Sacramento Bee: 14,000 CalPERS Members Must Find A New 2019 Health Plan
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System recently negotiated its lowest premium increases in the past 21 years, which will mean lowered health premiums for 800,000 members in 2019. As a result of the changes, CalPERS will part ways with two major providers – Health Net and Blue Shield – in some areas. (Holzer, 8/15)

In other news from across the state —

KQED: Beloved San Francisco Zen Hospice Project Confronts Its Own End
It was late May when the body of the last person to die in the guest house of the Zen Hospice Project was carried down the stairs and through the back garden, then sprinkled with flower petals. ... Now, after 30 years of caring for people with all kinds of illnesses, the house is closing its doors. The organization no longer has enough money to keep the program going. (Dembosky, 8/14)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County To Expand Mobile Shower Program For Homeless People
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to expand a pilot program to offer homeless people access to hygiene via mobile showers. The motion approved by the board will set aside up to $200,000 from Homeless Initiative funds to pay for the operation of one or more mobile shower trailers owned by the county’s Office of Emergency Management. (Agrawal, 8/14)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Scripps Again Tops Local Results In U.S. News Top-Hospitals Report
For the second year in a row, Scripps hospitals topped local competitors in the nation’s highest-profile health care quality compendium. Released Tuesday, the “best hospitals” list from U.S. News & World Report ranked seven Scripps specialties at its two La Jolla-area hospitals among the 50 best in the nation compared to six at UC San Diego’s Jacobs Medical Center. Both systems had eight ranked specialties last year. (Sisson, 8/15)

The California Health Report: California Allocates $1 Million To Improve Mental Health Of Native American Youth
While mental health resources for Native American youth are sparse throughout California, the state has taken a modest step to support Albers and his peers by earmarking more than $1 million for Native American youth as part of the first-ever statewide Youth Reinvestment Fund. The fund, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed into the 2018-19 budget, aims to keep vulnerable youth populations out of the criminal justice system by instead supporting more community and health interventions. ... According to the American Psychiatric Association, Native Americans across the country experience serious psychological distress 1.5 times more often than the general population, and post-traumatic stress disorder more than twice as often. Native American youth also use drugs and alcohol at younger ages and higher rates than other groups. (Kandil, 8/13)

In other mental health news —

The Associated Press: California May Redo Law To Treat, Free Suspects
California Gov. Jerry Brown wants to tighten a law he signed weeks ago that critics say could have freed rapists and murderers who completed two years of mental health treatment. The proposal obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday specifically bans those charged with murder, rape and other sex crimes from participating and allows judges to bar a much broader range of dangerous suspects. (Thompson, 8/14)

The Mercury News: West Nile Virus Found In Mosquitoes In Santa Clara, Sunnyvale
West Nile virus was detected in mosquitoes collected from an area around the 94087, 95050 and 950512 zip codes in parts of Santa Clara and Sunnyvale, the Santa Clara County Vector Control District announced Monday. The vector control district is planning a targeted treatment operation on Wednesday in an effort to prevent human cases of West Nile virus, which has resulted in 292 fatalities statewide since 2003. (Gomez, 8/14)

In other news from across the state —

Los Angeles Times: County Review Finds Abuse Case Of Anthony Avalos 'Very Dissimilar' To That Of Gabriel Fernandez
A county review found that the Department of Children and Family Services took “considerable actions” in the case of 10-year-old Anthony Avalos, but nonetheless made a series of recommendations to minimize risks to other children in the future. The report by Michael Nash, head of the county’s Office of Child Protection, drew a clear distinction between the child welfare system’s failings preceding the horrific death in 2013 of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez and how it dealt with complaints in Anthony’s case. (Agrawal, 8/13)

Los Angeles Times: California Cities Oppose Plan To Allow Pot Delivery In Areas Where Sales Are Banned
California cities on Monday objected to a state proposal that would allow marijuana delivery to homes in areas where storefront pot sales have been banned locally. The changes, which are being considered by the state Bureau of Cannabis Control, “will undermine a city’s ability to effectively regulate cannabis at the local level,” Charles Harvey, a legislative representative for the League of California Cities, said in a letter to the bureau. (McGreevy, 8/14)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento Medical Society Aims To Curb Physician Burnout
The medical society, one of the oldest medical societies in the west, celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, is attempting to curb the effects of physician burnout through its Joy of Medicine program. The program is a multi-disciplinary approach to address burnout by encouraging wellness and resiliency among physicians in the region. (Holzer, 8/15)

The Mercury News: FDA Widens Recall Of Tainted Blood Pressure Drugs
Be aware that the FDA has widened its recall of tainted blood pressure medication containing the drug valsartan. A limited recall began in July but has since been expanded to this list of drugs. (D'Souza, 8/14)

In other public health news —

Fresno Bee: Mosquito ‘Disease Danger Days’ Have Risen In Fresno
The nonprofit news organization Climate Central is warning that the number of mosquito “disease danger days” — when people are at greater risk of getting bitten and sick — is increasing across much of the U.S. That includes Fresno, which was ninth of the top 10 cities that saw the biggest increases. (Tehee, 7/13)

Reuters: Trump Administration Sued Over Arkansas' Medicaid Work Requirements
Advocacy groups on Tuesday filed a lawsuit challenging the decision by President Donald Trump's administration to allow Arkansas to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients in the state. The lawsuit, filed against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in federal court in Washington on behalf of three Medicaid recipients in the state, claims that the federal Medicaid law does not allow the administration to approve work requirements. (8/14)

In other national health care news —

Modern Healthcare: Trump's Immigrant Healthcare Rule Could Hurt Low-Income Populations
Healthcare leaders warn that a pending Trump administration rule penalizing legal immigrants for using government benefits like Medicaid would hurt public health efforts and reduce their ability to serve millions of low-income children and families. According to a revised draft of the 223-page rule leaked in March, the Trump administration will allow immigration officials to consider legal immigrants' use of public health insurance, nutrition and other programs as a strongly negative factor in their applications for legal permanent residency. The change also applies to citizens' and legal residents' requests to bring family members into the U.S., as well as to young people who have legal status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as Dreamers. (Meyer, 8/14)

The Hill: CVS Launches Program Targeting Expensive New Drugs 
CVS Caremark will allow its clients to exclude coverage of drugs with extremely high launch prices under a new program the company said is aimed at pressuring manufacturers to lower drug costs.According to CVS, launch prices have been steadily rising for years, and are completely up to the discretion of the manufacturer. The high prices put an unsustainable burden on the country’s health system, CVS said.  (Weixel, 8/14)

Politico: Oral Arguments In Texas Obamacare Suit Set For Sept. 10
Oral arguments have been scheduled for Sept. 10 in a Texas lawsuit seeking to strike down Obamacare as unconstitutional. The case was filed in February by 20 Republican state attorneys general. They’re seeking a preliminary injunction halting enforcement of the federal health care law. (Demko, 8/14)

The Hill: Google Parent Invests $375M In ObamaCare Startup Oscar
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is investing $375 million in Oscar Health, a startup health insurance company seeking to redefine the industry by using technology and data. The infusion of funding from the parent of a major technology giant is a vote of confidence in Oscar Health, which has been closely watched for how well it will be able to shake up the health insurance industry. (Sullivan, 8/14)

The New York Times: The ‘Zombie Gene’ That May Protect Elephants From Cancer
Elephants ought to get a lot of cancer. They’re huge animals, weighing as much as eight tons. It takes a lot of cells to make up that much elephant. All of those cells arose from a single fertilized egg, and each time a cell divides, there’s a chance that it will gain a mutation — one that may lead to cancer. Strangely, however, elephants aren’t more prone to cancer than smaller animals. Some research even suggests they get less cancer than humans do. (Zimmer, 8/14)

The New York Times: Should You Choose A Female Doctor?
Does gender matter when choosing a doctor? Whether your doctor is male or female could be a matter of life or death, a new study suggests. The study, of more than 580,000 heart patients admitted over two decades to emergency rooms in Florida, found that mortality rates for both women and men were lower when the treating physician was female. And women who were treated by male doctors were the least likely to survive. (Parker Pope, 8/14)