Bloomberg: Big Pharma Fights ‘Tooth And Nail’ Against California Drug Vote
Drugmakers are becoming increasingly vocal in fighting a California ballot proposition on drug prices, concerned that the more $100 million in funding raised by lobbies opposing the initiative won’t be enough to stop it. ... Known as Proposition 61, the initiative intends to bring down the cost of prescription drugs by prohibiting California state agencies, such as Medi-Cal and state prisons, from paying more than the price paid by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. While Medi-Cal, the state health program for the poor, already can negotiate with drug companies, the national VA typically gets the best deal. VA rates may be about 20 percent lower than Medicaid’s, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Joshua Schimmer. (Chen, 10/25)

Modern Healthcare: California Voters Will Decide Whether To Cap Drug Prices Nov. 8
Public anger at perceived price-gouging by drugmakers has fueled calls for lawmakers to take action. State legislators in California tried, pushing two bills aimed at shedding more light on prescription drug pricing. Both of those efforts died before the end of the session. In California and many other states, however, legislators aren't the only ones with the power to make law. (Castellucci, 10/22)

Sacramento Bee: Ad Against Proposition 61 Misleads On Costs For Veterans 
The opponents of Proposition 61 have put more than $100 million behind its defeat. The measure would bar state government entities from spending more for medications than the lowest price paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs, which generally gets big discounts. Federal law mandates a 24 percent discount for the VA, but the discount is sometimes more, and some veterans’ groups worry that the VA would no longer be able to negotiate deeper discounts should Proposition 61 become law. They also warn that drug companies could simply compensate by raising prices. (Cadelago, 10/25)

CBS News: As Feds Dither, Some States Are Moving To Curb Drug Prices
Despite widespread public furor over the soaring  of prescription drugs and accusations of price-gouging against pharmaceutical firms, the federal government has to date failed to find a solution. Some states aren’t waiting around for it to deliver. California residents will vote on a ballot initiative, Proposition 61, on Nov. 8 that would ensure state agencies pay the same or less for prescription drugs as the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. The federal agency gets a 24 percent discount off the list price, and often negotiates even steeper discounts on a drug-by-drug basis. (Gibson, 10/21)

And a look at another ballot initiative —

KPCC: PolitiFact California: Tobacco Industry Misleads In Prop 56 'Doctor Advertisement'
Opponents of Proposition 56, California’s proposed tobacco tax increase, have raised more than $66 million to defeat the November ballot measure. Nearly all of that money has come from the tobacco industry and much of it has been spent on television ads criticizing the initiative... Would the measure really distribute the bulk of the revenue to "wealthy special interests" with no mandate to serve more patients? We decided to check the facts. (Nichols, 10/25)

Los Angeles Times: Hospital Agrees To Pay $450,000 To L.A. To Settle Homeless Patient Dumping Lawsuit
Two years after it dumped a homeless woman on skid row with no identification and wearing only paper pajamas, a Hawaiian Gardens hospital has agreed to pay $450,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by Los Angeles, the city attorney’s office announced. City Atty. Mike Feuer sued Gardens Regional Hospital & Medical Center last year after the woman, identified in the suit as Jane Roe to protect her privacy, was dropped off by a hospital van in 2014. She was found wandering the streets and eventually ended up in front of Union Rescue Mission. (Serna, 10/25)

In other hospital news —

Los Angeles Times: Prime Healthcare Ordered To Pay $6.5 Million In Back Wages
In a ruling last week, the National Labor Relations Board ordered Prime Healthcare Services, the owner of several Southern California hospitals, to pay back wages to laboratory technicians, clerks and pharmacists, among other employees. The chain owes $6.5 million to 500 workers at Encino Hospital Medical Center and Garden Grove Hospital and Medical Center, according to the union representing them, the SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West. (Kitroeff, 10/25)

Ventura County Star: St. John's Hospital Parent Considers Merger
The Dignity Health organization that operates two Ventura County hospitals is considering merging with Catholic Health Initiatives, which operates 103 hospitals in 18 states. Officials of the two systems announced in a statement that they've signed a nonbinding letter expressing their plan to enter merger talks. (Kisken, 10/25)

San Francisco Chronicle: Health Care Costs Rise Slowly For Those Who Get Insurance At Work 
Health insurance costs for Americans who get their coverage through their jobs have seen only small annual increases since the federal Affordable Care Act went into effect, despite soaring premiums in the new marketplaces. Employee contributions to their health expenses rose more slowly between 2010 and 2015 in most states, including California, than they did in the previous five years, according to a report released Wednesday by the Commonwealth Fund. Still, employee salaries haven’t kept pace with health costs. The report follows this week’s news that premiums for mid-level plans sold through the federal exchange created by the health law will increase by 25 percent next year — a concern Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has raised in recent speeches. (Colliver, 10/25)

Orange County Register: CHOC Given $150,000 To Treat Children Sickened In Dental Clinic Infection Outbreak
Children’s Hospital of Orange County will receive $150,000 in county funds to help provide complex treatment to children who contracted serious infections at an Anaheim dental clinic, the Board of Supervisors decided Tuesday. So far, 57 children who underwent baby tooth root canals, or pulpotomies, at Children’s Dental Group have been hospitalized at CHOC with confirmed or probable mycobacterial infections, said Dr. Jasjit Singh, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the Orange hospital. About 21 patients need to take a tightly regulated drug typically used to treat leprosy, she said. (Perkes, 10/25)

The board also is increasing funding for some mental health services --

Orange County Register: Santa Ana's Homeless Getting More Access To Mental Health Treatment At New Courtyard Shelter 
Homeless people living in the Santa Ana Civic Center will soon have more access to mental-health treatment after Orange County Supervisors voted Tuesday to fund mobile counseling at its new homeless shelter and provide resources for a local contractor to handle bigger mental-health caseloads. The action comes a week after Susan Price, the county’s Director of Care Coordination, reported that one in five of the county’s homeless people who sleep outdoors are “seriously mentally ill” and that a more comprehensive mental-health approach is needed to fix homelessness. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to amend its three-year contract with the Mental Health Association of Orange County, which operates the Multi-Service Center Services for Homeless Mentally Ill Adults in south Santa Ana, increasing the nonprofit’s funding from $2.4 million to $3.7 million for the next two years. (Graham, 10/25)

Los Angeles Times: STD Rates In California Are The Highest They've Been In 25 Years
National health officials sounded the alarm last week about a troubling rise in chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis rates, with cases reaching an all-time high in 2015. Now health officials say the picture is even worse in California, where sexually transmitted disease rates are higher than the national average and climbing even faster. “Cases of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia are going up in California at a concerning rate,” Dr. Karen Smith, director of the California Department of Public Health, said Tuesday. “This is the second year in a row that we have seen increases in all three diseases.” (Karlamangla, 10/25)

In other news —

The Washington Post: The Startling Rise In Oral Cancer In Men, And What It Says About Our Changing Sexual Habits
Oral cancer is on the rise in American men, with health insurance claims for the condition jumping 61 percent from 2011 to 2015, according to a new analysis. The most dramatic increases were in throat cancer and tongue cancer, and the data show that claims were nearly three times as common in men as in women during that same period with a split of 74 percent to 26 percent. The startling numbers — published in a report on Tuesday by FAIR Health an independent nonprofit — are based on a database of more than 21 billion privately billed medical and dental claims. They illustrate both the cascading effect of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the United States and our changing sexual practices. (Cha, 10/25)

Sacramento Bee: Study Harnesses Healing Power Of Horses For Dementia Patients
A groundbreaking program that has helped people with dementia by having them interact with horses will launch at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine at the end of this month after a test run at Stanford University. The veterinary school, the UC Davis School of Medicine’s Alzheimer’s Disease Center and the nonprofit group Connected Horse will collaborate on a clinical trial, which will pair people undergoing early stage dementia and mild cognitive impairment and their caregivers with horses in the hopes of improving the patients’ demeanor and communication skills. (Caiola, 10/25)

And in other public health news --

Los Angeles Times: Too Many Mothers Stop Breastfeeding Too Soon, And Task Force Says Doctors Should Change That
Too many mothers stop breastfeeding their babies too soon, and a panel of experts says doctors, nurses and other health professionals should do more to change that. In light of the “convincing evidence that breastfeeding provides substantial health benefits for children,” primary care providers should discuss breastfeeding with women when they are pregnant, when they are in the hospital to give birth, and after they have gone home with their newborns, according to new guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. (Kaplan, 10/25)

Orange County Register: Beach Warning Advises Staying Out Of Water, With Risk Of Increased Bacteria After Rainfall
The Orange County Health Care Agency is advising beachgoers to stay out of the water after Monday’s rainfall brought runoff to the ocean – and with it, added bacteria. The environmental health staff “advises swimmers that levels of bacteria can fluctuate significantly in ocean and bay waters adjacent to storm drains, creeks and rivers during and after rainstorms,” according to the warning sent out Monday afternoon. “The elevated levels of bacteria can continue for a period of at least three days depending upon the intensity of the rain and the volume of the runoff.” While there’s no specific closures, the warnings are generally sent out after significant rainstorm. (Connellly, 10/25)

KPBS Public Media: County To Spray For Mosquitoes In Chula Vista Thursday 
County officials Tuesday notified residents of a South Bay neighborhood they will conduct a precautionary spraying for mosquitoes after someone in the area contracted the Zika virus while traveling. The spraying is scheduled for Thursday in Chula Vista, in an area bordered by D Street to the north, Fifth Avenue to the east, Flower Street to the south, and midway between Fifth Avenue and Broadway to the west. The schedule is weather-permitting. The National Weather Service is forecasting a chance of rain to move into the region late that day. (10/25)

The New York Times: Seizing On Rising Costs, Trump Says Health Law Is ‘Over’
Donald J. Trump, desperate for a winning political issue in the final two weeks of the presidential race, fiercely attacked Hillary Clinton on Tuesday over sharp premium increases that will hit some Americans covered under the Affordable Care Act. “The rates are going through the sky,” Mr. Trump said at a rally in Sanford, Fla., referring to double-digit increases in battleground states like North Carolina and Iowa. “Repealing Obamacare and stopping Hillary’s health care takeover is one of the single most important reasons that we must win on Nov. 8.” But Mr. Trump almost instantly undercut his new offensive with his tendency to muddy his central message. He appeared uncertain at one point about how the health care law worked for his own employees, and then spent only four minutes on the rate increases during a 45-minute speech at the rally. (Healy and Goodnough, 10/25)

NPR: Trump Blasts Obamacare At His Miami Golf Course But Misstates Employees' Coverage
"All of my employees are having a tremendous problem with Obamacare," Trump told reporters during an appearance at the National Doral Golf Club in Miami. "What they're going through with their health care is horrible because of Obamacare." (Horsley, 10/25)

The Washington Post: Parsing Donald Trump’s Confused, Confusing Explanation Of Why He Doesn’t ‘Use’ Obamacare
In February, Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity that his employees “don't have to worry about Obamacare.” Why? “I treat them really good with health care,” he said. “It's a very important thing.” This makes more sense than saying that all of his employees are having “tremendous problems.” Obamacare is not an insurance program; it is a federal policy that encourages universal health-care coverage by providing a system (the federal or state exchanges) for individuals to get insurance if they are unemployed or their employers don't provide coverage — and by taxing individuals who forgo coverage. To ensure affordability, the government subsidizes those who enroll under one of the exchanges, assuming they're at a certain income level. If Trump's employees were having these tremendous problems with Obamacare, it would mean that they were not receiving coverage through Trump, which he'd said they do. (Bump, 10/25)

The Wall Street Journal: GOP Candidates Seize On Premium Increases In Affordable Care Act
Sharp premium increases for coverage under the Affordable Care Act are giving Republican candidates from the top of the ticket down a shared cudgel in the home stretch of the campaign. In recent weeks, many state regulators have been publishing steep increases from market leaders for insurance sold through HealthCare.gov, which offers plans for people in three dozen states who don’t have coverage through an employer or government program such as Medicare. (Radnofsky and Epstein, 10/25)

Politico: Clinton: Health Care Costs Would 'Skyrocket' Under Trump
Hillary Clinton on Tuesday conceded that many Americans are seeing their premiums go up under Obamacare. But the Democratic nominee cautioned against scrapping the Affordable Care Act, and said health care costs would "skyrocket" under a President Trump. (Griffiths, 10/25)

Modern Healthcare: Double-Digit Premium Hikes Unlikely To Affect Most Obamacare Shoppers 
The fourth open enrollment kicks off Nov. 1 and will run for three months. The latest HHS report released this week shows the average benchmark plan premium in 2017 will be $302, compared with $242 in 2016. HHS uses the second-lowest cost silver premium for a 27-year-old before tax credits as its benchmark. It's the most popular plan on the exchanges and the one used to calculate premium subsidies. Premium hikes varied widely across the 39 states using the federal HealthCare.gov exchange. Arizona will experience the largest average increase for the benchmark plan at 116%, HHS said. Benchmark plan premiums will rise 69% on average in Oklahoma and 63% in Tennessee. At the same time, benchmark premiums in some states, including Arkansas, Indiana and Ohio, will increase only slightly or even decrease in 2017. (Livingston, 10/25)

Bloomberg: Aetna CEO Says Young People Pick Weekend Beer Over Obamacare
Healthier people will avoid buying Affordable Care Act health insurance plans as premiums climb, threatening the stability of the market, Aetna Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Bertolini said.“ As the rates rise, the healthier people pull out because the out-of-pocket costs aren’t worth it,” Bertolini said at Bloomberg’s The Year Ahead Summit in New York. “Young people can do the math. Gas for the car, beer on Fridays and Saturdays, health insurance. ”Premiums for health plans sold to individuals under the ACA, known as Obamacare, are going up by about 25 percent on average for next year. Bertolini said that as costs rise, more individuals will decide not to buy health plans. (Tracer and Dogerty, 10/25)

The Hill: Dems Come To ObamaCare's Defense After Premium Hikes 
Democrats came to the defense of ObamaCare on Tuesday, amid Republican attacks over premium increases. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest and former President Bill Clinton both stood up for the healthcare law, while also noting there are areas that need to be fixed. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, however, did not mention ObamaCare at her only scheduled campaign rally of the day, choosing not to address the issue as she stumped in Coconut Creek, Fla.  (Sullivan, 10/25)

The Hill: GOP Wants New Numbers On ObamaCare Subsidies After Premium Hikes 
Republicans in Congress are wary of a potentially steep increase in the cost of ObamaCare, and they want a fresh tally of how much the government will be spending on subsidies after insurance premium prices rise by double digits. The GOP leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee are asking the Obama administration for new numbers on the healthcare law’s subsidies after it confirmed Monday that premiums would increase by an average of 25 percent across the country next year. That’s more than three times last year’s increase. (Ferris, 10/25)

The Associated Press: Q&A: New Sign-Up Season; New Woes For Obama Health Law
President Barack Obama is leaving the White House in a few months, but the troubles of his signature health care law continue to make headlines. With premiums rising by double digits and many consumers scrambling to replace coverage because their insurer bailed out, the 2017 sign-up season that starts Nov. 1 looks challenging. Obama says it's just "growing pains" but critics see the threat of market collapse, a death spiral. Here are some questions and answers for consumers ahead of the law's fourth open enrollment season. (10/26)