The New York Times: Judges Strike Several Blows To Trump Immigration Policies
President Trump’s immigration agenda ran into legal blockades in courts around the country on Friday as judges in four states barred his administration from trying to withhold green cards from people who use public benefits and rejected his plan to divert funds to erect a border wall. In three rulings, federal judges in New York, California and Washington State issued injunctions temporarily blocking the “public charge” rule, which would impose serious impediments to legal residency for those who use benefits such as Medicaid or those deemed likely to use them in the future. (Jordan, 10/11)

The Associated Press: Judges Block Green Card Denials For Immigrants On Public Aid 
The rulings in California, New York and Washington came in quick succession four days before the new rules were set to take effect. The judges ruled in favor of 21 states and the District of Columbia, which challenged the policy almost immediately after it was announced in August. U.S. District Judge George Daniels in New York said the policy redefined longstanding immigration laws with a new framework that had "no logic." Allowing the policy to go into effect now, he said, would have a significant impact on "law-abiding residents who have come to this country to seek a better life." (10/11)

Reuters: Judge Blocks Trump Immigration Rule, Calls It 'Repugnant To American Dream'
In California, U.S. Judge Phyllis Hamilton found "the plaintiffs are likely to prevail on the merits, for numerous reasons." In New York, Judge Daniels called the rule a "policy of exclusion in search of a justification." "It is repugnant to the American Dream of the opportunity for prosperity and success through hard work and upward mobility," Daniels wrote. (10/13)

NBC News: Federal Judges Block Trump Public Charge Rule For Immigrants Receiving Public Assistance
Daniels wrote in the decision explaining the order in a case announced by the New York attorney general's office in August that he found good cause to grant the motion because the plaintiffs in the case had sufficiently demonstrated their legal claims and that plaintiffs would suffer irreparable harm if the rule went into effect. "Overnight, the Rule will expose individuals to economic insecurity, health instability, denial of their path to citizenship, and potential deportation," he wrote. "It is a rule that will punish individuals for their receipt of benefits provided by our government, and discourages them from lawfully receiving available assistance intended to aid them in becoming contributing members of our society," he wrote. (Silva, 10/11)

The Washington Post: Lower Federal Courts Side Against Trump On Border Fence Funding, ‘Public Charge’ Rule
Ken Cuccinelli, the acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which was preparing to implement the public charge rule this month, suggested the government would appeal. “An objective judiciary will see that this rule lies squarely within long-held existing law,” he said in a statement. “Long-standing federal law requires aliens to rely on their own capabilities and the resources of their families, sponsors, and private organizations in their communities to succeed. The public charge regulation defines this long-standing law to ensure those seeking to come or stay in the United States can support themselves financially and will not rely on public benefits.” (Miroff, 10/11)

The Wall Street Journal: Federal Judges Block Rule To Disqualify Legal Immigrants Over Public Assistance
Backers of the rule said they want to ensure that immigrants are self-sufficient and prevent them from becoming a drain on U.S. taxpayers. The rule has been a particular priority for top White House aide Stephen Miller. The rule’s critics argue it has already had a chilling effect on immigrants’ use of a range of social benefits, with some opting out of benefits that aren’t covered by the rule because they don’t fully understand it. (Hackman and Kendall, 10/11)

The CT Mirror: Court Gives CT A Win In Immigrant 'Public Charge' Lawsuit
The Lamont administration estimates that if the new public charge rule takes effect, nearly 200,000 Connecticut residents could lose access to basic services including food stamps,  Medicaid – or HUSKY as the program is known in the state — and Section 8 housing vouchers that help low-income people pay their rent. Connecticut argued in its lawsuit that the cost of assisting these legal immigrants and their families with food and housing would fall back on the state, resulting in serious economic and public health costs. (Radelat, 10/11)

NPR: Federal Judges In 3 States Block Trump's 'Public Charge' Rule For Green Cards
The rule, which the administration announced this summer, is being challenged in several federal courts by immigrant rights groups and more than a dozen state attorneys general. Opponents argue that it discriminates against low-income immigrants and immigrants of color by imposing tough new standards on those seeking legal permanent residency in the United States. They note that the public charge policy has been in place for over a century but the new requirements would favor wealthier immigrants. (Wamsley, Fessler and Gonzales, 10/11)

Modern Healthcare: Judges Block Trump Rule Denying Green Cards To Medicaid Recipients
In a news release, New York Attorney General Letitia James said the rule would have had devastating impacts on New York and states across the country. "Once again, the courts have thwarted the Trump administration's attempts to enact rules that violate both our laws and our values, sending a loud and clear message that they cannot rewrite our story to meet their agenda," she said. "This rule would have had devastating impacts on all New Yorkers—citizens and non-citizens alike—and today's decision is a critical step in our efforts to uphold the rule of law. As long as our communities are under attack from this federal government, we will never stop fighting back." (Bannow, 10/11)

CQ: Federal Judges Block Trump's 'Public Charge' Rule
The public charge rule is one of many efforts by the Trump administration to exclude or make it difficult for low-income people from certain countries in Latin America, Asia, and Africa to immigrate to the United States. The administration also has created roadblocks for eligible immigrants within the United States to obtain certain types of government aid, such as housing assistance. (Misra, 10/11)

CNN: Read: 3 Orders Against Trump Public Charge Rule
Three federal judges blocked a Trump administration rule that makes it more difficult for immigrants who rely on public assistance to obtain legal status. Read the rulings here. (10/11)

The Associated Press: US Appeals Court Skeptical Of Trump's Medicaid Work Rules
A federal appeals court on Friday sharply questioned the Trump administration's work requirements for Medicaid recipients, casting doubt on a key part of a governmentwide effort to place conditions on low-income people seeking taxpayer-financed assistance. All three judges on a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit lobbed hard questions at a Justice Department lawyer defending the policy at a hearing. The administration is appealing after losing the first round before a lower court. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 10/11)

Modern Healthcare: Appeals Court Hints It Will Strike Down Medicaid Work Requirements
In oral arguments at the U.S. Court of Appeals fro the District of Columbia Circuit, the three-judge panel vigorously questioned the government's attorney about the purpose of the work requirements and agreed with an earlier ruling that the agency didn't adequately consider the effects the Section 1115 waivers would have on enrollment. (Brady, 10/11)

The Washington Post: Medicaid Work Requirements In Arkansas And Kentucky Get Skeptical Hearing From Appeals Panel
During oral arguments in a pair of cases involving work requirements in Kentucky and Arkansas — with high stakes for other states — all members of a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit repeatedly said senior Trump health officials had neglected to consider that people would lose health insurance under the new rules. Noting that state Medicaid experiments must fulfill the basic purposes of the program, Judge Harry T. Edwards told a Justice Department attorney, “You are failing to address the critical statutory objective” of providing vulnerable residents with health coverage. (Goldstein, 10/11)

McClatchy: Judges Hear Appeal In Two Medicaid Work Requirement Cases
Lawyers representing the people at risk of losing coverage if these work requirements are permitted argued that these requirements would not necessarily result in people transitioning to another form of health care coverage, but would certainly cause massive losses in coverage. “Cutting costs by reducing coverage is not acceptable,” said Ian Gershengorn an attorney from Jenner & Block and the National Health Law Program, a health rights advocacy group. He also brought up the objective of the ACA — to provide health care coverage for more people, he said, as he argued that this provision doesn’t follow that objective. (Marquez, 10/11)

The Hill: Appeals Court Skeptical Of Trump Arguments For Medicaid Work Requirements
District Judge James Boasberg previously rejected the administration’s approval of Kentucky’s program, and blocked the implementation of the Arkansas program, after he said the administration ignored the fact that work requirements would result in tens or hundreds of thousands of people losing Medicaid coverage. The appeals panel referred back to Boasberg’s opinion numerous times. Judge Harry Edwards, who was appointed by President Carter, said Klein never addressed the central issue. “There are adverse effects. People are going to lose coverage. You haven’t addressed that,” Edwards said. “You can’t point to other objectives. The principal objective [of Medicaid] is coverage.” (Weixel, 10/11)

CQ: Appeals Court Raises Questions About Medicaid Work Requirements
Klein argued that Boasberg “misunderstood” that any reduction in the number of people receiving coverage meant people would go without any coverage at all. Klein argued that while it was too early to draw conclusions, people could shift to other forms of insurance, such as coverage provided by an employer or private insurance purchased through an exchange. She did not provide any evidence that people who lost coverage in Arkansas had gained other insurance. If more people shifted from Medicaid expansion coverage to other types of insurance, Klein noted that this would free up money for other parts of the Medicaid population. (Raman, 10/11)

In related news —

The Wall Street Journal: The Medicaid Experiment In Arkansas: Thousands Lost Coverage, Few Gained Jobs
Mr. Ellis is one of more than 18,000 people who were cut from the Medicaid rolls after Arkansas embarked on a closely watched experiment in June 2018, when it became the only state to fully implement a work requirement for program recipients. The outcome in Arkansas could help shape the future of Medicaid, a state-federal program for low-income and disabled people that covers one in seven adults across the U.S. President Trump and Republicans promote the mandate as a way to rein in safety-net costs and increase employment. In a blow to the GOP, a federal judge in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in March blocked Arkansas’ Medicaid work requirement, saying federal officials didn’t adequately consider its potential to cause recipients to lose coverage. (Campo-Flores and Armour, 10/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Medicaid And The Health-Care Policy Debate Ahead Of 2020 Elections
A Medicaid work requirement has emerged as a divisive policy issue in the 2020 presidential election. President Trump has called for adding a mandate nationwide, while some Democratic candidates are proposing a single federal health system that would subsume the program. The Trump administration has approved requests from nine states, including Arizona, Michigan and Utah, to impose a work mandate on Medicaid recipients. Applications from nine other states are pending. (Armour, 10/13)

New Hampshire Public Radio: N.H. Medicaid Work Requirement Cost At Least $4.4 Million In Federal, State Funds
More than $4 million in state and federal money was spent rolling out a Medicaid work requirement in New Hampshire that was later struck down by a federal judge. The numbers, which come from state estimates provided to the Government Accountability Office, are the first estimate of the total cost of the now defunct program. (Moon, 10/11)

The New York Times: E-Cigarettes Went Unchecked In 10 Years Of F.D.A. Inaction
In 2009, not long after Dr. Margaret Hamburg became commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, a package arrived at her home. Inside was a clunky device called an e-cigarette. “It was my first exposure to this emerging, new technology,” Dr. Hamburg recalled. The package was sent by an antismoking activist as a warning about a product that was taking off in the United States. But over the next decade, the federal government — across the span of two presidential administrations — allowed the rise of a largely unregulated industry that may be addicting a new generation to nicotine. (Thomas and Kaplan, 10/14)

The Wall Street Journal: Congress Probes Bot-Generated Social-Media Messages About E-Cigarettes
A congressional committee and the Massachusetts attorney general are investigating whether millions of bot-generated social-media messages about e-cigarettes have been misleading consumers about safety and health issues. In information requests to five big manufacturers of vaping products in August, House investigators asked each of the firms whether it had used social media bots to market its products. The House Energy and Commerce Committee request also asked for lists of all the usernames involved, as well as whether the bots have disclosed their connection with the manufacturer. (McKinnon, 10/14)

The Washington Post: Relapses Are Reported In Vaping-Related Lung Injuries, CDC Says
Federal health officials investigating mysterious vaping-related lung injuries said Friday that some patients are being hospitalized for a second time, a disturbing new development in the ongoing national outbreak that has spread to every state except Alaska. “We are aware of a handful of patients who have been readmitted for clinical care after discharge for lung injury,” said Anne Schuchat, the principal deputy director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is heading the public health investigation. (Sun, 10/11)

The New York Times: He Tried E-Cigarettes To Quit Smoking. Doctors Say Vaping Led To His Death.
In the spring, Kathleen Fimple buried her husband, John, and by the fall, she had reluctantly settled into her new life as a widow. She accepted what the doctors told her: that he had died at 68 from respiratory failure and pulmonary disease after years of smoking cigarettes, coupled with a bout of pneumonia. She went back to work. She canceled a trip around Europe that the couple had planned to take this month. Then she got an unexpected call from a doctor at Nebraska’s health department. (Bosman, 10/14)

The New York Times: No Drop In Vaping Cases, C.D.C. Says
As illnesses and deaths linked to vaping continue to rise, health experts on Friday updated their advice to doctors on how best to recognize symptoms and treat patients, and warned that the start of the flu season would make it harder to arrive at the right diagnosis. “I can’t stress enough the seriousness of these lung injuries associated with e-cigarettes or vaping products,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a news briefing. “We are not seeing a meaningful drop-off in new cases, and unfortunately many more people have been hospitalized with lung injury each week.” (Grady, 10/11)

Reuters: U.S. Vaping-Related Deaths Rise To 29
Indiana on Thursday confirmed two more deaths from a mysterious lung illness linked to e-cigarettes, bringing the total number of fatalities to 29 across the country, as U.S. health officials investigate the outbreak that has shown no signs of easing. (10/12)

Reuters: Reynolds American Files For FDA Review Of E-Cigarette
British American Tobacco Plc unit Reynolds American Inc said on Friday it had filed for a review of its Vuse e-cigarettes by the U.S. Food and Drug administration, giving it a lead over its main rival Juul Labs Inc. The FDA has set a May 2020 deadline for e-cigarette makers to submit a formal application to keep their products on the market amid its efforts to curb the use of e-cigarette among teens. (10/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Reynolds Files For FDA Review Of Vuse E-Cigarettes
The Reynolds filing, which totals more than 150,000 pages, gives it a jump on its two main rivals, Juul Labs Inc. and NJOY Holdings Inc. The FDA, which regulates tobacco, has given companies until May 2020 to submit any products they want to keep on store shelves after that date. The reviews have taken on new importance as the FDA prepares to pull off the market all e-cigarettes other than those formulated to taste like tobacco in a move intended to curb a rise in teen vaping. (Maloney, 10/11)

Stat: Vaping-Related Illness Has A New Name: EVALI
The vaping-related condition that has sickened hundreds of people has a new name: EVALI, or e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury. The new name, noted Friday in newly issued guidance for clinicians from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a sign of the rapidly evolving investigation into the illness, which has sickened 1,299 people across 49 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The case count has continued to climb week after week. (Evali, 10/11)

CNN: Answers In Vaping-Related Lung Injury Investigation Could Take Months, CDC Official Says
The federal investigation into what exactly is causing a peculiar outbreak of vaping-related lung injuries nationwide could continue for months. The ongoing investigation "may take a few months" and could yield "multiple causes and potentially more than one root cause," Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a briefing with reporters on Friday. (Howard, 10/11)

Modern Healthcare: CDC Issues Clinical Guidelines For Treating Vaping-Related Illness
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Health released new guidance on Friday for clinicians to evaluate and treat patients they suspect might have lung injury related to using e-cigarettes. The CDC's interim guidance is an update to prior recommendations from August related to addressing vaping-related illness. Dr. Anne Schuchat, the CDC's principal deputy director, said the updated guidelines incorporate more data than was collected for the August recommendations since the number of illnesses have spiked in the last couple of months. (Johnson, 10/11)

Politico: The Hazy Science Around Vaping Safety
The conventional wisdom is that e-cigs are safer than traditional cigarettes for adult smokers, and federal regulators need to figure out how to help them quit while keeping vapes away from young people. But amid an outbreak of a vaping-related lung disease, independent scientists say they are not so sure about that. (Allen, 10/11)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: 3 Ohio Medical Marijuana Processors To Disclose Ingredients On Vape Product Labels
Patients buying Ohio medical marijuana vape products will start seeing the ingredients on more product labels, in a transparency move amid continuing reports of people becoming sick after using e-cigarettes. Three licensed processors – Eastlake-based Buckeye Relief, Huron-based Ohio Patients Choice (which does business as Firelands Scientific) and Standard Wellness in Sandusky County – together decided to disclose ingredients as a way to help patients feel confident that their products are safe. (Hancock, 10/13)

The New York Times: Helping Teenagers Quit Vaping
For many years, my lead-in question with adolescents, after I asked the parent to leave the room at pediatric appointments, was whether the kid had ever tried smoking cigarettes. It made a reasonable lead-in because it felt less highly charged than asking about marijuana or other substances, and in recent decades, the answer was very often no. Youth tobacco smoking in the United States was on the decline. (Klass, 10/14)

The Oregonian: Oregon Will Ban Flavored Vaping Products Oct. 15 
Oregon will ban all flavored vaping products for six months starting Tuesday as federal officials remain stumped about exactly what’s causing severe lung injuries associated with e-cigarettes. The action followed Gov. Kate Brown’s order last week that the Oregon Liquor Control Commission and the Oregon Health Authority temporarily ban the products -- including those with THC, the active chemical in marijuana, CBD and those with nicotine. (Zarkhin, 10/11)

NPR: What's At Stake In The Current Court Challenge To Affordable Care Act?
A decision in the latest court case to threaten the future of the Affordable Care Act could come as soon as this month. The ruling will come from the panel of judges in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which heard oral arguments in the Texas v. Azar lawsuit. An estimated 24 million people get their health coverage through programs created under the law, which has faced countless court challenges since it passed. (Simmons-Duffin, 10/12)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Study: 1.9 Million People With Diabetes Gained Insurance Through ACA
The long-term complications from uncontrolled diabetes include the increased risk of a heart attack or stroke, nerve damage that causes tingling or numbness, kidney failure, blindness, and losing toes and feet to amputation. Yet an estimated 17% of adults under the age of 65 who had diabetes were without health insurance before the expansion of coverage through the Affordable Care Act, according to a recent study by Rebecca Myerson, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and colleagues at the University of Southern California. (Boulton, 10/11)

Other health law news comes out of Colorado and Arizona, as well —

Vox: Colorado’s New State 'Public Option' To Build On Obamacare, Explained
Colorado’s Democratic leadership isn’t waiting for the rest of the country to sort out where it stands on health care; it’s forging ahead with an idea to build on the Affordable Care Act at the state level. This week, two state agencies in Colorado unveiled a plan that would establish a “public option” — of sorts — for health care in the state. The plan creates a “state option,” a health insurance plan designed by the state that would be made available to all Colorado residents who buy their own individual health insurance. (Golshan, 10/11)

Arizona Republic: Arizona's Obamacare Health Insurance Market To Offer More Choice In 2020
The Affordable Care Act remains a political hot button, but health insurance companies are happy enough with the law that they're expanding Obamacare offerings to Arizonans in 2020. In Maricopa County, Obamacare choices are expected to be plentiful: five companies confirmed with The Arizona Republic that they will be selling marketplace plans for 2020 coverage, an increase from four this year. (Innes, 10/10)

The Wall Street Journal: Democrats Push Elizabeth Warren For Plan To Pay For Medicare For All
Sen. Elizabeth Warren has been dogged from the debate stage to town halls to late-night TV shows by questions about whether she plans to unveil a signature health-care proposal—and how she would pay for expanding government-run insurance. Health care consistently polls as the No. 1 issue Democratic voters are concerned about. But unlike her top rivals, Ms. Warren hasn’t detailed her preferred policies, instead saying she’s “with Bernie” Sanders in supporting a government-run Medicare for All system. (Jamerson and Parti, 10/13)

The Hill: Klobuchar Takes Shots At Health And Education Plans Supported By Sanders And Warren
White House hopeful Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) drew sharp contrasts with some of her progressive primary competitors Friday night as she sought to burnish her moderate bona fides. ... Klobuchar said single payer health care plans would kick millions of Americans off their insurance and that their plans for free public colleges and universities would allow rich families to exploit taxpayer dollars. (Axelrod, 10/12)

Politico Pro: Buttigieg Elbows Warren And Sanders On Health Care — And Biden Too
Pete Buttigieg sees a path to the top tier of the Democratic primary field, elbowing his way between Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren on one side and Joe Biden on the other. At the center of Buttigieg’s push is his health care plan, which the South Bend, Ind., mayor has dubbed “Medicare for all who want it.” The plan would extend a public health insurance option to Americans without ending the private insurance market, an effect of the plan put forward by Sanders and endorsed by Warren. (Strauss, 10/13)

The New York Times: We Surveyed The 2020 Democrats On Gun Control. Here Are The New Dividing Lines.
The 2020 Democratic presidential candidates are far more forceful and united on gun control than their predecessors, endorsing a wide range of policies that past nominees sidestepped or rejected, according to a New York Times survey of the 19 campaigns. The political terrain on guns has been shifting for several years in response to a seemingly unending series of mass shootings and a newly emboldened network of advocacy groups. Policies that were dividing lines among Democrats have become baselines, and proposals that were politically untouchable are now firmly on the table. (Astor, 10/13)

The Associated Press: Pregnancy Discrimination Continues, 41 Years After US Ban
For 41 years, federal law has banned pregnancy discrimination in the workplace. But the stories tumbling out this week show it's far from eradicated. Prompted by presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren's claim that she was forced out of a teaching job in 1971 because she was pregnant, scores of women have shared similar experiences on social media. (Durbin, 10/12)

WBUR: ‘You Should Have Told Me You Planned To Have Kids’: Your Stories Of Pregnancy Discrimination
Discriminating against a woman for being pregnant or a mother is illegal, and has been since the 1970s. But clearly, that’s not stopped the practice. Katherine Goldstein, a Cog contributor and host of The Double Shift podcast (whose submission is featured below), wrote a wildly popular piece for the New York Times last year about the anti-mom bias at work. (Axelson and Carr Toth, 10/11)

The New York Times: Judge Orders Pause In Opioid Litigation Against Purdue Pharma And Sacklers
Citing mounting costs of litigation that are siphoning funds that could otherwise go to abate the opioid crisis, a bankruptcy judge on Friday ordered a pause in legal action by states against Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sacklers. The ruling was a setback for 25 states that have forcefully opposed a national opioid settlement negotiated last month among the company and the Sacklers and cities, counties and other states that have filed lawsuits against them. To raise money for the settlement, Purdue has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and asked that all litigation against it and the Sacklers be halted. (Walsh, 10/11)

The Wall Street Journal: Bankruptcy Judge Pushes Purdue Into Talks With States Over Sackler Family Legal Shield
A bankruptcy judge in White Plains, N.Y., on Friday granted a brief legal reprieve to the Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma LP, shielding them from answering in court for their alleged role in feeding the nationwide opioid crisis. Judge Robert Drain didn’t grant Purdue’s request for a six-month stay of litigation that would bar the pursuit of the Sacklers for allegedly profiting from misleading sales of the opioid OxyContin. He pushed the drugmaker and protesting states to agree to stand down from court fights until Nov. 6, and talk instead. (Brickley, 10/11)

The Washington Post: Judge Grants Sackler Family Request To Halt Civil Lawsuits Against Them
Extending that relief to the Sacklers, who haven’t filed for bankruptcy protection, is “extraordinary” but appropriate in this case, Judge Robert Drain said from the bench. Drain’s ruling stays action for three weeks in state and federal lawsuits against the Sackler family members, who own the company, as well as Purdue Pharma and related companies. During the three-week reprieve, Purdue Pharma agreed to address one of the key concerns — access to more information about the Sacklers’ finances — raised by state attorneys general who objected to including the family in the temporary injunction. (Merle, 10/11)

The Associated Press: Judge Will Halt Lawsuits Against Purdue Pharma, Its Owners
Twenty-five state governments asked the judge to let suits against Sackler family members move ahead. But the judge said that would wipe out the company’s assets. “A trial here will simply be an autopsy,” Drain said. The question of allowing suits to continue is not settled, but it got a boost Friday. Just before the hearing, a committee of unsecured creditors that includes opioid crisis victims said it would support pausing the lawsuits. (Mulvihill, 10/11)

In other news on the opioid crisis —

Boston Globe: An Innovative Program That Helps Civilly Committed Kick Drugs
Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi didn’t go into law enforcement to help people addicted to drugs. But setting those with substance use disorder on a path to recovery has become one of his life’s passions. For the past year, Cocchi has operated an addiction treatment center out of the Hampden County jail for men committed under Section 35, the state law that allows family members, medical professionals, and law enforcement to commit a person to involuntary treatment for up to 90 days. (Braceras, 10/14)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: ’Numbers Off The Charts’: SE Ohio Coroner Accused Of Prescribing 1.5 Million Opioid Pills In Private Practice
In the hills of eastern Ohio, Belmont County faces a troubling paradox. Its coroner, whose job it is to investigate deaths and their causes, is accused of overprescribing painkillers in a county where 72 people have died of accidental opioid overdoses since 2008. As the nation struggles with the opioid addiction crisis, judges and juries are left to decide who will be held responsible. (Caniglia, 10/13)

Health News Florida: Florida Prisons Don’t Track Inmate Overdoses Despite Contraband Problems
Florida’s prison system, the third largest in the nation, has long faced issues with contraband drugs, yet the state agency that grapples with the problems does not track the number of inmates treated for overdoses. Department of Corrections officials say they deem the health and well-being of prisoners a priority and that the system has protocols to provide inmates with "proper medical treatment" when they overdose. (Ceballos, 10/11)

Chicago Tribune: 'We Wanted To Create A Safe Space’: Lake Villa Addiction-Recovery Center Opens Program For LGBTQ Community
The Lake Villa-based Gateway Foundation is opening the Midwest’s first addiction treatment program for those in the LGBTQ community, marking the occasion Friday on National Coming Out Day. The “Out in Recovery” program patients will be immersed in evidence-based practices used to treat substance use, and it will also provide therapeutic support for those working through other behavioral health issues like anxiety, depression, bipolar affective disorder, trauma, and other unique needs of the LGBTQ population, according to a statement from the foundation. (Abderholden, 10/11)

The Associated Press: To Save Rural Hospitals, Georgia Requires Classes For CEOs
Like many other rural hospitals across the country, Taylor Regional in the small town of Hawkinsville, Georgia, had gone through years of financial troubles. When it approached retired Dr. Skip McDannald for help in 2015, he said he quickly spotted problems. (10/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Major Blue Health Insurers Drop Deal To Combine
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and Cambia Health Solutions said they were dropping plans to combine, after the resignation of the North Carolina insurer’s chief executive. Former Blue Cross of North Carolina CEO Patrick Conway had stepped down amid fallout over an allegedly alcohol-related traffic accident. The two insurers had said they were pausing their deal on Sept. 24, as details of the June incident emerged. (Wilde Mathews, Scism and Bauerlein, 10/11)

Houston Chronicle: Healthcare Providers Band Together To Create Comprehensive Care Centers 
Blue Cross Blue Shield and Sanitas Medical Center have formed a united effort to make healthcare affordable. The full-service clinic will offer primary care, urgent care, lab and diagnostic imaging services, care coordination and wellness and disease management programs in one location. The philosophy behind the care center is simple: affordable access to preventative care reduces the cost of healthcare by preventing the need for future treatment. (Goodman, 10/11)

Bloomberg: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Legal Losses Could Get Worse 
Johnson & Johnson has taken some costly beatings in court this year. And it could get worse.Just last week, a jury ordered J&J to pay $8 billion for wrongfully pushing doctors to prescribe the anti-psychotic drug Risperdal. While the amount the company pays for the verdict will probably be significantly less, it came on the heels of billions more in 2019 court losses or settlements from damage claims involving baby powder, opioid painkillers and artificial hips. (Feeley, 10/14)

Bloomberg: Ancestry To Offer Health Tests, Stepping Up DNA-Test Battle
Ancestry.com LLC, known for its DNA tests that allow customers to explore their family trees, told customers it plans to offer genetic screening for health problems as well. “We’ve seen adding this capability as a natural evolution, but only if we could do it in a way that was authentic to our core mission,” Chief Executive Officer Margo Georgiadis wrote in an email that landed in customers’ inboxes beginning on Thursday. “That would mean creating a solution that could enable our customers to gain meaningful insights to help them live longer, healthier lives.” (Brown, 10/11)

Boston Globe: A Woman Gets Some Bad Advice From Her Health Insurer And Faces A Bill For Nearly $3,000
On the morning of the surgery, Davis paid $200 as a copayment, which the Harvard Pilgrim representative had told her would be her total out-of-pocket expense. A month later, she got a bill for $2,879. Why? Because, she would later learn, she had gone to the wrong type of facility. (Murphy, 10/13)

Detroit Free Press: GM Deal With UAW On Health Care Costs May Help End Strike, Hurt Ford
General Motors, in its negotiations with the UAW, has cost Ford a lot of money. Why? Ford employs the most hourly workers in the United States and as a result pays more for health care. So any costs that GM negotiates in what is seen as a master contract with the Detroit Three directly impacts Ford disproportionately, labor analysts say. One upside of being the target chosen by the labor union to go first during collective bargaining means GM sets the pattern for key issues such as wages, health care and temporary workers in the four-year contract. (Howard, 10/14)

Kaiser Health News: Patients Eligible For Charity Care Instead Get Big Bills
When Ashley Pintos went to the emergency room of St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, Wash., in 2016, with a sharp pain in her abdomen and no insurance, a representative demanded a $500 deposit before treating her. “She said, ‘Do you have $200?’ I said no,” recalled Pintos, who then earned less than $30,000 at a company that made holsters for police. “She said, ‘Do you have $100?’ They were not quiet about me not having money.” But Pintos, a single mom with two kids who is now 29, told state officials St. Joseph never gave her a financial aid application form, even after she asked. (Rau, 10/14)

Columbus Dispatch: What You Need To Know To Review Your Medicare Options For 2020 
Open enrollment begins Tuesday for older and disabled adults who want to shop for the Medicare Advantage managed-care plans and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans. They are available for everyone covered by Medicare, the federal health insurance program for people 65 or older, plus some younger disabled Americans. ...While many Medicare Advantage plans offer extra benefits for dental, vision and hearing, plans this year can expand their supplemental benefits. That includes home and bath safety devices, emergency response devices, telehealth and short-term meals — even pest control services for chronic illnesses. (Lin-Fisher, 10/13)

St. Louis Public Radio: Missouri Medicare Patients Could Save Money This Enrollment Season By Switching Plans
Health officials are urging Missouri’s 1.2 million Medicare enrollees to research new plans to save money during this year’s open enrollment. Enrollment in the state-funded health insurance program for older adults begins Tuesday and lasts until early December. Patients can save money by researching and changing plans, federal officials said. (Fentem, 10/11)

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Advantage, Part D Members Shifting To Higher-Rated Plans
CMS unveiled star ratings for both Medicare Part D prescription plans and Medicare Advantage plans that show even more of the plans achieving higher star ratings. The number of Medicare Part D prescription drug plan members who will be in plans with four stars or more in 2020 rose to 27.6%, up from just 3.5% last year, according to data released by the CMS on Friday. The percentage of four-star or greater Medicare Advantage Part C plans with prescription drug coverage grew to a whopping 81.1% of members in 2020, up from 75.3% in 2019. (Cohen, 10/11)

Bloomberg: House Drug Bill Would Save $345 Billion, Reshape Pharma Industry 
A drug-price proposal from Democrats in Congress would save taxpayers $345 billion over a seven-year period, according to a new estimate, punching a hole in pharmaceutical company sales and causing ripple effects in health-care systems around the world. The bill, H.R. 3, is backed by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats in the chamber. It would direct Medicare, the U.S. government health program for the elderly and disabled, to set pharmaceutical prices based on an index of what other developed nations pay for top-selling drugs. (Armstrong, 10/11)

NPR: Canada's Transparency With Clinical Trial Puts Pressure On U.S. FDA To Reveal More
Last March, Canada's department of health changed the way it handles the huge amount of data that companies submit when seeking approval for a new drug, biological treatment, or medical device — or a new use for an existing one. For the first time, Health Canada is making large chunks of this information publicly available after it approves or rejects applications. Within 120 days of a decision, Health Canada will post clinical study reports on a new government online portal, starting with drugs that contain novel active ingredients and adding devices and other drugs over a four-year phase-in period. (Mantel, 10/11)

Los Angeles Times: In The Rush To Harvest Body Parts, Death Investigations Have Been Upended
When 69-year-old Marietta Jinde died in September 2016, police had already been called to her home several times because of reports of possible abuse. A detective described conditions at the woman’s home in Gardena as “horrendous.” She was so emaciated and frail that the hospital asked Los Angeles County adult protective services officials to look into her death. Yet by the time a coroner’s investigator was able to examine Jinde’s 70-pound body, the bones from her legs and arms were gone. Also missing were large patches of skin from her back. (Petersen, 10/13)

Los Angeles Times: How Organ And Tissue Donation Companies Worked Their Way Into The Morgue
As the sun set over the Nevada desert, coroners from across the country mingled with business executives, sipping icy margaritas and Tanqueray and tonics by a pool. The private party, held on the terrace of Las Vegas’ Golden Nugget hotel on a summer night in 2017, was a gift from Cryolife, a biotech company that sells valves sliced from human hearts to be used as medical devices. The festivities reflected the cozy relationship that has grown in recent years between the nation’s coroners and the industry that trades in tissues from human cadavers. (Petersen, 10/13)

Los Angeles Times: Key Cases Where Death Probes Were Complicated By Harvesting Of Body Parts
The industry that trades in human tissue has said there has never been a case in which the harvesting of body parts complicated a death investigation by a medical examiner or coroner. The Times studied reports of autopsies performed by medical examiners in Los Angeles and San Diego, finding more than two dozen investigations that were upended or delayed by the procurement of tissues or organs. Several deaths under investigation by detectives went unsolved, a death after a fight with police remains unsettled, and families have been left without answers to why their loved ones died. (Petersen, 10/13)

Los Angeles Times: Executives Coached Coroners On How To Keep Body Parts Harvesting Records Secret
When the Los Angeles Times asked for details of the human tissue procurement industry’s operations inside five large California county morgues, public officials worked with corporate executives to keep the activities secret, according to internal government emails. At a convention of California county coroners in September 2017, the companies’ executives discussed filing a lawsuit to block the release of information that reporters had requested under California‘s public records law. The companies later decided against the lawsuit, according to an executive’s email, because of fears it would spark controversy. (Petersen, 10/13)

The Associated Press: Who Says You Can't Eat Red Meat? Food Advice Questioned Anew
So is red meat good or bad for you? If the answer were only that simple. A team of international researchers recently rattled the nutrition world by saying there isn't enough evidence to tell people to cut back on red or processed meat, seemingly contradicting advice from prominent health experts and groups including the American Cancer Society and American Heart Association. But the researchers didn't say people should eat more meat, or that it's healthy. (Choi, 10/13)

The New York Times: Five Reasons The Diet Soda Myth Won’t Die
There’s a decent chance you’ll be reading about diet soda studies until the day you die. (The odds are exceedingly good it won’t be the soda that kills you.) The latest batch of news reports came last month, based on another study linking diet soda to an increased risk of death. As usual, the study (and some of the articles) lacked some important context and caused more worry than was warranted. There are specific reasons that this cycle is unlikely to end. (Carroll, 10/14)

Chicago Tribune: Reported Suicide Attempts Among Black Teens Have Spiked Since 1991, Study Shows 
Suicide attempts that were self-reported by black teens have spiked since 1991, even as their peers in other groups have experienced a downward trend or remained unchanged, according to a new study that raises concerns about mental health outreach for black youths. The study, which was published online Monday by the American Academy of Pediatrics, underscores the importance of equitable access to mental health care and prevention initiatives in schools, social workers and mental health advocates said. It also highlights the lack of data and the understudied nature of suicide in the black community, experts said. (Buckley, 10/14)

ProPublica/BuzzFeed News: Amazon Cuts Contracts With Delivery Companies Linked To Deaths
Amazon has abruptly canceled its contracts with three major delivery firms, a move that will put more than 2,000 people out of work and may signal a shift in how the online retail giant plans to deliver millions of packages to homes across the country every day. Inpax Shipping Solutions, based in Atlanta, has told employment regulators in six states that it would lay off at least 925 employees beginning Oct. 2 and would cease all delivery services for Amazon by early December, according to government records. (Callahan, O'Donovan and Bensinger, 10/11)

The New York Times: Your Paycheck May Impact Your Heart Health
Fluctuations in earnings may affect your heart health. Previous research has found that higher income is associated with lower rates of cardiovascular disease. Now a new study reports that changes in income also have a significant effect. (Bakalar, 10/13)

The Wall Street Journal: AI Could Prevent Marital Arguments Before They Even Begin
Couples often find themselves in familiar arguments that escalate and repeat. Artificial intelligence may be able to help. A group of four engineers and psychologists are trying to develop AI systems that use speech patterns and physiological, acoustic and linguistic data from wearable devices and smartphones to detect conflict between couples. The researchers believe that algorithms trained to work with such data could eventually predict conflict and offer an intervention before a situation escalates. (McConnon, 10/11)

NPR: Type 1 Diabetes Risk: A Genetic Test Could Reduce Emergency Hospitalizations
Nearly half of all children who develop Type 1 diabetes don't know they have the disease until they end up in a coma in the hospital. Researchers in Virginia have set out to see if a genetic test for Type 1 diabetes can eliminate many of those emergencies. "The risk of Type 1 diabetes is about half genetic and half unknown," says Stephen Rich, director of the Center for Public Health Genomics at the University of Virginia. His team developed a test that can identify people who carry that genetic susceptibility. (Harris, 10/14)

The New York Times: Does Your Toothbrush Have An App Yet?
When Theresa Gucciardo-Perry discovered a cracked crown in her mouth in April, she dreaded the idea of going to a dentist to get it replaced. The Cortlandt Manor, N.Y., resident has undergone more than 18 root canal procedures; she also has five implants, with crowns on all but her front teeth. She hated the procedure in which trays of a gag-producing, putty-like substance were stuffed into her mouth to make impressions. (Morrissey, 10/11)

Stat: An Updated Guide To The Changing Science Of Flu Shots
Flu shot season is upon us. Three years ago, STAT laid out some of the questions surrounding flu vaccination in an article you can find here. Lots of flu vaccine studies have been published in the interval — clearing up some of the questions we raised, adding to the confusion with others. (Branswell, 10/14)

The Washington Post: She Began To Talk — Then Mysteriously Fell Silent. Months Later Her Parents Learned Why.
The July day wasn’t too steamy — a rarity in Madison, Ala. — and her toddler’s physical therapy session wasn’t scheduled for another hour, so Jeannette Vega thought she’d take 26-month-old Tiana outside to play in their yard. Immediately, she was struck by her younger daughter’s difficulty climbing up the sturdy low-slung plastic slide, something Tiana had been able to do with ease only a week earlier. To distract her, Jeannette opened the door of the family’s truck. “Come on, let’s get in and buckle up,” she remembers saying. Tiana took particular delight in clambering into her car seat and fastening her seat belt. Not this time. (Boodman, 10/12)

The Washington Post: Fear Of Flying Anxiety Disorder Can Be Overcome
Tami Augen Rhodes needed to fly to Washington. An invitation to a black-tie event at the Supreme Court was an opportunity the 49-year-old lawyer in Tampa did not want to miss. But Rhodes had not flown since she was 35, when an escalating dislike of flying grew into a firm phobia. Desperate to get to Washington without resorting to a long train ride, Rhodes called into a weekly group-telephone chat run by Tom Bunn, a former Air Force and commercial airline pilot and licensed clinical social worker who runs a program for fearful fliers. (Vander Schaaff, 10/12)

PBS NewsHour: Can Ultrasound Be Used To Fight Alzheimer’s?
At age 61, Judi Polak is five years into a bleak diagnosis: Alzheimer’s disease. But last year she made medical history in a clinical trial, when a team of scientists, engineers and practitioners deployed a novel device to take aim at a big barrier in the fight against her illness. (O'Brien, 10/11)

CBS News: Psychedelic Drugs: Researchers Experimenting With Active Agent In Magic Mushrooms To Treat Addiction, Depression And Anxiety
For most of us, psychedelic drugs conjure up images of the 1960's. Hippies tripping out on LSD or magic mushrooms. But these powerful, mind-altering substances are now being studied seriously by scientists inside some of the country's foremost medical research centers. They're being used to treat depression, anxiety and addiction. The early results are impressive, as are the experiences of the studies' volunteers who go on a six-hour, sometimes terrifying, but often life-changing psychedelic journey deep into their own minds. (Cooper, 10/13)

Cincinnati Enquirer: ADHD Care Guidelines Are Updated; What Parents Need To Know
In late September, the American Academy of Pediatrics updated its guidelines for doctors caring for children with ADHD. The rewrite isn’t a sweeping overhaul but a strong recommendation for more screening of mental illness and closer monitoring.Here are five things to know about the updated guidelines. (Saker, 10/13)

The Washington Post: New Research Makes It Harder To Define Death
If you’re reading this, you know what living looks like — movement, neurological activity, thought, action. But what exactly is death? The answer is complicated, suggests neuroscientist Christof Koch. In “Is Death Reversible?” a feature article in the most recent issue of Scientific American, Koch grapples with a death definition that is much more nuanced than you might think. (Blakemore, 10/12)

MPR: How To Combat Ageism In The Workplace
Age discrimination is a growing concern as more Minnesotans work past the age of 65.Why are older workers are forced out and why do younger workers feel they aren’t taken seriously? Three experts talk about what it takes to create equitable work environments for people of all ages and experiences. (Davis and Zamora, 10/11)

CBS News: Police Urge Parents To Check Halloween Candy After THC-Laced 'Nerds Rope' Edibles Found
Parents have been encouraged to check their children's Halloween candy for years to ensure the tasty treats are safe for kids to eat. This spooky season, Pennsylvania police are urging caregivers to be on the lookout once again — for drug-laced edibles. The Johnstown Police Department issued a warning on their Facebook page Thursday morning after authorities said they discovered "Nerds Rope edibles containing 400mg of THC" while fulfilling a search warrant in Stoneycreek Township. The department also recently seized 60 pounds of marijuana from the area, reports CBS Pittsburgh. (Garrand, 10/13)

The Washington Post: Frequent Urination At Night Is More Common As We Age
We know that aging can affect us physically in a variety of ways — arthritis, neuropathy, joint pain, hair loss among them — but one condition is less discussed, perhaps because it involves the potentially embarrassing subject of urination. Not only may you have to urinate frequently, sometimes you don’t have a lot of time to make it to the bathroom before an accident. (Rosario-Santiago, 10/13)

California Healthline: How Newsom’s Bill-Signing Marathon Affects Your Health Care
Gov. Gavin Newsom wrapped up his bill-signing marathon Sunday, capping the end of a legislative session that will have a big impact on Californians’ health care and coverage. Some of the most high-profile — and contentious — measures of the year were health care-related: Who hasn’t heard of the bill that spawned raucous protests at the Capitol by anti-vaccine activists? After some hesitation, Newsom signed SB-276 and an accompanying measure, which will give state public health officials authority to review and, in some cases, revoke questionable medical exemptions for childhood vaccinations. (Ibarra, 10/14)

Los Angeles Times: Abortion Medication To Be Available At California's College Health Centers Under New Law
California will become the first state in the nation to require public universities to provide access to abortion pills on campus under a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday. Senate Bill 24 by state Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino) will go into effect in 2023, with the University of California and California State University systems required to offer students medical abortions. (Gutierrez, 10/11)

The Hill: California Becomes First State In US Requiring Public Universities To Offer Abortion Pill On Campus 
The new law requires that “each student health care services clinic on a California State University or University of California campus to offer abortion by medication techniques.” The 34 University of California and California State University schools have until January 2023 to comply. In a medical abortion, which is nonsurgical and noninvasive, women within the first 10 weeks of their pregnancy can take two prescription pills to induce a miscarriage. It is different than the morning-after pill, which prevents pregnancy from occurring altogether. (Seipel, 10/11)

Los Angeles Times: Fertility Options For Cancer Patients Will Be Covered Under New California Law
California will require health insurance companies to cover the cost of fertility procedures for patients undergoing treatment that can make it difficult to have children, such as chemotherapy, under a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday. Senate Bill 600 by state Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) declares that fertility preservation treatments are a basic healthcare service and requires coverage by insurance plans. Supporters say that health plans are already required to cover such services but that some companies have refused to comply, prompting a bill explicitly requiring it. (Gutierrez, 10/13)

Los Angeles Times: After Mass Shootings, California Sets New Limits On Gun Buyers And Expands Firearm Seizure
After a string of mass shootings across the country this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday toughened California’s already strict gun control laws, signing a raft of bills that broadly expand the state’s “red flag” law and limit the purchase of semiautomatic rifles by individuals to one per month. Newsom, who was elected last year on a campaign that promised strict limits on firearms, signed 15 bills passed in response to recent mass shootings. (McGreevy, 10/11)

Los Angeles Times: California Is First State To Push Back School Start Times
California will become the first state in the nation to mandate later start times at most public schools under legislation signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday, a proposal designed to improve educational outcomes by giving students more sleep. The new law is not without controversy, though, opposed by some school officials and rejected twice before by lawmakers and Newsom’s predecessor. (Luna, 10/13)

Politico Pro: Hospitals Must Report Data On Contracting With Minority, LGBTQ Companies Under New Law
Newsom late Saturday signed CA AB962 (19R) by Assemblywoman Autumn Burke (D-Marina del Rey), which requires hospitals to report annually to the state Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development on efforts to purchase services, equipment and supplies from businesses with diverse ownership. The law applies to hospitals with annual operating expenses greater than $50 million, or $25 million if the individual hospital is part of a large system like Sutter Health. (Hart, 10/13)

Los Angeles Times: California Grants More Time For Filing Child Sexual Abuse Allegations Under New Law
Victims of childhood sexual abuse will have more time to report allegations and file a lawsuit under a California law signed Sunday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The legislation was introduced following widespread allegations of abuse of minors by Catholic priests as well as the 2018 conviction of Larry Nassar, a former U.S. Olympic gymnastics team doctor, for molesting young athletes. (McGreevy, 10/13)

The Associated Press: California Governor Signs Measure Banning ‘Lunch Shaming’
California’s governor has signed into law a bill that guarantees all students a state-funded meal of their choice, even if their parent or guardian has unpaid meal fees. The measure bans the practice of “lunch shaming,” in which students who owe the school money for meals are denied food or given a cheaper alternative meal. Under the new law, a school can no longer give a student a cheaper alternative meal. (10/12)

San Jose Mercury News: What You Can And Cannot Expect From California’s New Mental Health Line
This month, California launched the first statewide mental health line. The peer-run line based in San Francisco will get $10.8 million over three years to expand across the state. (Snibbe, 10/12)

WBUR: California Bans Private Prisons And Immigrant Detention Centers
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law Friday that bans private, for-profit prisons and immigrant detention centers in the state. The decision comes amid growing consensus around the need to end private incarceration in the U.S. (Hobson and Raphelson, 10/11)

The Wall Street Journal: After Abuse Allegations, Oregon Brings Back Foster Kids Sent Out Of State
Foster children in Oregon who were sent to privately run group homes out of state are now being brought back following numerous allegations of abuse. Oregon is one of several states that in recent years began relying on faraway residential treatment centers to house children with severe behavioral and psychiatric issues for whom adequate care couldn’t be found nearby. But the state’s child welfare agency didn’t regularly monitor their treatment and now two of the largest companies in the field have closed down facilities in Utah and Montana after staff members were accused of physical abuse and frequent use of drug injections to control the children, according to state regulators. (Elinson, 10/14)

Kansas City Star: Planned Parenthood Says Denial Of Missouri License Was Political
Lawyers representing Planned Parenthood can question Gov. Mike Parson’s campaign manager under oath about his involvement in the decision earlier this year to deny a new license to the state’s lone abortion provider, an administrative hearing commissioner ruled last week. Commissioner Sreenivasa Rao Dandamudi dismissed a motion by the state attorney general’s office to block a subpoena of Steele Shippy, who served as communications director for Parson’s office for 14 months before becoming his campaign manager. (Hancock, 10/14)

ProPublica: Doctor Who Advocated 'Unethical' Care Of Vegetative Patient Is Placed On Leave
Newark Beth Israel Medical Center placed the director of its heart transplant program on administrative leave Thursday while the hospital awaits the results of investigations into whether a vegetative patient was kept alive to boost the program’s survival statistics. “As the most prudent course of action to ensure the complete independence of these internal and external assessments, we have placed the program’s director, Dr. Mark Zucker, on administrative leave pending the conclusion of our review,” Barry Ostrowsky, chief executive of the hospital’s affiliated network, RWJBarnabas Health, and Newark Beth Israel CEO Darrell Terry wrote in an email to employees Thursday night. (Chen, 10/11)

NH Times Union: Hepatitis A Outbreak In NH: Are You At Risk? 
As the hepatitis A outbreak continues to spread in New Hampshire, health officials are reminding the public that there’s a safe and effective vaccine against the contagious liver disease. Since the state health department declared the outbreak last November, 232 cases of hepatitis A have been reported here, and one person has died. Cases have been reported in every county, with most of them in the more populated counties of Hillsborough, Strafford, Merrimack and Rockingham. (Wickham, 10/12)

The Star Tribune: U Tests New Apps To Help Teen Brains Fight Psychosis 
Teens struggling with hallucinations and delusions will receive mobile phone apps that offer brain training and social support — part of a new University of Minnesota research focus that emphasizes non-drug solutions for severe mental disorders. Testing the apps will be the U’s unique contribution to a new federal study of teens and young adults experiencing their first episodes of psychosis. (Olson, 10/14)

Reuters: Ohio Ban On Down Syndrome Abortion Blocked By U.S. Appeals Court
A divided federal appeals court on Friday said Ohio cannot enforce a 2017 law banning abortions when medical tests show that a fetus has Down syndrome. Upholding a preliminary injunction, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati said the law was invalid under Supreme Court precedents because it had the purpose and effect of preventing some women from obtaining pre-viability abortions. (10/12)

North Carolina Health News: DEQ, Greensboro Won't ID Pollution Source 
State regulators and Greensboro officials refuse to identify an industry they say accidentally released a large amount of a likely carcinogen into the Cape Fear River basin, temporarily fouling drinking water for Pittsboro, Fayetteville and perhaps other cities downstream. ...The release happened on or before Aug 7. That’s the date Greensboro officials took a water sample that was later found to contain 1,4 dioxane at a concentration of 957 parts per billion. That level was 2,700 times higher than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s cancer risk assessment of 0.35 parts per billion in raw surface water. (Barnes, 10/14)

San Francisco Chronicle: Losing Summer: 10 Months. Nearly 30 Visits To San Francisco’s Psychiatric ER. And A Suicide
San Francisco’s Behavioral Health Services system helps many of the 30,000 people it works with every year, and many receive high-quality or even lifesaving treatment. But Summer’s experience highlights weaknesses in the $370 million system — a system Mayor London Breed and the Board of Supervisors say is broken. (Lange, 10/13)

MPR: Minneapolis And St. Paul Move Toward Ban On ‘Conversion Therapy’
Minneapolis and St. Paul are proposing new city ordinances that would ban gay conversion therapy, the controversial treatment designed to change people’s sexual orientation or sexual identity. The move comes after state lawmakers failed to pass a law banning the practice during the last legislative session. (Roth, 10/11)

Iowa Public Radio: State Public Safety Department Vehicles Lacked Secure Devices To Store Weapons
Fewer than half of the vehicles from the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s two largest law enforcement divisions were equipped to give officers the option of locking up weapons in those vehicles with designated equipment such as locking rifle racks or handgun vaults as recently as May 2019, an IowaWatch investigation revealed. Vehicles purchased since 2017 have locking devices to secure firearms beyond locking a vehicle’s door or trunk. (Rambo, 10/14)

Modern Healthcare: California Hospitals Rely On Generators During PG&E Power Outages
Hundreds of California hospitals have been running on generators and hundreds of thousands of residents have been without electricity after power companies temporarily shut off services Wednesday to prevent fires during windy weather. The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services said 248 hospitals were located in areas where power was turned off, so they likely lost power and relied on generators. More than 200,000 customers were affected by the outage, according to PG&E data, although crews were working to restore services. (Bannow, 10/11)

KQED: How The Disability Community Supported Each Other When The Power Went Out
De Grace-Morris went to Katie Savin's home near the Oakland-Emeryville border, which didn't experience any service interruptions. Savin had put her name on a shared "mutual aid" spreadsheet that was started by several community activists a day before the first round of shutoffs. ...The list was largely created to help people with disabilities, many of whom depend on power for essential resources like breathing and mobility devices, said Savin, a social worker and disability activist who has diabetes and needs her insulin supply refrigerated. (Green and Hossaini, 10/11)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia EPD Doubted Ethylene Oxide Cancer Risks. Other States Acted.
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division also kept the NATA report from then-Gov. Nathan Deal and incoming Gov. Brian Kemp, according to interviews with state officials, despite state law that says the agency has a duty to counsel the governor on environmental concerns affecting the state. By the time Colorado had convinced its medical sterilization plant to enact pollution controls, records show, Georgia was still three months away from even meeting with the operators of two metro Atlanta sterilizers that were also emitting potentially dangerous levels of the cancer-causing gas according to the EPA’s 2018 assessment. (Edwards and Trubey, 10/11)

The Associated Press: Increased Number Of STDs In Hawaii Linked To Online Dating
Hawaii officials say an increase in sexually transmitted diseases to the highest numbers reported in decades can be linked to the prevalence of online dating. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Sunday that cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis have increased significantly in the state. (10/13)

Bloomberg: Where 2020 Democratic Candidates Stand On Health Care
Health care is a promising issue for Democrats. Assailing Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare helped the party win back control of the House of Representatives in 2018. All of the remaining candidates fighting to be the party’s 2020 presidential nominee are pushing for further reform to the system, to varying degrees. The direction the eventual nominee takes could determine whether the country completely rethinks nearly 18% of the economy, or merely tweaks it. It may also determine whether they win or lose a particularly crucial election. (Max Nisen and Elaine He, 10/14)

USA Today: 2020 Democratic Debate: Time To Answer Practical Health Care Questions
Before each of the three Democratic presidential debates I have been asked, “What questions do you want the candidates to answer in health care?” Each time I ask the same three questions, because they have not yet been answered:We need to know exactly what those supporting Medicare for All mean by that. Are they really saying that everyone can have everything and it will cost less? Those not proposing Medicare for All would keep private insurance and add the choice of a government plan, or "public option," such as “Medicare for all who want it.” For them, is the real goal for the public option to dominate and eventually crowd out private insurance? And whatever the new system, how do we pay for it? We still have no answers. (Arthur “Tim” Garson Jr., 10/13)

Axios: Most Voters Don't Think President Trump Has A Health Care Plan
New polling shows that most of the public does not think President Trump has or will have a health care plan. Driving the news: The Kaiser Family Foundation’s next tracking poll will show that most Republicans are sticking with Trump, but few other voters are buying his repeated promises about delivering a “phenomenal health plan.” By the numbers: 81% of Republicans are somewhat or very confident Trump will deliver on his health care promises. But 95% of Democrats and 61% of independents say they are not confident Trump will follow through on those promises. In fact, just 37% of those polled were aware that Trump had promised to release a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. (Drew Altman, 10/14)

The Washington Post: Medicare For All? It's Not Free And It's Complicated.
Medicare is not free. That’s the bad news. The premiums alone can run thousands of dollars a year, and you can go broke if you get stuck in a hospital long enough. Medicare, the federal health insurance program for people 65 and older, won’t pay anything for a skilled nursing facility past 100 days, and the co-payment for days 21 through 100 will cost you $13,640. (Thomas Heath, 10/11)

The Hill: Improving Data On People With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities 
In the research community, concern is growing that those with intellectual and developmental disabilities are becoming invisible in data collected from nationwide health surveys. Regular collection, analysis and interpretation of health data is a crucial part of how the United States tackles public health. Data collected from health surveys informs planning, implementation and evaluation of public health practices which, in turn, affect researchers, policy makers, planners and IDD advocates in roles like ours at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.  (Susan Havercamp, 10/12)

USA Today: Opioid Addiction: Learning From The Horror Of Losing A Loved One
We are learning from this horror. All the information we have now is too late for Derek, so we as a family have decided to dedicate ourselves to educating others to the dangers and realities of drug abuse. And we are very angry with big pharma for developing these opioids that are killing our friends, family and neighbors at alarming rates. Were it some tainted lettuce on a taco that caused an outbreak of diarrhea, it would be front-page news. (Mary Anne French and Tom Wega, 10/12)

The Washington Post: What Men Eat And Drink May Affect Their Babies's Health
When my daughter became pregnant with my grandson last year, she stopped drinking. Had she been a smoker, she would have forsworn her Marlboros. Her husband, on the other hand, was free to lift a glass and light up if he so chose. Or was he? The belief that a pregnant woman is responsible for the well-being of her fetus is easy to understand. A fetus is (literally) connected to its mother. (Judith Finlayson, 10/13)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Use New Sales Tax To Fund Milwaukee Violence Reduction Program
Milwaukee has adopted some of the same violence reduction tactics as Oakland but the city needs to do even more, and it needs to ensure that there is a stable, long-term funding stream for this vital work. (10/11)

Sacramento Bee: School Should Be A Safe, Supportive Place For LGBTQ Students
National Coming Out Day, at its core, is about making sure LGBTQ people feel safe, seen, heard and accepted.It is a day of empowerment, a day for LGBTQ people to own their own narrative. But it’s also an important day to remember the places in which LGBTQ people don’t always feel safe and supported – like our schools. Too many students across California and the nation still face discrimination, harassment, bullying and even violence when they come out. This is an unacceptable reality in 2019. (Tony Thurmond and Rick Zbur, 10/11)

The New York Times: How To Close Rikers Island Prison
Rikers continues to be a place of violence and cruelty. In 2010, a 16-year-old African-American by the name of Kalief Browder was accused of stealing a backpack, a crime he said he did not commit, and sent to Rikers. The teenager never received a trial. Yet he remained in jail for three years, including two years in solitary confinement. In 2015, two years after his release, he took his own life, after speaking openly about the trauma the ordeal had caused him. (10/13)