Los Angeles Times: California Lawmakers Push To Link Public Health Efforts To Climate Programs
California’s fight against climate change would be overhauled under legislation advanced by an Assembly committee on Monday. The legislation, a revised version of a measure introduced earlier this year, would link the state’s efforts against greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming, and other pollutants, which cause public health problems such as asthma. (Megerian, 4/24)

In other news —

Reveal: New Bill Would Require Pot Worker Training In Safety And Sexual Harassment 
Marijuana growers in California would be required to train employees about worker safety and sexual harassment under state legislation headed for a hearing tomorrow. Sponsored by the UFCW Western States Council, the Cannabis Workers Protection Bill would require marijuana business owners of all kinds to put at least one employee per year through a 30-hour Cal-OSHA training. (Walter, 4/24)

The Bakersfield Californian: Health Care Group Targets Valadao With Ads
The Alliance for Healthcare Security has launched a round of television ads in the 21st Congressional District pressuring Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, to vote against any repeal of Obamacare.The coalition of unions, medical groups and partnerships is asking people to “Tell Congressman Valadao — don’t repeal our healthcare.”“The ads are running in nine districts of members that were either vague or did not take a position on Republican efforts to repeal healthcare," Alliance spokesman Brendan Kiviat wrote in an email. "It is critical that their constituents know what's at stake in their community, and how their member of Congress plans to vote should the latest proposal come to the floor." (Burger, 4/24)

Sacramento Bee: Mentally Ill Inmates Seek Punitive Damages To Change State Prisons 
In a trial underway in front of U.S. District Court Judge Kimberly J. Mueller, plaintiffs want a jury to find nine corrections department employees liable for malice and oppression to rectify abuses they say their client suffered during a brutal 2012 cell extraction. Along with general damages, the attorneys say a punitive award would send a message to the prison system and its staff on how to carry out the best practices – and avoid the worst – when inmates have full-blown psychotic breakdowns. (Furillo, 4/24)

In other news from across the state —

Orange County Register: New Hospital After-Care For Homeless Opens In Midway City Specializing In Mental Illness, Substance Abuse 
The Illumination Foundation has opened a new 55-bed around-the-clock shelter where Orange County homeless patients with mental health or substance abuse struggles can recover after a hospitalization. The Midway City facility is the fourth recuperative-care site the Irvine nonprofit has opened in Orange and Los Angeles counties to give patients a safe place to recover. (Perkes, 4/24)

KPBS Public Media: Sharp Program Helps Elderly San Diegans Get Medical Care At Home 
The Transitions program was launched in 2007. The program's chief medical officer, Dr. Daniel Hoefer, came up with the idea, after years of observing a reoccurring problem with many of his elderly patients. Those who had heart failure, dementia and other serious health issues would reach a point when they would frequently go in and out of the hospital. (Goldberg, 4/25)

KPCC: Agencies To Leave Methane Monitoring At Porter Ranch To Private Companies 
A well at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage field  had blown out on October 23, 2015, and spewed 109,000 metric tons of methane into the atmosphere until it was sealed in mid February of the following year. ... But now after months of normal readings, the last two public-funded monitors operated by the South Coast Air Quality Management District will be pulled out in June. (McNary, 4/24)

KPCC: Health Plans Slow To Adopt Birth Control Law 
Camila Gonzalez was thrilled to learn that, under a new California law, she could get a one-year supply of birth control pills at the pharmacy and her insurance plan would cover it... The group that oversees Title X family planning services in California and the agency that regulates managed care health plans say they have seen evidence that some insurers are not complying with the new law. (Plevin, 4/25)

San Francisco Business Times: Bay Area Biotech Slashes Half Of Staff After Drug Partnerships Falter
Bay Area biotech OncoMed Pharmaceuticals will cut about half its staff in a bid to reduce costs, the company said Monday, after a series of stumbles in clinical trials left the firm struggling. (McDermid and Leuty, 4/24)

In other pharmaceutical news —

San Francisco Business Times: At High-Stakes Table, Growing Peninsula Biotech Antes Up With 'Fatty-Liver' Drug
This South San Francisco biotech has 150 employees, has raised $300 million and has an important partnership with a Big Pharma company. But it is the one drug that is not part of that deal that could have a big impact on a growing disease. (Leuty, 4/24)

Sacramento Bee: How To Cope When Diagnosed With A Serious, Life-Threatening Disease
Getting diagnosed with a life-threatening illness can feel like flying along at 36,000 feet and suddenly you’re plummeting toward the ground with the plane’s engine on fire. ... No matter how dire the diagnosis, you can regain control and pilot your life’s flight to a smooth landing. That’s the message from longtime palliative care physician Dr. Steven Pantilat, a University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine professor who believes there are better ways to confront and cope with serious illness, whether it’s cancer, lung disease, heart failure, Alzheimer’s or other life-changing maladies. (Buck, 4/24)

Politico: Moderates Mum On Repeal Bill Changes That Would Strip Consumer Protections
While hardline House conservatives are falling in line behind the latest Republican Obamacare repeal bill, there's ominous silence from most moderates whose support is also essential to getting the measure passed in the House. The latest version would allow states to opt out of several key Obamacare protections, allowing insurers to charge older and sicker people more than younger and healthier people, according to a summary obtained by POLITICO. So far, none of the moderates who opposed an earlier repeal bill have publicly committed to supporting the latest version. (Haberkorn, Dawsey and Cancryn, 4/24)

Politico: Trump Pledges Premiums Will 'Start Tumbling Down' Under His Health Care Plan
President Donald Trump on Monday pledged that his yet-to-be-unveiled health care plan will cause premiums to “start tumbling down” and produce “real” health care. “If our healthcare plan is approved, you will see real healthcare and premiums will start tumbling down,” Trump said on Twitter. “ObamaCare is in a death spiral!” (Conway, 4/24)

The Wall Street Journal: Shutdown Threat Moves GOP Health Debate To Back Burner
Congress’s focus on averting a government shutdown this week is likely to push the House GOP debate over their health-care bill to the back burner for now, Republican lawmakers and aides said. President Donald Trump had pressed House Republicans last week to vote as quickly as possible on a modified version of their health bill, which House leaders pulled from the floor last month when it became clear it didn’t have enough support to pass the chamber. (Peterson, 4/24)

The Associated Press: Study: Trump's Hardball Tactic On Health Care May Backfire
Going into this week's federal budget battle, the White House toyed with a hardball tactic to force congressional Democrats to negotiate on President Donald Trump's priorities. They just might eliminate billions of dollars in disputed "Obamacare" subsidies. But a study out Tuesday from a nonpartisan group suggests that could backfire. Stopping the Affordable Care Act payments at issue may actually wind up costing the federal government billions more than it would save. (4/25)

Politico Pro: Politico-Harvard Poll: Republicans Can't Move Beyond Obamacare Repeal 
While 60 percent of Americans want Republicans either to work with Democrats to fix the Affordable Care Act or move on, just as many Republicans want their party to repeal the health care law entirely or try again on a replacement plan, according to a new POLITICO-Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health poll. (Millman, 4/25)

In other national health care news —

The Washington Post: Supreme Court To Decide Whether Defendants Are Entitled To A Mental-Health Expert On Their Side
The Supreme Court’s liberals and conservatives seemed to disagree Monday on whether an Alabama inmate was entitled to a mental-health expert who would be on his side in fighting the state’s attempt to sentence him to death. The justices were examining James McWilliams’s 1986 death sentence and an even older Supreme Court precedent. But their decision will be immediately relevant. The Arkansas Supreme Court recently stayed the execution of two men on its death row until the justices decide McWilliams v. Dunn. (Barnes, 4/24)

The Wall Street Journal: Express Scripts Says It Will Lose Anthem, Its Biggest Customer, In 2020
Express Scripts Holding Co. said Monday it doesn’t expect Anthem Inc., its biggest customer, to extend a pharmacy-benefits management agreement slated to expire at the end of 2019. The nation’s largest pharmacy-benefits manager said it pledged $1 billion a year in price concessions through 2019 if Anthem would extend the current deal beyond the current expiration date. But Express Scripts officials said recent conversations with Anthem indicate the health insurer wants to move in a different direction. Anthem has issued a request for proposals seeking a new pharmacy-benefits manager once the current agreement expires, Express Scripts said. (Tweh, 4/24)

Stat: Sanofi Sues Mylan Over Alleged Anti-Competitive Marketing Of EpiPen
In the latest flap over EpiPen, Sanofi filed a lawsuit on Monday alleging that Mylan violated antitrust law by taking several steps to thwart its rival from gaining any traction in the marketplace. Sanofi used to sell Auvi-Q, a different type of auto-injector that provides voice instructions and resembles a deck of cards. Both EpiPen and Auvi-Q provide life-saving doses of epinephrine to individuals suffering from severe allergic reactions. However, Sanofi voluntarily withdrew its device in October 2015 over problems with dosing and the device is now sold by another company called Kaleo. (Swetlitz and Silverman, 4/24)