The Associated Press: New Rules To Deny Green Cards To Many Legal Immigrants
The Trump administration announced Monday it is moving forward with one of its most aggressive steps yet to restrict legal immigration: Denying green cards to many migrants who use Medicaid, food stamps, housing vouchers or other forms of public assistance. Federal law already requires those seeking to become permanent residents or gain legal status to prove they will not be a burden to the U.S. — a “public charge,” in government speak —but the new rules detail a broader range of programs that could disqualify them. (Long and Colvin, 8/12)

The Washington Post: Trump Officials Move To Deny Green Cards, Path To Citizenship For Poor Immigrants
The 837-page rule, whose length [Ken Cuccinelli, the acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] compared to “War and Peace,” focuses on the obscure definition of what it means to be a “public charge,” or someone dependent on U.S. government benefits, and who is likely to become one. (Hauslohner, Miroff, Sacchetti and Jan, 8/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Administration To Deny Green Cards To Legal Immigrants Who Draw From Social Programs
The use or potential use of a benefits program such as Medicaid, some types of housing assistance or food stamps could disqualify an applicant. ... The use of several other benefits—including school lunch programs, homeless shelters, food pantries and the Children’s Health Insurance Program—won’t disqualify applicants. Pregnant women and children who rely on Medicaid are also exempt from the rule. The rule doesn’t affect humanitarian-based programs for refugees and asylum seekers. (Restuccia and Radnofsky, 8/12)

The New York Times: Trump Policy Favors Wealthier Immigrants For Green Cards
Mr. Trump has long insisted that the United States should welcome immigrants based only on the “merit” they demonstrate. And he has disparaged the idea of letting immigrants into the United States from poor and underdeveloped nations, which he once described in the most vulgar of terms. Monday’s rule is an attempt to enact Mr. Trump’s priorities. It embraces people who have financial means while shunning immigrants who are struggling. (Shear and Sullivan, 8/12)

Bloomberg: Trump Rule Could Block Immigrants Who Use Government Aid 
The 837-page regulation -- known as a “public charge” rule -- likely will fall hardest on low-income legal immigrants who perform much of the country’s menial labor on farms and in the service industry. The rule replaces current policy that says immigrants shouldn’t receive more than half their income from cash benefits, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or Supplemental Security Income from Social Security. (Sink and Ross, 8/12)

Los Angeles Times: New Trump Rules Could Deny Green Cards To Immigrants On Public Assistance
President Trump has kept his effort to crack down on illegal immigration in the spotlight and central to his reelection campaign in 2020. But the new rules represent a significant escalation of a quieter but farther-reaching effort to reduce legal immigration, with Cuccinelli and others led by immigration hard-liner Stephen Miller. (O'Toole and Nieto Del Rio, 8/12)

NPR: Trump Administration Rule Would Penalize Immigrants For Needing Benefits
A preliminary draft published last year drew more than 260,000 comments. Many of the comments expressed outrage that the administration would penalize immigrants for using benefits that they are legally entitled to receive. The change is seen as part of a broader administration effort to limit both immigration and the overall use of public benefits. Immigrant advocates immediately denounced the final rule, which they say could hurt millions of immigrants already living in the U.S. as well as their citizen children. They say it could also sharply curtail legal immigration, especially when coupled with tough new State Department standards that take the likelihood of an immigrant's use of public benefits into account when granting visas. (Fessler and Rose, 8/12)

PBS NewsHour: How U.S. Citizens’ Health Could Suffer Under Trump’s New Rule Aimed At Immigrants
Immigration advocates say this rule will stifle immigration into the country. And while the Trump administration says the rule is aimed at protecting benefits for American citizens, this rule appears to place young U.S. citizens — the children of immigrants — at risk. The PBS NewsHour asked immigration and health experts to describe what these changes will mean for immigrants and their families and their access to health care and nutrition. (Santhanam, 8/12)

CQ: New 'Public Charge' Rule Could Affect Millions Of Immigrants
A new Department of Homeland Security rule unveiled Monday seeks to do what pro-immigration advocates have been long been dreading: It gives U.S.  immigration officers broad authority to reject for citizenship, for green cards, for visa extensions and for changes in immigration status people who may have used one of a wide range of public benefits in the past, from food stamps to Medicaid or housing assistance, even if they were eligible for them. Furthermore, the government under the new rule can reject people if immigration officers deem it likely they could become reliant on such public assistance in the future. (Misra, 8/12)

Modern Healthcare: Legal Immigrants Using Medicaid Penalized Under New Trump Rule
[L]eaders of many healthcare organizations, including the American Hospital Association, America's Essential Hospitals, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Academy of Pediatrics, warn that the rule will hurt public health efforts and reduce their ability to serve millions of low-income children and families. They point to evidence that fear created by the proposal already has shrunk participation in health programs. (Meyer, 8/12)

PoliticoPro: Trump Administration Finalizes Rule To Restrict Immigration Based On Use Of Public Benefits
Conservative groups such as the Heritage Foundation have touted the measure as a way to limit immigration to self-sufficient foreigners who won’t be a drain on public resources. The Republican Study Committee — a group that includes roughly three-quarters of House GOP lawmakers — praised the regulation as “a step in the right direction” in a budget proposal released in May. Still, the contentious policy is already triggering legal challenges, with one pro-immigrant group, the Los Angeles-based National Immigration Law Center, announcing this morning that it will file suit. (Hesson, 8/12)

Also in immigration news --

The Washington Post: A Glimpse Inside The Central Processing Center, At The Heart Of The Border Crisis 
“We want to give folks a sense of what is going on down here,” said Border Patrol agent Marcelino “Alex” Medina. Inside the cavernous pair of warehouses in Southwestern McAllen, migrants are medically screened for common ailments and contagious diseases such as scabies, lice or chickenpox. Those needing medical help beyond basic services are sent to local hospitals, agents said. Workers have access to face masks and gloves when entering one of two large containment areas, although the center is not immune from contagious diseases; the processing center had an outbreak of an influenza-like illness in late May that led Border Patrol to stop admitting people until the infections died down. Once medically cleared, migrants are sent into holding pens. The center has seen tens of thousands of children and families since 2014. (Hernandez, 8/12)

The CT Mirror: CT To Sue To Block Trump 'Public Charge' Immigration Rule
Connecticut on Monday said it will try to stop a new Trump administration policy that will make it harder for immigrants who rely on government social programs, such as food stamps, to obtain permanent legal status. Calling it part of a “cruel and racist campaign,” Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said he intends to join other states in a challenge to the new rule. (Radelat, 8/12)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Threatens Legal Action As Trump Tightens Green Card Rules For Immigrants
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said he is ready to take legal action against the Trump administration’s rule, though he did not specify when. (Long, 8/12)

Los Angeles Times: Trump Crackdown On Legal Immigrants Could Damage California Economy, Experts Say
The Trump administration’s new immigration crackdown — which could deny green cards to immigrants who use Medicaid, food stamps, housing vouchers or other forms of public assistance — would have major ramifications on the California economy, experts and advocates said Monday. Laurel Lucia, director of the healthcare program at the UC Berkeley Labor Center, says the policy could have a damaging effect on California and the country’s overall economy. Many in California who already have a green card or have become citizens may dis-enroll from public benefits such as Medi-Cal or CalFresh out of fear for what the policy may mean for themselves and for their family members, causing a chilling effect on the economy, she said. (Nieto Del Rio, 8/12)

WBUR: New Immigration Rule Could Affect Half A Million Mass. Residents
The Trump administration on Monday introduced a new rule vastly expanding the list of public benefits federal immigration officials may take into consideration when determining whether an individual should be allowed to enter the country or obtain permanent residence. A Boston-based group estimates that it could affect more than 500,000 residents in the state. (Dooling, 8/12)

Modern Healthcare: Trump's Drug-Pricing Czar To Leave HHS
John O'Brien, chief adviser to HHS Secretary Alex Azar on drug-pricing reform, is leaving the Trump administration as the congressional debate over legislation is poised to intensify. O'Brien stepped up to the post last December, not long after his predecessor Dan Best died last year. He had already served with Azar as an adviser and helped with the Trump administration's drug-pricing strategy. His last day is Aug. 22. (Luthi, 8/12)

Politico Pro: Top Trump Administration Drug Price Adviser To Depart
John O’Brien will leave the department on Aug. 22 after nine months as the senior adviser for drug pricing reform to HHS Secretary Alex Azar, a tenure marked by a series of aggressive — sometimes thwarted — efforts to follow through on President Donald Trump’s vow to slash the cost of medicines. O’Brien will be replaced by John Brooks, who will take on the senior adviser role in addition to his current job as principal deputy director for the Center for Medicare at CMS. (Cancryn and Owermohle, 8/12)

In other administration news -

Modern Healthcare: Trump Non-Bias Rule Could Hinder Health Equity, Harm LGBTQ
Advocates for the country's healthcare safety net urged the Trump administration to rescind proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act's anti-discrimination provisions, alleging they could roll back protections for LGBTQ individuals and nonproficient English speakers. HHS proposed changing provisions of Section 1557 of the ACA, which prohibits racial, gender, age or disability discrimination in health programs. The changes would effectively reverse a 2016 Section 1557 rule that added a regulatory definition of sex discrimination based on gender identity, which included gender expression and transgender status. Comments on the proposal are due Tuesday. (Johnson, 8/12)

The Hill: Data Shows Drop In Coverage Among People Ineligible For ObamaCare Subsidies 
Health insurance enrollment declined among people who do not qualify for financial help under ObamaCare as premiums rose to make coverage less affordable, new federal data shows. The data released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Monday shows that enrollment declined by 1.2 million people, or 24 percent, between 2017 and 2018 among people with incomes too high to qualify for ObamaCare subsidies. (Sullivan, 8/12)

Modern Healthcare: ACA Exchanges Lost 1.2 Million Enrollees Last Year
The Obamacare exchanges last year lost 1.2 million of its unsubsidized enrollment last year, the CMS found in a report released Monday. From 2016 to 2018, 2.5 million people who were paying their entire Affordable Care Act premiums dropped out of the individual market. The Trump administration's latest enrollment snapshot doesn't bring many surprises given the high price tag for premiums, but the numbers are stark. The exchanges saw a 40% drop in unsubsidized enrollment from 2016 to 2018, and the declines hit almost every state. (Luthi, 8/12)

PoliticoPro: Obamacare Enrollment Holds Steady At 10.6M
Nearly 10.6 million individuals enrolled in Obamacare plans for this year and paid their first monthly bills, according to the latest data from CMS. ... In addition, premiums dropped by less than one percent for 2019, with average monthly bills of $594.17. That’s a stark contrast from 2018, when average premiums skyrocketed by 27 percent. That was largely due to President Donald Trump’s decision to stop making cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers to cover out-of-pocket costs for low-income Obamacare customers. (Demko, 8/12)

How this is playing out at the state level -

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Obamacare Prices Stabilize As Market Adds Insurers
Just as the Affordable Care Act seems in danger of being struck down in court, its market has stabilized in Georgia. For the first time since the health insurance exchange bottomed out here — shedding companies, spiking premium rates and nearly leaving some counties without coverage — it’s on track to add insurers to increase consumers’ choices. (Hart, 8/12)

California Healthline: Strong Effort By Lawmakers To Stabilize Covered California Draws More Insurers
Felicia Morrison, a solo lawyer in Stockton, Calif., buys coverage for herself and her twin sons through Covered California, the state’s Affordable Care Act insurance marketplace. Morrison, 57, gets a federal subsidy to help pay for her coverage and she said that her monthly premium of $167 is manageable. But she spends thousands of dollars a year on deductibles, copayments and care not covered by her plan.“I would just like to have health insurance for a change that feels like it’s worth it and covers your costs,” she said. Her chances are looking up after lawmakers in Sacramento acted to enhance Covered California for 2020: They added state-funded tax credits to the federal ones that help people pay for coverage. And they reinstated a requirement for residents to have coverage or pay a penalty — an effort to ensure that enough healthy people stay in the insurance pools to offset the financial burden of customers with expensive medical problems. (Findlay, 8/13)

Outlets also report on federal health care costs and Medicare -

Reuters: U.S. Budget Deficit Widens; Spending Up On Health, Military
The U.S. government’s deficit widened to $120 billion in July, fueled by increases in spending on health care and the military, according to data released on Monday by the Treasury Department. ... The fiscal-year-to-date deficit was $867 billion, compared with $684 billion in the comparable year-earlier period. The U.S. government’s fiscal position has deteriorated since 2016, hit by an aging of the population that has led to more people drawing on Medicare, a federal health insurance program for the elderly. Increased spending on the military has also fueled the deficit under President Donald Trump, who took office in January 2017 promising to strengthen the military. (Lange, 8/12)

The Hill: Study: 4 In 10 Patients Faced Surprise Bills In 2016 After Visiting In-Network Hospitals
Four in 10 privately insured patients faced surprise medical bills after visiting emergency rooms or getting admitted to hospitals in 2016, according to a new study published Monday in the American Medical Association's internal medicine journal. The average price tag for a surprise bill related to care at an emergency department was $628 in 2016, up from $220 in 2010, according to the study. The average surprise bill for inpatient admissions increased from $804 in 2010 to $2,040 in 2016. (Hellmann, 8/12)

Modern Healthcare: Surprise Medical Bills Becoming More Frequent And Costly
Surprise out-of-network billing and related patients' costs are increasing among inpatient admissions and emergency department visits to in-network hospitals, according to a study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine. Stanford University researchers found that from 2010 through 2016, 39% of 13.6 million trips to the ED at an in-network hospital by privately insured patients resulted in an out-of-network bill. That figure increased during the study period from about a third of ED visits nationwide in 2010 to 42.8% in 2016. (Livingston, 8/12)

WBUR: Former Collection Agency Executives Start Charity To Buy And Forgive Medical Debt
Craig Antico and Jerry Ashton, founders of RIP Medical Debt, decided to use their expertise to forgive medical debt instead of collecting it. So far, their company has abolished hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. They want to reach a billion by 2020. (Young, 8/12)

The Washington Post: Bernie Sanders Is Making Health Care His Defining Issue. Will It Work?
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is seeking to break through a congested Democratic presidential race by campaigning more aggressively on Medicare-for-all, a risky strategy his advisers hope will shift the contest in his favor amid signs he has lost ground in recent months. On the campaign trail, Sanders increasingly touts his plan for a government program to insure all Americans, reminding voters that rivals followed his lead. And aides and allies have grown more hostile toward competing ideas, while Sanders’s team has planned more frequent events and initiatives focused on health care. (Sullivan, 8/12)

The New York Times: On Gun Control, 2020 Democrats Agree: No Reason To Hold Back
Democrats running for president have engaged in bitter disputes this year over topics like health care, immigration and criminal justice. But after mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio, jolted the nation earlier this month, the field of 2020 contenders seemed to move in lock step toward more aggressive gun control positions without resistance from the party’s moderate voices. (Epstein and Kaplan, 8/12)

The New York Times: Democrats Want To Revive A Ban On Assault Weapons
Twenty-five years ago, Democratic support for an assault weapons ban was a major reason the party lost control of the House. Now top Democrats want to revive the fight. On both the presidential campaign trail and Capitol Hill, leading Democrats are either calling to reinstate the ban or are pressing for a new one. The 1994 ban barred Americans from buying certain military-style firearms and high-capacity magazines for a decade, until Republicans let it expire in 2004. (Stolberg, 8/12)

The Wall Street Journal: The Unlikely Survival Of USA Gymnastics
USA Gymnastics last year was given the death penalty by U.S. Olympic officials for its handling of decadeslong sexual abuse by women’s team physician Larry Nassar. Yet as it crowned Simone Biles with her sixth all-around national title here this weekend, the disgraced gymnastics federation acted like an organization confident its sentence would be commuted. (Radnofsky, 8/12)

POLITICO Pro: Michigan State Settles HHS Civil Rights Investigation Over Nassar Scandal
Michigan State University has reached an agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services to resolve a federal civil rights investigation stemming from former university sports doctor Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse of patients. The university and its health care entities entered into a voluntary resolution agreement that requires policy changes regarding how they handle sexual misconduct and sensitive patient examinations, HHS announced on Monday. (Stratford, 8/12)

The Associated Press: Michigan State Agrees To Protect Patients In Deal With Feds
Michigan State University has agreed to better protect patients from sexual assaults, including following a chaperone requirement for sensitive medical exams, to resolve a federal civil-rights investigation into Larry Nassar’s abuse of young gymnasts and other athletes under the guise of medical treatment. The three-year agreement announced Monday is the first one struck under a section of the Affordable Care Act that prohibits discrimination in certain health care programs or activities, said Roger Severino, director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights. The deal covers not only students under Title IX but also patients who are not students. (Eggert, 8/12)

The Hill: Michigan State Will Require 'Chaperones' At Some Medical Examinations After Larry Nassar Case 
"We think this will go a long way to ensuring something like this will never happen again at MSU," said Roger Severino, director of the HHS Office for Civil Rights, which led the investigation. HHS has the authority to impose these requirements because MSU receives federal health funding, Severino says. (Hellmann, 8/12)

In other news —

The Associated Press: Sex Misconduct Complaints Against Calif. Doctors Up Sharply
The number of complaints against California physicians for sexual misconduct has risen 62% since fall of 2017 — a jump that coincides with the beginning of the #MeToo movement, according to a newspaper investigation published Monday. A Los Angeles Times analysis of California medical board data found complaints of sexual misconduct, though small in number, are among the fastest growing type of allegation. During the fiscal year that ended in June, the board got 11,406 complaints against physicians and surgeons, the most it has ever received. (8/12)

NPR: It's The Go-To Drug To Treat Opioid Addiction. Why Won't More Pharmacies Stock It?
Louis Morano knows what he needs, and he knows where to get it. Morano, 29, has done seven stints in rehab for opioid addiction in the past 15 years. So, he has come to a mobile medical clinic parked on a corner of Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood, in the geographical heart of the city's overdose crisis. People call the mobile clinic the "bupe bus." Buprenorphine is a drug, also known by its brand name, Suboxone, that curbs cravings and treats the symptoms of withdrawal from opioid addiction. Combined with cognitive behavioral therapy, it is one of the three FDA-approved medicines considered the gold standard for opioid-addiction treatment. (Feldman, 8/13)

St. Louis Public Radio: Local Experts Talk Next Steps To Address Missouri’s Opioid Crisis After Discouraging 2018 Outcomes
A few weeks ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released some positive statistics related to the ongoing opioid crisis. While drug overdose deaths in the U.S. had reached record levels in 2017, the nation saw an overall 4.2% decline in 2018. In Missouri, though, the 2018 outcomes were far less hopeful – despite an influx of $65 million in federal funds aimed at addressing the crisis over the past few years. Provisional data for the state indicates a 16% increase in drug overdose deaths over the course of last year. (Hemphill, 8/12)

Seattle Times: It’s Hard To Get Drug Treatment While Homeless. King County Wants To Change That.
Amid an opioid overdose crisis that’s seen hundreds of deaths in recent years, King County is planning to bring medication-assisted treatment for opioids to homeless encampments and shelters this fall. The county last month put out a $1 million request for proposals, with bidders to be picked in September. Another $500,000 is going to a new street medicine team on wheels to meet with people living in tents and shelters starting this month. (Brownstone, 8/12)

KCUR: Missouri Inmates Are Overdosing On Drugs. How Are They Getting Them? 
According to DOC records, since 2017, prison medical staff has administered dozens of doses of naloxone, or Narcan, a life-saving drug that quickly blocks the effects of opioids and reverses an overdose. Still, the data show at least five inmates have died in the past two years in Missouri after taking controlled substances like heroin, fentanyl and synthetic cannabinoids. (Farzan, 8/12)

Stateline: Where Doctors Can Recommend Marijuana To Replace Opioids
New Mexico, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania allow people with an opioid addiction to qualify for a medical marijuana card. But many physicians and medical experts strongly oppose such policies, pointing out that science hasn’t yet shown that dispensary-bought marijuana can deliver the same pain-killing punch as a prescription drug, nor that it can help people kick an opioid addiction. (Quinton, 8/13)

NPR: To Find The Next Antibiotic, Scientists Give Old Drugs A New Purpose
With antibiotic-resistant bacteria on the rise, scientists are urgently trying to find drugs that will work against persistent infections. But coming up with new ones does not have to be the only strategy. A recent study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that they can repurpose bithionol — a drug formerly used to treat parasitic infections in horses — to kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including MRSA, a common hospital-acquired infection. (Torres, 8/12)

Kaiser Health News: Hepatitis A Races Across The Country
Just before the Fourth of July, Trenton Burrell began feeling run-down and achy. Soon he could barely muster the energy to walk from one room to another. A friend shared an alarming observation: “You’re turning yellow.” Within days, the 40-year-old landed in the hospital, diagnosed with the highly contagious liver virus hepatitis A, which in Ohio has infected more than 3,220 people and killed at least 15. Since 2016, the virus has spawned outbreaks in at least 29 states, starting with Michigan and California. It has sickened more than 23,600 people, sent the majority to the hospital and killed more than 230. All but California’s and Utah’s outbreaks are ongoing, and experts expect to eventually see the virus seep into every state. (Ungar, 8/13)

Stat: Few Americans Took Obesity Drugs Due To Doctor Doubts And Cost
Few adult Americans used prescription diet drugs to lose weight in recent years, mostly thanks to varying insurance coverage and physician concerns about side effects, according to a new federal government report. Of an estimated 71.6 million U.S. adults who were considered obese, approximately 660,000 per year, on average, used an obesity drug between 2012 through 2016. But among those who reported trying to lose weight, only 3% reported that they took a prescription medication to lose weight between 2013 through 2016, according to estimates cited by the Government Accountability Office. (Silverman, 8/12)

WBUR: Despite Progress On Diabetes Treatments, Study Finds American Patient Health No Better
The study in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine looked at whether diabetes patients controlled their blood sugar and blood pressure, took drugs to lower their cholesterol, and stayed away from smoking. It found that among more than 1,700 representative patients, only 23% hit all four of those goals — no better than 15 years ago. (Goldberg, 8/12)

Boston Globe: Growing Old And Back In The ‘Bouncy House,’ More Grandparents Are Raising Grandkids
A retired school guidance counselor, [Gail] Williams was perched in the bleachers surrounded by parents a generation younger, chattering about their kids, the heat, and summer plans. She’s one of about 35,000 grandparents in Massachusetts who are raising grandchildren — a contingent that’s swelled across the nation over the past two decades amid a spike in drug addiction and a hornet’s nest of other ills that have sidelined their own children. (Weisman, 8/12)

The New York Times: Ads For CBD As Cure-All Are Everywhere, But Regulation Is Scant
The efforts of cannabis companies to go mainstream could be hampered by CBD advertising that depends on misleading or unproven claims, entrepreneurs and researchers said. [Forensic toxicologist Michelle R.] Peace compared the marketing efforts of some companies to snake-oil scams in the 1800s, “when guys in wagons were selling sham tinctures in glass bottles.”“People are taking these products in good faith, because they believe somebody is overseeing the quality of these products,” Ms. Peace said. “But there’s basically nobody.” (Hsu, 8/13)

Stat: Answers To Your Questions About Sarepta's Gene Therapy And A Bad Week
Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) wasn’t directly implicated in the biotech sector’s credibility crisis last week, but that didn’t stop the company from running into trouble. The “erroneous” disclosure last Thursday of a serious side effect affecting a single patient with Duchenne muscular dystrophy enrolled in Sarepta’s gene therapy clinical trial sowed confusion, concern, and anger. The stock price took a hit, recovered, then fell some more. All in, Sarepta shares lost 14%. (Feuerstein, 8/12)

Consumer Reports: Going To Have Surgery? What You Can Do To Make It Go More Smoothly.
Minor procedures such as cataract removal may not require much advance preparation. But a few smart steps in the month before a major elective surgery — such as a hip replacement or an open abdominal procedure — can reduce the risk of complications and may even speed recovery. “Patients can impact their own surgical outcomes by trying to reduce the risk that they bring into the operating room,” says Michael Englesbe, a transplant surgeon at the University of Michigan. That’s the idea behind “prehabilitation”: exercise, nutrition and counseling programs that aim to make you as healthy as possible before surgery. Some early research suggests it may help cut the length of a hospital stay — in one study, by 31 percent. Whether or not your hospital offers prehab, these strategies can help prepare you physically and mentally. (8/12)

The Washington Post: Ebola No Longer ‘Incurable,’ Scientists Say, After Discovery Of Two Highly Effective Drugs
“It’s the first example that a therapeutic intervention can have a dramatic effect on decreasing the mortality of the Ebola virus disease,” Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in an interview. Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum, a Congolese doctor who has spent his career researching Ebola treatments and oversaw the trial on the ground, said in a conference call Monday that he “could not have imagined” that such a day would come. (Parker, 8/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Two Experimental Ebola Drugs Reduce Mortality Rate
Of the 2,831 people who have been infected with Ebola in eastern Congo since Aug. 1, 2018, two-thirds—or 1,888—have died, according to the World Health Organization. But patients who received a cocktail of antibodies developed by U.S. drugmaker Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. only faced a 29% mortality rate, said Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, or NIAID. (Steinhauser, 8/12)

The New York Times: A Cure For Ebola? Two New Treatments Prove Highly Effective In Congo
In a development that transforms the fight against Ebola, two experimental treatments are working so well that they will now be offered to all patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo, scientists announced on Monday. The antibody-based treatments are quite powerful — “Now we can say that 90 percent can come out of treatment cured,” one scientist said — that they raise hopes that the disastrous epidemic in eastern Congo can soon be stopped and future outbreaks more easily contained. (McNeil Jr., 8/12)

NPR: 2 Experimental Ebola Drugs Saved Lives In Congo Outbreak
Researchers say they have identified the first clearly effective treatments for Ebola, a deadly disease that continues to spread in central Africa. The experimental drugs will be made widely available in the centers that have already treated thousands of patients. This achievement is particularly notable given the extraordinary circumstances: Scientists in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been running a study in the midst of a deadly epidemic and in the face of armed assaults on doctors. (Harris, 8/12)

The New York Times: As Phoenix Heats Up, The Night Comes Alive
Phoenix, which had 128 days at or above 100 degrees Fahrenheit last year, is one of the hottest and fastest-warming cities in the United States. Although it is on the leading edge, it is not alone: Most American cities are expected to drastically heat up in the next decades. Many may have summers with heat waves and triple-digit days — summers that resemble Phoenix today. Here in the Valley of the Sun, that means work and play shift into the cooler hours. Neighborhoods thrum with activity at dawn and dusk when residents hike, jog and paddleboard. In the hottest months, the zoo opens at 6 a.m., for the benefit of both animals and visitors. And across the city, certain construction work starts in the middle of the night — not only for the safety of workers, but also because even some building materials can be affected by intense heat. (Holloway, 8/12)

The New York Times: How To Reduce Exposure To Air Pollution
Hot summer days can bring spikes in air pollution, as traffic exhaust and other emissions bake in the sun. Scientists have linked dirty air to a long list of health problems, and the danger can seem all the more frightening because, unlike with many other risks, we have no choice about breathing. But ... there are some things individuals can do to protect themselves. Steps like changing travel and exercise routes, buying an air purifier and choosing not to light a fire at home can reduce your exposure to air pollution in any season, experts say. (Gardiner, 8/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Newark Distributes Bottled Water After Lead Contamination Found
The city of Newark with help from the state, began distributing bottled water to some residents Monday after officials warned that certain city-issued water filters aren’t sufficiently reducing lead levels. In the past week, two of three Newark homes tested were found to be contaminated with lead above what is considered safe, even when a filter was used, according to the city. On Monday, the city notified residents that some filters may not be working as expected and advised those living in the Pequannock water-service area who have lead-service lines to only use bottled water for drinking, cooking and preparing baby formula. (Coronado, 8/12)

The Washington Post: Newark Begins Giving Residents Bottled Water Amid Ongoing Lead Problems
“I understand people’s frustration,” Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) said in an interview, adding that he also has a lead line at his home, and that he and his pregnant wife have been using one of the tens of thousands of water filters the city began distributing in the fall. “This is a very serious matter to me. We don’t take this lightly at all," he said, adding, “Am I worried? Yeah, I am worried. And we are going to do what we can to get to the bottom of this.” (Fieseler and Dennis, 8/12)

Los Angeles Times: Kaiser Permanente Workers In California Vote To Approve Strike
A swath of Kaiser Permanente workers in California has voted overwhelmingly to approve a strike that could draw in more than 80,000 employees of the healthcare giant across the nation, according to the coalition of unions representing them. The employees — who include most staff aside from doctors, mental health workers or certain nurses — have been working under an expired national contract since September, though their local contracts are still current. (Cutchin, 8/12)

Modern Healthcare: California Kaiser Workers Vote To Strike
Kaiser Permanente workers in California overwhelmingly supported a national strike beginning in early October against the integrated not-for-profit health system's alleged unfair labor practices, the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions announced Monday. About 98% of nearly 38,000 votes cast by Kaiser employees advocated for a strike. The workers are calling for Kaiser to mend the worker-management partnership; ensure safe staffing and appropriate use of technology; and provide wages and benefits that can support families. The coalition is also calling for more financial transparency. (Kacik, 8/12)

Sacramento Bee: UPTE-CWA Union Ratifies Contract With University Of California
After more than two years of bargaining and five strikes, roughly 16,000 health-care, research and technical workers at the University of California voted to ratify a new labor contract with their employer, according to the union’s website. Union leaders said the contract provided raises totaling 29-30 percent over five years, and they touted protections on parking fees, health-care premiums and overtime pay. (Anderson, 8/12)

The Wall Street Journal: DNA Data Shared In Ways Patients May Find Surprising
Deals between drugmakers and hospital systems to mine the genetic profiles of hospital patients are triggering concerns over the control of valuable genetic data. Drugmakers have been spending hundreds of millions of dollars for access to patient information because of the data’s potential to help unlock disease insights and discover new drugs. They are striking deals to sequence patients’ genetic code, including with hospital systems like Geisinger in Pennsylvania, Mount Sinai Health System in New York and Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. (Evans, 8/12)

Modern Healthcare: Religious Rules Continue To Roil Deals Between Religious And Secular Hospitals
Earlier this year, CEO Chris Thomas and the board at Community Hospital in Grand Junction, Colo., were deep in merger talks with Centura Health, a 17-hospital system that’s a partnership between Catholic Health Initiatives and Adventist Health System. But some community residents and board members of the 60-bed hospital raised objections to Community coming under the Catholic Church’s Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, or ERDs .... Hospital leaders across the country are facing these types of quandaries as Catholic and non-Catholic healthcare systems increasingly consider merging or partnering to gain scale and survive in the rapidly consolidating healthcare market. (Meyer, 8/10)

More industry news is reported on hospitals and health systems in Ohio, New Hampshire, Florida and New York —

The Star Tribune: Why Is An Ohio Hospital Getting False Alerts From A Medtronic Heart Monitor?
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center employs eight nurses whose only job is to read the electronic transmissions flowing from thousands of implanted heart devices living in their patients' chests. Like health-data workers across the U.S., the nurses at the Columbus, Ohio, medical center scan the transmissions every day for signs of problems like atrial fibrillation. Lately, though, the team was drowning in bad data thrown off by a popular implantable heart monitor, Medtronic's industry-leading Reveal Linq implantable loop recorder. (Carlson, 8/12)

NH Times Union: IVF Procedures Will Be Offered At Expanded Fertility Center In Bedford
The state’s first freestanding fertility center and in vitro fertilization laboratory is expected to open its doors next year in Bedford. The new center will be an expansion of the existing Boston IVF satellite office at 18 Constitution Drive in Bedford, but will offer a full-service array of fertility tests and treatments. ...The expansion of the Bedford site was warranted after the approval of SB279, a state law that now requires group insurance plans to cover the diagnosis and treatment of fertility-related conditions for patients, according to Wright. (Houghton, 8/12)

Tampa Bay Times: St. Anthony's Hospital To Build $152 Million 90-Bed Patient Tower
St. Anthony's Hospital is about to undergo a $152 million renovation, which will significantly expand the number of patient beds and services the St. Petersburg hospital has to offer. The hospital, which is owned by Tampa Bay-based BayCare,will add a new 90-bed patient tower featuring all private rooms. The expansion will also relocate several hospital services, including cardiology, inpatient dialysis, pre-admission testing for surgical patients, new educational classrooms, a new electrical plant and an expanded loading dock. The hospital's cafeteria and kitchen will be moved to the first floor for better access to visitors, according to a news release. (Griffin, 8/12)

New Hampshire Union Leader: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health CEO Named To National Hospital Board 
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health CEO and President Joanne M. Conroy, MD, is one of seven people who have been named to the American Hospital Association (AHA) Board of Trustees. Her three-year term begins Jan. 1. The board of trustees is the highest policy-making body of the AHA and has ultimate authority for the governance and management of its direction and finances. (8/12)

USA Today & Westchester Journal News: Woman Wins $55.9M Malpractice Verdict After Botched Spinal Surgery
A jury awarded $55.9 million to a Pomona woman and her husband after a medical malpractice trial over allegations that a botched spinal surgery left her a quadriplegic. The woman, Patricia Jones, was 56 when she underwent surgery in 2009, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, after complaining of pain and tingling in her arms, hands and neck, said her lawyer, Evan Torgan. (Brum, 8/12)

The Associated Press: Tennessee Lawmakers Mull Passing Strict Abortion Ban
Tennessee lawmakers said Monday they are considering whether to seek one of the nation’s strictest abortion bans even as such laws continue to be struck down in court. At issue is a proposal to prohibit abortion once a pregnancy is detected. While a similar bill stalled in the Republican-controlled Statehouse earlier this year, backers are renewing efforts now to collect enough support ahead of the 2020 legislative session. (Kruesi, 8/12)

The Washington Post: Tennessee Abortion Bill Is Probably Unconstitutional. A Republican Lawmaker Says That’s The Point.
Tennessee’s state lawmakers this week will discuss a bill that essentially bans abortion as soon as a woman knows she’s pregnant — and that at least one Republican legislator hopes could escalate into a Supreme Court challenge. The legislation, Senate Bill 1236, and its counterpart in the Tennessee House, H.B. 77, have been stalled during this session, but supporters hope to vote on its passage in January. States such as Alabama and Georgia have instituted “heartbeat” laws, named because they restrict abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected. This can occur as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, before a woman may know she is pregnant. Other states, such as Ohio and Mississippi, have enacted such measures only to have them blocked or challenged in court. (Epstein, 8/12)

Concord (N.H.) Monitor: New N.H. Law Regulates Health Care Mergers
Gov. Chris Sununu signed a bill in late July that will increase scrutiny of health care mergers, such as the proposed combination of the parent organizations of Lebanon’s Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and Manchester’s Catholic Medical Center. Under the new law, House Bill 552, the director of the New Hampshire Charitable Trusts Unit has specific authority to ask merging health care organizations how the transaction will affect the community’s “access to quality and affordable physical and mental health care services.” (Doyle-Burr, 8/12)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Bill To Increase Access To Telemedicine In N.H. Becomes Law
Governor Sununu Monday signed a bill into law that could pave the way for an expansion of telemedicine in New Hampshire. Telemedicine, the practice of connecting patients and doctors through video conferencing, is a booming trend in New Hampshire. (Moon, 8/12)

KQED: Gun Insurance? San Jose Mayor Proposes First-In-Nation Ordinance Requiring It
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo on Monday introduced a "first-of-its-kind" measure to curb gun violence in the city by requiring firearm owners to take out insurance policies or alternatively pay a fee to help cover the public cost of emergency services. The proposed ordinance was announced just weeks after two children from San Jose were killed in a mass shooting in nearby Gilroy. (Green and Shuler, 8/12)

San Francisco Chronicle: San Jose Mayor Responds To Gun Violence — Wants To Require Owners To Carry Liability Insurance
The insurance, required of all gun owners except law enforcement officers, would cover the costs of harm caused by accidental gunshots, or by intentional shootings by nonowners who borrow or steal the gun. It would not cover injuries or deaths caused deliberately by the gun owner. (Egelko, 8/12)

Texas Tribune: Texas Vaccine Exemption Rates: Look Up Your District Or Private School
Health officials are watching pockets of Texas closely because of the number of parents requesting exemptions under Texas’s broad vaccine exemption law. Texas is one of 16 states that allow parents to bypass vaccine requirements for enrolling their kids in school by claiming a conscientious exemption, along with citing medical or religious concerns. ... In Texas, school districts, private schools and charter schools are required to report their vaccine exemption rates. The data collection is done through a survey administered by the Texas Department of State Health Services, but some schools don’t report consistently, leaving gaps in the data. Data for the 2019-20 school year won't be available until the summer of 2020. (Cheng and Byrne, 8/13)

Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Families Rush To Get Kids Immunizations Before MNPS Deadline
With school back in session, families not only have to hurry to get notebooks, pencils and erasers — they also have to get immunization shots for their children. But some clinics are finding it more difficult this year to serve all the patients coming their way. Metro Nashville Public Schools requires children entering kindergarten, seventh grade or those enrolling for the first time to have an updated Tennessee Certificate of Immunizations by Aug. 14. This means students must have all of the necessary immunizations. (Ryan, 8/12)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento County Left $126 Million In Mental Health Funds Unspent
Sacramento County has yet to spend $126.1 million in allocated state money meant to invest in mental health services, even as the region wrestles with a growing crisis in hospital emergency rooms, in police calls and on city streets. In light of the significant cache amassed through the state’s Mental Health Services Act, Sacramento County Board of Supervisors approved a proposal last week to spend more money, more quickly. (Yoon-Hendricks, 8/12)

San Jose Mercury News: Best States To Have A Baby: California Rates 21st, Study Says
A new study by financial advice and credit information company WalletHub ranks California in 21st place out the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of best U.S. states to have a baby. The study includes data from organizations such as the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Crum, 8/12)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Worst States To Have Baby: Georgia Ranks Sixth Worst In America
Based on metrics such as average annual cost of early child care, health insurance premium cost, infant mortality rate, parental-leave policies and several more, the best state to have a baby is Vermont, followed by Massachusetts and North Dakota.At the bottom of the pack: Mississippi, Alabama and South Carolina.Georgia ranked No. 46 (or sixth worst). (Pirani, 8/12)

KCUR: Slow Start For Missouri's Medical Marijuana Program 
After taking in $4.2 million in early application fees, Missouri’s medical marijuana program is off to a slow start since it began accepting full applications on Saturday. Roughly 600 applicants chose to pay their required fees in advance, but so far only 27 full applications have been submitted. The application process is extensive, and the deadline isn’t until Aug. 17. Still, Lyndall Fraker, the director of the state’s medical marijuana program, said he was surprised by the low numbers. (Driscoll, 8/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Guns And The Do-Something Fallacy
“Do something!” someone shouted at Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. The shout came during a candlelight vigil in downtown Dayton, where a disturbed young man just hours before had shot to death nine innocent people, including his own sister. Others in the crowd quickly chimed in, until “what started as just a smattering of voices had morphed into a deafening chant,” according to the Washington Post. The deafening chant has now moved to Washington, where Congress is feeling pushed to “do something” about mass shootings. In the standard Beltway narrative, were it not for the Second Amendment “absolutists” in thrall to the National Rifle Association, Democrats and Republicans would happily come together on common-sense measures to halt the bloodshed. Even President Trump is now saying, “I think we could get something really good done”—meaning expanded background checks, which the NRA opposes.This ought to be Mr. Trump’s moment. (William McGurn, 8/12)

Boston Globe: Mass Shootings And The Mental Health Lie
Depending on your definition of “mass shooting,” there have been between 250 and 300 mass shootings in the United States in 2019. We know some of their names: El Paso, Gilroy, Dayton, Virginia Beach. Others pass in relative silence, part of the susurrus of gunfire, sirens, and funeral bells of the American soundscape. They disappear, and government moves on to its next failure. And once again the National Rifle Association and the politicians it supports are trying to drive the narrative that mental health is the root cause of these shootings. (Ben Jackson, 8/13)

Miami Herald: The Majority Of Gun Sales Are Between Private Sellers And Buyers 
About 80 percent of all firearms acquired for criminal purposes are obtained through private-party transfers, none of which go through a background check. Apart from acquiring a firearm from a retailer, a person may obtain a gun through a private sale, a transfer, a gift, or through unlawful ways, such as by theft, smuggling, using a straw buyer to purchase a firearm from a retailer, or other black-market transactions — none of which, under law, are preceded by a background check. (Roberto Martinez and Gabriela Martinez, 8/12)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Missouri Law Allows Mass-Shooting Scenarios, Right Up Until The Bullets Fly.
Now, Walmart shoppers — and people in other public spaces wherever such laws are in effect — have to wonder which of those legally carrying gunmen will suddenly decide to illegally use what he’s carrying. This is the world our permissive gun culture built. We’re all prisoners in it, and will continue to be until sanity returns to the state legislatures where such laws exist. (8/12)

The Hill: Here's How We Can Have 'Medicare For All' With A Private Option
According to CNN 2018 exit polls 41 percent of voters named health care as their most important issue.According to the New England Journal of Medicine, reducing health-care costs is top priority for 69 percent of Americans. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 56 percent of the public supports "Medicare for all," but 74 percent wants to keep their existing insurance. Seventy-seven percent, including 69 percent of Republicans, favor allowing everyone to choose Medicare as their health insurance. (Thomas Bodenheimer, 8/12)

Los Angeles Times: Column: Why The Short-Term Health Plans Trump Favors Are Cheap: They Shortchange You On Care
President Trump and other foes of the Affordable Care Act have made the expansion of short-term health plans a centerpiece of their campaign to gut the ACA. Their argument is that the plans, which the ACA limits to three-month nonrenewable terms, can bring cheaper coverage to millions of Americans supposedly burdened by the law’s mandate that every health plan offer certain minimum benefits. Two new statistical releases, however, reveal exactly why these plans are less expensive and less useful to the Americans Trump claims to be helping. (Michael Hiltzik, 8/12)

The Washington Post: We’re In The Middle Of A Revolution On Death
The coming revolution in death — and Dick Shannon’s story — is laid out with uncommon wisdom in a powerful, new HBO documentary, “Alternate Endings,” which debuts Aug. 14. Only eight states and the District of Columbia have death-with-dignity laws, but three of those states — Hawaii, Maine and New Jersey — have put their statutes on the books within the past year. And 18 other states considered such laws in the 2019 legislative season. (Jon Meacham, 8/12)

Los Angeles Times: In Med School, A Mission Found Me. But It Will Never Be Just A Job — Cancer And Grief Brought Me To It
A young widow who lost her husband to cancer nearly drowned in grief and medical debt. Now Fumiko Chino is a cancer doctor who sees her own tragedy play out in other patients. Too often people are underinsured and financially burdened by the cost of cancer care. Faced with a choice between their money and their lives, some patients lose both. Healthcare leaders must work to find ways to reduce costs and maintain policies that protect people from shoddy insurance. We must stop illness from triggering financial ruin. (Fumiko Chino and Nathan Gray, 8/11)

Bloomberg: Lyme Disease Surge: Science And Policy Must Catch Up With Ticks 
If your last hike in the woods ended with a tick trying to make a meal of you, you’re not alone: The tiny bloodsuckers have been ruining people’s summers for at least 5,000 years, and they’re enjoying a new golden age. By one measure, deer ticks have expanded their range in the U.S. by 50% since 1996; today they and their bloodsucking brethren are found in all 50 states. With ticks come tick-borne illnesses. Lyme disease is the most well-known. It can be very serious if left untreated, causing neurological and other damage — and it’s dramatically on the rise. The number of reported cases has soared since the U.S. started keeping track in the early 1980s, to about 30,000 annually, but scientists believe the actual incidence is at least 10 times higher. (8/12)

Los Angeles Times: Editorial: Trump's Callous Attack On Immigrants Who Need Public Aid
The Trump administration is moving — again — to make it more difficult for even legal immigrants to get a foothold in the United States. Beginning in October, a new rule will make immigrants who use certain government safety-net programs ineligible for permanent residency, blocking their path to naturalized citizenship. The move, which is likely to be challenged in court, meshes with the administration’s other efforts to fundamentally change the nature of U.S. immigration from a focus on family reunification to one based on English proficiency, educational level and work experience. (8/13)

Stat: Bringing Transparency To The Notion Of Price Transparency
I am heartened to see discussion burgeoning around the simple notion that the prices of health care services should be publicly available so consumers can shop for the best value. The current spotlight shining on the issue might make it seem like this is a new concept. In fact, the nonprofit organization I lead, FAIR Health, was founded to bring transparency to health care costs 10 years ago as part of the settlement of an investigation by New York state into conflicts of interest involving the adjudication of claims. (Robin Gelburd, 8/12)

Boston Globe: Health And Stable Housing: Taking Preventative Medicine To The Next Level
Facing skyrocketing rents, the phrase “worried sick” is taking on a literal meaning for low-income families who struggle month to month to keep a roof over their head.That’s why the announcement last week that three big Boston hospitals — Boston Medical Center, Brigham and Women’s, and Boston Children’s — are partnering to spend $3 million to help poor families stay in their homes makes so much sense. By zeroing in on the close link between health and stable housing, the initiative is a model for taking a multidimensional approach to public policy. (8/12)

Colorado Sun: Congress Should Save Coloradans From Sky-High Air Ambulance Charges
Air ambulances play a critical role in emergent medical transportation. They go above urban traffic, road conditions and challenging terrain to treat the sick and injured. ... When it comes to billing patients, however, air ambulances prices are sky-high. Our study, published in the July Health Affairs, found that in Colorado patients can expect to receive an average bill of around $44,000 for an air ambulance transport. ... Why are air ambulance charges so high? The simple answer is they can. (Ge Bai and Gerard F. Anderson, 8/12)

The Detroit News: Community Health Centers Offer Solution To Health Care Crisis
What if we could help more people — especially the most vulnerable — access quality, affordable care that helps them live their best lives, saves money and provides a return on taxpayer dollar?With the Affordable Care Act under attack and “Medicare for All” on many people’s lips, it’s clear that the United States is ready for a national health care solution that works.What may surprise you is that one of the solutions is already here: Community health centers have been providing cutting-edge primary and preventive care services to the most vulnerable people in America for more than 50 years. In fact, 28 million people, including more than 700,000 in Michigan, rely on a community health center for care. (Dennis Litos, 8/12)