The Hill: Frustration Mounts Over ObamaCare Co-Op Failures
A new wave of failures among ObamaCare's nonprofit health insurers is disrupting coverage for thousands of enrollees and raising questions about whether regulators could have acted earlier to head off some of the problems. Four ObamaCare co-ops have failed due to financial problems since the beginning of the year, the latest trouble for the struggling program. (Sullivan, 8/1)

Bloomberg: Small Employers Pulling Back On Health Benefits Since ACA
Small businesses have been pumping the brakes on offering health benefits to their employees since 2009, according to new data from the Employee Benefit Research Institute. “The fact is that small employers were less likely to offer these benefits to begin with,” Paul Fronstin, EBRI's director of health research and education program and author of the report, told Bloomberg BNA July 28. “While the ACA was designed to try to get more small employers to” offer health insurance, “it hasn’t.” (Knebel, 7/29)

In other news, those on Michigan's exchange could see a 17.3 percent rate hike —

Detroit Free Press: Affordable Care Act Rates May Jump 17.3% In Michigan
Health plans sold on Michigan's insurance exchange could see an average 17.3% increase next year, and if recent history is any guide, state regulators could approve the insurance companies' rate hike requests without many — if any — changes. The rate increases would mean a financial hit for taxpayers in general and the 345,000 Michiganders who buy their health insurance on the Healthcare.gov exchange, created under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. (Reindl, 7/31)

Detroit Free Press: Quick Facts On Michigan's Obamacare Rate Hike
Many health insurers in Michigan are seeking double-digit rate hikes next year for their individual policies sold on the Affordable Care Act exchanges. The average rate increase would be 17.3% if state regulators approve the requests without changes. The new rates would boost the sticker price of the average "silver" plan to $477 a month for a 50-year-old male and nonsmoker. (Reindl, 7/30)

The Associated Press: Obama Pointing To Strides In Veterans’ Health Care
President Barack Obama is touting strides in reducing homelessness among military veterans as his administration reaches the halfway point in building a massive database on veterans’ health. Overall veteran homelessness has been cut nearly in half, by 47 percent, although that’s still short of Obama’s long-held goal of getting it to zero by 2015. Credit also goes to first lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden’s wife, Jill, for using their initiative on military families to challenge mayors and county officials nationwide to end veterans’ homelessness, the White House says. (Superville, 8/1)

In other news about veterans —

The Philadelphia Inquirer: N.J. Veterans Seek Medical Marijuana For PTSD
On June 16, the health committee voted 6-3 to release the bill to the floor. It is scheduled to be heard by the full Senate on Monday. The Assembly has already passed an identical bill with bipartisan support. Under the bill, a patient with PTSD symptoms would first have to try conventional medical therapy before qualifying for medical marijuana. Generally, that would involve psychotherapy or antidepressant or antianxiety medications. (Hefler, 7/31)

The New York Times: Immunotherapy Offers Hope To A Cancer Patient, But No Certainty
A cancer patient nicknamed the Steel Bull got his death sentence on a gloomy March Wednesday in 2015. He was 47, his given name Jason Greenstein, but he had earned the moniker from his oncologist for his stubborn will during more than four years of brutal chemotherapy and radiation treatment — all of which had failed. ... The oncologist, Dr. Mark Brunvand, said he excused himself to the hallway to gather his emotions. When he returned a moment later, he looked Mr. Greenstein in the eye. “You are going to die,” he remembers saying. “And because you’re my friend, it’s my job to make you as comfortable as possible.” ... What happened next qualified as well beyond “dramatic response.” A few days later, Mr. Greenstein agreed to try a last-ditch drug called nivolumab that was being tested for Hodgkin’s. It dripped into his veins, just like those body-racking chemotherapy treatments. But this time, there were no harsh side effects. And this time, the outcome was very different. (Richtel, 7/31)

The New York Times: Harnessing The Immune System To Fight Cancer
Steve Cara expected to sail through the routine medical tests required to increase his life insurance in October 2014. But the results were devastating. He had lung cancer, at age 53. It had begun to spread, and doctors told him it was inoperable. A few years ago, they would have suggested chemotherapy. Instead, his oncologist, Dr. Matthew D. Hellmann of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, recommended an experimental treatment: immunotherapy. Rather than attacking the cancer directly, as chemo does, immunotherapy tries to rally the patient’s own immune system to fight the disease. (Grady, 7/30)

The New York Times: What Is Immunotherapy? The Basics On These Cancer Treatments
Some of the most promising advances in cancer research in recent years involve treatments known as immunotherapy. These advances are spurring billions of dollars in investment by drug companies, and are leading to hundreds of clinical trials. Here are answers to some basic questions about this complex and rapidly evolving field. (Grady and Pollack, 7/30)

The New York Times: Zika Cases In Puerto Rico Are Skyrocketing
The Zika epidemic that has spread from Brazil to the rest of Latin America is now raging in Puerto Rico — and the island’s response is in chaos. The war against the Aedes aegypti mosquito carrying the virus is sputtering out in failure. Infections are skyrocketing: Many residents fail to protect themselves against bites because they believe the threat is exaggerated. ... There are only about 5,500 confirmed infections on the island, including of 672 pregnant women. But experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say they believe that is a radical undercount. (McNeil, 7/30)

The Washington Post: Zika Is Spreading Explosively In Puerto Rico, Report Says
CDC officials said the rapid rise could lead to hundreds of infants being born with microcephaly or other severe birth defects in the coming year. Noting the "widespread and accelerating increase" in cases, the report provides several indicators that show how quickly infections are spreading, especially among pregnant women, who face the greatest risk. As of July 7, Zika had been diagnosed in 5,582 people, including 672 pregnant women, the report said. (Sun, 7/29)

In other Zika news —

Politico: Senate Dems: Cancel Recess To Deal With Zika 'Emergency'
Senate Democrats urged Congress on Friday to cut short its seven-week recess to pass a federal Zika aid package following confirmation of the first four locally-transmitted cases of the mosquito-born disease in the continental U.S.. "Zika is public health emergency that requires immediate bipartisan action," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) tweeted. "Americans can't afford to wait until Congress' vacation is over." (Narea, 7/29)

Reuters: In Florida Zika Probe, Federal Scientists Kept At Arm's Length
The state of Florida, the first to report the arrival of Zika in the continental United States, has yet to invite a dedicated team of the federal government's disease hunters to assist with the investigation on the ground, health officials told Reuters. Coordination with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since the state reported possible local Zika transmission on July 19 has been conducted largely at a distance, they said. That is surprising to some infectious disease experts, who say a less robust response could lead to a higher number of infections. (Steenhuysen, 7/29)

The Fiscal Times: How To Protect Yourself From The Zika Virus
The virus, which can cause certain birth defects when pregnant women are infected, has no cure or vaccine. Previously, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautioned pregnant women against traveling to areas with Zika. But that is no longer enough. While pregnant women and their unborn children face the worst consequences of the virus, everyone should take steps to protect themselves because Zika’s side effects aren’t completely known or understood. Partners of pregnant women should also be vigilant since health experts have determined the virus can be transmitted sexually. (Herron, 7/29)

Los Angeles Times: Meningitis Outbreaks Among Gay Men Have Experts Puzzled
As cases of meningitis, a rare and potentially fatal disease, popped up in cities nationwide over the past several years, public health officials noticed a trend: many of those infected were gay men. There’s no known medical reason why meningitis, which is transmitted through saliva, would spread more among gay and bisexual men. Yet New York, Chicago and now Southern California have experienced outbreaks disproportionately affecting that population. “It is perplexing,” said Dr. Rachel Civen, a medical epidemiologist at L.A. County’s Department of Public Health. (Karlamangla, 7/30)

The Washington Post: Maybe You Don’t Need That Knee Surgery After All
People with a torn meniscus — the C-shape cartilage that acts as a cushion between bones in the knee — generally choose between arthroscopic surgery and physical therapy to ease the pain and regain use of their knee. Is one option better than the other? (Searing, 7/29)

Stat: Unproven Dietary Supplements Get A New Champion: Olympic Teams
At least 14 Olympic sports federations overseas and in the United States, including USA Gymnastics and USA Track & Field, have recently signed sponsorship deals with the makers of dietary supplements, putting their teams’ prestige and glamour behind powders and pills that promise to keep athletes in peak form — but that in many cases have not been validated by clinical trials. Several hundred Rio-bound athletes from around the world have also endorsed shakes, drinks, and vitamins that claim, with little scientific backing, to provide a nutritional or energy boost, or to ward off common problems like muscle cramps. (Robbins, 8/10)

The Baltimore Sun: Johns Hopkins Study Links Prisons And Jails To HIV, Hepatitis And TB Epidemics
The cycling of inmates in and out of prisons and jails around the world contributes significantly to the global epidemics of HIV, viral hepatitis and tuberculosis, according to new research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Inmates typically suffer from higher rates of those diseases, which spread more readily in crowded correctional facilities and then get passed to others on the outside when the inmates are released, the study found. (Wells, 7/29)

Minnesota Public Radio: New Treatments For Peanut Allergies On The Horizon
There are about 3 million people in the United States living with peanut or tree nut allergies — and the prevalence of peanut allergies are on the rise, increasing threefold between 1997 and 2010. In 2000, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that kids at high risk of peanut allergies (those with a family history, eczema or other food allergies) should not be exposed to peanut protein until they were three years old. However, this recommendation did not stem the tide and was given up in 2008. (Bloom, 7/29)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Hoping To Catch Missed Disorders At New Clinic For Plain People In Central Pa.
People with propionic acidemia lack an enzyme needed to fully digest protein, potentially leading to serious health issues and even death... "It was a disorder we thought was pretty benign, pretty easy to treat," said D. Holmes Morton, a pediatrician and researcher known around the world for his work with the Amish and Mennonite communities. These groups' insular ways make them especially vulnerable to this and other inherited disorders. ... Morton and his wife, Caroline, decided to open a clinic in Lancaster County to diagnose and treat Amish and Mennonite children with inherited disorders. He has discovered about 180 disorders in these groups. (Gilman, 7/30)

Politico: Kaine Faces Abortion Blowback
Sen. Tim Kaine’s disagreement with Hillary Clinton on a key abortion restriction is causing blowback from abortion rights groups. On Friday morning, the vice presidential nominee said that he still supports the Hyde Amendment, which bars taxpayer funding for abortions. But Clinton and many abortion rights supporters in the Democratic Party want to repeal the Hyde Amendment, leaving the running mates at odds on the subject just hours after they sealed their status on the Democratic ticket together. (Everett and Haberkorn, 7/29)

Bloomberg: Abortion-Rights Groups Blast Kaine Over Funding Measure View
Abortion-rights groups, which have been strong backers of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, criticized her running mate Friday for reaffirming his support for a law that restricts federal funding for the procedure. Virginia Senator Tim Kaine told CNN Friday he still supports the Hyde Amendment, a 1976 provision that prohibits federal funding for abortions, even though Clinton’s campaign said earlier this week that Kaine agreed privately to help Clinton try to repeal it. (Saacks, 7/29)

In other news, Ohio abortion clinic regulations are deemed unconstitutional and, for now, Florida's governor won't appeal a ruling putting a temporary hold on new state clinic restrictions —

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Ohio Abortion Restrictions Unconstitutional, State Appellate Court Rules
A state appellate court on Friday agreed with a Lucas County judge that regulations governing an abortion clinic, and the way Ohio enacted them, are unconstitutional. The 3-0 ruling in favor of the Capital Care Network means that the last open abortion clinic in Toledo can remain open. A spokesman for the Ohio attorney general's office said no decision has been made yet on whether to appeal the decision to the Ohio Supreme Court. (Higgs, 7/29)

Tampa Bay Times: New Abortion Law To Stay Blocked For Now
Florida's new law that places restrictions on abortion clinics will remain blocked for now. Gov. Rick Scott is not going to appeal a ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle, who in June put a temporary hold on portions of the law while a lawsuit seeking to overturn it makes its way through federal court. (7/31)

NPR: How Your Health Data Lead A Not-So-Secret Life Online
There are apps that can help people with diabetes keep track of their blood sugar and apps that can attach to a blood pressure cuff and store blood pressure information. I use an app called ZocDoc to schedule and manage doctor's appointments. Every time I see a therapist or a primary care doctor or dentist, the data get stored in my personal account. But we leave behind other trails of health data, too, from apps and activities that are sometimes only tangentially health related. When I walk down the street, an app on my phone logs steps as it bounces against my thigh. When I swipe a loyalty card at the pharmacy, the over-the-counter medications that I buy become bits of data attached to my name. (Chen, 7/30)

Bloomberg BNA: Fitness Trackers, Wellness Apps Won't Be Regulated By FDA
The FDA won't regulate fitness trackers and certain mobile health apps, the agency confirmed in a final guidance document released July 28. The Food and Drug Administration won't enforce its rules over products that are intended only for general wellness, such as tools for weight management, physical fitness or mental acuity, the agency said. Wellness products can be standalone products or mobile applications, and can also be sold as games, the agency said. (Ruoff, 7/29)

Bloomberg BNA: Hospital Finds HIPAA Compliance Issues Can Lead To Trouble
Privacy is a major issue these days, nowhere more so than in health care. Medical records contain exceedingly personal patient details, and can fetch top dollar on the black market. So it was no surprise to see the recent $2.7 million settlement the University of Mississippi Medical Center reached to resolve alleged HIPAA violations. The settlement was triggered by the theft of a password-protected laptop in 2013, and when the Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights began investigating, it discovered that the medical center allowed employees to access the main network via a generic username and password. (Swann, 7/29)

In other health technology news —

Sacramento Bee: Hospitals Say No To ‘Pokémon Go’
Any Pokémon-loving child stuck in a hospital bed would probably be ecstatic to see an Eevee or a Squirtle, two especially cute characters on the popular animated game “Pokémon Go,” wandering around the hallways or even their own rooms. Trouble is, the elusive creatures aren’t always hanging around pediatric wards, and some kids are too sick to get out and “catch ’em all.” That’s why well-intentioned strangers have been placing “lures,” or virtual Pokémon-attracting devices, in Sacramento hospitals, causing staff to worry over privacy and security threats – and in some cases to even ban the game. (Caiola, 7/30)

USA Today/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UW-Madison And Collaborators Launch Website On Patients’ Experiences
Marty remembers looking outside the window of his room, seeing cars go by and thinking to himself, “How do you get in your car and just go, you know, just go about your day?” Leanna talks of “going through my day like a cement block.” Sierra Rose recalls how she would stop caring about her job, thinking, “Oh, what is the point of it? I’m just a low-class American anyway.” They are among 38 people from throughout the country, all of them 18 to 29 years old, who were interviewed about different aspects of depression for a new website designed to let people better understand the diseases and conditions they’re facing. (Boulton, 7/30)

Georgia Health News: Challenges To Big Medicaid Contract Rejected Again
After months of contract limbo, the head of a state agency has denied health insurers’ appeals of the selection of vendors in a multibillion-dollar Medicaid and PeachCare procurement. In a letter dated Friday, obtained by Georgia Health News, the commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services said he concurred with a March decision by an agency official to deny the appeals. (Miller, 7/30)

Pioneer Press: Lawsuit Against Minnesota DHS Can Go Forward
A federal judge ruled Friday that a class action lawsuit filed by people with disabilities can proceed against the Minnesota Department of Human Services. The four named plaintiffs allege they represent some 5,000 disabled Minnesotans who have been deprived of over $1 billion in services from a Medicaid program managed by DHS. (Ashenmacher, 7/30)

Alabama Public Radio: Alabama To Cut Medicaid Payments
Alabama doctors will be paid less for handling certain cases for the state’s Medicaid agency. As of August 1st, Alabama will no longer compensate doctors for what are known as “enhanced payments” for specific primary care visits and services. The higher than usual fees were paid for by the Federal Affordable Care Act in 2013 and 2014. Alabama chose to continue the higher payments in 2015, but elected to cancel them. (Duggins, 7/31)

Kaiser Health News: Long-Term Care Is An Immediate Problem — For The Government
Experts estimate that about half of all people turning 65 today will need daily help as they age, either at home or in nursing homes. Such long-term care will cost an average of about $91,000 for men and double that for women, because they live longer. In California and across the U.S., many residents can’t afford that, so they turn to Medicaid, the nation’s public health insurance program for low-income people. As a result, Medicaid has become the safety net for millions of people who find themselves unable to pay for nursing home beds or in-home caregivers. This includes middle-class Americans, who often must spend down or transfer their assets to qualify for Medicaid coverage. (Gorman and Feder Ostrov, 8/1)

Arizona Republic: Lawsuit Alleges Arizona Is Denying Medicaid Benefits To Eligible Immigrants
Thousands of low-income immigrants in Arizona who are eligible for full medical benefits under the state's Medicaid program are being improperly assigned to less robust coverage by a state agency, a federal lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit filed this month in U.S. District Court in Phoenix contends that lower-income refugees, asylum seekers and other immigrants who qualify for Medicaid coverage are being shifted to emergency-only medical coverage even though they qualify for full benefits that pay for outpatient care and prescription drugs. (Alltucker, 7/29)

Allentown (Pa.) Morning Call: New State Law Could Save Gracedale, Cedarbrook Millions In Medicaid Costs
The financial health of Cedarbrook and Gracedale may be on the path to recovery after state leaders agreed to phase out a debilitating law that's handicapped the county-run nursing homes and cost local taxpayers millions. For about a decade, Pennsylvania law has required county-owned nursing homes to pick up 10 percent of their patients' Medicaid costs. Over that time, public nursing homes across the state struggled to keep up with costs, and many have been privatized. (Shortell, 7/31)

NPR: Campaign For Universal Health Care In Colorado Seeks Bernie Sanders' Help
Backers of ColoradoCare — the state ballot initiative that would establish universal health care in Colorado — think they have the perfect job for former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders. With the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia behind him, Sanders "comes to Colorado and campaigns for single-payer — and we win," says T.R. Reid, one of the architects of ColoradoCare. The initiative aims to provide every resident of Colorado with affordable health insurance. Sanders made universal coverage one of the cornerstones of his presidential bid. (Daley, 7/29)

The Denver Post: Most States Require Criminal Background Checks On Doctors. Colorado Doesn’t.
Colorado relies on self disclosure when making sure doctors do not have past criminal convictions that would flag them as potentially unfit to provide care. It’s a level of trust that puts Colorado increasingly out of step with other states. As of 2014, 45 state medical boards required criminal background checks to license a doctor. (Osher, 7/31)

Boston Globe: 2 Plead Guilty In Connection With Compounding Pharmacy Case
The majority owner of the New England Compounding Center, the Framingham pharmacy blamed for a 2012 meningitis outbreak that left more than 60 people dead and hundreds ill, pleaded guilty Friday to trying to conceal financial transactions from federal regulators. Carla Conigliaro, who owned 55 percent of the company, and her husband, Douglas Conigliaro, acknowledged they made bank withdrawals in a manner that allowed them to evade federal reporting requirements. Prosecutors are recommending they serve no time in prison. (Valencia, 7/29)

Houston Chronicle: Texas Penalizes Blue Bell For Listeria Outbreak
Texas health officials Friday entered into a settlement with Blue Bell Creameries, penalizing the company $175,000 for last year's listeria outbreak. The amount is remarkable in the food safety world, where fines are rare, though it's barely a scratch on the bottom line for a company that, before the outbreak, was No. 1 in U.S. brand sales. Punishment from Blue Bell's home state is a significant comeuppance for the South's cherished, 109-year-old summer treat. (Collette, 7/29)

Star Tribune: HealthPartners Moves Forward With Iowa Joint Venture
HealthPartners and a hospital system in Iowa have jointly invested $7 million to launch a new health insurer that will compete for Medicare business next year in portions of Iowa and Illinois. In November, Bloomington-based HealthPartners announced it would jointly create the new company with Des Moines-based UnityPoint Health to compete in the growing market for Medicare Advantage health plans. (Snowbeck, 7/31)

New Hampshire Union Leader: Freestanding ER To Open In Seabrook
The town will soon have its own freestanding emergency room, in partnership with Portsmouth Regional Hospital. The hospital’s CEO, Dean Carucci, said the hospital decided to build an ER on Lafayette Road because a number of its patients come from the Seabrook region. Traffic can be heavy, especially in the summer, and the new location is right off Interstate 95. (Haas, 7/31)

The Columbus Dispatch: Fairfield County Hospice To Offer Space For Grieving
The Fairfield County hospice organization that provides care to dying patients here and in surrounding counties is building a “community grief center” to help people endure losing a loved one and other trauma. The nearly $1 million building is expected to open in the fall on the grounds of Pickering House, the Lancaster hospice operated by FairHoPe Hospice & Palliative Care Inc. The nonprofit organization provides end-of-life services to patients and their families both at Pickering House and in their homes in Fairfield, Hocking and Perry counties and elsewhere in southeastern Ohio. (Lane, 8/1)

Minnesota Public Radio: Health Dept. Reports Significant Enrollment In Medical Cannabis Program For Intractable Pain
Nearly 500 pain patients joined Minnesota's medical cannabis program in July, the first month they could do so after intractable pain was added to the state's list of qualifying medical conditions last year. It's the highest number of patients certified by the state in a single month. The Minnesota Department of Health says it has increased staffing at its call center to handle the hundreds of additional calls it has been receiving about the program. (Bernson, 7/29)

California Healthline: University Of California OKs $8.5 Million Payout In Spine Surgery Cases
The University of California regents have agreed to pay nearly $8.5 million to settle two lawsuits alleging a well-known UCLA spine surgeon failed to disclose his conflicts of interest with a leading device maker before using the company’s products in harmful surgeries. The settlements were approved last month in separate Los Angeles County Superior Court cases that focused on the financial ties among the surgeon, Dr. Jeffrey Wang, UCLA and Medtronic, the world’s largest medical-device company. (Terhune, 7/29)

Sacramento Bee: Promises Kept: Girl Scout Troop’s Longevity Honors Leader Lost To Cancer
Modesto Girl Scout Troop 3380 always was, and always will be, “Kristen’s troop” – even now that its 12 members have graduated high school and are going their own ways into adulthood. ...Kristen Machado formed the troop in 2003 and led it for nine years. Seven of those, she also battled sarcoma cancer – a fight she lost Oct. 29, 2012, less than two weeks before her 40th birthday. Months before her death, as her Scouts were nearing the start of high school and some wanted to start work on the Girl Scout Silver Award, Machado’s energy was low and she turned to her friend Serpa for help. (Farrow, 7/30)

Lexington Herald Leader: Don’t Mess With Ky.’s Health-Care Success
I worked hard as the taxpayer watchdog to root out corruption and inefficiency, to make Kentucky a place where we do big, important things while protecting every tax dollar. I believe that such an approach represents a better way for Kentucky. But now Gov. Matt Bevin wants to add new layers of bureaucracy and mandates to our health system. (Adam Edelen, 7/29)

Lexington Herald Leader: Improving Drug Treatment Key Part Of Medicaid Reform
Addiction is devastating Eastern and Central Kentucky. Our region has suffered from one of the worst prescription-drug abuse problems in the nation. Now, we see overdoses increasing as heroin and fentanyl flood into the mountains. This is personal to me. This December, I will be clean and sober for 10 years. (Tim Robinson, 7/29)

Dallas Morning News: Here's Why Texas Must Expand Medicaid
Texas has never come to grips with the realities of providing health care to its poorest residents. It needs to now. At the end of August, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services plan to pull the plug on a stop-gap solution that Parkland Memorial Hospital and other county hospital districts in Texas have used to obtain federal funding matches to serve Texas' poor...If those dollars go away, Parkland could lose $10 million annually, and if the feds apply the same approach to other related Medicaid programs, the financial impact could approach $24 million, Dr. Frederick Cerise, Parkland's president and chief executive officer, told us. (7/29)

The Tennessean: Who Pays For Insure Tennessee? The Costs And Payers
We’ve all heard that “Insure Tennessee will return a billion dollars a year to Tennessee’s economy.” OK, great, but return a billion from where exactly? The answer starts with a cut in federal spending. Tennessee receives federal Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments of up to $80 million annually. Under the new federal health care system, DSH payments are drying up. We may be able to delay the evaporation, but rural hospitals are already starting to close. (Chris Moth, 7/29)

The Tennessean: 3 Ways Tennessee Can Improve Health Care
While marketplace consumers have access to subsidies — and 85 percent of Tennessee enrollees are eligible for them — many still struggle to pay for their premiums, let alone their out-of-pocket costs. Obama suggested providing more financial assistance, but regardless of how it’s done, Tennesseans would certainly benefit from improved affordability. (Alex Tolbert, 7/31)

The Washington Post: How Foreclosed Homes And Used Tires Can Threaten Public Health In The Age Of Zika
With the Zika virus looming just a couple of years after Ebola spread across West Africa, what’s long been obvious to experts should now be clear to the rest of us: We live in an era of emerging pathogens. Between 1940 and 2004, more than 300 infectious diseases either emerged or spread into new places and populations. On Friday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott called a news conference to alert the public to four cases of Zika in South Florida transmitted locally by mosquitoes. Though we imagine infectious microbes propagating according to their own logic, many are resurging thanks to the unintended consequences of human activity that would seem to have little to do with the biology of microbes, from economics and housing policy to architecture. (Sonia Shah, 7/29)

The New York Times: Local Zika Cases In Florida Should Wake Up Congress
The Zika-carrying mosquitoes are here. Public health officials said on Friday that four people in the Miami area have become infected with the Zika virus. This is likely to be the first local transmission of the virus by mosquitoes in the continental United States. Perhaps this news will shock Congress and state and local governments into taking more forceful steps to fight this disease. The Zika virus can cause babies to be born with small heads, a condition known as microcephaly; it has also been linked to neurological disorders in adults. Before the Florida cases, the virus had been found only in people who had traveled to Puerto Rico or Latin American countries that had an active epidemic, or who had sex with a partner who had been in those regions. (7/29)

Miami Herald: Congress Must Act — Zika Has Arrived
Bad news — they’re here. The Zika-carrying mosquitoes — despite all the spraying — have arrived in Miami-Dade County, responsible for at least four local victims contracting the disease. They are the first to be infected by mosquitoes in the continental United States. What do we do now? (7/31)

The Hill: It’s Time For Lawmakers And The Country To Take Zika Seriously
We can set out to track confirmed cases of infection, use sophisticated models to predict the spread of a virus, and even have some degree of advance warning. However, it happens too often that the threat is underestimated. Each time that happens, rather than learning from it and changing things the next time around, patients ultimately end up paying the price of potentially preventable illnesses. Unfortunately, that is exactly the situation in which we find ourselves with the new threat of Zika. (Neil Silverman, 7/31)

Louisville Courier-Journal: Act Now To Prevent HIV Outbreaks
A Wall Street Journal map based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is telling. Large swaths of Kentucky – 54 of 120 counties – are red. Southern Indiana also is scarred by several red counties. The red on the map identifies the counties that the CDC says are at high risk of outbreaks of HIV and hepatitis C among injection drug users. The CDC identified at-risk counties by analyzing data such as unemployment rates, overdose deaths and sales of prescription painkillers. (7/29)

Louisville Courier-Journal: Increasing Awareness Of HIV Prevention Drug
It’s been called a game changer, this little blue pill that when taken daily can decrease the risk of contracting HIV by as much as 92 percent. But why aren’t more people in Louisville aware of it? Groups around Kentuckiana are answering just that as they strive to bring PrEP to the forefront of HIV prevention efforts while trying to save lives in the process. (Amanda Beam, 7/31)

Chicago Tribune: Prediabetes: The Epidemic That Never Was, And Shouldn't Be
This summer, your TV will begin alerting you to the dangers of high blood sugar. Your phone will buzz with automatic messages assessing the glycemic index of your breakfast bagel. And your Facebook feed will remind you to take the stairs, not the elevator. This is all the result of a recent initiative intended to increase awareness of a condition known as prediabetes. (Isabel Beshar and Hank Cambell, 7/29)

Chicago Tribune: Remember The Ice Bucket Challenge? ALS Researchers Do — With Gratitude
They don't call summer the silly season for nothing. This often carefree time of year is prone to odd crazes that somehow don't seem to pop up in the depths of winter. Right now it's Pokemon Go. A few summers ago, it was Carly Rae Jepsen's pop hit, "Call Me Maybe," which inspired lip-synched videos by everyone from the Miami Dolphins cheerleaders to the Harvard baseball team. (7/29)

The Washington Post: Feds Feel The Burn Over Huge Long-Term-Care Price Hike
Federal employees and retirees are feeling the burn. They’re hot over the huge jump in their long-term care premiums that will take effect Nov. 1. The increases will average 83 percent — that’s $111 per month — and rise as much as 126 percent. John Hancock Life and Health Insurance Co. provides the coverage. Their anger mirrors that felt about a 2009 price hike and has drawn the attention of Congress. Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) has called for a House hearing on the increase. (Joe Davidson, 7/29)

The Wall Street Journal: How I Was Wrong About ObamaCare
I was wrong. Wrong about an important part of ObamaCare. When I joined the Obama White House to advise the president on health-care policy as the only physician on the National Economic Council, I was deeply committed to developing the best health-care reform we could to expand coverage, improve quality and bring down costs. We worked for months to pass this landmark legislation, and I still count celebrating the passage of the Affordable Care Act with the president one balmy spring night in 2010 as one of my greatest Washington memories. (Bob Kocher, 7/31)

The Washington Post: A Health-Care Model For The Nation
The year 1980 was a landmark for Maryland in many ways. The Orioles won 100 games for the second consecutive year under the leadership of manager Earl Weaver. And Maryland’s health-care policy leaders, seeking to improve hospital funding, finalized a landmark deal with Medicare that became today’s hospital waiver. Like the 1980 Orioles’ home run leader Eddie Murray, these policy leaders swung for the fences by guaranteeing the federal government that Maryland’s rate of growth for Medicare-paid care in hospitals would rise more slowly than the national average . For most of the 36 years since, Maryland kept that bargain. (Joseph DeMattos Jr., 7/29)

StarTribune: Changing Health Care Landscape Favors UnitedHealth Group
The Medicare Advantage market is more than the focus of this suit; it’s also a market niche that seems to nicely illustrate just what an industry leader UnitedHealth is. What’s at stake here is the government’s contention that Humana is already big enough without being combined with Aetna’s far smaller business. (Lee Schafer, 7/31)

Modern Healthcare: Why Democrats Didn't Talk More About Healthcare At Their Convention
Healthcare policy got remarkably little discussion during the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, despite repeated nods to the issue from Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Bernie Sanders. Here's why. No one wanted to talk about the costs, regulations, and other tough tradeoffs that would be involved in further expanding insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act, improving affordability for consumers, curbing medical spending growth, and reducing prescription drug costs. (Harris Meyer, 7/29)

The Texas Tribune: With Experimental Drugs, "Right To Try" Can Go Wrong
Access to experimental drugs by terminally ill patients is a highly contested topic. Since 2014, several state legislatures, including in Texas, have passed "right to try" laws, which grant patient access to experimental drugs. However, the laws remove patient protection mandated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Without the FDA, patients may not accurately consider or have access to the data on the risk of taking the drug, may be charged an unnecessary amount for the drug or intervention and have no one to safeguard informed decisions. (Michelle Rubin & Kirstin R.W. Matthews, 7/29)

Lincoln Journal Star: Health Care Evolves With New Clinics
The two new walk-in health clinics planned for Lincoln by partners CHI Health and Hy-Vee are a welcome addition to the array of local health options as health care continues to evolve. Walk-in clinics are becoming more popular across the country. Hy-Vee, which considers itself an industry leader in the trend, already has opened 43 retail health clinics in its eight-state region. (8/1)

Los Angeles Times: It's Unacceptable To Delay The Exide Cleanup When Public Health Is At Stake
Earlier this month, state officials revealed that they had found nearly 250 spots on 203 properties near the former Exide battery recycling plant where levels of brain-damaging lead were more than 10 times higher than California’s health standard and at concentrations that were high enough to be considered “hazardous waste” under the law. Another 2,200 spots had concentrations that would make it unsafe for children to play in the yard. That’s scary news. Yet the residents living in these dangerous conditions amid high levels of a potent neurotoxin will have to wait a year or more to have their property cleaned up. That’s one more year that parents will have to keep their kids away from the soil because even small amounts of lead can cause permanent brain damage in young children, leading to lifelong learning disabilities and behavioral problems. (7/30)

The Washington Post: I’ve Taught My Kids To Obey The Police. But My Son With Autism Isn’t Wired For That.
It can be frustrating being responsible for someone whom most of the world doesn’t understand, but it has its rewards, beyond his infectious smile. Communicating is like passing secret, coded messages with your best friend in childhood. I know that he’s referring to himself when he says “you.” I know that when he has an outburst, his screams aren’t from pain but from being misunderstood. The Joseph I know isn’t the one the world sees, and I’m okay with that. We call him Jojo at home, because we understand him as a different person than everyone else does. Every now and then, though, I get a painful reminder that the secret language we speak could lead to dangerous situations, especially when it comes to the police. The video of behavioral technician Charles Kinsey, who was shot by North Miami police while trying to help his patient, Arnaldo Eliud Rios Soto, a 26-year-old on the autism spectrum, was the most recent. (Matt Ramos, 7/29)

The New York Times: Could Women Be Trusted With Their Own Pregnancy Tests?
In 1967, Margaret Crane was a 26-year-old product designer at Organon Pharmaceuticals, sketching face-cream bottles and ointment jars. One day, as she walked through a lab at the company’s headquarters in New Jersey, she spotted rows of test tubes on shiny racks that twinkled under the industrial lights. “What are these?” she asked one of the scientists. Pregnancy tests, he said. A doctor would collect urine from his patient and send it to the company’s lab for analysis. The results would be sent back to the doctor, who would then inform the patient. But Ms. Crane immediately saw another possibility: Why not cut out the doctor entirely? (Kennedy, 7/29)