The Associated Press: Trump Administration Agrees To Delay Health Care Rule
The Trump administration has agreed to postpone implementing a rule allowing medical workers to decline performing abortions or other treatments on moral or religious grounds while the so-called "conscience" rule is challenged in a California court. The rule was supposed to take effect on July 22 but the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its opponents in a California lawsuit mutually agreed Friday to delay a final ruling on the matter until Nov. 22. (6/29)

CNN: 'Conscience Objection' Rule For Medical Care Delayed After Legal Challenge
The rule was set to take effect on July 22, but after Dennis J. Herrera, the city attorney of San Francisco, filed a lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction to halt the rule from taking effect, the US Department of Health and Human Services agreed to delay it until at least November 22, the news release says. "Faced with the law, the Trump administration blinked," Herrera said. "We have won this battle -- and it was an important one -- but the fight is not over. The Trump administration is trying to systematically limit access to critical medical care for women, the LGBTQ community, and other vulnerable patients. We're not going to let that happen. We will continue to stand up for what's right. Hospitals are no place to put personal beliefs above patient care. Refusing treatment to vulnerable patients should not leave anyone with a clear conscience." (Shuttleworth and Boyette, 6/28)

San Francisco Chronicle: Trump Administration To Delay Health Care “Conscience” Rule After SF Challenge
San Francisco stands to lose up to $1 billion in federal funding if it does not comply with the rule, according to Herrera’s office. (Ho, 6/29)

The Hill: Trump Administration Delays Implementation Of 'Conscience Protection' Rule 
A coalition of Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit against the administration in May saying the policy, which would allow health care providers to refuse to provide services on the basis of their religious beliefs, is unconstitutional. (Axelrod, 6/29)

And NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio rejects Title X funding for the city's public hospital system —

Politico Pro: De Blasio Rejects $1.3 Million In family Planning Funding Tied To Abortion Dispute
Fresh from the presidential campaign trail, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Friday the city's public hospital system would reject Title X funding from the Trump administration that comes with a prohibition on family planning programs referring patients to abortion services. ... The announcement represents roughly $1.3 million out of NYC Health + Hospitals $1 billion budget. It comes a week after hospital staff were instructed to ignore the "gag rule." (Eisenberg, 6/28)

Bloomberg: NYC Rejects Federal Funds Over Abortion Doctors' `Gag Rule' 
Twenty-two New York City-based health-care providers receive Title X funding to operate more than 50 centers throughout the city that receive a total of $6.8 million under the program. That includes 10 clinics in the city’s public hospital system that get $1.3 million. The money helped provide care between 2012 and 2015 to 150,000 people, who received a full range of gynecological services, including breast- and cervical-cancer screenings, the mayor’s office said in a news release. (Goldman, 6/28)

The Associated Press: Lawsuit Seeks To Block Georgia Law That Bans Most Abortions
A federal lawsuit filed Friday in Atlanta is the latest effort by abortion providers and advocacy groups to challenge a wave of restrictive abortion laws passed in conservative-controlled state legislatures. Lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights filed the lawsuit challenging a new Georgia law that effectively bans abortions about six weeks into a pregnancy. (Brumback, 6/28)

Reuters: U.S. Rights Groups, Doctors Sue To Stop Georgia 'Heartbeat' Abortion Ban
The law, which was passed by Republicans, will make abortion possible only in the first few weeks of a pregnancy absent a medical emergency, in many cases before a woman even realizes she is pregnant. It is due to take effect in January. "This law is an affront to the dignity and health of Georgians," the lawsuit, which was filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of the plaintiffs, said. It said that Georgians, particularly black Georgians, already die from pregnancy-related causes at a higher rate than in most other U.S. states. (6/28)

NPR: Georgia Abortion Providers File Federal Suit Against State's 'Fetal Heartbeat' Law
"This law is an affront to the dignity and health of Georgians," reads the suit, which calls the abortion restriction an attack that is particularly aimed at low-income residents, people of color and those who live in rural areas. Those groups, it states, "are least able to access medical care and least able to overcome the cruelties of this law." (Chappell, 6/28)

Atlanta Journal Constitution: ACLU Files Lawsuit Against New Georgia Abortion Law
State Attorney General Chris Carr's office said it is reviewing the complaint and declined to comment on pending litigation. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones. Any ruling in the case would almost certainly be appealed and the case could take years to work its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. (Prabhu, 6/28)

Los Angeles Times: Reproductive Rights Advocates File Lawsuit Against Georgia’s Abortion Ban
Georgia already faces a critical shortage of reproductive health care providers, the complaint notes. Nearly half of its 159 counties have no practicing obstetrician-gynecologists and the state has the nation’s highest maternal mortality rate. “Rather than working to end those preventable deaths, and rather than honoring Georgians’ reproductive health care decisions,” the complaint states, “the Legislature has instead chosen to criminalize abortion from the earliest stages of pregnancy.” (Jarvie, 6/28)

NBC News: Georgia's Law That Blocks Most Abortions Is Unconstitutional, Lawsuit Says
Monica Simpson, executive director of SisterSong, a reproductive justice organization based in Georgia that is a plaintiff, said her group is "bringing this lawsuit to protect maternal health and reproductive rights so that every person — especially persons of color — can thrive in their families and communities as well as maintain their human right to make their own decisions about their reproductive lives." (Chuck, 6/28)

CNN: Abortion Rights Advocates Sue Georgia Over Six-Week Abortion Ban
The move comes as several of the restrictive abortion laws coming out of red state legislatures are being taken to court, with the ACLU and Planned Parenthood challenging Arkansas' 18-week abortion ban on Thursday. Many conservative lawmakers anticipated the suits, having advanced the measures in hopes of eventually overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide. (Kelly, 6/28)

The Hill: Georgia Sued Over 'Heartbeat' Abortion Ban
Federal judges this year blocked a similar ban in Mississippi, while a challenge to a six-week ban passed in Kentucky is pending. Opponents of six-week abortion bans say most women do not know they are pregnant at that point. (Frazin and Hellmann, 6/28)

Georgia Public Broadcasting: Read The Lawsuit Challenging Georgia's 'Heartbeat' Abortion Bill
The 36-page suit, Sistersong v. Kemp, argues that the Living Infants Fairness and Equality Act "criminalizes pre-viability abortions in direct conflict with Roe v. Wade," which establishes a woman's right to an abortion until about 24 weeks into pregnancy.  (Fowler, 6/28)

In other news on abortion —

The Associated Press: US Judge Blocks Indiana 2nd Trimester Abortion Procedure Ban
A federal judge blocked an Indiana law that would ban a second-trimester abortion procedure on Friday, just days before the law was set to come into force. The order putting the Indiana law on hold was released hours after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to revive a similar law in Alabama that sought to ban dilation and evacuation abortions. (Davies, 6/28)

HuffPost: Inside The Dangerous Rise Of ‘Abortion Reversal’ Bills
The rise of so-called “abortion reversal” bills has alarmed leading medical groups that say such legislation forces physicians to give misleading, unscientific and potentially dangerous advice to women, undermining the trusted doctor-patient relationship. So far this year, five states ― North Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Arkansas — have passed legislation mandating that physicians counsel women that a medication abortion, a safe and common method for ending a pregnancy before 10 weeks, can be reversed. Similar laws are already on the books in South Dakota, Utah and Idaho. Arkansas expanded an existing law. (Jeltsen, 6/29)

South Bend Tribune: 'Abortion Pill Reversal' Sign Near South Bend Clinic Fuels Controversy
Two doors down from a recently opened abortion clinic on Lincoln Way West is a sign put up by a Catholic man in his front yard. It displays an “abortion pill reversal” hotline number and says, “It may not be too late.” Rick Fodrocy, a parishioner at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, put up the sign to catch the eye of clients at Whole Woman’s Health Alliance, which offers medication-induced abortions to women up to 10 weeks pregnant. (Booker, 6/30)

Newsweek: Late-Term Abortion, Fetal Viability, Heartbeat Bill: What People Get Wrong About Abortion
The abortion debate has expanded beyond state politics and into the 2020 presidential campaign. Nearly every Democrat vying for the nomination has spoken out against abortion bans. But politicians, activists and pundits on both sides have been misusing or misconstruing key terminology. Here's everything you need to know about some of the most common terminology used in the abortion discussion. (Hutzler, 6/25)

Reuters: Supreme Court Declines Alabama Bid To Revive Abortion Restriction
The law in question is different than an even more strict Alabama measure signed by Republican Governor Kay Ivey in May. The new law, also facing a legal challenge, would ban nearly all abortions in the state, even in cases of rape and incest. Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas wrote an opinion agreeing with the court's decision not to hear the issue now but making clear that he would vote to uphold such laws. (Hurley, 6/28)

CNN: Clarence Thomas Urges Supreme Court To Revisit Abortion Precedents
Thomas agreed that the court should not have taken up this case because a lower court had held that other abortions methods available in Alabama were "too risky." He reiterated, however, that the Supreme Court should revisit its precedent on abortion. He described the high court's abortion jurisprudence as having "spiraled out of control" and urged the justices to take up the issue soon. "Although this case does not present the opportunity to address our demonstrably erroneous 'undue burden 'standard, we cannot continue blinking the reality of what this court has wrought," Thomas added. (Kelly and de Vogue, 6/28)

The Hill: Supreme Court Rejects Bid To Restore Alabama Abortion Law
Friday's move by the Supreme Court means the justices will once again duck on having to rule on abortion and potentially on the 1973 decision that established a woman's right to the procedure. The Supreme Court earlier this year also declined to hear arguments on an Indiana abortion law, instead choosing to uphold part of the statute that involved fetal remains while sending the rest of it back down to a lower court. They declined to hear a challenge to a provision of the law that blocked abortions on the basis of sex, race or disability. (Thomsen, 6/28)

Bloomberg: Supreme Court Rejects Alabama Bid To Bar Common Abortion Method
Abortion opponents have been trying to take advantage of the high court’s beefed-up conservative majority now that Justice Brett Kavanaugh has succeeded the retired Justice Anthony Kennedy. Opponents of the Alabama law say it would have eliminated access to abortion in the state after the 15th week of pregnancy. Nine other states have similar laws, though courts have blocked those everywhere except West Virginia and Mississippi. (Stohr, 6/28)

CQ: Supreme Court Declines To Take Up Abortion Case
Staci Fox, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeast, said the next step is blocking an Alabama law that will ban abortion without exceptions for rape and incest. “This is a major victory for Alabamians and people everywhere. The courts have for now protected our constitutional right to access abortion. But the fight is far from over. We are laser focused on Alabama's latest attack on reproductive health and rights,” said Fox. (Raman, 6/28)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Supreme Court Ruling On Alabama Abortion Ban Doesn’t Apply To Ohio, Though Could Affect Pending Lawsuit
U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to not take up a case that challenged Alabama’s law banning a common second-trimester abortion method has little immediate bearing on a similar law in Ohio. However, people involved in the abortion legal fight say it could as Ohio continues to defend its law, and anti-abortion activists try to push a conservative-leaning high court to settle the issue once and for all. (Heisig, 6/28)

The Associated Press: Order: Abortions Can Continue At Missouri's Lone Clinic
A Missouri commissioner on Friday ruled that the state's only abortion clinic can continue providing the service at least until August as a fight over its license plays out, adding that there's a "likelihood" that the clinic will succeed in the dispute. Administrative Hearing Commissioner Sreenivasa Rao Dandamudi granted what's called a "stay," which will allow the St. Louis Planned Parenthood clinic to continue providing abortions past Friday. (Ballentine and Salter, 6/28)

The New York Times: Lone Missouri Abortion Clinic Can Stay Open In Dispute With State
The conflict, over whether the clinic has complied with health department requirements, has threatened to make Missouri the first state in about 45 years where women would not have access to abortion services. So far the clinic has hung on, finding legal relief in state court. On Friday, that legal protection was extended again, this time by an official in the Administrative Hearing Commission, a body in the executive branch that resolves disputes involving state agencies. A hearing was set for Aug. 1. (Tavernise and Williams, 6/28)

Kansas City Star: Commissioner Grants Stay In Planned Parenthood License Case
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) says the basis of its decision to deny the application for license renewal is its inability to interview five physicians who provided treatment at the clinic, according to Dandamudi. (Thomas, 6/28)

The Hill: Missouri Abortion Clinic Gets Extension, Will Remain Open Through August
Administrative Hearing Commissioner Sreenivasa Rao Dandamudi wrote Friday that Planned Parenthood is likely to succeed in its arguments because interviews aren't required for license renewals. "Because DHSS relies substantially on the lack of these interviews as grounds for denial, we find there is a likelihood that Petitioner will succeed in its claim," Dandamudi wrote, according to The Associated Press. (Hellmann, 6/28)

The Wall Street Journal: Missouri Abortion Clinic To Keep Doors Open While Commission Considers License Dispute
“We are relieved to have this last-minute reprieve, which means patients can continue accessing safe, legal abortion at Planned Parenthood in St. Louis for the time being,” said Colleen McNicholas, an obstetrician and gynecologist at the clinic. (Calfas, 6/28)

KCUR: Abortions Can Continue At St. Louis Planned Parenthood Until At Least August 
“This has been a week-to-week fight for our patients and every Missourian who needs access to abortion care. There are two things that remain unchanged in Missouri: the uncertainty our patients face, and our will to continue fighting for their right to access safe, legal abortion,” McNicholas said. (Fentem, 6/28)

Springfield News-Leader: Planned Parenthood Can Offer Abortions In Missouri Until August
The decision was a key reprieve for Planned Parenthood, which would have had to stop providing abortions at 5 p.m. Friday absent Dandamudi’s decision. The Department of Health and Senior Services formally rejected the organization’s annual application to renew its abortion license last Friday while alleging numerous issues with patient care, including failed abortions. (6/28)

NBC News: Missouri's Only Abortion Clinic Gets Another Extension, Will Remain Open Until August
The embattled Planned Parenthood says it's made changes in response to the state's inspection and has consistently provided high quality care. It has also argued that the licensing battle is part of a greater anti-abortion effort by the state's administration. Last month, Missouri's Republican Gov. Mike Parson signed a bill banning abortions on or beyond the eighth week of pregnancy without exceptions in cases of rape or incest — one of the nation's most restrictive abortion bills. (Chuck, 6/28)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Order Allows Abortions At Planned Parenthood Clinic In St. Louis Until At Least Aug. 1
In a filing earlier this week, Planned Parenthood attorneys argued the hearing commission should order the state to renew the clinic’s license. “Petitioner affirmatively states that its renewal application was complete and that all of the applicable requirements for licensure have been met,” attorney Charles W. Hatfield wrote in a complaint filed Monday night. “Nothing in Missouri’s statutory or regulatory scheme provides any basis or justification for Respondent’s asserted grounds for license denial.” (Suntrup, 6/28)

The New York Times: ‘You Have To Go By The Law’: Alabamians Defend Arrest Of Woman Whose Fetus Died In Shooting
In the days since police officers arrested Marshae Jones, saying she had started a fight that resulted in her unborn baby getting fatally shot, the hate mail has poured in. “I will encourage all U.S. business owners to boycott your town,” a woman from San Diego wrote on the Facebook page of the Pleasant Grove Police Department. “Misogynist trash,” wrote another. “Fire the chief and arresting officers,” wrote a third. (Stockman, 6/30)

The Washington Post: Marshae Jones: Pregnant Alabama Woman Charged With Death Of Own Fetus Prompts Unthinkable Questions
The 27-year-old was five months pregnant when she was involved in a fight that, authorities say, prompted a woman to fire a gun in self-defense. The bullet tore through Jones’s abdomen and caused a miscarriage, anguishing the young mother — and the historic East Thomas neighborhood of central Alabama, where her family has lived for generations. “As her pastor, I would ask whoever to prayerfully consider the heart of this young lady,” said the Rev. George Robinson Jr., the pastor of First Baptist Church of East Thomas, where Jones and her family attend. “Marshae is not the person that has been pictured or painted of her. She’s not that young lady.” (Platenburg and Brice-Saddler, 6/29)

CNN: Marshae Jones Was Shot, Then Indicted In Her Baby's Death. Lawyers Will Try To Get The Charges Dismissed
Jones was five months pregnant on December 4 when she got into a fight with another woman outside a Dollar General store in Pleasant Grove, just west of Birmingham, CNN affiliate WBMA reported. "It was the mother of the child who initiated and continued the fight which resulted in the death of her own unborn baby," Pleasant Grove police Lt. Danny Reid told AL.com shortly after the shooting. He said the fight caused the other woman, Ebony Jemison, to react and defend herself. He would not describe Jones, the pregnant woman, as a shooting victim. (Silverman and Ellis, 6/30)

AL.com: Motion To Dismiss Marshae Jones Charge To Be Filed Monday, Attorney Says
The attorney for Marshae Jones, the Alabama woman indicted for the death of her unborn child after engaging in a fight last year, plans to file a motion to dismiss the charge against her on Monday. Jones, now 27, was indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury on a manslaughter charge for the death of her unborn 5-month-old child. She was taken into custody on Wednesday. (Beahm, 6/30)

Reuters: Democrat Harris Clarifies: She Won't Ban Private Health Insurance
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris was forced to clarify her position on private health insurance again on Friday, an unwelcome distraction from a standout debate performance that her campaign said drew a surge of financial contributions. Harris and U.S. Senate colleague Bernie Sanders were the only two candidates to raise their hands during Thursday night's second Democratic debate when asked, "Who here would abolish their private health insurance in favor of a government-run plan?" (6/28)

The New York Times: Where Is Kamala Harris On Medicare For All Vs. Private Insurance?
On the debate stage Thursday, Senator Kamala Harris raised her hand, seemingly in support of a government insurance proposal that would eliminate employer insurance. On Friday, she said she had misunderstood the question. The wording of the question left room for confusion, but Ms. Harris also has a history of making conflicting statements on the issue. In a CNN town hall in January, she said she’d favor eliminating all private health insurance. The next day, her campaign walked it back. (Sanger-Katz, 6/28)

CQ: Harris Backtracks On Eliminating Private Insurance Plans
During Wednesday night’s debate, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio both said they would support eliminating private insurance in favor of a government-run plan. Over the two nights of debates, the candidates demonstrated fault lines within the party on the issue of health insurance coverage. The candidates appeared united in favor of universal insurance coverage. But some favor a government-run public option, such as one to be offered on the exchanges set up under the 2010 health care law (PL 111-148, PL 111-152), while others are calling for a single-payer system that would end most private insurance. (McIntire, 6/28)

The New York Times: Democrat Vs. Democrat: How Health Care Is Dividing The Party
It was a command as much as a question, intended to put an end to months of equivocating and obfuscating on the issue: Which of the Democratic presidential candidates on the debate stage supported abolishing private health insurance in favor of a single government-run plan? Show of hands, please. Just four arms went up over the two nights — Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York on Wednesday, and Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Kamala Harris of California on Thursday — even though five candidates who kept their hands at their sides have signed onto bills in Congress that would do exactly that. (Goodnough and Kaplan, 6/28)

In other news on elections —

Stat: What The Democrats Said About 'Big Pharma' — And Why It Matters
Practically the first words spoken at the first Democratic primary debate on Wednesday zeroed in on drug companies, as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) fingered biopharma as a prime example of corporate excess and a culprit for an economic system skewed in favor of the wealthy. Democrats rushed to echo Warren’s remarks, sharply criticizing “Big Pharma” for its lobbying presence in Washington, for high drug prices, and for furthering the opioid crisis. All told, nine of the 20 candidates worked drug industry jabs into their remarks. (Facher, 6/28)

Politico: Undocumented Immigrants Should Get Health Care, Julian Castro Affirms
Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro on Sunday stood firm on wanting to give undocumented immigrants access to health care if he is elected. After the first Democratic debate Wednesday night, the former HUD secretary, along with other candidates, drew criticism for saying they would give undocumented immigrants access to health care. (Quilantan, 6/30)

CQ: Health Issues Pivotal In Kentucky Governor's Race
Health care is emerging as a prime contrast between candidates in the Kentucky gubernatorial race this fall, where Republican incumbent Gov. Matt Bevin and Democratic state Attorney General Andy Beshear are locked in a heated battle. A number of health policy issues have divided Kentuckians during Bevin’s tenure, including his involvement in a lawsuit led by conservatives to overturn the 2010 health care law (PL 111-148, PL 111-152). Beshear is part of a coalition of Democratic attorneys general defending the law. (Raman, 7/1)

The New York Times: Judge Orders Swift Action To Improve Conditions For Migrant Children In Texas
A federal judge has ordered a mediator to move swiftly to improve health and sanitation at Border Patrol facilities in Texas, where observers reported migrant children were subject to filthy conditions that imperiled their health. Judge Dolly M. Gee of the Central District of California asked late on Friday that an independent monitor, whom she appointed last year, ensure that conditions in detention centers are promptly addressed. She set a deadline of July 12 for the government to report on what it has accomplished “post haste” to remedy them. (Jordan, 6/29)

KRGV: Federal Judge Orders CBP To Address Conditions In Processing Centers
The order requested immediate inspections, access for medical professionals to certain facilities, the expedited release of certain children and finding the government in contempt of the court. In a response filed Thursday by the government, attorneys contend they need more time to prepare. They also requested the court deny the plaintiffs who they believe "seek to alter – not preserve – the status quo." By Friday, United States District Court Judge Dolly M. Gee in the Central District of California decided to have both parties enter mediation with a monitor. (Gonzalez, 6/28)

Texas Tribune: No Toothbrushes Or Showers, Kids Coughing All Night: Migrants Describe Conditions Inside Border Facilities
They don’t shower or brush their teeth for days on end. They watch their sick kids cough and cry through the night. And some of them brave toilets so foul, one migrant said, that kids can’t help but throw up inside of them. These are some of the descriptions provided during interviews this week with more than a dozen migrants held by U.S. border officials and then released to a Catholic shelter in the Rio Grande Valley, ground zero in the unprecedented surge of immigrant families crossing the southern border. (Root and Roldan, 6/28)

The Washington Post: Amid Immigration Crackdown, Undocumented Abuse Victims Hesitate To Come Forward
As threats of deportation continue to rattle immigrant communities, advocates and attorneys in the Washington area say they have seen a marked increase in undocumented victims of domestic violence choosing not to pursue legal recourse against their abusers. Many victims are reluctant to even start the legal process, experts say, concerned that police will turn them over to federal immigration authorities or that their partners will retaliate by revealing their immigration status. Others, afraid of being ambushed by federal agents at a courthouse, drop their cases once they realize they have to appear before a judge. (Tan, 6/30)

The Wall Street Journal: In The Arizona Desert, An Elite Border Patrol Unit Responds To Desperate Cases
Shortly after starting their midafternoon shift, Border Patrol agents Timothy McNeil and Jason Pope got their first 911 call: a 27-year-old Mexican man had been walking in the desert for 10 days and needed help. The agents, both part of the elite Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue unit, found Manuel Gutierrez Lopez in a tangle of mesquite trees about 30 miles west of Tucson and some 70 miles north of the border. Mr. Gutierrez, who had called 911 on his cellphone, told them he got separated from a group of eight or nine others a few days before and had been without water for at least two days. The temperature showed 104 degrees in Mr. McNeil’s truck when the call came in last week just after 3:30 p.m. (Caldwell, 6/30)

Los Angeles Times: Migrants Contemplate Dangerous Crossings Despite Border Deaths And Detention Conditions
Some migrant families this weekend contemplated crossing the swirling Rio Grande from Mexico to seek asylum in the U.S. despite several recent drowning deaths. Cuban migrant Viviana Martinez was considering the dangerous crossing with her husband and 1-year-old son. She’s five months pregnant and has been in the northeast border city of Matamoros waiting to cross the border legally into Texas for more than two weeks. (Hennessy-Fiske, 6/30)

The New York Times: Luis Alvarez, Champion Of 9/11 Responders, Dies At 53
Luis G. Alvarez, a former New York City detective who pleaded with Congress this month to extend health benefits to police officers, firefighters and other emergency workers who responded to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, died on Saturday in a hospice in Rockville Centre, N.Y. He was 53. His family announced his death in a post on Facebook. The cause was complications of colorectal cancer, for which Mr. Alvarez received a diagnosis in 2016. The disease was linked to the three months he had spent at the site of the toppled World Trade Center towers in Lower Manhattan, searching for survivors and for remains of his fellow officers on nearby rooftops and in the toxic rubble at ground zero. (Roberts, 6/29)

Bloomberg: Luis Alvarez, Long-Time Advocate Of 9/11 Responders, Dies At 53
The disease was linked to the three months he spent at the site of the toppled World Trade Center, the report said. He spent most of that time searching for survivors and for remains of his fellow officers amid the toxic rubble. (Miller, 6/29)

USA Today: Luis Alvarez: 9/11 First Responder Who Fought For Compensation Dies
Luis Alvarez, who joined the NYPD in 1990 and became a top champion of the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund year, had entered a hospice center a week after his appearance with Stewart. "It is with peace and comfort, that the Alvarez family announce that Luis (Lou) Alvarez, our warrior, has gone home to our Good Lord in heaven today," the family wrote in a statement on Facebook. "Please remember his words, 'Please take care of yourselves and each other.'" (Garrison, 6/29)

The Associated Press: Detective Who Fought For 9/11 Compensation Funding Dies
Alvarez appeared with former "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart earlier this month to plead with Congress to extend the compensation fund. "This fund isn't a ticket to paradise, it's to provide our families with care," a frail Alvarez told a House Judiciary subcommittee June 11. He added, "You all said you would never forget. Well, I'm here to make sure that you don't." (6/29)

NPR: 9/11 Responder Who Pushed Congress To Boost Compensation Fund Dies Of Cancer
"Less than 24 hours from now, I will be serving my 69th round of chemotherapy," a gaunt Alvarez told Congress. "I should not be here with you, but you made me come. You made me come because I will not stand by and watch as my friends with cancer from 9/11, like me, are valued less than anyone else." (Allyn, 6/29)

The Washington Post: Luis Alvarez, Who Fought For His Fellow 9/11 First Responders, Dies At 53
The existing $7.5 billion fund is in danger of running out of funds before its current 2020 expiration date. It has already paid about $5 billion to 21,000 claimants, but as of February, 19,000 unpaid claims remain unaddressed. Officials said they would have to pay reduced claims starting Feb. 1, a situation that Rupa Bhattacharyya, the special master overseeing the funds, called “horribly unfair.” (Epstein, 6/29)

CNN: Congress Mourns Loss Of 9/11 Responder Luis Alvarez
Following the news of his death, several lawmakers called on Congress to permanently allocate money to a fund that compensates individuals with health problems related to the 2001 terrorist attacks. "Det. Alvarez lost his fight against cancer, but his fight for 9/11 responders and survivors continues. He dedicated his life to protecting others and advocating on behalf of those ailing after the attacks. It is time for Congress to honor his sacrifice," New York Rep. Jerry Nadler, the House Judiciary chairman, said on Twitter. Alvarez died Saturday at age 53 from complications of cancer linked to the time he spent with other first responders at Ground Zero. (Stracqualursi, 6/29)

Boston Herald: Death Of Luis Alvarez Hits Home For Boston 9/11 Responders
John Giunta, Salem fire chief and rescue team manager with Massachusetts Task Force 1 during 9/11, said he knows several firefighters who have fallen ill since the attacks. “Some that are pretty young and battling different types of cancer, it hits home when you hear that and you feel so bad, especially for young people with kids and families,” said Giunta. Giunta said the funding “needs to go through,” as it would provide protection and coverage to families in need. (Cohan, 6/29)

The Associated Press: Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes To Go On Trial Next July
Elizabeth Holmes will go on trial next summer to face criminal fraud charges for allegedly defrauding investors, doctors and the public as the head of the once-heralded blood-testing startup Theranos. U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila ruled Friday that the trial against Holmes and the company's former Chief Operating Officer Ramesh Balwani will start July 28, 2020. (6/29)

The Wall Street Journal: Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes To Face Trial Next Year On Fraud Charges
Jury selection will start the week of July 28, 2020. The trial is scheduled to start Aug. 4 and will last about three months, he said. “Restrain your enthusiasm, please,” Judge Davila said to the defense lawyers, who had lobbied for a later start date, citing the amount of documents they had to review and the challenges of gathering witnesses. (Summerville, 6/28)

ABC News: Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Set To Go To Trial Next Summer
Holmes and Balwani, who prosecutors say were romantically involved while running Theranos, were each charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud in a federal indictment handed up last July. Holmes claimed the Theranos technology required a few drops of blood to test for numerous diseases and at a fraction of the cost of existing lab tests. The charges are a result of allegations that Holmes engaged in a multi-million-dollar scheme to defraud investors, and a separate scheme to defraud doctors and patients, according to the indictment. (Youn, Pong, Dunn and Thompson, 6/29)

Stat: Ex-Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes Gets A Trial Date: Summer 2020 
The court date next year marks something of a compromise between the two sides. Prosecutors had indicated a preference for a trial in the first half of next year, while attorneys for Holmes and Balwani had said they needed more time to prepare for a complex case involving countless pages of documentation. Speculation has abounded over what kind of defense Holmes and Balwani might mount. They could blame each other — and the intrigue would be heightened by the fact that they were previously in a romantic relationship, at a time when they ran the now defunct company together and made the decisions for which they’re now facing criminal charges. (Robbins, 6/28)

In other health care industry news —

Reuters: Encompass Health To Pay $48 Million To Resolve False Claims Act Allegations-U.S. DOJ
Encompass Health Corp has agreed to pay $48 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday. The settlement resolves allegations in three lawsuits that some of Encompass Health's inpatient rehabilitation facilities provided inaccurate information to the federal Medicare programme to maintain their status as an IRF and earn a higher rate of reimbursement, and that some admissions were not medically necessary, the department said. (6/28)

Stat: Livongo, Diabetes-Coaching Startup, Files IPO In A Test For Health Tech
Livongo, a startup that monitors and coaches patients with chronic diseases, on Friday filed papers to launch its initial public offering, in what is seen as a litmus test for health-tech companies seeking to translate early growth into value in the public markets. The offering is expected to be among the first for a new generation of slick and savvy venture-backed companies in the U.S. digital health sector, which hasn’t produced an IPO since 2016. (Another such company, medical records data startup Health Catalyst, filed to go public on Thursday.) Livongo’s offering had been anticipated for several months, as the company has been expanding rapidly and running studies to try to show that its services can improve patients’ outcomes and save their employers money. (Ross and Robbins, 6/28)

Modern Healthcare: Dr. Steven Safyer Retiring As Montefiore's CEO
The CEO who pioneered population health management at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City is retiring after 11 years at the helm of the academic giant. Dr. Steven Safyer, who made Modern Healthcare's Most Influential People in Healthcare list four times, announced Friday that he's retiring. He said he will continue to serve as CEO until a successor is appointed. Dan Tishman, chair of the Montefiore Medicine board of trustees, will head the selection process. (6/28)

Modern Healthcare: UnitedHealthcare Names Optum Exec McMahon As CEO
UnitedHealth Group is switching up the roles of its top executives. The Minnetonka, Minn.-based insurer on Friday said that Dirk McMahon, the current president and chief operating officer of fast-growing business unit Optum, will become CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the company's insurance arm. Steve Nelson, who was named UnitedHealthcare CEO just two years ago, is retiring immediately. He has been with the company for 15 years. (Livingston, 6/28)

NPR: Income Inequality Is Linked To Health Inequities, And The Gap Is Widening
Income inequality in the U.S. has grown over the past several decades. And as the gap between rich and poor yawns, so does the gap in their health, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open Friday. The study drew from annual health survey data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 1993 to 2017, including around 5.5 million Americans ages 18-64. (Neilson, 6/28)

In other news on health care costs —

Wyoming Public Radio: Wyoming Senators Are Mixed On Trump Health Costs Proposal
Services agency was given sixty days to flush out the details of how to force hospitals to be up front with patients about the costs of their procedures. It's intended to help average Americans shop around the marketplace for cheaper rates. And Wyoming's junior Senator John Barrasso is fully on board. (Laslo, 6/28)

The Wall Street Journal: At Purdue Pharma, Business Slumps As Opioid Lawsuits Mount
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP is struggling with slumping sales, a shrinking workforce and restructuring challenges as it battles lawsuits related to the opioid crisis, according to people familiar with the company. Purdue’s revenue is expected to drop below $1 billion this year for the first time in more than a decade, as employees leave and a potential bankruptcy filing looms, people familiar with the matter say. (Hopkins, 6/30)

Boston Globe: ‘Flawed’ Study Shows Possible Lasting Effects From Drug Exposure In The Womb
A new study involving thousands of Boston families found that children exposed to multiple drugs in the womb are more likely to face physical and mental difficulties as they grow up. The study, published Friday in the online journal JAMA Network Open, is the first to examine a large group of opioid-exposed children over many years and seek to identify the developmental consequences. (Freyer, 6/28)

The CT Mirror: Fentanyl Crisis Prompts Change In Treatment Strategies
Over the past few years, Connecticut has launched a slew of programs aimed at improving prevention and treatment for opioid use disorder. But now health care leaders say they need to expand programs more quickly, develop new ones and break down the barriers to treatment. (Hamm, 6/30)

Pioneer Press: Minnesota Health Care Providers To Receive Reports On Their Opioid Prescribing Practices 
More than 16,000 health care providers who serve Medicaid and MinnesotaCare recipients are about to find out if they prescribe opioids at higher rates than their peers. The Minnesota Department of Human Services will send them individualized reports over the coming weeks as part of a new effort to make providers more aware of their opioid prescribing behavior. Providers will get feedback on several measures, such as how often they write opioid prescriptions, how many exceed the recommended dose and how many of their patients have become chronic opioid users. (Faircloth, 6/28)

Columbus Dispatch: Jail Using Medicine To Help Inmates Addicted To Drugs
It’s a vicious cycle for the addicted and their families, one that has safety, financial and other consequences for the rest of society. But since May, health care providers at the Hamilton County jail have been using medicine to help break the connection. Fifty-two inmates now are receiving buprenorphine, an FDA-approved medication that is to temper cravings. They represent about 3% of the jail’s daily population. (DeMio, 6/29)

San Francisco Chronicle: Patient Abuse Scandal Rocks San Francisco’s Laguna Honda Hospital
Twenty-three patients at San Francisco's Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center endured systemic abuse at the hands of six of the hospital employees, the Department of Public Health alleged Friday. The victims live in two wards at the public hospital that primarily serves dementia patients and were subjected to alleged physical and verbal abuse between 2016 and January 2019, according to the health department. (Fracassa, 6/28)

KQED: 'Hurtful, Offensive And Heartbreaking': Major Patient Abuse Scandal Hits S.F.'s Laguna Honda Hospital
Nearly two dozen patients at Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in San Francisco were abused for years by a group of staff members, city officials said on Friday. Following a months-long investigation, the San Francisco Department of Public Health reported that six former employees subjected 23 live-in patients to verbal and physical abuse, including sedating them with non-prescribed medications and engaging in sexualized conversations. (Green, 6/28)

The Star Tribune: In Albert Lea, Signs Of Stress And Progress For A Rural Hospital 
Mayo leaders, who have been fielding complaints since the decision was announced, say the consolidation has been successful and was the best option given the pressures that have shuttered dozens of rural hospitals across the United States. They announced the latest step last Thursday with the shutdown of Albert Lea’s inpatient medical-surgical unit and the opening of a newly renovated unit at the Austin hospital. ...Operating separately, the hospitals had costly redundancies and were losing doctors, who grew frustrated over the busy days when they lacked backup support and the slow days that made it harder to keep their skills sharp, said Dr. Sumit Bhagra, medical director of Mayo’s Albert Lea-Austin health system. (Olson, 6/29)

The Oregonian: OHSU Says Burnout, Staffing Shortage Led To Heart Transplant Program Closure 
Heart transplant cardiologists were burned out and understaffed and complained of poor communication within OHSU Hospital when they left, according to a short list of findings from two reviews of the state’s only heart transplant program, which was shuttered last year. The findings are the academic hospital’s attempt to make good on a promise of transparency about what happened last spring and summer when the entire heart transplant team quit in rapid succession, leading to the program’s closure. (Harbarger, 6/28)

Tampa Bay Times: The Law Firm Investigating All Children’s Filed Its Report. The Hospital Will Make Big Changes.
Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital will make sweeping changes to its policies and structure in response to problems in its heart surgery unit, Johns Hopkins announced today. The changes include new checks and balances on the hospital’s president, more rigorous evaluations for top executives, better tracking of internal complaints, more thorough vetting of doctors and improved monitoring of patient safety and quality metrics. (McGrory and Bedi, 6/28)

Kaiser Health News: Have Cancer, Must Travel: Patients Left In Lurch After Hospital Closes
One Monday in February, 65-year-old Karen Endicott-Coyan gripped the wheel of her black 2014 Ford Taurus with both hands as she made the hour-long drive from her farm near Fort Scott to Chanute. With a rare form of multiple myeloma, she requires weekly chemotherapy injections to keep the cancer at bay. She made the trip in pain, having skipped her morphine for the day to be able to drive safely. Since she sometimes “gets the pukes” after treatment, she had her neighbor and friend Shirley Palmer, 76, come along to drive her back. (Tribble, 7/1)

Modern Healthcare: Quarter Of Hospitals Fail To Comply With Leapfrog's Never-Event Policy
About a quarter of hospitals fail to meet the Leapfrog Group's standards in addressing serious patient harm events should they occur, according to a new report. The analysis, published Thursday, found 74.5% of the more than 2,000 hospitals that received a patient-safety grade from the Leapfrog Group in 2018 complied with all nine aspects of the group's never-event policy. Hospital compliance with the standard has hovered at or slightly below 80% since 2014. (Castellucci, 6/28)

Des Moines Register: Iowa Medicaid Still Negotiating Insurers Pay As New Fiscal Year Starts
Iowa administrators are still negotiating how much they’ll pay national insurance companies to run the state’s $5 billion Medicaid program in fiscal year 2020, which starts Monday. Hundreds of millions of state and federal dollars are on the table in the extended contract negotiations between state officials and the insurance companies. The companies, also known as managed care organizations, cover nearly 600,000 poor or disabled Iowans on Medicaid. (Leys, 6/28)

Health News Florida: State Economists To Scrutinize Proposed Medicaid Expansion
State economists meet Friday to begin discussions on a proposed constitutional amendment that, if approved next year by voters, would expand Florida’s Medicaid program. The proposal, backed by a group that wants to force the state to expand Medicaid as authorized under the federal health care act known as "Obamacare," will become the first to be evaluated under a contentious new law designed to make it more difficult for citizen initiatives to get onto the ballot in Florida. (Sexton, 6/28)

Kansas City Star: Kansas Expands Medicaid Waiver To Cover All Brain Injuries
Starting Monday, thanks to the work of an unusual bipartisan coalition, the state is expanding its Medicaid support services for brain injuries to include those with the acquired type as well. The change comes after years of lobbying by advocates like Heather Matty, who works at the Brain Injury Association of Kansas and Greater Kansas City. (Marso, 7/1)

Chicago Tribune: Illinois Owes $4 Million To Feds Following Medicaid Missteps, Audit Shows
Illinois owes the federal government $4.1 million for failing to seek rebates from drug companies for medications prescribed through the state’s Medicaid program, according to a federal audit released Friday. Under federal law, the federal government will reimburse states for certain drugs prescribed to people on Medicaid, a state- and federally funded health insurance program for the poor and disabled. But in order to get the reimbursements, states must seek rebates from pharmaceutical companies. (Schencker, 6/28)

And in other news —

Governing: After Midterm Wins In Red States, GOP Lawmakers Slow Medicaid Expansion's Momentum
Medicaid expansion advocates notched several red-state victories during the midterm elections last year. Voters in Idaho, Nebraska and Utah approved ballot measures to make more low-income people eligible for low-cost government health insurance. But that momentum hasn't continued into this year's legislative sessions. In almost every state where Medicaid expansion had a chance of passing, the effort faltered. (Quinn, 7/1)

Politico Pro: Medicaid Pilot Program For Addiction Treatment Gets 2-Week Reprieve
A Medicaid program that delivers mental health and addiction services in eight states hit hard by the opioid crisis got a two-week reprieve Friday after a procedural dispute in Congress threatened its federal funding. The House cleared a short-term spending patch through July 14, when Congress will again need to replenish the program's coffers to maintain services for some 300,000 people — including 9,000 receiving medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction. (Ehley, 6/28)

The Associated Press: 1 Child Dies, 3 Sickened By E. Coli Linked To San Diego Fair 
Authorities say E. coli bacteria encountered at the San Diego County Fair has killed one child and sickened three others. A Friday night release from the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency announced four confirmed cases linked to animal contact. While three cases didn't result in hospitalization, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Jedidiah King Cabezuela, 2, visited the Del Mar Fairgrounds on June 15, became ill on June 19, and died on June 24. (6/29)

The New York Times: Toddler Dies From E. Coli Linked To Contact With Animals At San Diego County Fair
The 2-year-old died on June 24 from complications of the bacteria; the other three children who were sickened were not hospitalized. Their conditions were not immediately available on Sunday. The fair features more than 2,900 animals and numerous activities, including pig races and livestock shows with calves, rabbits, pigeons and goats. The fair shut public access to animals on Saturday, and on Sunday it began removing them from the fairgrounds. (Taylor, 6/30)

Los Angeles Times: San Diego County Fair Restricts Access To Animals After Child Dies Of E. Coli Complication
The county’s recommendation to shut down the fair’s animal exhibits, including its sprawling livestock exhibits which fill row after row of barns, came Friday, nearly four days after the boy’s death. With symptoms showing up from June 10 through June 16, some have questioned why the action was not taken sooner. McDonald said that it takes some time for symptoms to turn into doctor’s visits and for those visits to result in testing to indicate that E.coli is or may be present. It’s only after the public health department is notified of possible infections that public health nurses can begin interviewing subjects and their families, gathering enough facts to determine whether people with similar conditions visited the same places, ate the same food or share some other commonality. (Sisson, 6/29)

Sacramento Bee: San Diego Fair Shuts Animal Exhibits After E. Coli Death
Escherichia coli bacteria are found in food, the environment and the intestines of humans and other animals, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. Most are harmless to people, but some E. coli bacteria can cause diarrhea and other illnesses. Symptoms include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, vomiting and a low fever, the CDC says. Proper hygiene, including washing your hands, can help prevent infections. (Sweeney, 6/30)

CNN: 'Crypto' Warning: CDC Says Fecal Parasite Can Live For Days In Swimming Pools
Health officials are asking Americans to take precautions over reports that "crypto," a fecal parasite that can be transmitted via swimming pools, is on the rise. The parasite's full name is cryptosporidium. It causes cryptosporidiosis, which can leave healthy adults suffering from "profuse, watery diarrhea" for as long as three weeks. The effects can be worse for children, pregnant women and those with compromised immune systems." The number of treated recreational water-associated outbreaks caused by cryptosporidium drives the summer seasonal peak in both waterborne cryptosporidiosis outbreaks and cryptosporidiosis outbreaks overall," according to a statement from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (McLaughlin, 6/30)

The New York Times: Reversing The Damage Of A Massive Stroke
Strange as it may seem, the massive stroke Ted Baxter suffered in 2005 at age 41, leaving him speechless and paralyzed on his right side, was a blessing in more ways than one. Had the clot, which started in his leg, lodged in his lungs instead of his brain, the doctors told him he would have died from a pulmonary embolism. And as difficult as it was for him to leave his high-powered professional life behind and replace it with a decade of painstaking recovery, the stroke gave his life a whole new and, in many ways, more rewarding purpose. (Brody, 7/1)

The Wall Street Journal: New Thinking Challenges The Stigma Around ‘Shock Therapy’
Doctors are taking a second look at the procedure known as shock therapy, saying the long-stigmatized treatment is safer than before and can be remarkably effective in patients with severe symptoms. Electroconvulsive therapy, its official name, is a brief electrical stimulation of the brain that causes about a minute-long seizure, helping to realign disrupted circuits. Although the treatment’s most serious potential side effect—memory loss—remains a meaningful risk, advances in technology and technique have reduced the severity. Experts say ECT is among the most effective treatments for serious depression when medications and talk therapy don’t work. (Reddy, 6/30)

NPR: Fake Smiles Don't Always Improve Mood
The notion that you can smile your way to happiness is an enduring one. Back in the 1800s, Charles Darwin was among the first to come up with what modern scientists further developed into the "facial feedback hypothesis." That's the idea that smiling can make you happier and frowning can make you sadder or angrier — that changing your facial expression can intensify or even transform your mood. (Singh, 7/1)

The Washington Post: ‘We Can Change Something’: These 13-Year-Olds Found Mold In Their Schools And Did Something About It
The runny noses, coughing and headaches flared inside the students’ biology classroom at George Washington Middle School in Northern Virginia — subsiding once the children left. Bridget Baron said she watched splotches of mold colonize a wall to the right of her desk until, one day, “they all shriveled up and died.” It was a clear sign for the 13-year-old and her classmates at the Alexandria school that something was amiss. (Truong, 6/30)

Stat: The 18-Year-Old Sickle Cell Patient Pushing Washington On Children’s Health
Now, [Sydney] McLeod is joining lobbyists and other patients to fight to make sure other kids don’t have to go through what she’s gone through. She and her family visited several Capitol Hill offices this week as part of an advocacy day organized by the Children’s Hospital Association, an annual event created to give patients and their families a platform to raise awareness about children’s health care. ...Without many directed treatment options, many patients rely on opioids to manage episodes of pain known as pain crises, like the one McLeod experienced in New Jersey. Like her, many [sickle cell] patients experience skeptical hospital staff. In fact, at one hospital researchers found that sickle cell patients waited 60 percent longer to get pain medication than other patients who reported less severe pain. (Hailu, 7/1)

The New York Times: Do Hand Dryers Hurt Kids’ Hearing? This 13-Year-Old Published A Study About It
Do hand dryers pose a threat to children’s hearing? The answer may be yes, according to a new study published in the official journal of the Canadian Paediatric Society, which found that some of the devices can be as loud as a sporting event or an approaching subway train. To investigate that question, Nora Keegan, the study’s author, spent more than a year taking hundreds of measurements in public restrooms throughout Calgary, her hometown. (Chokshi, 7/1)

The Washington Post: Depersonalization Disorder Made Me A Stranger To Myself
I would stare at my hands and think, “I’m not me.” No matter where I was, in the middle of a busy street or at my dining table at home, the condition would be the same. It was like looking at my hands through a plate of glass. Although I could feel the skin on my palms, it did not feel like my own. Half of myself would move through the day while the other half watched. I was split in two. Nothing I did would relieve the condition. I went to see an ophthalmologist, convinced I had cataracts. The verdict was near-perfect vision. (Dunne, 6/30)

Chicago Tribune: Here’s Why Many Black Women Are Silent About Their Struggle With Infertility
Tiffany Harper, a 36-year-old attorney in Chicago, suffered in silence for five years. Expecting to get pregnant as soon as she got married, she was confused when her pregnancy tests continued to be negative. Harper knows her way around most issues. But, she said, “I didn’t know other black women who were getting (infertility) treatments — the only women who talked openly about it were white women,” Harper said. “There’s a silence about it that makes it really isolating.” (Braff, 6/29)

The New York Times: ‘Pear-Shaped’ May Be Healthier Than ‘Apple-Shaped’
For postmenopausal women, being “pear-shaped” may be healthier than being “apple-shaped.” Even in women with normal body mass index, the location of fat varies. Apple-shaped women have more fat around the waist, pear-shaped more around the hips and legs. (Bakalar, 6/30)

San Francisco Chronicle: Can Psychedelics Heal? A Growing Movement Says Yes
Mushrooms remained a trendy party drug on college campuses through the ’80s and ’90s and beyond. More recently, micro-dosing, which involves taking small, precise amounts of psychedelics, has taken off among Silicon Valley techies who swear it increases their creativity. But even as niche groups have come and gone, the community of wellness users — people committed to psychedelics for physical, emotional or spiritual well-being — has remained. (Allday, 6/28)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Depression Signs, Symptoms: Can Teen Expression Keep Depression Away?
According to new research from scientists with Emory University and the University of Rochester, teens who can describe negative emotions “in precise and nuanced ways” are more likely to stave off increased depressive symptoms after stressful life events compared to those who can’t. ...Describing emotions in such granular terms can help teens understand the meanings behind their negative emotions, including coping lessons that may help them regulate how they feel. (Pirani, 6/29)

The Washington Post: For Brain Health, Skip The Supplements And Focus On A Healthy Diet
Americans and others around the world have turned increasingly to dietary supplements to maintain or preserve their brain health. A recent study found that a quarter of adults over 50 take a supplement for brain-related health. But that same study, done by experts convened by AARP, suggests that seniors should spend their money elsewhere. The supplements don’t work. (DeKosky, 6/29)

St. Louis Public Radio: Harris-Stowe Students Study CBD — By Getting Up Close With Flies
The Harris-Stowe State University sophomore is one of a handful of biology students studying how CBD, a compound derived from cannabis plants, affects fruit flies. Most of the students had never worked in a research lab before taking the class and are learning the process from the ground up — while investigating cutting-edge scientific questions. (Farzan, 7/1)

CNN: Secondhand Harms Of Drinking Impact 1 In 5 Adults, Study Says
About one-fifth of adults in the United States have experienced some form of harm due to someone else's behavior while drinking. That's according to a study published Monday in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, which found that in 2015, an estimated 53 million adults -- or nearly 1 in 5 -- said they had experienced at least one harm attributable to someone else's drinking in the past year. That harm ranged from property damage to physical injury. (Howard, 7/1)

The New York Times: Utah Family Sues After Son With Diabetes Is Kept From School
The 8-year-old son of Caly and Wade Watkins is an active and happy Utah boy, they say. He fishes in a pond, sometimes landing a catfish, which he throws back. He rides his dirt bike for miles. He pores over his schoolwork, which in second grade included mastering multiplication tables. But at least four times a day, the Watkinses’s son, who has Type 1 diabetes, needs to test his blood sugar and take injections of insulin, including while in school. (Hauser, 6/29)

ProPublica: “Dire” Law Enforcement Crisis In Rural Alaska Prompts Emergency Declaration, New Federal Funding
U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr declared an emergency for public safety in rural Alaska on Friday and announced more than $10 million in funds as part of a sweeping plan to support law enforcement in Alaska Native villages. The U.S. Department of Justice will immediately provide $6 million to the state to hire, equip and train rural police, and for mobile holding cells. An additional $4.5 million will support 20 officer positions and be provided to Alaska Native organizations by the end of July. (Demarban, 6/28)

The Associated Press: Religious Discrimination Suit Involving Flu Shot Is Settled
A mid-Michigan health care system has agreed to pay almost $75,000 to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit filed on behalf of a job candidate who was passed over because her beliefs preclude her from getting flu shots. The Lansing State Journal reports the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says Memorial Healthcare of Owosso rescinded its job offer for a medical transcriptionist position after learning of Yvonne Bair's Christian beliefs. Court records say Bair believed she must use "natural methods" for health. (6/28)

Boston Globe: Deemed Ineligible For Surgery, Transgender Man Files Discrimination Complaint
A transgender man from Western Massachusetts who says he was repeatedly denied insurance coverage for a gender-affirming surgery filed a complaint last week with the state’s commission against discrimination, according to his lawyer. ...According to CareOne’s plan, any treatment that changes “sex or sexual characteristics” — including surgical procedures, hormone therapies, and prosthetic devices — isn’t covered. (Kuznitz, 6/29)

North Carolina Health News: NC Health Department Would Face ‘Dramatic’ Cuts Under Proposed Budget 
As the state budget moves toward what looks to be an inevitable veto from Gov. Roy Cooper, state health leaders are raising alarm about some of the budget provisions drafted by Republican state lawmakers. Health and Human Services Sec. Mandy Cohen argues that some of the deep cuts could prevent her department from doing its job. Cohen has spent a lot of time at the legislative building in Raleigh this week, working the halls and talking to budget writers about her qualms with the budget. She’s also been making media appearances to reiterate her priorities and concerns. (Knopf and Hoban, 6/28)

New Hampshire Public Radio: To Fight Hepatitis Outbreak, Nashua's Health Workers Bring Vaccines To The Streets
New Hampshire is in the midst of an outbreak of hepatitis A. Since November, 142 people have been diagnosed with hepatitis A in the state and one person has died. In an average year in New Hampshire, just 7 people get the virus. In Nashua, public health officials say a proactive approach is keeping the outbreak from getting much worse. (Moon, 7/1)

The Associated Press: Top Kansas Court: Cities Can Raise Age For Buying Tobacco
Kansas' highest court ruled Friday that cities can raise the age for buying tobacco products even though state law sets it at 18, bolstering a public health movement driven in part by concerns about teenagers' use of e-cigarettes. The state Supreme Court's unanimous decision allows the city of Topeka to enforce an ordinance setting the age to buy tobacco products, e-cigarettes or liquid nicotine at 21. (6/28)

The Advocate: Months After Louisiana Legislature Nixes Raising Smoking Age To 21, Congress May Force The Issue 
The Louisiana Legislature rejected a proposal that would have raised the smoking age from 18 to 21 during its most recent session, but it may not have a choice on the issue if some members of Congress get their way. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and Sen. Tim Kaine, the Virginia Democrat who was Hillary Clinton's running mate in 2016, are pushing a change to federal law that would outlaw tobacco sales to anyone younger than 21. (Crisp, 6/30)

Kaiser Health News: State Lawmakers Eye Federal Dollars To Boost Mental Health Counseling By Peers
It’s 1 p.m. on a balmy Oakland afternoon as residents of Great Expectations Residential Care, a home for people with mental illness, gather in an activity room for a game of bingo. Lee Frierson, an unpaid volunteer, introduces himself as he and his team leader, Charlie Jones, unpack chips, soda, batteries and shampoo that they will hand out as prizes.“I’m Lee with Reach Out,” Frierson says. “I’m a peer. I suffer from depression. It helps me to help you guys.” (Waters, 7/1)

The Associated Press: 7 Hurt When Gunfire Erupts At Louisiana Nightclub 
Police continued Sunday to investigate a shooting at a Baton Rouge nightclub that left seven people injured, even as officials in Louisiana's capital city pledged to do more to fight gun violence after several high-profile shootings. Local news outlets report gunfire strafed the inside and parking lot of the Stadium Ultralounge & Bar early Saturday, apparently after a fight in which video footage showed one man breaking a bottle over another man's head. (6/30)

KQED: Officials Launch Probes Into Potential Pesticide Drifts That Sickened Dozens Of Central Valley Farmworkers
The latest incident took place in Fresno County on Thursday morning when a group of farmworkers picking nectarines began feeling sick after several pesticides had been sprayed on a nearby field. That came nine days after several other farmworkers in Tulare County reported feeling ill at the end of their shift, possibly because of a chemical drift. (Goldberg, 6/28)

The Associated Press: Charter Renewed For Colorado School Where Shooting Happened
A Colorado school that was the site of a fatal shooting received a conditional five-year renewal of its charter on Saturday that requires it to meet certain reporting, staffing and safety requirements, such as the hiring of additional security personnel. (6/29)

New Hampshire Public Radio: N.H. Sharply Lowers Proposed PFAS Water Limits, Now Among Nation’s Strictest
State environmental officials on Friday proposed what would be some of the lowest limits in the country for four types of PFAS chemicals in public water supplies and groundwater. The numbers are far lower than what the state originally had planned, and lower than the federal advice New Hampshire currently uses as law. (Ropeik, 6/28)

Pioneer Press: Thefts From Seniors In Assisted Living Topped $117K, UMN Researcher Finds 
Minnesotans in assisted living facilities lost more than $117,000 to theft over the past five years, according to an analysis of state data. Eilon Caspi, a research associate at the University of Minnesota school of nursing, examined confirmed reports of theft between March 2013 and August 2018. He found 116 residents were victims of theft and $1,130 was the average amount lost by the 104 residents who provided that information to investigators. (Magan, 7/1)

North Carolina Health News: New Funds For Hepatitis C Prevention Available Until The End Of July 
North Carolina organizations providing harm reduction education and services can now apply for grants ranging from $25,000 to $150,000 with the national Harm Reduction Coalition through the end of July. As infection rates for hepatitis C continue to rise across the nation largely due to injection drug use, the pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences — a major producer of hepatitis C treatment drugs — gave the Harm Reduction Coalition about $11 million to be doled out in grants to five Appalachian states with some of the highest infection rates. (Knopf, 7/1)

Boston Globe: Mother Recalls Final Visit With Child Who Died In DCF Care
Peter Smith-Gross Jr. is one of three children who died in separate incidents since mid-April, all while in the care of DCF. The Essex district attorney’s office announced Thursday that the three cases are under investigation. (Eppolito, 6/28)

The Washington Post: Driven From Paradise By Fire, Evacuees Worry That Gentrification Will Prevent Them From Coming Home
As heavy equipment hauls out mangled bedsprings, tree trunks and charred fireplace bricks, evidence of rebirth is emerging in this town scorched seven months ago by the most destructive fire in state history. Signs offering “Cash for your lot” are tacked up on telephone poles; real estate agents and developers in shiny SUVs are riding across the torched earth; and the frames of houses are taking shape, more modern and fire resistant than the ones that preceded them. (Sellers, 6/20)

Boston Globe: Bill Filed In Mass. House Would Make CBD Legal In Food, Cosmetics, And More
A bill filed in the Massachusetts House of Representatives on Thursday would clear up statewide confusion around the legality of CBD, putting to rest concerns from consumers and hemp cultivators that their CBD products could be seized or their growing licenses revoked. The legislation, if passed, would effectively reverse recent guidance from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources and Department of Public Health that have prohibited the use of hemp-derived CBD in food or in any products that make medicinal or therapeutic claims. (Gans, 6/28)

The Wall Street Journal: Bernie Sanders Won The Debate 
President Trump is a lucky man. Typically a re-election campaign is a referendum on the incumbent, and Mr. Trump is losing that race. But the Democrats are moving left so rapidly that they may let him turn 2020 into a choice between his policy record and the most extreme liberal agenda since 1972 (which may be unfair to George McGovern). ...Or take health care, as nearly all of the candidates now consider ObamaCare to be inadequate. Ms. Warren has endorsed Bernie’s Medicare for All bill, which would abolish private insurance for 177 million Americans. So has Kamala Harris, though she now seems to be hedging and says she’d allow private insurance for “supplemental” coverage. But she isn’t clear if that’s for optional procedures like cosmetic surgery or regular health coverage. Most of the other candidates favor expanding the Affordable Care Act with a “public option,” or government-run plan, that would compete with private insurance. (6/28)

The New York Times: Are We Sure Eliminating Private Insurance Is A Good Idea?
It would be an exaggeration to say that the Democratic primary race is entirely about health care, but only a little bit of one. The standout moment from the first evening was Elizabeth Warren’s vociferous defense of eliminating private insurance companies, and much of the first half of last night’s debate was consumed with the issue as well. The candidates onstage were eager to recommend their plans and elaborate on their differences: Perhaps more than any other issue, this was one on which the different policy ideas in play were clear. Democrats were offering voters choices. (Peter Suderman, 6/28)

The Washington Post: Do The 2020 Democrats Really Want To ‘Abolish’ Private Insurance?
Few things are less enlightening during a debate than to ask candidates to raise their hands to give a yes-or-no answer to a question, but since the TV networks seem incapable of running these events without at least some measure of idiocy, that’s what we got in both of the Democratic debates that took place this week. The topic was one of the most complex policy challenges we face — health-care reform — so I guess dumbing it down as much as possible seemed like the right approach to somebody at NBC. (Paul Waldman, 6/28)

The New York Times: The Never-Ending Mistreatment Of Black Patients 
My patient would never breathe on his own again, but he didn’t know it yet. Years of smoking landed him in our emergency room several times a month. Now the only thing lying between him and the grave was a breathing machine. As his I.C.U. doctor, I had done everything possible to liberate him from the ventilator. Nothing had worked. Whenever we turned down the breathing machine to see if he could breathe on his own, his eyes widened in panic until we turned it up again. (Jessica Nutik Zitter, 6/29)

The Hill: Want To Prevent Vaccine Deaths? Show People The Consequences Of Unvaccinated Nations
People’s confidence in the safety and efficacy of vaccines is greater in poor than rich countries, according to Wellcome’s recently published Global Monitor, a survey of 140,000 people from over 140 countries. For instance, beliefs in vaccine safety are at 99 percent in Rwanda and 97 percent in Bangladesh but 72 percent in the U.S. and 47 percent in France. This is a problem because to stop the spread of a very contagious disease like measles, 90-95 percent of the population should be vaccinated — the concept of herd immunity. (Ifeanyi M. Nsofor, 6/29)

USA Today: Abortion Rights: Bans Will Further Punish Domestic Violence Victims
As my client testified about enduring years of forced sex by her boyfriend, the judge interrupted and asked if she was talking about rape. My client haltingly responded that she guessed so, but it happened so often. This response is common, both because it can be hard for survivors to define sexual violence perpetrated by someone they care about and who purports to care for them — an intimate partner, family member, friend, or acquaintance — and because our societal fears and conceptions of rape typically fixate on stranger rape. Our laws, also, were designed to respond to stranger violence, not intimate abuse, and the law historically legalized rape of wives and daughters by granting husbands and fathers immunity from prosecution and litigation. (Jane K. Stoever, 6/28)

The Hill: Is Sunscreen Safe? 
While media reporting may have caused some to pause before applying sunscreen, the authors themselves urge that their findings shouldn’t prevent us from using it. These levels of absorption are extraordinarily low and may be completely harmless and the paper concludes that further study is warranted.Sunscreen’s effectiveness against skin cancer — the most common form of cancer in the U.S. — is not in dispute, and the risk of not using it is great. More Americans are diagnosed with skin cancers, more than three million each year, than all other cancers combined, and one in five Americans will develop skin cancer by age 70. (Jonathan Fielding, 6/29)

Bloomberg: California Needs Clean Water
In 2012, former California governor Jerry Brown signed into law the Human Right to Water Act, recognizing that “every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water.” At least 1 million Californians are still waiting to exercise that right, according to Brown’s successor, Governor Gavin Newsom, who has called the state’s water crisis a “moral disgrace and a medical emergency.” (6/27)

The CT Mirror: Common Sense Medicare Changes Can Help Patients, Boost Economic Growth
One effective way to maintain access but cut out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs would be to institute changes in how Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) distribute rebates within the Medicare Part D program. PBMs are the third-party middlemen that negotiate drug prices between insurers and manufacturers. (Tony Sheridan, 6/28)