The Washington Post: September Democratic Debate Highlights: Democrats Argue Over Health Care, Guns, Immigration
Biden, Warren and Sanders opened the debate with a clash over health care that was a proxy argument over the future of the Democratic Party. Warren and Sanders arguing that Medicare-for-all would save Americans money and Biden, joined by the more moderate candidates, made a case against a wholesale overhaul of the health-care insurance industry as too expensive and unpopular. It was part of a broader divide onstage, between candidates who favor less sweeping but more attainable goals and those calling for huge structural change. (Sonmez, Wootson and Viser, 9/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Top 2020 Democratic Candidates Spar Over Health Care In Third Debate
The candidates largely agreed on what they see as the most important issues facing the country—a lack of universal health care, income inequality, the threat of climate change and the prevalence of mass shootings—but they diverged on how to address them. Mr. Biden, who has been atop the polls, drew fire from several candidates, but they saved the sharpest words for President Trump over his rhetoric and trade policies. (Day, Collins and Glazer, 9/13)

The New York Times: Attacks On Biden In Debate Highlight Divide Over The Obama Legacy
Facing all of his closest competitors for the first time in a debate, Mr. Biden, the Democratic front-runner, repeatedly invoked President Barack Obama’s name and policy record as a shield against rivals who suggested his own record was flawed, or implied his agenda lacked ambition. On health care, immigration, foreign wars and more, Mr. Biden’s central theme was his tenure serving under Mr. Obama. By constantly invoking Mr. Obama, a popular figure among Democrats, Mr. Biden sought to mute the ideological and generational divisions that have left him vulnerable in the primary race. (Martin and Burns, 9/12)

Reuters: Some Democrats Snipe, Others Unite In Third Presidential Debate
An anticipated fiery matchup between Biden, the moderate former vice president, and Elizabeth Warren, a liberal senator who has gained the No. 2 spot in recent opinion polls, did not quite materialize. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, running a close third, sounded hoarse as he expounded on his favorite progressive topics, including healthcare, political corruption and income inequality. (9/13)

Reuters: Biden Attacks Warren, Sanders Over Cost Of Healthcare Plans In Democratic Debate
Biden, who served as vice president for eight years under Barack Obama, said he would build on Obama's landmark 2010 Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. He accused Warren and Sanders of wanting to tear it down with Medicare for All, a proposed government-run healthcare program that would eliminate private insurance. "I know that the senator says she's for Bernie. Well I'm for Barack. I think Obamacare worked," Biden said, asking Warren and Sanders to explain how they would pay for their plans. "This is about candor, honesty, big ideas." (9/13)

The Wall Street Journal: The Moments That Mattered In Thursday’s Democratic Debate
The former vice president was backed up by Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. “It says that we will no longer have private insurance as we know it,” she said of the Sanders bill. “That means that 149 million Americans will no longer be able to have their current insurance. That’s in four years. I don’t think that’s a bold idea, I think it’s a bad idea.” Ms. Warren responded that her policies would be paid for by the wealthiest. “Costs are going to go up for wealthier individuals and costs are going to go up for giant corporations,” she said. “But for hardworking families across this country, costs are going to go down.” (Parti and McCormick, 9/13)

The Associated Press: Key Takeaways From The Democratic Candidates' Debate
Sanders took heavy fire on his single-payer health insurance proposal, with Biden and others hammering the Vermont senator for the cost and the political palatability of effectively eliminating the existing private insurance market. (9/12)

The Hill: Biden, Sanders, Warren Clash Over Medicare For All In Houston
Sanders said most Americans were getting a raw deal in terms of their present health care costs compared with countries that have systems more similar to his Medicare for All approach. “Let us be clear, Joe, in the United States of America we are spending twice as much per capita on health care as the Canadians or any other major country on earth,” Sanders said. “This is America,” Biden retorted. “Yeah, but Americans don’t want to pay twice as much as other countries and they guarantee health care to all people,” Sanders responded. (Sullivan, 9/12)

The Washington Post: Democrats Clash Over Health Care And More In Debate That Started With Calls For Unity
Several other candidates were more than willing to take on their fellow Democratic contenders directly, despite beginning the debate saying they wanted to unify the country and highlight the party’s broad unanimity on public policy. “I don’t think it’s a bold idea, I think it’s a bad idea,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) said of Sanders’s health-care bill. “For a socialist, you’ve got a lot more confidence in corporate America than I have,” Biden said to Sanders, scoffing at the idea that companies would pay workers more if they had fewer health-care costs. (Olorunnipa, Kinskey and Viser, 9/13)

Los Angeles Times: Biden Clashes With Warren And Sanders At The Democratic Debate Over The Party’s Future
“We all owe a huge debt to Barack Obama, who fundamentally transformed healthcare in this country,” Warren said. “Now, the question is how can we best improve that? Those at the very top, the richest individuals, the biggest corporations, are going to pay more and middle-class families are going to pay less,” Warren said. “That is how this is going to work.” (Halper and Mehta, 9/12)

Reuters: Democratic Debate Highlights: Democrats Spar Over Healthcare, Opponent Attacks
Sanders acknowledged the cost of his signature plan – but said studies show the status quo will cost Americans $50 trillion over the same time period. "I wrote the damn bill, if I may say so," he said, repeating his main applause line from the second debate in July. Biden emphasized again that his plan would allow people who like their private insurance to keep it, a key point of distinction from Sanders' and Warren's approach. (9/13)

Kaiser Health News: Despite Repeated Calls For Unity, Democrats Throw Some Debate Punches On Health Plans
“Everyone on this stage is well-intentioned,” said Sen. Kamala Harris of California. But she also issued a reminder that Trump has worked aggressively to fight the ACA — even taking it to court — and listed some of its most popular provisions, such as its protections for people with preexisting conditions and the ability to stay on your parents’ insurance until you turn 26. “If we don’t get Donald Trump out of office, he’s going to get rid of all of it,” she said. (Huetteman, 9/13)

The New York Times: Fact-Checking The Democratic Debate
WHAT MR. CASTRO SAID: “I also worked for President Obama, Vice President Biden, and I know that the problem with your plan is that it leaves 10 million people uncovered.” Later, he added, “The difference between what I support and what you support, Vice President Biden, is that you require them to opt in, and I would not require them to opt in — they would automatically be enrolled.” This is mostly true. (9/12)

USA Today: Democratic Debate: Health Care, Gun Control, Attacks Dominate Night
The more centrist candidates — New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, Buttigieg and Klobuchar — talked about finding common ground. But Warren, Sanders and Julian Castro argued for throwing the long ball. "But the truth is that our problems didn't start just with Donald Trump, and we won't solve them by embracing old ideas," Castro, the former Housing secretary, said in what seemed to be a slight aimed at Biden. "We need a bold vision." (Page, 9/13)

Texas Tribune: Julian Castro Hits Joe Biden On His Memory, Commitment To Barack Obama
Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro aggressively challenged Joe Biden — a fellow former Obama administration official — on the debate stage here Thursday, seeming to question the former vice president’s memory and saying he was not fulfilling former President Barack Obama’s “vision” on health care. The showdown early in the debate at Texas Southern University came after Biden criticized the Medicare-for-all health care plan touted by U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, among others. (Samuels, 9/12)

The Washington Post: Julian Castro Questioned Joe Biden’s Acuity. But Did Castro Get It Right?
To many, it was the most loaded question at Thursday night’s Democratic presidential debate. “Are you forgetting what you said two minutes ago?” Julián Castro asked Joe Biden in a heated exchange over health care. The crowd inside the debate hall reacted with a collective gasp, as if they had witnessed a scandalous twist on an afternoon talk show. Then, Castro repeated himself. Twice. (Sullivan, 9/13)

CNN: Third Debate Shows Why Democratic Primary Could Take A While To Decide
The lack of a clear winner among the 10 candidates on the stage underscored a key point about the 2020 Democratic primary: It may be a while before a winner emerges, as the Democratic Party wrestles with both an ideological divide and the crucial question of whether it's time for the next generation to take up the mantle. (Reston, 9/13)

ABC News: Read The Full Transcript Of ABC News' 3rd Democratic Debate
Read the full transcript of the third 2020 Democratic Debate airing on Thursday night, Sept. 12, 2019, on ABC News. (9/13)

Vox: Democratic Debates: 4 Immigration Questions That Candidates Haven’t Answered
Democratic presidential candidates have mostly been able to avoid a substantive discussion of what immigration policy should look like. Expressing outrage over President Donald Trump’s policies has sufficed for debate soundbites. That might be politically expedient; immigration is one of the top issues on voters’ minds, but also one of the most divisive. Being vague is a way to put off alienating various wings of the party until the primaries are over. (Narea, 9/12)

Vox: Democratic Debate: The Best And Most Substantive Answers Of The Night
Castro, who served alongside Biden in the Obama administration as the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, gave a nod not only to Trump’s shortcomings on immigration but also on the Obama administration’s. He highlighted his own plan, one of the boldest in the Democratic field and that is also deeply contrasted with Obama’s. As Vox’s Nicole Narea explained, Obama deported over 3 million immigrants from 2009 and 2016. ... Obama set up temporary housing not all that different from the shelter the Trump administration has at the border amid its own migrant crisis in 2014 and struggled to strike a balance between humanitarian efforts and enforcement. (Stewart, 9/13)

The Washington Post: Fact Check Of The Third Democratic Debate
“We didn’t lock people up in cages; we didn’t separate families.”— Former vice president Joe Biden. Contrary to Biden’s claim, the Obama administration did use caged enclosures beginning in 2014 to hold families apprehended along the southern border by U.S. authorities. There is photographic evidence showing the cages in 2014. (Kessler, Rizzo and Kelly, 9/12)

The Associated Press Fact Check: Dems Draw Link Between Trump, El Paso Murders
Democrats routinely accuse Trump of using cages for children without acknowledging the same enclosures were employed when Biden was vice president. The Obama administration also separated migrant children from families under certain limited circumstances, like when the child's safety appeared at risk or when the parent had a serious criminal history. But family separations as a matter of routine came about because of President Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" enforcement policy last year. (9/12)

Bloomberg: Democratic Presidential Debate Houston: Recap And Key Issues
Other issues discussed Thursday suggest possible shifts in the major themes defining the campaign—or at least changes in the topics moderators are asking about. Guns were a focus for the candidates after mass shootings in El Paso and near Midland, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, last month. Overall, the topic was barely mentioned during the previous debate in July. (Leatherby, McCartney, Rojanasakul and Lin, 9/13)

Politico: Democrat Debate Highlights: Biden At Center Stage And Focus Of Attacks
ABC debate moderator David Muir asked Harris about her proposal, if she were elected president, to take executive action on guns, including banning the imports of AR-15 tactical rifles. Biden, Muir pointed out, said Harris’s proposal wasn’t constitutional. “Does the vice president have a point there?” Muir asked Harris. Biden cut in before she could answer, saying of executive actions that “some things you can. Many things you can't.” Harris then leaned over her lectern, looked at Biden and smiled.“Hey, Joe, instead of saying, ‘No we can't,’ let's say yes, we can,” she smiled, repeating the Obama-Biden 2008 campaign slogan. (Caputo and McCaskill, 9/12)

Los Angeles Times: Beto O'Rourke: ‘Hell, Yes, We’re Going To Take Your AR-15’
When the Democratic presidential debate turned to gun control, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke became emotional as he told of meeting a woman who watched her daughter bleed to death after a mass shooting. There were too many victims, he said, and not enough ambulances after the attack in Odessa, Texas. He talked of the devastation wrought by high-velocity rifle rounds that cause massive internal injuries when they smash into their human targets, including victims in the attacks in Odessa and in his hometown of El Paso. (Pearce, 9/12)

CNN: Democrats Have Spent Years Denying They'll Take People's Guns. Not Any More. 
Republicans have been warning for decades that Democrats will try to take weapons away from gun owners. Donald Trump said that about Hillary Clinton in 2016. John McCain said that, somewhat jokingly, about Barack Obama in 2008. The National Rifle Association was not joking at all when it said the same thing. Dick Cheney said that about John Kerry in 2004. Kerry was so nervous about turning off gun lovers that he was be photographed on a hunting trip to make people feel at ease. That kind of pandering is no more. O'Rourke went to a gun show earlier this year and then endorsed a national gun licensing program like the one the NRA has long warned against. (Wolf, 9/12)

ABC News: Rival Candidates Praise Beto O'Rourke's Response To El Paso Shooting During Contentious Democratic Debate
During a night of tense exchanges on the Democratic debate stage in Houston, four candidates made a point of offering kind words to rival Beto O’Rourke for his handling of the mass shooting last month at a Walmart in his home town of El Paso, Texas. The former Texas congressman raced home from the campaign trail on the day of the shooting last month, which killed 22 people and injured 24 others. He later canceled a series of campaign events. (Yang, 9/12)

ABC News: Here Are The 5 Key Takeaways From The ABC News Democratic Debate
“I want to commend Beto for how well he has spoken to the passion and the frustration and the sadness after what happened in his hometown of El Paso. He's done a great job with that,” Castro told his fellow candidate. The former vice president also commended O’Rourke for how he handled the shooting, first calling the former congressman “Beto” before apologizing. “Excuse me for saying Beto," Biden said, to which O’Rourke replied, "That’s all right, Beto's good.” “The way he handled what happened in his hometown is meaningful. The look in the eyes of those people, to see those kids, to understand those parents, you understand the heartache,” Biden said. (Wiersema, 9/13)

The Washington Post: Liberal, Moderate Divide On Display In Democratic Debate
Those in the second tier, after Biden, Warren and Sanders, are under increasing pressure to break out of the pack. They all assailed Trump. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker called Trump a racist. Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke called him a white supremacist. And Kamala Harris, a California senator, said Trump’s hateful social media messages provided “the ammunition” for recent mass shootings. (Barrow and Peoples, 9/13)

The New York Times: Marathon Democratic Debate Includes No Questions About Women’s Issues
In a nearly three-hour debate, the Democratic candidates clashed on health care policy differences, offered varying plans to combat the scourge of gun violence and even discussed whether Americans should switch to a vegan diet to help mitigate the effect of farming on climate change (short answer: no). But questions on the gender pay gap and reproductive rights were entirely absent. Candidates quickly took to Twitter after the debate to note the omission, including Senator Kamala Harris of California and former Representative Beto O’Rourke of Texas. (Corasaniti and Stevens, 9/13)

The Hill: Harris, O'Rourke Lament Lack Of Abortion Questions At Houston Debate
Within minutes of stepping off the primary debate stage in Houston, 2020 Democrats were criticizing the lack of questions about abortion or reproductive rights. “Three hours, not one question on abortion—with women's rights under attack across our country,” tweeted former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke. (Campisi, 9/12)

Politico: From Vaping To Opioids: Trump Redefines Health Care For 2020 Run
The Trump administration’s assault on e-cigarettes is the latest move by the White House to salvage Donald Trump’s health care agenda ahead of the 2020 elections. Turning away from the bitter Obamacare debates that have been a disaster for Republicans, Trump’s been building his disease-by-disease agenda all year, aimed at suburban voters who may be put off by the Democrats’ left turn on health care. (Kenen and Diamond, 9/12)

In other election news —

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Health Care — Still Potent, But More Complicated In 2020 Election
With the 2018 elections in the rear-view mirror, Democrats like McBath who leaned on protecting the ACA, also known as Obamacare, now know they found a winning pitch. Republicans know it too. The issue helped Democrats win a majority in the U.S. House and come closer than ever to winning back the governor’s office. And recent polls show health care remains a top issue for voters in general. (Hallerman and Hart, 9/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Juul Debates Pushing Back On E-Cigarette Ban
Juul Labs Inc. is debating internally whether to embrace or push back on part of the Trump administration’s plan to pull most e-cigarettes from the market, according to people familiar with the matter. The policy—affecting sweet and fruity vaping products along with mint and menthol—would be a crippling hit to the startup, which generates more than 80% of its sales from flavors that would be banned. But Juul insiders agree that the move could help curb underage vaping and avert an even bigger threat to the market-leading e-cigarette maker: the possibility that the Food and Drug Administration could take Juul off the market altogether. (Maloney, 9/12)

The New York Times: A Ban On Flavored E-Cigarettes Would Sharply Cut Sales
A ban on flavored e-cigarettes would not only severely dent sales of Juul Labs’ popular vaping products, but also have a chilling effect on the little regulated $2.6 billion industry of roughly 20,000 vape and smoke shops that sprung up across the country in the past few years. But a day after Alex M. Azar II, the health and human services secretary, said the Food and Drug Administration would draft a plan within weeks that would remove flavored e-cigarettes and nicotine pods from the market, there were already signs that some companies were considering legal challenges or lobbying efforts to keep two flavors safe — mint and menthol. (Creswell and Kaplan, 9/12)

The Hill: Juul's Lobbying Efforts Fall Short As Trump Moves To Ban Flavored E-Cigarettes
The company spent $1.95 million on lobbying in the first two quarters of 2019, surpassing last year's total of $1.64 million. “It shows you that just spending money on lobbying doesn’t create magic results. This is an un-exact science when it comes to lobbying and Juul has found that out. Anything can happen at any time no matter how many resources you put into lobbying,” said David Williams, president of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance. (Gangitano, 9/12)

The Associated Press: US Officials Revise Vaping Illness Count To 380 In 36 States
The U.S. government has refined how it is measuring an outbreak of breathing illnesses in people who vape, now counting only cases that are most closely linked to electronic cigarette use. Health officials on Thursday said 380 confirmed cases and probable cases have been reported in 36 states and one U.S. territory. That marks a decrease from the 450 cited last week, when officials were also including "possible" cases. (9/12)

Reuters: U.S. Cuts Vaping-Related Illness Total Under Refined Case Definition
Six people have died from vaping-related illness, a number that remains unchanged, the CDC said. The deaths were reported in California, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, and Oregon. As of Sept. 11, an additional three states have reported cases of the severe lung illness linked to vaping, raising the total to 36 states plus the U.S. Virgin Islands, the agency said. (9/12)

The Hill: CDC Announces 380 Cases Of Lung Disease Linked To Vaping
“While the investigation is ongoing, the CDC has advised that individuals consider not using e-cigarettes because as of now, this is the primary means of preventing lung disease,” said Dr. Dana Meaney-Delman, an incident manager with the CDC. (Axelrod, 9/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Vaping-Related Lung Ailments Puzzle Doctors
The Food and Drug Administration has received more than 120 product samples linked to vaping illness for analysis. Many of the samples tested so far have contained tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, a chemical in marijuana known for its psychoactive effects, rather than nicotine. Most samples with THC also contained added vitamin E acetate, an oil sometimes found in dietary supplements and skin products, the agency said. But no one product or device has been associated with all of the cases, according to the CDC and the FDA. (Abbott, 9/12)

Reuters: New Jersey Expected To Announce Vaping Restrictions Within Weeks
Within weeks, New Jersey could become the latest state to restrict e-cigarette use, with the governor on Thursday launching a task force to find ways to curb vaping, linked by U.S. health officials to hundreds of respiratory illnesses and a half-dozen deaths. "As of this moment, there is no safe vape," Governor Phil Murphy said at a media briefing, adding he was concerned about both teen use and the recent illnesses. "The only safe alternative to smoking is not smoking." (9/12)

The Associated Press: Oregon Pot Retailers Begin Pulling Vape Brands In Lung Scare
Oregon marijuana retailers on Thursday began removing vaping products from their shelves and offering returns on previously purchased vape pens amid a nationwide scare over severe lung illnesses and deaths tied to electronic cigarettes. The move came after the agency that regulates Oregon's cannabis industry told The Associated Press on Wednesday that it will soon begin asking retailers to voluntarily review their vaping offerings and pull those that spark concern. (9/12)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Nine Suspected Vaping-Related Illnesses In Missouri, Two Hospitalized At Children's Hospital
Two cases of lung illness associated with the use of e-cigarettes have been reported in Missouri over the past two weeks, and seven more possible cases are under investigation, state health departmentofficials said in a news release Thursday. The state could not provide any more information about the individuals and severity of their cases, but St. Louis Children’s Hospital has confirmed that the pediatric hospital is caring for two patients with possible illnesses related to vaping. (Munz, 9/13)

Kaiser Health News: Vapers Seek Relief From Nicotine Addiction In — Wait For It — Cigarettes
Lucas McClain started smoking cigarettes in high school but switched to vaping after he heard e-cigarettes were a safer alternative. His vape of choice became the Juul, the king of electronic cigarettes — which comes with a king-size nicotine hit.Now 21, McClain wants to quit so badly that he’s turning back to the problem he fled in the first place: good old-fashioned cigarettes. (Ibarra, 9/13)

Politico: Inside The Gun Lobby’s Push To Sway Trump
President Donald Trump talked about expanding background checks, then wavered. He was considering a “red flag” bill to let authorities take guns away from dangerous people, but has now “cooled” on the prospect, according to three people involved in the discussions. The whole time, the gun rights lobby was there to nudge the president along. Advocates bombarded the White House with calls and petitions. Representatives scored meetings with senior officials. And the industry even has a former staffer working in the West Wing on legislation. Meanwhile, groups pushing for more restrictions on gun purchases haven’t been able to get in the door. (Kumar, 9/13)

The Associated Press: Trump Vows To Protect 2nd Amendment After Gun Briefing
President Donald Trump pledged Thursday to protect the Second Amendment, hours after huddling with top advisers to discuss gun control measures he might be willing to publicly stand behind. Speaking to reporters before flying to Baltimore for a Republican retreat, Trump insisted "a lot of progress" had been made on background checks "and various things having to do with guns" during Thursday's discussion. But he also made clear that he's weary of angering gun proponents, suggesting Democrats' push for new gun control measures following a summer of mass shootings might be nothing more than "a ploy." (9/12)

The New York Times: Partisans Dig In As Executives Call For Action On Guns
When a letter signed by about 150 leaders of some of the nation’s most recognizable companies called on Thursday for tighter gun control measures, the reactions cut largely along partisan lines. Democrats like Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said the letter, which was signed by companies including Levi Strauss, Yelp and the Gap, pointed to a “groundswell” of support for restrictions on firearms. “The letter reflects a seismic political dynamic that is really sweeping the country,” he added. (Corkery, 9/12)

The Hill: Conservatives Offer Stark Warning To Trump, GOP On Background Checks
Senate conservatives are warning President Trump and their own leaders to tread carefully in the gun-control debate and caution they risk a political backlash by striking a deal with Democrats to expand background checks for firearms sales. (Bolton, 9/13)

In gun violence news from the states —

WBUR: To Prevent School Shootings, Districts Are Surveilling Students' Online Lives
Spurred in part by the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., a year and a half ago, schools nationwide are collaborating with law enforcement in new ways in efforts to avoid the kind of tragedies that, while still rare, are far too familiar. They're investing in new security technologies that scan social media posts, school assignments and even student emails for potential threats. (Kamenetz and Bakeman, 9/12)

Charlotte Observer: Grocery Stores Ask People To Keep Guns Away After Shootings
In Charlotte, almost every big brand name grocery store said they prefer customers not take handguns inside their stores. But of the stores who responded to The Observer’s questions, only two ban guns outright. (Smoot, 9/12)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: 13-Year-Old Shot And Killed In Spanish Lake Area; 22 Children Dead In Shootings In St. Louis Area This Year
A 13-year-old boy was shot and killed Thursday night in north St. Louis County, according to Sgt. Benjamin Granda of the county police. The shooting happened shortly after 6 p.m. near the 11100 block of Oak Parkway Lane, Granda said. Investigators said the boy was walking through an apartment complex with two friends or relatives. Several gunshots were heard, and the victim was struck once. (Harris, 9/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Purdue Pharma Made, Then Ditched, Plans For Opioid-Treatment Nonprofit
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP nixed plans earlier this year to launch a foundation to fund opioid-addiction treatment and research as the company rethought its strategy amid hundreds of lawsuits and a possible bankruptcy filing. Purdue staff pitched the foundation concept several years ago, and the drugmaker’s owners and executives spent several months developing the latest version, according to people familiar with the matter and internal company emails viewed by The Wall Street Journal. (Hopkins, 9/12)

PBS NewsHour: What A Purdue Settlement Would Mean For Fighting The Opioid Crisis
On Wednesday it was reported that the pharmaceutical company has reached a deal with nearly two dozen states and more than 2,000 cities and counties for a tentative settlement. Purdue Pharma would not confirm that settlement when asked by the PBS NewsHour. But the National Prescription Opioid Litigation group, which represents the cities and counties that sued drug companies over the opioid crisis, issued a statement on Wednesday saying the breakthrough was heartening. (Santhanam, 9/12)

The Associated Press: Chaotic Talks Show Challenge Of Reaching Opioid Settlement
For months, the judge overseeing national litigation over the opioids crisis urged all sides to reach a settlement that could end thousands of lawsuits filed by state and local governments. But the chaotic developments this week in the case against OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma underscore how difficult that goal is. By Thursday, half of the nation’s state attorneys general said they would reject a tentative deal crafted by the other half, and many criticized the terms as grossly insufficient. (Mulvihill, 9/13)

Stat: Historians Seek Public Archive Of Documents From Opioid Litigation
In settling lawsuits against them, companies often insist that all of the documents and depositions gathered as part of the cases be locked away or destroyed. To head that off — and to ensure a full accounting of the origins of the prescription opioid crisis — a group of historians is asking that any settlement in the massive opioid litigation require all collected documents be preserved and made public. In a court brief Thursday, the experts called for “full and permanent access to the records” for scholars, policymakers, journalists, and the public, and for the defendants to cover the costs of creating an archive. (Joseph, 9/12)

Colorado Sun: Colorado Isn’t Part Of Settlement With Opioid Maker Purdue Pharma; Attorney General Calls Offer “Inadequate”
Colorado is not part of a tentative national settlement with opioid maker Purdue Pharma, Attorney General Phil Weiser said Wednesday. Weiser says the up to $12 billion deal reached between many other states and thousands of local governments isn’t adequate to address the company’s impacts in Colorado. (Paul and Ingold, 9/11)

North Carolina Health News: N.C. Efforts To Reduce Opioid Dependency Highlighted In National Report
In a national report subtitled “Leading-edge Practices and Next Steps,” the American Medical Association and consulting firm Manatt Health highlighted a North Carolina Medical Society initiative to support providers treating opioid use disorder. Project OBOT, short for office-based opioid treatment, helps North Carolina providers get trained to prescribe medication-assisted treatment (MAT) to patients and eases roadblocks for patients beginning and staying on MAT. (Duong, 9/13)

Los Angeles Times: Americans' Struggles With Medical Bills Are A Foreign Concept In Other Countries
In France, a visit to the doctor typically costs the equivalent of $1.12. A night in a German hospital costs a patient roughly $11. And in the Netherlands — one of the few wealthy nations other than the U.S. where patients face a deductible — insurers usually must cover all medical care after the first 385 euros, roughly $431. (Levey, 9/12)

ABC News: Why The US Spends More On Health Care Than Other Countries, But Doesn't Fare Better: Study
Americans pay more for health care and get fewer results, according to a new analysis. The U.S. spends more money than any other country on health care, yet life expectancy is shorter, obesity is higher, and the rate of maternal and infant death is higher as well. The study published in JAMA on Tuesday takes a closer look at how health dollars are spent, and some of the findings might be surprising. (Florimon, 9/12)

ProPublica: Thousands Of Poor Patients Face Lawsuits From Nonprofit Hospitals That Trap Them In Debt
Over the past few months, several hospitals have announced major changes to their financial assistance policies, including curtailing the number of lawsuits they file against low-income patients unable to pay their medical bills. Investigative reports have spurred the moves, and they prompted criticism from a top federal official. “We are learning the lengths to which certain not-for-profit hospitals go to collect the full list price from uninsured patients,” Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told board members of the American Hospital Association on Tuesday, according to published remarks. (Miller and Raghavendran, 9/13)

Read KHN's coverage about hospital lawsuits: ‘UVA Has Ruined Us’: Health System Sues Thousands Of Patients, Seizing Paychecks And Claiming Homes

Modern Healthcare: Employer-Based Health Insurance Costs Will Grow 6.5% In 2020
High-cost specialty drugs, increases in care costs and declining care utilization will spark a 6.5% hike in employer-sponsored health benefits costs in 2020, according to a new report Thursday. Consulting firm Aon said non-communicable diseases are driving healthcare costs across the world. Musculoskeletal, cancer, cardiovascular, diabetes and high blood pressure were the most common health problems in the U.S. (Brady, 9/12)

Modern Healthcare: Price Hikes, Upcoding Drive Massachusetts Inpatient Spending
Commercial inpatient healthcare spending has increased in Massachusetts despite declining volumes, reinforcing other analyses that determined price increases are driving spending growth, a new report from the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission found. Commercial inpatient spending across the commonwealth grew 10.7% from 2013 to 2018, while volume decreased by 12.8%, according to the commission. That was primarily due to higher prices and patient acuity, although the HPC revealed that patients may have not actually been sicker. (Kacik, 9/12)

PolitiFact: The Latest On US Health Insurance Coverage, Income And Poverty
The 2017 and 2018 figures are not directly comparable with previous years due to changes in how the data is calculated. But a different data set showed that the small rises in the uninsured rate for 2017 and 2018 marked a change for a number that had improved every year since its peak in 2010, when the Affordable Care Act was passed. The law created a national marketplace for individual insurance and allowed states to expand Medicaid to more people. (Jacobson, 9/11)

Sacramento Bee: Census: California’s Uninsured Rate Stalls At 7.2 Percent
California has seen its rate of uninsured residents drop every year since the state’s affordable care marketplace, Covered California, began offering insurance policies, but 2018 was the exception. The rate stalled last year at 7.2 percent, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, despite the fact that taxpayers were still subject to the individual mandate penalty on their tax returns. Nationally, the rate of uninsured rose to 8.5 percent from 7.9 percent. (Anderson, 9/12)

Boston Globe: Premiums For Mass. Health Connector To Rise 4 Percent In 2020
Health insurance premiums for hundreds of thousands of residents buying coverage through the Massachusetts Health Connector will rise 4 percent on average next year, officials said Thursday. The increases will vary across plans, with some premiums dipping slightly and others rising nearly 10 percent. Most people covered on the state health insurance marketplace receive subsidies to offset those increases. (Dayal McCluskey, 9/12)

Kaiser Health News: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Despite Booming Economy, Uninsured Rate Ticks Up
The annual report from the Census Bureau, released this week, found that 27.5 million Americans were without health insurance last year, an increase of nearly 2 million from 2017. The 0.5 percentage point increase in the uninsured rate — to 8.5% — was the first in a decade and came as unemployment and other economic indicators have been good. Meanwhile, the Trump administration signaled that it is moving to ban flavored vaping liquid used in e-cigarettes. Companies making the products have been accused of marketing to underage users with flavors like mango and bubble gum. (9/12)

Stat: Right To Try 'Remains A Bust,' As Many Drug Makers Prefer FDA Reviews
Despite the hubbub over the “right-to-try” law, a recent survey found that nearly half of drug makers indicated they would require regulators to review a decision to provide an experimental treatment to a person with a life-threatening disease. Specifically, 13 of 29 drug companies indicated they want a relevant regulatory authority to review requests that are granted to such people. Of these, six specified they would ask the Food and Drug Administration to conduct a review and five stated they require a research ethics committee or institutional review board, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office. (Silverman, 9/12)

In other pharmaceutical news —

Stat: Consultant Sues Nocion For Allegedly Passing Him Over For CEO
Connecticut pharma consultant claims he was offered the CEO job at a well-connected biotech startup — and now he’s suing the company because they didn’t ultimately give it to him. Terence Kelly, who spent 20 years at Boehringer Ingelheim before running a California biotech startup, is suing Nocion Therapeutics, a Boston-based company with big-name investors that’s hoping to take aim at the common cough. (Sheridan, 9/13)

Politico Pro: 'Pay For Delay' Bill Targeting Drug Maker Deals Heads To Newsom
CA AB824 (19R) by Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Santa Rosa) would codify the presumption that so-called pay-for-delay deals — when brand name drug manufacturers pay generic companies to keep lower-price drugs off the market — are anti-competitive if "something of value" is exchanged. Sponsored by state Attorney General Xavier Becerra, the bill seeks to speed the entry of generic drugs on the market. (Hart, 9/12)

The Associated Press: Attorneys General Warn About 'At-Home Rape Kit' Companies
Two companies are under fire for saying they want to sell do-it-yourself rape kits to sexual assault survivors. Attorneys general in several states have sent cease-and-desist letters to the MeToo Kits Company, based in New York City, and the New Jersey-based The Preserve Group, saying the evidence-collection kits are no substitute for a professional forensic exam. (9/12)

North Carolina Health News: MeToo Kit Will Hurt Rapist Prosecutions, AG Warns
Creators of the MeToo Kit say the evidence collection process is so simple, anyone can do it. Following the instructions on a smartphone app, victims can conduct their own sexual assault exam. MeToo Kit Co. CEO Madison Campbell told Carolina Public Press that users should able to complete an at-home kit in less than 15 minutes. While the time it takes may vary by individual, “the whole goal is to be as easy and seamless as possible,” Campbell said. (Martin, 9/13)

Kaiser Health News: A Dubious Product: A Rape Kit For Home Use
Alongside other “essential” household supplies for sale on Amazon, there’s now a product offered that might give consumers pause: an at-home rape kit. The “PRESERVEkit,” listed for $29.95, is intended for those who have been sexually assaulted. It is advertised as “containing all of the tools and step-by-step directions needed for the proper collection of evidence if going to the police or medical facility is not an option.” (Knight, 9/13)

The New York Times: New York City Is Ending A Ban On Gay Conversion Therapy. Here’s Why.
Nearly two years ago, the New York City Council celebrated when it passed a far-reaching ban on conversion therapy, a discredited practice to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. On Thursday, Corey Johnson, the Council speaker, who is gay, said the Council would act swiftly to repeal the ban. (Mays, 9/12)

The Wall Street Journal: New York City Moves To Repeal Ban On Conversion Therapy In Effort To Protect Such Bans Elsewhere
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson introduced legislation to repeal a citywide ban on conversion therapy, in a move designed as a legal tactic to protect such bans elsewhere. New York City faces a lawsuit filed in January by the Alliance Defending Freedom, challenging the constitutionality of the law that was passed in 2017. The religious freedom advocacy group is based in Arizona. Mr. Johnson, who is openly gay, called a repeal of the ban “painful,” but said he is accommodating leading LGBT rights organizations that are worried the lawsuit could undermine efforts to ban conversion therapy in other states. (Blint-Welsh and West, 9/12)

The Hill: New York City To End Ban On Gay Conversion Therapy To Avoid Supreme Court Fight
New York City Council Speaker Cory Johnson (D) argued the measure was necessary due to the conservative majority on the high court following President Trump’s appointment of Justices Neal Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. “Obviously I didn’t want to repeal this. I don’t want to be someone who is giving in to these right-wing groups,” Johnson, who is gay, told the Times. “But the Supreme Court has become conservative; the Second Circuit, which oversees New York, has become more conservative.” (Budryk, 9/12)

The Associated Press: New York City Looks To Repeal 'Gay Conversion Therapy' Ban
The proposed repeal now goes to a committee hearing, scheduled for next week, and then would have a vote in the full council and, if it is passed, would be signed by the mayor. “After intense deliberation, the council concluded that it was best to take this drastic step,” Johnson said in a statement. “The courts have changed considerably over the last few years, and we cannot count on them to rule in favor of much-needed protections for the LGBTQ community. To be clear, this alleged therapy is barbaric and inhumane, but repealing this law seemed to be the best path forward.” (Hajela, 9/12)

The Washington Post: Trump’s Proposals To Tackle California Homelessness Face Local, Legal Obstacles
President Trump’s emerging plan to address California’s homeless crisis includes ideas that have been tried unsuccessfully before, namely the mass housing of people living on the streets, and proposals that have been ruled illegal by federal courts. The White House effort has taken state officials by surprise, as the president has shifted from criticizing California’s management of homelessness on social media to proposals that would insert the federal government directly into the crisis, including relocating homeless people living on the street and in tent camps to a federal facility. (Wilson, 9/12)

The New York Times: How Far Would You Go To Avoid Vaccinating Your Child?
When Jenni Mahnaz started a business consulting parents who wanted to remove their children from the traditional school system seven years ago, there seemed to be little obvious need for what she would deliver. Unlike groovy precincts of the West Coast or Evangelical communities in the South, New York — cynical, status-obsessed, frantically scheduled — is not an obvious place for the expansion of at-home education. Her business, NY Homeschool Help, has grown steadily, but these past several weeks have been something else entirely. (Bellafante, 9/13)

The Associated Press: Woman: Ants Bit Father, Covered The Walls At Georgia VA Home
A Georgia woman says her father was bitten more than 100 times by ants at a government veterans' home where his room was full of insects. Laquna Ross found her father Joel Marrable with swollen, red bumps all over his body when she visited him at the nursing home near Atlanta last week before his death, she told WSB-TV. (9/12)

The Washington Post: Veteran Joel Marrable Died At Atlanta VA Medical Center After Being Bitten 100 Times By Ants, Daughter Laquna Ross Says
Ross claimed that hospital staff told her they thought their patient died when they found him covered in the insects days earlier, according to WSB-TV. Within a day of Ross’s visit — she had just gotten back from a trip, she says — he had. Ross, who says her father served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War, told WSB-TV that Marrable “deserved better” than what he got in his final days at Eagle’s Nest Community Living Center, part of Atlanta VA Medical Center in Decatur, Ga. (Knowles, 9/12)

Health News Florida: Organs With Hepatitis C Now An Option for Transplant Patients On Waitlist
There are more than 5,000 Floridians waiting for organ transplants right now. Most of them have been waiting a year or more to be matched with a donor. But a convergence of developments — including the rise of the opioid epidemic and new treatments for the hepatitis C virus — mean that for South Florida patients who are willing to accept an organ with hep C, the pool of potential donors has gotten bigger. (Mack, 9/12)

Charlotte Observer: Group Of Doctors Announce Split From Gaston County Hospital
Seven doctors have announced they will split from CaroMont Medical Group in Gaston County to join Tryon Medical Partners.Tryon Medical Partners is comprised of nearly 100 doctors who ditched Atrium Health — and bucked national trends — to form their own practice last year. Tryon Medical and the seven Gaston County doctors plan to open a clinic called Tryon Medical Partners – Gaston on Dec. 2. This would be Tryon Medical’s first expansion outside of Mecklenburg County. The new 20,000-square-foot clinic will be Tryon Medical Partner’s first Gaston County location. (Smoot, 9/12)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Ohio Transgender Birth Certificate Lawsuit Gets Early Court Victory
A federal lawsuit seeking to force Ohio to allow people to change the gender on their birth certificates got an early court victory Thursday.A federal judge in Columbus ruled Thursday that the case, filed in 2018 on behalf of four transgender Ohio natives, has enough merit to proceed to trial. U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson, a 2004 Bush appointee, denied a motion from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office seeking to dismiss the case. (Tobias, 9/12)

NH Times Union: Nashua Chief Hopes Being Open About Captain's Suicide Can Help Prevent Future Tragedies
Although the reasoning behind his death is still not clear, the city’s police chief said Thursday that Capt. Jon Lehto committed suicide earlier this week. “We still don’t know why Jon killed himself, but something was going on that he was forced to take his own life,” said Chief Mike Carignan of the Nashua Police Department. Lehto had been with the department since 1999. He died Monday while visiting the West Coast. (Houghton, 9/12)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Offers New Plans For Lincoln Hills Youths
Milwaukee County has decreased the amount it is requesting from the state to create a secure residential care center for some Milwaukee youths held at the troubled Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls north of Wausau. The county's latest proposal offers two options, each with a request for up to $23.6 million. The sum represents a drop from the $41.8 million previously requested. (Dirr, 9/12)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Racial Disparities In Prostate Cancer, And How To Help Stop Them.
Racially disparate rates occur all across the country; especially disparate cancer clusters in metro areas typically share the same culprits: hyper-segregation, poverty, lack of health insurance, food deserts, obesity and low health literacy. Kittles spoke recently at an event hosted by Reggie Jackson, head griot, at America’s Black Holocaust Museum. It was meant to raise that level of literacy. (Shelbourne, 9/12)

The Oregonian: Portland Paramedics, Facing More Violence, Get Self-Defense Training
American Medical Response, or AMR, is now providing self-defense training to its paramedics and EMTs, who are facing increased levels of patient and public violence on the job in Multnomah, Clackamas and Clark counties. (9/12)

The New York Times: My Best Friend Died By Suicide. I Wish I Had Seen The Warning Signs.
Suicide is the No. 1 killer of active-duty airmen in the United States Air Force. In February, the crisis prompted the Air Force to release a memo calling for a culture change within the service. For me and many others, that shift is a personal charge. Six years ago, my best friend, Neil Landsberg, died by suicide. Mentally and physically, he was the strongest person I knew. If he could kill himself, who else might be struggling? I spent years trying to make sense of this. I should have seen the warning signs. I now recognize that Neil suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. He sought help from civilian mental-health providers and from the Department of Veterans Affairs. (Magruder, 9/10)

The New York Times: The First Marine In My Battalion To Die By Suicide
My battalion’s mortar platoon lived on the bottom floor of the barracks at Camp Lejeune and those Marines were always a pain. But they were good at their jobs and on the weekends, when the weather was good, they would have a barbecue down by the smoke pit. Tim Ryan was one of those mortarmen. He had a thick Boston accent, and one time I ran into him at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. I think it was predeployment leave. We were both flying to Boston, and he was on an earlier flight. But when they announced the boarding process, he barely moved from the airport bar. He had been drinking alone most of the afternoon, so I helped him up and did what I could to get him to his gate. He was happy to be going home. (Gibbons-Neff, 9/6)

Center for Public Integrity/Tampa Bay Times: They Donated To Kids With Cancer. A Vegas Telemarketer Cashed In.
During the last four years, the U.S. saw a significant spike in the number of PACs that raise most of their money from small-dollar donors before plowing much of it back into salaries, administrative costs and raising more cash, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of more than 68.7 million campaign finance records compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. PACs that contract with [Las Vegas-based businessman Richard] Zeitlin account for about half of that spike, making him a major player in the political world. For more than two decades, he raised tens of millions of dollars in the name of nonprofits before shifting to PACs. (Kleiner and Zubak-Skees, 9/12)

Stat: 'The Switch’ Was Supposed To Help Eradicate Polio. Now It’s A Quandary
Three years ago, the leaders of the international campaign to eradicate polio pulled off a landmark feat, phasing out a problematic component of the vaccine used in developing countries, and introducing a newer version that they hoped would put the world on a better footing to finally eliminate a global scourge. Now, some organizers are weighing whether “the switch,” as the process was known, needs to be reversed. If it’s not, some fear, the world could face a heightened risk of spread of the disease, currently confined to its last redoubt, Pakistan and Afghanistan. (Branswell, 9/13)

The Atlantic: Your Political Party Might Mean More To You Than Your Morals Do
Even though the Democratic nominee has not yet been chosen, many Americans already know exactly which party they’ll be voting for next November. In fact, a growing number of people instinctively lunge toward one side of the ballot or the other any time an election comes around. Among the factors that shape such deep-seated political preferences, a prominent one is believed to be fundamental moral beliefs—how someone thinks a good society should function or a decent person should behave. (Khazan, 9/9)

The New York Times: The Unusual Tale Of The Roaming Gallstones
“You have a mass in your chest, near your lung,” the voice on the phone said. The 71-year-old woman listened quietly as her doctor explained what the CT scan showed. The doctor suggested that she see a chest surgeon to figure out what it was and what they should do about it. The woman wasn’t surprised to hear that she had a mass. That’s why she went to see her doctor in the first place. Weeks earlier, when she was rubbing her chronically aching back, she noticed that there was a subtle bulge between the next-to-last rib on her right side and the rib just above it. (Sanders, 9/11)

Washington Post: Vaping Is Not The Biggest Threat To Our Children Today 
There have been 22 shootings at U.S. schools in 2019 alone. Active-shooter drills are a back-to-school activity. America’s children are under attack. And President Trump has moved to protect them by banning … flavored vape pods? Apparently, it’s a mint-flavored Juul that stands as the biggest threat to children today. (Christine Emba, 9/12)

The Wall Street Journal: The Stakes Of The Vape Debate
A campaign against vaping products is moving at land speed records, with the Trump Administration announcing this week it will pull flavored e-cigarettes from the market. This is becoming a political pile on, and regulators risk foreclosing one of the best opportunities in public health, which is to reduce cigarette smoking. President Trump on Wednesday popped off about “a problem in our country,” which is the new trend of vaping. “There have been deaths and there have been a lot of other problems.” The First Lady recently tweeted that she’s “deeply concerned” about e-cigarette use among youth, and Health and Human Services says it is stepping in to clear the market of flavored options. (9/12)

The Wall Street Journal: A Vaping Ban Will Send Smokers Back To The Pack
Recent news that e-cigarettes may be linked to hundreds of cases of severe lung disease across dozens of states has refocused public attention on the potentially harmful effects of vaping. As many as six people have already died of severe respiratory illness brought on by use of e-cigarettes. On Wednesday President Trump announced a Food and Drug Administration ban on many flavored vaping products citing safety concerns, calling it “a new problem.” (Liam Sigaud and Steve Pociask, 9/12)

The Washington Post: What Trump’s Authoritarian Push On Homelessness Is Really About
If you want to find an emblematic policy tale of the Trump presidency, you can’t do much better than the president’s newfound interest in homelessness. He just discovered a problem that has existed for decades. His administration has been actively making the problem worse. His ideas about it are driven by his disturbing psychological quirks. The solutions he’s considering are authoritarian and unconstitutional. He wants to use it as part of a reelection campaign based on hatred and division. (Paul Waldman, 9/12)

The New York Times: Trump’s Vague Plans On Homelessness
Donald Trump likes speaking in declarative sentences and promising to solve big problems. He revels in the appearance of activity and the development of vague plans. And it is in this spirit that Mr. Trump has turned his attention to homelessness in California. There is no question that California is in the throes of a crisis. In the state’s most populous county, Los Angeles, a county report in June found the homeless population had spiked to an estimated 59,000 — a 12 percent increase over June 2018. (9/12)

The Hill: Congress Must Act To Fix Military Hunger In National Defense Authorization Act
The need to act is stunning. According to Pentagon records obtained by NBC News through a Freedom of Information Act request, 30 percent of military children attending Department of Defense-run schools in the U.S. qualify for free or reduced lunch. Not coincidentally, there is a food pantry operating on or near every military base in the United States, a dramatic indicator of the breadth of military food insecurity. We say enough is enough. America’s military service members are called upon to defend our great nation, yet are struggling to make ends meet, a completely unacceptable situation requiring urgent attention. (Abby J. Leibman and Kelly Hruska, 9/13)

Stat: Assisted Outpatient Treatment: A Tool For Serious Mental Illness
The most important and compassionate change the Trump administration and the federal government can make is to increase the number of psychiatric beds available to those who need them. This can best be achieved by eliminating Medicaid’s Institutes for Mental Disease (IMD) exclusion, which precludes Medicaid from paying states for treating mentally ill adults while they reside in psychiatric hospitals. By withholding funds from state psychiatric hospitals, the exclusion creates a financial incentive for states to deny hospital admission to people with serious mental illness, discharge them before they are ready, and close psychiatric hospital beds. (DJ Jaffe, 9/13)

The New York Times: Four Key Things You Should Know About Health Care
Health care, so far perhaps the biggest issue in the Democratic primary, is also the most complicated issue facing government and the public. Unfortunately the debate is filled with persistent misconceptions, from the role insurance company profits play in health care costs to who is actually paying for workers’ health coverage. Clarifying four fundamental health care fallacies could make it easier for voters to square some of the Democratic proposals — and their critiques — with reality. (Ezekiel J. Emanuel and Victor R. Fuchs, 9/12)

Stat: Childbirth-Related Deaths Can Be Prevented. Here Are 5 Ways To Do It
It is safer to fly by plane anywhere in the world than it is to give birth in the United States. Last year, 589 people died worldwide because of an airline accident. Compare that with about 700 deaths each year among women in the U.S. as a result of pregnancy or complications during or after childbirth. Worldwide, more than 800 women die every day because of these complications.In the United States, women of color bear the brunt of these problems. Data released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that black, American Indian, and Alaska Native women are significantly more likely to die because of childbirth than white women, regardless of age group, education level, and other factors. (Amy Compton-Phillips, 9/13)

Stat: 2020 Candidates Weigh In On Our Country's Mental Health, Addiction Crises
As the current candidates for president discuss hot-button issues with each news cycle, and the 10 Democrats debate on Thursday, one issue that isn’t getting the attention it deserves is the mental health crisis that is claiming more than 150,000 lives a year through suicides and overdoses and creating a vast ripple effect of suffering among their survivors. This crisis is fueled by a health care system that is ill-equipped to handle mental health and substance use disorders, and magnified by leaders who lack the political will to turn words into action. (Patrick J. Kennedy and Gordon H. Smith, 9/12)

The New York Times: Elizabeth Warren’s Plan For Social Security Looks Smart
When I was a teenager, my mom showed me a statement that she had received in the mail from the Social Security Administration. It included an annual history of her earnings, which showed a big string of zero’s covering the years when she was in her late 20s and early 30s. “That’s you and your sister,” she explained, laughing. My mom is doing just fine these days, but anyone who spends years as a stay-at-home parent — or an unpaid caregiver of any kind — faces a financial penalty when it comes time to retire. Our Social Security system doesn’t recognize parenting as the socially and economically valuable job that it is. (David Leonhardt, 9/12)

JAMA: Gene Editing Using CRISPR: Why The Excitement?
The gene-editing technique known as CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) is only 5 years old, yet it has galvanized biomedical research and raised important ethical questions. What is it, how does it work, and how could it change medical practice?Biomedical scientists have been “editing” (or, at least, altering) genes for many years. Recombinant DNA technology allowed particular genes to be inserted into a plasmid (a circle of DNA) or into a virus: bacterial and yeast cells now could produce therapeutically useful human proteins, and viral vectors could perform gene therapy in humans. Gene targeting and RNA interference allowed the knockout of particular genes and the insertion of a healthy gene at the site of a defective gene. Zinc finger proteins and transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) precisely altered specific genes. Then came CRISPR. Compared with these previous technologies, CRISPR is easier, faster, less expensive, and more powerful. (Anthony L. Komaroff, 9/12)

New England Journal of Medicine: Emerging Use Of CRISPR Technology — Chasing The Elusive HIV Cure
A new form of gene therapy termed genetic editing or gene targeting has become possible owing to advances in genetic engineering technology. The intent of genetic editing is to alter the DNA code in cells with single base-pair specificity, and thus it can be considered to be an ultimate form of precision therapy. For the past two decades, genome editing has been a powerful tool for basic science research. (Carl H. June, 9/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Take Two Aspirin And Call Me By My Pronouns
The American College of Physicians says its mission is to promote the “quality and effectiveness of health care,” but it’s stepped out of its lane recently with sweeping statements on gun control. And that isn’t the only recent foray into politics by medical professionals. During my term as associate dean of curriculum at the University of Pennsylvania’s medical school, I was chastised by a faculty member for not including a program on climate change in the course of study. As the Journal reported last month, such programs are spreading across medical schools nationwide. (Stanley Goldfarb, 9/12)

The New York Times: What Lies In Suicide’s Wake
When I lost my husband in 2008, I learned that the shocking cause of his death wasn’t as rare as I had thought. More than 45,000 Americans died last year from suicide, in a staggering but seemingly silent epidemic. All this week mental health professionals are sounding the alarm about this crisis, drawing attention to the warning signs that someone you love may be at risk. I missed those signs until it was too late. Once he was gone, my life was unimaginably altered, both by his deadly decision and the stigma it left in its wake. (Peggy Wehmeyer, 9/12)

The New York Times: You Call It The Gig Economy. California Calls It ‘Feudalism.’
Labor leaders cheered in the balcony and lawmakers embraced on the floor of the California Senate on Tuesday as it passed a landmark measure that defines employees, a move that could increase wages and benefits for hundreds of thousands of struggling workers. But the bill is as much a starting point as an endgame: It will drive a national debate over how to reshape labor laws fashioned in the industrial era of the 1930s to fit a 21st-century service and knowledge economy. (Miriam Pawel, 9/12)

Houston Chronicle: There’s A Fair, Simpler Solution To Surprise Medical Bills
Surprise medical bills are a major problem nationally, and almost everyone agrees patients must be protected from receiving them. Surprise billing typically occurs in situations where patients receive care from a provider they did not specifically choose, such as when they are treated by an out-of-network ER doctor during an emergency. (Jamie Dudensing, 9/13)

Los Angeles Times: A Stem Cell Clinic Under Fire By The FDA And Ex-Patients Files For Bankruptcy
StemGenex, the operator of a La Jolla clinic that drew a warning from the Food and Drug Administration that its purported stem cell treatments were illegal, has filed for bankruptcy. The clinic also is facing a class-action lawsuit in San Diego federal court brought by several former customers who say they were misled by its advertising and marketing. The firm’s bankruptcy filing, made on Sept. 5, lists more than $1 million in liabilities and $155,788 in assets — including a Tesla Model X electric car on which it still owes $54,000. (Michael Hiltzik, 9/12)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Team Working On Cuyahoga County Jail Problems Is Impressive, But Has Much Work To Do
Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish has finally assembled an impressive team of professionals who are tackling the many problems at the county’s downtown jail, including crowding and issues with security, health care and food. ...All of this is good to hear, but much work remains to be done. Perhaps most troubling, the elimination of red-zoning remains on the to-do list 10 months after the U.S. Marshals Service identified the practice as an example of “inhumane” conditions at the jail. (9/12)

San Francisco Chronicle: SF Has To Replace — And Fill — Long-Term Mental Health Care Beds
When the San Francisco Department of Public Health announced it would transform a long-term mental health care facility at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital into one that offered only short-term care, it walked into a public firestorm. The public was right to be concerned. There’s a serious shortage of long-term mental health care beds in San Francisco. The results can be seen in the suffering on our streets. (9/12)