The Associated Press: Trump Tells Anti-Abortion Activists To Stay United For 2020
With Alabama's restrictive new abortion law stirring divisions on the right, President Donald Trump implored anti-abortion activists to stay united heading into the 2020 election even as he laid out where his personal views differ from the legislation. In a series of tweets posted just before midnight Saturday, Trump said gains by anti-abortion activists will "rapidly disappear" if, as he put it, "we are foolish and do not stay UNITED as one." (Superville, 5/19)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Signals GOP Discord On State Abortion Laws
The message from the president is an unexpected turn in a fight that has remained largely focused on incremental changes since the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision made access to abortion a constitutional right. Other Republicans besides Mr. Trump, including Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.), are warning that Republicans need to avoid what they call the extreme policies advocated by the party’s antiabortion-rights wing that could fragment support, particularly among more moderate and suburban voters, for GOP candidates in next year’s elections. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was also critical of the measure, both on policy and on legal rounds. (Rubin, 5/19)

Politico: ‘Strongly Pro-Life’ Trump Tweets On Abortion
“As most people know, and for those who would like to know, I am strongly Pro-Life, with the three exceptions — Rape, Incest and protecting the Life of the mother — the same position taken by Ronald Reagan,” the president wrote on Twitter. ... Trump’s statement about Reagan doesn’t precisely capture Reagan’s position on abortion. At the start of his term of governor in California in 1967, Reagan signed legislation that liberalized abortion laws. He subsequently became stridently anti-abortion though, as Trump pointed out, he said he would allow limited exceptions. (Cohen, 5/19)

The Washington Post: Trump, Republicans Distance Themselves From Alabama Abortion Law
By injecting himself into the debate over a new crop of strict antiabortion statutes, in Alabama and several other states, the president heightened the divisions emerging with the Republican Party over how far abortion opponents should go. The sudden spate of state laws — and Trump’s weekend reaction — has ratcheted up the prominence of the issue of reproductive rights in the 2020 presidential campaign. (Goldstein and Kim, 5/19)

Bloomberg: Trump Suggests New Alabama Abortion Restrictions Go Too Far 
Under the law, which is expected to be challenged, doctors who perform abortions in the state could be charged with a felony and face as much as 99 years in prison. The Alabama measure, and fresh efforts to restrict abortions in Missouri, Georgia, Ohio and other states this year, has energized the pro-choice movement. At the same time, Democratically controlled states including New York and Rhode Island have passed or are considering measures to protect the right to abortion. (Krasny, 5/19)

Politico: Romney Says He Doesn't Support Alabama Abortion Law
Sen. Mitt Romney on Sunday said he doesn't support a recently enacted law prohibiting nearly all abortions at any point during pregnancy in Alabama. "I don't support the Alabama law," the Utah Republican and 2012 GOP nominee for president told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union." "I believe that there ought to be exceptions. I'm pro-life, but there ought to be exceptions for rape and incest and where the life of the mother is at risk." (Beavers, 5/19)

The New York Times: Abortion Fight Or Strong Economy? For G.O.P., Cultural Issues Undercut 2020 Message
The unemployment rate is at a 50-year low, companies are adding jobs and the gross domestic product grew by 3.2 percent in the first quarter, undercutting predictions of a coming recession. Yet for all that political upside, Republicans demonstrated repeatedly last week that they were not positioning themselves to wage the 2020 election over the strength of the economy. President Trump and his top advisers sent mixed signals about a possible war with Iran. Mr. Trump outlined a hard-line immigration proposal that had little chance of passing, but refocused attention on the most incendiary issue of his presidency. (Martin and Burns, 5/19)

The New York Times: After Alabama Abortion Law, 3 Democrats Propose A New Strategy
Responding to a series of highly restrictive abortion laws aimed at overturning Roe v. Wade, several Democratic presidential candidates have called on Congress to codify abortion rights, signaling a newly aggressive approach in a debate whose terms have long been set by conservatives. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey was first out of the gate on Wednesday, telling BuzzFeed News that if elected president, he would pursue legislation to guarantee abortion rights nationwide, superseding state restrictions, even if the Supreme Court overturned Roe. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York promised the same on Thursday, and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts came forward Friday morning with a more detailed plan. The three senators also called for repealing the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funding for abortions. (Astor, 5/17)

The Associated Press: Warren Unveils Abortion Rights Platform Following New Laws
Elizabeth Warren is calling for a series of targeted measures designed to safeguard abortion rights following a flurry of new state laws that dramatically restrict women's ability to terminate pregnancies, moves Democrats have decried as a planned effort to chip away at the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. (Schor, 5/17)

Reuters: Senator Warren Calls For Federal Laws Protecting Abortion Access
The issue of abortion has been thrust into the national dialogue in recent weeks after a series of states controlled by Republicans began passing legislation to enact hard line bans. Alabama signed into law on Wednesday the most drastic rollback yet. "This is a dark moment," Warren, who is running for president, wrote in a post on Medium on Friday morning outline her new proposal. "People are scared and angry. And they are right to be. But this isn’t a moment to back down – it’s time to fight back." (Gibson, 5/17)

Boston Globe: Elizabeth Warren Calls On Congress To Pass Law Enshrining Roe V. Wade Abortion Rights
Responding to the flurry of antiabortion bills passing state legislatures, Senator Elizabeth Warren on Friday called on Congress to pass a law guaranteeing abortion access outlined in the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision. Warren warned in a Medium post that Republicans looked to be succeeding in their decades-long effort to overturn the landmark 1973 ruling. (Prignano, 5/17)

Meanwhile —

The Associated Press: Louisiana Governor Breaks With Democratic Party On Abortion
Nearly three decades ago, when Democratic Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards' wife was 20 weeks pregnant with their first child, a doctor discovered their daughter had spina bifida and encouraged an abortion. The Edwardses refused. Now, daughter Samantha is married and working as a school counselor, and Edwards finds himself an outlier in polarized abortion politics. (DeSlatte, 5/17)

The New York Times: Inside The Network Of Anti-Abortion Activists Winning Across The U.S.
State after state is passing sweeping abortion restrictions this year, from Alabama’s near total abortion ban, to Ohio’s ban after a fetal heartbeat is detected, to Utah’s ban after a pregnancy reaches 18 weeks. Already, eight states have passed laws that could challenge federal protections for abortion, with more on the way, prompting jubilation on the right and fear on the left. The laws may appear to present a united front and a coordinated political campaign. Instead they reflect a sustained effort by a network of disparate activists, each with their own strategy honed over decades of work. (Dias, Tavernise and Blinder, 5/18)

The Associated Press: As States Pass Restrictive Abortion Laws, Questions Surface
As multiple states pass laws banning many abortions, questions have surfaced about what exactly that means for women who might seek an abortion. The short answer: nothing yet. Governors in Kentucky , Mississippi , Ohio and Georgia have recently approved bans on abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can happen in the sixth week of pregnancy, before many women know they're pregnant, and Alabama's governor signed a measure making the procedure a felony in nearly all cases. Missouri lawmakers passed an eight-week ban Friday. Other states, including Louisiana , are considering similarly restrictive laws. (Brumback, 5/19)

The Washington Post: Everything You Need To Know About The Abortion Ban News
The rush of Republican-controlled states to mount a challenge to the Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion nationwide has sparked confusion about what these new laws actually do. Here’s what you need to know. Lawmakers in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Utah have passed new antiabortion bills, and similar measures are pending in other states. The new laws have prompted questions about whether women who have abortions could be punished and why some of the pieces of legislation are called “heartbeat bills,” among other topics. (Iati and Paul, 5/17)

PBS NewsHour: 4 Supreme Court Abortion Cases That Could Erode Roe V. Wade
he dramatic abortion restrictions — verging on outright bans — passed by Alabama, Georgia and Missouri lawmakers have made many Americans wonder whether legal challenges to such laws could eventually reach the high court and have a shot at overturning Roe V. Wade. But in fact the U.S. Supreme Court already has four abortion-related cases pending, and whether the justices choose to hear and decide them could offer some hints as to the future of abortion rights in Chief Justice John Roberts’ court. (Coyle, 5/17)

The New York Times: Missouri Lawmakers Pass Bill Criminalizing Abortion At About 8 Weeks Of Pregnancy
Missouri lawmakers passed a bill Friday to ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, the latest in a flurry of anti-abortion measures across the country intended to mount direct challenges to federal protections for the procedure. The Missouri House passed H.B. 126 in a 110-to-44 vote after hours of heated debate, including impassioned speeches by both Democratic and Republican legislators and angry shouts of “when you lie, people die” from those who opposed the bill. Those protesters were eventually removed by the police. (Tavernise and Hassan, 5/17)

Politico: Missouri Is Latest State To Pass Restrictive Abortion Law
Missouri’s bill states a woman may not be prosecuted for having an abortion but that the provider could face up to 15 years in prison. The legislation is more ambitious than some other states' because it offers federal courts the chance to decide at what point during a pregnancy abortion should be illegal. If the detection of a fetal heartbeat, usually at six weeks of pregnancy, is deemed too early, then it offers less restrictive time limits ranging from 14 weeks to 20 weeks. The bill also prohibits all abortions except in cases of medical emergency if Roe is overturned. (Goldberg, 5/17)

St. Louis Public Radio: Missouri Lawmakers Close Out Session By Passing Eight-Week Abortion Ban
“So in sum, this bill is undoubtedly the most comprehensive, the most legally sound legislation not only in this state, but in this nation,” said Schroer, R-O’Fallon. Proponents see Schroer’s bill as a culmination of decades of advocacy against abortion rights. Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, told her colleagues how she became pregnant at 15 — and had to subsequently deal with homelessness and poverty. (Rosenbaum and Lippman, 5/17)

The Washington Post: A GOP Lawmaker Used The Phrase ‘Consensual Rape’ During Abortion Debate. He Says He Misspoke.
A Republican Missouri legislator apologized Friday for using the phrase “consensual rape” during a debate over a new, restrictive antiabortion bill. “I’m not trying to make excuses,” said Rep. Barry Hovis, who represents the city of Jackson in southeastern Missouri. “Sometimes you make a mistake and you own up to it.” The lawmaker, who was elected in 2018, made the remark while arguing on the State House floor that the measure’s eight-week window for abortions gives rape survivors “ample time” for the procedure. (Donovan-Smith, 5/17)

The Associated Press: Hundreds Protest Alabama Abortion Ban: 'My Body, My Choice!'
Hundreds of demonstrators marched to the Alabama Capitol on Sunday to protest the state's newly approved abortion ban, chanting "my body, my choice!" and "vote them out!" The demonstration came days after Gov. Kay Ivey signed the most stringent abortion law in the nation— making performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases unless necessary for the mother's health. The law provides no exception for rape and incest. (5/19)

The New York Times: What Does It Really Mean To Be 6 Weeks Pregnant?
Now that several states have passed bills that effectively ban abortion after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, the new laws are raising a lot of questions about early pregnancy and miscarriage treatments. The fetal heartbeat can typically be seen on an ultrasound at around six weeks into pregnancy, but many women have no idea they’re pregnant at that time. So when do women typically realize that they are pregnant? And how often are pregnancies unplanned? We’ll explain all of this and more. (Caron, 5/18)

In other news on abortion from the states —

The Associated Press: Texas Passing Laws, But Not Leading Abortion Fight This Time
Sidestepping bigger abortion battles playing out elsewhere in the U.S., Texas Republicans on Friday pushed a bill toward Gov. Greg Abbott's desk that would ban the state's liberal capital city from leasing a downtown building to Planned Parenthood for just $1. For Texas, which has passed some of the nation's strictest anti-abortion laws over the past decade, the measure that was largely provoked by a single Planned Parenthood office in Austin is one of the few bills aimed at abortion providers that appears likely to pass the GOP-controlled Legislature before lawmakers adjourn this month. (Weber, 5/17)

The Associated Press: Female Lawmakers Speak About Rapes As Abortion Bills Advance
For more than two decades, Nancy Mace did not speak publicly about her rape. In April, when she finally broke her silence, she chose the most public of forums — before her colleagues in South Carolina's legislature. A bill was being debated that would ban all abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected; Mace, a Republican lawmaker, wanted to add an exception for rape and incest. When some of her colleagues in the House dismissed her amendment — some women invent rapes to justify seeking an abortion, they claimed — she could not restrain herself. (5/18)

The Associated Press: Trial Set To Begin In Case Targeting Virginia Abortion Laws
A trial is set to begin in a lawsuit filed by women's health groups seeking to overturn restrictions on abortion providers in Virginia. The lawsuit is among legal challenges filed in at least a dozen states over what abortion-rights groups call Targeted Restrictions on Abortion Providers. (5/20)

The Washington Post: Women At Two Va. Universities Wanted More Access To The Morning-After Pill. So They Took ‘Matters Into Their Own Hands.’
The calls and text messages arrive directly to Michyah Thomas’s iPhone. They come from other students at Hampton University in need of the morning-after pill or in search of a ride to a health center or a hand to hold. They reach Thomas, a 21-year-old at Hampton, through a hotline she and another student, Alexandria Brown, created. Each time, the pair figures out a way to get students what they need, delivering the emergency contraception themselves or calling on a group of about a dozen volunteers to help with transportation. (Truong, 5/19)

CQ HealthBeat: Anatomy Of A Vote: From Anti-Abortion Activist To Federal Judge
In years past, Wendy Vitter’s nomination would have probably sparked a larger outcry, but in May 2019, her confirmation to a lifetime seat on the federal bench barely registered a blip. This, despite numerous instances in which the lawyer and wife of former GOP Sen. David Vitter advocated on behalf of anti-abortion groups, oftentimes advancing baseless claims, while failing to disclose her activity. In 2013, she led a panel discussion entitled “Abortion Hurts Women’s Health,” and promoted a brochure that alleged birth control was linked to breast and cervical cancer and “violent death.” That same year she spoke at a rally opposing the construction of a Planned Parenthood clinic in New Orleans. (Miller, 5/20)

Politico: How Mike Pence Took Over HHS
Sweeping new protections for religious health care workers and an overhaul of family planning programs to effectively cut out Planned Parenthood represent something unusual in the Trump administration: a clear spotting of the fingerprints of Vice President Mike Pence. From topics ranging from trade to the president’s scorched-earth attacks against the Mueller investigation, Pence has been the loyal foot soldier while often appearing uncomfortable amid the administration’s biggest fights. (Pradhan and Ollstein, 5/20)

CQ: Focus On Religious Freedom For Medical Workers Proves Divisive
Growing tensions over the Trump administration's policies that aim to strengthen religious freedom protections for health care workers have led to a partisan tug-of-war that will play out in a House floor debate Friday. The Trump administration has tried to strengthen religious liberty protections through numerous policies over the past several months. Those include providing federal funds to religiously affiliated foster agencies who don't allow LGBT people to adopt children and broadening religious and moral exemptions for employers who do not want to cover birth control. (Raman, 5/17)

In other news from both HHS and CMS —

Modern Healthcare: HHS' Hargan: Innovators Needed To Reshape Healthcare System
HHS Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan on Friday said the agency can and should take proactive steps to partner with the private sector to drive innovation in healthcare. Hargan hit on four areas where the Trump administration is hoping to create more opportunities for innovation—value-based care; engaging and empowering consumers; improved data exchange; minimizing regulatory and payment hurdles. Each were outgrowths of HHS' first Innovation and Investment Summit last December. (Weinstock, 5/17)

Modern Healthcare: Medicaid Waiver Loophole Sparks Transparency Concerns
The CMS is doing a poor job in ensuring the public knows about major changes to Medicaid, including the installation of work requirements, a federal watchdog said Friday. The Government Accountability Office's report found that the CMS has limited transparency for amendments to existing Section 1115 waivers. That has allowed some states to score approval for their work requirements while skirting some rules, such as projecting how the changes will impact Medicaid enrollment. (King, 5/17)

Modern Healthcare: Medicaid And CHIP Director To Leave At End Of May
Chris Traylor, the director of Medicaid and CHIP services, announced on Friday he will depart the CMS on May 31, leaving a position he was appointed to in January. Traylor said in an email to the CMS staff that he is leaving because of family issues that require him to return to his home state of Texas. (King, 5/17)

The New York Times: E.P.A. Could Make Thousands Of Pollution Deaths Vanish By Changing Its Math
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to adopt a new method for projecting the future health risks of air pollution, one that experts said has never been peer-reviewed and is not scientifically sound, according to five people with knowledge of the agency’s plans. The immediate effect of the change would be to drastically lower an estimate last year by the Trump administration that projected as many as 1,400 additional premature deaths per year from a proposed new rule on emissions from coal plants. (Friedman, 5/20)

In other environmental health news —

The New York Times: Citrus Farmers Facing Deadly Bacteria Turn To Antibiotics, Alarming Health Officials
A pernicious disease is eating away at Roy Petteway’s orange trees. The bacterial infection, transmitted by a tiny winged insect from China, has evaded all efforts to contain it, decimating Florida’s citrus industry and forcing scores of growers out of business. In a last-ditch attempt to slow the infection, Mr. Petteway revved up his industrial sprayer one recent afternoon and doused the trees with a novel pesticide: antibiotics used to treat syphilis, tuberculosis, urinary tract infections and a number of other illnesses in humans. (Jacobs, 5/17)

The Associated Press: Democrats Grapple With Fully Embracing Medicare For All
A half-dozen presidential candidates back "Medicare for All," a proposal that would put the government in charge of most health benefits. But some of the Democrats they're courting aren't sure that the nation's health care system should be overhauled so dramatically. After watching Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Medicare for All supporter, speak in a packed northeast Iowa tavern, 67-year-old Connie Suby said she backed the ambitious proposal as an ultimate goal. But she cautioned that "we're not ready for that as a country," urging "baby steps" that keep private health insurance in place. (Schor, Woodall and Jaffe, 5/20)

In other news from Capitol Hill —

The New York Times: House Equality Act Extends Civil Rights Protections To Gay And Transgender People
The House passed sweeping legislation on Friday that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill, passed 236-173, comes as departments across the Trump administration have dismantled policies friendly to gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, like barring transgender recruits from serving in the military or formally rejecting complaints filed by transgender students who are barred from restrooms that match their gender identity. (Edmondson, 5/17)

Stat: Seeking To Contain Drug Costs, CMS May Have ‘Killed’ A PBM Billing Practice
In another bid to attack high prescription drug costs, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released guidance this week to help states monitor so-called spread pricing that can unnecessarily increase what health care programs are paying for medicines. Despite the arcane-sounding name, spread pricing is an important, behind-the-scenes issue in the opaque pharmaceutical world. Basically, this refers to what pharmacy benefit managers pay pharmacies for medicines and then bill back to state Medicaid programs. Recently, though, a growing number of states are trying to clamp down on the practice after concerns surfaced about overcharging. (Silverman, 5/17)

Stat: Allergan Wins A Novel Case Over False Ads By A Compounder, But Gets Just $48,500 For Its Trouble
In a closely watched case, Allergan (AGN) won a lawsuit in which it used a novel legal theory to blunt competition from a compounding pharmacy, although the victory came at a price. Here’s the backstory: The drug maker accused Imprimis Pharmaceuticals of falsely advertising compounded versions of its eye treatments for cataracts and glaucoma because the smaller company failed to follow federal regulations. (Silverman, 5/17)

Stat: Dana-Farber Prevails In Immunotherapy Dispute Over Patents
A leading cancer center on Friday prevailed in a lawsuit seeking to add its researcher’s name to patents for a form of cancer immunotherapy, a decision that will allow it to license the intellectual property behind the patents to companies developing new therapies. A U.S. District Court judge ruled in favor of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute on all six counts on which it was challenging the patents, which underlie the blockbuster cancer drug Opdivo. (Cooney, 5/17)

Stat: PatientsLikeMe Founder Frets U.S. Policy Could Chill Collaboration In Biotech
The result was an online health-tracking site, including a forum, that offered not just a new place for patients to communicate, but a source of scientific studies. In the past few years, PatientsLikeMe data have been used to run a study that indicated a soy-derived supplement did not benefit ALS patients, that financial hurdles made it difficult for patients with multiple sclerosis to access new medicine, and that being on a plane does not make it more likely that a person will cry during a movie. For drug companies, the database provided both scientific and health economic research; arrangements with industry made PatientsLikeMe money. (Herper, 5/20)

The Associated Press Fact Check: Trump's Miscues On Trade And Drug Prices
President Donald Trump spoke this past week as if he's unaware that drug prices have gone up and tariffs came before him. His boast that the U.S. never collected a dime on goods from China until he imposed them marked a series of statements misrepresenting how trade works as the two countries escalated their dispute with new and retaliatory taxes on each other's products. (Yen, 5/18)

Modern Healthcare: Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, JPMorgan-Backed Haven Loses COO
The chief operating officer of the healthcare venture backed by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase dubbed Haven recently left the company. As CNBC first reported, Haven COO Jack Stoddard left the joint venture on April 30 for personal reasons, the company confirmed. Stoddard, who joined Haven in September, previously worked for Comcast as its digital health general manager, an affiliated startup Accolade that oversaw employee health benefits as well as UnitedHealth Group's Optum. (Kacik, 5/17)

CNBC: Haven, The New Health Venture Led By Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway And JP Morgan, Just Lost Its No. 2 Exec
Losing such a key executive so early in the process could be a big setback for Haven, which has laid out an ambitious effort to bring down health-care costs, starting with the combined 1.2 million employees at the three companies. The entity, which is set up as a nonprofit, was named Haven in March and at the time had about a dozen people. (Farr, 5/17)

Modern Healthcare: ‘App Economy' May Ease Health-Record Access, Quality Reporting
The Trump administration's top health IT official on Thursday highlighted the promise of third-party apps to help address numerous problems in the industry, from improving interoperability to easing burdensome reporting. ...That mentality underlies the proposed interoperability rule the ONC released in February. The proposal outlines how regulators will require healthcare providers and insurers to share medical data with patients, such as through application programming interfaces that connect electronic health record systems with third-party apps. (Cohen, 5/17)

Reveal/The Associated Press: Elder Care Homes Rake In Profits As Workers Earn A Pittance
She alights from a black Ferrari convertible, her Christian Louboutin stilettos glinting in the sunlight. The lid of her black lacquer grand piano is propped open in the living room of her plush Beverly Hills home. "I own a chain of elderly care facilities," she says into the camera on Bravo's reality television show "The Millionaire Matchmaker." ''My net worth is $3 to $4 million, probably." (Gollan, 5/19)

Politico Pulse Check: On Uwe Reinhardt’s New Book And Lasting Legacy
Uwe Ernst Reinhardt was a professor of political economy at Princeton University and held several positions in the healthcare industry. Reinhardt was a prominent scholar in health care economics and a frequent speaker and author on subjects ranging from the war in Iraq to the future of Medicare. (5/16)

Kaiser Health News: Escalating Workplace Violence Rocks Hospitals
Across the country, many doctors, nurses and other health care workers have remained silent about what is being called an epidemic of violence against them. The violent outbursts come from patients and patients’ families. And for years, it has been considered part of the job. When you visit the Cleveland Clinic emergency department — whether as a patient, family member or friend — a large sign directs you toward a metal detector. (Harris-Taylor, 5/20)

Modern Healthcare: Health Insurance Inflation Hits Highest Point In Five Years
The health insurance inflation rate hit a five-year peak in April, possibly because managed care is rising. The Consumer Price Index for health insurance in April spiked 10.7% over the previous 12 months—the largest increase since at least April 2014, according to a Modern Healthcare analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' unadjusted monthly Consumer Price Index data. (Livingston, 5/17)

Sacramento Bee: Gavin Newsom Turns To Obamacare Playbook For Census Outreach
With millions of dollars in federal funding at stake, California is trying some unusual strategies to encourage hard-to-count populations to participate in the census and exploring ways to link them with other public outreach efforts, including ones aimed at uninsured Californians. The Californians the state is targeting for the census tend to be poor. (Bollag, Finch II and Caiola, 5/20)

Tampa Bay Times: Thousands Of Florida Children Have No Health Insurance. A New Infusion Of Money Aims To Help.
Thousands of children in Florida will have greater access to health care now that legislators have steered more money to a program that reduces the cost of health insurance plans for low- and middle-income families. The action takes aim at the problem of uninsured children, whose numbers at last count have grown to an estimated 325,000 in Florida, the second-largest total in the nation. The funding will go to the Florida Healthy Kids Corp., a public-private organization that offers health insurance to children up to 18 whose families earn too much income to qualify for Medicaid. (Griffin, 5/17)

North Carolina Health News: Treasurer Moves Forward With Health Care Pricing Plan Despite Uncertainty 
This week, state treasurer Dale Folwell released the details of the contracts he wants North Carolina’s health care providers to sign if they want to participate in the health plan covering state employees, retirees and their families. The contracts, part of what Folwell is calling the Clear Pricing Project, reworks the way that health care providers are reimbursed. Some providers, in particular hospitals, will feel the pinch under the plan, which pegs prices paid by the State Health Plan to those paid by the federal Medicare program for services. (Hoban, 5/17)

The New York Times: In Cities Where It Once Reigned, Heroin Is Disappearing
Heroin has ravaged this city since the early 1960s, fueling desperation and crime that remain endemic in many neighborhoods. But lately, despite heroin’s long, deep history here, users say it has become nearly impossible to find. Heroin’s presence is fading up and down the Eastern Seaboard, from New England mill towns to rural Appalachia, and in parts of the Midwest that were overwhelmed by it a few years back. It remains prevalent in many Western states, but even New York City, the nation’s biggest distribution hub for the drug, has seen less of it this year. (Goodnough, 5/18)

The New York Times: Millions Take Gabapentin For Pain. But There’s Scant Evidence It Works.
One of the most widely prescribed prescription drugs, gabapentin, is being taken by millions of patients despite little or no evidence that it can relieve their pain. In 2006, I wrote about gabapentin after discovering accidentally that it could counter hot flashes. The drug was initially approved 25 years ago to treat seizure disorders, but it is now commonly prescribed off-label to treat all kinds of pain, acute and chronic, in addition to hot flashes, chronic cough and a host of other medical problems. (Brody, 5/20)

Austin American-Statesman: In Addressing Opioid Crisis, Texas Lawmakers Shy Away From Controversial Bills
State lawmakers are taking aim at the opioid crisis this session largely through education initiatives and regulations on prescribing of opioids, letting some of the more controversial bills — like those that would have protected drug addicts who call to report overdoses and legalized needle exchange programs — die in the House and Senate. Legislation by Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, that would have given Texas counties the authority to decide whether to make programs that hand out syringes to drug users legal, did not make it to a vote in the House. (Huber, 5/19)

Kaiser Health News: Opioid Prescriptions Drop Sharply Among State Workers
The agency that manages health care for California’s massive state workforce is reporting a major reduction in opioid prescriptions, reflecting a national trend of physicians cutting back on the addictive drugs. Insurance claims for opioids, which are prescribed to help people manage pain, decreased almost 19% in a single year among the 1.5 million Californians served by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. CalPERS manages health benefits for employees and retirees of state and local agencies and public schools, and their families. (Cone, 5/20)

CQ: Shareholders Win Vote Asking Opioid-Maker To Reveal Risk Plans
Shareholder proposals asking painkiller manufacturer Mallinckrodt PLC to reveal how it’s addressing risk related to opioid sales, its lobbying spending and all senior executive bonuses or stock pay won approval Wednesday, the investor coalition behind the requests told CQ. Mallinckrodt announced that the trio of requests received support from a majority of shareholders during its May 15 annual meeting in London, Investors for Opioid Accountability co-leader Donna Meyer said. The results mark a significant win for the coalition, which is pressing drug companies to change practices and increase oversight in light of the opioid crisis and related business threats. (Weiss, 5/17)

Kaiser Health News: Why Missouri’s The Last Holdout On A Statewide Rx Monitoring Program
Missouri retained its lonely title as the only state without a statewide prescription drug monitoring program — for the seventh year in a row — after the legislative session ended Friday. Patient advocates, politicians, experts and members of the medical community had hoped this would finally be the year Missouri would create a statewide electronic database designed to help spot the abuse of prescription drugs. After all, Republican Gov. Mike Parson had pushed for it and, more important, its longtime opponent was no longer in office to block it. (Weber, 5/20)

The New York Times: A Rare Genetic Mutation Leads To Cancer. The Fix May Already Be In The Drugstore.
When Kelley Oliver Douglass got breast cancer, a genetic counselor posed an odd question: Do you and your children have trouble finding hats that fit? They did, and that gave the counselor a clue to the source of the cancer: a mutation in a gene called Pten. In addition to increasing head circumference, this rare mutation markedly raises the risk for several cancers, including prostate and breast cancer (the lifetime risk in carriers is 85 percent), as well as autism and schizophrenia in some individuals. (Kolata, 5/17)

The Washington Post: ‘This Terrible Disease’: Ovarian Cancer Is Deadly, But New Tests, Treatments Start To Emerge
For the past few years, as part of the University of Chicago Pritzker medical school obstetrics-gynecology rotation, med students at an optional lunchtime seminar hear from ovarian cancer survivors who share stories about the shock of diagnosis, painful treatments and constant worries about whether their cancer will come back. Last year, listening to the women’s experiences became a mandatory part of their medical education. The hope is that by humanizing the disease, this relatively rare cancer will be on the radar of a new generation of doctors and will change this common patient narrative: “My doctor didn’t take my symptoms seriously until it was too late.” (Richards, 5/18)

The Wall Street Journal: Robots Take A Turn Leading Autism Therapy In Schools
Two third grade students sit slumped in an office at Robert Waters Elementary School, a 2-foot robot named Milo on the table before them. Milo moves his hands and eyebrows, blinks and makes eye contact during a session that is used as part of their autism therapy. “Today we’re going to talk more about conversations between two people,” says Milo in a computer generated boy’s voice that’s 20% slower than normal. “A person in a conversation may ask the other person a question and then listen for their answer and then say something else.” (Reddy, 5/20)

NPR: Why Does The Brain Connect Pain With Emotions?
When Sterling Witt was a teenager in Missouri, he was diagnosed with scoliosis. Before long, the curvature of his spine started causing chronic pain. It was "this low-grade kind of menacing pain that ran through my spine and mostly my lower back and my upper right shoulder blade and then even into my neck a little bit," Witt says. The pain was bad. But the feeling of helplessness it produced in him was even worse. (Hamilton, 5/20)

NPR: Redefining Manhood: Men Look To Men For Healthier Norms
Sean Jin is 31 and says he'd not washed a dish until he was in his sophomore year of college. "Literally my mom and my grandma would ... tell me to stop doing dishes because I'm a man and I shouldn't be doing dishes." It was a long time, he says, before he realized their advice and that sensibility were "not OK." Now, as part of the Masculinity Action Project, a group of men in Philadelphia who regularly meet to discuss and promote what they see as a healthier masculinity, Jin has been thinking a lot about what men are "supposed to" do and not do. (Yu, 5/18)

Bloomberg: Patient Hurt By Do-It-Yourself Pancreas Prompts FDA Warning 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned diabetics against building their own artificial pancreas system to help control blood sugar levels after a patient using one suffered an accidental insulin overdose. A large community of diabetics has been using hacked-together, do-it-yourself systems to control their disease. The systems connect glucose monitors to insulin pumps using computer algorithms. They work around the clock, testing blood sugar and infusing insulin. Once the system is set up, they’re meant to require little effort by the patient. (Cortez, 5/17)

KQED: Gold Standard Asthma Treatment May Not Be Effective For Most Patients With Mild Asthma
Steroid inhalers commonly used by asthma patients to prevent and reduce asthma attacks may not work any better than placebo, according to a new study published Sunday in the New England Journal of Medicine. ...Synthetic corticosteroids mimic the steroid hormone cortisol, reducing inflammation in the airways. But the drug targets a type of inflammation that may be found in far fewer patients than previously thought. (Demboksy, 5/19)

The Washington Post: Living Longer Doesn't Mean Living Better
In 1900, the average life expectancy in the United States was just 47.3 years. Today, it is 78.6, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and many people will outstrip that average. But is that advance really worthwhile if it only means more time feeling old and infirm? In a feature article online and in the May 20 edition of the New Yorker, Adam Gopnik talks to researchers and innovators trying to make old age feel younger. (Blakemore, 5/18)

The New York Times: Is ‘Digital Addiction’ A Real Threat To Kids?
As we worriedly watch our children navigate the ever-changing digital landscape, there’s a great deal of talk these days about “digital addiction.” But several experts say we should teach kids to think of screens as something to handle in moderation, like food, rather than something without any healthy place in our lives, like meth or heroin. Children’s use of devices ranges along a continuum from healthy to compulsive to addictive, said Dr. Dimitri A. Christakis, the director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children’s Research Institute and professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington. “I think the phenomenon of tech addiction is quite real,” he said. (Klass, 5/20)

NPR: Among Girls In The U.S., Suicide Rates Are Increasing And Catching Up To Boys
The number of people dying by suicide in the U.S. has been rising, and a new study shows that the suicide rate among girls ages 10 to 14 has been increasing faster than it has for boys of the same age. Boys are still more likely to take their own lives. But the study published Friday in JAMA Network Open finds that girls are steadily narrowing that gap.Researchers examined more than 85,000 youth suicides that occurred between 1975 and 2016. Donna Ruch, a researcher at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, who worked on the study, tells NPR that a major shift occurred after 2007. (Ingber and Chatterjee, 5/17)

Bloomberg: Surging Suicide Rate Among Young Girls Raises Questions About Role Of Social Media 
A troubling spike in the suicide rate among young girls is prompting leading researchers to ask questions about the role of social media in adolescent mental health. A study published Friday in the JAMA Open Network led by Donna Ruch, a research scientist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, analyzed suicide trends in 10- to 19-year-olds between 1975 and 2016. The rate of suicide decreased from the early 1990s until 2007, but has increased in years since for both genders. (Koons, 5/17)

The Associated Press: Vaccine Rates Rise On Long-Wary 'Hippie' Island Near Seattle
Sarah Day is a school nurse with "street cred" when it comes to the polarizing issue of vaccines on an idyllic island in Washington state known for its rural beauty, counterculture lifestyle and low immunization rates. Since she began communal living on Vashon Island more than 20 years ago, the registered nurse has been advocating for getting kids their shots against a loud contingent of anti-vaccine parents in the close-knit community of about 11,000 that's accessible only by ferry, a serene 20-minute ride from Seattle. (Ho, 5/20)

Seattle Times: King County Woman Diagnosed With Measles In Sixth Western Washington Case 
A King County woman has been diagnosed with measles, the sixth confirmed case of the highly contagious disease in the Puget Sound region this week. The woman, who is in her 40s, spent time in Auburn and Kent while she was contagious but didn’t know she was infected, according to Public Health – Seattle & King County. (Cornwell, 5/17)

NH Times Union: NH Child Diagnosed With Measles 
New Hampshire child has been diagnosed with measles, the state Department of Health and Human Services said Sunday. DHHS announced the diagnosis in a release posted on Facebook on Sunday, alerting others who were in the Keene area last week of potential exposure to the virus. The child was at the United Church of Christ, 23 Central Square in Keene, on Sunday, May 12, according to the release. (Alden, 5/19)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: State Health Officials Investigating Whooping Cough Cases At Metairie Park Country Day School 
State health officials have identified five potential cases of pertussis, more commonly known as whooping cough, among vaccinated students at Metairie Park Country Day School, a spokesperson for the school confirmed on Thursday (May 16). Whooping cough is a highly contagious respiratory infection that can produce uncontrollable coughing making it hard to breathe. It can affect people of all ages, but can be especially serious or deadly for infants, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Clark, 5/17)

The New York Times: Corroded Well Lining Caused Aliso Canyon Gas Leak That Displaced Thousands, Report Says
For more than 100 days in 2015 and 2016, gas leaked out of the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility near Los Angeles — the largest known leak of methane in United States history. More than 8,300 households were evacuated, and people exposed to the gas reported nosebleeds, dizziness and respiratory problems. This week, California regulators said they now knew why the environmental catastrophe happened. (Zaveri, 5/17)

Reuters: California Utility In Big 2015 Gas Leak Had Failed To Probe Leaks For Decades
The California utility responsible for a massive, 4-month-long gas leak near Los Angeles in 2015 failed to investigate dozens of leaks over decades at the natural gas storage facility, according to a state report released on Friday. The long-awaited report found that groundwater corroded a 7-inch well casing and made it to rupture, causing the leak. Because Southern California Gas, a unit of Sempra Energy, had failed to investigate and analyze leaks since the 1970s, the consequences of such corrosion were not understood, leading to the 2015 incident, the report found. (Groom, 5/17)

ProPublica/Houston Chronicle: Blistering Report Details Serious Safety Lapses At St. Luke’s In Houston
When government inspectors descended on Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in March, they found a once-renowned hospital system beset with problems threatening the health and safety of patients. It was a place where some people were given medications not ordered by their doctors, where objects had been mistakenly left in patients after surgery, and where sewage backed up into a kitchen stocked with moldy vegetables. (Hixenbaugh, 5/17)

The Associated Press: Amid #MeToo, States Debate Teaching Consent To Kids
Inside a Catholic school in Portland, Oregon, high school sophomores break into groups to discuss some once-taboo topics: abusive relationships and consent. At one desk, a girl with banana-colored fingernails begins jotting down some of the hallmarks of abuse: Physically hurting you, verbally abusive, can be one-sided. She pauses to seek input from her classmates, boys and girls alike, before continuing: “It messes up your mentality and your, like, confidence.” (Dale, 5/20)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: A Nationwide Tax On Soda? Economists Say It Would Be Good For The Country, And Here’s Their ‘Optimal’ Rate.
A national tax may seem like an unlikely prospect to Philadelphians, who are familiar with the ongoing controversy over the city’s 1.5-cent-an-ounce tax on sweetened beverages. The tax, which funds pre-K, community schools, and the Rebuild program to improve libraries, parks, and recreation centers, is a key issue in Tuesday’s primary election for mayor and City Council. But Taubinsky, along with economists from the University of Pennsylvania and New York University, developed a cost-benefit analysis and suggested that a federal tax on soda at a rate between 1 and 2.1 cents an ounce would be the “optimal” tax with the greatest public benefit. (McCrystal, 5/20)

Reuters: Nearly 180 Former Ohio State University Students Claim Sexual Abuse By Doctor
Nearly 180 men who attended Ohio State University claim they were sexually abused more than two decades ago by a now-deceased doctor, and university staff who knew of the abuse failed to act, a report released by the school on Friday said. Dr. Richard Strauss was accused of abusing at least 177 male students when he worked as a physician for the university's athletic department and the student health center from 1978 to 1998, the report said, detailing the findings of a year-long independent investigation. (O'Brien, 5/17)

Kansas City Star: Hospital Building Boom In Johnson County; Other Areas Suffer
AdventHealth is set to build an 85-bed hospital in a wealthy area of south Overland Park that already has four full-service hospitals within 10 miles. Last month it announced plans to build yet another one: a 200-bed hospital in Lenexa, just west of the Interstate 435 loop, also a well-to-do area. AdventHealth leaders said they were responding to demand from a growing part of the metro. But there’s another reason to build on the far edge of the area’s wealthiest county. (Marso, 5/19)

ProPublica/Anchorage Daily News: Lawless
Village Police Officer Annie Reed heard her VHF radio crackle to life in the spring of 2018 with the familiar voice of an elder. I need help at my house, the woman said. Reed, who doesn’t wear a uniform because everyone in this Arctic Circle village of 421 can spot her ambling gait and bell of salt-and-pepper hair at a distance, steered her four-wheeler across town. There had been a home invasion, she learned. One of the local sex offenders, who outnumber Reed 7-to-1, had pried open a window and crawled inside, she said. The man then tore the clothes from the elder’s daughter, who had been sleeping, gripped her throat and raped her, according to the charges filed against him in state court. (Hopkins, 5/16)

Austin American-Statesman: Texas House Approves Bill To Study Day Care Staffing Levels, Injury Rates
The Texas House on Friday approved a bill that would require the state to collect data on staffing levels and injury rates at day cares, a win for child safety advocates who have long argued that the state’s minimum child care staffing requirements, which are among the most lax in the nation, endanger children. Senate Bill 708 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, which was already approved by the Senate in a 30-1 vote, is one of five major child care safety measures nearing the legislative finish line this session that address issues raised in the American-Statesman’s December 2018 investigation “Unwatched.” (Collins Walsh, 5/17)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Suit: NKY Jail Put Woman Having Strokes In Solitary, Missed Symptoms
A woman suffered multiple strokes while confined in a Northern Kentucky jail, but medical staff missed her symptoms, which included a numb leg, curling arm and slurred speech, according to a federal lawsuit.Rather than treating her properly, the woman, then 43 years old, was placed in an isolated cell for a period spanning multiple days, court documents say. As a result, a neurologist found a treatment window closed, causing more severe long-term complications. (Londberg and Mayhew, 5/18)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Prison Doctor Promoted Despite Inmates' Deaths
The two inmates died three years apart at Hays State Prison from the same easily treatable condition, diabetic ketoacidosis. Neither had been diagnosed with diabetes, raising the specter that signs of the disease had been overlooked. But if those who make medical decisions in the Georgia state prison system had concerns about the doctor who oversaw the care of Tyrence Mobley and Esteban Mosqueda-Romero, they didn’t act on them.Less than two years later, that physician, Dr. Monica Hill, got a new job, and it was one with even more responsibility: She was made medical director at the state’s largest facility for women. (Robbins, 5/17)

Arizona Republic: ACLU Threatens Lawsuit If Arizona Prisons Keep Ban On 'Chokehold' Book
Arizona Corrections officials could soon face a First Amendment lawsuit if they refuse to overturn a ban on inmates' ability to read "Chokehold," a critically acclaimed critique of the American criminal-justice system and its treatment of black men. The American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday challenged the book ban in a letter addressed to Corrections Director Charles Ryan, a polarizing figure already under fire for broken locks and health-care failures at Arizona prisons. (Polletta, 5/17)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento Parents Rally Against California’s New Sex Ed Approach
More than 100 parents, students and community members marched Friday outside the Sacramento County Office of Education, protesting California’s controversial new framework for sex education adopted earlier this month. The newly mobilized group Informed Parents of California planned similar rallies at education offices in Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties to oppose the State Board of Education’s approval of the revisions to the health and sex education framework. (Morrar, 5/17)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Juvenile Halls Are So Chaotic, Officers Are Afraid To Go To Work
The detention officer’s email described “chaos” inside one of Los Angeles County’s juvenile halls. Her words were desperate, describing unruly, violent youth and fed up detention officers — enough to prompt a surprise visit by Joe Gardner, president of the county’s volunteer advisory panel, the Probation Commission. (Stiles, 5/19)

The Associated Press: Prison Health Care Provider Resolves Disabilities Lawsuit
Two companies that provide health care in jails and prisons across the United States have agreed to pay $950,000 to resolve a lawsuit that alleged it discriminated against employees with disabilities by failing to accommodate them, requiring them to be fully healed before they can return to work, and firing them. A consent-decree agreement signed by a judge on Wednesday requires Corizon Health Inc. and Corizon LLC to provide annual training to employees who qualify under the Americans With Disabilities Act, review its policies and, if necessary, make changes to ensure equal employment opportunities are available to all employees and job applicants with disabilities. (5/17)

Boston Globe: Health Officials Warn Public About Possible Hepatitis A Exposure In Rockport Restaurant
State health officials are warning people who ate recently at a Rockport restaurant about possible exposure to hepatitis A after a food service employee tested positive for the disease. Anyone who ate cold or uncooked food, or are unsure what they ate, at Roy Moore’s Fish Shack in Rockport between April 21 and Sunday are encouraged to talk with their health care provider about the possible exposure and treatment, the state Department of Public Health said in a statement. (Kovatch, 5/17)

MPR: Paramedics Making House Calls Improve Care, Reduce Costs
She's part of Minnesota's small cadre of certified community paramedics, who visit patients at home to help them with transitions out of the hospital and with managing chronic conditions. The early results indicate the house calls improve patient satisfaction and reduce spending on medical care. (Zdechlik, 5/20)

North Carolina Health News: As NC Attorney General Tries To Slow JUUL Use Among NC Teens, Researchers Weigh Health Effects Of E-Cigarettes 
Luka’s 16 now, back in high school, much healthier and sharing his experiences so other teens can better understand the nicotine addiction that sent him spiraling so out of control his mother sent him to a California substance abuse treatment center for more than a month. “I did not send my 15-year-old to residential treatment in California for 39 days because he was caught smoking or even just vaping,” his mother said during the news conference broadcast on Facebook last week. “I sent him because he had a substance abuse problem. The substance was Juul.” (Blythe, 5/20)

Pioneer Press: MN Lawmakers Have A $48.3B Budget Deal — No Gas Tax Hike, Keeps Health Care Tax At 1.8 Percent
After a week of secret meetings that frustrated nearly everyone at the Capitol, Minnesota political leaders emerged Sunday night to announce a deal on a nearly $48.3 billion two-year budget. ...Lawmakers agreed to continue for two years a reinsurance program that helps keep health care premiums affordable. That will cost $380 million to help insurers afford the claims of their sickest patients. To address the rising health and human services budget, Democrats and Republicans agreed to form a blue ribbon committee tasked with finding $100 million in savings in by 2023. (Magan, 5/19)

The Washington Post: D.C. Produce Rx Vouchers Are Latest Attempt To Treat Healthy Food As Medicine
Adrienne Dove pulled up to the checkout line of the Giant grocery store in Southeast Washington with a cart filled with cabbage, bananas and bagged string beans. The register rang $20.60. Instead of cash or card, Dove paid with a Produce Rx voucher from the store pharmacy. The Giant in the most impoverished part of the District is the latest frontier in the “food as medicine” movement. (Nirappil, 5/17)

Pioneer Press: Minnesota Elder Advocates, Senior Housing Officials Strike Deal To Deter Abuse 
Elder advocates, senior housing industry officials, state lawmakers and health department regulators said this week that they’d struck a deal to license assisted living facilities and increase protections for their residents. But as the clock ticked down on the 2019 legislative session, some wondered whether lawmakers would have enough time to complete it this year. The proposal would make Minnesota the last state in the nation to license assisted living facilities and set a base level of care required for residents, which would be made clear to them and to their family members before they sign a contract. (Ferguson, 5/17)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: New Orleans Doctor Pleads Guilty To Taking Medicare Kickbacks
A New Orleans doctor admitted in federal court Thursday (May 16) to scheming with other physicians in the area to solicit kickbacks for referring patients to a home health company for services they didn’t need.Joseph Haynes, 61, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to solicit and receive healthcare kickbacks and bribes, the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Louisiana announced Friday. (Prentzel, 5/17)

St. Louis Public Radio: Cities Prepare For Legalized Medical Marijuana In Missouri
The amendment voters approved last fall to legalize medical marijuana has some provisions regulating the location of dispensaries, labs, cultivation centers and testing facilities. That includes a minimum of 1,000 feet from schools, day cares and places of worship.Cities have the ability to reduce that buffer. They can also regulate hours of operation and how the sites will fit into local zoning designations. Missouri will start taking applications for medical marijuana dispensary locations in August. (Ahl, 5/20)

The Washington Post: On Abortion Rights, Time For Democrats To Go On Offense
In response to the new wave of shocking state laws passed by Republicans to strangle abortion rights, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) put out a list of things Democrats can do to push back. Her approach is centered on federal legislation to supersede draconian state laws and guarantee women their rights. This is highly unusual, because what we hear from Democrats on this issue is almost entirely defensive. Instead of proposing new legislation to aggressively expand abortion rights, the most they can muster is explanations of why the latest Republican law goes too far, all presented as though they’d prefer to be talking about something else. (Paul Waldman, 5/17)

CNN: Alabama's Abortion Law Addresses An Urgent Human Rights Issue
The Alabama pro-life law signed into law Wednesday addresses a human-rights issue: the right to life. The argument that only a woman's body is at stake doesn't work: from conception, a pregnancy involves at least distinct bodies — that of the fertilized egg which contains a distinct and new blend of DNA (from mother and father), all that is needed to become a baby, and that of the mother. It is dangerous when a society ignores the rights of the young and innocent. (Carrie Sheffield, 5/17)

The Washington Post: Alabama Shows We Need A Different Abortion Dialogue
It’s instructive that Alabama handed the antiabortion movement a great victory by passing the most restrictive ban in the country — and Republican politicians who regularly tout themselves as pro-life didn’t like it. Abortion is cast by its opponents as a “nonnegotiable” question. Yet it turns out to be very negotiable and, indeed, a matter of “personal belief.” (E.J. Dionne Jr. 5/19)

USA Today: How Democrats Can Win The Abortion War: Talk About Roe's Restrictions As Well As Rights
I’m a liberal Democrat, and I’m a strong supporter of abortion rights. But I also support restrictions on the procedure. You know, like the ones allowed by Roe v. Wade. If you listened to our Republican opponents during the past few weeks, when Alabama all but prohibited abortion and several other states banned it after aheartbeat is detected, you might think that we Democrats want it to be entirely unregulated. We’re allegedly “the party of death,” ready and eager to protect “infanticide” at all costs. (Jonathan Zimmerman, 5/20)

USA Today: Missouri, Alabama Anti-Abortion Laws: Doctors Deserve Choices Too
There came a time in medical school when I first witnessed an abortion, a dilation and curettage, where the cervix was dilated and the tiny fetus sucked out by vacuum. The first time I saw the body parts was the first time I knew I would never perform one of these procedures. I was defining my role as a doctor in terms of relieving suffering and extending life, not ending it. Dr. Ben Carson, consummate pediatric neurosurgeon and current secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, has come out vehemently against abortion. In an interview in 2015 when he was running for president, he told me, "I've spent many, many a day and many a night operating on premature babies and then seeing them as adults, as productive adults. There is no way that anybody's going to convince me that that's a meaningless mass of cells." (Marc Siegel, 5/19)

The Washington Post: The First United Show Of Girl Power
Two political facts emerged in the wake of the batch of stringent abortion bans passed by states such as Georgia, Alabama, Missouri and Ohio. First, this is going to be a big issue for Democrats — because it is potentially a big issue with millions of women, whose votes Democrats will need to eject President Trump from the White House. Second, non-candidate Stacey Abrams may keep herself in the news and in possible contention by highlighting the issue. (Jennifer Rubin, 5/19)

The Hill: Feds Try Everything To Fix Health-Care System — Except What Works
Recently, CMS introduced its latest payment reform proposal, titled the “Primary Care Initiative.” This is the latest in a long line of federal schemes to try to rein in the cost of medical care and introduce appropriate incentives. Sadly, despite its many efforts, CMS and federal lawmakers have continued to miss the elephant in the room: Regardless of the model CMS imposes, whenever third parties manage transactions, as health insurance companies and governments currently do throughout our health-care system, many normal market forces are hopelessly distorted. (Dr. Chad Savage, 5/17)

Stat: Diagnostics Are Essential For Universal Health Coverage To Succeed
Forty years ago, 134 countries pledged to assure “Health For All” by the year 2000. They failed to deliver on that pledge. Today, at least 400 million people have no access to basic medical care, and 40% of the world’s population lacks social security protection. Health is a human right. Humanity’s failure to provide universal health coverage (UHC) is a violation of this right and must be addressed as a top priority. But it won’t truly happen unless the ability to detect illnesses and outbreaks is made an integral part of it. (Madhukar Pai, Catharina Boehme and Ilona Kickbusch, 5/20)

The Wall Street Journal: Cut Out The Medical Middlemen
Health-care policy is often portrayed as a fight between government and insurance companies. But one of the most effective cost-saving measures is to cut out both and allow patients to deal directly with doctors. If Todd Gibbons from Poulsbo, Wash., has an aching shoulder or needs a physical, he can call and schedule an appointment on a day’s notice, maybe the same day. His physician is also available for phone consultations and even makes house calls. It all costs Mr. Gibbons $150 a month to cover his family of five. (John Carlson, 5/19)

The New York Times: Is Our Health Care Spending Worth It?
Many people know by now that the United States spends much more on health care than any other country, and that health outcomes are not a lot better (and in many instances worse). That raises the question: Is our health care spending actually worth it? It’s tricky to figure out the extent of the roles that the environment, genetics and social support play in improving health. Nevertheless, the best evidence tells us that health care is still very valuable, even at U.S. prices. (Austin Frakt, 5/20)

The Wall Street Journal: About That ‘Junk’ Health Insurance
House Democrats last week voted to reverse a Trump Administration rule that the left has branded as promoting “junk insurance.” So note that the vote arrives the same week as a fresh analysis about how short-term health insurance can be a better option than ObamaCare. The Trump Administration last year allowed for short-term, limited-duration health insurance that can last up to a year. Plans can be renewed up to 36 months without new medical underwriting, which can protect against higher premiums if someone falls sick. The Obama Administration limited short-term insurance to three months to force everyone into the ObamaCare exchanges. The Trump crowd thought short-term plans could be viable for relatively healthy folks who earn too much for subsidies and are soaked by Affordable Care Act prices. (5/19)

Stat: Has Your Insurer Denied A Medical Claim? Stand Up For Your Rights
Imagine that you need surgery to correct a serious condition. You have health insurance, so you begin the process of getting your insurer to approve the operation. It does. A month later, as you are on the road to recovery, you get a bill for the full cost of the surgery and related expenses. When you contact your insurer to determine the next steps, you’re horrified to hear that the company has changed its mind and denied your claim, so it won’t be covering the surgery after all. (Liz Helms, 5/17)

USA Today: I Shouldn’t Have Been Ashamed Of My Brother. Eliminate The Stigma Around Opioid Addiction.
The nation’s opioid epidemic was the furthest thing from my mind on the sweltering Washington afternoon in late July that turned out to be the last time I saw my brother pitch a baseball. A small crowd of parents erupted in a roar as Jonathan, then 17, dropped a devastating curveball for the final out of an all-star game. As a brother, beaming with pride, I admired the self-control and poise Jonathan showed as he confidently strode off the mound. (James "LJ" Winnefeld, 5/17)

WBUR: We Can Make It Safer To Inject Drugs. Will We?
Supervised Injection Facilities (SIFs) would provide people more support and clinical care in those most vulnerable moments. SIFs are facilities where people can use drugs under clinical supervision. None currently exist in the United States (with the exception of one underground SIF), but they’ve operated for years in Canada, Europe and Australia. Advocates and lawmakers in the U.S. want to establish SIFs here, too. (Sarah Ruth Bates, 5/17)

Bloomberg: Only Immigrants Can Reverse America’s Baby Bust
In 2018, American women gave birth to the fewest number of children since 1986, according to U.S. government data released last week. The decline since 2007, when a record 4.2 million children were born, has been precipitous. Births have declined every year since then but one, falling to 3.8 million. That amounts to a fertility rate of 1.7 children per American woman in her lifetime -- well below the rate of 2.1 necessary to maintain a stable population. (Adam Minter, 5/19)

The Washington Post: We Are In The Twilight Years Of The Post-WWII Baby Boom
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has just released its latest statistics on U.S. births. Boring, you say. Not so. Historic birth patterns tell us a lot about where the country has been — and where it might be going. We are now experiencing some of the lowest birth figures ever. In 2018, U.S. births totaled 3.78 million , the lowest figure in 32 years. Even worse was the so-called replacement rate: the average number of children each woman must have to stabilize the population, disregarding immigration. (Robert J. Samuelson, 5/19)

Los Angeles Times: The Good That Can Come When We Stop Seeing Cancer As A Battle To Win Or Lose
When Alex Trebek, the longtime “Jeopardy” host, revealed to the world that he’d been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer this spring, his statement echoed the words of many patients I’ve treated. “I’m going to fight this,” Trebek promised. “I plan to beat the low survival statistics for this disease.” Though I mourned his diagnosis, I also winced at his use of the familiar language of “fighting” and “beating” cancer. As a palliative care physician, I know patients can find it empowering to describe their approach to illness as a battle. But others have shown me that the language of “fighting” a disease or “giving up” is a toxic binary. It divides the sick into winners and losers — those who beat cancer and those whom cancer beats. (Sunita Puri, 5/19)

The Washington Post: Why Taking A Daily Aspirin To Prevent Heart Attacks And Stroke Is Not Right For Many People
For decades, millions of patients have been taking a daily aspirin in an attempt to prevent hearts attacks and strokes. But in March 2019, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association released guidelines declaring healthy adults with an average risk for heart disease receive no overall benefit from a daily aspirin. In simple terms, aspirin, or acetylsalicylic acid, is now “low-value medical care.” (Inderveer Mahal, 5/19)

Los Angeles Times: California Lawmakers Already Want To Roll Back A Key Promise Of Marijuana Legalization
When advocates for legalizing marijuana in California drafted Proposition 64, they made an important concession to win the support — or at least minimize the opposition — of local government and law enforcement groups: Cities and counties, they said, would be allowed to ban marijuana-related businesses entirely if they chose to. That guarantee of local control was a central promise of the proposition. But now, some legislators want to reverse it and force local governments to accept pot stores against their will. It’s an unfair bait-and-switch tactic that should not be approved. (5/18)

The Washington Post: Running And Aging Usually Don’t Mix. But At 62, Quitting Isn’t An Option For Me.
Patrick McCarthy retired last year after a decade touching the lives of at-risk youth as president and chief executive of the Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore. In December, Patrick’s co-workers threw a farewell party for their boss at the downtown headquarters. Colleagues offered testimonials. The mayor spoke. Among the guests were a dozen of Patrick’s “running” pals from the Baltimore Pacemakers — a ragtag group of semi-athletes who regularly pound out the miles on Baltimore’s city streets. Most seemed only vaguely aware that the gathering marked an end to something. To our group, it felt like a beginning. (Mark Hyman, 5/18)

The New York Times: ‘I Had Completely Lost The Knack For Staying Alive’
It’s a popular and perhaps dangerous belief, reinforced by that inescapable Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life,” that winter is the peak season for suicide. Yet experts have known since the late 1800s that it’s not true: More people take their own lives in the spring months than in other times of the year. No definitive explanations have emerged for why this is so. I can offer an unscientific one from my own experience. For those who are trapped in despair, spring can feel like an affront, the gulf between outer and inner worlds too wide to cross. The poet Edna St. Vincent Millay hinted as much in her poem “Spring,” which asks, “To what purpose, April, do you return again?” (Mary Cregan, 5/18)