The Washington Post: GOP Candidates Pay The Price For Attempts To Kill Obamacare And Its Guarantee Of Coverage For Preexisting Conditions
In February, Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley joined a Republican lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act, and with it protections for Americans suffering from preexisting medical conditions that previously could be excluded from insurance coverage. Now, running to unseat Democrat Claire McCaskill in one of the nation’s most competitive U.S. Senate races, Hawley is airing a sympathetic ad using the affliction of his 5-year-old son, diagnosed this year with a rare bone disease. (Jan, 10/3)

The Hill: GOP Lawmaker's Ad Pledges Support For Pre-Existing Condition Protections 
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) on Wednesday released a reelection ad saying he wants to ensure protections for people with pre-existing conditions, making him the latest vulnerable Republican to highlight support for the ObamaCare provision. ... His campaign did not say how he is taking on the Republican party. A spokesman pointed to an op-ed from last year where Rohrabacher wrote that Medicare should bear all the costs of covering people with pre-existing conditions. (Weixel, 10/3)

The Wall Street Journal: Some Democrats Want Medicare For All. Others Aren’t So Sure
Shortly after her primary victory in New York, Democratic Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez declared her goal of giving Medicare to all Americans. Some fellow Democrats like Ken Harbaugh aren’t convinced. The Navy veteran, who is challenging Rep. Bob Gibbs (R., Ohio), says the party should focus on bolstering the Affordable Care Act, not starting from scratch with Medicare for All. “We need a much quicker fix, which is shoring up the ACA,” he said. (Armour, 10/4)

The Washington Post Fact Checker: GOP Ads Falsely Depict Democrats As Supporters Of Sanders’s Health Plan
With a sick child on the couch, holding a teddy bear, a mother calls to make a doctor’s appointment. She pulls out her health-insurance card and then with her voice breaking, says: “What do you mean you don’t take that anymore? But it’s through my work.” The ad, via the National Republican Campaign Committee, concludes by claiming that the Democratic candidate, Xochitl Torres Small, “takes from us to give it all to Washington.” (Kessler, 10/4)

Denver Post: Colorado Governor Candidates On Health Care
One of [U.S. Rep. Jared] Polis’ marquee campaign promises has been establishing universal coverage for Coloradans. A longtime supporter of “Medicare for all,” Polis is among a handful of Democrats across the country running on such a promise. The Democrat has also released a bevy of additional proposals, including a 100-day health care road map for the first year in office. The [state Treasurer Walker] Stapleton campaign’s ambitions have been more tempered. The Republican issued three priorities for health care, including seeking a federal waiver to allow insurance companies to sell plans inside Colorado that would only cover “catastrophic” events. (Garcia and Seaman, 10/3)

Politico: House Democrats Plan Investigations Blitz Over Trump Health Policies
Democrats are quietly preparing to launch a slew of investigations into the Trump administration's health care moves if they retake the House in November, aiming to freeze the White House's efforts to unravel Obamacare and probe the administration's care of immigrant kids. The wide-ranging inquiries, coordinated across multiple committees, would focus on the administration’s most controversial actions on health care, which include chipping away at the Affordable Care Act, urging the courts to gut the health law's protections for pre-existing conditions, and separating migrant families at the border, lawmakers and aides told POLITICO. (Cancryn and Ollstein, 10/4)

In other health law news —

Des Moines Register: Farm Bureau Health Coverage Will Be Cheaper, But Not Offered To All
Applicants for the Iowa Farm Bureau's new health coverage will be asked whether they've been diagnosed or treated for a range of ailments, including diabetes, heart problems, or mental issues, new documents show. The company could turn away or charge more to some applicants with pre-existing health problems, company officials acknowledged Wednesday. (Leys, 10/3)

The Washington Post: Senate Easily Passes Sweeping Opioids Legislation, Sending To President Trump
The Senate passed the final version of a sweeping opioids package Wednesday afternoon and will send it to the White House just in time for lawmakers to campaign on the issue before the November midterm elections. The vote was 98 to 1, with only Utah Sen. Mike Lee (R) opposing it. (Itkowitz, 10/3)

CNN: Senate Passes Legislation To Fight Opioid Epidemic
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell referred to it as "landmark" legislation in remarks on the Senate floor on Wednesday, saying that the bill will bring "relief to American communities that have been decimated by the scourge of substance abuse and addiction." McConnell said that the package will "deliver critical resources to establish opioid-specific recovery centers," and "will help law enforcement stop the flow of opioids across borders and increase safeguards against over-prescription." (10/3)

The Hill: Senate Sends Bipartisan Package To Fight Opioid Epidemic To Trump's Desk 
In the House, Republican incumbents in tough reelection races touted their work on the bill, while in the Senate more Democratic incumbents lauded the progress. For example, Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), who faces a tough race in a state President Trump won handily in 2016, praised the bill from the Senate floor Wednesday and pointed to the inclusion of provisions he worked on. Some Democrats say the bill is a good first step but more work still needs to be done, including more funding. (Sullivan, 10/3)

CQ: Senate Sends Opioid Package To Trump
The bill would help accelerate research to find a nonaddictive painkiller, ease restrictions on which health care professionals would be able to prescribe medication-assisted treatment, and increase support for state prescription drug monitoring programs to prevent abuse. It would also help prevent illicit opioids from being shipped to the United States through international mail, provide grants to a variety of substance abuse prevention programs, and make numerous smaller changes to Medicaid and Medicare. (Raman, 10/3)

Politico Pro: How Congress’ Opioid Bill Changes Treatment In America
Public health experts generally see the legislation as a step forward at a time when, according to the White House Commission on Opioids, only about 1 in 10 people needing treatment actually get help. But advocates say more resources will be needed to build up treatment capacity for the long-term. And some point out that focusing only on opioids will leave the country vulnerable to other drug crises. Overdose deaths from cocaine and meth are already on the rise, according to the CDC. (Ehley, 10/3)

Stat: Opioid Settlement Will Take Time, But May Cost Less Than The Big Tobacco Deal
The sprawling opioid litigation confronting drug makers and distributors is likely to take years to resolve, but cost less than the infamous lawsuits that were filed against Big Tobacco and, not surprisingly, will hurt some companies more than others, a new credit analysis suggests. For the moment, the litigation is still in the early stages and the first trials are not scheduled until September 2019. But despite the uncertainty, any potential settlement is expected to be “considerably lower” than the $206 billion deal reached with the four largest U.S. cigarette makers in 1998, according to analysts at S&P Global Ratings. (Silverman, 10/3)

The Washington Post: Fentanyl Test Strips Lead To More Caution Among Illicit Drug Users 
Illicit drug users who are certain that fentanyl is mixed into the heroin they consume are much more likely to take precautions that reduce their chances of overdosing, researchers reported Wednesday in a small study. The survey examined the use of fentanyl test strips by 125 injection drug users in Greensboro, N.C., over a two-month period last year. Distribution of the small strips has become an increasingly popular “harm reduction” technique in the past few years among groups trying to protect drug users from overdosing on the powerful narcotic that has swept most of the United States. (Bernstein, 10/3)

Boston Globe: Many People Don't Know How To Administer Overdose-Reversing Drugs. Blue Cross Is Trying To Change That
In the latest such effort, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is announcing Thursday a pilot program to provide the overdose-reversing drug Narcan to three employers and a union, and to train employees in its use. (Freyer, 10/3)

The Associated Press: Ex Pennsylvania Governor Joins Safe Injection Site Effort
Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell has joined the effort to open Philadelphia's and possibly the nation's first supervised drug injection site— saying Wednesday that he would support the effort even if it meant facing federal charges. The 74-year-old Rendell joined the board of the nonprofit Safehouse, which is raising money to open a safe injection site— a place where people can use drugs under medical supervision including overdose prevention— despite federal and state laws that prohibit them. (Lauer, 10/3)

New Hampshire Union Leader: Council OKs Contract For Youth Drug Rehab At Sununu Center 
The state’s effort to reshape its response to the opioid epidemic took another step forward on Wednesday, as the Executive Council approved a residential treatment program for teenagers at the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester. Councilors also authorized the expenditure of nearly $20 million in federal funds to build what has been called a “hub and spoke” system for addiction treatment statewide. (Solomon, 10/3)

Concord Monitor: Executive Council Approves Contract For New Treatment Center For Teens
New Hampshire’s first residential treatment facility for teenagers with substance use disorder took a step closer to creation Wednesday, after the Executive Council approved a key contract with Granite Pathways to manage the program. In a unanimous vote, councilors signed off on a plan to let the Manchester organization rent space in the Sununu Youth Services Center and set up a 36-bed facility for treatment and recovery. (DeWitt, 10/3)

The Oregonian: Deputies Joke As They Videotape Inmate Suffering From Drug Overdose, Suit Says 
Sheriff's deputies laughed as their colleague took two cellphone videos of a 31-year-old inmate in a padded cell at the Clackamas County Jail as he moved uncontrollably and made unintelligible noises due to an apparent drug overdose. "Look what I got for show-and-tell today,'' Deputy Ricky Paurus says on one video. He suggests they could put inmate Bryan Perry in a cage and wheel him into a school to impress on kids "don't do drugs,'' according to a new federal lawsuit. Another deputy calls the idea "fantastic.'' What the deputies and the jail's medical provider failed to do, the suit alleges, is ensure Perry got appropriate medical treatment, resulting in his death by cardiac arrest early Nov. 4, 2016, about five hours after he was booked into jail. (Bernstein, 10/3)

Georgia Health News: Georgia Gets ‘D’ On Handling Mental Health, Addiction Like Other Medical Issues, Report Says |
Georgia was graded “D’’ on ensuring access to mental health and addiction treatment equal to that for physical illnesses, according to a report released Wednesday. The announcement comes on the 10th anniversary of a federal law on benefits signed by President George W. Bush. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act requires insurers to cover illnesses of the brain, such as depression or addiction, no more restrictively than other medical problems, such as diabetes or cancer. (Miller, 10/3)

The Associated Press: Survey: Companies Continue To Pass Health Costs To Workers
If your employer is sticking you with a bigger share of the medical bill before health insurance kicks in, you may have to get used to it. More companies are making workers pay an annual deductible or increasing the amount they must spend before insurance starts covering most care, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Annual deductibles for single coverage have now climbed about eight times as fast as wages over the last decade. (Murphy, 10/3)

The Wall Street Journal: Employer-Provided Health Insurance Approaches $20,000 A Year
The average cost of employer health coverage offered to workers rose to nearly $20,000 for a family plan this year, according to a new survey, capping years of increases that experts said are chiefly tied to rising prices paid for health services. Annual premiums rose 5% to $19,616 for an employer-provided family plan in 2018, according to the yearly poll of employers by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation. Employers, seeking to blunt the cost of premiums, also continued to boost the deductibles that workers must pay out of their pockets before insurance kicks in. (Wilde Mathews, 10/3)

Modern Healthcare: Workers Shoulder A Growing Share Of Healthcare Costs 
The ongoing stability of the employer market where 152 million people get their coverage is welcome news for companies, considering the volatility and high premiums that have characterized the individual insurance market where roughly 20 million people buy coverage. But there's a trade-off: Employers have continued to shift a larger share of the cost of coverage to their workers by requiring them to pay more for healthcare out of pocket. Not only has the number of workers who face an annual deductible grown, but the average deductible has creeped higher and higher for more than a decade. (Livingston, 10/3)

The Hill: Premiums See Moderate Increase In 2018 For Employer Plans 
Overall, the burden of deductibles for covered workers has tripled since 2008, growing eight times faster than wages, according to the survey. “Health costs don’t rise in a vacuum. As long as out-of-pocket costs for deductibles, drugs, surprise bills and more continue to outpace wage growth, people will be frustrated by their medical bills and see health costs as huge pocketbook and political issues,” KFF President and CEO Drew Altman said. (Hellmann, 10/3)

The Star Tribune: Cost Of Family Health Coverage Nears $20,000 In U.S.
The new report doesn't feature state-specific results, but the national trends have been playing out in Minnesota, said Elizabeth Lukanen, a health policy researcher at the University of Minnesota. Historically, Minnesota has had a relatively high share of workers enrolled in high-deductible health plans, Lukanen said. "The deductibles are going up faster than premiums," said Lukanen, who studies the issue at the U's State Health Access Data Assistance Center. "We have long told a very similar national story, that the low premium increases over time have been offset by these much larger increases in deductibles." (Snowbeck, 10/3)

Kaiser Health News: High-Deductible Health Plans Fall From Grace In Employer-Based Coverage 
Few if any employers will return to the much more generous coverage of a decade or more ago, benefits experts said. But they’re reassessing how much pain workers can take and whether high-deductible plans control costs as advertised. “It got to the point where employers were worried about the affordability of health care for their employees, especially their lower-paid people,” said Beth Umland, director of research for health and benefits at Mercer, a benefits consultancy that also conducted a survey. (Hancock, 10/3)

Georgia Health News: Premiums In Employer Plans Still Edging Up, National Survey Finds 
The survey found that 57 percent of employers offer health benefits, similar to the share last year (53%) and five years ago (57%). Employers that do not offer health benefits to any workers tend to be small companies. (Miller, 10/3)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Workers Paying A Steadily Increasing Share Of Health Benefits
The survey is in line with a recent survey by M3, a benefits consultant and insurance broker based in Madison, of its clients in Wisconsin. That survey found that health care costs increased 6.1 percent on average this year, the lowest increase since 2014. The trend has been for increases of 5 to 7 percent for roughly a decade, said Brian Meyer, director of risk management for M3. (Boulton, 10/3)

The Associated Press: Nobel Prize-Winning Physicist Leon Lederman Dies At 96
Leon Lederman, an experimental physicist who won a Nobel Prize in physics for his work on subatomic particles and coined the phrase “God particle,” died Wednesday at 96. ... Lederman won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1988 with two other scientists for discovering a subatomic particle called the muon neutrino. He used the prize money to buy a log cabin near the tiny town of Driggs in eastern Idaho as a vacation retreat. The couple moved there full-time in 2011 when Leon Lederman started experiencing memory loss problems that became more severe, his wife said. His Nobel Prize sold for $765,000 in an auction in 2015 to help pay for medical bills and care. (Ridler, 10/3)

In other news on health care costs —

Modern Healthcare: Congress Angles For Air Ambulance Cost Transparency 
Like other states, North Dakota has tried to curb the unexpected bills. In 2015 the Legislature passed a law to split the medical air transport companies into two call lists. To make it on the primary call list, the company would have to be in-network with at least 75% of the state's health insurance contracts. All others would have dropped to a secondary call list and would only have been able to respond if none of the companies from the primary list picked up. (Luthi, 10/2)

The Associated Press: Immigrants Refuse Aid For Fear It Will Doom Green Card Hopes
When she was struggling financially this past year, Laura Peniche traveled all over Denver to get free food from churches to feed her three young children. She was too scared to apply for government food assistance. When she was offered a chance a few weeks ago to get a reduced-rent apartment through a city program, she turned it down. Instead, she stretches her budget to pay several hundred dollars a month more to rent somewhere else. (Hajela and Long, 10/3)

In other news coming out of the Trump administration —

Boston Globe: Here’s An Idea To Improve The SNAP Program
Modifying the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to encourage better food choices could improve recipients’ health and cut billions of dollars in health care costs, according to researchers at Tufts and Harvard. The anti-hunger program, once commonly known as the food stamp program, provides $70 billion each year for low-wage working families, low-income seniors, and disabled people to buy food, Tufts said in a statement. (Finucane, 10/3)

The Associated Press: Chemistry Nobel For Using Evolution To Create New Proteins
Three scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for using a sped-up version of evolution to create new proteins that have led to a best-selling drug and other products. The Royal Swedish Academy of Science said their work has led to the development of medications, biofuels and a reduced environmental impact from some industrial processes. (Ritter, Heintz, and Chester, 10/3)

Los Angeles Times: Caltech Scientist Is Among 3 Awarded Nobel Prize In Chemistry For Sparking ‘A Revolution In Evolution’
Frances Arnold, a biochemical engineer at Caltech, was awarded half of the $1.01-million prize for her pioneering experiments in the field known as directed evolution. The other half of the prize was split between George P. Smith of the University of Missouri in Columbia and Gregory P. Winter of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England, who paved the way for directed evolution to become an important tool in drug development. (Netburn and Kaplan, 10/3)

The Associated Press: Missouri Down To 1 Abortion Clinic Amid Legal Battle
Missouri is down to one clinic providing abortions Wednesday, after the only other clinic in the state that performs the procedure failed to adhere to new state requirements and its license expired. The Columbia clinic's abortion license expired Tuesday, Planned Parenthood Great Plains spokeswoman Emily Miller said. (Ballentine, 10/3)

KCUR: A Federal Judge's Ruling Leaves Missouri With Just One Abortion Provider 
The law requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a local hospital or else face criminal prosecution.  U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes ruled on Wednesday that even if he blocked the law, Planned Parenthood’s Columbia clinic would not be able to offer treatment because the state has refused to renew its license, which expired on Oct. 2. ...Wimes, however, said Planned Parenthood was free to refile its motion for a temporary restraining order once health officials find the Columbia clinic has complied with state sanitation requirements. (Margolies, 10/3)

WBUR: 1 Abortion Clinic Remains Open In Missouri, Following New State Requirements
It comes at a time when abortion rights activists fear the 1973 landmark ruling Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion, could be nullified if President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, is confirmed. "The idea behind that restriction is that it somehow makes patients safer if they experience complications from the abortion," Planned Parenthood Great Plains spokeswoman Emily Miller tells NPR. "But in reality, abortion is already incredibly safe, and a patient's ability to access help at the hospital is the same, whether or not the provider has admitting privileges." (Ingber, 10/3)

The Washington Post: Virginia Expanding Funding For Long-Acting Contraceptives
Twelve health care providers across the state are getting additional funding to help expand access to long-acting reversible contraceptives among low-income women. The Virginia Department of Health said in a news release Wednesday that up to $6 million will be awarded to the providers to cover the contraceptives through May 2020. (10/4)

Stat: Mindstrong's Mood-Predicting App Is Shadowed By Questions Over Evidence
In the world of digital health, Silicon Valley-based Mindstrong stands out. It has a star-studded team and tens of millions in venture capital funding, including from Jeff Bezos’ VC firm. It also has a captivating idea: that its app, based on cognitive functioning research, can help detect troubling mental health patterns by collecting data on a person’s smartphone usage — how quickly they type or scroll, for instance. The promise of that technology has helped Mindstrong build incredible momentum since it launched last year; already more than a dozen counties in California have agreed to deploy the company’s app to patients. (Sheridan, 10/4)

The Associated Press: Child Experts File FTC Complaint Against Facebook Kids' App
Children's and public health advocacy groups say Facebook's kid-centric messaging app violates federal law by collecting kids' personal information without getting verifiable consent from their parents. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and other groups asked the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday to investigate Facebook's Messenger Kids for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA. (10/3)

The Wall Street Journal: Brain Scans Can Detect Who Has Better Skills
To gain new insight into how highly specialized workers learn skills or react to stressful situations, researchers are leveraging advanced scanning technologies to look at what’s happening inside the brain. In the latest findings, a team of researchers studied surgeons as they performed surgical simulations and found they could identify novice from experienced surgeons by analyzing brain scans taken as the physicians worked. (Hernandez, 10/3)

The New York Times: Police Use Fitbit Data To Charge 90-Year-Old Man In Stepdaughter’s Killing
The last time Anthony Aiello spoke to his stepdaughter, he took homemade pizza and biscotti to her house in San Jose, Calif., for a brief visit. Mr. Aiello, 90, told investigators that she then walked him to the door and handed him two roses in gratitude. But an unnoticed observer in the house later revealed that their encounter ended in murder, a police report said. Five days afterward, Mr. Aiello’s stepdaughter, Karen Navarra, 67, was discovered by a co-worker in her house with fatal lacerations on her head and neck. She had been wearing a Fitbit fitness tracker, which investigators said showed that her heart rate had spiked significantly around 3:20 p.m. on Sept. 8, when Mr. Aiello was there. (Hauser, 10/3)

NPR: Sexual Assault And Workplace Harassment May Affect Women's Health For Years
The trauma of sexual assault or harassment is not only hard to forget; it may also leave lasting effects on a woman's health. This finding of a study published Wednesday adds support to a growing body of evidence suggesting the link. In the study of roughly 300 middle-aged women, an experience of sexual assault was associated with anxiety, depression and poor sleep. A history of workplace sexual harassment was also associated with poor sleep and with an increased risk of developing high blood pressure. (Gordon, 10/3)

The Wall Street Journal: A New Push To Lower Your Risk For Breast Cancer 
A regular mammogram isn’t enough to battle breast cancer anymore. Researchers have found that a third of breast cancer cases may have roots in issues like obesity, alcohol use and inactivity. Hospitals are parlaying that fact into new, personalized assessments that emphasize prevention and healthier life choices, along with other factors that increase or decrease risk. They’re using the results to guide follow-up and recommendations tailored to each woman. (Landro, 10/3)

The New York Times: Psychedelic Mushrooms Are Closer To Medicinal Use (It’s Not Just Your Imagination)
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University have recommended that psilocybin, the active compound in hallucinogenic mushrooms, be reclassified for medical use, potentially paving the way for the psychedelic drug to one day treat depression and anxiety and help people stop smoking. The suggestion to reclassify psilocybin from a Schedule I drug, with no known medical benefit, to a Schedule IV drug, which is akin to prescription sleeping pills, was part of a review to assess the safety and abuse of medically administered psilocybin. (Holson, 10/3)

The New York Times: Why Elephants Don’t Shed Their Skin
The African elephant is known for its thick, wrinkly skin. But look closer and you’ll see an intricate network of tiny crevices that makes the mighty mammal’s hide resemble cracked mud or damaged asphalt. The purpose of those cracks is no mystery. An elephant doesn’t have sweat or sebum glands, so it covers its skin in water or mud to keep cool. The micrometer-wide cracks in its skin retain 10 times more moisture than a flat surface, helping the animal regulate its body temperature. They also help mud adhere to the skin, which protects against parasites and rays from the sun. (Quenqua, 10/3)

Los Angeles Times: More Than 1 In 3 Americans Eat Fast Food On A Typical Day, And We Eat It All Day Long
If you’re an adult in America, there’s a better than 1 in 3 chance that you’ll eat fast food today — if you haven’t already. New survey data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 36.6% of us eat some kind of fast food on any given day. That includes 37.9% of men and 35.4% of women, according to a report published Wednesday by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. (Kaplan, 10/3)

The New York Times: Pret A Manger Starts Labeling Food With Allergens
Pret A Manger, the British sandwich chain that has become a mainstay of office lunches with the promise of freshly prepared food, will be adding information about allergens in its food after the death of a girl who ate a sandwich containing sesame seeds, an ingredient she was allergic to. In a statement on Wednesday, the company said it would start affixing ingredient labels to its packaging in November. (Tsang, 10/3)

Kaiser Health News: Elder Orphans Or Solo Agers, Who Lack Children Or A Spouse To Care For Them, Need A Plan B On Aging
It was a memorable place to have an “aha” moment about aging. Peter Sperry had taken his 82-year-old father, who’d had a stroke and used a wheelchair, to Disney World. Just after they’d made their way through the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, nature called. Sperry took his father to the bathroom where, with difficulty, he changed the older man’s diaper. (Graham, 10/4)

The Wall Street Journal: NYC Mayor De Blasio Urges More Money For 9/11 Compensation Fund
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio asked the federal government on Wednesday to provide more money to a 9/11 fund that assists sick first responders, making the plea after a new report said the fund may run dry before fulfilling its mission. The September 11th Victims Compensation Fund was created to cover the health-care costs for volunteers and rescue workers who have become sick since responding to the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and United Flight 93 that crashed near Shanksville, Pa. It also compensates survivors of the attacks and residents who lived near the sites. (Honan, 10/3)

Boston Globe: Watchdog Says Nurse Ballot Question Could Cost $900 Million A Year
A health care watchdog agency, weighing in on a contentious political issue, said Wednesday that a union-backed state ballot question to regulate nurse staffing in hospitals could cost the Massachusetts health care system more than $900 million a year. The state Health Policy Commission’s new report provided ammunition to opponents of the measure about one month before Election Day and dealt a blow to the Massachusetts Nurses Association, which wrote the ballot question and has argued the costs would be modest. (Dayal McCluskey, 10/3)

WBUR: Nurses Ballot Initiative Could Cost Over $900 Million A Year, State Panel Estimates
The state ballot initiative on nurse staffing ratios would cost hundreds of millions of dollars a year, according to an estimate issued Wednesday by the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission (HPC), an independent watchdog that keeps an eye on health costs. (Goldberg, 10/3)

KCUR: How A Kansas City Politician's Public Revelation Could Help Other Vets With PTSD 
Jason Kander’s decision to drop out of the Kansas City mayoral race is bringing more attention to post-traumatic stress disorder and mental health issues faced by veterans. Kander is an Army veteran who served a four-month tour in Afghanistan 11 years ago. He said in a statement that his time in the military continues to affect him and has led to battles with depression and symptoms of PTSD. ...According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 11 to 20 percent of those who, like Kander, served in Operation Enduring Freedom have PTSD in a given year. (Calacal, 10/3)

Miami Herald: Miami Officials Investigate Spreading Of HIV Among Homeless
Four streets between Northwest Second Avenue and Northwest First Avenue are now the center of a public health investigation into the transmission of hepatitis C and HIV, an issue stirring up reactions from politicians, police, the courts and homeless advocates. A Miami official said the number of cases in this area has recently increased. (Flechas and Chang, 10/3)

The Associated Press: Illinois AG To Investigate Legionnaire's Disease Response
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said her office will launch a criminal investigation of how Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration handled a three-year-old Legionnaire's disease crisis at a state-run veterans' home. The Democrat will review compliance with state law and whether residents and staff of the Quincy home and the public were notified in a timely manner, spokeswoman Eileen Boyce said. Republican Rauner faces a stiff re-election challenge in a state that leans Democratic. (10/3)

The Associated Press: Industry Groups Spending Millions Fighting Montana Measures
Industry-funded opponents of Montana citizen’s initiatives to raise the state’s tobacco tax and add new mining regulations are vastly outspending the measures’ supporters to put their messages in front of voters about a month before Election Day, according to campaign finance reports. One ballot initiative would raise taxes on cigarettes and snuff for the first time since 2005, and tax vaping products for the first time ever. One tobacco giant in particular, Altria, is spending millions of dollars to flood the state’s airwaves with ads to defeat the initiative after successfully lobbying against a similar measure killed by the Montana Legislature in 2017. (Volz, 10/3)

KCUR: Former ER Nurse Loses Her Whistleblower Suit Against Lawrence Memorial Hospital 
A former emergency room nurse at Lawrence Memorial Hospital has lost her whistleblower suit alleging the hospital falsified patient records to obtain higher Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that Megen Duffy failed to prove an essential element of her claims, namely that the allegedly false data had an effect on how much the government paid the hospital. Duffy worked as a registered nurse at the hospital from August 2009 until she was fired in October 2013 for allegedly threatening another employee. In her lawsuit, she alleged her termination was fabricated. (Margolies, 10/3)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Could A Judge's Intervention Help Fix Louisiana's Mental Health Care System? 
Supporters of assisted outpatient treatment - often known as AOT - say that a civil court's intervention into a troubled patient's treatment can stabilize the individual and prevent a revolving door of hospitalizations and, in some cases, jail stays that hurt patients and cost taxpayers. AOT could potentially fill a gap in Louisiana, where budget cuts and privatization have shrunk the number of long-term inpatient hospital beds. Forty-seven states now have AOT laws, although not all are used to the same degree. (Sayre, 10/3)

The Associated Press: Virginia Health Officials Encourage Annual Flu Shots
The Virginia Department of Health is encouraging residents to get their annual flu shots. State health officials gathered Wednesday to highlight the importance of the vaccine and to get their own flu shots. Health Commissioner M. Norman Oliver said everyone six months and older should get a flu shot. He said influenza can be a serious illness, and even mild cases can lead to lost time at work or with friends and family. (10/4)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: FBI: Data Breach Reported At Gwinnett Medical Center
There has been a data breach at Gwinnett Medical Center, the FBI said Wednesday. The FBI is “aware of the breach” and “working with all appropriate entities” in an ongoing investigation, FBI Public Affairs Specialist Kevin Rowson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. (Coyne, 10/3)

New Hampshire Union Leader: Equity Firm Invests In Windham’s Medicus Healthcare Solutions 
A Chicago-based private equity firm has made a financial investment in Windham-based Medicus Healthcare Solutions, one of the state’s fastest growing private companies. Beecken Petty O’Keefe & Company, which focuses exclusively on the health care industry, said it had “made an investment” in Medicus, which helps recruit and staff doctors on a temporary basis for hospital and physician groups. Medicus, in a separate statement, said “it entered into a partnership” with Beecken.Neither provided details on the arrangement or the financial terms. (Cousineau, 10/3)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Schools To Get Federal Money For School Safety
Prompted by the school shooting on Valentine’s Day in Parkland, Fla. , federal officials Tuesday announced $70 million in grants to improve school safety.The Trump Administration will allocate the grants through the Justice Department. The money will go to more than 40 states via dozens of law enforcement agencies, school districts, and other state and local institutions, including Georgia school districts. (Smith Broady, 10/3)

The Associated Press: FDA: 38 Sick From Tainted Eggs From Alabama
The government says 38 people in seven states have gotten sick from eggs produced by an Alabama poultry farm. The Food and Drug Administration says the illnesses are linked to salmonella-tainted eggs from Gravel Ridge Farms, which is north of Birmingham in Cullman. The agency issued a recall notice last month, and it provided an update Tuesday. (10/3)

MPR: $2.5M Grant Awarded To Project Helping Injured Employees Get Back To Work
The Minnesota Department of Labor has awarded a $2.5 million grant to a project that helps injured employees get back to work faster. The grant was awarded to the Minnesota RETAIN project, a group of organizations and government departments serving Minnesota residents with work-related disabilities. (Kwan, 10/3)

Politico Pro: Mormon Church, Utah Lawmakers Close To Striking Medical Marijuana Pact
Utah, one of the most conservative and religious states, could soon legalize medical marijuana, with Mormon leaders who have long resisted the idea brokering a deal between advocates and lawmakers. The deal, which could be announced within days, would require a special session called after the November election and could derail efforts to approve a ballot initiative that creates a broadly accessible medical marijuana program. (Goldberg, 10/3)

Real Clear Health: Over-Regulation Is Fueling The Opioid Crisis 
Almost half of the states in the U.S. and the District of Columbia currently have regulated mandatory three to seven day limits bounding the amount of opioids that a doctor can prescribe a patient. These recently instituted laws are likely responsible for the sizeable reduction in overdoses from prescribed opioids, but they also encourage patients to turn to the black market for their opioid fix. (Michael Shindler, 10/4)

USA Today: Opioid Abuse Crisis: When Hospitals Overprescribe, Patients Suffer
This is a story about how the health care industry effectively forces patients into opioid use. I know, because this recently almost happened to me. And it could have cost me my life. (Emma Passé, 10/3)

Stat: I Work With Sexually Assaulted Teens. They Deserve Full Investigations 
As a pediatrician who specializes in child abuse in the South Bronx, I see teenage girls every day who have been sexually assaulted, often by older teenage boys. Sadly, very few of the perpetrators are ever held accountable for the crimes they have committed. Why? The victims have everything to lose by coming forward: They blame themselves. Law enforcement officers doubt the veracity of their claims and make them feel like they “wanted it.” If kids in school get wind of the assault, they take sides and some call the victim a slut or whore. Their parents blame them for going to the party, and for not telling them sooner about the assault. (Nina Agrawal, 10/3)

Boston Globe: Don’t Be Fooled, Senators Collins And Murkowski: Judge Kavanaugh Would Gut Roe V. Wade
Several senators have said they would not vote to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court justice if they believed he would vote to undo the basic protections for women upheld in Roe v. Wade and other cases. So if his testimony and his meetings with those senators had exposed that as his almost-certain path, they would vote no. But the only reason his public testimony and private meetings didn’t reveal such a clear inclination is that Judge Kavanaugh dissembled about his views, calling the Supreme Court’s abortion rulings “precedent on precedent,” as though that rendered them safe from his slippery keyboard. The truth is it does nothing of the kind. Which means that senators who have, rightly or wrongly, made that a litmus test face a rendezvous with destiny in deciding on this nominee. (Laurence H. Tribe, 10/3)

The Hill: Strengthening And Protecting Part D Is An Important Challenge 
 It is difficult to remember now, but prior to the enactment of Medicare Part D in 2003, millions of Americans who relied on Medicare for their health-care coverage, did not have access to a comprehensive prescription drug benefit. My, how times have changed. (Carl Schmid, 10/3)

Portland Press Herald: Don't Forget: Alcohol Is Also A Deadly Drug 
If you follow the news, you might think that the opioid overdose epidemic is our only drug-related public health crisis. To be sure, it is a serious problem that claims more than one life a day in Maine, affects nearly every community and demands a much bolder coordinated response than what we have seen so far. But it is not the only one, and it may not even be the deadliest. Alcohol, available at corner stores and gas stations everywhere, is killing Mainers and ruining lives right under our noses. A new World Health Organization study blames alcohol for 3 million deaths a year, accounting for one in 20 deaths globally. (10/4)

The Washington Post: Radiation? Chemicals? No Big Deal, Says The Trump Administration.
This news makes me feel warm all over. Indeed, I am positively glowing. New regulations floated by the Environmental Protection Agency are set to increase Americans’ exposure to radiation — because, according to scientific theory now in favor with the Trump administration, radiation is not bad for us. It may even be healthy! (Dana Milbank, 10/3)

The Star Tribune: Hearing On Veterans Suicide Was Too Important To Be Overlooked
In plain language, the newest VA National Suicide Data Report makes it clear that there are many veterans struggling with mental health on the homefront, and far too many are taking their lives. The report analyzed data from 2005 to 2016. During that time, the number of veterans lost to suicide has frustratingly hovered close to about 6,000 a year. (10/3)

San Antonio Press-Express: No Place In U.S. For A Tent City For Children
Children are spirited out of regulated shelters all over the country with little notice and put into tents in the desert that are without state regulation. This can’t help but signal diminished chances for reunification with parents, relatives or others who may care for them in more humane conditions. (10/3)

Charlotte Observer: Does NC Law Bar Transgender Bathroom Choice? 
We’re less hopeful that the six LGBT plaintiffs will be successful in their lawsuit; courts have generally deferred to North Carolina’s Constitution, which gives the state legislature the power to tell cities and counties what to do. Until the makeup of that legislature changes, our state will continue to allow transgender discrimination, even if the law doesn’t mandate it. (10/3)

Sacramento Bee: CA Election: Prop. 4 Will Ensure The Best Health Care For California Kids
On Nov. 6, Californians have the opportunity to vote on Proposition 4 to expand and upgrade our state’s children’s hospitals. The passage of the $1.5 billion bond issue will ensure that young people across our state continue to receive the critical, life-saving care they need. (Darrell Steinberg, 10/3)

Detroit News: Water Safety Must Be Top Priority
The state of Michigan has taken several proactive steps this week to address the safety of its water — and waterways. In a state so dependent on the Great Lakes, this is especially important.After the bungling of the Flint water crisis, state and federal officials learned the huge ramifications of the government not doing enough to protect its citizens. Any potential environmental risk must be taken extremely seriously, and dealt with in a timely fashion. (10/3)

Anchorage Daily News: Secondhand Smoke: Time To Take It Outside
Americans have known for decades about the wide variety of health problems caused by smoking cigarettes. But breathing other people's cigarette smoke, sometimes called "secondhand smoke," also causes health problems. Today, Alaska joins 25 other states in requiring smokers in public places, including work sites, to "take it outside" to protect the health of others. These regulations are based on sound science, protect our health and save us money. In a state that prides itself on its independence and libertarian values, this law strikes the right balance between personal freedom and personal responsibility. (Jay Butler, 10/2)