Orange County Register: Four O.C. Sheriff's Deputies At Vegas Shooting File Workers’ Compensation Claims For Physical, Psychological Injuries 
Four Orange County sheriff’s deputies have filed workers compensation claims against the county for physical and psychological injuries they say they suffered when they attended a country music festival in Las Vegas where a gunman killed 58 people. (Graham, 10/16)

In other news from across the state —

KPBS: Program Offering Homeless Overnight Parking To Expand 
A program in Clairemont that provides a safe parking area for homeless people living out of their vehicles and offers them assistance to transition to permanent housing will be expanded, city officials and community leaders announced Monday. A similar area will also be opened on city-owned property in Murphy Canyon. (Hoffman, 10/16)

Orange County Register: Alzheimer’s Walk In Laguna Niguel Raises $40,000 For Countywide Services 
Some 400 people walked in solidarity to raise money and awareness for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia at the Alzheimer’s walk in Laguna Niguel on Saturday, Oct. 14. Walk4ALZ, the two-mile walk hosted by Alzheimer’s Orange County, raised $40,000 that will go to countywide services that help people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. (Rasmussen, 10/16)

Santa Rosa Press Democrat: Kaiser Reopens Two Medical Offices After Santa Rosa Fire
For the first time since the firestorm broke out last week, about 200 Kaiser Permanente employees arrived for work Monday morning as the health care giant’s two main medical office buildings in Santa Rosa reopened next to its still shuttered hospital on Bicentennial Way. Just before the 9 a.m. opening, physicians, nurses, medical assistants and technicians were greeted by choral singers as they congregated in the lobby of Medical Office Building 1 in a reunion that was at once solemn, tearful and joyful. More than 100 Kaiser employees, including doctors and nurses, lost their homes in last week’s devastating Tubbs fire. Throughout the week Kaiser staff worked at other Kaiser locations in Rohnert Park and San Rafael and many worked at local evacuation centers throughout the county. (Espinoza, 10/16)

KPCC: Trial Set In LA Disabled Students' Suit Alleging Community College Blocked Their Education 
West Los Angeles College and the Los Angeles Community College District are defendants in a trial set to start on Tuesday that alleges the college and the district blocked three students’ access to an education. The lead plaintiff, Charles Guerra, is a 65-year-old Army veteran who suffered a major spinal injury nine years ago and depended on a campus shuttle service that was canceled last year. (Guzman-Lopez, 10/16)

In other news from the courts —

The Bakersfield Californian: Bakersfield Nurse Facing Felony Charges For Allegedly Fraudulently Issuing Prescriptions For Herself 
A Bakersfield nurse is facing felony charges after investigators said she wrote prescriptions for herself for controlled substances by falsifying physicians' signatures, according to the state Department of Consumer Affairs' Division of Investigation. Jasmine Hill was taken into custody Oct. 6 and is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday on 10 charges including identity theft, perjury and illegally issuing prescriptions, according to a Department of Consumer Affairs news release. The investigation found that Hill, a nurse practitioner, wrote a prescription for herself that included controlled substances, then used the signature stamp of a co-worker physician to sign the prescription form, the release said. (10/17)

Ventura County Star: Simi Hospital Lays Off 31 Employees As Inpatient Admissions Decline
A Simi Valley hospital and health system laid off 31 employees Thursday in an attempt to offset falling inpatient admissions, officials confirmed Monday. The layoffs at Adventist Health Simi Valley, formerly known as Simi Valley Hospital, included 12 registered nurses with the balance of the cuts coming in nonclinical positions that do not provide direct patient care, said CEO Jennifer Swenson. Affected positions range from unit secretaries to a philanthropy position. (Kisken, 10/16)

Los Angeles Times: Doctors Urged To Make A Public Commitment To Talk To Their Patients About Guns And Gun Safety
As guardians of health and gatekeepers to the world of medicine, primary care doctors are expected to plunge dauntlessly into the most delicate topics with their patients. Now, in the wake of the worst mass shooting in recent U.S. history, a new campaign is challenging these physicians to talk to their patients about guns. As doctor questions go, it’s right up there with inquiring about risky sexual behavior and a notch stickier than drug or excess alcohol use and obesity. Asking about a patient’s guns strays into prickly political territory. It risks backlash from hard-line gun rights advocates. And in small or rural communities, where guns are often plentiful and medical care is scarce, it may scare a few patients off. (Healy, 10/16)

Los Angeles Times: Trump Calls For Short-Term Obamacare Fix And Reaches Out To Republican Leaders
President Trump threw his weight Monday behind a measure to fix parts of Obamacare, the first time he has voiced approval of a specific legislative approach to do so and an abrupt turnaround on a bipartisan effort to preserve key elements of the healthcare system that he has sought to repeal. Trump’s backing of what he repeatedly referred to as a “short-term fix” to ensure “good healthcare” came during freewheeling remarks in which he sought to mend relations with GOP leaders, even as he kicks a growing list of complicated issues to Congress, including immigration and the Iran nuclear deal. (Mascaro and Bierman, 10/16)

Reuters: Trump Declares Obamacare 'Dead,' Urges Democratic Help For Short-Term Fix
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday declared Obamacare "dead" and "gone," but urged Republicans and Democrats in Congress to craft a short-term fix of healthcare markets under the 7-year-old law that critics say he has effectively sabotaged. "It’s dead. It’s gone. It’s no longer - you shouldn’t even mention. It’s gone," Trump said of former Democratic President Barack Obama's signature 2010 healthcare law that Republicans have repeatedly tried and failed to repeal. (10/16)

Politico: Trump Said To Want Bipartisan Senate Obamacare Deal
President Donald Trump urged Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander to seek out an Obamacare deal with Democrats — encouragement that might help sway Republicans who are skeptical of a bipartisan agreement. Alexander said Trump told him by phone Oct. 14 he’d like to see a bill that funds the Obamacare cost-sharing subsidies that he abruptly cut off last week. In return, he wants to see “meaningful flexibility for the states in providing more choices,” Alexander (R-Tenn.) said. (Haberkorn, 10/16)

Bloomberg: Trump Urges Obamacare Fix, Senator Says, After Ending Key Plank 
“He called me a week ago and he called me on Saturday,” Alexander said of the effort, which he’s working on with Democratic Senator Patty Murray . “We had a good conversation each time, and he encouraged me to get a result with Senator Murray. He said, ‘I don’t want people to suffer.’ That’s his words.” Trump said Monday that creating a crisis was a necessary step to getting legislation moving. “Republicans are meeting with Democrats because of what I did with the CSRs,” Trump said on Monday at a Cabinet meeting, referring to subsidies to insurers the administration said on Thursday it was cutting off. “If I didn’t cut the CSRs they wouldn’t be meeting, they’d be having lunch and enjoying themselves, all right. They’re right now having emergency meetings to have a short-term fix of health care.” (Tracer, Sink and Litvan, 10/16)

In other news, two Democrats see a way forward that's different than a single-payer system —

The Washington Post: Two Swing-State Democrats Offer Middle Ground On Health Care
A pair of swing-state Democrats are offering new legislation that would create Medicare-style options for non-elderly workers, with a heavy focus on rural areas that have few insurers offering coverage under the Affordable Care Act. The proposal, from Sens. Michael F. Bennet (Colo.) and Tim Kaine (Va.), is politically significant because it tries to build on the existing law rather than the tear-it-all-down proposal of a national health-care system that is being offered by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). (Kane, 10/16)

Politico: Trump Says Marino Has Withdrawn As Drug Czar Nominee
President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that Rep. Tom Marino has withdrawn his name from consideration to become the administration's next drug czar, after CBS' "60 Minutes" and The Washington Post reported that the lawmaker championed a law that hobbled federal efforts to combat the abuse of opioids." Rep.Tom Marino has informed me that he is withdrawing his name from consideration as drug czar. Tom is a fine man and a great Congressman!" Trump tweeted on Tuesday morning. (10/17)

In other national health care news —

The Hill: Trump Promises Action On Drug Prices
President Trump on Monday attacked prescription drug companies and hinted at taking action to bring down rising drug prices. “We are going to get prescription drug prices way down because the world is taking advantage of us,” Trump said during a wide-ranging press conference. (Weixel, 10/16)

Politico: Undocumented Pregnant Girl In Texas Tests Trump Policy To Stop Abortions
The Trump administration is preventing an undocumented, pregnant teenager detained in a Brownsville refugee shelter from getting an abortion in a policy shift with big implications for hundreds of other pregnant, unaccompanied minors held in such shelters. She is not the first to be stopped, according to advocates who work with undocumented teenagers. (Rayasam, 10/16)

The Hill: No Progress On Negotiations To Fund Children's Health Insurance Program
Negotiations on a bipartisan bill to fund the popular Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) have made little progress, a top House Republican said Monday. Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) said Democrats have not made a counteroffer on paying for an extension of the program. (Hellmann, 10/16)

Bloomberg: Drugmakers Are Planning To Start A Phase 2 Trial To Cure Peanut Allergy
Aimmune Therapeutics Inc. is teaming with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. in hopes of developing a cure for peanut allergies. Aimmune, based in Brisbane, California, specializes in food allergy treatments and has been developing a desensitizing therapy, AR101, to protect peanut allergy sufferers against reactions from accidental exposures. By combining AR101 with Regeneron’s inflammation-inhibiting drug Dupixent, the companies are seeking to increase protection enough so patients stop reacting to peanuts even after treatment ends. (Chen, 10/16)