East Bay Times: Big Pharma's $70 Million Tops California Campaign Contributions
With Californians facing the busiest ballot in more than a decade, big spenders are poised to make it one of the most expensive election battles in state history -- already contributing $185 million to fight over everything from sex, drugs and guns to tobacco and taxes. The money is piling up on behalf of campaigns for 17 statewide ballot measures -- the most since March 2000. And when it comes to big backers, Big Pharma is far and away the towering force. (Seipel, 7/12)

Los Angeles Times: Why Lawmakers Are Trying To Make Ransomware A Crime In California
Sate legislation to outlaw ransomware is drawing broad support from tech leaders and lawmakers, spurred by an uptick in that type of cybercrime and a series of recent attacks on hospitals in Southern California. The bill, authored by state Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys), would update the state’s penal code, making it a felony to knowingly use ransomware, a type of malware or intrusive software that is injected into a computer or network and allows a hacker to hold data hostage until money is paid. (Ulloa, 7/12)

The Associated Press: Kaiser Accuses California Ex-Employee Of Embezzling $7 Million
A subsidiary of healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente has filed a lawsuit in California accusing a former employee responsible for investigating insurance fraud claims of embezzling $7 million. The suit by Kaiser Foundation Health Plan accuses Michael Albert Quinn of submitting invoices for investigative services that were not performed or were not justified over a 16-year span after he joined the company in 1998. (7/11)

San Francisco Chronicle: Kaiser Fraud Claims Investigator Accused Of Embezzling $7 Million
Years ago, Michael Albert Quinn ruined his budding career as a Bay Area police officer. But rather than switching paths, he adjusted. He went into security. (Sernoffsky, 7/10)

San Francisco Business Times: S.F.'s Audentes Therapeutics Sets IPO Price Targets, Hopes To Raise Up To $92M
Gene therapy company Audentes Therapeutics on Monday set a price range for a planned IPO in which it hopes to raise up to $92 million. The San Francisco company led by CEO Matthew R. Patterson first disclosed its plans to go public in January when it said it hoped to raise up to $86 million. (Schubarth, 7/11)

Los Angeles Times: A 'Slow Catastrophe' Unfolds As The Golden Age Of Antibiotics Comes To An End
In a steady march, disease-causing microbes have evolved ways to evade the bulwark of medications used to treat bacterial infections. For a variety of those illnesses, only colistin continued to work every time. Now this last line of defense had been breached as well. A second U.S. case of E. coli with the mcr-1 resistance gene was reported this week in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. (Healy, 7/11)

Los Angeles Times: Teixobactin And The Hope It Represents For Fighting Antibiotic Resistance
And then there’s teixobactin, a still-experimental drug that may herald a new era of antibiotic discovery. A team of researchers at Northeastern University’s Antimicrobial Discovery Center reported last year in the journal Nature that they had discovered a compound in soil unlike any found before. Teixobactin was highly effective in killing such common bacterial troublemakers as Clostridium difficile, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Staphylococcus aureus, wrote a team led by Kim Lewis, the center’s director. A Nature editorial dubbed it “an irresistible newcomer.” (Healy, 7/11)

Los Angeles Times: How Quickly Antibiotic Resistance Can Spread
How quickly can antibiotic resistance spread? Consider the case of a Swedish man who traveled to India in 2009. While in New Delhi, the man became infected by a strain of Klebsiella bacteria bearing a gene that made it impervious to the antibiotic carbapenem. Microbiologists quickly found the gene in bacterial samples from Mumbai as well. In the span of just two years, it also turned up in Croatia, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and China. (Healy, 7/11)

Los Angeles Times: Can The Government Encourage The Development Of New Antibiotics?
It's been nearly 30 years since scientists have found a new class of antibiotics. But U.S. lawmakers tried to give the drug industry a boost in 2012. That year, they passed the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act. It included provisions — collectively known as Generating Antibiotic Incentives Now, or GAIN — aimed at streamlining the government approval process for new antibiotics. It also boosted financial paybacks to drug companies that develop them. The law has spurred the introduction of several new medicines. But none so far represents a new class of antibiotic or treats a drug-resistant strain for which effective medicine does not already exist. (Healy, 7/11)

Los Angeles Times: Why Antibiotic Use On Farms Helps Fuel Antibiotic-Resistant Diseases
Farm animals are a key player in the emergence of antibiotic resistance. Around the world, livestock producers feed antibiotics to cattle, pigs, chickens and other animals in a bid to prevent diseases and boost their growth. In the United States, for instance, some 30 million pounds of antibiotics are used on the farm. That’s 80% of all the antibiotics used in the U.S. each year, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts. Experts believe this practice has hastened the emergence of antibiotic-resistant diseases. (Healy, 7/11)

PBS Newshour: The End Of Aids?
PBS NewsHour traveled to six places across the world to find stories of those in the middle of the AIDS epidemic. Will they find an end to AIDS? Watch our six-part series, starting July 11th. (PBS Newshour, 7/11)

PBS Newshour: San Francisco’s Bold AIDS Mission Is ‘Getting To Zero’ By 2030
There’s still no vaccine and no cure, but the medical community is increasingly focused on ambitious plans to bring about an end to HIV/AIDS. The NewsHour launches its series, “The End of AIDS?” with a look at intense prevention efforts underway in one of the cities most impacted by the epidemic, San Francisco. (Brangham, 7/11)

In other news, researchers turn to an dating app to promote HIV self-testing kits —

The New York Times: Researchers Try Grindr App To Give Out H.I.V. Self-Testing Kits
Grindr, the gay dating app, is an effective way to get gay black and Hispanic men to try home H.I.V. self-testing kits, according to a recent study. The small study was confined to Los Angeles, and fewer than 400 test kits were distributed, but the idea has broader potential. Grindr is used by at least five million men in 192 countries, according to its developer. (McNeil, 7/11)

Los Angeles Times: In Predicting A Stroke's Toll, Location Matters, But So Do Connections
Each year, roughly 666,000 Americans survive a stroke, and for them, the aftermath can be hard to predict. Some stroke patients have difficulty speaking or grasp for words that do not come. Some suffer problems with vision, balance or mobility. Some are addled by attention, memory and other cognitive deficits that can range from subtle to severe. To glean what kinds of disabilities a patient will probably face, neurologists have long looked at the location of the lesion a stroke leaves behind — on a brain scan, the darkened site where cells have died off. But when a system as complex as the human brain comes under attack, pinpointing the injury’s whereabouts isn’t always a very good guide. (Healy, 7/11)

In other public health news —

Sacramento Bee: Deaf People Encounter Troubles With Medical Care
The struggle to communicate with medical providers is a common complaint among the deaf and hard of hearing and has resulted in dozens of legal settlements nationwide in recent years. Since 2012, when the federal Department of Justice launched its Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, it has concluded investigations in about 36 cases – including several in California – involving lack of interpreter services. An estimated 37 million U.S. adults have hearing trouble, ranging from partial loss to complete deafness, according to a 2006 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Buck, 7/11)

Los Angeles Times: Four In 10 UC Students Do Not Have A Consistent Source Of High-Quality, Nutritious Food, Survey Says
The startling results from the survey of nearly 9,000 students, believed to be the nation’s largest look ever at campus food security, found that 19% of respondents went hungry at times. An additional 23% were able to eat but lacked steady access to a good-quality, varied and nutritious diet. UC President Janet Napolitano, in conjunction with the survey’s release, announced a $3.3-million effort to expand the fight against campus malnutrition. Each campus will receive $151,000, adding to the $75,000 each received last year to build what officials say will be the nation’s most comprehensive, systematic plan to tackle the problem. (Watanabe and Newell, 7/11)

Los Angeles Times: The People Taking Care Of American Children Live In Poverty
The people paid to watch America's children tend to live in poverty. Nearly half receive some kind of government assistance: food stamps, welfare checks, Medicaid. Their median hourly wage is $9.77 — about $3 below the average janitor's. In a new report, researchers at UC Berkeley say that child care is too vital to the country's future to offer such meager wages. Those tasked with supporting kids, they say, are shaping much of tomorrow's workforce. (Paquette, 7/11)

KQED: Do Alternative Treatments For Autism Work?
A huge majority of parents who have a child with autism have tried some sort of unorthodox treatment to alleviate core symptoms and improve skills like communication or social behavior. A 2013 UCSF study found 88 percent of parents surveyed tried some form of complementary or alternative medicine for their child. The treatments range from special diets and supplements — two of the most frequently tried interventions — to music or animal therapy. But parents have little guidance from medical science, because the evidence for alternatives is thin, if it exists at all. (McClurg, 7/11)

KPCC: The Hollywood Job That Makes Autism An Asset
(Jacob) Fenster does have work now after graduating from Exceptional Minds, a vocational school in Sherman Oaks that trains high school graduates on the autism spectrum in animation and visual effects. After completing the three-year training program, graduates have the opportunity to work in the in-house studio, doing contract visual effects work for major film studios. The Exceptional Minds studio has a long list of visual effects credits on more than 30 movies and TV shows, including "Captain America," "The Avengers," and "Game of Thrones." (Neely, 7/12)

San Jose Mercury News: Stanford Implicated In Concussion Class-Action Lawsuit
As the landscape of concussion-related lawsuits continues to grow, Stanford finds itself in the crosshairs after David Burns -- an ex-football player with the Cardinal in the 1970s -- was listed as the main plaintiff on class-action litigation filed last week against the university, the NCAA and the Pac-12, as reported by CBS San Francisco. The complaint was filed on behalf of Stanford football players from 1959 and 2010. It's one of more than a dozen lawsuits filed since May by Chicago-based law firm Edelson PC. (Daily News Dispatches, 7/11)

CBS: Former Football Players Sue Stanford University, NCAA, PAC-12 Over Mishandled Concussions
A complaint filed on behalf of thousands of former Stanford University football players alleges the university, the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Pac-12 Conference knew that football players were in danger of permanent brain injuries but did not protect the players so as to “protect the very profitable business of ‘amateur’ college football.” Chris Dore, a partner at the law firm Edelson PC said the lawsuit filed Thursday against Stanford, the NCAA and Pac-12 is only one of 15 lawsuits that have been filed in recent weeks by his firm against colleges and athletic conferences on behalf of college football players. (7/8)

In other news from across the state —

LA Daily News: LA County Supervisors To Mull List Of Tax Measures To Help The Homeless
From marijuana to millionaires, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is expected to discuss a range of tax proposals Tuesday as it considers four options for the November ballot to bolster funds to help the homeless. A 1-percent sales tax on medical marijuana could generate $1.3 million a year, according to a county report. The estimate is based on data that found that medical marijuana sales generated $132 million in Los Angeles County in 2014. (Abram, 7/11)

The Associated Press: Trump: Plan To Revamp Veterans Care Will Save Lives
Republican Donald Trump pledged Monday to expand programs that allow veterans to choose their doctor and clinics — regardless of whether they're affiliated with Department of Veterans Affairs — and still receive government-paid medical care. In a policy speech announcing a 10-point plan for veterans, Trump said he "begins with a simple promise: Every veteran will get timely access to top-quality care." (7/11)

Politico: Republicans Building Stronger Anti-Abortion Plank In Platform
Republicans are considering strengthening the already strict anti-abortion language in their party platform by condemning Planned Parenthood and calling for Supreme Court justices who will reverse decisions in favor of abortion rights. Platform committees that are meeting in Cleveland before next week's Republican National Convention have given preliminary approval of the Planned Parenthood condemnation, according to attendees. (Haberkorn, 7/11)

Stat: For Trump, The Issue Of Abortion Looms As Republican Convention Nears
During nearly every Republican convention in recent history, the GOP presidential nominee has offered, at the very least, a strong hint that he would oppose abortion. It has been a sure-fire applause line, and an effective way to fire up the Republican base. But with Trump, as is often the case, there are no sure things. Trump is a former supporter of abortion rights, and clips of him talking about his belief in “choice” are easy enough to find. (Nather, 7/11)

The New York Times: Obama Offers Ways To Improve His Health Care Law
After defending the Affordable Care Act in all its intricacies for six years, President Obama proposed ways to improve it on Monday, saying that Congress should provide larger subsidies for private health insurance and create a public plan like Medicare to compete with private insurers in some states. At the same time, he accused the pharmaceutical industry of trying to protect its profits by opposing any constraints on drug prices. Mr. Obama offered his views in a valedictory message summarizing what he sees as his legacy on health care, together with his ideas to improve the Affordable Care Act. (Pear, 7/11)

Kaiser Health News: Obama Renews Call For A Public Option In Health Law
President Barack Obama Monday called on Congress to revisit the controversial idea of providing a government-run insurance plan as part of the offerings under the Affordable Care Act. The so-called “public option” was jettisoned from the health law by a handful of conservative Democrats in the Senate in 2009. Every Democrat’s vote was needed to pass the bill in the face of unanimous Republican opposition. But in a “special communication” article published on the website of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the president said a lack of insurance plan competition in some areas may warrant a new look. (Rovner, 7/11)

The Associated Press: Obamacare 2.0: Obama Calls For Revisiting The Public Option
Obama's assessment of the Affordable Care Act comes in an eight-page article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, a peer-reviewed publication. The article debuted Monday on the journal's website, and Obama plans to echo the themes in public events and speeches in the coming weeks. (Lederman and Alonso-Zaldivar, 7/11)

The Wall Street Journal: President Obama Calls For ‘Public Option’ In Affordable Care Act
“The Affordable Care Act is the most important health care legislation enacted in the United States since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965,” he wrote. “Although partisanship and special interest opposition remain, experience with the Affordable Care Act demonstrates that positive change is achievable on some of the nation’s most complex challenges.” (Radnofsky, 7/11)

Politico: Obama Backs Health Care Public Option
Obama argued that the public option would bring much-needed competition in markets where only one or two plans sell coverage – areas accounting for 12 percent of Obamacare customers. Obamacare tried to create more competition through federal loans to create insurance co-ops, but 15 of the 23 co-ops supported by the law have failed. Besides the public option, Obama offered other prescriptions for making health care more affordable. Obama urged Congress to offer even more generous assistance to middle class families paying for premiums on the law’s insurance marketplaces – many who qualify for subsidies say they still can’t afford to pay for coverage. (Wheaton, 7/11)

The New York Times: How An Arcane Spending Fight Could Alter The Federal Balance Of Power
The fight between House Republicans and the Obama administration over billions of dollars in disputed health care spending sounds arcane, but it could have major — some might say huge — consequences for our constitutional democracy. Consider it in this context: How would lawmakers react if a willful new chief executive, unable to win money from Congress for a wall on the Mexican border, simply shifted $7 billion from another account and built it anyway? How about if a future president were so determined to cut college costs that she bypassed Congress and funneled billions of dollars into a new tuition grant program without approval? (Huse, 7/11)

The New York Times: Dr. Paid Less: An Old Title Still Fits Female Physicians
Female physicians at some of the nation’s most prominent public medical schools earn nearly $20,000 less a year on average than their male colleagues, according to an analysis published on Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine. Before adjusting for factors that could influence income, the researchers found that the absolute difference between the genders was more than $51,000 a year. (Saint Louis, 7/11)

The Wall Street Journal: Giving Patients Some Choice May Boost Drugs’ Effectiveness
Allowing patients to choose among different medications that do the same thing may increase the effectiveness of the selected drug and reduce possible side effects, according to a study in Annals of Behavioral Medicine. Participants who got to pick between two different formulations of a medication reported significantly fewer side effects after 24 hours compared with those not allowed to choose, the study found. The subjects weren’t aware that the drugs were harmless placebos. (Lukits, 7/11)

USA Today: Pharma Trade Group Helps Fund Patient Fight Against Medicare Project
Groups that advocate for patients' and doctors' interests are working in near lockstep with the big pharmaceutical companies that fund the groups to fight a proposed Medicare rule that could affect the companies' bottom lines, documents and interviews show. At stake is a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposal to test the effect of cutting what doctors get from Medicare for administering high-priced infusion drugs. (O'Donnell and Crescente, 7/11)

The Hill: Reid, McConnell Spar Over Zika Funding
The Senate's Republican and Democratic leaders battled Monday over funding to fight the Zika virus, a clear sign that lawmakers have yet to break a stalemate days ahead of a seven-week recess. Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) tried to bring up the Senate's original deal — spearheaded by Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) — that would provide $1.1 billion in funding. (Carney, 7/11)