The Associated Press: Ousted Minnesota Republican Faults McCain For Losing House
A recently defeated Republican congressman is blaming the Democratic House takeover on the late Republican Sen. John McCain's vote against repealing the Affordable Care Act. First-term Minnesota Rep. Jason Lewis argued in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece first published Sunday that McCain's vote against repealing the federal health care law last year "killed the reform effort." Lewis said the vote also unleashed a wave of Democratic attack ads against Republicans across the country on health care issues. (11/12)

The Washington Post: Rep. Jason Lewis Blames House GOP Defeat On John McCain
“The Republican Party lost its House majority on July 28, 2017, when Sen. John McCain ended the party’s seven-year quest to repeal ObamaCare,” Lewis writes in the op-ed. “House leadership had done an admirable job herding cats. On the second try, we passed the American Health Care Act in May. Then McCain’s inscrutable vote against the Senate’s ‘skinny repeal’ killed the reform effort.” (Sonmez, 11/12)

Bloomberg: Democrat Sinema Wins Republican-Held U.S. Senate Seat In Arizona 
Kyrsten Sinema became the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Arizona in three decades, after an extended vote count delivered an upset victory and a blow to Republicans and President Donald Trump. ... Sinema is a former Green Party activist who over time became a moderate Democrat. Like many on the ballot from her party, she stressed her support for Obamacare and its popular protection for people with pre-existing health conditions. But she also distanced herself from more liberal Democrats by rejecting a push to expand Medicare to cover all Americans. (Litvan, 11/12)

Bloomberg: Soaring Health-Care Costs Forced This Family to Choose Who Can Stay Insured
The Maldonados’ story is a tale of middle-class Americans juggling family finances. With the ever-present pressure of a mortgage and looming college tuition, many otherwise-financially sound families face a stark choice when health-care premiums shoot wildly higher: Take on debt or opt out of the medical system and hope for the best. The Maldonados’ story is part of Bloomberg’s year-long examination of Americans struggling to afford the rising costs of health care—and the painful financial and medical trade-offs that inevitably follow. (Kasumov, 11/13)

And in insurance news from the states —

The Associated Press: Delaware Insurance Officials Wary Of Option To ACA Coverage
Delaware officials say a health care insurance option being expanded by the Trump administration could lead to higher premiums under the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, officials have adopted emergency regulations outlining minimum consumer protection and notification standards for short-term, limited duration insurance plans. Officials warn that such plans are exempt from ACA’s minimum coverage standards, don’t have to cover pre-existing conditions, and may carry significant out-of-pocket expenses. (Chase, 11/12)

California Healthline: Covered California Pops And Locks Into Enrollment Season
What do hip-hop dancing and health insurance have in common? For one, you sure do hope that the break dancer busting backflips is covered. Beyond that, Covered California, the state’s Obamacare health insurance exchange, is betting that one will bring attention to the other. (Ibarra, 11/12)

The Hill: Dems Aim To Balance Oversight, Bipartisanship On VA Committee
House Democrats are planning to step up oversight of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) next year with their new majority, probing topics from underperforming health centers and steps toward privatization to reports of “shadow rulers” at the VA. Democrats say that while they want to maintain the bipartisan nature of the 24-member House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, they also need to hold the Trump administration accountable if there are abuses. (Sullivan, 11/13)

The Washington Post: House Science Committee’s Likely Next Chair Wants A Return To Science
As soon as it became clear that Democrats would gain control of the House of Representatives after the midterm elections, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Tex.) announced that she was seeking the chair of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. Johnson, 82, plans to make the committee “a place where science is respected and recognized,” she said in a statement Tuesday night. In 2010, she became the first female and first African American ranking member of the science committee. Johnson, trained as a psychiatric nurse, has served on the committee for more than two decades. If she secures the chair, she will succeed Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), who has held the position since 2013. (Guarino, 11/12)

The Hill: Opioid Crisis Poses Challenge For Vets 
Advocates are working to ensure that veterans are not overlooked as Congress and the Trump administration push to address the opioid epidemic. They say two sweeping opioid bills passed in recent years is a good start, but that the programs they cover need dedicated funding to ensure success. (Weixel, 11/13)

The Hill: VA Under Pressure To Deliver Trump Reforms 
A law overhauling how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) allows patients to seek outside care is falling behind in implementation despite President Trump’s boasts about the reforms. Trump has long touted the law, which makes it easier for veterans to access private or community health-care programs, as essential to improving the beleaguered agency. (Kheel and Hellmann, 11/13)

And —

New Hampshire Public Radio: Neighbor Rallies Veterans' Network To Assist Weare Army Vet
A few months ago, San Diego, California resident Jane Williams and her husband were vacationing in Weare, New Hampshire, on Mount William Pond. The place they rented was near a road that followed the edge of the pond, and on that road was small dilapidated house. "And there was this cute little elderly man sitting in the window," she says. "And every time we went by the house, I'd always wave, and he would just always reflexively wave." (Biello, 11/12)

The Associated Press: Holding Out Slim Hope As Crews Search For More Fire Dead
More than a dozen coroner search and recovery teams looked for human remains from a Northern California wildfire that killed at least 42 -- making it the deadliest in state history -- as anxious relatives visited shelters and called police hoping to find loved ones alive. (Mendoza and Flaccus, 11/13)

Sacramento Bee: Camp Fire Becomes California’s Most Deadly Blaze With 42 Fatalities So Far
The death toll from the Camp Fire reached 42 Monday, making the Northern California blaze the deadliest fire in state history. The number of fatalities far outstrips the 1933 Griffith Park Fire that killed 29 people in Los Angeles. With hundreds still reported missing in Butte County, the total is expected to grow. Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said 13 more victims were found Monday, 10 in the Paradise area and three in Concow. Honea said eight of the victims were found inside homes, the others outside. (Sabalow, Yoon-Hendricks, Stanton and Sullivan, 11/12)

San Jose Mercury News: Camp Fire Death Toll Climbs To 42 With Many Still Missing
The devastating number of people who have perished is almost certain to rise as rescue and recovery workers sift through the ruins and ashes of houses. An untold number of people remain missing, and it could be days or weeks before their loved ones have answers. More than 7,000 homes, businesses and other structures have burned to the ground or been damaged beyond repair, leaving people shell-shocked and wondering how they will pick up the pieces. (Deruy and Bouscher, 11/12)

The New York Times: California Fire Death Toll Now At 44 With Discovery Of 13 More Bodies
Allyn Pierce was trapped by a wall of fire as he tried to flee the flames coming closer and closer to his truck. Chris Gonzalez counted the ever-narrowing escape routes from his home as the highlands around him erupted into flames. Rebecca Hackett was engulfed by a red-orange hellscape as she sped toward safety in her car. “I was like, ‘I think I’m done,’” said Mr. Pierce, a registered nurse who was trapped in traffic in Paradise, Calif., where most of the community was burned. “I just kept thinking, ‘I’m going to die in melting plastic.’” (Del Real and Nicas, 11/12)

Los Angeles Times: Another Day Of Grim Discoveries As Death Toll Rises To 42 In Camp Fire
[Butte County Sheriff Kory] Honea said anthropologists from Cal State Chico and the University of Nevada, Reno with expertise in identifying human remains were helping in the grim search effort into mass casualties. In addition, Honea has requested 150 additional search and recovery workers, two military mobile morgues and a rapid DNA identification system. “I understand the toll that it takes on people not knowing what became of their loved ones,” the sheriff said. “My sincere hope is I don’t have to come each night and report a higher and higher number.” (Serna, Mason, Smith, 11/13)

The Washington Post: Caught In The Inferno: How The Camp Fire Overwhelmed Paradise
It took only days for the blaze to become the most destructive in California history. (11/12)

The Associated Press: Scientists: Wind, Drought Worsen Fires, Not Bad Management
Both nature and humans share blame for California's devastating wildfires, but forest management did not play a major role, despite President Donald Trump's claims, fire scientists say. Nature provides the dangerous winds that have whipped the fires, and human-caused climate change over the long haul is killing and drying the shrubs and trees that provide the fuel, experts say. (Borenstein, 11/12)

San Jose Mercury News: Some Tips On Dealing With Air Pollution
With thick acrid smoke being swept into the Bay Area from the Camp Fire nearly 200 miles to the northeast, residents from Monterey to Napa are getting a taste -literally – of what residents in smog-choked cities like Beijing have been choking on for years now. And while it feels a bit shameful to complain, as the wildfire’s death toll climbs higher each day, the air quality in San Francisco and neighboring towns is threatening to meet or break records set just last year when the Bay Area filled with smoke from the North Bay fires. (May, 11/12)

The Washington Post: Ventura Shooting: Mass Shootings Are Increasingly Common. Grieving One While Escaping From Wildfires Is Not.
Volunteer chaplains hovered outside the crime scene Saturday afternoon when the trio of friends settled beneath the caution tape and started assembling. They had white computer paper, permanent markers, black electrical tape and 12 U.S. flags — one for each victim of the mass shooting inside Borderline Bar and Grill last week. (Mettler, 11/12)

Politico: Trump's California Rants Belie Feds' Quick Disaster Response
President Donald Trump has repeatedly used his bully pulpit to threaten California’s federal funding, but the government — and his own party in Congress — don’t seem to be listening. After Trump’s latest threat over the weekend to withdraw funding, some feared the president may punish the Democratic-led state during one of its deadliest environmental disasters in modern history. But if recent history and the response from lawmakers are any guide, there is little reason to believe federal payments for disaster relief will be cut off. (Schreckinger and Cadelago, 11/12)

Reuters: Veritas Capital, Elliott To Buy Athenahealth For $5.7 Billion
Private equity firm Veritas Capital and hedge fund Elliott Management are buying Athenahealth Inc for about $5.7 billion, the U.S. healthcare software maker said on Monday. The all-cash deal values Athenahealth at $135 per share, representing a premium of 12.2 percent to the stock's closing price on Friday. (11/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Athenahealth To Sell Itself For $5.47 Billion
Elliott Management, which acquired a nearly 9% stake in Athenahealth in 2017, offered to buy the rest of the company and take it private in May. The firm’s offer was to buy the rest of the company for $160 a share, which valued the company at $6.5 billion. The company had announced in June that its board was going to start looking at strategic alternatives for the firm. At that time, co-founder Jonathan Bush stepped down as president and chief executive amid takeover pressure from Elliott. Jeff Immelt, the former CEO of General Electric Co., was also named executive chairman of Athenahealth. (Prang, 11/12)

Bloomberg: Athenahealth Will Sell To Veritas, Elliott For $5.7 Billion 
While it’s not the $160 Elliott had initially proposed, investors may be happy enough. “The business had notably deteriorated,” said Ross Muken, an analyst at Evercore ISI. Muken lauded the choice of Segert to run the business after the close, saying he “has a long history of IT turnarounds and we believe this will be much easier for Athenahealth to undergo in the private markets.” (Hammond and Deveau, 11/12)

The Associated Press: Athenahealth Fetches $5.7 Billion Cash Buyout Offer
Athenahealth, based in Watertown, Massachusetts, makes medical record, revenue cycle and care coordination products and delivers most of it through the cloud. On Friday, it reported third-quarter earnings that topped analyst expectations, but its revenue fell short of the average forecast on Wall Street. The latest athenahelath bid offers "a decent valuation for what has increasingly appeared to be a struggling business," Leerink analyst David Larsen said in a research note. (11/12)

In other news from the health industry —

Stat: Five Things We Learned From Moderna’s Pre-IPO Information Dump
Moderna Therapeutics’ long-awaited IPO filing means two things: The company is one step closer to going public, and the world finally gets a look under the hood at the famously secretive firm. On that second point, we now get to gawk at executive pay figures, marvel at just how many bankers are involved, and speculate on what a (very brief) Food and Drug Administration clinical hold might mean for the future. Here’s what we learned from Moderna’s IPO filing. (Garde, 11/12)

Stat: Driver, A Startup Seeking To Connect Patients With Clinical Trials, Shuts Down
Driver, an ambitious startup marketing an app to match cancer patients with clinical trials, has shut down after running out of money just weeks following its high-profile launch. The company let go of all of its approximately 85 employees on Oct. 16, Driver’s co-founders confirmed to STAT. About 60 percent of those employees worked at Driver’s headquarters in San Francisco; the rest were based in Shanghai, New York, and Boise, Idaho. (Robbins, 11/12)

The Associated Press: New Exercise Guidelines: Move More, Sit Less, Start Younger
Move more, sit less and get kids active as young as age 3, say new federal guidelines that stress that any amount and any type of exercise helps health. The advice is the first update since the government's physical activity guidelines came out a decade ago. Since then, the list of benefits of exercise has grown, and there's more evidence to back things that were of unknown value before, such as short, high-intense workouts and taking the stairs instead of an elevator. (Marchione, 11/12)

The Washington Post: New Government Guidelines Say You Can Get Your Exercise In Small Doses
The guidance from a committee appointed by the Department of Health and Human Services does away with the official government position that physical activity should occur in sessions of at least 10 minutes. The earlier position was contained in the government’s first physical activity guidelines, issued in 2008. The document released Monday at the American Heart Association’s 2018 Scientific Sessions is the first update since then. It was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. “Current evidence shows that the total volume of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity is related to many health benefits; bouts of a prescribed duration are not essential,” the committee of health experts wrote. (Bernstein, 11/12)

NPR: New Federal Exercise Guidelines Emphasize Moving More Throughout The Day
"The new guidelines demonstrate that, based on the best science, everyone can dramatically improve their health just by moving — anytime, anywhere, and by any means that gets you active," Adm. Brett Giroir, assistant secretary of health at the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a release. (Aubrey, 11/12)

USA Today: Only One In Five Teens Meet New Federal Guidelines For Physical Activity
Cardiologist William Kraus, a Duke University medical school professor who served on the advisory committee for the guidelines, said the 10-minute block was removed because it could have discouraged some people who didn't have that much time from moving. He noted that parking farther from entrances and taking the stairs count as exercise. (O'Donnell, 11/12)

Los Angeles Times: Uncle Sam Wants You To Sit Less And Move More. Here’s How You Can Meet The New Exercise Guidelines
On the inducement side, getting regular physical activity has now been linked to lower rates of eight different kinds of cancer, including those of the lung, kidneys and stomach. In 2008, when the first “Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans” were released, government scientists could assert only that adequate levels of physical activity helped reduce the risk for breast and colon cancer. And that’s on top of its ability to prevent heart attacks and strokes, decrease arthritis pain, improve brain health and academic performance, and generally lift your spirits. (Healy, 11/12)

Boston Globe: In Jail Calls, Hernandez Discussed NFL’s Reliance On Painkillers With Former Teammates
The late New England Patriots’ star Aaron Hernandez spoke candidly behind bars with ex-teammates about football’s reliance on heavy-duty painkillers, a contentious issue that has spawned lawsuits by retired players and crackdowns by federal law enforcement. In jail phone calls obtained by the Globe, Hernandez talked to two former teammates about playing hurt and the regimen of painkillers NFL players take to stay on the football field. The players discussed popping pills like Vicodin and Percocet, both addictive opioids, and lobbying for injections of Toradol, a drug so powerful it is usually administered after surgery. (Ryan and Hohler, 11/13)

In other news on the epidemic —

CNN: US Has The Highest Rate Of Drug Overdoses, Study Says
The United States has more than double the rate of premature overdose deaths of at least 12 other countries, according to a new study. The research, published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, says that there were an estimated 63,632 drug overdose deaths in 2016 in the US. "The U.S. has the highest death rate due to drug overdoses for both men and women (35 deaths in 100,000 men and 20 deaths in 100,000 women) in 2015, more than double those of any other country in our study," Yingxi Chen, one of the researchers and a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health's National Cancer Institute, wrote in an email. (Thomas, 11/12)

The Associated Press: Spiritual First Responders Hit The Streets Amid Drug Crisis
Sidewalk prayers near shoot-up spots. Sunday sermons in the back of a bar. Pleas to struggling souls to surrender to God. Funerals for members of their flock who didn’t make it. Clergy members have become spiritual first responders in the opioid crisis, often leaving the pulpit to minister on the streets. They can be reverends, rabbis, priests or pastors. Though their faiths differ, they invariably approach people with addiction as equals. No Bible-thumping, no blaming. Quite a few are in recovery themselves. (Hill, 11/12)

The Wall Street Journal: A Reckoning With The Dark Side Of The Restaurant Industry
When television personality and former chef Anthony Bourdain killed himself in June, Charles Ford, the general manager of a high-end restaurant in Chicago, took the news as a personal call to action: He would no longer be silent about his three suicide attempts. “I don’t want to hide it anymore,” says Mr. Ford, 31, who says he slashed his wrists on three occasions between late 2015 and spring 2016. Workers with suicidal impulses and other emotional crises often hide their pain in his profession, Mr. Ford says. “We need to do everything we can to turn this around, and the first step is saying it out loud.” (McLaughlin and Osipova, 11/12)

North Carolina Health News: Mental Health Concerns As Florence Ruins Farms, Crops, Harvests
As Mickey Simmons looked over his washed out fields and collapsed barn, he said this could be his last year of farming. At 72 years old, the Carteret County farmer had been cutting back, only farming about 175 acres of soybeans. He thought he would retire in the next few years. But Hurricane Florence had him considering throwing in the towel early. (Knopf, 11/13)

Kaiser Health News: With Hospitalization Losing Favor, Judges Order Outpatient Mental Health Treatment 
When mental illness hijacks Margaret Rodgers’ mind, she acts out.Rodgers, 35, lives with depression and bipolar disorder. When left unchecked, the conditions drive the Alabama woman to excessive spending, crying and mania. Last autumn, Rodgers felt her mind unraveling. Living in Birmingham, she was uninsured, unable to afford treatment and in the throes of a divorce. Although Rodgers traveled south to her brother’s house in Foley, Ala., for respite, she couldn’t escape thoughts of suicide, which one day led her to his gun. (Rodriguez, 11/13)

The Boston Globe: Allergies Change How We All Eat
Hortense Dodo has genetically engineered a hypoallergenic peanut. But she isn’t targeting people with peanut allergies. Not directly, anyway. Her peanuts are for everyone else. Dodo wants to see her creation adopted by the food industry so that, in the event of accidental ingestion by an allergic person or cross-contamination, any allergic reaction would be non-fatal. “They don’t have to die from that,” Dodo said. (Rodriguez McRobbie, 11/12)

The Wall Street Journal: FDA Considers Making Food Labels Disclose Sesame To Help Allergy Sufferers
Sophie Schmults has never had Chinese food or hummus. She is careful with what hamburger buns she eats. And she is wary of any food that says it contains “spices” or “natural flavorings.” The 13-year-old, diagnosed with a sesame allergy when she was a baby, says a measure being considered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to add sesame to the list of allergens that packaged-food labels must disclose would dramatically change her life. (Reddy, 11/12)

CNN: Cancer Surpasses Heart Disease As Leading Cause Of Death In Many US Counties
An important transition is happening across the United States: Cancer was the leading cause of death in more counties in 2015 than 13 years earlier, a new study finds. However, the opposite was true for heart disease during that period; fewer counties reported it as the top killer. In fact, cancer will replace heart disease as the leading cause of death in the United States within two years, according to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projections referenced in the study, published Monday in the medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine. (Scutti, 11/12)

Stat: Could Fecal Transplants Help Treat Colitis Associated With Checkpoint Inhibitors?
Use of immune checkpoint inhibitors to treat cancer is growing rapidly — and with it, so is a common side effect: colitis. A small new study suggests fecal transplants might help, but experts caution the potential treatment needs to be studied much more. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are a class of immunotherapy drugs that unleash the immune system to attack cancer cells. For some some patients on the drugs, colitis — inflammation in the colon that can cause bleeding, pain, diarrhea, and dehydration — can become so severe that some patients have to pause their cancer treatment while clinicians try to get the inflammation in check. (Thielking, 11/12)

CNN: Parents Accuse CDC Of Not Reporting Children's Deaths From Polio-Like AFM
Parents of children who had a horrifying polio-like illness are accusing the Centers for Disease Control of hiding the deaths of two children who suffered from the condition. The parents say by not publicly acknowledging the two deaths, the agency is intentionally downplaying the severity of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), a disease that paralyzes healthy children in a matter of hours. (Cohen, 11/12)

The New York Times: In N.H.L. Concussion Settlement, Owners Win The Fight
A settlement announced Monday between the N.H.L. and several hundred retired hockey players who accused the league of hiding the dangers of repeated head hits did little to quell the emotional intensity surrounding the issue. The deal, which must be approved by the 318 former players who joined the lawsuit, includes free neuropsychological tests, up to $75,000 for medical treatment, a potential cash payment of about $20,000 a player, and the establishment of a Common Good Fund to help other players in need. (Belson, 11/12)

NPR: Good And Risky Microbes Surround Us. 'You're Never Home Alone,' Ecologist Explains
You may be shocked by what's living in your home — the bacteria, the fungi, viruses, parasites and insects. Probably many more organisms than you imagined. "Every surface; every bit of air; every bit of water in your home is alive," says Rob Dunn, a professor of applied ecology at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. "The average house has thousands of species." (Gross, 11/12)

The Associated Press: More Women In Poor Countries Use Contraception, Says Report
More women and girls in poor countries are using modern contraception, signifying progress in efforts to involve women in family planning, according to a report released Monday. The number of women and girls using contraceptives in 69 of the world's poorest countries surpassed 317 million in 2018, representing 46 million more users than in 2012, said the report by Family Planning 2020, a U.N.-backed global advocacy group working to promote rights-based family planning. (11/12)

PBS NewsHour: New Film ‘Boy Erased’ Explores The ‘Self-Hatred’ Dealt By Gay Conversion Programs
“Boy Erased,” a new film based on a memoir by Garrard Conley, tells the story of a young man who is forced by his parents to attend a gay conversion therapy program. Jeffrey Brown speaks to Conley about how his own experience grappling with religion and sexual identity influenced the film, and with Joel Edgerton, its director. (Brown, 11/12)

Texas Tribune: Anti-Vaccine Texas Families May Take Their Fight To Day Cares Next
The next vaccine fight could be coming to a day care near you. Texans for Vaccine Choice, a group focused on anti-vaccine policy, says it has received hundreds of calls and emails from parents of children without vaccines who were rejected by private child care facilities. Now, the group has put a call out for those families to tell their stories. The plan: Collect as many responses as possible and present them to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission in an attempt to end those denials. (Evans, 11/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Bronx Science High School To Close Some Bathrooms To Combat Vape Use Among Students
In an attempt to stop students from vaping in bathrooms, the prestigious Bronx High School of Science will shut some of them down, starting Tuesday. Many schools across the country are struggling to reverse a surge in teenagers using e-cigarettes, which experts say can potentially lead to nicotine addiction. Bronx Science officials said in an email to parents Friday that patrolling bathrooms didn’t curb the problem of students hiding in them to vape, especially in the far corners of the building. As of Tuesday, six bathrooms in “low traffic areas’’ will be closed, and the ones left open will be subject to random checks by staff. (Brody, 11/12)

NH Times Union: Dartmouth-Hitchcock To Share Part Of $9M Cancer Research Grant
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center is part of a $9 million funding grant to research new ways to improve cancer care. The grant, coming through the National Cancer Institute and in association with the Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot Initiative, is funding a total of six research centers throughout the United States, including Dartmouth-Hitchcock. The research at Dartmouth-Hitchcock is looking at ways for cancer surgeons to work with patients to improve their outcomes after surgery and decrease time in the hospital. (Fisher, 11/12)

The Associated Press: Feds: Priest Lied About Cancer In Scam To Raise Money
Federal investigators said they have probable cause to believe a Mississippi priest fraudulently received donations by falsely telling people he had cancer and that his diocese knew that and concealed it. The allegations came in an affidavit written by a Department of Homeland Security special agent that was attached to an application for a search warrant that targeted the offices of the Catholic Diocese of Jackson. The application was dated Nov. 6 and unsealed Friday. (11/12)

Kansas City Star: Group Busted By KC Health Officials Feeds Homeless Again
One week after Kansas City health officials busted up several picnics for the homeless, the cooks and their meals returned Sunday afternoon. This time, the volunteers with Free Hot Soup KC were ready if health officials returned with their trash bags and bleach, said Nellie McCool of Merriam. “Everybody was ready to stand up for themselves,” she said. “We’re prepared to face the law.” (Robertson, 11/12)

The New York Times: New Public Spaces Are Supposed To Be For All. The Reality Is More Complicated.
Office workers sip coffee beside men sleeping in chairs pulled together. Tourists park their shopping bags where people shoot up heroin, or drink until they pass out. Panhandlers go table to table seeking handouts. Piles of trash, used needles and worse (human feces) have drawn complaints. This is a scene from the heart of Manhattan, where a painstaking effort to ban cars and carve a public plaza out of one of New York City’s most famous streets — with birch trees, cafe-style tables and original artwork — have collided with stark socioeconomic realities. (Hu, 11/13)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: St. Louis Archdiocese Will Open Its First Rural Health Clinic In Washington County
The Archdiocese of St. Louis plans to open its first health clinic early next year in Old Mines, Mo., in Washington County, in an effort to improve rural health care. The free clinic will offer primary care, chronic disease management, mental health care and social services — including housing and employment resources — for people without health insurance. The clinic is expected to host about 2,000 medical visits a month. (Bernhard, 11/12)

Austin Statesman: Should Austin ISD Teach Gender Identity And Sexual Orientation?
For the first time, Austin school district students as early as third grade could begin receiving lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity. They also could learn about HIV and methods of transmission and prevention. And, while changes to sex education in kindergarten through second grades aren’t scheduled yet, lesson topics that could be introduced in coming years include teaching proper words for body parts, such as “penis,” “nipples” and “vulva.” (Taboada, 11/8)

Columbus Dispatch: Patients Can Now Get Custom-Made Knee Replacements
Suffering with painful osteoarthritis, Linda Bilardello was nine weeks away from a trip to Africa when she underwent total knee-replacement surgery in May. The trip had been planned for more than a year, and she didn’t want to be impeded. She wasn’t. (Viviano, 11/12)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Debit Cards To Replace Paper Vouchers For Moms Using WIC
The government benefits program for women and children, known as WIC, is getting an upgrade in New Hampshire. WIC provides benefits to about 12,000 low-income New Hampshire residents to help cover the cost of healthy groceries. Until recently, mothers using WIC redeemed their benefits with a paper voucher, but by the end of 2018 all participants in the state will redeem their benefits with a WIC debit card. (Gibson, 11/12)

CNN: Dear NRA, Of Course Doctors Are Part Of The Solution
The medical community -- including nurses, medics, technicians, pharmacists, social workers and doctors -- stand on the front lines of caring for victims of gun violence. We see the physical damage inflicted by gunshot wounds, and we also witness the pain of those victims they leave behind. So you might imagine our surprise on November 7 when the National Rifle Association told us to stay in our lane and not get involved in issues of gun violence that go beyond treating the bodily damage that results. That type of message indicates the NRA is not serious about addressing this public health crisis that we face. If it were, it would realize that a complex issue such as gun violence requires engagement of stakeholders from all walks of life and with diverse perspectives on the issue. (Joseph Sakran, 11/2)

Arizona Republic: NRA Gets A Twitter Enema From Angry Physicians
Late last month the American College of Physicians published a paper titled “Reducing Firearm Injuries and Deaths in the United States,” a scholarly if impassioned opus you never would have known about because people like me never would have written about if the arrogant dopes at the National Rifle Association hadn’t gone out of their way to mock it. Why? Because for an organization that boasts of preaching gun safety, the NRA routinely shoots itself in the foot. How foolish is it to attack medical professionals, men and women who must deal with the bloody results of gun violence every day? (EJ Montini, 11/12)

The New York Times: The Gun-Safety Issue Is Actually Helping Democrats
It is an unsettling coincidence that mass shootings bookended the 2018 election, from a Pittsburgh synagogue on Oct. 27 to a bar in Thousand Oaks, Calif., on Nov. 7. The election that took place in between, though, demonstrated that Democrats and even some Republicans found gun-safety advocacy a boon to their campaigns in a way not seen in a long time. In comparison with previous elections, the gun-rights forces’ customary blaring megaphone seemed nowhere near as loud as usual — or as effective. This is borne out by an examination of public attitudes, candidate positions, money and exposure. (Robert J. Spitzer, 11/12)

Chicago Tribune: Welcome To College. Get Ready For Your First Mass Shooting!
Students at Northwestern University are being encouraged to watch a graphic training video that shows a gunman attacking the Evanston campus, shooting two people and stalking others who have barricaded themselves in a classroom. University officials produced the video to help prepare students, faculty and other staff for an active shooter situation, offering a three-step response plan: Run. If you can’t run, hide. If you can’t hide, fight. (Rex Huppke, 11/12)

The Washington Post: The Connection Between Suicides And Mass Shootings — And A Way To Reduce Both
Thousand Oaks, Pittsburgh, Parkland, Las Vegas, Orlando — they’re part of our annual parade of horror. How can we begin to stop this? Maybe it’s time to start looking at a far more frequent, blood-soaked American epidemic: suicide. (Petula Dvorak, 11/12)

Los Angeles Times: Half Of All Underage Smokers Choose Menthols. We Need To Kick Kools To The Curb 
When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned child-friendly flavors in cigarettes in 2009, it didn’t include menthol cigarettes. That was unfortunate because, like cherry and mocha, menthol hides the harsh taste of tobacco and as a result is popular with young and underage smokers. The FDA is expected to right that wrong this week by proposing to ban menthol cigarettes altogether, while also imposing new restrictions on the sale of flavored e-cigarettes at gas stations and convenience stores. Anti-smoking advocates say that a rule banning menthol cigarettes, provided it is not watered down or undermined, would be the most important tobacco reduction action the FDA has ever taken. Today, about a quarter of all the cigarettes sold are mentholated. (11/13)

The Wall Street Journal: The False Promise Of ‘Medicare For All’
Health care was a priority for midterm voters, and for good reason. In nearly five years since ObamaCare’s major provisions came into effect, insurance premiums have doubled for individuals and risen 140% for families, even while deductibles have increased substantially. Hospitals and doctors continue to flee ObamaCare’s coverage network, to the point that almost 75% of plans are now highly restrictive. ObamaCare also encouraged a record pace of consolidation among hospitals and physician practices. All these developments will raise health-care prices, as fewer hospitals compete for payers. (Scott W. Atlas, 11/12)

JAMA: Physical Activity Guidelines For Health And Prosperity In The United States
According to the recently released Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition and as summarized in this issue of JAMA, it is estimated that in the United States, nearly $117 billion in annual health care costs and 10% of all premature mortality are associated with failure to meet the levels of recommended aerobic physical activity. Only 26% of men, 19% of women, and 20% of adolescents meet the PAG recommendations, despite the fact that these recommendations are readily achievable by most individuals in the United States. ...By simply meeting these physical activity guidelines, billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of lives could potentially be saved, and millions more Americans could experience improved quality of life. Lack of physical activity may also be a threat to national security, as obesity disqualifies nearly one-third of individuals in the United States aged 17 to 24 years from military service. (Brett P. Giroie and Don Wright, 11/12)

The Hill: New FDA Approved Synthetic Opioid Serves A Good Purpose
Now along comes Dsuvia, a new sublingual synthetic opioid (injected under the tongue from pre-filled syringes), that is ten times more powerful than Fentanyl, with a seemingly high risk for abuse, addiction and overdose death. At first glance, it would seem questionable that such a powerful opioid would be approved at a time when the FDA is trying to streamline approvals for opioids and make sure that they have completely justified medical uses especially when the abuse and addiction potential is high. Dsuvia fits this expectation to a tee. It was developed jointly with the FDA and the Pentagon for use on the battlefield. It was used for wounded soldiers when they were in agony and intravenous lines may not have been available or they were impossible to place. Dsuvia affords the battlefield surgeon or medic the opportunity to deliver instant pain relief where it might not otherwise be possible. (Dr. Marc Siegel, 11/12)

The Washington Post: Study Suggests Low-Dose Aspirin Can Reduce Risk Of Ovarian Cancer
A study published last month offers some new hope for helping prevent ovarian cancer — in the form of a baby aspirin — and may add to the growing body of evidence that inflammation plays a role in the disease. But researchers caution that more study is needed. (Carrie Dennett, 11/12)

Stat: Ethical Leaders: Use Science To Advance Gender Equity In Medicine
Medicine adheres to a strict code of ethics. Yet a large body of research demonstrates the industry’s ambivalence toward addressing rampant workforce gender bias. Compared to their male colleagues, female physicians face disparities in nearly every marker of achievement including, but not limited to, pay, promotion, recognition awards, grants, publications, and speaking invitations. Subtle slights, or micro-inequities, such as calling women by their first names and men by their professional titles in work settings, often support environments in which larger disparities exist. For example, one study showed that during recorded grand rounds introductions, women who introduced women used the speaker’s professional title nearly 100 percent of the time whereas men who introduced women used the speaker’s professional title only about half the time. (Julie K. Silver, 11/12)

Bloomberg: Athenahealth Sale Is OK Ending For Elliott 
Athenahealth Inc.’s sale plan is the best outcome for a messy situation. The health-care technology company announced on Monday that it was selling itself for $135 a share, or about $5.7 billion, to private equity firm Veritas Capital and Evergreen Coast Capital, the buyout arm of activist investor Elliott Management Corp. (Brooke Sutherland, 11/12)

Des Moines Register: Iowa takes center stage in the fight against elder abuse
One in 10 older adults in the United States is abused or exploited every year. The abuse can be physical, psychological, or financial. In any form, it is unconscionable. The United States Department of Justice and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office are committed to ending it. (Peter E. Deegan Jr., Marc Krickbaum and Tom Miller, 11/12)

Des Moines Register: Gov. Kim Reynolds Must Explain Her Plans To Fix Medicaid
There are more than 2.1 million registered voters in Iowa. About 40 percent of them did not vote in the midterm elections. The majority of the 1.3 million who did gave Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds four more years in office. They also gave her a GOP-controlled Legislature. This is troubling news for the Iowans who rely on Medicaid, the health providers who serve them and taxpayers. Despite many problems with privatizing management of the $5 billion health insurance program, Reynolds has refused to return it to state control. She has defended and perpetuated an experiment set in motion by her predecessor that relies on for-profit insurers to manage care for more than 700,000 people. Now Reynolds fully owns responsibility for this program, and she must explain to Iowans her vision for its future. (11/9)