The Wall Street Journal: Intraparty Disputes Dim Outlook For Drug-Price Legislation
Congressional lawmakers who pledged to lower drug prices are confronting the prospect that intraparty divides and possible impeachment proceedings may prevent them from getting anything major done this year. The White House, eager for a win as other drug-price initiatives have sputtered, is pushing Congress to compromise, but a plan in the Democratic-controlled House has become saddled with demands from progressives who say it doesn’t go far enough, and a bipartisan Senate bill is also on shaky ground, with some Republicans objecting to price controls. (Armour, 10/28)

Politico: Pelosi's Office Working To Kill Progressive Change To Drug Pricing Bill
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s staff is pushing to kill a progressive amendment to her sweeping drug pricing bill that would provide more Americans with financial protection from drug price increases, two sources familiar with the effort told POLITICO. The amendment, from Rep. Pramila Jayapal, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, was adopted by the Education and Labor Committee during a markup of the drug bill last week. (Karlin-Smith and Cancryn, 10/26)

Stat: Democrats’ New Logic: Slightly Fewer Medicines OK If It Means Lower Prices
Democratic lawmakers in recent weeks have begun to advance an argument long seen as something of a third rail in U.S. politics: that slightly less biomedical innovation might be worth a dramatic reduction in drug prices. The surprising candor has come amid pushback to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s high-profile drug pricing bill, which the trade group PhRMA this month said represented “nuclear winter” for the development of new medicines. (Facher, 10/28)

The Hill: Vulnerable Republicans Balk At Trump-Backed Drug Pricing Bill
Vulnerable GOP senators up for reelection next year are giving the cold shoulder to a bipartisan bill aimed at lowering drug prices. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is pushing for passage of his measure with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to lower drug prices, something seen as a rare area for possible bipartisan agreement this year. (Sullivan, 10/26)

CQ: Amid Push For Lower Drug Prices, Antibiotics Makers Want More
Even as lawmakers debate policies to lower drug prices and curtail Big Pharma profits, manufacturers that specialize in new antibiotics are begging Congress for help in staying afloat.  Investors don’t see the same moneymaking potential in antibiotics as with cancer and other chronic disease drugs. That’s despite a clear public health need for new antibiotics, since many don’t work as well due to years of overuse. (Siddons, 2/28)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Administration Makes It Harder For Immigrants To Claim Fee Waivers
Immigrants applying for citizenship or other legal status will no longer be able to use receipt of government benefits as a condition to seek a waiver of an application fee under a policy change announced Friday by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Under the change revealed Friday, which will take effect Dec. 2, reliance on public benefits such as Medicaid, food stamps or housing assistance would no longer qualify immigrants for the fee waiver. (Hackman, 10/25)

Vox: The Trump Administration Just Imposed Another Roadblock On Low-Income Immigrants
That means that fewer immigrants will be able to afford to pay the hefty fees for citizenship applications and green cards — which are typically $1,225 and $725 respectively — especially if they want to apply on behalf of multiple family members. Legal aid groups say it could affect tens of thousands, or up to two-thirds, of applicants annually who seek fee waivers. The policy change is one of many ways the Trump administration has recently sought to prevent low-income immigrants from entering and remaining in the US. (Narea, 10/25)

PBS NewsHour: A Guide To Some Major Trump Administration Immigration Policies
Here, we take a closer look at some of the sweeping changes his administration has made — or attempted to make — to the United States’ policies governing refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants, both legal and illegal. (Boghani, 10/22)

In other news on the immigration crisis —

Texas Tribune: Conditions Deteriorating At Migrant Camp Where Thousands Await U.S. Asylum
Migrants have been piling into the camp at a rate of several dozen a day. With only two wooden shower stalls in the woods, less than 10 portable toilets and no cleaning supplies, the conditions are quickly deteriorating. Lack of running water and limited access to food have led the migrants to the river to bathe, fish and draw water; they use a wooded area nearby as a makeshift bathroom. When it rains, the migrants and all their belongings are quickly soaked. (Coronado, 10/25)

Texas Tribune: West Texas Detention Facility Enacts Water Conservation Measures
A West Texas detention center is operating under a water shortage that has forced the facility to use port-a-potties and shut down its water supply every night to replenish supply tanks. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson told The Texas Tribune that the West Texas Detention Facility in Sierra Blanca, which houses ICE detainees, has been under “water conservation protocols” since Oct. 21. (Aguilar, 10/27)

The Associated Press: Boxed In? Warren Confronts Tough Politics Of Health Care
For Elizabeth Warren, it was supposed to be one more big idea in a campaign built around them: a promise that everyone could get government-funded health care, following the lead of her friend and fellow White House hopeful Bernie Sanders. Instead, "Medicare for All" is posing one of the biggest challenges to the Massachusetts senator's candidacy. Persistent questions about whether she would raise taxes on the middle class to pay for universal health coverage have dominated her campaign in recent weeks. (Weissert, 10/26)

WBUR: After Clashing In Debate Over Health Care, Warren And Buttigieg Make Their Pitches In N.H.
There’s little doubt that Elizabeth Warren has emerged as the Democratic front-runner, especially in New Hampshire. But after last week’s debate, could this be a Pete Buttigieg moment? More than 600 people who filled a theater in Bow on Thursday night seemed to think so, as they greeted the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, with raucous cheers. (Brooks, 10/25)

The Hill: Buttigieg: I 'Never Believed' In 'Medicare For All' That Ends Private Insurance
South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) says that he has “never believed” in ending private insurance, denying charges that he has flipped his position on "Medicare for All." Buttigieg, who is running for president and is attacking his rival Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) over her support for Medicare for All, has taken criticism for his own tweet last year when he vowed, “I do favor Medicare for All.” (Sullivan, 10/25)

And in other news from the election trail —

The Associated Press: 'Just Too Darn Old:' Sanders, Biden Confront Age Concerns
Bernie Sanders insists he feels better than ever less than a month after heart surgery, but his return to the campaign trail this week sparked new questions about the unusually old age of the Democratic Party's leading 2020 presidential candidates. Both Sanders, 78, and Joe Biden, 76, suggest their age isn't a major issue, but voters, particularly older voters, aren't so sure. (10/25)

The Associated Press: Hearing Begins On Fate Of Missouri's Lone Abortion Clinic
The fate of Missouri's only abortion clinic is at stake starting Monday, when a member of the state's Administrative Hearing Commission will begin hearing arguments over whether the clinic can keep its abortion license. The hearing at a downtown St. Louis state office building is expected to last five days. Missouri officials have asked St. Louis police for heightened security since the licensing issue has generated protests from those on both sides of the debate. (10/28)

The Wall Street Journal: Hearing To Decide Fate Of Missouri’s Only Abortion Clinic
The hearing before the Administrative Hearing Commission is the latest salvo between the Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Citing patient safety concerns, the health department declined to renew the clinic’s license earlier this year. After Planned Parenthood challenged the decision in a St. Louis Circuit Court, a federal judge kicked the case to the Administrative Hearing Commission in June. (Calfas, 10/27)

CNN: States Passed A Flurry Of New Abortion Restrictions This Year. Here's Where They Stand
Abortion regulations were in the news earlier this year, with highly restrictive state bans making national headlines. Republican-leaning states, emboldened by the conservative-majority Supreme Court and efforts by the Trump administration to roll back abortion protections, have pushed more extreme limitations to the procedure. But where are those laws now? The short answer: Nowhere. (Kelly, 10/27)

NBC News: Sex-Selective Abortions: Reproductive Rights Are Being Pitted Against Gender Equality
When Dr. Colleen McNicholas treats a woman seeking an abortion in Missouri, she must, under penalty of law, ask a series of uncomfortable questions probing why the woman wants the procedure, including if it’s because of the fetus's gender. That question, which she said patients find “absurd” and “completely inappropriate,” is a requirement that was left intact by a Missouri federal judge who halted several other restrictive measures, such as a ban on abortions after eight weeks of pregnancy, signed into law by Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, in May in an effort to block abortion access. (Ali, 10/27)

Health News Florida: Florida Parental Consent Abortion Bill Has Tougher Road In Senate
Girls younger than 18 would need consent from a parent or guardian before getting an abortion under a bill approved by a Florida House committee this week that will head to a full chamber vote when the annual session begins in January. The bill was given only one committee stop — a rarity for legislation and a signal that it’s a high priority for Republican House leadership. The House Health and Human Services Committee approved it on a party line vote. But the bill has a tougher battle in the Florida Senate: Three committees would have to approve the bill. (Farrington, Urban and Aboraya, 10/25)

The Wall Street Journal: Preterm Birth Treatment Isn’t Effective, Study Finds
The standard treatment to prevent women from having another preterm birth isn’t effective, according to the final results of a study. The finding has already led at least one maternal medicine group to revamp its guidelines. Doctors groups have long recommended a weekly injection of a synthetic progestin hormone called Makena, based on the results of a 2003 study. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug, now made by AMAG Pharmaceuticals, in 2011, contingent upon completing a follow-up study. The FDA has a public hearing and vote scheduled for Tuesday in which it will decide whether to leave the treatment on the market or not. (Reddy, 10/25)

NPR: Some Pregnant Women Use Weed For Morning Sickness But FDA Cautions Against It
Jennifer had a rough start to her pregnancy. "I had really intense food aversion and really intense nausea," says the 28-year-old mother of a five-month-old girl. "I wasn't eating at all." She was losing weight instead of gaining it, she says, and couldn't even keep down her prenatal vitamins or iron pills, which she needed to deal with anemia. (Chatterjee, 10/28)

The Washington Post: CDC: Most People Who Died From Vaping-Linked Disease Used Products Containing THC
Most people who died from vaping-related injuries used products containing THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, federal health officials said Friday, offering another data point tying the outbreak of lung illnesses to products made with that compound. Based on data available from 860 of the 1,604 patients who have fallen ill with the disease, about 85 percent reported using THC-containing products, compared to about 10 percent who reported exclusively vaping nicotine-containing products, officials said. Many sick patients said they bought THC vape products on the black market, and those have come under increased scrutiny. (Sun, 10/25)

The Associated Press: Health Official: No 'Short List' Of Vaping Illness Suspects
Health officials acknowledged Friday they are still looking at a wide range of products and chemicals that could be causing the U.S. vaping illness outbreak. A large majority of the more than 1,600 people who have been sickened said they vaped products containing THC, the high-inducing ingredient in marijuana, but it's likely something else — or perhaps several things — are to blame, officials say. (Stobbe and Johnson, 10/25)

CNN: FDA Faces Pressure To Release Final E-Cigarette Flavor Policy
In a letter, a lawmaker is urging the US Food and Drug Administration to issue its compliance policy that would clear the market of unauthorized flavored e-cigarettes. The letter follows President Donald Trump's September 11 announcement that the FDA would be putting out "some very strong recommendations" regarding the use of flavored e-cigarettes in "a couple of weeks." (Howard and Hunt, 10/22)

NPR: Behind The Scenes Of CDC's Vaping Investigation
When the first cases of vaping-related lung injuries came to the attention of scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this summer, they knew this was a potential curveball. Disease detectives, more accustomed to stopping food-borne illnesses or tracking the annual influenza cycle, realized that they'd need a unique approach to take on a health crisis that has so far sickened 1,604 and killed 34. (Harris, 10/25)

And in other vaping news —

NPR: Some States With Legal Weed Embrace Vaping Bans, Warn Of Black Market Risks
Around Washington state, cannabis shops are being required to hang signs warning customers of "severe lung injuries" and "deaths" associated with vaping. Kevin Heiderich, a co-owner of one such shop, House of Cannabis in Tacoma, Wash., believes the government response to vaping illnesses should focus on the black market." Something has just changed and no one really knows what it is," he says. (Stone, 10/26)

Los Angeles Times: Fruity Flavors Lure Teens Into Vaping Longer And Taking More Puffs, Study Says
Most experts agree that sweet flavors like cotton candy and mango help entice teens to try their first-ever puff on an electronic cigarette. But what keeps them coming back? Flavors appear to play a role in that too, according to a new study of Los Angeles high school students. Those who vaped with flavors other than tobacco and menthol were more likely to maintain their habit over the long term — and they took more puffs each time they reached for their device. (Baumgaertner, 10/27)

Boston Globe: Baker Bows To Judge, Submits Vape Ban As Emergency Regulation
Vapes will remain prohibited in Massachusetts, after Governor Charlie Baker bowed to a state judge’s ruling and submitted the country’s broadest ban on the devices to state health authorities for approval rather than let it expire. The state’s Public Health Council, at the behest of the Baker administration, voted unanimously Friday to adopt the ban on nicotine and marijuana vapes as a formal emergency regulation. (Adams, 10/25)

MPR: Vapers Say They’re Unfairly Tarred With The THC Brush
As reports circulate about deaths and injuries attributed to vaping, users of e-cigarettes are contemplating a hard choice: Will they have to give up nicotine or switch to some other means of ingesting it — like cigarettes? Conor Vitt, 21, works at Maplewood Tobacco and E-Cigs Center. He’s a former smoker who has switched to vaping. If vaping were banned, would he take up cigarettes again? (Zdechlik, 10/28)

The Associated Press: More Severely Obese Kids Should Get Surgery, MD Group Says 
Even some severely obese preteens should be considered for weight loss surgery, according to new recommendations. The guidance issued Sunday by the American Academy of Pediatrics is based on a review of medical evidence, including several studies showing that surgery in teens can result in marked weight loss lasting at least several years, with few complications. In many cases, related health problems including diabetes and high blood pressure vanished after surgery. (Tanner, 10/27)

CNN: Pediatricians Endorse Weight Loss Surgery For Severely Obese Kids And Teens: 'It Changed My Life'
"This policy statement focuses more upon acceptance of -- and access to -- appropriate care than anything else," said Dr. Kirk Reichard, surgical director of the Bariatric Surgery Program at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Delaware, who was a co-author of the policy statement. "Right now there's a lot of variability in what's paid for. There are certain plans that simply consider bariatric surgery under the age of 18 as experimental, which means they're not going to be covered," he said. "This policy statement specifically says that there's no specific age guideline. Furthermore, we recognize that severe obesity in children disproportionally affects racial and ethnic minorities, and the economically disadvantaged, especially for girls." (Howard, 10/27)

And for those later in life —

The Washington Post: Gaining Weight As You Get Older Isn't Inevitable
One of the most frustrating things about getting older is when the pounds pile up along with the years. Keeping weight off can be a challenge, even when you aren’t eating more or exercising less. But don’t be discouraged. Aging may be inevitable, but getting fatter need not be. Obesity affects about 40 percent of American adults, including the young and middle aged, an estimated 93.3 million adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is a serious public health problem, raising the risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and certain cancers. (Cimons, 10/27)

The New York Times: It’s Halloween. Beware Urban Legends (And Cars).
American children are more likely to be hit by cars on Halloween than on any other night of the year. But many of the concerns expressed each October — in the news media and among family and friends — are instead about the danger from candy poisoning by strangers. Almost all such cases have been found to be hoaxes or scares that lack substantiation. Some health centers even offer to X-ray treats to see if they’ve been tampered with. Studies have failed to show this does any good. If anything, the tests may provide a false sense of security. (Carroll, 10/28)

NPR: Sleepless In The U.S.: Rising Numbers Of Workers Not Getting Enough Sleep
If you often hit that mid-afternoon slump and feel drowsy at your desk, you're not alone. The number of working Americans who get less than seven hours of sleep a night is on the rise. And the people hardest hit when it comes to sleep deprivation are those we depend on the most for our health and safety: police and health care workers, along with those in the transportation field, like truck drivers. (Neighmond, 10/28)

The Washington Post: Filmmaker Asks How Adults Can Help Digitally Obsessed Teens Tackle Mental Health Challenges
Teens are more connected than ever. So why are they so depressed, anxious and stressed? Delaney Ruston, a physician, worried about her own teens’ mental well-being. Her 2016 documentary, “Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age,” focused on how screentime affects young people. Now, she took her quest a step further, asking how adults can help teens tackle mental health challenges. (Blakemore, 10/26)

The Wall Street Journal: With No Boutique Gyms, She Gets Creative At The YMCA
Katie Gibson’s phone was getting in the way of her workouts. Looking to spend more time with her two children, she left her job as a speech pathologist and launched a skin-care company six years ago from home. The downside: She lived on her screen, even at the gym. “When my endorphins would start going, I’d get ideas and pull out Notes or start emailing,” she says. “I had a hard time compartmentalizing work and personal time. Plus, my workout felt stale, so I was easily distracted.” (Murphy, 10/27)

CNN: Sunday Sadness Is Real. Here's How To Battle The Pre-Workweek Blues
Many of us begin to groan and moan as our precious weekend comes to an end. It's not just the interruption of fun with friends and family that triggers the Sunday blues, or what some call the Sunday scaries. It's also anxiety and dread about the workweek to come. One study found 81% of more than 1,000 respondents said they became progressively more anxious as their restful Sunday came to a close. Psychologists call it "anticipatory anxiety." (LaMotte, 10/27)

The New York Times: These Apps Say You May Have A Health Disorder. What If They’re Wrong?
Flo and Clue, two popular period-tracking apps, recently introduced health tools that evaluate a woman’s risk for the hormonal imbalance known as polycystic ovary syndrome. In September alone, more than 636,000 women completed the Flo health assessments, said the app’s developer, Flo Health. The app then recommended that 240,000 of those women, or about 38 percent, ask their doctors about the hormonal disorder. (Singer, 10/27)

Miami Herald: Mylan Recalls Xanax That Might Have A ‘Foreign Substance’
One lot of Alprazolam, the prescription anti-anxiety drug sold as name brand Xanax, has been recalled nationwide because of “the potential presence of a foreign substance.” That’s according to the Mylan Pharmaceuticals-written, FDA-posted recall notice. (Neal, 10/27)

PBS NewsHour: Even If Your Drinking Water Gets A ‘Passing Grade,’ It May Not Be Safe
There are no federal limits on half of the contaminants detected in drinking water, according to the report, and establishing such regulations takes years. Regulating chlorate, a disinfection by-product that has been linked to thyroid problems when consumed in high doses, was proposed in 2011, but has gone nowhere, said Sydney Evans, science analyst for the Environmental Working Group. (Santhanam, 10/25)

ABC News: Woman Who Underwent Chemo During Pregnancy Kisses Her Miracle Baby After Giving Birth
A woman who underwent cancer treatment during pregnancy is celebrating the birth of her healthy baby boy. Jade Devis of Rancho Cucamonga, California, welcomed a son, Bradley, after two months of chemotherapy to fight Stage 2 triple-negative breast cancer--one of the rarest forms of breast cancer. (Pelletiere, 10/28)

The Washington Post: Many First Responders Struggle With PTSD
Certain smells can put Ken Dillon in a dark hole. When Dillon, a Connecticut state trooper, smells pizza, for example, his mind rewinds to Dec. 14, 2012 — pizza Friday — at Sandy Hook Elementary School, where 26 people, including 20 first-graders, were shot dead by a young man who then took his own life. “When everything happened, big trays of pizza were left out on the counter in the cafeteria,” Dillon explained. “Over the next week while we processed the scene it began to rot and smell really bad, and it blended with the other unfortunate smells, like blood just down the hallway — the smell of evil. After that, anytime I’d smell pizza, it would take me back to that time.” (Ebersole, 10/26)

The New York Times: Fiber In Fruits And Grains Protects Against Diverticulitis
About a decade ago, Michael Valenti of Woodstock, N.Y., suddenly developed severe pain in the lower right side of his abdomen. He had a slight fever and thought he had appendicitis. So did his doctor, who sent him to the emergency room, where an M.R.I. revealed not appendicitis but diverticulitis, an infection in an outpouching of his colon he never knew he had. (Brody, 10/28)

Stat: A Serial Entrepreneur Wants His Portable MRI To Transform Medicine
Usually an MRI machine requires a giant, powerful magnet and must be encased in its own copper-shielded room. It is why the behemoths cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. But this device, from a startup called Hyperfine, is about the size of a luggage cart. It could be wheeled from one bed to another. (Herper, 10/25)

NPR: Dog People Rejoice: Owning A Pup Is Good For Your Cardiovascular Health
Hugging a dog is one life's greatest joys. Getting to see fur on four legs and a wagging tail is like experiencing a love drug — quite literally. Dogs and humans that interact with one another get a jolt of oxytocin, the so-called "cuddle hormone." And, if you get to look at dogs and hug them every day, you just might live longer than people who don't have to clean animal hair off their clothes, according to a pair of studies out this month. (Chen, 10/26)

The Washington Post: ‘This Baby Was Meant To Be Ours’: A Gay Couple’s Journey To Become Parents
When Kraig Wiedenfeld and Bill Johnson decided they were ready to start a family and wanted a baby biologically related to one of them, they did what a small but growing number of gay couples with their desire do: They found a surrogate to help them. As chronicled in The Washington Post last year, the two men, then married for four years, embarked on a journey both complicated and expensive that required: sperm from Weidenfeld, an anonymous egg donor and a young woman to carry the baby. (Page, 10/26)

The Associated Press: Cleaning Plant Troubles Could Lead To Hospital Tool Shortage
Hospitals could soon face shortages of critical surgical tools because several plants that sterilize the equipment have been shut down, government health officials said Friday. The Food and Drug Administration flagged the issue in an online statement to medical professionals, saying the result could be years of shortages of supplies used in heart surgery, knee replacements, C-sections and many other procedures. (Perrone, 10/25)

Georgia Health News: Feds Warn Ethylene Oxide Crackdown Could Cause Shortages Of Medical Devices
“It’s kind of like a tipping point right now. If there were to be any more closures then the likelihood is we will not only see spot or local shortages, it will have a ripple effect nationally,” said Dr. Suzanne Schwartz, the acting director of the Office of Strategic Partnerships & Technology Innovation at the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH).(Goodman and Miller, 10/25)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: BD Says Covington Plant Poses No Risk To The Community
A medical sterilization company fired back at Georgia regulators seeking to shut down its Covington facility, saying in a court filing Friday that its operations are safe and that there’s no scientific proof its emissions are harmful to the public. If a court orders the Becton Dickinson plant to halt sterilizations with the carcinogenic gas ethylene oxide, it could cause far greater harm to the millions of patients in need of the medical devices it sterilizes each year, lawyers for the company said in the filing. (Trubey and Edwards, 10/25)

Modern Healthcare: New Substance Abuse Privacy Rules Could Hurt Addiction Patients
Patient advocates cautioned HHS against loosening patient privacy protections surrounding substance use disorder records, warning it could lead people to avoid treatment. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration wants to change the rules to make it easier for providers to address the opioid crisis by removing barriers to coordinated care and allowing them to share more information about substance abuse patients. Comments on the proposed rulemaking were due Friday. (Brady, 10/25)

The Star Tribune: DHS Worker Alleges Ongoing Retaliation For Raising Alarms Over State Opioid Contracts 
A whistleblower at the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) alleges she has been retaliated against and effectively barred from doing her work as a compliance officer since she raised alarms this summer about the legality of some drug abuse prevention contracts issued by the agency. Faye K. Bernstein, 54, an attorney and lead contract specialist at the DHS, said in recent interviews that she has been excluded from key meetings over state contracts, subjected to threats of termination and targeted with rumors designed to undermine her credibility. Bernstein said this “sustained campaign of retaliation” began in mid-July after she raised alarms about contracts approved by the agency’s behavioral health division, which awards millions of dollars each year in contracts to mental health and substance-use treatment providers. (Serres and Howatt, 10/25)

San Francisco Chronicle: For SF Meth Users, A Sobering Center Is Planned. What Would That Look Like?
To try to curb a deepening crisis, city officials, public health experts and recovering users have proposed creating a sobering center to serve as a refuge for people crashing after a meth binge and for those in the grips of one. In addition to providing a place to rest and basic amenities, it will allow addiction specialists to try to coax meth users into treatment.Ingesting meth inside the facility would be prohibited, but the task force did recommend building safe injection sites, where users would be given clean equipment and supervised while they shoot up to prevent overdoses. (Fracassa, 10/26)

CQ: Drugs Most Involved In Overdose Deaths Vary By Region
Fentanyl remains the drug most associated with deaths in the United States, but methamphetamine is linked to more deaths in some parts of the country, according to federal drug overdose data released Friday. Fentanyl, a highly potent opioid, is the drug most involved in overdose deaths in all regions east of the Mississippi River. In western parts of the country, methamphetamine is the leading drug associated with overdose deaths. (Raman, 2/25)

The Wall Street Journal: Why Starbucks Expanded Its Transgender Health Benefits
Seven years ago, Tate Buhrmester made the decision to come out as transgender while working as a supervisor at a Starbucks Corp. SBUX 0.24% store in Austin, Texas. “When I came out at work, I told my Starbucks partners [as the company calls its employees] to call me by my new name, Tate, and they were very accepting. I never had any problems,” he says. Two things eased Mr. Buhrmester’s transition: being able to choose his preferred pronouns and name, and being covered by the Seattle-based coffee chain’s medical benefits. (Sardon, 10/26)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Uber, Lyft Working With More Health-Care Providers To Get Patients To Appointments
Two years ago, Uber launched Uber Health, through which health care providers like the Cleveland Clinic order rides for patients using a HIPAA-compliant platform. That same year, Lyft debuted a service called Lyft Concierge that gave businesses, including health care providers, a way to manage rides for clients and patients. (Christ, 10/27)

In other health industry news —

The Wall Street Journal: New York Regulator Probes UnitedHealth Algorithm For Racial Bias
New York’s insurance regulator said it is launching an investigation into a UnitedHealth Group Inc. algorithm that a study found prioritized care for healthier white patients over sicker black patients. The state’s Department of Financial Services said it sent a letter Friday to UnitedHealth Chief Executive David Wichmann asking for the company to either show the algorithm isn’t racially discriminatory or stop using it. The New York Department of Health joined in sending the letter. (Evans and Wilde Mathews, 10/26)

Modern Healthcare: Moves To Lower Healthcare Costs Overwhelmed By Hospital Consolidation
Payers have failed to reduce healthcare cost growth in the employer group market in six cities because of hospital and physician consolidation, a new study found. Policymakers could do more to strengthen employer and insurance moves to drive down prices, said researchers at Georgetown University's Center on Health Insurance Reforms. But if incremental policy moves aren't successful, that could boost support for more dramatic steps such as government rate-setting, they concluded. (Meyer, 10/25)

Modern Healthcare: Independent Hospitals Hold Their Own On Revenue Growth
Revenue at independent hospitals grew at a faster pace than health system-owned hospitals, suggesting that returns may be diminishing on mergers and acquisitions, new data show. Net patient revenue at independent hospitals rose at an average rate of 4.8% from 2014 to 2018, compared with 4% at their system-owned peers, according to Definitive Healthcare's analysis of around 5,500 U.S. hospitals. That is likely in part due to the larger asset base of health systems, but also revenue gains from consolidation may be plateauing, said Kate Shamsuddin, senior vice president of strategy at Definitive. (Kacik, 10/25)

The Washington Post: A New Clinic At Children’s National Hospital Treats Undocumented Kids With Diabetes. But They’re Hesitant To Seek Care.
She called them one at a time, working her way through medical records family by family, hoping to convince the undocumented and uninsured to bring their children back to the hospital. They could receive free care from doctors, nurses, nutritionists, she explained. They could finally get their children’s diabetes under control. All they had to do was show up. (Marissa J. Lang, 10/25)

The CT Mirror: State, Hospitals, Still Trying To Reach Legal Settlement
When Gov. Ned Lamont and Connecticut’s hospital industry announced a tentative deal in late May to resolve a longstanding lawsuit, they estimated the deal would be ratified by September. Now, nearly two months past the target date, details are still being hammered out, with both sides saying little except they remain on track for a resolution. (Phaneuf, 10/28)

New Hampshire Union Leader: Catching Patients Off Guard: A Call For Greater Transparency For 'Facility Fees' 
A facility fee is often applied by medical offices, urgent care centers and clinics affiliated with hospitals to spread costs across the network to boost revenue to offset losses. The fees are legal, but many say they’re poorly disclosed and carry a high cost compared to the services provided. ...Facility fees have become more frequent as the number of physicians affiliated with hospitals or larger health care networks have increased over the past 20 years, according to Tyler Brannen, director of health economics with the New Hampshire Insurance Department. (Phelps, 10/26)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Two Milwaukee Women Were Turned Away From Hospitals And Died
No federal agency tracks when hospitals close their doors to ambulances, a practice known as ambulance diversion. No agency investigates when such delays lead to the death or serious disability of patients. What's more, many states and cities do not collect any information on diversions — and when they do, the information is often incomplete or barred from public release. Paramedics know a diversion took place, but not what happens to the patients once they are back on the road. Meanwhile, patients — or surviving family members — may not even realize care was delayed. (Diedrich, 10/28)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ambulance Diversion: Hospital Closure Policies More Likely Affect Sicker, Poorer Patients
When hospitals close to ambulances, the people most affected tend to be sicker, older and poorer. Those are the patients who are most likely to be in the ambulances, studies have shown, and therefore the ones sent instead to hospitals farther away or less qualified to care for them. (Diedrich and Crowe, 10/25)

Columbus Dispatch: Two Possible Legionnaires' Cases Investigated At Mount Carmel East Hospital 
The Mount Carmel Health System is investigating two “possible health-care associated” cases of Legionnaires’ disease, a severe form of pneumonia, in people treated recently at Mount Carmel East hospital, according to a spokesperson for the system. The system said in a written statement released late Saturday night that it is partnering with Columbus Public Health and the Ohio Department of Health in conjunction with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to identify the source of the legionella bacteria. (Dispatch, 10/27)

Chicago Tribune: Aurora Panel Recommends $9 Million More For Project At Former Copley Site 
An Aurora City Council committee has recommended an incentive package for the second phase of the former Copley Hospital campus project that includes at least $9 million more from the city. Now known as Avalon Heights, developers Fox Valley Developers LLC have proposed a total $128.5 million project at the former hospital campus that would include 102 units of senior housing, 53 units for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, a pharmacy, a neighborhood health care facility that will include urgent care, a surgery center and a counseling center, a 1.4-acre Fox Valley Park District neighborhood park, a new administration center for the East Aurora School District and open space throughout the campus for the public, as well as children at Bardwell Elementary School. (Lord, 10/25)

CNBC: If Your Medicare Coverage Changes Include Medigap, Beware Of Snags
If you’re going to make Medicare coverage changes that include dropping or buying a supplemental plan — aka, Medigap — make sure you know the rules that come along with it. Medicare’s annual open enrollment period — now underway through Dec. 7 — allows you to switch various parts of your coverage for next year. And while that can be a straightforward yearly change for many people, others might run into snags if it involves Medigap. (O'Brien, 10/26)

The Houston Chronicle: Here’s Your Guide To 2020 Medicare Advantage Plans In Houston
The deadline to sign up for Medicare is upon us, and for some, that means it’s time to navigate the murky waters of Medicare Advantage, also known as Medicare Part C. Not all Medicare Advantage plans are created equal, which is why the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services use a five-star quality rating system to help consumers find the best plan for them. (Garcia, 10/28)

CQ: Trump Order Boosting Private Plans May Change Medicare Sign-Ups
President Donald Trump’s recent executive order on Medicare, which was designed to rebut Democrats' single-payer "Medicare for All" proposals, could impact the enrollment process as the administration seeks to boost the program's private health plans. The order, released earlier this month, is intended to bolster private insurance plans in the Medicare Advantage program. Trump and Republicans have branded "Medicare for All" as “Medicare for none,” saying Democrats’ vision of universal coverage would rip the current option for private plans away from seniors and further endanger Medicare’s financial solvency. (Clason, 10.28)

The Advocate: Here's How The Governor's Race Could Have Dramatic Effects On Louisiana's Medicaid Expansion 
At a debate during the primary election for governor last month, Eddie Rispone was asked for a yes-or-no answer to whether he would roll back Medicaid expansion, which gives nearly half a million Louisiana adults health insurance. After some hesitation and prodding from the moderator, he said no. But while he isn’t advocating a complete rollback of the insurance program, Rispone has staked out a position that stands in contrast with that of Gov. John Bel Edwards, the Democratic incumbent who is campaigning in no small part on his expansion of Medicaid. (Karlin, 10/25)

Columbus Dispatch: Ohio's Largest Medicaid Provider Cuts Ties With Walgreens
More than half of Ohio’s Medicaid recipients will lose access to Walgreens pharmacies on Jan 1. CareSource, Ohio’s largest Medicaid provider, is cutting ties with the state’s second-largest pharmacy retailer. Walgreens, Ohio’s second-largest pharmacy retailer, will no longer service the state’s largest Medicaid provider as of Jan 1, raising concerns about creating pharmacy “deserts” in parts of Ohio. (Schladen, 10/25)

Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Medicaid Insurer Told It Must Refund $12.3M; State, Consumers To Be The Recipients
An insurer participating in the Arkansas Works Medicaid program was required to refund $12.3 million to the federal government, state and consumers after collecting too much in premiums compared with what it spent on claims, according to federal reports. According to the reports by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, St. Louis-based Centene collected $983 million in premiums for its plans covering Arkansas Works enrollees and other consumers in the state from 2016-18, but spent just $756 million of that on medical care and other health-related expenses. (Davis, 10/27)

Ohama World-Herald: Nebraska Estimates One-Third Of Recipients Of Expanded Medicaid Would Not Get Full Coverage
State officials expect that one in three low-income Nebraskans added to Medicaid under a state expansion plan would not qualify for full coverage. Those would be people who fail one or more of eight special requirements outlined in a draft plan released Friday by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. (Stoddard, 10/25)

Kaiser Health News: States Try A Gentler Approach To Getting Medicaid Enrollees To Work
Under pressure from the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania legislature to require Medicaid recipients to work as a condition for coverage, state health officials have devised a gentler approach to getting beneficiaries into jobs. Starting early next year, the Pennsylvania Medicaid agency under Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf will ask people when they enroll if they want job training assistance. It will then require its private Medicaid managed-care organizations to connect those who want help to local employment specialists and follow up to make sure they got it. (Galewitz, 10/28)

The Journal News: Why Nursing Homes Sued NY Over Medicaid Cuts They Say Hurt Patients
A coalition of health care trade groups has accused state officials of illegally cutting $352 million in Medicaid funding for nursing homes in New York. The groups announced a lawsuit Friday that claims many nursing homes could be forced to close or reduce staffing and services for thousands of elderly and disabled New Yorkers due to the Medicaid cuts that took effect in July. (Robinson, 10/28)

The Washington Post: His First Job Was Training Service Dogs In Prison. The Dogs Go On To Transform Veterans’ Lives.
Last year, Al Moore was gulping down a dozen medications to cope with physical pain and sometimes crippling post-traumatic stress disorder that he developed during 30 years in the Marine Corps. Those drugs have been replaced by what Moore describes as “the most holistic medicine you can have.” “We call him ‘Kevin the wonder dog,’ ” Moore’s wife, Dawn, said Thursday, pointing to the Labrador retriever whose light brown eyes were fixed, as usual, on her husband. “He’s always wondering, ‘What can I do for you?’ ” (Chason, 10/27)

The Wall Street Journal: Using Horsepower To Fight PTSD And Veteran Suicide
M, a lifelong equestrian, first witnessed the healing power of horses while working after college on a ranch in Colorado, where she was teaching people to ride. A family had brought their 4-year-old son, a boy with Down syndrome who was uncommunicative. Something about the horse captivated him. Sitting in the saddle, he signed “horse”—the first word he had ever communicated. His mother started crying, which prompted his first spoken word too: “Mama.” Moved by the encounter, Ms. Hill-McQueeney began to learn about the then little-known concept of therapeutic riding or equine therapy. (Winkler, 10/26)

The New York Times: With Whipping Winds And Power Down, Californians Flee Fires
Erika Rivas could not sleep. The smell of smoke and the fear of encroaching flames kept pulling her back to that day two years ago when she realized her home in Santa Rosa was on fire. That night, she and her family fled their new house with no shoes or jackets. This weekend, amid overlapping crises of fire and blackouts, they have had to evacuate not once but twice. (Hepler, Del Real and Penn, 10/27)

The Associated Press: Widespread Evacuations, Power Outages Near California Fire
About 90,000 residents were ordered to evacuate towns near a massive Northern California wildfire Saturday, and the state's largest utility began power shut-offs for an estimated 2.35 million people due to forecasts of severe winds and extreme fire danger. Two previous blackouts in recent weeks were carried out amid concern that gusty winds could disrupt or knock down power lines and spark devastating wildfires. (Nguyen and Weber, 10/26)

The Washington Post: California Wildfires: Governor Declares Statewide Emergency As Evacuations Continue
California’s governor declared a statewide emergency Sunday as hurricane-force wind fueled wildfires across Sonoma County and prompted mass evacuations in communities to the Pacific Ocean. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) pledged to deploy “every resource available” as authorities fought blazes on both ends of the state and weather increased the danger. (Teague, Donosky, Epstein and Knowles, 10/27)

The Wall Street Journal: Northern California Wildfire Grows Overnight, Forcing Evacuations
“We are deploying every resource available, and are coordinating with numerous agencies as we continue to respond to these fires,” Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said in his declaration. Firefighters confronted ferocious winds, with at least one gust clocking in at 102 miles an hour shortly after sunrise Sunday in the hills above the evacuated Sonoma County wine town of Healdsburg, according to the National Weather Service. (Carlton and Kusisto, 10/28)

Los Angeles Times: Gov. Newsom In Crisis Mode Amid Wildfires, Power Outages, Winds
Newsom said the state is working to ensure enough pharmacies are kept open on generators in communities without electricity so that residents have access to needed medications, an issue that was raised to him by people at evacuation centers over the weekend. “That’s why it’s important for me to be on the ground,” he said. (Gutierrez, 10/27)

Sacramento Bee: Santa Rosa Hospitals Evacuate As Kincade Fire Rages To Avoid Repeat Of 2017 Escapes
A Santa Rosa hospital evacuated about 100 patients Saturday night out of “an abundance of caution” as the Kincade Fire continues to ravage Sonoma County, KGO reported. Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital began evacuating at 6:30 p.m., according to the station. (Sweeney, 10/27)

California Healthline: Farmworkers Face Daunting Health Risks In California’s Wildfires
Farm laborers in yellow safety vests walked through neatly arranged rows of grapes Friday, harvesting the last of the deep purple bundles that hung from the vines, even as the sky behind them was dark with soot. Over the hill just behind them, firetrucks and first responders raced back and forth from a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection staging area, working to contain a wildfire raging through the rugged hills and canyons in northeastern Sonoma County. (Barry-Jester, 10/28)

The Associated Press: Frustrated Democratic Governors Find Ways To Sidestep GOP
Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers tried for months to get the Republican-controlled Legislature to take up a pair of gun control bills, holding news conferences and touting polls showing strong public support. When Republicans wouldn’t budge, Evers turned up the heat by turning to other powers of his office, using an executive order — his 54th in less than a year — to call a special session on the issue. “We need an up or down vote,” Evers said. “We have to get this done, folks.” (Bauer, 10/27)

In other news on state politics —

The Wall Street Journal: Proposed Tax On Gun Sales Faces Opposition In Tacoma, Wash.
Tacoma, Wash., could soon become one of a handful of U.S. cities to levy high taxes on gun sales, opening a new front in the battle over how much power local governments have to regulate firearms. Washington and 44 other states ban cities and towns from making their own gun laws. But the proposed tax in Tacoma, which would collect $25 per gun sale to fund violence prevention programs, is modeled on a law in neighboring Seattle that has already passed muster with the state supreme court. (Elinson, 10/28)

Tampa Bay Times: Obamacare Still Thrives In Florida, Despite New Hurdles
As open enrollment nears for the Affordable Care Act, large swaths of Florida are doing without the health care “navigators” who help Americans understand and sign up for insurance plans. The Trump administration slashed the budget for their services over the last two years, one of the reasons enrollment in the federal health care program is down nationally. (Griffin, 10/28)

MPR: Hepatitis A Infections Rising In Minnesota
The number of hepatitis A infections in Minnesota has been consistently climbing since spring, and state health officials are urging people at risk to get vaccinated.Infections were initially reported mostly in the north-central part of the state but have recently moved into the Twin Cities, said Kris Ehresmann, director for infectious disease at the Minnesota Department of Health. (Collins, 10/25)

The Associated Press: Medication Lockers Help Miami's Homeless Living With HIV
Ivette Naida says keeping tabs on her HIV medication can be a daunting task. Naida lives underneath a Miami highway overpass with several other homeless men and women. She has no safe place to keep her belongings. HIV-positive people who live on the streets are less likely to be successful in suppressing the virus with medication, according to a 2017 National Institute of Health study and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (10/26)

Boston Globe: Charities Pay $6 Million To Feds To Resolve Allegations They Paid Kickbacks To Medicare Patients Purchasing Medications
Two charities have agreed to pay a combined $6 million to resolve allegations they enabled drug companies to pay kickbacks to Medicare patients who took the companies’ medications, federal prosecutors in Boston said Friday. In a statement, US Attorney Andrew E. Lelling’s office identified the nonprofits as the Chronic Disease Fund Inc., doing business as Good Days from CDF, and the Patient Access Network Foundation. (Andersen, 10/25)

The Associated Press: Man Wins Lottery Prize On Way For Cancer Treatment
A North Carolina man won a $200,000 lottery prize while on the way to his last round of chemotherapy. WTVD-TV reports that Ronnie Foster bought the winning scratch-off ticket before getting treatment for colon cancer. Foster said he claimed the prize Friday at the lottery headquarters in Raleigh. He said he took home about $140,000 after taxes. Foster said he plans to use part of his winnings to pay his medical bills. (10/27)

St. Louis Public Radio: More Young People Are Getting Skin Cancer — And That Troubles Missouri Doctors
The deadliest form of skin cancer is becoming more common in children and young adults. Head and neck melanoma cases in young people rose more than 50% in the U.S. and Canada in less than two decades, according to new research from St. Louis University. Melanoma rates have increased the fastest among young white men — a group often overlooked in skin-cancer-prevention campaigns. (Farzan, 10/27)

New Hampshire Union Leader: Catching Patients Off Guard: A Call For Greater Transparency For 'Facility Fees' 
A facility fee is often applied by medical offices, urgent care centers and clinics affiliated with hospitals to spread costs across the network to boost revenue to offset losses. The fees are legal, but many say they’re poorly disclosed and carry a high cost compared to the services provided. ...Facility fees have become more frequent as the number of physicians affiliated with hospitals or larger health care networks have increased over the past 20 years, according to Tyler Brannen, director of health economics with the New Hampshire Insurance Department. (Phelps, 10/26)

The Oregonian: 2 More Cases Of Measles Linked To Portland Airport Case; Washington, Clackamas And Lane Counties Exposed 
Two new cases of measles in Oregon are linked to the exposure at Portland International Airport earlier this month. Both people were exposed on an international flight that landed in Portland on Oct. 12 and have since come down with the virus, according to a news release from the Oregon Health Authority. One is a Lane County resident and the other was visiting Washington County. (Goodykoontz, 10/26)

California Healthline: Snooze You Can Use: California Legislates More Sleep For Better Health
Teenagers don’t get enough sleep, and California’s effort to fix the problem may serve as a wake-up call to other states’ lawmakers. A law recently signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that mandates later start times for most students — no earlier than 8 a.m. in middle school and 8:30 a.m. in high school — is the first statewide response in the United States to overwhelming evidence that chronic lack of sleep impairs teens. (Kreidler, 10/25)

Seattle Times: Madigan Army Medical Center Won’t Appeal $12.3M Verdict For Child Burned During Surgery 
The Army has withdrawn plans to appeal a $12.3 million verdict awarded to the family of a child who was seriously burned and disfigured in an operating-room fire at Madigan Army Medical Center in 2015, clearing the way to release money the child needs for additional surgeries and rehabilitation, according to court documents. The decision came more than two months after the Army, after admitting responsibility for the fire in court documents, announced it would take the verdict to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for possible review after damages came in nearly four times the amount government attorneys had recommended the child and his parents be paid. (Carter, 1/25)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Emergency Services Face Lack Of Resources
Other on-and-off budget cuts over the years and lax enforcement further eroded the quality of emergency transport care, critics say. As a result, Georgians can’t rest assured that their rush to the hospital will be in a vehicle that is safe and has the equipment and personnel that will provide them with the best chances of survival, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution examination found. (Berard, 10/26)

Austin American-Statesman: Austin ISD Board Slated To Approve Controversial Sex Ed Curriculum
A showdown between conservative and liberal state activists over the district’s proposed sex education curriculum is expected at Monday night’s Austin school board meeting. Planned Parenthood of the Texas Capital Region is advocating for the district’s new curriculum, and on Wednesday asked supporters to join it in the board room to advocate for the new lesson plans, describing them as “LGBTQ inclusive, science-based, and much-needed.” (Washington, 10/25)

Kansas City Star: KCK Schools, Local Groups Work To Support Homeless Students.
In 2015, with more than 1,400 homeless students attending its schools, KCKPS partnered with the non-profit Avenue of Life, a community service organization looking for a population to help. In four years, the collaboration cut the district homeless population roughly in half. This year KCKPS counted 788 homeless students. (Williams, 10/27)

Boston Globe: Mass. Hemp Farmers Say They Face Ruin Thanks To State Ban On Most CBD Products
Now, farmers say, the disaster they warned of all summer is here: Tens of thousands of pounds of hemp harvested in the last few weeks and currently drying in barns across Massachusetts have nowhere to go, with edibles-makers sidelined and other buyers offering extremely low prices to use the crop as biomass for fuel or feed. Lacking a financial incentive to process the plants into CBD and with state rules also banning exports and the sale of smokeable hemp flower, growers are bracing for ruin. (Adams, 10/25)

The Washington Post: Medicare-For-All Is A Pipe Dream
I am worried about the Democratic Party’s new focus on Medicare-for-all. The merits of the policy are anything but a slam dunk, but, more immediately, the politics are a minefield. When it comes to health-care reform, Democrats need to mind three basic rules. First, experience teaches us that much as Americans hate the status quo, they’re not too excited about change, either. (Rahm Emanuel, 10/25)

Fox News: Elizabeth Warren Misleads Americans On Harm And Costs Of 'Medicare-For-All'
Last week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren promised to release her plan to pay for "Medicare-for-all."Throughout her campaign, Warren has come under fire for refusing to say whether she would raise taxes on the middle class to fund her health care plan. Many of her fellow Democrats —  including "Medicare-for-all" architect Bernie Sanders — have made clear that the plan would require tax hikes for everyone. (Sally Pipes, 10/27)

The New York Times: The Most Pressing Issue For Our Next President Isn’t Medicare
When Bill Clinton became president, his top legislative priority was health care. When Barack Obama became president, he first had to prevent a depression, but then he too turned to health care. The next Democratic president should choose a different priority. It’s still true that too many Americans suffer from inadequate or expensive insurance coverage, and the next president should certainly look to make progress on health care. (David Leonhardt, 10/27)

Bloomberg: Two Obamacare Threats: Texas Lawsuit And Trump's Wavering
Amid all the attention being paid to Medicare for All and other proposals for health-care reform, you might not have noticed that the current system is once again under legal assault. It’s for the courts to decide the merits of this new challenge and to say in due course whether the Affordable Care Act — Obamacare — can stand. In the meantime, President Donald Trump’s administration should wake up to what’s at stake for millions of Americans and start speaking up on their behalf. Last year, a group of states led by Texas began this fresh attack. Their opening was a 2017 revision to the law that set the penalty for defying the “individual mandate” at zero. This arguably unmoored the ACA from its constitutional foundations, as laid down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012. In that ruling, the penalty for defying the mandate to obtain insurance was deemed to be a lawful exercise of Congress’s taxing power; now that the tax is zero, this argument no longer applies, according to the new challenge, so the mandate becomes impermissible under the Constitution’s commerce clause. (10/25)

Boston Globe: Charlie Baker’s Health Care Bill Could Make A Real Difference
How much of the enormous (170-plus pages) omnibus bill he recently unveiled makes it through the legislative meat grinder is anyone’s guess. There is enough here for lawmakers — and lobbyists — to gnaw on for months, and some parts that definitely need some work.But with health care costs continuing to burden families and businesses alike, it’s worth the effort. (10/26)

The Washington Post: Virginia’s Medicaid Work Requirements Are Puritanism Run Amok
The debate over Virginia’s Medicaid work requirements has heated back up as Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and Republican legislative leaders butt heads over funding job-search services included in the original Medicaid expansion compromise. Meanwhile, a new analysis suggests that implementing work requirements could kick as many as 74,000 Virginians off the program’s rolls. Beyond the policy implications, I can attest from personal experience that the prospect of losing coverage because of these restrictions is terrifying. (Brent Merritt, 10/25)

Kansas City Star: Kansas Senate GOP Leader’s New Medicaid Plan Is A Good Start
When a proposal is attacked from the right and the left, it’s often a good sign that you’re on the right track. Denning, a Republican, is.We’ve argued for Medicaid expansion in Kansas for years. There are several economic reasons for extending health insurance coverage to people with low incomes — it can help save rural hospitals, it brings federal money to the state, it creates jobs. (10/28)

Stat: Vaping And Prescription Opioids: Limbic Capitalism In Action 
Have you ever written something and sent it off, only to encounter a perfect example of what you wanted to say? That happened to me. I had just finished a new book on addiction when the vaping crisis erupted. The gist of the book is that that globalization, industrialization, mass marketing, digitization, and social media have turned the ancient human preoccupation with disreputable, potentially addictive pleasures into lucrative, commercially normal enterprises. Bad habits have been McDonaldized. Vaping couldn’t have been a more perfect example of this. (David T. Courtwright, 10/28)

Los Angeles Times: Opioids Saved My Life. Quitting Them Took Five Excruciating Years
The sweet, clean high of Vicodin, I will never forget. That exalted sense of optimism and quiet elation, the release from the troubles of life. Peace. For years I needed it. I was born with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes nervous system dysfunction, extreme pain, debilitating fatigue and overly flexible joints. (Madora Pennington, 10/27)

The Philadephia Inquirer: I Was Devastated When Biogen Cancelled My Alzheimer’s Drug Trial. Now I’m Just Bitter. 
The drug company Biogen announced Oct. 22 that it was seeking to bring back from the dead an experimental Alzheimer’s drug that it appeared to have killed last March. The startling announcement sent the thousands of us who had offered ourselves up as Biogen lab rats on yet another emotional rollercoaster. Was the devastating news of the trial’s cancellation just a bump in the road? Should those who participated in the trials – and the millions of folks like us -- now dream of an effective treatment that might slow down our devastating disease and give us more years of happy, fulfilling and productive life? (Phil Gutis, 10/28)

Los Angeles Times: Climate Change Is The Worst Environmental Problem In Global History
Even now that most of the world has acknowledged that climate change is real and caused by humans, combating it has proved daunting. Why? There are five features that combine to make global warming a more vexing environmental crisis than any we have faced before. (Christopher Knittel, 10/28)

The Hill: 4 Ways To End The Abuse Of Women During Childbirth
As a young house officer on a 3-month obstetrics/gynecology posting, I witnessed some doctors and midwives shouting at and smacking the legs of women during their childbirth. Their violence was committed under the pretense of helping women push out the baby without complications, but what I saw did not sit well with me.  This week I was reminded of those experiences when I read the findings of a new study published by The Lancet. (Feanyi Insofor, 10/27)

The New York Times: My Family Cared For My Sick Aunt. Who’s Caring For Us?
When I was 12, my mother’s 32-year-old sister Emily experienced a berry-aneurysm rupture, which caused a stroke. One day she had a headache that she said felt like being hit with a two-by-four. She went on with life, and then collapsed the next week. The executive assistant whose fingers typed so fast that they blurred like the spokes of a bicycle wheel found her clenched right hand no longer at her command. She could not swallow without choking and had trouble focusing her eyes. When she found words, her brain garbled them. (Lorene Cary, 10/25)

The Washington Post: My Husband Died Of ALS. My Grief’s Very Much Alive. 
On Jan. 1, my husband asked me whether he would die that year. I said no. It happened to be my birthday, and I wanted to feel jubilant despite the tragic turn of events in our life. I thought Rahul might have another year, that he might beat the odds of dying this year. In other words, his hazard ratio was favorable compared with someone else in his situation. He liked talking about something related, hazard scores — a composite score of one’s genetic risk for a particular outcome such as diagnosis of a disease. (Maya Vijayaraghavan, 10/27)

The New York Times: Choosing To Be Vulnerable With My Patients
When I was a third-year medical student in Baltimore, one of my first patients was a 20-something intravenous drug user. Thin and unkempt, an orange Orioles cap shadowing his heavily-tattooed face, he had a serious infection and needed to stay in the hospital for several days. It was not his first time being hospitalized. He’ll just walk out and not finish his treatment, the senior resident said. She had good reason for her prediction: According to his medical record, that’s what he did all the other times. (Helen Ouyang, 10/26)

The New York Times: When Poor People Are Beaten For Seeking Help
Ronald Purnell struggled for breath in the doorway of a city welfare office on West 14th Street, begging for help as officers kicked him and beat him with batons. His oxygen tank lay just out of reach. “I can’t breathe!” Mr. Purnell heaved. “I need my oxygen!” Mr. Purnell, 58, hadn’t been accused of any crime. The guards who he said attacked him that day weren’t police officers. (Mara Gay and Emma Goldberg, 10/27)

Austin American-Statesman: No Texan Should Die Over An Unpaid Utility Bill. Lawmakers Can Fix This.
Medical examiner reports show more than 100 Texans have died over the past decade from heat-related causes at home, according to critical reporting by Jeremy Schwartz and Andrea Ball in the Statesman’s Hostage to Heat series. Those deaths coincide with an alarming 117% spike in the number of customers who’ve had their electricity cut off over failure to pay during the hottest months of the year. (10/25)