Los Angeles Times: Democrats Considering A New Strategy To Expand Health Coverage As Frustrations Build With Obamacare
After spending most of 2017 defending the Affordable Care Act from GOP attacks, a growing number of Democrats believe the law's reliance on private insurance markets won't be enough and the party should focus instead on expanding popular government programs like Medicare and Medicaid. The emerging strategy — which is gaining traction among liberal policy experts, activists and Democratic politicians — is less sweeping than the "single-payer" government-run system that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) made a cornerstone of his 2016 presidential campaign. (Levey, 2/27)

The Associated Press: US Judge Blocks Weed-Killer Warning Label In California
A U.S. judge blocked California from requiring that the popular weed-killer Roundup carry a label stating that it is known to cause cancer, saying the warning is misleading because almost all regulators have concluded there is no evidence that the product's main ingredient is a carcinogen. U.S. District Judge William Shubb in Sacramento issued a preliminary injunction on Monday in a lawsuit challenging the state's decision last year to list glyphosate as a chemical known to cause cancer. (Thanawala, 2/27)

Los Angeles Times: Glyphosate Cancer Warning In California Halted
The injunction by U.S. District Judge William Shubb leaves glyphosate on the state's so-called Proposition 65 list as a "chemical known to the state of California to cause cancer," but bars anyone from enforcing a requirement to warn consumers about the presence of the herbicide. Major agricultural industry groups sued the state, alleging that a warning label on food would violate 1st Amendment free speech protections by compelling retailers to post "false, misleading and highly controversial statements" on their products. (Mohan, 2/27)

Capital Public Radio/KXJZ: New Bill Would Replace Coroner's Office With Medical Examiner
A new bill introduced in the California Senate would abolish the Coroner’s Office and replace it with a Medical Examiner's Office. This comes after San Joaquin County’s chief medical examiner resigned after saying the sheriff-coroner interfered with autopsies. The proposed bill would only apply to counties with a population over 500,000 and make the medical examiner an appointed position, not an elected one. (Ibarra, 2/27)

Sacramento Bee: Counties Slow To Spend Millionaires' Money On Mental Health
California counties are sitting on money from a special tax on millionaires that should be spent on mental health programs, but the state isn’t moving fast enough to reclaim the funds, according to a state audit released on Tuesday. California State Auditor Elaine Howle found that county mental health programs had stashed $231 million from the tax that should have been returned to the state by the end of the 2015-16 budget year. (Ashton, 2/28)

In other news from across the state —

Orange County Register: What Happens When Homeless People Are Sent To Motels? Some Are Welcomed, Some Treated Warily, Some Kicked Out
Baymont is one of multiple local motels that in recent weeks agreed to take in homeless people as the county scrambled to close the tent encampments and find alternative living arrangements. ... The county began clearing the homeless encampments in late January in order to conduct a maintenance project and clean up hazardous waste along the bike trail between I-5 in Orange and Ball Road/Taft Avenue in Anaheim. The two lawsuits, filed Jan. 29 and Feb. 7, sought to stop the mass eviction; one suit also targeted anti-camping laws in the cities of Anaheim, Costa Mesa and Orange, where many of the homeless were expected to resettle as they left the river. (Walker and Graham, 2/27)

Los Angeles Times: Newport-Based App Offers Patients A Faster Way To See Medical Specialists
A Newport Beach entrepreneur has created a mobile app that expands the idea of concierge doctors to include specialists. Concierge Key Health, which launched this month in Orange County, Phoenix and New York City, connects patients who pay $3,000 for an individual annual membership or $5,000 for an annual family plan to expedited appointments with doctors in fields such as cardiology, dermatology, pediatrics, reproductive health, ophthalmology and dentistry. (Davis, 2/27)

Long Beach Press-Telegram: Pregnancy Scam Murder Trial Starts For California Man Accused Of Ripping Baby From Mother's Arms
Trial began Monday for a man accused of shooting three people and suffocating a newborn girl he’d ripped from her mother’s arms during a bizarre plot to kidnap infants in Long Beach and El Segundo. Prosecutors allege Anthony McCall, 32, was the muscle in an elaborate but ultimately failed scheme to steal two babies and pass them off as another woman’s children. (Dobruck, 2/26)

Los Angeles Times: In A Deadly Season, A Grieving Mother Who Lost A Child To The Flu Fights Back
Scarlet Anne died during one of the worst influenza seasons in the country in years, and Hendricks struggled to make sense of her daughter's death. ... So in 2015, the year after Scarlet Anne died, the Tacoma, Wash., mother founded the Fight the Flu Foundation, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about the seriousness of the flu, especially for families and children. The group since has gained official nonprofit status as The End-FLUenza Project. (Simmons, 2/27)

KPCC: LA County Isn’t Doing Enough To Protect People Living Near Oil Wells, Study Says
Los Angeles County is not doing enough to keep people who live alongside oil wells from getting sick. That’s the finding of a new study by the county’s Department of Public Health, which recommends increasing the distance between oil wells and places where people live, work and play. (Guerin, 2/27)

In other news —

KPCC: Costs From Aliso Canyon Gas Blowout Near $1 Billion
The cost of the nation's largest-ever uncontrolled natural gas release now stands at $913 million and counting, Southern California Gas Company said Tuesday in its fiscal year-end earnings report. The company owns the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility in the foothills above Porter Ranch at the north end of the San Fernando Valley. About $469 million of the cost has already been covered by insurance payments, the company report said. SoCal Gas estimates it can ultimately recover up to $887 million of the costs due to Aliso from its insurance policies. (McNary, 2/27)

Ventura County Star: Consultant Hired To Help VCMC Overhaul Business Operations
A Chicago-based consultant has been hired to advise officials on how to overhaul business operations at Ventura County Medical Center, where estimated net income is off by $10 million. Huron Consulting Services will be paid up to $750,000 under the 12-month contract approved Tuesday by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors. The firm has been assessing the county system of hospitals and clinics under three separate agreements of about $30,000 each, but this one required board approval because it exceeds $100,000. More contracts with the global consultant will likely be approved in the future, Ventura County Health Care Agency Director Johnson Gill said. (Wilson, 2/27)

In other health system and hospital news —

Santa Rosa Press Democrat: Adventist Health Howard Memorial Hospital In Willits Names Dr. Ace Barash Medical Officer
Dr. Ace Barash, a longtime physician in Mendocino County, has been named medical officer at Adventist Health Howard Memorial Hospital in Willits. Barash will also continue his role as director of inpatient care, Adventist announced Tuesday. Barash has worked as a physician in the region for nearly four decades. Early in his career, he cared for patients in the Howard Memorial emergency department. After several years in private practice, Barash returned to the hospital in 1998. (Espinoza, 2/27)

The Mercury News: Apple To Open Boutique Health Care Network For Its Workers
Local denizens of the Spaceship and other Apple offices will be getting boutique medical care starting this spring, according to Apple. The Cupertino tech giant plans to launch a network of “AC Wellness” medical clinics for its employees and their families, according to the AC Wellness website, which describes the network as “an independent medical practice dedicated to delivering compassionate, effective healthcare” to Apple workers and their dependents. (Baron, 2/27)

The Wall Street Journal: Red And Blue States Move Further Apart On Health Policy
Democratic and Republican states are moving in opposite directions on health policy, leaving Americans with starkly divergent options for care depending on where they live. The Trump administration and congressional Republicans, by easing many of the Affordable Care Act’s nationwide requirements after failing last year to repeal the entire law, are effectively turning major components of health policy over to the states. The roughly half of states controlled by Republicans are therefore moving aggressively to roll back the law widely known as Obamacare, while the smaller number of Democratic states are working to bolster it. As a result, the health-care options in any given state are likely to depend on which party controls the statehouse. (Armour, 2/28)

Politico: Another Legal Cloud For Obamacare?
The latest lawsuit against Obamacare poses little immediate danger to the health care law — but it could look a lot more potent if the balance of the Supreme Court changes in the next two years. The case may look like a long shot, given that the courts have upheld the health law more than once. But proponents of Obamacare have notoriously underestimated the stream of legal challenges against the Affordable Care Act, and the staying power of the conservatives intent on scrapping the 2010 law. (Haberkorn, 2/27)

In other national health care news —

The New York Times: Justice Dept. Backs High-Stakes Lawsuit Against Opioid Makers
The Justice Department is throwing its weight behind plaintiffs in a sprawling, high-stakes prescription opioids lawsuit in Ohio, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on Tuesday. Mr. Sessions said that the Justice Department plans to file a so-called statement of interest in the lawsuit, a technique that past administrations have typically reserved for cases that directly affect the federal government’s interests, like diplomacy and national security. (Benner and Hoffman, 2/27)

The Associated Press: DOJ To Support Lawsuits Against Companies Selling Opioids
The move is part of a broader effort to more aggressively target prescription drugmakers for their role in the epidemic, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. The Justice Department will file a statement of interest in the multidistrict lawsuit, arguing the federal government has borne substantial costs as a result of the crisis that claimed more than 64,000 lives in 2016. The Trump administration has said it is focusing intensely on fighting drug addiction, but critics say its efforts fall short of what is needed. (2/27)

LA Times: Justice Department To Target Opioid Manufacturers And Distributors In A New Push To Curb Deadly Epidemic
In a move to address the nation's deadly opioid crisis, the Justice Department says it will target the prescription drug pipeline with a new focus on companies that manufacture and distribute the drugs. U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions announced the creation of a task force Tuesday that he said would coordinate a crackdown on illegal practices by manufacturers, distributors, doctors, pain management clinics and pharmacies. (Tanfani, 2/27)

The Hill: Senators Unveil Bipartisan Bill To Fight Opioid Epidemic 
A bipartisan group of senators is introducing legislation Tuesday to address the opioid epidemic, framing it as a follow-up bill to the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) signed into law in 2016. Dubbed CARA 2.0, the legislation includes a host of policy changes, such as establishing a three-day initial prescribing limit on opioids for acute pain, beefing up services to promote recovery and aiming to increase the availability of treatment. (Roubein, 2/27)

Politico: Ryan Throws Cold Water On Gun Control Push
House GOP leaders downplayed the need for Congress to pass expansive new gun control measures on Tuesday, instead turning their ire on the FBI and local law enforcement for failing to prevent the Parkland, Fla. school shooting. Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters at a press conference that “we shouldn’t be banning guns for law-abiding citizens” but “focusing on making sure that citizens who shouldn’t get guns in the first place, don’t get those guns.” Ryan — who said arming teachers was a “good idea” but a local issue that Congress should not infringe upon — touted a House-passed bill to reinforce background checks under current law. (Bade, 2/27)

The Associated Press: Embattled Shulkin Says He's Focusing On Improving Vets Care
Seeking to put a blistering travel controversy behind him, embattled Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin said Tuesday he is focused on expanding medical care for veterans, even as he hints that rebellious VA staff remaining opposed to him may soon leave the department. Speaking to reporters at an American Legion event, Shulkin said he had delivered a clear message to department employees that he was in charge and that bad behavior wouldn't be tolerated. (2/27)

The Hill: Pence: Abortion Will End In U.S. 'In Our Time' 
Vice President Pence predicted Tuesday that legal abortion would end in the U.S. "in our time." "I know in my heart of hearts this will be the generation that restores life in America," Pence said at a luncheon in Nashville, Tenn., hosted by the Susan B. Anthony List & Life Institute, an anti-abortion organization. (Hellmann, 2/27)

Stat: Patients Would Like Their Data. Will The Medical Device Industry Listen?
Despite the growing openness of medical information in electronic health records and wearable gadgets, personal medical devices are still black boxes, off-limits to patients and caregivers. The industry, slow to adapt, has grappled with concerns over security, privacy, and patient safety. A web of balkanized regulations across several health agencies has further slowed potential changes. Typically, health care laws have considered data generated inside clinical settings part of the patient’s records. But the laws are less clear on how to treat data generated from implanted devices, which are often collected by device manufacturers or contractors they hire to manage that information. (Blau, 2/28)