The New York Times: Planned Parenthood Refuses Federal Funds Over Abortion Restrictions
Planned Parenthood said Monday that it would withdraw from the federal family planning program that provides birth control and other health services to poor women rather than comply with a new Trump administration rule that forbids referrals to doctors who can perform abortions. Planned Parenthood receives about $60 million annually through the federal program, known as Title X. The funds have enabled the group to provide more than 1.5 million low-income women each year with services like birth control and pregnancy tests, as well as screenings for sexually transmitted diseases and breast and cervical cancer. In some rural communities, Planned Parenthood is the only provider of such services. (Belluck, 8/19)

The Associated Press: Planned Parenthood Leaves Federal Family Planning Program
Alexis McGill Johnson, Planned Parenthood's acting president and CEO, said the organization's nationwide network of health centers would remain open and strive to make up for the loss of federal money. But she predicted that many low-income women who rely on Planned Parenthood services would "delay or go without" care. "We will not be bullied into withholding abortion information from our patients," said McGill Johnson. "Our patients deserve to make their own health care decisions, not to be forced to have Donald Trump or Mike Pence make those decisions for them." (Crary and Alonso-Zaldivar, 8/19)

Reuters: Planned Parenthood Opts Out Of U.S. Subsidies In Fight Over Abortion Referrals
Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the United States, said its move was spurred by a federal appeals court decision last month clearing the administration's way to restrict Title X grants under a new policy critics have branded a "gag rule." In addition to barring recipients from making abortion referrals, the policy requires financial and physical separation between facilities funded by Title X and those where actual abortions are performed. (O'Brien, 8/20)

Time: What Happens Now That Planned Parenthood Is Leaving Title X
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has rejected the characterization of the policy as a gag rule, and wrote in an announcement posted on its site that, “The Final Rule does NOT include the 1988 Regulation’s prohibition on counseling on abortion – characterized by some as a ‘gag rule’ – but neither does it retain the mandate that all grantees MUST counsel on, and refer for, abortion. Referral for abortion as a method of family planning is not permitted, because the statute written by Congress prohibits funding programs where abortion is a method of family planning.” (Ducharme, 8/19)

The Wall Street Journal: Planned Parenthood To Withdraw From Title X Funding Program Over Abortion Restrictions
Planned Parenthood has called the new rules a direct attack against the largest provider of federal family-planning services by a Republican administration that believes in using any legal and policy tools at its disposal to curb access to abortion and some forms of contraception. A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services said Planned Parenthood rejected the federal funds at the expense of its patients. “Some [Title X] grantees are now blaming the government for their own actions…and they are abandoning their obligations to serve their patients under the program,” said Mia Palmieri Heck, a spokeswoman for the HHS office running Title X. (Hackman, 8/19)

NBC News: Planned Parenthood Withdraws From Title X Family Planning Program
The Title X program serves about 4 million women nationwide through grants to healthcare providers that fund family planning services, including birth control, pregnancy tests and STD screening. Grant recipients were given a deadline of Monday to explain how they would comply with the new rule. Planned Parenthood's decision to leave Title X could affect more than 1.5 million low-income women who use the provider. The organization is Title X's largest grant recipient, serving 40 percent of all Title X patients. (Chuck, 8/19)

Los Angeles Times: Planned Parenthood Leaves Title X Over Abortion 'Gag Rule'
Several states have pledged to try to come up with new funding to replace the federal dollars. The impact is likely to vary state by state. In some parts of the country, Planned Parenthood is the only Title X grantee, and in some regions, the state acts as a grantee, with several subgrantees, including Planned Parenthood facilities and other healthcare providers. The decision by Planned Parenthood — which gets about $60 million in funding and is the program’s largest grantee — is the latest in a years-long battle between abortion-rights supporters and Republicans, who have advocated the elimination all federal funding for abortion providers and the “defunding” of Planned Parenthood. (Haberkorn, 8/19)

Politico: Planned Parenthood Pulls Out Of Family Planning Program Over Trump Abortion Rule
Vermont's health department also gave notice Monday that it is quitting Title X. The agency relied entirely on Planned Parenthood clinics to provide services under the program. And Maine Family Planning, the sole Title X provider in the state, informed HHS that it is withdrawing over the rule. “It’s important that we maintain women’s rights and access to health care," said Vermont GOP Gov. Phil Scott. (Ollstein, 8/19)

Atlanta Journal Constitution: Planned Parenthood Decision To Refuse Title X Funds Will Not Impact Georgia
A decision by the national Planned Parenthood organization to end its participation in a federal grant program will have no effect on Georgia’s facilities. ... In fiscal 2018, Planned Parenthood facilities nationwide received about $17.2 million, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. But no money has been awarded to Planned Parenthood facilities in Georgia for at least the past four years. (Prabhu, 8/19)

The Star Tribune: Planned Parenthood Exit To Have Outsized Effect In Minn.
The move will have a disproportionate impact in Minnesota, where 90% of Title X patients are served by Planned Parenthood; that figure is 40% nationwide. Planned Parenthood's network of health centers will remain open, including operations in Minnesota. But backing out of the program means Planned Parenthood would lose $2.7 million to cover birth control, cancer screenings, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases for Minnesota patients. (Rao, 8/19)

The Associated Press/CBS Minnesota: Minnesota Politicians Speak Out After Planned Parenthood Exits Title X 
Planned Parenthood says it’s pulling out of the federal family planning program rather than abide by a new Trump administration rule prohibiting participants from referring patients for abortions, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is speaking out about it. ... According to Frey, about 15,000 patients are served by Title X-funded Planned Parenthood in Minneapolis, and roughly half of them rely on the funding to be able to afford their care there. “Minneapolis’ own Title X-funded Planned Parenthood clinic has made access to quality healthcare – including referrals for abortion – possible for thousands of people in Minneapolis. The Trump administration’s gag rule reflects a pervasive and cruel series of attempts to roll back decades of progress for reproductive rights,” Frey said. (8/19)

The Salt Lake Tribune: Utah’s Planned Parenthood Says It Will Remain Open Despite Loss Of Federal Family Planning Funds
The Planned Parenthood Association of Utah on Monday said its clinic doors will remain open, despite its decision to decline federal Title X funding that would come attached to new restrictions on abortion referrals. “I am heartbroken that we have to withdraw today from Title X, but we refuse to let the Trump administration bully us into withholding abortion information from our patients in Utah," Karrie Galloway, president and CEO for the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, said in a prepared statement. (Rodgers, 8/19)

Capitol News Illinois: Gov. J.B. Pritzker Backs Planned Parenthood In Opposing Federal Family Planning Program Over New Trump Policy
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker joined with Planned Parenthood and other abortion rights advocates Monday in denouncing the Trump Administration’s new policy that blocks federal family planning money from going to any organization that provides or facilitates abortions. “The Trump administration’s gag rule is fundamentally wrong,” Pritzker said in a telephone news conference Monday. “This policy has caused a mess of confusion and uncertainty, destabilizing women’s health care nationwide and doing extraordinary harm to the lives of patients, particularly women of color.” (Hancock, 8/19)

CQ: Planned Parenthood Exits Title X Program Over Gag Rule
Last week, a federal court rejected Planned Parenthood’s plea for intervention ahead of Monday’s deadline, forcing it to choose between its commitment to abortion access or continuing to receive federal grant money. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month the rule could take effect while litigation proceeds in three separate cases led by California, Oregon and Washington state. The court will hear oral arguments in the cases the week of Sept. 23 in San Francisco. (Clason, 8/19)

The Hill: Planned Parenthood Leaves Family Planning Program Over Trump Abortion Rule 
A panel of appeals judges in June for the Ninth Circuit reversed several injunctions that had been granted by lower courts, allowing the rules to take effect while the lawsuits proceed. The full court will hear arguments on the merits of the case next month. (Hellmann, 8/19)

PBS NewsHour: Planned Parenthood Funding Battle Highlights Trump Focus On Courts
The case is one signal that President Donald Trump’s judicial nominations may be shifting one of the nation’s most liberal courts further to the right, blunting what many consider his opponents’ most effective tool against administration policies. (Frazee, 8/19)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Abortions Increased Nearly 4% In Georgia In 2018
The number of abortions performed in Georgia increased by nearly 1,100 — or almost 4% — last year, according to new numbers from the state Department of Public Health. The latest figures, for 2018, were released about three months after Gov. Brian Kemp signed one of the country’s strictest abortion laws. (Prabhu, 8/19)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Asks Judge To Dismiss Lawsuit Challenging 'Heartbeat' Law
Attorneys representing the state told a federal judge that Georgia’s new anti-abortion law is “constitutional and justified” and asked him to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the measure. Filed in federal court Monday, attorneys representing the state said with House Bill 481 — which outlaws most abortions once a doctor can detect fetal cardiac activity — Georgia has an interest in “protecting the life of the unborn; promoting respect for life at all stages of pregnancy; protecting maternal health and safety; and safeguarding the ethics and integrity of the medical profession.” (Prabhu, 8/19)

In other news —

Arizona Republic: Ex-Planned Parenthood Employee Mayra Rodriguez Awarded $3M By Jury
A Maricopa County jury awarded a former Planned Parenthood Arizona employee $3 million after she claimed she was wrongfully terminated when she alerted supervisors to unsafe medical practices. Mayra Rodriguez in her lawsuit alleged she was fired after being falsely accused of having narcotics inside her desk. (Castle, 8/19)

Iowa Public Radio: Iowa Anti-Abortion Activists Try To Rally Support For Amending Constitution
Last year, Iowa lawmakers passed what was then considered the nation’s most restrictive abortion law. The “fetal heartbeat” law would have banned most abortions as early as six weeks of pregnancy. But Iowa courts stepped in, blocking that law and ensuring future attempts to restrict abortion rights would fail in the state. Now, abortion opponents in Iowa are trying to rally support for what they see as their only path to restricting or banning abortion. (Sostaric, 8/19)

Austin American-Statesman: Austin City Council Members Propose Funding To Make Abortion Services More Accessible
Austin City Council members announced Monday that they are working on a proposal to make abortion more accessible to people who are seeking it by funding services such as transportation, emotional support and childcare. (Hall, 8/19)

The New York Times: Chicago Man Charged With Making Online Death Threat Against Abortion Clinic
A Chicago man is accused of promising to “slaughter and murder” doctors, patients and visitors at an abortion clinic, a threat that the authorities said Monday he issued on iFunny.co, an online forum where he followed an Ohio man charged last week over similar threats, court records show. The man in Chicago, Farhan Sheikh, 19, has been charged with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, a crime punishable by up to five years in prison, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois said on Monday in a news release. (Chokshi, 8/19)

The New York Times: After Lobbying By Gun Rights Advocates, Trump Sounds A Familiar Retreat
Days after a pair of deadly mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, President Trump said he was prepared to endorse what he described as “very meaningful background checks” that would be possible because of his “greater influence now over the Senate and over the House.” But after discussions with gun rights advocates during his two-week working vacation in Bedminster, N.J. — including talks with Wayne LaPierre, the chief executive of the National Rifle Association — Mr. Trump’s resolve appears to have substantially softened, and he has reverted to reiterating the conservative positions on the gun issue he has espoused since the 2016 campaign. (Karni and Haberman, 8/19)

The Washington Post: Trump Again Appears To Back Away From Gun Background Checks
Immediately after the carnage in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio, Trump said “there is a great appetite” for tightening background checks on people who buy firearms. But in recent days, Trump has focused in public remarks on the need to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill while emphasizing that the nation already has “very strong background checks right now” — positions that hew more closely to the views of the National Rifle Association. Behind the scenes, Trump’s communication with key lawmakers, including Sen. Joe Manchin III, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia who has sought to develop bipartisan gun-control measures, has gone mostly cold, according to Capitol Hill aides, in part because Congress has left town for its summer recess. (Dawsey and Nakamura, 8/19)

The Hill: Pelosi, Schumer Press For Gun Screenings As Trump Inches Away 
Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill pressed President Trump on Monday to support tougher gun laws, a move that comes as the president attempts to shift the focus of gun-violence prevention from firearms to mental illness. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) contend that the most effective prescription for reining in shooting deaths is to expand background checks prior to the sale of firearms. A pair of House-passed measures, they argued, would do just that. (Lillis, 8/19)

The Washington Post: ‘Red Flag’ Laws May Play Role In Preventing Mass Shootings, Study Finds
State laws that allow the removal of guns from people who present a threat to themselves or others may play a role in preventing mass shootings, according to a new study, a finding that could buttress support for “red flag” legislation being debated in Congress. The study by a team at the nonpartisan Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California at Davis identified more than 20 cases in which California’s red-flag law was used in an effort to prevent a mass shooting. (Jamison, 8/19)

Sacramento Bee: California Law Prevented Mass Shootings, UC Davis Study Says
Red flag orders are more formally known as gun violence restraining orders in California and extreme risk protection orders elsewhere in the country. They give law enforcement a chance to remove guns from people who threaten to injure or kill themselves or someone else, Wintemute said, and they’re useful either in cases where no crime has been committed and consequently no one can be arrested, or in cases where mental illness is not involved and consequently a psychiatric evaluation can’t be done. (Anderson, 8/19)

Los Angeles Times: Study: California's 'Red Flag' Law May Cut Mass Shooting Risk
The initial findings by the school’s Violence Prevention Research Program were made public just hours after Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that he is interested in receiving a group of pending bills that would significantly expand the use of so-called “extreme risk protection” orders. At the same time, recent mass shootings in Gilroy, Calif., as well as El Paso and Dayton, Ohio, have renewed the conversation in Congress about possibly adopting national red flag laws. (McGreevy, 8/19)

CNN: 'Red Flag' Laws Can Play A Role In Preventing Mass Shootings, Study Says
It's impossible to know whether the threatened shootings would have happened, but the orders "allowed for immediate intervention to reduce firearm access, in most instances because of timely reports from threatened parties and members of the public," the researchers wrote. They added that they "make no claim of a causal relationship" and that "further evaluation of the implementation and effectiveness of ERPO policies in California and other jurisdictions where they have been enacted would be helpful." (Howard, 8/19)

NPR: Gun Restrictions: Americans Broadly Support Red Flag Laws
Strong majorities of Americans from across the political spectrum support laws that allow family members or law enforcement to petition a judge to temporarily remove guns from a person who is seen to be a risk to themselves or others, according to a new APM Research Lab/Guns & America/Call To Mind survey. These laws, often called extreme risk protection order laws, or red flag laws, have received renewed attention after 31 people were killed during mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. Variations of these red flag laws are in place in 17 states and the District of Columbia. (Paterson, 8/20)

In other news —

The Associated Press: Governor Brings Big Tech To The Table After El Paso Attack
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called Monday for the help of big tech platforms in the wake of an El Paso mass shooting that authorities say was carried out by a gunman who posted a racist screed online before killing 22 people at a Walmart. It’s unclear what the invited companies, which include Google, Facebook and Twitter, will offer or say in the aftermath of the tragedy. None addressed questions about their role after Abbott announced the tech giants will join the FBI and state lawmakers this week in Austin to discuss the El Paso shooting and how to prevent future attacks. (Weber, 8/19)

Arizona Republic: Phoenix Police Must Now Self-Report Whenever They Point A Gun At Someone
The city ordered the $150,000 National Police Foundation study in the midst of a year where Phoenix police were involved in 44 police shootings in 2018, more than any other city in the nation. Police shootings are down significantly in the first half of 2018. Phoenix officers have been involved in nine shootings through July 16 — a 70% drop from the 30 shootings during the same time period in 2018. (Burkitt, 8/19)

The Associated Press: Detained Immigrants Sue Over Conditions, Medical Care
Immigrants held in U.S. detention facilities filed a lawsuit Monday decrying what they called shoddy medical care and a failure by authorities to provide accommodations for disabilities. In the suit filed by disability and civil rights advocates in U.S. District Court, immigrants said they’re placed in isolation as punishment and denied recommended medical treatment and surgery. Some said they’ve been denied wheelchairs and a deaf detainee who communicates in American Sign Language said he has not been provided an interpreter. (Taxin, 8/19)

Politico: Trump Administration Sued Over Poor Medical Care In Immigration Centers
Detainees with medical and mental health conditions and those with disabilities face settings so brutal, including delays and denials of medical care, overuse of solitary confinement and lack of disability accommodations, they have led to permanent harm and 24 deaths in the last two years, according to a portion of the 200-page complaint shared with POLITICO. (Rayasam, 8/19)

CNN: Lawsuit Alleges Poor Medical And Mental Health Care In ICE Detention Facilities
The lawsuit, brought on behalf of 15 named detainees and others, claims that individuals held in ICE custody have been denied healthcare, refused accommodations for disabilities and subjected to "arbitrary and punitive isolation." For example, the complaint alleges that two detainees have been denied daily doses of insulin for diabetes and another has been denied treatment for a likely brain parasite. Another plaintiff, who suffers from schizophrenia and depression, spent approximately nine months in near-total isolation without adequate monitoring of her well-being, according to the lawsuit. (Sands, 8/19)

The Hill: Civil Rights Groups Sue ICE Over Medical Care In Detention Centers 
One man claims he lost eyesight in his left eye after not receiving surgery recommended by a doctor. Another diabetic man alleges that he was given an overdose of insulin and never evaluated by a doctor afterward. Another plaintiff says he suffered a back injury and cannot walk without assistance, but has not been given a physical therapy appointment. That plaintiff claims staff has at points taken away his crutches and wheelchair. “This administration’s horrific mistreatment of immigrants is not limited to individuals at the border,” said Lisa Graybill, deputy legal director for the SPLC. (Rodrigo, 8/19)

Los Angeles Times: ICE Provides 'Deplorable' Healthcare To Detained Immigrants, Advocates Allege In Massive Lawsuit
Lawyers say that problems such as short staffing, unqualified medical care providers, and delays or denials of treatment, are not limited to a few facilities but are rampant and systemic. They say that immigrants with viable legal claims are forced to choose between continuing to suffer in detention or giving up on their cases. (Castillo, 8/19)

Meanwhile —

ProPublica: 'No Comment': Emails Show The VA Took No Action To Spare Veterans From A Harsh Trump Immigration Policy
Top officials of the Department of Veterans Affairs declined to step in to try to exempt veterans and their families from a new immigration rule that would make it far easier to deny green cards to low-income immigrants, according to documents obtained by ProPublica under a Freedom of Information Act request. The Department of Defense, on the other hand, worked throughout 2018 to minimize the new policy’s impact on military families. (Torbati, Arnsdorf and Lind, 8/19)

USA Today: Obamacare: As 2019 Open Enrollment Nears, Signs Of Trouble, Progress
The latest health insurance data gives new ammunition to the Trump administration as it touts the latest bad news on Obamacare, but supporters of the law say there are positive signs for the state and federal marketplaces as 2019 open enrollment nears. A study out Thursday showed the number of uninsured people increased in 2017 for the first time since the Affordable Care Act exchanges opened in 2013. Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reported 2.5 million people left the Obamacare health insurance exchanges between 2016 and 2018. (O'Donnell, 8/19)

In other insurance news —

WBUR: Report Aims To Reduce Uninsured In Mass. By Highlighting Hotspots
Massachusetts has the lowest rates of uninsured residents in the U.S. But the average, 2.8%, masks some big differences. Thirty communities in Massachusetts have no uninsured residents, while 137 communities have uninsured rates that range from 3.4% to 25.8%, according to a report released by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation. (Bebinger, 8/20)

Bloomberg: Juul, Philip Morris Sued Under Racketeer Act For Targeting Kids 
E-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. and Philip Morris USA Inc. were sued for illegally marketing nicotine-delivery devices to minors and deceiving consumers about the risks of vaping. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a 19-year-old, Christian Foss, who says he became addicted to nicotine and suffered worsening asthma symptoms after he began using Juul’s device at 16, and seeks to represent all Illinois minors who used it. It alleges that Juul and Philip Morris violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, adopting the tobacco industry’s past use of catchy ad campaigns aimed at children. The Justice Department invoked RICO to sue the industry two decades ago. (Hanna, 8/19)

The Wall Street Journal: Vaping Moves From The Bathroom To The Classroom
Kids used to duck into the school bathroom to sneak a drag on a cigarette. But with the electronic kind, they are becoming increasingly daring, often vaping right under their teachers’ noses. I spoke to more than two dozen teachers, students and administrators across the country about the creative ways high-school and even middle-school kids have found to hide vape pens and take hits of nicotine—and sometimes marijuana—in class. Students conceal them in highlighter pens, pencil cases and long-sleeve shirts. (Jargon, 8/20)

Texas Tribune: Texas Legal Smoking Age Rises From 18 To 21 Under Senate Bill 21
Texans will soon have to wait until their 21st birthday to buy tobacco and nicotine products products — with the exception of young military members. Sen. Joan Huffman, a Republican from Houston, said she crafted Senate Bill 21, which takes effect Sept. 1, hoping that it would keep cigarettes, electronic cigarettes and tobacco products out of public schools by creating more “social distance” between younger students and students old enough to purchase them. (Roldan, 8/20)

Houston Chronicle: Texas Health Officials Investigate Reports Of Lung Disease In Young E-Cigarette Users 
The Texas Department of State Health Services announced Monday it is investigating cases of severe lung disease in Texas adolescents with a history of e-cigarette use, amid reports of similar cases from multiple states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 94 cases of severe lung disease associated with vaping in 14 states since June, though more information is needed to determine an exact cause. (Justin, 8/19)

WEWS News 5 (Cleveland, Ohio): It Can Happen To Anyone Of Us, An Air Ambulance Ride Costing $53,000
Last August, Paul and Julie [Hleba] were coming back from a 4,300-mile motorcycle ride when, in New York, the back tire blew out. Paul was driving and Julie was on the back. They were thrown. ... Paul had a broken scapula, three broken ribs, and a lacerated spleen. A ground ambulance took him to a nearby hospital. ... Paul told us doctors wanted to transfer him as a precaution to another one of their hospitals. "I wasn't given the choice of taking a helicopter ride," said Paul .... "I never thought something like this would happen to us,” said Julie, who was talking not only about the accident, but about the $53,000 bill they received from the helicopter company Air Methods. Insurance paid roughly $15,000. (Walsh, 8/15)

Austin American-Statesman: Millions Of Texans Vulnerable To Surprise Medical Bills Despite Legislative Efforts
Millions of Texans will remain unprotected from surprise medical bills despite state lawmakers this year passing one of the nation’s most aggressive pieces of legislation to curb such bills. Senate Bill 1264, signed into law in June and effective Jan. 1, stops patients from being blindsided by exorbitant medical bills for emergency services, services provided at in-network hospitals and other facilities, and for lab work. But the new state law only protects about a third of the 14 million Texans who are vulnerable to surprise medical bills because it only applies to those who have insurance regulated by the Texas Department of Insurance — usually teachers, state employees, those who work for small businesses and individuals who buy their own insurance. (Chang, 8/19)

And in more news —

Kaiser Health News: A Brush With A Notorious Cat, My Rabies Education And The Big Bill That Followed
I was just petting an orange tabby cat in my Falls Church, Va., neighborhood, a cat I’d never met before. He was very cute. And he was purring and butting his head against my hand. Until he wasn’t. He sunk his teeth into my wrist, hissed at me and ran off. So began my personal episode of Law & Order: Feline Victims Unit, complete with cat mug shots and weekly check-ins from local animal control and public health officials. And rabies shots. Multiple rabies shots in the emergency room. And more than $26,000 in health care costs, an alarming amount considering I was perfectly healthy throughout the whole ordeal. (Hillyard, 8/20)

In case you missed it: Make sure to check out KHN's special "Bill of the Month" series on surprisingly high medical bills. 

The Wall Street Journal: Two Drugmakers Closing In On Opioid Settlements
Drugmakers Endo International PLC and Allergan PLC are in talks to avoid going to a landmark trial set to begin in October over the opioid crisis, according to people familiar with the matter. Endo is close to finalizing a $10 million deal, and Allergan is in negotiations for a potential $5 million deal that would settle claims over its branded drugs but may not entirely eliminate it from the trial, the people said. The settlements, if finalized, would bring the companies in accord with two Ohio counties whose claims have been chosen to serve as bellwethers in sprawling litigation over the opioid epidemic. (Randazzo, 8/19)

The Associated Press: US Attorney Seeks To Block Plan For Supervised Drug Center
Loved ones propped photos of more than a dozen young people lost to the opioid crisis against the outside of the federal courthouse in Philadelphia on Monday as a judge inside heard arguments on whether the city could become the nation's first to open a supervised injection center. U.S. Attorney William McSwain, an appointee of President Donald Trump, believes the plan normalizes the use of heroin and fentanyl and violates federal drug laws. He has sued to block the site, supported by several leading Democrats in the city, including the mayor and district attorney, and at least seven state attorneys general. (Dale, 8/19)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: State Lifespans Drop As Opioids, Alcohol And Suicide Take The Young
With the rising toll of opioids, alcohol and suicide, life expectancy for a baby born in Wisconsin appears to have fallen over the past five years from 80.2 to years to 80 years, according to a report released Monday. The report by the nonprofit Wisconsin Policy Forum includes an important caution — that the authors did not assess whether the decline "is statistically significant," and not simply random. (Johnson, 8/19)

The Advocate: Bridge Center For Hope's Board Picks International Firm To Oversee EBR Mental Health Facility
An international company specializing in mental health and substance abuse services was chosen Monday to operate the Bridge Center for Hope – the psychiatric crisis and detox facility set to open early next year in East Baton Rouge Parish. The Bridge Center’s Board of Directors picked Recovery International during a special meeting Monday, a decision only one member of the board objected to. That board member is District Attorney Hillar Moore, who expressed support for Our Lady of the Lake and Baton Rouge General, which in a joint effort were also vying for the 5-year, $30 million contract. (Jones, 8/19)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Will Change Hospital Star Ratings Methodology In 2021
The CMS announced Monday that it plans to change the controversial methodology used for its hospital star ratings in early 2021. The agency didn't disclose specific details about what the changes will entail but it will propose them through public rulemaking some time next year. Plans to alter the methodology come six months after the CMS issued a public input request seeking feedback on how the ratings can be improved. The agency said it received more than 800 comments. (Castellucci, 8/19)

In other Medicare news —

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Decides A Cost-Saving Strategy Costs Too Much
After pushing more medical care out of hospitals and into patients' homes, the federal government wants to pay less for home healthcare. Impending changes in Medicare's home health payment system would dramatically alter how agencies are reimbursed for services, cutting payments by 8 percent. Lower rates would squeeze profit margins in what has been a reasonably lucrative business. Companies that can't make acceptable returns as profitability shrinks will likely get out, leaving patients with fewer choices. Those that remain will look to get bigger, triggering consolidation and putting more pressure on smaller players. (Goldberg, 8/19)

NH Times Union: Senators Raise Red Flag On Latest Scam Targeting Seniors
Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire has joined two other senators in calling on Attorney General William Barr and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to protect seniors from a scam targeting Medicare recipients. Criminals are reportedly targeting seniors by offering genetic testing they claim is covered by Medicare, wrote Hassan, D-N.H., and Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. (8/18)

St. Louis Public Radio: Missouri Speaker Says Scrutiny Of Medicaid Recipients' Incomes Led To Enrollment Drop
When Missouri officials announced earlier this year that more than 100,000 people, many of them children, had been dropped from the state Medicaid program, critics assailed the cuts as callous and unnecessary. But Missouri Speaker of the House Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, said Monday that the cuts largely resulted from a new computer system's ability to weed out enrollees who earned too much money to qualify for the program. (Fentem, 8/19)

The Advocate: Two Of Louisiana's Medicaid Managed Care Firms File Protest Of State's Contract Picks 
The two losing bidders for Louisiana’s new round of multi-billion dollar Medicaid contracts have filed protests of the state’s decision, claiming the bid process was tainted and that officials were biased against them. Louisiana Healthcare Connections and Aetna, two of Louisiana’s five existing Medicaid managed care organizations, or MCOs, filed lengthy protests of the bidding process Monday. The new contracts, set to go into effect Jan. 1, are worth billions of dollars and involve managing care for 1.7 million patients in Louisiana as part of the state’s privatized Medicaid program. (Karlin, 8/19)

ProPublica: The Car Seat Industry Helped Delay A Child Safety Regulation — Again
A long-awaited federal safety standard to test child car seats for their effectiveness in side-impact car crashes has been delayed to March 2020 — more than six years since the regulation was first proposed and nearly two decades since Congress urged the Department of Transportation to address the issue. Attempts to improve car seat safety have bogged down because of a lack of good data on accidents involving children, antiquated technology and industry lobbying. The car seat industry has sought to delay the side-impact rule, arguing that the government should not act without also updating its other safety standards for car seats. (Porat, 8/20)

The Wall Street Journal: Can Dancing Prevent Dementia?
Elvis Presley croons in the background as dance teacher Stine Moen gently calls out dance steps. “Right, left, rock step,” says Ms. Moen, demonstrating the Lindy hop to six seniors. “Sloooooow, sloooow, quick, quick.” The seniors follow: some in step, others more tentative. “Stop right there,” she says, and turns the music off. The seniors sit down and a woman comes to take their blood pressure. This is no routine dance class. The participants are part of a study at Albert Einstein College of Medicine looking at whether group dancing might be a useful tool in helping to prevent dementia. (Reddy, 8/19)

Reuters: U.S. Records 21 New Measles Cases As Of Last Week
The United States recorded 21 new measles cases last week, raising the total number of cases for the year to 1,203 across 30 states in the worst outbreak of the virus since 1992, federal health officials said on Monday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there had been a 1.8% increase in the number of cases of the highly contagious and sometimes deadly disease between Aug. 8 and Aug. 15. (8/19)

The New York Times: Premature Babies Lag In Vaccinations
Many premature babies, who are at increased risk for vaccine-preventable diseases, are not getting their vaccinations on time. Researchers in Washington State retrospectively studied vaccination rates among 10,367 infants born between 2008 and 2018 at academic medical centers or affiliated health care settings. About 20 percent were born prematurely. (Bakalar, 8/19)

The New York Times: The Keto Diet Is Popular, But Is It Good For You?
Low-carbohydrate diets have fallen in and out of favor since before the days of Atkins. But now an even stricter version of low-carb eating called the ketogenic diet is gaining popular attention, igniting a fierce scientific debate about its potential risks and benefits. Both the Atkins and ketogenic diets encourage followers to cut carbs from their diets. But while the Atkins diet gradually increases carbs over time, keto places firm limits on carbs and protein. (O'Connor, 8/20)

Politico Pro: Telemedicine Could Keep Older Patients Out Of The Hospital. So Why Hasn’t It Taken Off?
For years, experts have touted the use of telemedicine as a way to let elder care organizations tap the expertise of geriatricians or other doctors to treat their residents for problems that don't appear to rise to the level of an emergency. ...Research suggests that about two-thirds of hospital admissions from nursing homes were potentially avoidable. In many cases, a video visit would make more sense. But there are few business models employing virtual care because payers don't cover it, experts say. (Ravindranath, 8/19)

The New York Times: ‘Tasting Funny For Years’: Lead In The Water And A City In Crisis
Donnette Goodluck tried all day to pick up the free bottled water the city was distributing as officials addressed a growing lead contamination crisis. When she first arrived at Boylan Street Recreation Center last Tuesday at 10:30 a.m., the line wrapped around the block; Ms. Goodluck and others were told to come back at 1 p.m. At 1 p.m., she was instructed to come back two hours later. Uncertain she could find a neighbor to watch the six children she babysits, she gave up. (Goldbaum, 8/20)

New Hampshire Union Leader: New Hampshire Getting $5M Public Health Grant 
New Hampshire health officials announced Monday the state has been awarded a $5 million federal grant to analyze efforts to reduce blood-lead levels in children and identify impacts from flooding on people’s health, as well as other projects. The $5,162,497 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant will allow New Hampshire's Public Health Laboratories (PHL) to enhance the state’s biomonitoring program. Biomonitoring is the direct measurement of environmental chemicals in people's blood and urine, indicating the amount of chemicals that actually enters the body from all environmental sources. (Freely, 8/19)

New Hampshire Public Radio: N.H. Gets $5 Million To Test For Chemicals In Residents
In one project, the lab will determine if people living near a Superfund site and other industrial sites in Berlin have higher levels of toxins including mercury, dioxins, and the chemical PFAS. “There’s a lot of exposures going on, and we want to track the people there and see how they compare to the rest of New Hampshire and the rest of the United States” explains James V. Chithalen, Chemistry Program Manager at the Public Health Lab. (Gibson, 8/19)

The Associated Press: SC Elementary Reopening Despite Toxic 'Trash Mountain' Fire
A South Carolina elementary is reopening for the first day of school despite a smoldering, toxic fire in a 50-foot trash pile at a nearby recycling center. News outlets report Beaufort County School District decided to open Okatie Elementary as scheduled on Monday. It says a sensor at the school shows the air is safe, despite the ongoing blaze less than a mile away at the site known locally as Trash Mountain. (8/19)

Georgia Health News: State, Federal Regulators Hear Questions, Concerns On Ethylene Oxide
“Why didn’t you tell us?”It was the first question from the public to state and federal environmental regulators addressing hundreds of Cobb and Fulton County residents Monday night about the dangers of ethylene oxide. It’s a cancer-causing gas that has leaked into the air over the years from a Smyrna-area facility run by Sterigenics that sterilizes medical supplies. (Goodman and Miller, 8/19)

NPR: Study: Fluoride Consumption During Pregnancy May Affect Child's IQ
A study published Monday suggests that fluoride consumed by pregnant women can decrease the IQ of their children. No single study provides definitive answers, but the latest research on this controversial topic will no doubt stir debate. Fluoride protects teeth from decay, so public health officials celebrate what has been accomplished by putting it in many water supplies. But Christine Till, an associate professor of psychology at York University in Toronto, also wondered about potential downsides. (Harris, 8/19)

North Carolina Health News: Despite Increased Pace Of Grants, NC Nursing Homes Risk Losing Out On Penalty Dollars 
Millions in fines collected from poorly performing nursing homes across the country must by law be spent to improve conditions for long-term care residents. And according to federal regulators,  in North Carolina and other states have to spend the money they receive in those fines — or risk losing it. North Carolina’s accumulation of fines has grown to $31.5 million by July 31 — from $28.9 million since the start of 2019 — even as state officials and others have pushed to increase the number of grants it sends to nursing homes. (Goldsmith, 8/20)

The Wall Street Journal: New York City Union Uses Its Size To Leverage Improved Maternity Care
In a bid to provide better health outcomes for pregnant women and reduce health care costs, one of New York City’s largest unions is pushing local hospital systems to create specialty maternity-care networks. This week, the health fund of Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union will request that area hospital systems provide information on rates of maternal harm and apply to a newly created program promising higher quality, higher value care. (West, 8/19)

Reuters: Alaska Governor Reverses Course On Controversial Budget Cuts
Alaska's governor signed a budget bill on Monday rolling back most of the deep, highly controversial spending cuts he imposed weeks ago on the University of Alaska but rebuffed a renewed bid by lawmakers to restore funding he slashed from health programs. The partial funding restoration marked the latest in a pitched budget battle between Governor Mike Dunleavy, a Republican serving his first year in office, and a bipartisan coalition in the Republican-dominated state legislature. (8/19)

Orange County Register: Tustin Woman Is 1st Human Case Of West Nile Virus In Orange County In 2019
A female resident of Tustin, in her 50s, is the first human case of West Nile virus reported in Orange County this year, the Orange County Health Care Agency announced Monday, Aug. 19. Last year, the virus affected 12 people in the county and resulted in one death, according to the Health Care Agency. The first human case reported in 2018 also was a Tustin woman. (Truong, 8/19)

Health News Florida: Nursing Board Signs Off On ‘Anesthesiologist’ Title
John McDonough, an advanced practice registered nurse, has for years identified as a “nurse anesthesiologist,” and he tells his patients the same. Now he can do it with the blessing of the Florida Board of Nursing, which at a meeting last week in Fort Myers unanimously agreed to allow McDonough, a certified registered nurse anesthetist, to officially use the anesthesiologist title. (Sexton, 8/19)

The Associated Press: Nebraska Moves All Girls Out Of Facility For Troubled Youth
Nebraska officials are moving 24 teenage girls out of a state-run facility for female juvenile offenders after learning that many were confined to buildings with fire hazards, holes in the wall and mold and water damage. The Department of Health and Human Services announced the move Monday after some state lawmakers voiced concerns about the conditions and a lack of staff and programming at the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center in Geneva. (Schulte, 8/19)

New Hampshire Union Leader: Catholic Medical Center Opens Wilson Street Integrated Health 
Catholic Medical Center has opened a new location at the Manchester Recovery and Treatment Center. Wilson Street Integrated Health is a service of the Health Care for the Homeless Program of Manchester, a collaboration between CMC and the Manchester Health Department. The new practice offers primary care, social work, counseling and medication-assisted treatment to those who receive other services at the Center, as well as clients in the area. (8/19)

ProPublica: Inside The Prison Where Inmates Set Each Other On Fire And Gangs Have More Power Than Guards
Jeffery Wilemon clutched his gut, throbbing in pain as he lay on his bed inside the South Mississippi Correctional Institution in April. But there was no way for him to cry out — not unless he wanted another beating. Hours earlier, inmates had slugged the 54-year-old and declared that he needed to “follow the rules” their gang had set for prison life, he later wrote in a handwritten pleading filed in Itawamba County Circuit Court. (Mitchell, 8/19)

Arizona Republic: Arizona State Revealed Students' Email Addresses In Health Privacy Breach
Arizona State University inadvertently exposed the email addresses of thousands of students in what is considered a breach of federal health privacy law. The university notified 4,000 students on Friday that their email addresses were "accidentally revealed" in late July, the university said. (Leingang, 8/19)

The Associated Press: Wildfire Acreage Way Down In California This Year — So Far
California is not burning. At least not as much as it has in recent years. Acreage burned through Sunday is down 90% compared to the average over the past five years and down 95% from last year, according to statistics from the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The stats are good news for a state that has seen terrifyingly destructive and deadly blazes the past two years, but the worst of those fires occurred in the fall. (8/19)

St. Louis Public Radio: Applications For Medical Marijuana Facilities Pour In At Deadline
With the deadline to submit an application for a medical marijuana business closed, more than 2,100 were received, bringing in more than $5.3 million in fees, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. On Thursday, the department announced it would extend the deadline to Monday at 4:30 p.m. Initially the cutoff was Saturday at midnight, but with a slow start early in the application period, the department expected an influx toward the end. (Driscoll, 8/19)

Miami Herald: Study Says Not Enough Data To Prove Taxing Pot Is Smart
A petition to put legal weed on the ballot in 2020 has triggered a Supreme Court review, a recent Quinnipiac University poll shows 65 percent of Florida voters support fully legalizing the drug and bill proposals are pitching legalization as a potential boon for Florida’s tourism economy, a step toward criminal justice reform and a way to boost local businesses in periphery markets.One of the key selling points? Taxes. (Gross, 8/19)

WBUR: MA Probation Commissioner Joins National Effort To Reform Court-Ordered Supervision
Dozens of parole and probation leaders around the country are joining forces to try to improve the policies that govern the supervision of about 4.5 million people. The officials say too many people end up incarcerated for relatively minor technical probation and parole violations, such as missing curfew, rather than for criminal behavior. (Becker, 8/19)

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Labor Law: FMLA May Allow An Employee To Attend Certain School Meetings For A Child With Serious Health Condition
If a health care provider certifies that a child suffers from a serious health condition, the child’s parent is entitled to up to 12 workweeks of job-protected, unpaid FMLA leave per year to care for the child of the employee. An employee may use FMLA leave intermittently (for instance, one hour at a time) or on a reduced leave schedule when medically necessary because of a family member’s serious health condition. The Labor Department opined that the wife’s attendance at the IEP meetings was a qualifying reason for leave because the FMLA includes a provision “to make arrangements for changes in care” as a qualifying reason. (Michael, 8/19)

Kansas City Star: Clay County Can’t Pay Jail Bills, Sheriff Blames Retaliation
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office has run out of money and can’t pay its bills to provide health care and food for roughly 300 inmates at its jail, thanks to a budget process that it claims deliberately underfunded the county’s detention center, officials said at a trial on Monday. A judge heard arguments Monday from top-ranking county and sheriff’s officials stemming from a lawsuit filed earlier this year in which Clay County Sheriff Paul Vescovo is requesting an order that the Clay County Commission adequately fund his office. (Vockrodt, 8/19)

The New York Times: It Just Got Harder To Get Birth Control In America
This has been an ominous year for reproductive rights in America, with states including Georgia, Alabama and now Tennessee in a race to the bottom to pass the most extreme anti-abortion law in the nation. But while those high-profile abortion bans make their way through the courts — they were designed to provoke legal challenges that could threaten Roe v. Wade — a more immediate threat to women’s health care has been brewing. The Trump administration has quietly been working to gut the Title X family planning program, which helps poor women afford birth control, cancer screenings and testing for H.I.V. and other sexually transmitted infections. On Monday, the administration’s efforts paid off: Planned Parenthood, which serves about 40 percent of Title X patients around the country, felt forced to withdraw from the program. (8/19)

Los Angeles Times: The New Title X Gag Rule Means Miserably Long Waits At Clinics For Reproductive Healthcare
If you’re a woman of limited means in need of reproductive healthcare, prepare to wait a long time or drive a long way for it. As of Monday evening, all Planned Parenthood affiliates will have officially withdrawn from the federal Title X program, which has, provided funding for family planning and reproductive healthcare for low-income individuals for nearly half a century. Other healthcare providers are also leaving the program, including Maine Family Planning, which has been the sole recipient of Title X funding in the entire state of Maine. All are leaving because the Trump administration has foisted upon Title X grant recipients a ludicrous rule that would, among other things, forbid healthcare providers to refer patients to an abortion service when they request one. (8/20)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Ashcroft's Delay Tactics Defy Missourians' Right To Challenge Abortion Law
Despite Missourians’ widespread support of Roe v. Wade and access to safe, legal abortion, legislators in Jefferson City have made it their mission to pass extreme abortion laws like House Bill 126. The law, which becomes effective next week, bans abortion after eight weeks with no exceptions for survivors of rape or incest, and certainly no exceptions for fetal anomalies like Grace’s. My husband and I have made the two-hour drive from our St. Louis County home to the Capitol multiple times, sharing our story and testifying against these bans. We have explained how laws like HB 126 would only hurt babies like Grace, who would have been forced into a brief life of agony — but the lawmakers simply did not listen. (Robin Utz, 8/19)

The Hill: Are Vaccines On Your Back-To-School Checklist?
As public health practitioners, we believe in the scientific evidence that shows vaccines to be safe and effective. More importantly, as parents, we believe in taking every possible measure to minimize our children’s risk of illness. It’s why we’re part of the 94 percent of U.S. parents who choose to vaccinate our kids. It’s why we hope you are, too. And, it’s why we fight so hard to help all kids get the immunizations they need to remain healthy and safe. (Lori Tremmel and Chrissie Juliano, 8/19)

USA Today: How Colleges And Universities Can Combat The Opioid Overdose Epidemic
Dropping a son or daughter off at college for their first year is a rite of passage — a special time of transition that combines separation, love, anxiety and excitement. But it’s also fraught with risk. My family experienced the pain of this transition gone wrong, with the loss of our son Jonathan to a drug overdose during his first week of college. We are immensely grateful that his school — the University of Denver — has since tackled this problem head-on in order to reduce the risk for other families. (James A. Winnefeld Jr. , 8/20)

The Washington Post: Trump’s Predictable Cave On Gun Safety Has Arrived
To the surprise of no one who has watched President Trump cater to the National Rifle Association’s whims and repeatedly pull back from meaningful gun safety legislation, the president is already sounding timorous on new legislation he briefly seemed interested in following the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio. On Sunday, he told reporters, “I’m saying Congress is going to be reporting back to me with ideas.” He then qualified immediately that suggestions will “come in from Democrats and Republicans. And I’ll look at it very strongly.” And then the NRA-approved line: “But just remember, we already have a lot of background checks. Okay?” (Jennifer Rubin, 8/19)

Stat: Drug Safety Testing Should Include Tools Based On Human Biology
The field of toxicology — determining whether a product is safe or harmful — is evolving rapidly. Many innovative drug safety technologies based on human biology, rather than the biology of other animals, are available for assessing whether potential medicines are likely to be safe or toxic in humans. Unfortunately, many of these new methods have yet to influence the FDA’s decision-making, even though it has a program in place that could be adapted to include human-based methods for nonclinical assessment. (Elizabeth Baker, 8/20)

The Hill: Air Pollution Is As Harmful As Smoking A Pack A Day 
Every person breathes thousands of gallons of air each day, making air the greatest potential source of toxin exposure known to humankind. Occupational exposure to air contaminated with toxins found in coal or radioactive dust can lead to recognized health conditions such a black lung disease or lung cancer. Many of us assume that avoiding toxins found in poor quality simply requires avoiding occupational exposure, or at most, refraining from tobacco use, either by not smoking, or by not being in a room occupied by smoking individuals. Unfortunately, we cannot avoid exposure to airborne toxins so easily. It is becoming increasingly clear that the overall quality of the air we breathe has a direct link to our health. Julia Krauchanka, William Schlesinger and H. Kim Lyerly, 8/19)