The Washington Post Fact Checker: Warren’s Plan To Pay For Medicare-For-All: Does It Add Up?
When The Fact Checker evaluates campaign policy proposals, we’re often reminded of the story of the man who claimed he sold a dog for $50,000. How did he do that? “I traded him for two $25,000 cats,” he replied. Campaign proposals are not easy to fact-check unless you figure out that the numbers don’t add up. But if they do add up, then you are left with experts picking holes in the assumptions that are behind those numbers, which the campaign will vigorously dispute. (Kessler, 11/5)

The Wall Street Journal: Scrutiny Grows Over Elizabeth Warren’s Medicare-For-All Plan
Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s call for a Medicare-for-All health plan drew heightened scrutiny from her Democratic presidential rivals after she released a highly anticipated plan to pay for it. Two leading Democratic candidates—former Vice President Joe Biden and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg —had criticized Ms. Warren’s plan to expand government-run insurance to all Americans. They also found fault with her proposal to pay for it with $20.5 trillion in new funding, largely generated from employers and the wealthy. (Jamerson, 11/4)

Politico: 5 Ways Opponents Are Going After Warren’s 'Medicare For All' Plan
Warren’s Democratic primary rivals immediately pounced on her calculation of the cost of Medicare for All, noting that it clocks in much lower than the figure Sen. Bernie Sanders has been citing on the campaign trail — a difference Warren attributes to how her plan would aggressively bargain down the price of prescription drugs, eliminate a huge amount of waste in the system, and slash payments to doctors and hospitals, among other differences. Pete Buttigieg called her $20.5 trillion estimate “controversial,” while Joe Biden’s campaign accused her of “lowballing the cost of her plan by well over $10 trillion while overcounting the revenue that would be gained from the sources she identifies.” (Ollstein, 11/4)

Kaiser Health News: Warren’s Plan On ‘Medicare For All’ Could Raise Concerns Among Health Providers
Julie Rovner, Kaiser Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, joined host Scott Simon on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday to talk about the plan released by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) for funding the “Medicare For All” health plan she has endorsed. She is calling for the elimination of private insurance and replacing it with a government-sponsored health plan for all residents. Rovner pointed out that the plan, which calls for paying doctors and hospitals at roughly the current Medicare reimbursement rates rather what higher private insurance pays, is bound to raise concerns among those health care providers. (11/4)

CNBC: Ex-Biden Advisor: Warren’s ‘Medicare For All’ Like Trying To ‘Buy A Unicorn’ With A Unicorn
Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s sweeping “Medicare for All” plan is too much of a political reach to actually be implemented on Capitol Hill, according to Jared Bernstein, who used to advise her Democratic presidential rival Joe Biden. “A good question for her is, given neither this nor the next Congress will enact your plan, don’t tell us what you’d like to do. Tell us about what you would do; what you think is in the realm of possible,” Bernstein told CNBC on Monday. “This debate, this is just basically like saying, ‘I’m going to buy a unicorn and I’m going to pay for it with a unicorn.’” (Bursztynsky, 11/4)

Vox: Paying For Medicare-For-All: Sanders Vs. Warren Plans
The practical stakes of this argument are low. The odds of any kind of Medicare-for-all plan actually being enacted by Congress are slim. And obviously anything a potential President Sanders signed into law would have to be something Sen. Warren voted for and vice versa. But it is worth understanding why these two similar sounding ideas are actually very different in their implications. It underscores that the real challenge of legislating is that you can’t just write down a plan, you need to build a consensus in Congress for your specific approach. (Yglesias, 11/4)

CNN: Yang Supports 'Medicare For All' With A Caveat
Businessman Andrew Yang said he supports "Medicare for All" but would keep the option of private insurance. CNN's Dana Bash speaks with Yang on the specifics of his plan during the first joint interview with his wife Evelyn. (11/3)

The Associated Press: Georgia Governor Unveils Medicaid Plan With Work Requirement
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp released a plan Monday to expand Medicaid to the state's poorest able-bodied adults, on the condition that they work, volunteer, receive job training or attend school. Under Kemp's proposal, which is more limited than other states, uninsured adults in Georgia who make no more than the federal poverty level would qualify for Medicaid assistance if they spent at least 80 hours a month working, volunteering, training or studying. They would also have to pay monthly premiums. (Thanawala and Nadler, 11/4)

The Hill: GOP Georgia Governor Proposes Limited Medicaid Expansion 
Kemp’s proposal, called Georgia Pathways, would cover adults who meet the work requirements and who are at or under 100 percent of the federal poverty level — about $12,490 a year for an individual. “Unlike Medicaid expansion, which will literally cost billions of dollars, Georgia Pathways will not bankrupt our state or raise taxes on our families or our businesses,” Kemp said at an event Monday morning. (Hellmann, 11/4)

Modern Healthcare: Georgia Unveils Medicaid Expansion Plan With Work Requirement
Georgians who qualify would also be required to pay a premium for coverage based on a sliding fee scale, which they could use to purchase healthcare necessities, including eyeglasses, prescription drugs and hygiene products, according to the announcement by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. Enrollees would also be rewarded for healthy behaviors. (Livingston, 11/4)

CQ: Georgia Looks To Partially Expand Medicaid Coverage
“Unlike Medicaid expansion, which will worsen the doctor shortage and compromise access, Georgia Pathways will help put more Georgians on private insurance, giving more Georgians more choices for picking a provider,” said Kemp. “Medicaid expansion is a risky, one-size-fits-all approach that costs too much and fails to deliver.” The policy is sure to face opposition in the coming days. The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, a nonprofit policy analysis organization, has already blasted the plan. (Raman, 11/4)

Georgia Health News: Too Little? Kemp’s Proposal On Changing Medicaid Takes Flak
The Kemp administration estimates that there are 408,000 uninsured adults in that income category, but says that only about 50,000 would eventually be covered at any one time, based on the work/volunteer and other restrictions. That’s one-tenth of the estimated total of low-income Georgians who would receive coverage under Medicaid expansion – a step that 36 other states have adopted. (Miller, 11/4)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Kemp’s Medicaid Plan Would Cover Thousands, But Not Most, Of Georgia's Poor
The policy he outlined Monday is designed to package with a separate set of proposals he introduced last week. One part seeks to lower insurance premiums by setting aside more than $300 million in public money that the government could pay to insurance firms to cover high-cost claims. The second piece would also shift $2.7 billion in subsidies from federal to state control to reduce costs to lower-income policyholders. (Hart and Bluestein, 11/4)

Modern Healthcare: Georgia Gambles On Insurance Market Revamp For Small Gains
In reforming its individual insurance market, Georgia wants to test Trump administration flexibility in unproven ways that some experts warn would put hundreds of thousands of people at risk for very little gain. Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, on Monday released the state's draft 1332 waiver application, to seek approval from the federal government to make changes to its individual market that he says will lower premiums and increase choice for people who buy Affordable Care Act coverage there. (Livingston, 11/4)

CNBC: The Rich Will Receive Billions In Tax Cuts If Obamacare Is Overturned, Report
Wealthy Americans stand to gain from Obamacare’s demise. The rich will likely receive billions in tax cuts if the health-care law is overturned, according to a new analysis published Monday from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington think tank. The nation’s top 0.001%, the 1,409 U.S. households with annual incomes over $53 million, would receive a combined $3.8 billion in tax cuts if the law is overturned, according to the report. (Lovelace Jr., 11/4)

In other news on the Affordable Care Act —

Modern Healthcare: Medicaid Expansion Reduced Preventable Hospitalizations
With political battles continuing over Medicaid expansion, a new study found states that expanded Medicaid saw greater reductions than non-expansion states in hospital admissions, length of stay and hospital costs for conditions that can be managed with ambulatory care. States that expanded coverage to low-income adults under the Affordable Care Act saw a 3.5% reduction in annual "ambulatory-care sensitive" condition discharge rates, and a 3.1% drop in inpatient days in 2014 and 2015, according to the study published Monday in Health Affairs. (Meyer, 11/4)

NPR: In Key 2019 Races, Activists Gear Up For Big Fight Over Abortion
On a recent, cloudy fall afternoon, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin stood outside the governor's mansion in Frankfort, flanked by a couple dozen activists in blue T-shirts, holding signs that read, "I Vote Pro-Life." "It took me a while to figure out why I keep seeing these blue T-shirts," Bevin joked as he turned to the volunteers. "I wasn't sure who you were, but I'm just grateful to you." These activists have been door-knocking across Kentucky on Bevin's behalf, to reach 200,000 voters before the election on Nov. 5. (McCammon, 11/4)

NH Times Union: Shaheen Will Face A Strong, Anti-Abortion Foe In 2020 
U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, rose to political power from a career of championing abortion rights as a strategist and field organizer 30 years ago. In 2020, we know that to win her third term, Shaheen will have to get by the most vocal, anti-abortion nominee she has faced in all her past campaigns for federal office. Since the landmark, Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion in 1973, the New Hampshire House has but for two years had a majority supporting abortion rights. (Landrigan, 11/4)

The Associated Press: Oklahoma Supreme Court Blocks Abortion Law
The Oklahoma Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a ban on a second-trimester abortion procedure. The high court acted Monday after an Oklahoma abortion clinic appealed a lower court judge's decision to uphold a ban on a second-trimester abortion procedure. (11/4)

The Hill: Oklahoma Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Law Banning Common Abortion Procedure
The preliminary injunction will remain in effect while the Supreme Court decides whether the ban is lawful. The Center for Reproductive Rights asked the court to block the ban from taking effect after an Oklahoma state trial court upheld it earlier this year. (Hellmann, 11/4)

The Associated Press: Abortion Ban Proposal Faces A Murky Future In South Carolina
South Carolina could get closer to being the latest state to pass a ban on almost all abortions Tuesday as a proposal faces another vote, but the bill’s future is murky because it does not include exceptions for victims of rape and incest. The state Senate Medical Affairs Committee is expected to pass the measure along to the full Senate floor for a possible 2020 election year fight. (Collins, 11/5)

CalMatters: How An Abortion Rights Law Ended Up Bankrolling Anti-Abortion Forces In California
In 2015, California Democrats passed a state law aimed at ensuring pregnant women get a complete picture of their options, including the right to an abortion. Little did they know that, four years later, their effort would yield a $2 million windfall for conservative legal campaigns to restrict abortion and LGBTQ rights. In an irony for the annals of California’s resistance, court documents show that reproductive rights advocates have paid a steep price for the failure of the Freedom, Accountability, Comprehensive Care, and Transparency, or FACT Act, which sought to compel anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers to disclose their license status and let women know that public family programs provide abortions. (Morain, 11/4)

Tampa Bay Times: Young Florida Doctors Find A Calling On Abortion’s Front Lines
The medical field largely treats abortion as a specialty, not an essential part of a doctor’s toolkit. And most ob-gyns don’t perform abortions. Instead, a small funnel of doctors seek out training and devote themselves to clinics and side gigs despite hate mail and death threats. That kind of harassment has spiked since the 2016 election, according to the National Abortion Federation, which keeps statistics. In medical school, stuffed curriculums typically devote less than an hour to abortion — if it’s mentioned at all. (McNeill, 11/5)

In related news —

BuzzFeed News: Global Gag Rule: Donald Trump's Anti-Abortion Policies Have Created A Nightmare For Women In Nepal
On Wednesdays and Fridays, Shikha Sharma was banned from saying the word “abortion” out loud. This makes things pretty tricky for her, because Sharma is the go-to person for everything young Nepalis want to know about sex but are too afraid to ask. (Jha and Rai, 11/2)

The Associated Press: 1 In 2 Seriously Ill Medicare Enrollees Struggles With Bills
More than half of seriously ill Medicare enrollees face financial hardships with medical bills, with prescription drug costs the leading problem, according to a study published Monday. The study in the journal Health Affairs comes as legislation to curb drug costs for seniors languishes in Congress and the growing financial exposure of patients with insurance is getting more attention in the nation's health care debates. (11/4)

Politico Pro: Sick Medicare Beneficiaries Face Financial Hardship, Study Finds
Patients cited high prescription drug costs as the most common source of financial hardship. “What stands out here are the extensive financial problems many seriously ill Medicare beneficiaries face paying for their prescription drugs today,” said the study’s lead author, Robert Blendon of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (Luthi, 11/4)

Axios: Seniors Struggle To Afford Their Health Care
Why it matters: Medicare is supposed to be a safety net for America's seniors, but its lack of a cap on what beneficiaries pay out-of-pocket — and the fact that it doesn't cover some benefits — leads to many seniors falling through the cracks. (Owens, 11/5)

The Washington Post: A Severe Shortage Hits A Drug Used For Cancer, Immune Disorders, Epilepsy, Causing Canceled Treatments And Rationing
A severe shortage of immune globulin — a popular medicine used to treat epilepsy, cancer and immune disorders — is forcing doctors nationwide to cancel patients’ lifesaving infusions, even as hospitals and treatment centers are resorting to rationing and dose-cutting. Immune globulin helps protect patients from infections, and it is used to treat many medical conditions including seizures, leukemia, auto­immune diseases, organ transplants, acute muscle illnesses and nerve disorders. (Rosenkrantz, 11/4)

Stat: Sen. Cassidy On Trump’s Drug Plan: Price Index Still Preferable To Imports
Sen. Bill Cassidy is the rare Republican who has long been open to drug pricing reforms, espousing the virtues of value-based payment arrangements and his home state’s newfangled “Netflix” model for funding hepatitis treatments. As Cassidy has pushed for reforms, however, the rest of his party’s position on the issue has shifted under his feet, largely thanks to the Trump administration’s unpredictable and aggressive stance on efforts to lower drug costs. President Trump has espoused, for example, a far-reaching proposal to use foreign prices to cap some payments for drugs in the U.S. (Facher, 11/4)

The Wall Street Journal: A New Approach To Gene Therapy—Now In Dogs, Maybe Later In Humans
A Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Shadow was at the front lines of a new approach to gene therapy. Earlier this month, 7-year-old Shadow was the first dog to be screened at Tufts University for a pilot study attempting to use gene therapy to treat a type of heart disease that often afflicts aging cavaliers. It’s part of a novel approach to gene therapy that has successfully treated age-related ailments in mice. Now it is being studied in dogs, with eventual hopes to test it in humans. (Reddy, 11/4)

NPR: Can Makena Prevent Premature Birth? FDA Panel Votes No, But Some Doctors Disagree
An independent panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration recommended last week that a medication to prevent preterm birth be taken off the market because, the advisers decided, the preponderance of evidence suggests it doesn't work. But some other leading OB-GYNs say they hope the FDA won't take the panel's advice this time. The medication is a synthetic form of the hormone progesterone, brand-named Makena. (Neighmond, 11/4)

Kaiser Health News: FDA Keeps Brand-Name Drugs On A Fast Path To Market ― Despite Manufacturing Concerns
After unanimously voting to recommend a miraculous hepatitis C drug for approval in 2013, a panel of experts advising the Food and Drug Administration gushed about what they’d accomplished. “I voted ‘yes’ because, quite simply, this is a game changer,” National Institutes of Health hepatologist Dr. Marc Ghany said of Sovaldi, Gilead Science’s new pill designed to cure most cases of hepatitis C within 12 weeks. (Lupkin, 11/5)

Chicago Tribune: Premature Birth Rates Are So High In Chicago And Illinois That The March Of Dimes Annual Report Card Gave Them Both A D+ 
Premature birth rates and other factors related to maternal and infant health remain “alarming” in the United States, according to the March of Dimes, a nonprofit that supports research, education and advocacy related to those issues. ...Illinois received a D+, as did Chicago, where 10.7% and 10.6% of all births in 2018 were premature, or occurred earlier than 37 weeks gestation. The letter grades are assigned based on the organization’s determination of how far rates are from a goal of 8.1% or less. (Thayer, 11/4)

The Oregonian: Oregon Tops U.S. States With Few Premature Births, But Minorities Still Left Behind
Oregon in 2018 had the lowest rate of premature births of any state, according to a new March of Dimes report, but that’s not necessarily a cause for celebration. For every 100,000 births in Oregon last year, 7,800 babies were born while still developing inside the womb. The earlier babies are born, the more likely they are to die or have temporary or even life-long health problems. (Zarkhin, 11/4)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Premature Birth Rates In Louisiana Are Among The Worst In U.S., Report Says 
Louisiana is one of six states to earn an “F” grade on the March of Dimes' annual report card for premature births. The 2019 report measures preterm birth rates across the U.S., assigning a grade based on the percentage of premature births in the previous year, drawing from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. A rate of 7.7% or fewer preterm births earned a state an A grade, while a rate of 11.5% or more garnered an F. Most states received B and C grades, with nine states receiving a D and just one, Oregon, receiving an A. (Woodruff, 11/4)

KY3/KSPR: Missouri & Arkansas Receives Poor Grades From March Of Dimes
The March of Dimes gave Missouri a D+ and Arkansas an F when it comes to premature birth rates and maternal health. Missouri has a premature birth rate of 10.7%, while Arkansas has a premature birth rate of 11.6%. The nonprofit, which works to improve the health of mothers and babies across the United States, released their annual report cards Monday morning. March of Dimes believes premature birth rates and complications from it are the largest contributors to infant death in the U.S. For the first time, the organization is trying to connect maternal health factors and premature birth rates in their report cards. The report cards are meant to be a national, state and local call to action. (11/4)

Press Enterprise: Rise In Preterm Births Gives California A ‘B’ Grade From March Of Dimes
The preterm birth rate in California has increased to 8.8%, reaching a 10-year high and earning the state a “B” grade for its preterm birth rate, one key indicator of maternal and infant health, the March of Dimes said Monday. Los Angeles County’s preterm birth rate ranks fifth highest in the state; the rate remains high at 9.0%, unchanged from last year’s report, and up from the rate of 8.8% reported by March of Dimes in 2017. (11/4)

WRAL: March Of Dimes Report: When It Comes To The Health Of Moms And Babies, North Carolina Earns A D+
North Carolina earned a D+ for its preterm birth rate, according to the 2019 March of Dimes Report Card. The annual report, released Monday, shows that the state slightly improved its rate from last year, but still ranks 36th among the 50 states, according to a press release about the report. Women aged 15 to 44 in North Carolina also are more likely to be uninsured, have inadequate prenatal care and live in poverty when compared to their peers across the country. (Hall, 11/4)

WCIV: March Of Dimes: South Carolina Earns 'D-' On Preterm Birth, Worsening From Last Year
South Carolina earned a “D-” for its preterm birth rate, one key indicator of maternal and infant health. The 'Report Card' includes a new focus on maternal health and highlights solutions and policy actions, officials said. (11/4)

WZTV: Preterm Birth Rates In Tennessee, Kentucky Among Worst Per March Of Dimes Analysis
A new report from the March of Dimes grading states on preterm birth rates grades Tennessee and Kentucky among the worst in the nation. The '2019 March of Dimes Report Card' examines the state of maternal and infant health in states and cities across the country. Nationally, the preterm birth rate increased for the fourth year from 9.63% in 2015 to 10.02% in 2018. The report states the findings are concerning since premature birth and complications are the largest contributors to infant death. (Mojica, 11/4)

Iowa Public Radio: Report: Nearly One In Ten Iowa Babies Are Born Premature
A new report has found that nearly one in ten Iowa children are born pre-term. The annual report by the non-profit March of Dimes gave Iowa a "C" for its pre-term birthrate. It reports 9.9 percent of babies were born pre-term last year, up from 9.2 percent in 2017. It's the highest rate the state has seen in a decade. (Krebs, 11/4)

WUSF/Health News Florida: Premature Birth Rates In Florida Increase Again
The March of Dimes has awarded Florida a C- ranking when it comes its rate of premature births, a ranking only slightly worse than the national average. Early delivery – defined as less than 37 weeks of pregnancy – is one key indicator of maternal and infant health. It increased in Florida this year to 10.3 percent. This compares to a rate of 10.2% from the previous year. (Miller, 11/5)

WTVM: Alabama Receives 'F' On March Of Dimes Annual Report Card
Ahead of World Prematurity Day, the March of Dimes has released its annual report card, which looks at preterm birth rates from across the country. Among several southern states, Alabama has received an "F" when it comes to premature births. The report says 12.5% of births in Alabama are preterm. This is an increase from what the state has seen in previous years. (McGalliard, 11/4)

KFOR.Com: Oklahoma’s Preterm Birth Rate Is Worsening, March Of Dimes Report States
An organization that is working to improve the health of mothers and babies says it is becoming increasingly concerned after a recent report card. Recently, the March of Dimes released its 2019 March of Dimes Report Card that reveals Oklahoma’s current state of maternal and infant health. In the report, Oklahoma earned a ‘D-‘ after the preterm birth rate increased to 11.4% compared to 11.1% last year. (11/4)

The Gazette: Premature Births Increase In Colorado, According To Report
Colorado’s rate of premature births increased in 2018, to 9.2%, up from the prior year’s 8.8%. (Karlik, 11/4)

Read the March of Dimes annual report card here.

The Wall Street Journal: Vaping-Related Illnesses Remain A Mystery To New York Health Officials
More than 150 people in New York have been sickened by vaping-related illnesses, and state health regulators still don’t understand what specifically is causing the ailments, according to a top state health official who testified before New York state senators on Monday. Brad Hutton, the deputy commissioner of the New York State Department of Health, told members of the Senate’s committees on consumer protection, education and health during a hearing that e-cigarette use among New York’s high-school students was 27% in 2018, the same rate as the cigarette-smoking prevalence for that age group back in 2000. (West, 11/4)

The Associated Press: California Cannabis Group Wants Tighter Vaping-Safety Rules
An alliance of major legal marijuana businesses in California urged the state Monday to adopt tougher safety rules for ingredients and devices used in vaping and get tougher with illegal shops, amid an outbreak of a mysterious illness apparently linked to vaping. The recommendations from the industry group — Legal Cannabis for Consumer Safety — come as health officials continue to investigate a wide range of products and chemicals that could be causing the illness that have sickened over 1,600 people nationwide. (Blood, 11/4)

Fox News: Indiana Teen Says He Was Expelled After Suffering Vaping Illness At School
An Indiana teen claims he was expelled from his high school after he reportedly went to the school nurse when he fell ill after vaping, according to a local report. Kegan Houck, a former freshman at Owen Valley High School in Spencer, told RTV6 Indianapolis that he felt dizzy and nauseated after using his friend’s vaping device in the school restroom on Sept. 30. (Farber, 11/4)

WBAL TV Baltimore: Some Unable To Quit Vaping, Approach To Tackling Addiction In Infancy
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is monitoring developments regarding vaping and e-cigarette use, but if you are hooked to vaping nicotine or know someone who is hooked, quitting is anything but simple. Hope Hennigan picked up the vaping habit at 16 while she was a student at a Carroll County high school. She admitted she picked up the habit to fit in. (Weiner, 11/4)

KQED: Should San Francisco Ban The Sale Of E-Cigarettes? Your Guide To Proposition C
San Franciscans will head to the polls Tuesday, and voters will decide on Proposition C, which would overturn a ban on the sale and distribution of e-cigarettes in the city. If you feel like you've been getting mixed messages about the proposition, you're not the only one. (Klivans, 11/4)

State House News Service: Mass. Convenience Stores To Close Wednesday In Protest Of Proposed Ban On Menthol Cigarettes
Hundreds of convenience stores plan to close midday on Wednesday as store owners rally to oppose a proposed ban on menthol cigarettes and, organizers said, to "demonstrate the critical role [the stores] play providing vital resources to communities." Members of the Boston Convenience Store Owners Association and other independent stores across the state — about 1,000 of them in total, organizers said — on Monday will post notices informing customers of the closures. (Young, 11/4)

The New York Times: Why Didn’t She Get Alzheimer’s? The Answer Could Hold A Key To Fighting The Disease
The woman’s genetic profile showed she would develop Alzheimer’s by the time she turned 50. She, like thousands of her relatives, going back generations, was born with a gene mutation that causes people to begin having memory and thinking problems in their 40s and deteriorate rapidly toward death around age 60. But remarkably, she experienced no cognitive decline at all until her 70s, nearly three decades later than expected. (Belluck, 11/4)

Stat: She Was Destined To Get Early Alzheimer's, But Didn't 
“This is an excellent and thought-provoking study,” said Dr. Michael Greicius of Stanford University School of Medicine, an expert in Alzheimer’s genetics who was not involved in the research. He emphasized, however, that because the patient’s combination of genes is “exceedingly uncommon and possibly unique,” the study — published in Nature Medicine — is “hypothesis-generating” but far from definitive. (Begley, 11/4)

Stat: Alzheimer's Drug Approved In China Delivers A Surprise But Also Questions
Chinese regulators have granted conditional approval to an Alzheimer’s drug that is derived from seaweed, potentially shaking up the field after years of clinical failures involving experimental therapies from major drug companies. The announcement over the weekend has been met with caution as well as an eagerness from clinicians and others to see full data from the drug maker, Shanghai Green Valley Pharmaceuticals. (Joseph, 11/4)

Los Angeles Times: California's Strict Vaccination Law Will Have Only 'Modest' Impact, Study Says
Since California tightened its childhood vaccination laws in 2016, public health officials across the country have been closely watching for signs of success in bolstering vaccination rates. A study published Monday offers an answer. In a brief in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers found that the strict law will have only a “modest” impact in increasing vaccination rates by 2027. (Karlamangla, 11/4)

Stat: Study: Rise In Religious Vaccine Exemptions Points To Some False Claims
The percentage of children starting kindergarten whose parents claim that vaccination conflicts with their religious beliefs has ticked up in recent years, even while the portion of Americans who profess to be part of an organized religion has fallen. A new study suggests some of the increase may be related to a tightening of school-entry vaccination policies. State law around vaccine exemptions varies, with some states permitting parents to forgo immunization of their children not only on religious grounds but also because of so-called personal beliefs. (Branswell, 11/4)

The New York Times: Farm Country Feeds America. But Just Try Buying Groceries There. 
John Paul Coonrod had a banana problem. The only grocery store in his 1,500-person hometown in central Illinois had shut its doors, and Mr. Coonrod, a local lawyer, was racing to get a community-run market off the ground. He had found space in an old shoe store, raised $85,000 from neighbors and even secured a liquor license to sell craft beer. But then his main produce supplier fell through. (Healy, 11/5)

Stat: Most IVF 'Add-Ons' Rest On Shaky Science, Studies Find
In the 40 years since the world’s first “test tube baby,” fertility clinics have cooked up nearly three dozen such “add-ons,” or supplementary procedures. Like immune therapy for supposed genetic incompatibility, they’re not essential to IVF. Instead, clinics offer procedures such as “assisted hatching” and “embryo glue” and “uterine artery vasodilation” as purportedly science-based options that increase the chance of having a baby. Except there is little to no evidence that the vast majority of IVF add-ons do any such thing, conclude four papers published on Tuesday in Fertility and Sterility, the journal of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. (Begley, 11/5)

The Washington Post: Worrying Or Feeling Anxious A Lot Can Be A Sign Of Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
“Worry has consumed my life. I have worried about everything and everybody, and am always preparing for the possibility of things going wrong,” said Marla White, a 55-year-old publicist from Los Angeles. She is not alone. A 2018 Gallup poll found that 45 percent of Americans said they felt worried a lot, more than in any year since 2006. (Kecmanovic, 11/4)

Beaumont Enterprise: Tragedy Of Teen Suicide Recurs
Inspirational notes adorn the walls of Kandice Kennedy’s home. “The thought of losing you was terrifying,” reads one, handwritten on a paper heart. “ … I won’t know what to do. ”It was from her daughter, Zaria, who had agonized as she watched Kennedy undergo treatment for breast cancer. The girl also hosted a “Think Pink”-themed party for her mom’s birthday two years ago, and invited friends to leave their own messages of support and encouragement. (Windes, 11/4)

CNN: She Was Called The N-Word And Given Instructions To Slit Her Wrists. What Did Facebook Do?
You can call someone the n-word and give her graphic instructions on how to kill herself, and you won't get kicked off Facebook. Or you can tell a mother you hope her son gets raped, and you won't get kicked off the world's most popular social media platform. Or you can tell a mother whose 5-year-old daughter has died that "if your kids keep dying it's god trying to tell u u don't deserve them." (Cohen, 11/1)

The New York Times: Is The ‘War On Drugs’ Over? Arrest Statistics Say No
Despite bipartisan calls to treat drug addiction as a public health issue rather than as a crime — and despite the legalization of marijuana in more states — arrests for drugs increased again last year. According to estimated crime statistics released by the F.B.I. in September, there were 1,654,282 arrests for drugs in 2018, a number that has increased every year since 2015, after declining over the previous decade. Meanwhile, arrests for violent crime and property crime have continued to trend downward. (Stellin, 11/5)

The Washington Post: For Some Cancer Patients, Monitoring Symptoms Can Extend Their Lives
There’s an inexpensive, widely accessible and markedly effective approach to cancer care that’s as close as the tips of our fingers. It’s not a new drug, type of radiation or surgical breakthrough with a slew of unwelcome side effects. It’s also not a cure, but it is surprising for its simplicity. It’s a matter of regularly answering a few questions about symptoms. (Ornes, 11/4)

CNN: Even A Little Running Cuts Risk Of Premature Death, New Study Shows
Wondering whether it's worth going for a little jog? Get those sneakers on -- a new study shows that any amount of running lowers the risk of premature death. In an analysis of 14 previous studies -- from the US, UK, China and Denmark -- the group of researchers from institutes in Australia, Thailand and Finland concluded that increased running participation "would probably lead to substantial improvements in population health and longevity." (Sullivan, 11/4)

North Carolina Health News: Tick Disease That Killed Former Senator Is Rare 
The virus carried by a tiny tick that caused the death of former U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan has never been reported in North Carolina, but that doesn’t mean it won’t get here someday. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the number of tick-borne diseases are increasing and spreading throughout the country, including ticks carrying the Powassan virus. Hagan, who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina between 2009 and 2015, died at age 66 after battling serious health complications for three years. Her funeral was Sunday in Greensboro, where she lived for decades. (Barnes, 11/5)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Too Much Screen Time Changes Brains, Says Cincinnati Children's Study
Young children who get more screen time than doctors recommend have differences in parts of the brain that support language and self-regulation, a study at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center has found.It's not clear how the changes affect a child's development, the researchers said. (Saker, 11/4)

Kaiser Health News: Record Number Of Legionnaires’ Cases In 2018 Risk Lives, Cause Cleanup Headaches
Cases of Legionnaires’ disease reached a record high in 2018 — a more than eight-fold increase since the numbers began to climb nearly two decades ago. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday 9,933 cases in 2018 of Legionellosis, which includes both Legionnaires’ disease and Pontiac fever. Legionnaires’ disease made up the vast majority of cases, according to the CDC. (Weber, 11/5)

The Washington Post: The NRA Foundation Is Raising Money By Auctioning Off Guns In Schools — To The Dismay Of Some Parents
Parents and students trickled into the Muhlenberg County High School gym on a hot Saturday night as the sounds of cheers and a referee’s whistle carried from an athletic field nearby. Inside the “Home of the Mustangs,” Friends of NRA was raffling off guns: semiautomatic rifles and handguns, guns with high-capacity magazines and pump-action shotguns. In the past two years, the NRA Foundation’s fundraising program had displayed actual guns along the wooden bleachers in the gym. This time organizers showed only pictures, bowing to objections from parents who pointed to a shooting at another western Kentucky high school last year that left two students dead and more than a dozen wounded. (Reinhard and Satija, 11/4)

In other news on gun violence —

St. Louis Public Radio: Missouri Senate Committee Holds First Meeting To Address Gun Violence
A Missouri Senate committee heard several hours of testimony on Monday regarding gun violence throughout the state with possible solutions ranging from more money for gang intervention to better retention of police officers. Witnesses at the hearing were invited by one of the seven senators on the newly formed Interim Committee on Public Safety. They included police, prosecutors and research analysts. (Driscoll, 11/5)

The New York Times: He Wanted Cold Medicine, But CVS Rejected His Puerto Rican ID
CVS has apologized for denying a 20-year-old Puerto Rican student cold medicine at a store in Indiana because employees did not believe his driver’s license was a valid form of identification. José A. Guzmán-Payano, a junior at Purdue University, went to a store near his dorm in West Lafayette, Ind., on Oct. 25 to buy Mucinex for a cold, his mother wrote on Facebook. When an employee at the checkout saw his Puerto Rican driver’s license, she asked him for a visa, and “started confronting him about his immigration status,” Arlene Payano Burgos wrote in a post that had been shared more than 10,000 times. (Zraick, 11/4)

The Associated Press: Student: CVS Workers Rejected Puerto Rico ID, Asked For Visa
Guzmán Payano said he tried explaining that Puerto Rico is part of the U.S., but the clerk demanded to see a visa to verify his immigration status before he could purchase his cold medicine. “And then when she asked me for a visa, I was in shock at that time,” he said. “It wasn’t worth talking anymore." (11/4)

The Washington Post: How Bad Is The Air In California? As Wildfires Rage On, It's Hard To Tell
As wildfires raged in Northern California, Bay Area residents checked websites and apps last week to nervously monitor an approaching smoke plume roughly the size Rhode Island. What some people found were multicolored maps showing contradictory information, or in some cases no information at all. The problem: Many of the air quality measurement stations supplying the information had been shut off when Pacific Gas & Electric cut power to the area, leading to inaccurate and confusing information. (Albergotti, 11/4)

Boston Globe: Consumers Struggle To Find Information On Health Care Costs, Poll Shows
Most Massachusetts residents want to know more about the costs of their health care — yet few actually research those costs, according to a new survey. The results of the poll, commissioned by Boston’s Pioneer Institute, reflects the complexity of health care pricing and the difficulties for consumers trying to find out how much they must pay out of pocket for their care. (Dayal McCluskey, 11/4)

The Star Tribune: UnitedHealthcare Assessed $1 Million Penalty For Claims Payment Violations 
Pennsylvania regulators have issued a $1 million civil penalty against UnitedHealthcare on allegations the health insurer violated a number of state and federal laws when paying medical claims, particularly for patients seeking treatment of autism and substance use disorders. Minnetonka-based UnitedHealthcare will spend another $800,000 on an outreach campaign to educate consumers about their mental health and substance use disorder benefits, according to the agreement announced Monday. (Snowbeck, 11/4)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Penalty Program Didn't Influence Decline In Hospital-Acquired Conditions
While the number of patients with injuries or infections in Michigan declined over an eight-year period, a new study found it wasn't because of the penalty-driven Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program. The study, published Monday in Health Affairs, found the rate of some hospital-acquired conditions dropped from 61.7 per 1,000 discharges before the program was announced in 2013 to 58.7 after the program was announced. (Castellucci, 11/4)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Debate Over Science And Risks Shapes 3M's Lawsuit Against N.H.'s PFAS Water Standards
New Hampshire's strict new limits on PFAS chemicals have been in effect for more than a month now. Officials say the regulations are based on sound science. But the court battle against them is only just beginning. (Ropeik, 11/4)

Bloomberg: Huntsman Family Gives $150 Million To Fight Mental-Health Crisis 
The Huntsman Foundation is giving $150 million to the University of Utah for research into mental illness and to improve mental-health services on the Salt Lake City campus and across the state. The gift will support the school’s Department of Psychiatry and psychiatric hospital, as well as the University Neuropsychiatric Institute, which will be renamed the Huntsman Mental Health Institute. The funds will also be used to expand services to students and into rural areas, and to fund research on genetic and other factors tied to mental health, according to a statement Monday. (Woolley, 11/4)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Illinois Congressman Considering Legislation On Ambulance Diversion
U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., said Monday he is considering sponsoring federal legislation to address the controversial practice of ambulance diversion. His statement comes as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel continues to investigate the decades-old practice, in which hospitals turn away ambulances when officials declare their emergency rooms are too crowded. (Diedrich, 11/4)

Bloomberg: UnitedHealth’s MyConnections Houses The Homeless Through Medicaid 
After decades in shoestring clinics and nonprofits, [Jeffrey Brenner] become an executive at UnitedHealth Group Inc., America’s largest health insurer. Brenner is expected to contribute to its bottom line. He plans to do it by giving people places to live. The research and development lab for this experiment is a pair of apartment complexes in a down-at-the-heels corner of Phoenix called Maryvale. Here, Brenner is using UnitedHealth’s money to pay for housing and support services for roughly 60 formerly homeless recipients of Medicaid, the safety-net insurance program for low-income people. (Tozzi, 11/5)

The Associated Press: Medical Marijuana In Louisiana: Questions About Cost Arise
Three months after medical marijuana became available in Louisiana, doctors and clinics say some patients are finding the cost for therapeutic cannabis too high for treatment, pricing them out of a medication they waited years to obtain. Nine pharmacies dispense medicinal-grade pot and set their individual prices. (11/4)

The CT Mirror: U.S. Department Of Justice Investigating Conditions At Manson Youth Institution
Federal authorities have opened an investigation into conditions of confinement for juveniles incarcerated at Manson Youth Institution, a high-security prison in Cheshire. In an Oct. 15 letter addressed to Gov. Ned Lamont, Department of Correction Rollin Cook, Attorney General William Tong, Warden Derrick Molden and other federal officials, Assistant Attorney General Eric S. Dreiband said his agency will examine whether Manson’s restrictive housing practices violate minors’ constitutional rights, whether mental health services for juveniles are “constitutionally inadequate,” and whether the state has violated the constitutional rights of children with disabilities. (Lyons, 11/4)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Violence Prevention Model That Worked In UK May Help In Milwaukee Area
Welsh law enforcement officials were concerned. For years, crime had been increasing in their country. Between 1981 and 1995, the number of violent crimes in the United Kingdom as a whole nearly doubled, leaving officials unsure of what to do. But it was around that time that Jonathan Shepherd revisited a discovery he'd made years earlier as a doctoral student at Bristol University — a discovery that led to a new approach that is credited with reducing violence. (Shelbourne, 11/4)

WBUR: Boston Athletes And Coaches Reflect On The Mental-Health Perils — And Promise — Of Pro Sports
On Monday morning, members of the Celtics took part in a panel to preview “Headstrong,” a documentary being produced by NBC Sports; it’s set to premiere nationwide on the network's stations this Friday. In a panel discussion moderated by NBC Sports Boston’s Trenni Kusnierek, fourth-year guard Jaylen Brown and others discussed the problem — and what feels like a turning point, at least in their league. (Larkin, 11/4)

Texas Tribune: Gov. Greg Abbott's Cleaning Of Homeless Camps Sets Back Some Austinites
TxDOT officials last week posted notices that they would remove all remaining property from under overpasses at the order of Gov. Greg Abbott. John Wittman, a spokesman for the governor, said such clearings will be weekly under 17 overpasses — and could possibly be more frequent at the governor’s discretion. (Tatum, 11/4)

Stat: State Treasurers Urge Cardinal Health Shareholders To Reject Board Member
As Cardinal Health (CAH) grapples with criticism of its role in the opioid crisis, a group of four state treasurers is opposing its decision to re-appoint a board member who previously served at a time when the distributor was fined by federal authorities for allowing controlled substances to be diverted. The treasurers from Connecticut, Illinois, Rhode Island, and Vermont voted against re-nominating J. Michael Losh to the board ahead of the company’s annual shareholders meeting on Wednesday. (Silverman, 11/4)

Kaiser Health News: As UVA Scales Back Lawsuits, Pain For Past Patients Persists
Kitt Klein and Mike Miller lost thousands of dollars in hard-won savings more than a decade ago after UVA Health put a lien on their home for a hospital bill they couldn’t pay. They can’t believe they’re at risk of losing a second home today. “Can they do this twice?” said Klein, who lives with her husband, a house painter, in her late mother’s house in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. (Hancock, 11/4)

Miami Herald: There’s A Shortage Of Smokable Medical Marijuana In Florida
The new law allows patients to purchase up to 2.5 ounces of whole flower cannabis every 35 days as recommended by their qualified doctor. Since the law went into effect, medical marijuana treatment centers have dispensed more than 15,000 ounces of the whole flower drug, and the companies are feeling the demand. (Gross, 11/4)

CBS News: Alleged Cancer Fraud: Pennsylvania Woman Facing Felony Charges For Allegedly Faking Cancer And Racking Up $10,000 In Donations
A Pennsylvania woman was arrested for allegedly faking cancer and charged with collecting donations through a GoFundMe page and Facebook fundraiser totaling more than $10,000, CBS Philadelphia reports. Jessica Smith faces a number of felony theft counts for allegedly creating the scam donation pages. This investigation started in June and Smith is now behind bars. The 32-year-old was arrested Wednesday after allegedly lying about having a rare form of colon cancer. (11/5)

The Washington Post: When It Comes To Medicare-For-All, Listen To Nancy Pelosi 
When it comes to Democrats’ obsession with Medicare-for-all, listen to Nancy Pelosi. The House speaker put it more politely, but on the very day that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) unveiled her plan to remake the U.S. health-care system for the lowball price of $20.5 trillion, Pelosi made it clear that she thought this was political insanity.“I’m not a big fan of Medicare-for-all,” Pelosi told Bloomberg TV on Friday. She cited the cost. She noted the “comfort level that some people have with their current private insurance.” And she cautioned, “Remember November.” Pushing Medicare-for-all “would increase the vote in my own district,” the California Democrat said, “but that’s not what we need to do in order to win the electoral college.” (Ruth Marcus, 11/4)

The Wall Street Journal: Warren Asks What The Country Can Do For You
Elizabeth Warren’s release Friday of a more specific health-care platform only raised more questions about Medicare for All and its effects on the middle class. Conservatives as well as Ms. Warren’s Democratic opponents questioned the assumptions behind her claim that she can enact a single-payer plan without raising taxes on the middle class. Yet the harshest critic may be Ms. Warren herself. “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country,” John F. Kennedy, who once held Ms. Warren’s Senate seat, urged. She refuses to ask the middle class to pay a dime for her costly proposal. (Chris Jacobs, 11/4)

The New York Times: The Warren Way Is The Wrong Way
Senator Elizabeth Warren has unveiled her vision for how to pay for “Medicare for all” — a daunting mountain of new taxes and fees. Thanks for providing us, Ms. Warren, with yet more evidence that a Warren presidency is a terrifying prospect, one brought closer by your surge in the polls. Left to her own devices, she would extend the reach and weight of the federal government far further into the economy than anything even President Franklin Roosevelt imagined, effectively abandoning the limited-government model that has mostly served us well. (Steven Rattner, 11/4)

The Washington Post: Democrats Have A Dangerous Misconception About Policy And Campaigns
We’re now moving into the phase of the presidential campaign in which Democrats begin a round of furious hand-wringing and doomsaying, although in fairness that characterizes just about every phase of the campaign. The proximate cause at the moment is the fact that Elizabeth Warren, who has a good chance to become the party’s nominee, has just released a Medicare-for-all plan, and polls indicate that Medicare-for-all is less popular than a public option of the kind being advocated by others such as Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg. The appropriate response to this fact is obviously to cry, “We’re doomed!” (Paul Waldman, 11/4)

The New York Times: Elizabeth Warren Throws Down The Gauntlet
Laying the table for the next Democratic debate, Elizabeth Warren has issued a plan that explains how she would fund what she calls Medicare for All. She had studiously avoided saying whether it would raise taxes for the middle class, and in her proposal, she says (repeatedly) it will not. It will instead be financed by a mix of wealth taxes, employer transfers of money they currently spend on health care and reductions of the many inefficiencies in our current byzantine system — among other initiatives. (Elisabeth Rosenthal, 11/4)

Meanwhile, on other health care issues —

The Hill: It's Time To Protect US And The World Against Global Pandemics
In the aftermath of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, the U.S. began building systems that could better respond to future infectious disease outbreaks. Yet the current administration has repeatedly proposed cuts to these programs and prospects for true U.S. leadership in this area have dimmed as agencies face shortfalls.In fact, these shortsighted budget cuts along with reversals of U.S. commitments to combatting climate change are creating precisely the right conditions for the next infectious pandemic to thrive. (Charles B. Holmes, 11/4)

The Hill: At-Risk And Unaware, Consumers Need CBD Regulation
Cannabidiol — known and CBD — has gone mainstream. You can find it for sale anywhere from gas stations to grocery stores to farmers markets across the country, rocketing ahead of scientific research, regulatory oversight and consumer knowledge. New research from the Grocery Manufacturers Association (where I am president and CEO) reveals that four-in-ten Americans who have heard of CBD believe it’s another name for marijuana. More than half (51 percent) think it can get you high. Seventy-six percent assume CBD is regulated at the federal level, including 53 percent who rest easy thinking the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees CBD’s safe use and marketing. They’re wrong on all counts. (Geoff Freeman, 11/4)