen. Chris Murphy stood on the Senate floor for most of Wednesday and into Thursday, saying he would remain there "until we get some signal, some sign that we can come together." He yielded the floor at 2:11 a.m., EDT, saying he had won commitments from Republican leaders that they would hold votes on amendments to expand background checks and ban gun sales to suspected terrorists. It is unlikely that those amendments will pass. (6/16)