Sacramento Bee: California Healthcare Advocates Rally Against Trump
The federal healthcare overhaul could be one of the first casualties of President-Elect Donald Trump, who has joined the Republicans controlling Congress in vowing to dismantle the law. ... Still, Trump’s election has California healthcare advocates on high alert, not to mention the state’s new U.S. senator. California could forfeit billions of federal dollars that support Medi-Cal, the insurance program for poor Californians, and subsidize private insurance purchases. (White, 11/22)

KPCC: Californians Rally To Keep Obamacare Coverage, Oppose Trump Changes
Amid uncertainty over the future of the Affordable Care Act, about 200 people gathered in Los Angeles Tuesday to show their support for the federal health care law and the benefits extended to millions of Californians. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to repeal and replace the law, also known as Obamacare. At the rally fronting the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, state Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) said he would work to stop Trump's  plan. (Plevin, 11/22)

KPBS Public Media: This Black Doctor Defied Discrimination, And San Diego Reaped The Benefits 
One of only a handful of African American doctors in San Diego in the early 1970s, Butcher focused on underserved populations, which few doctors wanted to treat. Medicaid, now called Medi-Cal in the state, reimbursed patients at lower rates than Medicare or commercial plans and still does. Despite that, or perhaps because of it, Butcher became a leader not just in San Diego, where he was the first black president of the San Diego County Medical Society representing some 8,000 physicians and founded a multicultural network of doctors. (Clark, 11/23)

Orange County Register: Santa Ana Doctor Disciplined For Third Time, Restricted From Prescribing Narcotics 
A Santa Ana doctor, accused of prescribing dangerous drugs without a medical reason, has been placed on probation for eight years by the California Medical Board and has been restricted in what medications he can prescribe, according to legal documents. Dr. Kent Lehman reached the settlement with the board after he also was accused of gross negligence, prescribing without a proper physical exam and inadequate record keeping. He is not allowed to prescribe certain controlled substances, including narcotics. His Orange attorney William Behrndt did not return phone calls seeking comment on Tuesday. (Perkes, 11/22)

The Mercury News: Sexually Transmitted Diseases On The Rise In Bay Area, State 
Sexually transmitted diseases — chlamydia, gonorrhea, and early (infectious) syphilis — have mostly been on the rise in the Bay Area over the past six years, according to state Department of Public Health statistics. One local health official said the trend reflects fewer people using condoms and increased reporting of the diseases by medical clinics. (Richards, 11/22)

In other public health news —

The New York Times: Creeping Progress In Pledge To Cut Calories In Sugary Soda
It hasn’t been a good year for the troika that dominates soft drink sales, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Dr Pepper Snapple. The public’s attention on the health effects of sugary sodas has continued to increase, slowing growth and increasing political pressure. This year, soft drink companies and their lobbying group, the American Beverage Association, spent $38 million to defeat election-season proposals to impose taxes on sugary drinks in four cities: San Francisco, Oakland and Albany in California, and Boulder, Colo. The companies lost all of those fights. Now, seven cities around the country have a soda tax. (Strom, 11/22)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento Community Leaders Tackle High Black Youth Death Rates 
It’s the sort of game-changing aid – $2.5 million over the next three years – that Focus on Family and six other Sacramento County nonprofit groups say they need to grapple with the county’s alarmingly high rates of black child deaths. Including money spent on a range of other services, the county has dedicated $26 million to the effort, and matriarchs, health workers and other leaders in seven of the most affected neighborhoods are making big plans for change. Between 2010 and 2015, African American children in Sacramento County died at far higher rates than those of people under age 18 from other racial or ethnic groups. (Caiola, 11/23)

Fresno Bee: Clovis Would Be Site For Osteopathic Medical School 
The Assemi family, which opened a private pharmacy school in Clovis four years ago, on Tuesday announced plans for a college of osteopathic medicine that would open with a first class in fall 2019. California Health Sciences University, which operates the pharmacy school, has been granted approval to begin an accreditation process for a medical college, said Florence Dunn, university president. ... The medical school would address a shortage of doctors in the central San Joaquin Valley, Dunn said. Osteopathic doctors, known by the degree initials DO, tend to practice in primary care, which would fill a critical need in the Valley. Statewide, there are 64 primary care doctors per 100,000 patients, but in the Valley, there are 47. (Anderson, 11/22)

In other news from across the state —

San Jose Mercury News: Leland Club Aims To Change Minds About Mental Illness 
The Let’s club and others like it fall under the auspices of Bring Change 2 Mind, a nonprofit co-founded by actress Glenn Close, whose sister has bipolar disorder and whose nephew has schizophrenia. The clubs are one platform the organization uses to help raise awareness, understanding and empathy for mental health issues. (Gelhaus, 11/22)

Santa Rosa Press Democrat: Celebrations: Petaluma Teens Keep Mom Alive With CPR
Tena Jackson has no memory of the morning she died. The Petaluma educator only knows her two teenage daughters helped bring her back to life, despite their panic and fear. Jackson, 52, suffered cardiac arrhythmia in April 2015, collapsing in her living room from sudden cardiac arrest. She was face down on the floor, initially with a sporadic pulse. Her daughters, Emmy and Koko Stephens-Jackson, then 13 and 16, worked together, Emmy on the phone with a 911 operator and Koko performing CPR from her instructions. (Hart, 11/22)

Orange County Register: Teledentistry Program Goes To School On Kids 
Salvador, 11, walked across the hall from his classroom at Danbrook Elementary and into the makeshift dentist’s office in another classroom to get his teeth cleaned. The dental visit and cleaning is part of a new free pilot teledentistry program by Garden Grove-based Healthy Smiles For Kids of Orange County. If successful, the Smiles X-Press – the first in Orange County – would bring the dentist office into schools that serve families in a socially and economically disadvantaged area. Healthy Smiles is trying the program out at Danbrook. (Pimentel, 11/22)

Morning Consult: Heritage Proposes Obamacare Replacement For 2019
Two health policy experts with the Heritage Foundation are proposing that Congress repeal Obamacare in 2017, but wait to implement a replacement until the 2019 plan cycle. In a report released Tuesday, Heritage’s Nina Owcharenko and Ed Haislmaier write that the incoming Trump administration and Congress should take steps to stabilize the marketplace in 2018 and pass a replacement plan for 2019. They also back lawmakers passing a fiscal 2017 budget early next year, creating two opportunities for lawmakers to pass reconciliation bills in 2017. (McIntire, 11/22)

In other national health care news —

The Wall Street Journal: What A GOP Government Potentially Means For Medicare Beneficiaries
Medicare beneficiaries could face big changes as the Republican Party, fresh off its election sweep, looks to revamp the federal health-care system. While Donald Trump had said before his campaign’s launch that “I’m not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid,” the president-elect’s transition website has signaled support for longstanding Republican-backed plans to “modernize Medicare.” (Tergesen, 11/22)

Modern Healthcare: As HHS Secretary, Price Would Likely Focus On State Healthcare Reform
As President-elect Donald Trump continues to fill out his cabinet, the key position of HHS secretary is still open. Insiders expect an announcement soon, and have their eyes on Georgia Rep. Tom Price, who is expected to concentrate on state reform efforts and is known for working across the aisle. Price, an orthopedic surgeon from Georgia who is used to having considerable influence on health policy, was quick to support Trump's bid for the White House. He spoke on Trump's behalf at rallies, often focusing on complaints about the Affordable Care Act. He was seen entering Trump Tower in Manhattan last week where the presidential elect was hosting multiple potential cabinet picks. (Muchmore, 11/22)

The Wall Street Journal: Fentanyl Billionaire Comes Under Fire As Death Toll Mounts From Prescription Opioids
Before they were arrested last year, Alabama doctors John Couch and Xiulu Ruan were prized customers of Insys Therapeutics Inc., maker of a powerful and highly addictive type of synthetic opioid known as fentanyl. Drs. Couch and Ruan prescribed a combined $4.9 million of the painkiller, called Subsys, to Medicare patients in 2013 and 2014, among the most of any doctors in the U.S., federal data show. Insys, based in Chandler, Ariz., went to unusual lengths to keep these high-prescribing doctors happy. (Walker, 11/22)

The New York Times: Microcephaly Found In Babies Of Zika-Infected Mothers Months After Birth
It is the news that doctors and families in the heart of Zika territory had feared: Some babies not born with the unusually small heads that are the most severe hallmark of brain damage as a result of the virus have developed the condition, called microcephaly, as they have grown older. (Belluck, 11/22)