CNN: Biden Proposes Massive New Obamacare Subsidies, Public Option In Health Care Plan
Joe Biden is proposing massive new subsidies to make health coverage through Obamacare's exchanges cheaper -- as well as a new "public option" that would allow people to buy into a program his campaign says would be similar to Medicare. The former vice president unveiled his health care plan Monday morning amid an escalating fight with his 2020 Democratic presidential foes as some more liberal candidates advocate enrolling all Americans in a national health plan, all but eliminating private health insurance. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is set to deliver a speech making his case for "Medicare for All" on Wednesday, according to his campaign. And California Sen. Kamala Harris, who has similarly backed a single-payer, government-run health program, teased the upcoming rollout of her plan in front of a crowd in New Hampshire on Sunday, too. (Bradner and Luhby, 7/15)

ABC News: Former Vice President Joe Biden Rolls Out Expanded Affordable Care Act Health Plan
In a video of the announcement released by the campaign, Biden expresses his surprise at so many Democratic candidates opposing the ACA. "I knew the Republicans would do everything in their power to repeal Obamacare. They still are. But I'm surprised that so many Democrats are running on getting rid of it," Biden said.The campaign estimates the plan will cost $750 billion over 10 years. Senior advisers said Biden would rescind President Donald Trump's tax cuts for the wealthy, raise the maximum tax bracket to 39% and get rid of the capital gains tax loophole for wealthy families with incomes greater than $1 million a year in order to cover the hefty price tag. (Harper, Donato and Nagle, 7/15)

The Washington Post: Biden To Unveil Health Plan, Sharpening Fight Among Democrats
At the heart of Biden’s health-care plan, which senior campaign officials said would cover more than 97 percent of Americans, is a proposal to let people choose a government-run health system like Medicare if they aren’t happy with private insurance. Obama initially set out to include such a public option in the ACA law, but later backed away from the idea amid political resistance. The former vice president would bolster other parts of the ACA designed to help people purchase insurance. It would get rid of the income cap — 400 percent of the federal poverty level — used to determine who qualifies for tax credits that help Americans pay insurance premiums. (Sullivan, 7/15)

Politico: Biden Unveils Health Care Plan: Affordable Care Act 2.0
Health policy experts said that Biden’s coverage plan appears to be more politically feasible than Sanders’ proposal. “Building on the ACA is the quickest way to get more people insured and improve affordability, while not taking on any powerful health industry group or disrupting coverage for those who already have it,” said Larry Levitt, executive vice president of health policy for the Kaiser Family Foundation. But incremental improvements to the ACA would leave “an inefficient and costly health care system in place,” Levitt added, preserving high prices and high deductibles for the roughly 160 million Americans with employer-based health coverage. (Diamond, 7/15)

The Associated Press: Biden Campaigns As Obamacare's Top Defender 
Biden is hoping his positioning as Obamacare's chief defender could be helpful on several fronts. It's a reminder of his close work alongside President Barack Obama, who remains popular among Democratic voters. And it could reinforce his pitch as a sensible centrist promising to rise above the strident cacophony of Trump and Democrats including Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, all single-payer advocates. (Barrow, 7/14)

The Wall Street Journal: Democratic Candidates Clash Over Health Care
The health-care debate among Democratic candidates is intensifying, with Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders fighting over whether to shore up the Affordable Care Act or to move to a government-run health plan. The former vice president warned in recent days that scrapping President Obama’s health-care law in favor of a government-run program would create a hiatus in coverage for families. Mr. Sanders has championed Medicare for All, a single-payer plan in which all Americans get health insurance through a government system. He accused Mr. Biden of spreading misinformation and said there would be no gaps in coverage. (Thomas, 7/14)

Boston Herald: Joe Biden Knocks Democratic Presidential Rivals On ‘Medicare For All’
“I have a fundamental disagreement with them on scrapping Obamacare,” Biden told an overflow crowd of more than 400 in a barn at Mack’s Apples in Londonderry. “I think we should build on it. We should provide a public option for anybody,” Biden said. “I’m against anybody who wants to do away with it and start over.” Biden has been striking at support for the single-payer health care plan championed by the likes of U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. (Kashinsky, 7/13)

The New York Times: Joe Biden Decides He Doesn’t Need To Stay Above The Fray After All
“I admire the rest of the field, from Bernie to Elizabeth to Kamala who want, you know, Medicare for All, but let me tell you, I think one of the most significant things we’ve done in our administration is pass the Affordable Care Act,” Mr. Biden said to applause here Saturday morning, referencing the signature health care measure passed under the Obama administration. (Glueck, 7/14)

CNN: Bernie Sanders Accuses Biden Of 'Misinformation' On 'Medicare For All'
"At a time when Donald Trump and the health insurance industry are lying every day about Medicare for all, I would hope that my fellow Democrats would not resort to misinformation about my legislation," Sanders said in the statement. He said under his proposal, "over a four-year period, we will transition to a system in which Medicare is expanded to cover every man, woman, and child in the country." "It is preposterous to argue that as we expand Medicare for All that people with cancer and other illnesses will not get the care that they need," Sanders said. "In fact, under Medicare for All, the good news is that we will end the horror of millions of people going into bankruptcy and financial distress simply because they need hospital care for serious conditions." (Bradner, 7/13)

The Hill: Republicans Make U-Turn On Health Care
Senate Republicans are reversing course and now taking a hard look at health care legislation to replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act in case the courts strike down former President Obama’s signature achievement. There’s a sense of urgency among GOP lawmakers to come up with a plan to replace the most popular components of ObamaCare after a panel of appellate judges on Tuesday aggressively questioned whether the law passes legal muster following Congress’s repeal of the tax penalty for not having insurance. (Bolton, 7/14)

Politico: Republicans Ready To Dive Off A Cliff On Obamacare
After a decade of trying to gut Obamacare, Republicans may finally get their wish thanks to a Trump administration-backed lawsuit. Its success would cause chaos not only in the insurance markets but on Capitol Hill. And Republican senators largely welcome it — even if they don’t know what comes next. “I’m ready for it to succeed,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.). “I would love to get back in and actually deal with health care again.” “Do I hope the lawsuit succeeds? I do,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.). “What I wish is we had some idea where we are going if it does succeed, as it looks more and more like it might.” Even Republicans not known for taking a hard line are eager for a forcing mechanism to take on Obamacare. (Everett, 7/14)

The Hill: House Report: Trump Administration Separated At Least 18 Immigrant Infants And Toddlers
At least 18 migrant infants and toddlers under the age of 2 were separated from their parents at the southern border as part of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy, including nine infants under the age of 1, according to a new report released Friday by the House Oversight and Reform Committee. Those infants and toddlers were kept apart for 20 days to up to six months, the report found. The Democratic-led report was released just ahead of a hearing on alleged abuses committed against migrant children in the aftermath of the zero tolerance policy. (Weixel, 7/12)

Texas Tribune: Migrant Children Are Still Being Separated From Parents, Data Shows
The data, which the American Immigration Council and other immigrant advocacy groups requested from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, shows that almost 400 children were separated from their parents between June 2018 — when the Trump administration ended its controversial zero tolerance policy — and March 2019. That number jumped to more than 700 children by May, according to data the government provided to the American Civil Liberties Union, which is litigating the family separation crisis in federal court. (Roldan and Rocha, 7/12)

The New York Times: New Details On Family Separations Fuel Emotional Hearing
Some of the children were kept apart for as long as six months and 241 of the children were kept in Border Patrol custody longer than 72 hours, some as long as a week. Under federal regulations, migrant children must be transferred to shelters managed by the Department of Health and Human Services after three days in Border Patrol custody. “My hope is that we can all agree on several basic points,” Representative Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, the committee chairman, said on Friday. “Anyone in the custody of our government — especially a child — must be treated humanely and with respect.” (Cochrane and Kanno-Youngs, 7/12)

News Service Of Florida: At Least 55 Children Separated From Parents Were Held In Homestead Facility, Report Says 
The report, requested by Congressman Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat who is chairman of the committee, harshly criticized Trump’s “zero tolerance policy,” initiated in 2018, which referred all individuals who illegally crossed the border into the country to the U.S. Department of Justice for prosecution. Adults were sent to the custody of federal immigration authorities and placed in detention facilities. Migrant children were taken into the custody of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is charged with operating detention centers for migrant children and with the family reunification process. (7/14)

The Wall Street Journal: Migrant Families Were Separated Longer Than Previously Known, House Report Says
From April to June 2018, thousands of children were separated from their parents when they sought asylum at the border. Many of these people were from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras and sought refuge from gang violence, hunger, poverty and corruption. The committee held a hearing on Friday about the report, where inspectors from the Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services testified. At the hearing, the focus shifted from the report to the current treatment of migrants seeking asylum at the border. Jennifer Costello, acting inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, said her office is concerned the department isn’t taking sufficient steps to remedy the situation. (Andrews and Naranjo, 7/12)

USA Today: House Reports Number Of Migrant Children Separated At The Border
The committee's investigators noted they were still waiting on additional information from federal agencies under the subpoenas, which could result in more updates to the report. "The administration executed a deliberate policy to take thousands of babies, infants, toddlers, and children away from their parents and transfer them to government custody, in some cases in deplorable conditions," the report concluded.  (Wu, 7/12)

CNN: Immigration: At Least 18 Migrant Children Under The Age Of 2 Were Separated From Parents, House Report Says
Last year, a court order in the case from US District Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego forced the reunification of many immigrant families the government had separated at the border as a result of its "zero tolerance" policy. The majority have been reunited, according to the latest court filing in the case. (Alvarez, 7/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Federal Agencies Trade Blame Over Detention Of Migrant Children
Officials from two federal agencies that oversee care for migrants are pointing fingers at each other over which bears more responsibility for children being detained for weeks on end in Border Patrol cells that have been widely criticized as unsafe. While the number of children held in such conditions declined sharply last month, according to federal data, the debate over how the situation became so dire remains heated. Kevin McAleenan, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, on Thursday said the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is charged with taking custody of children who cross the border alone after they are apprehended by border authorities, was slow to place them in shelters. (Caldwell, 7/12)

CNN: Trump Administration Agrees To Independent Investigation Of Health Conditions For Children At Border Facilities
The Trump administration has agreed to allow a Stanford University pediatrician to conduct an independent investigation into health conditions for migrant children at US Customs and Border Protection facilities. The pediatrician, Dr. Paul Wise, toured detention centers at the border last summer and was critical of the conditions there, according to a Stanford publication. In that interview, Wise described how migrant children are kept in a "kind of cage-like" processing center. (Cohen and Bonifield, 7/12)

Reveal: The US Is Quietly Opening Shelters For Babies And Young Kids. One Has 12 Children And No Mothers
The federal government is quietly expanding its use of shelters to house infants, toddlers and other young asylum-seekers. One Phoenix facility housed 12 children ages 5 and under, Reveal has learned, some as young as 3 months old, all without their mothers.As part of this expansion, the government has designated three facilities to house newborns and unaccompanied teen mothers. (Bogado, 7/13)

The Washington Post: Momentary Border Reprieve Rests On A Rickety Foundation, As U.S. Immigration Policies Are Put To The Test
The dirt lot beneath the border bridge here is a parking area again, not an outdoor jail. When the Border Patrol station next door had 2,000 detainees spilling out of its cells this spring, families slept on the ground beneath the overpass in a razor-wire enclosure. On Friday, the station had six. Cells that were standing room only now stand empty. (Miroff, 7/13)

ProPublica: Border Patrol Agents Are Passing Around A Commemorative Coin Mocking Care For Migrant Kids
An unofficial commemorative coin has been circulating among Border Patrol agents at the U.S./Mexico border, mocking the task of caring for migrant children and other duties that have fallen to agents as families cross into the U.S. On the front, the coin declares “KEEP THE CARAVANS COMING” under an image of a massive parade of people carrying a Honduran flag — a caricature of the “caravan” from last fall, which started in Honduras and attracted thousands of people as it moved north. (While the caravan included many women and children, the only visible figures on the coin appear to be adult men.) (Lind, 7/12)

Politico: The Border Patrol Hits A Breaking Point
Vice President Pence’s Friday visit to a Border Patrol detention facility in Texas didn’t go according to plan. Meant to pressure Democrats to address the migrant crisis at the southern border, the visit instead appeared to horrify those who accompanied Pence and raised pointed questions about Customs and Border Protection, America’s most troubled law enforcement agency. Nearly 400 migrants were crammed into a converted vehicle sallyport; many hadn’t showered in weeks, and space was so tight there was no room for cots for them to sleep. “The stench was horrendous,” the Washington Post’s Josh Dawsey wrote, noting that Border Patrol agents were wearing face masks and saying, “Pence appeared to scrunch his nose when entering the facility, stayed for a moment and left.” (Graff, 7/15)

The Washington Post: As Immigrant Families Wait In Dread, No Sign Of Large-Scale Enforcement Raids
The nationwide immigration raids that President Trump said would begin Sunday failed to materialize on the streets of major U.S. cities, even as his statement cast a cloud of fear that kept many families indoors. Immigration enforcement authorities said their plans to track down migrants with deportation orders would continue, but their operations over the weekend appeared more akin to routine actions rather than the mass roundups the president promised. (Hauslohner and Miroff, 7/14)

Texas Tribune: Texas House Members Explore State Response To Migrant Surge At Border 
Local officials from the Texas-Mexico border, civil rights attorneys and the heads of law enforcement agencies spent hours Friday detailing for Texas House members how the large number of migrants crossing the southern border is straining several government entities. And lawmakers discussed ways the state could help with the ongoing border crisis that has drawn national attention and spurred partisan battles in Washington, D.C. (Korte, 7/12)

Texas Tribune: A Former Camp For Oilfield Workers Now Holds Hundreds Of Migrant Children
The 1,300-bed facility opened on June 30 to alleviate the dangerous overcrowding, prolonged detention, and filthy conditions at some Border Patrol facilities. Around 200 children, all teenagers, are currently housed there. (Roldan, 7/13)

The Associated Press: House Approves 9/11 Victims Bill, Sends It To Senate
The House on Friday overwhelmingly approved a bill ensuring that a victims compensation fund for the Sept. 11 attacks never runs out of money. The 402-12 vote sends the bill to the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has agreed to call a vote before Congress goes on its August recess. Lawmakers from both parties hailed the House vote, which comes a month after comedian Jon Stewart sharply criticized Congress for failing to act. (Daly, 7/12)

The Wall Street Journal: House Passes Bill Shoring Up 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund
The legislation, which passed the House by a 402-12 vote, would fund all current and future medical claims from 9/11 survivors through 2090. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the cost of fully funding the trust at roughly $10.2 billion. The fund was created to pay health-care costs for volunteers and rescue workers who have become sick since responding to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and United Flight 93, which crashed near Shanksville, Pa. It also compensates survivors of the attacks and residents who lived near the sites. (Rubin, 7/12)

The New York Times: House Votes To Extend 9/11 Fund For Lifetimes Of First Responders
Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, Democrat of New York, who has led the charge to replenish the fund, said the bill fulfilled “a moral obligation” Congress has to the Sept. 11 emergency workers, who rushed to the rubble immediately after the attacks, and others who worked there in the months that followed. The cause was championed by the comedian Jon Stewart and brought to an emotional peak by the death two weeks ago of Luis G. Alvarez, a former New York City detective and advocate for the emergency workers. “It’s the least we can do as a grateful nation,” Ms. Maloney said. “They were there for us; we have to be there for them, and we have a double moral responsibility. Not only were they the veterans of the war on terror, they were told by their government that the site was safe, when it was not.” (Davis, 7/12)

CBS News: Victim Compensation Fund: House Votes To Permanently Reauthorize 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund After Outcry
The measure was brought back into the limelight after Stewart's testimony last month, during which Stewart at times broke down in tears, shouting at the lawmakers and calling them "shameful." "I can't help but think what an incredible metaphor this room is ... a filled room of 9/11 first responders and in front of me, a nearly empty Congress. Sick and dying, they brought themselves down here to speak to no one ... shameful," said Stewart. (Tillett and Segers, 7/12)

Roll Call: 9/11 Aid Bill Passes House After Emotional Lobbying Campaign
The fund’s life already has been extended several times as more victims develop cancer and other ailments from environmental contaminants at the crash sites. Most of the health problems stem from breathing toxic air at Ground Zero, where the former twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood. “We have asked so much of our responders and survivors,” House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., whose district includes the World Trade Center site, said in floor debate. “It is time for us to give them the peace of mind they deserve.” (Lerman, 7/12)

Vox: House Passes Funding For 9/11 First Responders After Public Shaming From Jon Stewart
The bill now heads to the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has committed to giving it a vote in August, following extensive pressure to do so. “As soon as the House passes this bill, it should be on the floor of the Senate immediately as a standalone bill,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in June. “I am imploring, pleading, and even begging to Leader McConnell to put this bill on the floor as soon as it passes the House.” (Zhou, 7/12)

Newsweek: 9/11 First Responder Warns Mitch McConnell To Keep His Word On Victims Fund Or His Team Will Make His Life 'Miserable''
A 9/11 first responder in an MSNBC appearance with comedian Jon Stewart told Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to reauthorize the 9/11 Victims Fund or else his team would make the senator's life "miserable." "If Mitch McConnell or anybody in the Senate plays games," first responder John Feal said on Andrea Mitchell Reports Friday, "Myself and my team, Jon Stewart, we come back and make their lives miserable." (Kowng, 7/12)

Stat: Lawmakers Urge Trump Administration To Alter Trade Deal Or Americans Will Pay More For Drugs
More than 100 Democratic members of Congress urged the Trump administration to remove pending language from the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement trade agreement that would lock the U.S into at least 10 years of marketing exclusivity for biologics, a move they argue will hurt taxpayers and patients. (Silverman, 7/12)

In other pharmaceutical news —

Reuters: Democrats Take Aim As Trump Abandons Drug Pricing Plan
Democrats see U.S. President Donald Trump becoming increasingly vulnerable to criticism about healthcare costs after the administration's decision to scrap a proposal to lower drug prices, and 2020 White House candidates are rushing to seize the spotlight on the issue. The debate over the future of the American healthcare system has become a focal point of the Democratic presidential nominating contest. As Trump has failed to make strides to remedy the problem, Democrats are becoming more vocal. (Gibson, 7/13)

The Associated Press: Court Order Blocking Contraception Exemptions Upheld
A federal appeals court upheld a lower court order that blocked the Trump administration from enforcing rules that allow more employers to deny insurance coverage for contraceptives to women. The three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia said Friday that state plaintiffs in Pennsylvania and New Jersey were likely to succeed in proving that appropriate procedures weren't followed and the regulations weren't authorized under the 2010 health care overhaul or required by a law aimed at protecting religious freedom. (7/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Appeals Court Upholds Decision Barring Trump Birth-Control Exemptions
The Trump administration’s rules, issued in November by the DHHS, would have exempted a broad swath of employers from the mandate contained in the Affordable Care Act. Those rules represented a second attempt by Trump officials to create such an exemption, after a first set was blocked in 2017. Judge Patty Schwartz, writing for the court, said the Affordable Care Act plainly states women must be provided preventive health services. “Nowhere in the enabling statute did Congress grant the agency the authority to exempt entities from providing insurance coverage for such services,” she wrote. (Hackman, 7/12)

The Hill: Appeals Court Blocks Trump Administration Birth Control Rules
Louise Melling, the deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), applauded the court for its decision, calling the rules “discriminatory.” “Yet another court has stopped this administration from sanctioning discrimination under the guise of religion or morality,” Melling wrote in a statement. “The Trump administration’s rules authorized employers and universities to strip women of birth control coverage — a benefit guaranteed to them by law, and meant to advance their health and equality. We applaud the order to enjoin the enforcement of these discriminatory rules.” (Campisi, 7/12)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Won't Update Hospital Star Ratings Until Expert Panel Review
An update to the controversial hospital star ratings on Hospital Compare won't happen this summer. In an email to Modern Healthcare, a CMS spokeswoman said the next update to the hospital star ratings will not occur until a technical expert panel reviews the methodology and offers changes. (Castellucci, 7/12)

In other news from CMS —

Modern Healthcare: CMS Proposes Home Health Agency Pay Raise
The CMS issued a proposed rule this week that would boost payment rates for home health agencies in 2020 and continue implementing several changes to the way it pays for the services they provide. The rule also includes proposals for a permanent home infusion therapy benefit to take effect in 2021. The agency estimated that the proposed policies will increase payments to home health agencies by 1.3%, or $250 million, in 2020. (Livingston, 7/12)

Modern Healthcare: More Clinicians Received MIPS Bonuses In Year 2
Although more clinicians who participated in year two of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System will receive a bonus compared to year one, there are less participants overall, the CMS announced Friday. The agency said 97.6% of clinicians who participated in MIPS last year will receive a positive payment adjustment on each of their Medicare Part B claims in 2020, which is slightly higher than 2017 when 93.1% of clinicians got a bonus last year. At the same time, the number of participants in the program dropped from 1.06 million to 916,058. (Castelluci, 7/12)

The Tennessean: At Least 220,000 Tennessee Kids Faced Loss Of Health Insurance Due To Lacking Paperwork
At least 220,000 Tennessee children were cut, or were slated to be cut, from state health insurance in recent years in an unwieldy TennCare system that was dependent on hard-copy forms and postal mail, according to a Tennessean investigation. The majority of these kids likely lost their coverage because of late, incomplete or unreturned eligibility forms. Most TennCare beneficiaries are automatically renewed for coverage each year, but some families were required to complete mailed forms to confirm if they are eligible for state insurance. The Tennessean analyzed a TennCare database of 319,000 children who went through this paperwork process from January 2016 through December 2018. The analysis indicates TennCare representatives, using this paperwork process, were rarely able to determine if kids were actually eligible or not. (Kelman and Reicher, 7/14)

The Associated Press: Indiana Creates Medicaid Work Rules For Low-Income Hoosiers
Indiana has become the latest state to implement work requirements for low-income residents who receive their health insurance through Medicaid — a change that opponents warn will cost some under resourced Hoosiers their health coverage. The state's Gateway to Work program began July 1. The new program will require an estimated 72,000 people to report their work hours or other activity to the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration in order to keep their coverage, WFYI-FM reported. (7/14)

NCPR News: Watchdog Group Calls Out State Budget 'Gimmick' In Medicaid Payment Delay
The Empire Center’s Bill Hammond says Governor Andrew Cuomo’s budget office quietly postponed a $1.7 billion Medicaid payment in late March by three business days and made the payment instead in early April. That’s significant because the state’s fiscal year ended March 31 and a new one began April 1. If the payment were made in March, the state would have been over a statutory cap that limits growth of Medicaid spending to 3% last year. “It’s definitely a gimmick,” said Hammond. “It’s only three days, but it moves this big number from the balance sheet from one fiscal year to the balance sheet of another fiscal year.” (DeWitt, 7/15)

KPAX: Hearings On Medicaid-Expansion Changes Delayed Until End Of July
Next week’s hearings on key changes to Montana’s $750 million-a-year Medicaid expansion program have been delayed for two weeks, state health officials said. Health officials said they rescheduled the hearings at the request of the federal government, which wanted to give Montanans more time to examine the proposed changes in the program that provides health coverage to nearly 100,000 low-income Montanans. (7/14)

The New York Times: Divided Over Abortion, But Joining Forces For Women’s Workplace Rights
When South Carolina passed a law last year to provide pregnant workers and new mothers with more protections in the workplace, it was driven by an unlikely alliance: supporters of abortion rights working alongside religious groups that oppose them. “We were all on the same page pragmatically,” said Ashley Crary Lidow, associate director of policy and government relations at the Women’s Rights & Empowerment Network in Columbia, S.C., which supports abortion rights. Palmetto Family Council, a religious advocacy group in Columbia, also said the partnership had “raised some eyebrows” around the Statehouse. (Bernard, 7/12)

The Associated Press: ACLU: Timing Threatens Public Vote On Missouri Abortion Law
Timing threatens to stymie efforts to let the public vote on a new Missouri law banning abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy or later after the state Supreme Court on Friday refused to intervene to force the state's top election official to act quickly. At issue is a push by the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri to put the anti-abortion law on the 2020 ballot. ACLU attorneys now worry that if Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft doesn't act fast to process the petition, the organization could be left with as little as two weeks to collect the more than 100,000 signatures need to put the law to a vote. (Ballentine, 7/12)

St. Louis Public Radio: Missouri Supreme Court May Have Dealt Big Blow To Bid To Overturn 8-Week Abortion Ban
The Missouri Supreme Court won’t reconsider an appeals court decision that effectively delays the ACLU of Missouri from gathering signatures to overturn Missouri’s recently passed eight-week abortion ban. It’s a move that places the ACLU of Missouri’s referendum in serious jeopardy, because there may not be enough time to gather roughly 100,000 signatures to spark a 2020 election. (Rosenbaum, 7/12)

The Associated Press: Oklahoma Judge Upholds Law Banning Common Abortion Procedure
An Oklahoma judge on Friday upheld a ban on a common second-trimester abortion procedure in what abortion rights proponents decried as a "rogue" decision that will threaten the reproductive rights of women throughout the state. Oklahoma County District Judge Cindy Truong ruled from the bench following arguments over the ban approved by the state's Republican-controlled Legislature and signed into law in 2015. (Murphy, 7/12)

The Hill: Oklahoma Judge Upholds State Ban On Particular Abortion Method
The law, which was put on hold during the legal challenge, was passed by the state’s GOP-controlled legislature and signed into law in 2015. The only exceptions to the ban are if the woman’s life is in danger or if a serious health risk is posed to her. The Center for Reproductive Rights, which challenged Oklahoma’s law, tweeted Friday that “we cannot overstate the harm the decision will have” on women in the state. (Campisi, 7/12)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Anti-Abortion 'Heartbeat' Law Drives Fundraising In Georgia
The email warned that the legislator was in the crosshairs of Republicans for opposing the anti-abortion bill that has rocked Georgia politics, and it invited donors to a fundraiser to give $481 contributions “in honor of our fight against” House Bill 481. Several of Democratic state Rep. Mike Wilensky’s supporters came to a Sandy Springs mansion with donations in hand, and a message to send, as they listened to actor Ric Reitz outline his fears that the new abortion restrictions will gut Georgia’s film industry. (Bluestein, 7/12)

Reuters: Oklahoma, J&J To Wrap Up First Trial Over Opioid Crisis
Oklahoma’s attorney general is expected on Monday to urge a judge to find Johnson & Johnson responsible for flooding the market with painkillers and fueling the U.S. opioid epidemic, as the first trial in nationwide litigation over the drug crisis comes to an end. Lawyers for Attorney General Mike Hunter and J&J are set to deliver closing arguments in state court in Norman, Oklahoma following six weeks of testimony from current and former J&J executives and victims of the epidemic. (Raymond, 7/15)

The Associated Press: Closing Arguments In Opioid Trial Set For Today
Oklahoma’s is the first state case to proceed to trial and could help shape negotiations over roughly 1,500 similar lawsuits filed by state, local and tribal governments that have been consolidated before a federal judge in Ohio. Oklahoma claims the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company aggressively marketed opioids in the state in a way that overstated their effectiveness to treat chronic pain and understated the addiction risks. (7/15)

The Wall Street Journal: OxyContin Made The Sacklers Rich. Now It’s Tearing Them Apart.
Jacqueline Sackler was fed up. HBO’s John Oliver would soon use his TV show to pillory her family, the clan that owns Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin. In a nearly 15-minute Sunday-night segment, he joined a long line of people who blamed the Sacklers in part for the nation’s opioid crisis. Before the show aired, Ms. Sackler, who is married to a son of a company co-founder, emailed her in-laws, lawyers and advisers. “This situation is destroying our work, our friendships, our reputation and our ability to function in society,” she wrote. “And worse, it dooms my children. How is my son supposed to apply to high school in September?” (Hopkins, 7/13)

And in other news —

The Associated Press: Virginia To Get Share Of Opioid Settlement
Virginia is set to get a still-to-be determined amount of a $1.4 billion settlement to resolve U.S. investigations into the marketing of an anti-addiction drug. The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday that a British-based company has agreed to settle over allegations its former Virginia-based subsidiary, Indivior, sought to increase prescriptions for Suboxone Film by deceiving health care providers into believing the drug was safer than other opioid addiction treatments. (7/12)

Colorado Sun: AG Phil Weiser Backs Philly In Lawsuit Over Supervised-Drug-Use Sites, Even If Colorado’s Effort Is Stalled
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser is supporting a Philadelphia nonprofit in its legal battle with the federal government over whether it should be allowed to open a supervised drug consumption site in that city, stepping into an issue at the center of one of Colorado’s most divisive political debates. Weiser, a Democrat, joined six other states and Washington, D.C., in filing a friend-of-the-court brief in the federal government’s legal battle with the Philadelphia nonprofit Safehouse, which wants to open a location where people can inject drugs, such as heroin, under the watch of medical professionals. (Paul, 7/11)

The New York Times: When Big Tobacco Invoked Eric Garner To Fight A Menthol Cigarette Ban
With San Francisco banning menthol cigarettes last year, and the Food and Drug Administration considering a nationwide ban, it seemed like the time was ripe for New York to follow suit. Then Reynolds American, the tobacco giant, got to work. It enlisted the Rev. Al Sharpton and his group, the National Action Network, as well as the boss of the Manhattan Democratic Party, Keith L.T. Wright, a former 12-term assemblyman from Harlem, to fight the ban proposed by the City Council. (Goodman, 7/14)

In other tobacco news —

Reuters: U.S. Federal Judge Orders FDA To Implement 10-Month Deadline For E-Cig Applications
A U.S. federal judge on Friday ordered the Food and Drug Administration to impose a 10-month deadline for the submission of e-cigarette applications, turning the screws on companies like Juul Labs Inc whose products have come under intense scrutiny for their popularity among teenagers. The FDA last month proposed the shorter timeline after the U.S. District Court for Maryland ruled in a lawsuit filed by anti-tobacco groups that the agency had exceeded its authority in allowing e-cigarettes to remain on the market until 2022 before companies applied for regulatory approval. (7/12)

The Washington Post: Doing These Five Things Could Decrease Your Risk Of Alzheimer’s By 60 Percent, New Study Says
Here’s a to-do list for preventing dementia, new research suggests: Ditch red meat, take a brisk walk to the grocery store, do the Sunday crossword and stick to one glass of wine at dinner. A study presented Sunday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Los Angeles found that combining five lifestyle habits — including eating healthier, exercising regularly and refraining from smoking — can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s by 60 percent. A separate study showed that lifestyle choices can lower risk even for those who are genetically prelifestyle disposed to the disease. (Natanson, 7/14)

The Associated Press: A Healthy Lifestyle May Offset Genetic Risk For Alzheimer's
A healthy lifestyle can cut your risk of developing Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia even if you have genes that raise your risk for these mind-destroying diseases, a large study has found. People with high genetic risk and poor health habits were about three times more likely to develop dementia versus those with low genetic risk and good habits, researchers reported Sunday. Regardless of how much genetic risk someone had, a good diet, adequate exercise, limiting alcohol and not smoking made dementia less likely. (7/14)

CNN: Lifestyle Can Still Lower Dementia Risk Even If You Have High Genetic Risk, Study Suggests
There is no cure for or preventive medicine that can stop dementia and its most common form, Alzheimer's disease. But a growing body of evidence suggests the way you live can potentially lower your risk. The study found that among people with a high genetic risk, those who maintained a health lifestyle -- meaning they watched their diet, exercised regularly, kept their drinking to a minimum and didn't smoke -- were less likely to develop dementia later in life. (Christensen, 7/15)

Today: Healthy Living May Help Offset Genetic Risk Of Dementia: Study
People with high genetic risk and an unhealthy lifestyle were almost three times more likely to develop dementia than those with low genetic risk who also lived healthily. "Our findings are exciting as they show that we can take action to try to offset our genetic risk for dementia," said Ms Elzbieta Kuzma, a researcher at Britain's University of Exeter who co-led the study. (7/14)

NBC News: Can Alzheimer's Be Stopped? Five Lifestyle Behaviors Are Key, New Research Suggests
For people who fear dementia is inevitable because of family history or a genetic profile, this tells them “the game is not over because they have increased risk,” said Petersen, who was not affiliated with the new studies. (Carroll, 7/14)

In other news on dementia —

The Washington Post: Signs Of Dementia For Family Members To Notice
Julie Staple was a child when her dad, Mark Womack, began exhibiting odd behavior. An award-winning violin, viola and cello maker, Womack was not following through for clients nor returning phone calls promptly. He was watching more TV and taking more breaks from work. He began drinking and was quick to become angry. The behavior lasted years and took its toll. Staple and her mom, Ginny Womack, a professional violinist, thought Mark Womack was depressed. (Berger, 7/13)

Stat: LGBT People More Likely To Report Memory Problems, Survey Finds 
LGBT Americans report increased rates of memory loss and confusion — two early signs of dementia — compared to their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts, a large survey has found. The observations present new risk factors to consider for Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, and raise questions about the potential influence of social stressors. “This idea that LGBT people might have more … subjective cognitive impairment is a very interesting one,” said Yaakov Stern, a professor of neuropsychology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. (Cai, 7/14)

NPR: Gene Test For Alzheimer's Can Raise Thorny Questions
In a waiting room at the Banner Alzheimer's Institute in Phoenix, a 74-year-old woman named Rubie is about to find out whether she has a gene that puts her at risk for Alzheimer's. "I'm a little bit apprehensive about it, and I hope I don't have it," she says. "But if I do, I want to be able to plan for my future." The gene is called APOE E4, and it's the most powerful known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's after age 65. (Hamilton, 7/12)

The New York Times: He Emerged From Prison A Potent Symbol Of H.I.V. Criminalization
Last week, Michael L. Johnson, a former college wrestler convicted of failing to disclose to sexual partners that he was H.I.V. positive in a racially charged case that reignited calls to re-examine laws that criminalize H.I.V. exposure, walked out of the Boonville Correctional Center in Missouri 25 years earlier than expected. Mr. Johnson, 27, was released on parole on Tuesday after an appeals court found that his 2015 trial was “fundamentally unfair.” His original sentence was longer than the state average for second-degree murder. (Rueb, 7/14)

Kaiser Health News: Even When HIV Prevention Drug Is Covered, Other Costs Block Treatment
Three years ago, Corey Walsh, who was in a relationship with a man who was HIV-positive, got a prescription for Truvada, a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to prevent infection with the virus that causes AIDS. Walsh, then 23, was covered by his parents’ health insurance policy, which picked up the cost of the drug. But the price tag for the quarterly lab tests and doctor visits he needed as part of the prevention regimen cost him roughly $400, more than he could afford. (Andrews, 7/15)

The New York Times: Urinary Tract Infections Affect Millions. The Cures Are Faltering.
For generations, urinary tract infections, one of the world’s most common ailments, have been easily and quickly cured with a simple course of antibiotics. But there is growing evidence that the infections, which afflict millions of Americans a year, mostly women, are increasingly resistant to these medicines, turning a once-routine diagnosis into one that is leading to more hospitalizations, graver illnesses and prolonged discomfort from the excruciating burning sensation that the infection brings. (Richtel, 7/13)

The New York Times: What You Need To Know About Resistant Urinary Tract Infections
Urinary tract infections, or U.T.I.s, are one of the world’s most common infections. Increasingly, they also are resistant to major drug treatments. Here’s what you should know. (Richtel, 7/13)

Stat: To Make Better Therapy Apps, Developers Take A Page From Pixar
Making medicines isn’t about aesthetics. Your pill doesn’t need to be pretty to work. But with mental health apps, good design is half the battle. App makers have to be able to translate traditional therapy techniques into easy exercises that people can flip through on their phones. They have to make it responsive and, in theory, they have to make it effective. They also have to convince people the app is something they can trust — and can turn to when they’re feeling anxious. (Thielking, 7/15)

The Washington Post: This Show Is Really ‘Sick.’ If You’re Concerned About Your Health, That’s Why You Should Watch It.
From malaria to measles to the common cold, disease can do a number on the human body. But how? “Sick,” a YouTube show from Seeker, a digital publisher devoted to science, answers that question in gripping, often gross detail. The first season of the series is online now. (Blakemore, 7/13)

NPR: Sleep Training Truths: What Science Can (And Can't) Tell Us About Crying It Out
Welcome to parenthood! For many of us, parenthood is like being air-dropped into a foreign land, where protohumans rule and communication is performed through cryptic screams and colorful fluids. And to top it off, in this new world, sleep is like gold: precious and rare. (Oh, so precious.) Throughout human history, children were typically raised in large, extended families, filled with aunts, uncles, grannies, grandpas and siblings. Adding another baby to the mix didn't really make a big dent. (Doucleff, 7/15)

The Associated Press: Agencies Boost Efforts To Stop Wildland Firefighter Suicides
Shane Del Grosso spent some 30 summers crossing smoke-shrouded mountains and forests to fight increasingly devastating wildfires in the U.S. West. Toward the end, his skills and experience propelled him to lead a federal multi-agency team that responded to large-scale national disasters. On some days he directed a thousand firefighters and helped coordinate aircraft attacks on massive blazes. (Ridler, 7/14)

Kansas City Star: GE Infant Warmers Recalled After 2 Babies Fracture Skulls
Parents-to-be may want to ask their childbirth medical facility about the infant warmers in use. GE Healthcare recalled over 11 years of infant warmers after hundreds of complaints and two babies fractured their skulls in falls from the warmers. (Neal, 7/12)

NPR: Doctors Begin To Raise Climate Change's Health Effects With Patients
When Michael Howard arrives for a checkup with his lung specialist, he's worried about how his body will cope with the heat and humidity of a Boston summer. "I lived in Florida for 14 years and I moved back because the humidity was just too much," Howard tells pulmonologist Mary Rice, as he settles into an exam room chair at a Beth Israel Deaconess HealthCare clinic. Howard, who is 57, has COPD, a progressive lung disease that can be exacerbated by heat and humidity. (Bebinger, 7/13)

PBS NewsHour: Is CBD Legal? Here’s What You Need To Know, According To Science 
Yet here’s a strange fact about the overnight ubiquity of these products: Selling them is illegal. That’s true even though the 2018 Farm Bill removed legal restrictions on CBD if it’s derived from hemp plants. What’s equally strange: Buying CBD products is legal…at least sometimes.This paradox is one of many in America’s long history of both utilizing and criminalizing cannabis. (Akpan and Leventhal, 7/12)

Austin American-Statesman: Blood Donation Centers Are Out For Young Blood
Facing an aging donor base that could lead to an inadequate supply, blood banks across the country are ramping up efforts to woo younger generations to donate regularly. Without more regular millennial donors, the health care consequences could be severe. (Sudborough, 7/14)

NPR: More Tai Chi, Fewer Meds: Simple Steps To Help Seniors Avoid Falling
As we age, the risk of falling increases and becomes increasingly perilous. A fall can be a real health setback for a frail, elderly person. And, more older adults are dying from falls today than 20 years ago. A recent study showed that more than 25,000 U.S. adults age 75 or above died from a fall in 2016, up from more than 8,600 deaths in 2000, and the rate of fatal falls for this age group roughly doubled. But the risk of falling can be minimized, says Dr. Elizabeth Eckstrom, professor and chief of geriatrics at Oregon Health & Science University. "A lot of older adults and a lot of physicians think that falling is inevitable as you age, but in reality it's not." (Torres, 7/14)

NPR: Caregiving For A Loved One? How To Get The Help You Need
This year I joined the ranks of 40 million Americans who are family caregivers as I began to care for my 81-year-old father. As a physician, taking on this role has given me the chance to experience what so many of my patients and their families encounter. As I've learned, no one is prepared to become a caregiver. It just happens. (Henning Schumann, 7/14)

NPR: A Call For More Research On Cancer's Environmental Triggers
We already know how to stop many cancers before they start, scientists say. But there's a lot more work to be done. "Around half of cancers could be prevented," said Christopher Wild in the opening session of an international scientific meeting on cancer's environmental causes held in June. Wild is the former director of the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer. (Schattner, 7/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Schools Relax Dress Codes In Bid To End Body Shaming
The old fingertip test to measure length of shorts and skirts is out in a growing number of school districts, while short shorts, tube tops, pajamas and attire showing cleavage are in. Clothing once considered taboo is now permitted as more districts across the U.S. relax student dress code policies, deemed disproportionately targeted at females, and move to gender-neutral or equitable dress codes. The districts also want to end body shaming, causing humiliation by criticizing a person’s body shape or size. (Hobbs, 7/13)

The New York Times: Shielding Kids From The Sun Isn’t Just About Sunscreen
We have come to the time of year when everyone needs to be reminded about the daily duty of considering the sun. “We don’t want people to just stay inside,” said Dr. Lawrence F. Eichenfield, a professor of dermatology and pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego and Rady Children’s Hospital. “We know that sun can have harmful effects including increasing the risk of skin cancer, sunburn, aging of skin — sun protection makes sense.” (Klass, 7/15)

ProPublica: Maryland Sues Notorious For-Profit Group Homes. The Company Was The Subject Of ProPublica Investigation.
Alleging “Dickensian” conditions, Maryland’s Attorney General has sued a group home provider that has long faced allegations in multiple states of abusing children with severe developmental disabilities and behavioral challenges. The for-profit company, which in recent years changed its name from AdvoServ to Bellwether Behavioral Health, ran group homes in Delaware that took in residents from Maryland. Maryland removed the last of its children from the homes in October 2016, after inspections found filthy conditions and a teenage girl from Maryland died after being restrained. (Vogell, 7/12)

The New York Times: In Hawaii, Rat Lungworm Disease Infects People But Eludes Researchers
A tropical parasite transmitted through rats and snails has caught the attention of health officials in Hawaii. But few scientists have studied the infection once it makes its way into humans, and researchers can’t say for certain whether the disease is becoming more widespread. The parasite, Angiostrongylus cantonensis, typically resides in a rat’s pulmonary arteries and is commonly known as “rat lungworm.” (Sheikh, 7/12)

USA Today: Man Dies After Being Infected By Flesh-Eating Bacteria In Florida
A Tennessee man died this week after becoming infected by a bacteria, vibrio vulnificus, during a trip to the Florida Panhandle, his daughter said. In a Facebook post, Cheryl Bennett Wiygul said her father became infected with the bacteria after a day of splashing around in the water off of Destin. He seemed happy and talkative, she said. "About 4:00 a.m. Saturday morning, 12 hours after we were in the water, he woke up with a fever, chills and some cramping. ...  They got to the hospital in Memphis around 8 p.m.," Wiygul said in the post. "They took him back immediately. As they were helping him get changed into his hospital gown they saw this terribly swollen black spot on his back that was not there before." (Hardiman, 7/14)

The Washington Post: Virginia Gun Violence: Pregnant Woman Is Shot In Richmond After Failed Gun Control Debate
Outrage was still rising Tuesday when Levar Stoney received the text message from his police chief. The mayor of Richmond had spent the morning speaking to crowds outside the state Capitol ahead of a special legislative session on gun control. He’d invoked the victims of a May 31 mass shooting in Virginia Beach and urged lawmakers to pass “common sense” gun laws. “There is an opportunity to do right,” he’d said. “That day is today.” (Miller, 7/14)

The CT Mirror: Anthem, ConnectiCare Seek Premium Increases For 2020 Policies
Insurers that sell policies on Connecticut’s Affordable Care Act exchange, Access Heath CT, are seeking premium increases for their 2020 policies, basing their requests largely on a new federal tax that will be imposed next year. Anthem Health Plans filed a rate request earlier this month for an average 15.2 percent increase for the health plans it sells to individuals both on and off the exchange. Those policies cover about 27,300 people, Anthem said. (Radelat, 7/12)

Sacramento Bee: Gov. Gavin Newsom Signs Whistleblower Protection Bill For Health Care Workers. 
In 2016, Teresa Brooke was fired from Aurora Santa Rosa Hospital, a psychiatric facility in Sonoma County, for reporting a “full-blown patient riot” and multiple instances of patient self-harm and sexual assault that she witnessed at the hospital. Because Brooke was Aurora’s chief nursing officer, she had an ethical obligation to file that complaint, her attorney, Xinying Valerian, said in a report. ...That’s why on Thursday the California Nurses Association applauded California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to sign Senate Bill 322, which will protect whistleblowers at health care facilities from discrimination and retaliation. (Ghisolfi, 7/12)

North Carolina Health News: WIC Benefits Help Improve Child, Maternal Nutrition, But Fewer Families Are Accessing It
Fewer women and children in North Carolina are taking part in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), a federal program designed to ensure low-income women, babies and children get needed nutrients in their diet. The slide is worrisome, given that the WIC program has long only captured a portion of those who are eligible. (Ovaska-Few, 7/15)

The Washington Post: Should There Be Diaper-Changing Stations In Men’s Bathrooms? With Proposed New Law, D.C. Wades Into National Debate. 
Having a kid changed a lot of things — including how Jeremy León enters restaurants. Today, when he steps through the door with 3-year-old daughter Naya, Jeremy León immediately switches to “my logical mind.” He scans the scene, locates the restroom and sets out to answer the all-important question: Will there be a diaper-changing table in the men’s bathroom? More often than not in the D.C. area, the answer is no, leaving León — a stay-at-home dad who is married to a man — at a loss. (Natanson, 7/14)

NH Times Union: DHMC Opening Neurocritical Care Unit
Starting Tuesday, patients suffering from critical head trauma or serious neurological conditions will be able to get specialized treatment at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center’s new unit. The hospital is opening a Neurocritical Care Unit, which will implement technology and specialized care to treat injuries and diseases that affect the brain. The unit staff will be able to monitor brain activity 24 hours a day. (Fisher, 7/14)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: About 30,000 Missouri American Water Customers Have Lead Service Lines. Why Will Replacing Them Take More Than A Decade?
Out of the Missouri American Water Co.’s 450,000 customers, an estimated 28,000 — or approximately 6% — own lead service lines, which pipe water into homes from water mains. The percentage used to be slightly higher, but since 2017, the investor-owned water utility — which serves much of St. Louis County along with other pockets of the state — has swapped in about 2,000 replacements. It’s part of an effort to gradually remove lead service lines — and the health risk posed by lead exposure, which is particularly dangerous to children — over the next decade and beyond. (Gray, 7/14)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Trump Effort On Kidney Disease Could Have Big Impact In Georgia
Advocates were thrilled when President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that would, among other things, promote organ donations and reshape kidney care. They said the disease has gone ignored too long. The question remains how much concrete change the administration’s actions this week represent, and how much they will move the needle going forward on public kidney health. (Hart, 7/12)

WBUR: Seattle Faces Backlash After Easing Up On Punishing Crimes Involving Mental Illness
Seattle is grappling with a crisis of what is sometimes called "visible homelessness" — people who live in the street and struggle with mental illness or drug addiction. It's a population that often commits small crimes, such as disorderly conduct or shoplifting to pay for drugs. And public frustration is growing.Some accuse a reform-oriented local criminal justice system of becoming too tolerant. (Kaste, 7/12)

The Washington Post: Vision To Learn: Kids Get Free Eye Exams, Glasses From Nonprofit
Ja’karri Green can’t see mosquitoes when they land on his arm, and sometimes he has trouble reading his Japanese comic books. So it was no surprise when the optometrist who came to his Boys & Girls Club camp last week told him he needed to wear glasses. “So my seeing is bad?” Ja’karri, 11, asked the doctor, Marianne Mai. “Not bad at all!” Mai told him. “You just need a little help.” (Iati, 7/14)

Modern Healthcare: 85,000 Kaiser Permanente Workers Threaten To Strike
More than 85,000 Kaiser Permanente workers are preparing to strike as contract negotiations broke off without an agreement, the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions announced Friday. The workers, who are from multiple unions in California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Maryland, Virginia, Hawaii and the District of Columbia, said they will call the strike unless Kaiser bargains in good faith and ultimately mends the worker-management partnership; ensures safe staffing and appropriate use of technology; and provides wages and benefits that can support families. The union is also calling for more financial transparency. (Kacik, 7/12)

The Associated Press: Mental Hospital Patient Died In Dogpile; No Charges Filed
A patient at a state mental hospital in South Carolina died earlier this year after being at the bottom of a dogpile of several employees — something specifically prohibited in their training. Three of the 13 employees involved in the death of 35-year-old William Avant in January had not been through training on physically restraining patients, according to The State newspaper . His death hadn't been reported prior to Sunday. (7/14)

The Oregonian: ‘Clone Tick’ Swarms, New To U.S., Are Killing Cattle By Draining Their Blood, Chasing After Humans
Worried about a Cascadia subduction-zone earthquake? Worried about nuclear war? Worried about climate change? Phhffft! Those potential calamities are nothing. If you want to really have nightmares, read on to find out what’s happening to cows in North Carolina -- and what it could mean for humans. (Perry, 7/12)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Measles: Ohio Reports First Case Of Year, In Stark County
State Health Director Dr. Amy Acton said Friday the person who got sick with measles had recently traveled to a state with confirmed measles cases. The case is the first confirmed instances of measles in two years. The last outbreak of the illness in Ohio was in 2014, with 382 confirmed cases. (Saker, 7/12)

Carroll County Times: Mobile Clinic To Reach Underserved Areas Of Carroll County
A traveling clinic on wheels is in the works to provide health services to areas of Carroll County that lack providers. The Carroll County Health Department announced Thursday the receipt of grant funding that will allow it to purchase a van and hire a driver to provide behavioral health services and possibly more. Data from the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office shows the Manchester-Hampstead area, Taneytown, Sykesville, and Mount Airy are “hot spots” for overdoses, local behavioral health authority Sue Doyle told the county commissioners. (Keller, 7/13)

The Associated Press: 2 Dead, Dozens Ill From Outbreak At Virginia Retirement Home
Virginia health department officials say two people have died and 20 more have been hospitalized by a respiratory virus outbreak at a large retirement community. The Fairfax County Health Department said Friday that 55 of the 263 residents at the Greenspring Retirement Community in Springfield, Virginia, have fallen ill during the outbreak. Over the past two weeks, the ill residents displayed symptoms such as coughs, fevers, and pneumonia. (7/12)

San Jose Mercury News: Humboldt County Has State’s 2nd-Highest Homicide Rate. Why?
Community accountability and engagement. Family support. Mental health treatment. Stricter enforcement. Substance abuse treatment and prevention. Thorough prosecution of crimes linked with violence. These are the range of answers local law enforcement personnel offered in response to the problem of violent crime in Humboldt County as revealed in startling new data released by the state Department of Justice. (Peach, 7/14)

San Francisco Chronicle: Miscarriage Leave, A Benefit No One Wants To Use, On The Rise 
California law entitles expecting employees to time off for disabilities related to a pregnancy, which can include miscarriage. The health care provider can recommend up to four months of leave, though the employer may require that sick days be used to cover part of the time. A few companies are going a step farther.Lattice offers five paid days of miscarriage leave, separate from sick days and bereavement leave. (Russell, 7/12)

Health News Florida: Florida Hospitals Eye New Transplant Programs
It’s been less than two weeks since Florida jettisoned some long-standing regulations for hospitals, but several facilities across the state are already gearing up to expand medically complex services, such as transplants. For the last two years, five hospitals have shown an interest in offering new high-end services, but they were unable to do so because of the state’s “certificate-of-need” requirements. (Sexton, 7/12)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Ohio’s Prisons Agency To Step Up County Jail Inspections Following Cuyahoga County Jail Problems 
In the wake of several deaths and other troubles at the Cuyahoga County Jail, Gov. Mike DeWine is looking to improve state inspections of county jails around Ohio. Speaking before the Ohio Jail Advisory Board in Columbus on Friday, the governor talked about plans to conduct unannounced jail inspections, hire more inspection staff, and require jail officials to report deaths and other data to the state. (Pelzer, 7/12)

The Associated Press: Elevated Levels Of PFAS Chemicals Found Near Delaware Base
Delaware officials say high levels of a worrisome class of manmade chemicals have been detected in four private wells near Dover Air Force Base. Officials said in a news release Sunday that they had been notified about the elevated levels of per- and polyfluoroalykyl substances, or PFAS, by the U.S. Air Force and Dover Air Force Base. (7/14)

The Oregonian: Family Of Portland Man Who Died Jogging On I-5 Sues Hospital For $3 Million, Claims Doctors Brushed Off His Mental Crisis
The parents of a 20-year-old Portland man have filed a $3 million lawsuit against a Eugene hospital, saying he was suffering a severe psychotic episode when he was struck and killed by a car while jogging on the lanes of Interstate 5 two days after doctors released him from their care. In a lawsuit filed Thursday, the parents of Evan Davenport fault medical staff at PeaceHealth’s Sacred Heart Medical Center University District for allegedly overlooking the mental crisis they say Davenport was suddenly experiencing. (Green, 7/13)

The Associated Press: 9 More Women File Lawsuits Against UCLA Gynecologist
Nine more women have alleged in two lawsuits they were sexually assaulted by a former gynecologist who worked for the University of California, Los Angeles. The lawsuits state the women were assaulted by Dr. James Heaps during examinations between 1989 and 2017. The women allege the inappropriate touching sometimes without gloves was not for any legitimate medical purpose and solely for Heaps' sexual gratification. (7/12)

West Virginia Public Broadcasting: Officials Say It Will Take Years For Medical Cannabis Sales To Start In West Virginia
Despite legislation from 2017 that allowed cannabis to be legal for medical use on July 1 of this year, West Virginia officials say they’re still years away from the first sale. That’s — at least in part — because of a hangup with finding a banking solution to get around federal law. State health officials say they also have to implement permitting and licensing for patients and those who want to start businesses within the industry. (Mistich, 7/12)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Sununu Signs Law To Help People Void Some Marijuana Possession Convictions 
Gov. Chris Sununu has signed a bill into law that provides a procedure for the annulment of arrests or convictions for possession of three-quarters or less of an ounce of marijuana. The measure is for those offenses that occurred before Sept. 16, 2017, which is the effective date for marijuana decriminalization in New Hampshire, making possession of 3/4 or less a violation. (Tuohy, 7/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Stick To The Public Option, Democrats
Commentators have focused on the aggressive health-care agendas of Democratic candidates like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Yet of the 20 candidates in last month’s debates, only four said they favored single payer, or Medicare for All. The rest favored a public option—a better approach. Most Americans want universal coverage but not a radical change tearing up existing plans. Medicare buy-in for nonelderly Americans is an incremental reform that would improve access and lower costs. (Tsung-Mei Cheng, 7/14)

Boston Globe: Harris, Warren, And The Single-Payer Pitfall
Since Warren and Harris had previously been ambiguous about single-payer, I posed some questions to each camp. Do they support Sanders’ four-year transition period? How would they fund single-payer, and what do they say to those who prefer to keep their employer-sponsored plans? (Scot Lehigh, 7/11)

The Washington Post: Gov. Northam’s Veto Of Three Health Insurance Bills Limits Choices And Increases Costs
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) vetoed three health insurance bills that would have made it possible for small-business owners and independent contractors to band together and purchase group health insurance plans at competitive rates. These group health insurance plans sponsored by associations, known as multiple-employer welfare arrangements, are fully funded or self-funded by a benefits consortium of small-business employers who pool their resources together to offer their employees comprehensive affordable group health coverage on terms similar to those available to larger employers. (Amir Bajoghli, 7/13)

Hartford Courant: The Legislature Made Good Steps In Health Care This Year. What’s Next?
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis ruled in a 1932 decision that a “state may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country.” This spring, Connecticut leaders stepped up to be a model for the entire country through their efforts to make quality health care more accessible and affordable. The Connecticut Option, an innovative compromise negotiated by state leaders, represents a new type of public-private partnership that would offer Connecticut residents a lower-cost health plan starting in 2022. (Joanna Dornfeld, 7/14)

Los Angeles Times: There’s A Loneliness Crisis On College Campuses
According to the Center for Collegiate Mental Health, the increase in utilization rates for counseling centers across the country over the last five years has greatly outpaced the increase in student enrollment, and as a result, schools have trouble hiring enough mental health counselors to keep up with growing demand. The most recent Healthy Minds Survey, an annual report on mental health on college and university campuses, found that one-third of undergraduate students in the United States wrestle with some kind of mental health issue, while more than 10% struggle with thoughts of suicide. The Cooperative Institutional Research Program’s large annual survey of college freshmen has noted a marked and steady downward trend in the self-reported emotional health of students along with a large uptick in self-reported feelings of being overwhelmed. (Varun Soni, 7/14)

The Hill: The Link Between Sugary Drinks, Cancer And Poor Neighborhoods
As I leave the lakefront downtown Chicago neighborhood where I work and head toward my home in a predominately black neighborhood, the commercial food landscape changes drastically. In my community, “red juice drink” replaces bottled water supplemented with electrolytes at the checkout lines. That is why a large study reporting that sugar sweetened beverage intake increases the chance of developing certain cancers caught my attention. Even if you rightly approach findings from observational studies of nutrition and disease with some skepticism, the body of evidence pointing to health harms from dietary habits, still gives pause. (Mercedes Carnethon, 7/13) 

The New York Times: You Call It Starvation. I Call It Biohacking.
The run happened — or didn’t — maybe five days into the raw-diet experiment. I had formed a sort of fitness pact with a friend to forgo cooked food, and after days of nothing but salads, almonds, sashimi and black coffee, my body felt taut and ready for action. (Thomas Stackpole, 7/11)

Stat: Compounding Pharmacies Need Stricter Federal Oversight
Millions of Americans use compounded drugs created by a pharmacist or physician who combines, mixes, or changes a drug’s ingredients to meet individuals’ needs. They trust the 7,500 or so compounding pharmacies that do this work.That trust is sometimes misplaced. In 2012, for example, contaminated steroid painkillers mass-produced by the now-defunct New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass., killed more than 100 people and sickened more than 750 others in 20 states. Barry Cadden, the center’s president, and Glenn Chin, a pharmacist, were sentenced to prison for their roles in the tainted-drug scandal. (Andrew L. Yarrow, 7/15)

The New York Times: Democrats Shouldn’t Be So Certain About Abortion
President Trump’s best chance for re-election lies in getting Democrats to approach complicated, tender issues with a tone-deaf, incoherent stridency that approaches his own. Unfortunately, he may be well on his way to doing just that. According to some progressives, Democrats need to learn from Mr. Trump’s style of politics and name enemies, draw harder lines and callously stoke the animosities that roil Americans’ lives for partisan advantage. (Michael Wear, 7/13)

The Hill: There Needs To Be A Shift In The Culture Of Medicine
Since the implementation of the 80-hour physician residency training work week in 2003 by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the medical community has debated whether or not this was going to impact patient care and mortality.  A new observational study in the British Medical Journal, demonstrated no difference in patient mortality, admission, readmissions or costs for internal medicine physicians who trained under these new regulations. (Sameena Rahman and Erin Paquette, 7/13)

The Washington Post: Black Lung Disease Cases Grow, While Federal Program’s Financing Suffers
Like the miners who work underground in dark and dangerous conditions, black lung disease is, for many, largely out of sight, out of mind. But for folks such as Gary Hairston, who spent more than 27 years in the mines around his Beckley, W.Va., home, the ailment is ever-present. He lives with it. Many have died of it. (Joe Davidson, 7/14)

Louisville Courier-Journal: Kentucky Opioid Crisis: Response Program For Business To Aid Employers
Kentucky employers have a growing awareness of the devastating impact the opioid epidemic is having on our state. They know that this epidemic is more than a public health issue. It is also a serious workforce issue that must be addressed — with employers playing a key role — if they are going to meet their challenges of finding and retaining workers. As Jonathan Copley, CEO of Aetna Better Health of Kentucky, puts it: “As business leaders, we cannot sit idle in the face of this epidemic. We must be an active part of the solution to recover our citizens and our workforce.” (Beth Davisson, 7/11)