The New York Times: It’s Enrollment Time For Obamacare
Shop, compare — and beware, when shopping for health insurance outside official government marketplaces. That’s the message from health experts during the annual plan selection period on state and federal marketplaces for Obamacare health insurance. Despite uncertainty about the future of the Affordable Care Act, people in many parts of the country will find more plan choices and lower premiums. (Carrns, 11/22)

WBUR: Regulators Allege Christian-Based Health Care Provider Broke State, Federal Rules
State officials in Texas, Colorado, Washington and most recently New Hampshire accuse Aliera, as well as Trinity HealthShare, an entity with which it contracts, of violating state and federal requirements. Those violations include failing to make its religious affiliations clear and selling plans outside the markets allowed by statute. (Bookman, 11/25)

MPR: Substandard Health Insurance Comes With Low Premiums But High Risk
Many Americans struggle with the cost of health care. Now that there’s no longer a hefty tax penalty for buying coverage that fails to meet the standards of the Affordable Care Act, cheaper alternatives can be enticing. (Zdechlik, 11/25)

Tampa Bay Times: Florida Leads The Nation Again In Affordable Care Act Signups
Florida is again surging ahead in Affordable Care Act sign ups, with nearly half a million people opting for coverage three weeks into the enrollment period. Since Nov. 1, when the period began, 463,066 Floridians have signed up for health insurance next year under the act, commonly known as Obamacare, according to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The agency tracks enrollment in the 39 states that use the federal exchange. Nationally, nearly 1.7 million Americans have signed up for Obamacare health plans that will cover them in 2020. (Griffin, 11/22)

Modern Healthcare: Litigation Funders Eye Billions In Outstanding Obamacare Payments
Health insurers are fielding offers from specialized investors who are betting big that the Supreme Court will force the federal government to fork over billions in unpaid Obamacare funds. Insurance companies and their attorneys say they've been approached with more and more frequency by litigation funding firms and other investors as the December oral arguments approach in the lawsuits over unpaid "risk-corridor" payments, and some investors are increasingly sweetening the deals. (Livingston, 11/22)

The New York Times: ‘Public Option’ Draws Voters Unsure About ‘Medicare For All’
One after another, voters at a recent campaign event here for former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. expressed utter comfort with the centerpiece of his health care platform: an idea once so controversial that Democrats had to drop it from the Affordable Care Act to get the landmark law passed. The proposal would allow people of all incomes who aren’t old enough for Medicare to choose health coverage through a new government-run plan that would compete with private insurance, known by the less-than-catchy shorthand “public option.” (Goodnough, 11/24)

Politico: The Army Built To Fight ‘Medicare For All’
Chip Kahn took one look at the scene playing out inside the stately Hart Senate Office Building and knew he needed to do something about it. It was mid-September 2017 and Sen. Bernie Sanders had just ascended a stage to the cheers of more than a hundred health care activists, grassroots organizers and political supporters. The packed hearing room had played host to some of the most solemn moments in Washington's modern history: the crafting of a landmark missile treaty with the Soviet Union, the investigation of the 9/11 terror attacks, the consideration of at least five Supreme Court nominees. (Cancryn, 11/25)

And Medicare isn't perfect as it is —

USA Today: 'Medicare For All' Talk Misses Cost-Sharing Crunch For Older, Disabled Adults.
When Robert Davis's prescription medication money ran out weeks ago, he began rationing a life-sustaining $292,000-per-year drug he takes to treat his cystic fibrosis. On Tuesday, the suburban Houston man and father of two, got a lifeline in the mail: a free 30-day supply of a newer, even more expensive triple-combination drug with an annual cost of $311,000. The drug will bring him relief over the next month, but he's uncertain what will happen next. Although the 50-year-old has Medicare prescription drug coverage, he can't afford copays for it or other drugs he must take to stay healthy as he battles the life-shortening lung disorder. (Alltucker, 11/25)

The New York Times: 2020 Democrats Unapologetically Support Abortion Rights, Times Survey Shows
The Democratic presidential field has coalesced around an abortion rights agenda more far-reaching than anything past nominees have proposed, according to a New York Times survey of the campaigns. The positions reflect a hugely consequential shift on one of the country’s most politically divisive issues. Every candidate The Times surveyed supports codifying Roe v. Wade in federal law, allowing Medicaid coverage of abortion by repealing the Hyde Amendment, and removing funding restrictions for organizations that provide abortion referrals. (Astor, 11/25)

The New York Times: How The 2020 Democrats Responded To An Abortion Survey
The New York Times asked the Democratic presidential candidates to complete a survey on abortion and contraception. Following are the full responses we received, unedited except for corrected typos and punctuation. (Astor, 11/25)

In other news —

US News: In 24 States, Abortion Would Not Be Legally Protected If Roe V. Wade Is Overturned
As a conservative U.S. Supreme Court considers the question of abortion access, a global reproductive rights advocacy organization has outlined where rights to the services could be prohibited or restricted if the current case causes the court to limit or overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. The Center for Reproductive Rights created a map and report after examining legal factors, including laws, constitutions and court decisions, in the U.S. to determine whether abortion access would be expanded, protected, not protected or prohibited across all 50 states, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. (Newman, 11/22)

Vice: What’s It Like To Get An Abortion In Georgia
One morning in 2013, Susana, whose last name has been withheld to protect her privacy, woke up feeling nauseated. Although she was on the birth control pill, she immediately suspected she was pregnant. She bought an at-home pregnancy test from a nearby dollar store. It was positive. Susana, who lived in Georgia at the time, calculated that it had been six or seven weeks since her last period, so she knew she had the option of having a medication abortion, which is FDA-approved for the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. She was 19 and not ready to have kids, and especially not with her boyfriend at the time—the relationship was tumultuous, she said. (Lawson, 11/25)

The Associated Press: Trump Hears Opposing Viewpoints In Debate Over Youth Vaping
President Donald Trump on Friday heard opposing viewpoints in the debate over youth vaping but offered no insight into where he would ultimately come down on the issue after promising two months ago that he would ban most flavored e-cigarettes but later backtracking. He said the administration would announce its plan “very soon.” (Superville, 11/22)

Reuters: Trump Says Ban Of Some Flavored E-Cigarette Products Could Lead To Illegal Sales
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday expressed concerns that enacting his administration's proposed ban on many flavored e-cigarette and vaping products would lead to people obtaining them illegally. Trump also raised worries during a raucous meeting with public health and industry representatives that illegal e-cigarette and vaping products could be substandard. (11/22)

The New York Times: Trump Warns A Flavor Ban Would Spawn Counterfeit Vaping Products
“If you don’t give it to them, it’s going to come here illegally,” Mr. Trump said of flavored products, referring to how a “prohibition” would only increase the use of black-market products. “That’s the one problem I can’t seem to forget,” he said. “You just have to look at the history of it. Now, instead of having a flavor that’s at least safe, they’re going to be having a flavor that’s poison.” But e-cigarettes have been on the market for more than a decade, at least, and have grown increasingly popular, with little scientific evidence or oversight to prove they are safe. (Karni and Kaplan, 11/22)

USA Today: Vaping Crisis: Trump Calls For Minimum Age Of 21 For Buying E-Products
At one point, Sen. Mitt Romney, Republican from Utah, who was seated next to Trump, said "most adults are not using flavors," prompting vaping industry leaders to shout back, "yes they do," offering adult sales statistics. Romney responded by pointing to Juul voluntarily ending flavors, but other companies said many or most of sales are of flavored products. Romney clashed multiple times with vaping advocates. (Stanglin, 11/22)

The Washington Post: In Apparent Shift, Trump Warns About Dangers Of Banning Flavored E-Cigarettes
At the same time, Trump indicated support for legislation to raise the federal minimum age for buying tobacco products to 21 from 18, which is pending in Congress. While health groups generally support an age increase, they say “Tobacco 21,” as it is called, is not enough to check the increase in teen vaping. “Raising the age doesn’t fix the main problem,” Gary Reedy, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society, said after the meeting. “As long as the flavors are there, kids are going to be enticed.” (McGinley and Wan, 11/22)

CNN: Trump's White House Meeting On Vaping Results In Contentious Debate
Besides raising the age limit to 21, the Vapor Technology Association's proposed plan includes restricting marketing practices and enforcing penalties for retailers that sell to minors, among other controls. In the meeting, "what was interesting was that other than raising the age to 21, the public health advocates were virtually silent" on the other restriction proposals, Abboud said. "This is the fundamental problem that we have. They simply want a ban and nothing short of a ban and bans don't work." (Howard, 11/22)

Bloomberg: Trump Opens Door To Vaping Debate As He Waffles On Policy
“The president had, in the room, every major physician group and every major health group, and to a person, and an organization, their message was consistent. You have to ban flavors if you’re going to reduce the youth e-cigarette epidemic,” said Matthew Myers, president of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, who sat directly across from the president. “He asked a lot of questions and we’re just going to have to wait and see where it comes out.” (Wingrove and Porter, 11/23)

Reuters: Ban On Flavored Vapes Could Lead To Loss Of 150,000 Jobs, $8.4 Billion Sales Hit: Report
A potential U.S. ban on e-cigarette flavors could result in a loss of more than 150,000 jobs and a direct sales hit of $8.4 billion, according to a report released on Friday by a vaping industry trade group. Two months ago President Donald Trump's administration announced a sweeping plan to ban all e-cigarette and vaping flavors except tobacco, but a final decision has not been made. (11/22)

In other vaping news: how Juul became so popular, delays that left kids at risk of poisoning, the obscured message that vaping is still safer than traditional cigarettes, and more —

The New York Times: How Juul Hooked A Generation On Nicotine
In the face of mounting investigations, subpoenas and lawsuits, Juul Labs has insisted that it never marketed or knowingly sold its trendy e-cigarettes and flavored nicotine pods to teenagers. As youth vaping soared and “juuling” became a high school craze, the company’s top executives have stood firm in their assertion that Juul’s mission has always been to give adult smokers a safer alternative to cigarettes, which play a role in the deaths of 480,000 people in the United States each year. “We never wanted any non-nicotine user and certainly nobody underage to ever use Juul products,” James Monsees, a co-founder of the company, testified at a congressional hearing in July. (Creswell and Kaplan, 11/23)

PBS NewsHour: Why Are So Many Kids Addicted To Vaping — And What Will Trump Do About It?
With thousands sickened and 47 dead from a mysterious lung illness linked to vaping, teenage use of electronic cigarettes is still surging. As the health risks grow, pressure is building on President Trump to take action, with particular focus on limiting the flavored tobacco products that appeal to kids. (Brangham, 11/22)

USA Today: Vaping Law Delays Left Kids At Risk Of Nicotine Poisoning
Federal regulators this year stepped up efforts to protect young children from a deadly vaping threat: accidents involving liquid nicotine in bottles with enticing candy colors and flavors. In February, the Consumer Product Safety Commission sent out notices about a safety requirement that it had previously ignored. In addition to child-resistant caps, vape juice containers must dramatically limit how much can spill out of an open bottle. A vial can contain enough poison to kill four toddlers.  (Stein, 11/25)

Vox: Vaping Is Still Safer Than Smoking. That Message Is Getting Dangerously Muddled.
Amid the many controversies about vaping’s health effects, there’s one thing public health experts agree on: E-cigarettes are less harmful than regular cigarettes. Tobacco kills up to half of its users, which is why cigarettes are considered the deadliest consumer product ever introduced to the market. Even with the uncertainty about vaping’s long-term risks, researchers have found that vapers are exposed to fewer toxins and carcinogens than cigarette smokers. The public, meanwhile, seems increasingly confused. (Belluz, 11/22)

The Associated Press: Michigan Halts Sale Of Marijuana E-Cigs Unless Re-Tested
Michigan on Friday halted the sale of marijuana vaping products until they are tested for a compound that has been identified as a culprit in e-cigarette-related lung illnesses. The state Marijuana Regulatory Agency’s emergency rules, which prohibit vitamin E acetate, apply to existing medical marijuana businesses and those in the process of being licensed to sell for recreational use as soon as Dec. 1. (Eggert, 11/22)

Bloomberg: Duke University Was Built On A Cigarette Fortune. Now It May Ban Vaping On Its Campus
At Duke Unversity, at the epicenter of North Carolina’s tobacco country, a tense showdown over college vaping and its health risks is roiling the campus. The standoff began with an Oct. 7 letter to the student-run newspaper, The Chronicle, from Loretta Que, a pulmonologist at Duke University Medical Center. The letter, co-signed by seven other faculty members, urged the university to ban vaping in the wake of a wave of life-threatening lung injuries among young people. Que and her colleagues have themselves treated half a dozen such cases of serious vaping-related lung disease at the medical center, including two college students. (Rupp and Griffin, 11/23)

Bloomberg: Juul Co-Founder Ordered To Answer Questions In Tobacco Lawsuit 
A Florida state court judge ordered the co-founder of the e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. to answer questions under oath in a case involving a woman suing the cigarette-maker Philip Morris USA. While Juul has challenged the judge’s order, it’s the first time that the Silicon Valley startup has been dragged into a thicket of longstanding tobacco product-liability litigation since it sold a $12.8 billion stake of the company to Altria Group Inc., which owns Philip Morris USA, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes. (Etter, 11/22)

The Washington Post: Crib Bumpers Tied To Dozens Of Infant Deaths. Regulators Haven't Acted.
A paralyzing conflict inside the nation’s product safety regulator has prevented the agency from taking action against a popular baby product that studies have linked to at least 48 infant deaths over 27 years and that public health officials say should be banned, according to a Washington Post investigation. The cause of the breakdown is a small team inside the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission that does not believe the product — padded crib bumpers — played a role in most, if any, of the infants’ deaths, derailing the agency’s attempts to regulate or ban crib bumpers. (Frankel, 11/23)

The Washington Post: Agency Shows Which Alternative Medical Approaches Are Useful And Safe — And Which Ones Aren’t
Elderflower syrup. Turmeric milk. Cannabidiol oil. Natural health trends come and go. So how should you decide which ones to chase? The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health can help. Part of the National Institutes of Health, the agency is devoted to determining what complementary and alternative medical approaches are useful and safe — and which ones aren’t. (Blakemore, 11/23)

The Wall Street Journal: Questions To Ask About How Your Medical Data Could Be Used By Researchers
When research participants sign up for studies that are federally funded, they have to go through a process known as informed consent. That means the researchers must brief them on the risks and benefits of participating, like who might have access to their data or what they might be able to find out about their health, if anything, by joining a study. Traditionally, research has focused on gaining insights that can improve public health, rather than the health of the individuals who provide their data. (Hernandez, 11/24)

The Wall Street Journal: Walter Reed Failed To Examine Almost 2,000 CT Scans
Nearly 2,000 radiology scans went unread for several years at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, leading to at least one documented delay in treatment and one physician fearing hundreds more, according to an internal investigation. A combination of faulty processes, oversights by physicians, technical snafus and a radiologist’s overwork led to a backlog of 1,300 unread Cone Beam Computed Tomography scans of patients’ faces and jaws from 2011 to 2016 at the Navy’s postgraduate dental school, according to the investigation, which was completed in August and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. (Kesling, 11/23)

Meanwhile, in veterans health care news —

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Continuing Problems At Atlanta VA Hospital Slow Services To Vets
The troubled Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center continues to run at diminished capacity after shutting down operating rooms in late September for all but emergency surgery, say people familiar with the matter. Some days as many as four of the nine operating rooms are still not functioning and full capacity is not scheduled to be restored through at least February at the largest hospital in the Southeast for military veterans, according to internal VA emails reviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. (Quinn, 11/22)

NH Times Union: Survey: Many NH Vets Still Struggle With PTSD, TBI 
New Hampshire is doing a better job of caring for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injuries, but “the mission is far from complete. ”That’s the conclusion of a new report from the NH Commission on PTSD and TBI, which was presented Friday to the Health and Human Services Oversight Committee. The commission compiled results and recommendations from a survey of 913 veterans conducted in 2017, and compared their responses to a similar survey done five years earlier. (Wickham, 11/23)

Reuters: Trump Says He Will Allow States To Import Prescription Drugs To Lower Costs
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he will soon release a plan to let Florida and other states import prescription medicines to combat high drug prices, and he blasted the Democrat-led House for not going far enough in a drug-pricing bill. "We will soon be putting more options on the table," Trump wrote in a series of tweets, adding that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "and her Do Nothing Democrats drug pricing bill doesn’t do the trick." (11/22)

CNBC: Trump Will Release Plan Allowing States To Import Drugs From Canada Soon
It’s unclear exactly how the plan has changed since the Department of Health and Human Services released an outline in July. According to the outline, states, wholesalers and pharmacists — acting as intermediaries for consumers — would draft a proposal for safe importation of drugs already available in the U.S. The groups would then submit the proposal to the Food and Drug Administration for approval. In most circumstances, it is illegal to import medications from other countries for personal use, according to the FDA. Canadian health officials and the pharmaceutical industry are against the proposal. (Lovelace, 11/22)

The Hill: Trump Draws Ire After Retreat On Drug Prices Pledge 
President Trump is backing off his 2016 campaign pledge to negotiate drug prices for Medicare with pharmaceutical companies, drawing fire from Democrats after months of talks on the issue with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). During his campaign, Trump famously broke with Republican orthodoxy with his support for having the government negotiate lower drug prices. (Sullivan, 11/24)

Stat: With $9.7 Billion Acquisition, Novartis Bets That Heart Drugs Are Coming Back
Novartis’ $9.7 billion acquisition of The Medicines Company (MDCO), which the companies announced Sunday after days of rumors, is a story of second acts. It represents a new chance for a type of cholesterol-lowering drug that was once predicted to generate many billions of dollars in annual sales, but has so far disappointed drug makers and investors, to dominate the landscape for heart medicines. (Herper, 11/24)

The Wall Street Journal: Novartis To Buy Cholesterol-Drugmaker Medicines Co.
The cholesterol drug under development by Medicines, based in Parsippany, N.J., is aimed at patients who aren’t well-treated by older statin pills. Medicines won’t come cheaply. Its shares have risen as the company has reported positive data from testing of the drug, with the stock nearly quadrupling this year. Its shares closed at $68.55 Friday, meaning the deal values Medicines at 24% above a price that was already elevated by expectations of a deal. (Cimilluca, Lombardo and Rockoff, 11/24)

Stat: New Data On Takeda’s Dengue Vaccine Look Promising, But With Troubling Exception 
New data about the effectiveness of Takeda (TAK) Pharmaceutical’s experimental dengue vaccine will likely raise more concerns among the many people hoping the vaccine will be an effective and safe tool with which to combat the massive global burden of dengue fever. The company — which earlier this month published findings from a Phase 3 trial outlining responses to the vaccine after 12 months — presented 18-month data at the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in National Harbor, Md. (Branswell, 11/23)

The Wall Street Journal: Takeda’s Dengue Vaccine Shows Promise
Effective measures to stop the spread of dengue are among the most urgent needs in global public health. Approximately 3.9 billion people in tropical regions of the world are at risk of infection with the virus, which is carried by an aggressive mosquito that teems in populated areas. An estimated 390 million people a year are infected with dengue. The World Health Organization listed dengue among 10 global health threats of concern in 2019. But only one licensed vaccine—Dengvaxia from Sanofi SA, is available so far, and it has had safety problems. Takeda’s ongoing clinical trial of its TAK-003 vaccine, involving approximately 20,000 children between the ages of 4 and 16 years in eight countries, is being closely watched. (McKay, 11/23)

NPR: For Your Heart, Eat Fish Or Take Pills? A Dose Of This Drug Equals 8 Salmon Servings
It's long been known that eating fish, especially cold-water fish such as salmon that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, is good for heart health. But, for the millions of Americans who are at high risk of heart disease, eating enough fish to make a difference isn't likely to be realistic for most. There's growing evidence that taking a very high-dose of purified fish oil, delivered in a prescription pill, can help prevent heart attacks and strokes among people who have elevated risks. (Aubrey, 11/25)

Houston Chronicle: Harris County Sues Insulin Manufacturers, Alleging Price-Gouging Scheme 
Harris County filed suit against three insulin manufacturers this week, accusing the firms of colluding to set artificially high prices for the medicine and other diabetic treatments. The suit estimates the alleged 15-year scheme costs the county millions of dollars annually through higher health care costs for employees, their dependents and inmates in the Harris County Jail. “We are bringing this lawsuit to hold these billion-dollar companies responsible for conspiring to drive up the prices of their life-saving insulin for our residents, while securing record profits for themselves,” County Attorney Vince Ryan said Thursday. (Despart, 11/22)

Stat: Facing Bottlenecks In Bio-Manufacturing, Boston Leaders Will Build Their Own
A group of leading Boston-area universities, hospitals, and corporations will create a new center for bio-manufacturing and innovation in or near the city, Harvard University announced on Monday, hoping to have the facility up and running by 2022 in an effort to protect the area’s leadership in life sciences. That leadership is threatened by severe bottlenecks in bio-manufacturing, said Harvard officials, who spent two years canvassing experts on what Massachusetts needs to do to keep promoting biotech in both academia and industry. (Begley, 11/25)

The New York Times: University To Students On Medicaid: Buy Private Coverage, Or Drop Out
Emily and Kullen Langston were enrolling in classes for the winter semester at Brigham Young University-Idaho when they hit an unexpected roadblock. The school, like many others, requires all students to have health coverage. But this month, the university made an unusual announcement: It would no longer accept Medicaid. Ms. Langston, 20, enrolled in the free government insurance program last year after becoming pregnant with the couple’s daughter, who is now 4 months old. Mr. Langston, 22, was planning to sign up for Medicaid in January, when it is set to expand in the state. (Kliff, 11/24)

The Salt Lake Tribune: BYU-Idaho No Longer Accepts Medicaid, And Some Students Are Dropping Out Of School
The controversial decision from BYU-Idaho — a private school owned by the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — came as a surprise to students last week. School administrators announced the change in an email one day after Idaho received approval letters from the federal government for its Medicaid expansion plan, which voters in the state overwhelmingly supported last year. As many universities do, BYU-Idaho requires students to have health insurance before they can register. Previously, Medicaid qualified as adequate coverage. (Tanner, 11/22)

Post Register: Local Doctors Question BYU-Idaho Medicaid Claims
Brigham Young University-Idaho officials said Wednesday that the university decided to stop accepting Medicaid to waive a student health plan due to concerns for local health care providers. “Due to the health care needs of the tens of thousands of students enrolled annually on the campus of BYU-Idaho, it would be impractical for the local medical community and infrastructure to support them with only Medicaid coverage,” the university said. (Brown and Varnedoe, 11/21)

Past coverage from the (Idaho Falls) Post Register: BYU-Idaho Requiring Students On Medicaid To Also Buy Student Health Plans, Won't Say Why

The Associated Press: Lawsuit Challenges Medicaid Work Requirements In Michigan
Four enrollees in Michigan’s Medicaid expansion program filed a lawsuit Friday challenging work requirements that are set to take effect in January, arguing that the Trump administration lacked the authority to approve the rules that undermine the Affordable Care Act. The lawsuit, brought in federal court in Washington, D.C., asks the judge to declare the federal approval of the requirements illegal and to block them from being implemented. (Eggert, 11/22)

The Hill: Kansas Bishops Defend Support For Placing Conditions On Medicaid Expansion 
Kansas Catholic bishops are standing by their request to place conditions on Medicaid expansion in the state. The bishops have taken a stance to withhold their support of Medicaid expansion until the state meets some conditions, including passing a bill to allow citizens to vote on a constitutional amendment to remove abortion as a “natural right.”  (Coleman, 11/24)

Kansas City Star: Missouri Program For The Disabled To Run Out Of State Money
Rule plays with and feeds his beloved 12-year-old miniature Schnauzer Elli by himself. Now the life he has made for himself is at risk, because the state program that pays for his home attendant will run out of money this month. The funding allows non-Medicaid eligible Missourians with severe disabilities to get the basic care they need to remain independent of a much more expensive nursing home. (Thomas, 11/25)

The Oklahoman: Report: 476 Older Oklahomans Died Prematurely Because Of Medicaid Non-Expansion
Nearly 500 low-income, older Oklahomans died prematurely because the state did not expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, according to a new report. The report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a progressive think tank in Washington, D.C., found that 15,600 deaths among low-income people ages 55 to 64 in a four-year period could have been avoided if all states had expanded Medicaid. Conversely, states that did expand Medicaid averted roughly 19,200 deaths of people in that age range from 2014 through 2017, according to the report. (Forman, 11/24)

Bloomberg: New York’s Budget Gap Swells To $6 Billon On Medicaid Costs 
New York’s projected budget gap for the next fiscal year has swelled by almost 60% to $6.1 billion, as spending on Medicaid surges, according a mid-year state budget update. A minimum-wage increase for health care providers, increased enrollments and costs in managed long-term care, and payments to financially distressed hospitals is putting pressure on the state budget. (Braun, 11/22)

The New York Times: ‘I Have A Ph.D. In Not Having Money’
David Velasquez learned his first clinical lesson early on: The health care system wasn’t made to care for people like him. Mr. Velasquez, 24, never had a primary care physician, because his parents couldn’t afford the bills. When he was 12, his undocumented godmother died of cancer, having avoided hospitals until it was too late. Mr. Velasquez, the only college-bound member of his family, knew he needed to become a doctor. When he registered for the Medical College Admission Test, or MCAT, his junior year, he called the Princeton Review to ask for a discount on a $1,200 preparation package. (Goldberg, 11/25)

Meanwhile —

Arizona Republic: Medical Students Get Free Tuition, Agree To Practice In Rural Arizona
Some University of Arizona medical school students are getting free tuition in exchange for a promise to practice in underserved rural areas for at least two years after they graduate. The scholarship money is from state funds earmarked to alleviate a physician shortage that is particularly acute in rural Arizona, where more than one-quarter of primary-care physicians plan to retire in the next five years. Arizona currently ranks among the worst in the country — 44th of 50 states — in its number of active primary-care physicians per capita, UA officials say. (Innes, 11/22)

The New York Times: 14,000 Lives: ‘Rare Case Where Racial Biases’ Protected Blacks
When the opioid crisis began to escalate some 20 years ago, many African-Americans had a layer of protection against it. But that protection didn’t come from the effectiveness of the American medical system. Instead, researchers believe, it came from racial stereotypes embedded within that system. As unlikely as it may seem, these negative stereotypes appear to have shielded many African-Americans from fatal prescription opioid overdoses. This is not a new finding. (Frakt and Monkovic, 11/25)

NPR: In The Fight For Money For The Opioid Crisis, Will The Youngest Victims Be Left Out?
Babies born to mothers who used opioids during pregnancy represent one of the most distressing legacies of an opioid epidemic that has claimed almost 400,000 lives and ravaged communities. In fact, many of the ongoing lawsuits filed against drug companies make reference to these babies, fighting through withdrawal in hospital nurseries. The cluster of symptoms they experience, which include tremors, seizures and respiratory distress, is known as neonatal abstinence syndrome. Until recently, doctors rarely looked for the condition. (Farmer, 11/22)

The Associated Press: Federal Addiction Treatment Dollars Off-Limits For Marijuana 
The U.S. government is barring federal dollars meant for opioid addiction treatment to be used on medical marijuana. The move is aimed at states that allow marijuana for medical uses, particularly those letting patients with opioid addiction use pot as a treatment, said Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, whose federal agency doles out money to states for treatment programs. (11/22)

Columbus Dispatch: Homeless Advocate's Needle-Exchange Effort Causes Split With Licking County 
The Licking County Health Department distributes free naloxone opioid-overdose reversal kits to residents. The naloxone distribution program, called Integrated Naloxone Access and Infrastructure, is funded by a grant from the Ohio Department of Health and is available to all Licking County residents, said Olivia Biggs, a department spokeswoman. Free naloxone kits can be requested from the department’s website ...County Health Commissioner Joe Ebel said in a statement this month that the health department learned that ]Patricia] Perry is violating the department’s policy by passing out her kits. (Hendrix, 11/22)

The Baltimore Sun: Carroll County Commissioners Decline To Cover Overdose Reversal Training For School Employees 
The Carroll County commissioners said Thursday that they support the idea of getting more school employees trained on how to administer an overdose-reversal drug, but they disagree with the school system’s proposal on how to do so. The commissioners on Thursday rejected a request to cover the cost of training another 200 Carroll County Public Schools staff members outside of school hours, telling school system officials to go “back to the drawing board." (Keller, 11/22)

Kaiser Health News: Not Yesterday’s Cocaine: Death Toll Rising From Tainted Drug
A pain pill prescription for nerve damage revived Gwendolyn Barton’s long-dormant addiction last year, awakening fears she would slip back into smoking crack cocaine. She’d done that drug and others for about 20 years before getting sober in 2008. But things were different back then. This time, the 62-year-old knew she needed to seek treatment before it was too late. (Ungar, 11/25)

WBUR: A Sip Of Morphine: Uganda's Old-School Solution To A Shortage Of Painkillers
In the United States, drugmakers have flooded the market with powerful, sophisticated opioids. And that's fueled an epidemic of addiction. But across Africa many patients can't afford even mild painkillers — let alone medications to help people in extreme pain.Uganda has come up with a solution that goes back to basics with one of the world's original painkillers: morphine. (Aizenman, 11/25)

The Washington Post: CDC Warns Consumers Not To Eat Romaine Lettuce From Salinas Valley, Ca.
Federal health and regulatory officials warned consumers Friday not to eat romaine lettuce of any kind harvested from the Salinas Valley, one of California’s major agricultural regions, because it may be contaminated with a particularly dangerous type of E. coli bacteria that has sickened 40 people in 16 states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration told consumers to throw away any romaine lettuce they may already have purchased. (Sun, 11/23)

CNN: E. Coli Outbreak Reported In Romaine Lettuce Harvested From Salinas, California, CDC And FDA Say
So far, 28 people were hospitalized, though no deaths were reported, according to the FDA. Wisconsin has had 10 cases, the most reported from the 16 states, the CDC said. "If romaine lettuce does not have labeling information for its growing area or the source cannot be confirmed, consumers should not eat or use the romaine," said Frank Yiannas, FDA's deputy commissioner for food policy and response. "Restaurants and retailers should not serve or sell romaine lettuce if they cannot confirm it is from outside Salinas." (Vera, 11/22)

NPR: Flu Shot Doesn't Work As Well For Obese And Overweight People
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says flu season is starting to ramp up — and it's not too late to reduce your risk with a vaccine. But scientists have come to realize that flu vaccines are less effective for people who are overweight or obese. Considering that excess weight affects more than two-thirds of the U.S. adult population, that's a significant shortcoming. (Harris, 11/24)

The New York Times: Fitting In Family Fitness At The Holidays
Milk-gallon dead lifts, shared inchworms, synchronized walking and a little misdirection could be the keys to staying in shape and in harmony with loved ones during the holiday weeks ahead, experts say. While people who regularly exercise often worry about having too little time, willpower or familial good will available for workouts when they visit or host family and friends for the holidays, the researchers and athletes I spoke with felt that the greater challenge — and opportunity — lies in finding ways to rope in the gathered hordes, who might otherwise stay inactive. (Reynolds, 11/23)

The New York Times: Air Pollution May Damage The Brain
Long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with lower scores on tests of mental acuity, researchers have found. And one reason may be that air pollution causes changes in brain structure that resemble those of Alzheimer’s disease. The scientists studied 998 women ages 73 to 87 and free of dementia, periodically giving them tests of learning and memory. They used magnetic resonance imaging to detect brain atrophy, or wasting, and then scored the deterioration on its degree of similarity to the brain atrophy characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease. (Bakalar, 11/25)

NPR: For Older Cancer Patients, Geriatric Assessments Help Doctors Tailor Treatment
When Lorraine Griggs' 86-year-old father was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he was treated with 35 rounds of radiation, though he had a long list of other serious medical issues, including diabetes, kidney disease and high blood pressure. The treatment left him frailer, Griggs recalls. A few years later, when his prostate cancer reoccurred, Griggs' father received a different kind of cancer care. Before his doctor devised a treatment plan, she ordered what's known as a geriatric assessment. (Platzman Weinstock, 11/23)

CNN: What This Sunny, Religious Town In California Teaches Us About Living Longer
Spanish for "beautiful city," Loma Linda, California is nestled between mountain peaks in the middle of the San Bernardino Valley. The city is known as an epicenter of health and wellness, with more than 900 physicians on the campus of Loma Linda University and Medical Center. But that's not Loma Linda's only wellness claim to fame. This city of 21,000 is one of the five original blue zones, regions in the world where people live longest and are the healthiest. In fact, the people in this community tend to live eight to 10 years longer than the average American. (LaMotte, 11/25)

WBUR: When 'Friendly' Probiotic Bacteria Turn Into Foes In The ICU
In an intensive care unit at Boston Children's Hospital, Dr. Greg Priebe was treating a teenager whose lungs had failed. To make matters worse, the patient spiked a fever from an infection brewing in his bloodstream: a type of bacteria called lactobacillus, commonly found in probiotic capsules and foods like yogurt. (Goldberg, 11/22)

The Associated Press: Amazon Pulls Skin-Lightening Products After Groups’ Concerns
Amazon has pulled more than a dozen skin-lightening products with dangerous levels of mercury off its website after Minnesota public-health and environmental activists raised concerns. The company’s change came after two groups, the BeautyWell Project and the state branch of the Sierra Club, delivered a petition on Wednesday with over 23,000 signatures to Amazon’s fulfillment center in Shakopee, Minnesota Public Radio News reported. (11/22)

The Washington Post: Her Lungs Seemed To Be A Mess. But The Problem That Nearly Killed Her Lay Elsewhere.
Why, Gail Multop wondered repeatedly, couldn’t doctors put an end to her seemingly in­trac­table lung ailments? Multop’s problems seemed to progress slowly but relentlessly. In November 2016, she contracted pneumonia. A second bout followed six months later. By then, the early-childhood education specialist had developed a wracking cough and felt increasingly exhausted and short of breath. (Boodman, 11/23)

The New York Times: Veterans Join Airlines In Pushback Against Conduct Unbecoming A Support Dog
It seemed, in retrospect, a bit of a low point — a medium-size dog racing through an airplane at 30,000 feet, spraying diarrhea toward passengers throughout the cabin. But according to some transportation officials, it was an increasingly typical scene that has stemmed from the growing use of comfort animals on airplanes — a situation that some injured veterans say is making life harder on them. (Steinhauer, 11/23)

Miami Herald: Dengue Virus’ Spread Through Latin America Threatens Miami
Dengue virus is surging in Latin America at an inopportune time for Miami, with infections in those countries spreading rapidly just as many foreign-born South Florida residents are preparing to travel to their home countries for the holidays, public health experts are warning. That increases the likelihood that travelers will bring the disease back to South Florida when they return. (Conarck, 11/22)

The Associated Press: Paging Dr. Robot: Artificial Intelligence Moves Into Care
The next time you get sick, your care may involve a form of the technology people use to navigate road trips or pick the right vacuum cleaner online. Artificial intelligence is spreading into health care, often as software or a computer program capable of learning from large amounts of data and making predictions to guide care or help patients. (Murphy, 11/24)

Stat: Watch: What Is HIPAA, And What Does It Cover? 
Earlier this month, a federal regulator launched a probe into a partnership that allowed Google (GOOGL) to collect millions of patient records from the nonprofit hospital chain Ascension. At the crux of the investigation: whether the companies adhered to HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The federal law governs how doctors, hospitals, and researchers can use and share personal health information — and when they have to tell patients they are doing so. (Thielking, 11/22)

CNN: More Than 1,000 Patients May Have Been Exposed To HIV And Other Viruses After Error In Sanitizing Procedure
More than a thousand surgical patients at Goshen Hospital in Indiana may have been exposed to HIV, hepatitis C and hepatitis B after an error in the sanitizing procedure for surgical equipment, according to a press release from Goshen Health. One step in a multistep cleaning process was missed by a technician, possibly contaminating the surgical equipment, said Liz Fisher, marketing specialist for Goshen Health. The hospital identified 1,182 surgical patients between April and September of 2019 who may have been impacted, Fisher said. (Simko-Bednarski and Alsharif, 11/25)

Texas Tribune: Why Texas Republicans Are Launching Trial Balloons On Gun Laws
Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have regularly positioned themselves with an eye on each other and another on primary voters, donors, and the state’s interest group universe, each trying to occupy the more conservative position. But in their responses to the recurring mass shootings in Texas, that has changed: The two have edged into conversations about red flag laws and increased background checks — positions that have been off limits for Second Amendment advocates housed mostly, if not exclusively, in the Republican Party. (Henson and Blank, 11/23)

Boston Globe: Double-Booked Surgery Cited In Death At Mass. General, Records Indicate
As early as 2010, Mass. General’s medical director of operating rooms mentioned double-booking as a factor to be examined in the bleeding death of a patient whose surgeon was juggling two operations. In another case, a patient suffered a dangerous complication while the attending surgeon was in another operating room, leaving surgeons in training to seek guidance from a vendor of surgical equipment. (Saltzman, 11/23)

The Associated Press: Pennsylvania To Fund Research Into Fracking Health Dangers
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said Friday his administration will spend $3 million on a pair of studies to explore the potential health effects of the natural gas industry, taking action after months of impassioned pleas by the families of pediatric cancer patients who live in the most heavily drilled region of the state. Dozens of children and young adults have been diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma and other forms of cancer in a four-county area outside Pittsburgh, where energy companies have drilled more than 3,500 wells since 2008. (11/22)

Kaiser Health News: Last-Minute Loophole Could Undermine Texas Law Against Surprise Medical Bills
Texas’ bipartisan effort to shield patients from surprise medical bills could be weaker than lawmakers intended when it takes effect Jan. 1. Earlier this year, lawmakers from both parties came together on legislation to protect people in state-regulated health plans from getting outrageous bills for out-of-network care. The new law, known as Senate Bill 1264, creates an arbitration process for insurers and providers to negotiate fair prices in those cases. The intention of the law is to establish those fair prices without ever involving patients. (Lopez, 11/25)

The Associated Press: Vaccination Required After Mumps Found At Arkansas School
All University of Arkansas students are being required to have up-to-date vaccinations in order to attend classes following a mumps outbreak on campus. The state Department of Health on Friday issued a notice telling students they need to be immunized with at least two doses of the mumps vaccine or sit out of class for 26 days. The agency says nine cases of the viral disease have been diagnosed at the Fayetteville school this fall and other possible cases are being investigated. (11/24)

San Francisco Chronicle: ‘When We Suffer, Our Patients Suffer’: SF General Workers Rally For More Staff
Health care workers at San Francisco General Hospital say they are overworked, understaffed — and quickly reaching their breaking point.Nearly every aspect of San Francisco’s behavioral health care system is being stretched past its capacity as the city faces a swelling homelessness crisis. The hospital’s residents and interns say they are working 80 to 100 hour weeks as they care for the city’s most vulnerable: the homeless, the mentally ill, the drug addicted. (Thadani, 11/23)

KCUR: Kansas Colleges See A Rise In Cost Of Mental Health Care For Students 
Thousands of students at Kansas’s public universities have sought out mental health treatment, to the point that the Kansas Board of Regents says schools are spending more money on such care — though it couldn’t provide an exact total. ...And it’s not just in Kansas: There’s a national trend of college students experiencing more anxiety and depression. Between 2007 and 2017, the rate of college students receiving mental health treatment rose from 19% to 34%. (Ujiyediin, 11/22)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Outcry Over Cobb County Jail Deaths, Conditions Grows Louder
The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia is wading into the fray surrounding several deaths and reports of understaffing at the Cobb County Jail.Sheriff Neil Warren and his department have come under fire after seven inmates died while in custody in the past 12 months. Activists and families of some inmates are calling attention to conditions they believe could threaten the health and safety of inmates, including what appeared to be a long-term lockdown of the jail making communication with inmates difficult. (Dixon, 11/22)

North Carolina Health News: Mountain Hospital Ends Its Maternity Services 
Just as the mountain roads start turning icy, women in Murphy or Andrews will have to travel more than an hour away to find a hospital with labor and delivery services. Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital in Murphy will discontinue labor and delivery services at the beginning of December, with obstetrics and gynecology services slated to end Dec. 31. The hospital is the only facility serving Cherokee County, the state’s southwesternmost county and home to more than 27,000 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. (Taylor and Martin, 11/25)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Flu Activity Reaches High Levels In Georgia
The flu season in Georgia is ramping up, with the number of cases already at a level considered high. Friday, the state Department of Public Health said 4.59% of patient visits to doctors were for the flu during the week ending Nov. 16, up from 4.03% the week before. (Oliviero, 11/22)

Kaiser Health News: UVA Doctors Decry Aggressive Billing Practices By Their Own Hospital
Prominent doctors at UVA Health System are expressing public outrage at their employer’s practices to collect unpaid medical debt from its patients. A Kaiser Health News report in September that showed UVA sued 36,000 patients over six years for more than $100 million, seizing wages and savings and even pushing families into bankruptcy. (Hancock, 11/23)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Says Some Children Got Overdose Of Drug
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center acknowledged Friday that an unspecified number of patients recently got a wrongly mixed batch of a blood pressure medication. One 11-month-old boy received 57 doses of a drug – each 10 times stronger than required. (Saker, 11/22)

New Hampshire Union Leader: State Wants To Test All Bottled Water For PFAS Contaminants 
As state and local officials adapt to new guidelines for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, bottled water is getting more attention. “We have some proposed rule changes that we are working on right now to include PFAS testing in all bottled water as part of our regulatory authority,” said Lisa Morris, director of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services’ division of public health services. In May, the Department of Environmental Services tested for PFAS in a random sampling of bottled water sold in the state and found PFAS in some store brands. (Houghton, 11/24)

The CT Mirror: Separated By Design: Why Affordable Housing Is Built In Areas With High Crime, Few Jobs And Struggling Schools
Since the mid-1980s, almost $2.2 billion in low-income housing tax credits have been awarded to construct 27,000 affordable housing units in the state. Just 10% were built in prosperous towns, an investigation by The Connecticut Mirror and ProPublica has found. About 80% were located in struggling communities, literally erecting pockets of poverty. The rest fall somewhere in between. (Thomas, 11/25)

Georgia Health News: Red Icon Warns Consumers Of Nursing Homes With Abuse Records
Five Georgia nursing homes have a small red icon attached to their listing on a website that rates quality of care. That mark is a new tool on the federal Nursing Home Compare site to warn consumers about facilities recently flagged for abuse or neglect. (Miller, 11/23)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: ‘It Made Me Feel Helpless’: Voucher Holders Share Stories Of Limited Options, Stigma — Closed Doors
She receives a housing choice voucher, a form of federal rental assistance for very low-income households, through the nonprofit Emerald Development & Economic Network, Inc. She has a disability that prevents her from working, and receives $933 per month from disability benefits. About one-third of her income goes to rent; her voucher covers the rest.Her lack of options had consequences. (Grzelewski, 11/24)

Miami Herald: Miami Uproots Sex Offender Camp, Reviving Debate About Harsh Law
Miami-Dade County’s Health Department posted signs giving them until Dec. 5 to leave, citing illegal camping and unsanitary conditions. Because most South Florida counties and cities have laws designed to keep them far from children, the options for moving are few and far between — especially when most of them don’t have the money or means to move into permanent housing. (Rabin, 11/22)

The Star Tribune: M Health Fairview To Cut Staff, Consider Trims To Hospitals 
Leaders of M Health Fairview disclosed Friday that the giant health care system will cut as much as 2% of its staff, the first of several potential changes for the newly branded organization that could include reduced operations at the Bethesda rehabilitation hospital and the potential closure of St. Joseph’s Hospital in downtown St. Paul. The workforce reduction, announced in internal memos by University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel and Fairview chief executive James Hereford, is one of several strategies to emerge from a five-week series of “war room” sessions convened to address looming budgetary pressures. (Olson, 11/23)

KCUR: Judge Denies Claim That Missouri's Religious Exemption Form For Vaccines Is Unconstitutional 
A federal judge has rejected a Kansas City charter school student's claim that Missouri's official religious exemption form for vaccines is an unconstitutional infringement of religious freedom. The child, identified as W.B., and his parents, Zach and Audrey Baker, sued the Crossroads Academy and Missouri’s health agency, the Department of Health and Senior Services, over the language in the official form. (Margolies, 11/23)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Cleveland Foster Homes To Provide Up To 40 Beds For Migrant Children As Part Of Nonprofit’s Plan, Feds Confirm
A federal office overseeing the care of migrant children confirmed Friday that a Columbus-based nonprofit plans to provide foster care services and up to 40 beds for minors sent to Cleveland, but said the children are not ones separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. (Heisig, 11/22)

Politico: No, Medicare For All Won’t Save Money
When the massive new health program known as Medicare was created in 1965, President Lyndon Johnson got health care providers on board by buying their support: He promised that the government would let them decide how much to charge and which services to deliver. In many countries with single-payer health systems, governments decide how much they will pay; when adopting Medicare, the U.S. let providers make that decision. It gave doctors and hospitals the keys to the U.S. Treasury and guaranteed their profits. (Charles Silver and David A. Hyman, 11/25)

The Detroit News: Fight Over Medicare Has Little To Do With Health
America's health care reform debate reflects the growing division in our country today.Progressives are agitating for Medicare for All, which would ban private health insurance and enroll everyone in a new government-run plan. Moderates prefer a "public option,” a government-chartered health plan that would compete against private insurers. Conservatives still hope to repeal Obamacare and expand the availability of lower-cost private plans. This partisan squabbling boils down to a simple question — who should pay for our healthcare? We're spending little, if any, time tackling a far more important question — how we can make Americans healthier so they don't need as many costly surgeries, hospital stays and medications in the first place?(David Kopp, 11/23)

The Hill: Nurses Across The US Just Endorsed Bernie Sanders — Here's Why
In short, the illnesses and injuries that culminate at the bedside begin in our patients’ homes and communities. They begin with the policies that govern their lives and our planet, and they are often preventable. So our job, as patient advocates, is to fight beyond the walls of the hospital, in the streets, in our legislators’ office, on the campaign trail— and everywhere our voice makes a difference. That’s why we are so proud to endorse Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for the next president of the United States. (Bonnie Castillo, 11/23)

Kansas City Star: Kansas Bishops’ Reservations About Medicaid Objections Are To Clarify
The Catholic bishops of Kansas seek health care access for all people, no matter their socioeconomic status. Although it is an imperfect solution, we support and testified in favor of Medicaid expansion. Like virtually every other interested group or legislator, our position includes provisions we consider critical to the improvement and success of this complex legislation. (Chuck Weber, 11/24)

Stat: When Waiting Feels Immoral: Empathy In The Emergency Department 
Mr. Kane is using one hand to clutch the plastic basin into which he is vomiting and gesturing hello with the other hand when I introduce myself to him in the emergency department triage area. He has suffered from headaches ever since he had surgery for a brain mass years before. Over-the-counter medications typically control the pain. But today it feels like a hot knife behind his eyes, and he had little choice but to come to the hospital. I examine him, start treatment, and tag him for an urgent bed in the main emergency department. Only there aren’t any beds immediately available. He’ll be sent back into the waiting room in the company of the many other waiting patients, some possibly sicker than he is. (Jay Baruch, 11/25)

Des Moines Register: When A Planned Parenthood Clinic Closes, So Does Access To STD Testing
Some GOP politicians try to micromanage the lives of their female constituents by limiting access to abortion. The goal seems to be forcing every pregnant woman to give birth, whether she wants to or not.The anti-choice tactics of these elected officials are largely targeted at health providers who offer abortion services. Threaten them with jail time. Pass laws requiring them to perform unnecessary ultrasounds on patients, provide state-approved literature and obtain special consent for a safe, outpatient procedure. The favorite tactic, however, is starving Planned Parenthood of funding. Members of the GOP seem to believe running Planned Parenthood out of business will "save babies." Perhaps they don't understand what syphilis does to an infant. (11/21)

The Washington Post: A Doctor Gave Me False Hope About My Dad’s Cancer Survival. It Made His Death Much More Devastating.
“Your numbers look great,” the doctor says, beaming at my father who is hunched in his wheelchair. Receiving no reaction, he directs his attention at me. “Yup,” he confirms brightly. “Everything looks good.” He is a warm man, grandfatherly, with a salt-and-pepper mustache. We have seen him periodically since discovering the cancer in my father’s bone marrow; a diagnosis finally figured out after a month-long hospital stay. He had been kind and reassuring then as well. (Alisa Schindler, 11/24)

Stat: Descovy Trials Didn't Include Cisgender Women. That Was A Bad Call 
Of the estimated 38 million people living with HIV around the world, more than half are women. Women, especially young women, are at greater risk for HIV infection than men. So why would a company omit cisgender women from its clinical trials testing a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) regimen? PrEP is a breakthrough HIV strategy that, when taken as a daily pill, is more than 90% effective at preventing sexually acquired HIV. The first drug for PrEP, Truvada, has become an essential tool for bringing us closer to ending the HIV epidemic in the U.S. and around the world. (Oni Blackstock, 11/25)

The Hill: Doctors Are Dying By Suicide Every Day And We Are Not Talking About It
Another International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day has passed. It’s a day of remembrance started by former senator Harry Reid after he lost his father to suicide. And again, we haven’t talked enough about physician suicide, which has become an epidemic. One doctor dies by suicide every day and it is estimated that 135 people are affected by every suicide. Imagine how many people are affected when a doctor dies. Patients, colleagues, and the institution itself become the survivors to tell the story. Multiple studies show that suicide rates are higher among physicians than the general public, the highest suicide rate of any profession, and this vulnerability manifests in providers throughout the course of training and practice. (Jay Behel and Jennifer Coleman, 11/24)

The Wall Street Journal: Medicine Without Doctors Doesn’t Compute
Almost everyone who goes into medicine does so to try to help people. But doctors are trained as medical students, interns and residents in ways that are sometimes arbitrary and humorless, not to mention sleepless. While young doctors start off with the best of intentions, most of us struggle during the early parts of our careers to preserve and protect our identities. Our mechanisms for survival include what life-affirming struggles always include—love, sex, deprecating humor and deep bonds of friendship. (Marc Siegel, 11/24)

The Hill: Bridging The Accountability Gap In Our Fight Against TB
Clearly, we need a major change in our approach to ridding the world of TB. Diagnosing, curing, and preventing the disease — while avoiding catastrophic costs — requires a hard look at how programs perform and effectively integrate into health systems. A bill currently moving through the U.S. Congress supports these efforts. It is the first proposed piece of legislation in five years dealing with our response to TB, and it differs from former bills in that it mandates detailed monitoring and regular reporting of key performance indicators.It calls for independent bodies to ensure government, organizational, and program accountability. It also calls for countries to routinely measure progress and make sure everyone involved keeps their commitments, from making sure required TB policies and infrastructure are in place to earmarking resources and spending. (Ersin Topcuoglu, 11/24)

Nashville Tennessean: 'Psych Ward' Is An Antiquated Phrase, And We Should Stop Saying It
During the time that the psychiatric hospital was first called "the psych ward," everywhere else in the hospital was called the "medical ward" or "surgical ward" respectively. The word ward is no longer used, but to everyone outside of the mental health field the antiquated phrase "psych ward" remains and now has a derogatory tone. (Emma de Caussin, 11/24)

The CT Mirror: A Plan To Arrest The Rising Cost Of Prescription Drugs
The rising cost of prescription medication is a top-line issue for folks here in eastern Connecticut, and for millions across the country. The House of Representatives has gotten a lot of work done since coming into session in January – from securing care for our Blue Water Navy veterans, to voting to reinstate Net Neutrality as the law of the land, and much more – but one thing we’ve been squarely focused on is our effort to curb the skyrocketing costs of prescription medication, and to give Americans a better deal on drug prices. (Joe Courtney, 11/22)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. Needs New Ideas On Homelessness. Right. Now
Building housing for homeless people in the city of Los Angeles is an infuriatingly slow process. Even the so-called bridge shelters that are supposed to be an interim solution while we wait for new permanent housing have been taking a year or two to go up.Meanwhile, tent encampments continue to multiply on sidewalks, in parks, under freeway overpasses — and frustration over their presence grows. (11/25)