San Francisco Chronicle: As Congress Prepares To Repeal Health Law Mandate, California To Explore ‘All Options’
Congressional Republicans appear to be moving full speed ahead in repealing the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, prompting debate among California health care experts on how the state could continue encouraging residents to buy health insurance — including imposing a state-level requirement to purchase coverage. (Ho, 12/18)

The New York Times: Without The Insurance Mandate, Health Care’s Future May Be In Doubt
For years, the Obama administration said the health care system as constructed by the Affordable Care Act could not survive without a mandate that most Americans have health insurance. With surgical precision, the sweeping tax bill that Republicans plan to pass this week will do away with that mandate. What comes next for health care is unclear. (Pear, 12/18)

Modern Healthcare: Some California Hospitals Seek To Cut Charity Care By More Than Half
Not long after California's attorney general was sworn in at the beginning of this year, hospitals got to work renewing pleas his predecessor had shot down to more than halve their charity-care obligations. The California Hospital Association said it's in talks with Attorney General Xavier Becerra's office on behalf of a handful of not-for-profit hospitals that need his permission to cut charity care. Kamala Harris, who preceded Becerra, denied four such requests before leaving her post to serve in the U.S. Senate. This fall, requests from the same four hospitals trickled back in, but the CHA says it knows of roughly 15 that want to make the change. (Bannow, 12/18)

In other hospital news —

Los Angeles Times: After 157 Years In Chinatown, Los Angeles’ Oldest Hospital Shuts Its Doors
Xiaoyuan Yang was pregnant and her husband Weiming Lei needed a job when they moved more than 20 years ago from Guangzhou, China, to Los Angeles. "We knew nothing, and we didn't understand anything," Lei said. "Someone told us to live in Chinatown. "There, Yang found work at a Chinese restaurant, and their neighbors told them about a hospital just down the street where the staff spoke not only Mandarin and Cantonese, but the Toishan and Zhongshan dialects as well. (Shyong, 12/18)

Modern Healthcare: Cedars-Sinai Faces Sexual Harassment Suit Over Surgeon's Conduct Toward Nurse
As discussion of sexual harassment in healthcare grows, an ambulatory surgery center charge nurse has sued a prominent Los Angeles eye surgeon and the Cedars-Sinai Health System for battery, sexual harassment and discrimination. Nurse Paula Rickey alleges she was punished and forced to resign for reporting the incident, which was captured on surveillance video, while the surgeon, Dr. Kerry Kourosh Assil, received mild or no punishment. She claims that Cedars-Sinai, which owns the 90210 Surgery Center, failed to prevent or correct the harassment and discrimination. (Meyer, 12/18)

Orange County Register: How A Multi-Million Dollar Empire Built Around Urine Drug Tests Exposes Flaws In California’s Rehab Laws
Drug counselors in California are certified by industry-related agencies to work in recovery programs. ... But officials and critics say neither the third-party certification organizations, nor the state health services agency, are routinely notified by law enforcement or state officials when treatment center operators or their workers are convicted of crimes or disciplined for license violations. (Saavedra and Schwebke, 12/18)

Orange County Register: Are Drug Rehab Centers Fueling Homelessness In Southern California? 
Homelessness has surged in Southern California in recent years, a problem that has confounded officials and motivated local leaders – including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and the Orange County Board of Supervisors. ... But one aspect of the problem hasn’t been widely examined: What connection, if any, exists between the outsized number of rehab centers in Southern California and the region’s fast-growing homeless population? (Graham, 12/17)

Los Angeles Times: Preventing Dementia: The Promising, The Disappointing And The Inconclusive
What's proven to prevent the development of dementia after the age of 80? Not brain training, not medication, not regular exercise, not a healthier diet and not a busy social calendar, according to a series of reports published Monday. But ask the question a bit differently, and the answer is not quite as discouraging: What should you be doing anyway right now that might delay or prevent the development of dementia late in life? (Healy, 12/18)

Los Angeles Times: Residents Report Nosebleeds And Headaches After New Leak At Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Facility
Southern California Gas Co. late Monday reported a leak at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility during a routine operation to pressurize equipment after maintenance. In a community alert, the company said the leak occurred about 4:55 p.m. and didn't pose any health risks, though it did produce a noticeable odor. (Tchekmedyian, 12/18)

In other environmental health news —

Los Angeles Times: EPA Says Herbicide In Roundup Weed Killer Doesn't Cause Cancer, Contradicting California Regulators
The federal Environmental Protection Agency on Monday said glyphosate, the primary ingredient in the weed killer Roundup and one of the most widely used herbicides in agriculture, likely does not cause cancer. The assessment contradicts the conclusion of a European scientific panel as well as California regulators, who have included the chemical on the Proposition 65 list of probable carcinogens. (Mohan, 12/18)

San Francisco Chronicle: Berkeley May Repeal Law That Lets Police Use Pepper Spray During Violent Protests
A civilian commission in Berkeley worried about the health effects of pepper spray is urging the City Council to repeal an ordinance that allows police officers to use the chemical on violent protesters.T he council approved the law in September in response to a series of destructive political clashes between extremist groups in the city. (Veklerov, 12/18)

In other news from across the state —

Modesto Bee: Stnaislaus County Mental Health Computers Are Recovering From Attack. ‘... Not Going To Pay A Ransom’ 
Work continued Monday to restore computers that were disabled last week by a cyberattack on Stanislaus County’s Behavioral Health and Recovery Services department. Information technology staff worked over the weekend and, by Monday morning, 10 computers were back online with access to electronic health records, a county spokeswoman said. (Carlson, 12/18)

Los Angeles Times: Republican Tax Bill Fuels Anxiety Across The Nation's Healthcare System
Doctors, hospitals, patient advocates and others who work in the nation's healthcare system are growing increasingly alarmed at the Republican tax bill, warning that it threatens care for millions of sick Americans. The legislation – which GOP leaders are rushing to pass this week – will eliminate beginning in 2019 the Affordable Care Act penalty on consumers without health coverage, a move many experts warn will weaken insurance markets in parts of the country. (Levey, 12/18)

The Wall Street Journal: GOP Gets A Key ‘Yes’ Vote For Its Tax Bill
Republican leaders planning to put their tax package to a vote in coming days got a boost late Monday when Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who had yet to commit to backing the proposal, said she would be a ”yes.” ... Ms. Collins said she was encouraged that the House and Senate negotiators had retained several provisions she had pushed to get into the Senate bill, including retaining a deduction for medical expenses that the House bill had originally scrapped. The final tax bill allows people to deduct medical expenses above 7.5% of their income for 2017 and 2018, down from 10% under current law. Ms. Collins reiterated her confidence, which has come under question recently, that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) and President Donald Trump would honor an agreement they made with her on two bills addressing cost-sharing payments to insurers and high-cost claims. (Hughes and Rubin, 12/18)

And in other national health care news —

The Washington Post: Debate Erupts Within HHS About 'Words To Avoid' Such As 'Vulnerable,' 'Diversity' And 'Entitlement'
Health and Human Services Department officials confirmed Monday that they had singled out a handful of words that should be avoided in the upcoming budget process, but said they had not blocked employees from using them outright. A department spokesman further said that the guidance came from within HHS, not from the Office of Management and Budget. (Eilperin and Sun, 12/18)

Stateline: Congress Won’t Act; Now Community Health Centers Weigh Closures
Unless Congress provides funding before the end of the year, many of the nation’s 9,800 community health clinics will face service cuts or closure — potentially crippling a vital part of the health system that provides care in poor and underserved communities across every state. And the fallout could mean the loss of more than 160,000 jobs and a hit to state economies of more than $15 billion as staff cutbacks and layoffs ripple through the country. California alone could lose up to 15,841 jobs and nearly $1.7 billion next year. (Ollove, 12/18)

The Associated Press: US Health Officials To Target High-Risk Alternative Remedies
U.S. health officials plan to crack down on a growing number of unproven alternative remedies, focusing on products containing dangerous ingredients that have occasionally been linked to serious injury and death. The Food and Drug Administration on Monday issued a new proposal for regulating homeopathic medicines that have long been on the fringe of mainstream medicine. The agency plans to target products that pose the biggest safety risks, including those marketed for children or for serious diseases. (12/18)

Los Angeles Times: Judge Tells Trump Officials To Allow Two 17-Year-Old Immigrants To Obtain Abortions; Government Concedes In One Case
Trump administration officials must allow two pregnant teenage immigrants being held in detention facilities to see doctors about having abortions, a federal judge ruled Monday. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington issued a temporary restraining order that bars administration officials from preventing the two 17-year-olds from leaving the shelters. One of the immigrants is 10 weeks pregnant and the other is in her 22nd week, according to the judge's order. (Savage, 12/18)