Sacramento Bee: California Health Department Lays Out New Plan To Fight HIV 
The California Department of Public Health rolled out a hefty HIV plan Wednesday with the aim of stopping new cases of the chronic illness statewide. The plan is a collaboration between the department and local health jurisdictions, including the Sacramento County Department of Public Health. “Getting to zero,” according to the plan, means reaching zero new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths along with no stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV. About 5,000 new HIV diagnoses are made in the state each year. By 2021, the department hopes to reduce the number of new cases to fewer than 2,500 a year. (Caiola, 11/2)

KPBS: Contract Battle Between Sharp HealthCare, Nurses' Union Heats Up
So goes the fight over a new three-year labor agreement between the health care group and United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP). Nurses say they are fed up over what they call below-market wages. Nurses complain under management’s latest offer, only about 25 percent of them will be eligible for the top wage increase. (Goldberg, 11/2)

Glendale News-Press: 'Nearly Every Medical Specialty' Will Be Offered At Annual Glendale Health Festival 
For the seventh year, the Glendale Health Festival will provide a day of free, comprehensive health services and education to anyone willing to stop by this Saturday. The event is again courtesy of the Armenian American Medical Society in partnership with the city of Glendale and numerous clubs and associations. Medical staff from Glendale Adventist Medical Center, Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital and USC Verdugo Hills Hospital will be at many of the screening areas. (Landa, 11/2)

In other health care news from across the state —

The Mercury News: Love-A-Child Shelter Fends Off Foreclosure 
A homeless and recovery shelter that had been on the brink of foreclosure and sale at several points this past summer has found a new financial suitor — an anonymous “angel investor” — meaning it will remain open for the foreseeable future. Love-A-Child Missions had been in nearly constant crisis mode since learning in June that Nehemiah Community Reinvestment Fund, a Sacramento-based nonprofit, would not grant further extensions on the remainder of a $360,000 loan made in 2008. But Love-A-Child recently enlisted another money source that has made Nehemiah whole, said Yves Mombeleur, the nonprofit’s managing director of lending and capital investments. (Richards, 11/2)

The Mercury News: Assisted Living Facility With A Touch Of Luxury Opens On Thornton Way 
A new three-story assisted living facility in San Jose that promises a luxurious setting for its 92 senior residents held a grand opening last week. Oakmont Senior Living, located on Thornton Way near Valley Medical Center, says it’s not only fully occupied with residents at least 60 years old but already has a waiting list. Senior housing is in high demand as the area’s population of people 65 or older is expected to number 310,000 by 2040, according to the city’s general plan. Developers for projects such as Cambrian Park Plaza have mulled incorporating assisted living quarters into their own plans but so far haven’t. (Baum, 11/2)

Politico: Lawmakers Who Cross Aisle On Abortion Face Ouster
Republicans who support abortion rights are already an endangered species. But they’re likely to become nearly extinct next year in a political winnowing that is knocking off moderates on both sides — and turning the politics of abortion even more rancorous. Five Republicans in Congress regularly buck their party by supporting abortion rights. But one of those, Rep. Richard Hanna of New York, is retiring and two more — Rep. Bob Dold and Sen. Mark Kirk, both of Illinois — face uphill races. And the same narrowing is happening on the other side: No more than seven Democrats in Congress regularly vote against abortion rights. (Haberkorn, 11/3)

The Hill: Ryan Embraces Trump's Call For Special Session To Repeal ObamaCare 
Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Wednesday embraced Donald Trump’s call for a special session of Congress to repeal ObamaCare. Ryan, who has at times had a tense relationship with Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, also said repeal of ObamaCare is a reason why Trump should be president. ... Ryan said Republicans would use a process called reconciliation, which would allow a repeal measure to get through the Senate with just a simple majority, rather than the usual 60. (Sullivan, 11/2)

Reuters: Anthem Says It May Trim Obamacare Participation In 2018
U.S. health insurer Anthem Inc on Wednesday raised the prospect of smaller participation in the individual Obamacare exchanges in 2018, saying it would have a market-by-market strategy that hinges on 2017 profitability. The company said that losses due to sicker-than-expected customers in its individual Obamacare plans were a bit less than foreseen in the third quarter and that it was planning for a slight profit in that business next year. (11/2)

The Associated Press: CDC: Progress Reducing Uninsured Rate Threatens To Stall
President Barack Obama's legacy health care law has reduced the number of Americans going without health insurance to historically low levels, but continued progress threatens to stall this year, according to a new government report. The study released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests the law may be reaching a limit to its effectiveness in a nation politically divided over the government's role in guaranteeing coverage. (11/3)

In other national health care news —

Stat: Backlash Over High Prices Hits Pharma's Bottom Line
The simmering public outrage over drug prices finally seems to be catching up to the pharmaceutical industry. Earnings reports in recent days have laid out a grim picture of slumping sales and anemic growth projections at several large drug makers and wholesalers. Executives blame many factors — including heavy competition and hardball tactics from insurers — but analysts say the bottom line is crystal clear: Pharma can no longer count on steadily hiking drug prices. That realization has sent some drug stocks on a roller coaster. It’s also battering the middlemen in the prescription supply chain, who have made their money by taking a cut of ever-rising prices. (Keshavan, 11/3)

The Washington Post: Medicare To Begin Paying For Diabetes Prevention Strategy
Medicare will start paying for a strategy to help millions of older Americans at high risk of diabetes from developing the disease, federal health officials announced Wednesday. The new benefits, scheduled to begin in 2018, are part of an increasing shift in the federal entitlement program, from its half-century tradition of mainly covering treatment when beneficiaries are sick to paying to try to keep them healthy. The strategy to avert diabetes also is the first disease-prevention experiment, tested under part of the Affordable Care Act, which federal officials have concluded is worthwhile enough to adopt nationwide. (Goldstein, 11/2)

Politico Pro: Lawmakers Press CMS To Reopen Shuttered Mental Health Experiment
Months after Congress unanimously voted to extend a three-year-old mental health payment experiment, the Obama administration shuttered it. Several key senators are now fighting to get it back. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) last year pushed through Congress a three-year extension of the Medicaid Emergency Psychiatric Services Demonstration after the program — created under the Affordable Care Act — ran out of money. Under the demonstration, the 11 participating states and the District of Columbia used Medicaid funds to pay for inpatient emergency psychiatric care in private hospitals with more than 16 beds. Current law restricts these hospitals from billing Medicaid under a decades-old restriction detested by the mental health care community, known as the “IMD exclusion.” (Ehley, 11/2)