NPR: White House And GOP Congressional Leaders Reach Budget Deal
Just days before the election of a new speaker of the House, lame-duck Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, made good on one last promise — that he'd try to "clear the barn" for his successor. In one fell swoop, two thorny issues were crossed off the to-do list: raising the debt ceiling by next Tuesday, and coming up with a budget agreement. ... The tentative agreement raises federal spending by $80 billion over the next two years, evenly splitting that increase between defense and domestic programs. Some of that is paid for by cuts to Medicare and Social Security disability benefits. Negotiators also agreed to lift the debt ceiling until March 2017. (Chang, 10/27)

The New York Times: Budget Deal Isn’t Boehner’s ‘Grand Bargain’ But Gets Job Done
It is no grand bargain, but it is a big deal. ... It would give a little breathing room for more spending on politically popular domestic programs like health care research, federal law enforcement and the Coast Guard, while defusing tension between Republican hawks itching for more military spending and budget hawks demanding strict adherence to statutory spending limits. And it would avert premium increases of as much as 50 percent for millions of older people on Medicare, a potent political force. (Hulse, 10/27)

Los Angeles Times: White House And Republican Leaders Reach Budget Deal
The deal is likely to face opposition from both right and left. The package also would raise the nation's borrowing limit and avert the risk of a credit default, which could come as early as Nov. 3. In addition, the deal is expected to block price increases on seniors who use Medicare Part B, halting forthcoming boosts in their premiums and deductibles. ... The GOP will score a victory with another provision that would do away with an Affordable Care Act requirement that larger companies automatically sign up workers for healthcare unless the workers specifically opt out. Businesses have fought the requirement. (Mascaro, 10/26)

The Wall Street Journal: White House, Congressional Leaders Reach Tentative Budget Deal
For it to pass the House, the pact will need to quickly win backing from most Democrats and at least a few dozen Republicans who have frequently balked at spending and debt-ceiling bills they say don’t do enough to shrink the budget deficit. At the same time, the White House and GOP leaders will have to make sure the provisions used to pay for the deal don’t alienate liberal Democrats, who could oppose changes to safety-net programs. (Peterson, Timiraos and Hughes, 10/27)

Politico: Conservatives Already Trashing New Budget Deal
To pay for the increased spending, congressional negotiators dug into a combination of health care savings and smaller revenue-raisers. But even though the boost in spending would be paid for — a key part of the GOP leaders’ sales pitch — some conservative lawmakers signaled they still wouldn't support the plan. ... Those pay-fors include a repeal of a piece of Obamacare, according to congressional sources. It would repeal Obamacare’s requirement that large employers automatically enroll employees in their health plans. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that a different bill to repeal that provision would save the federal government $7.9 billion over a decade. (Kim, Everett and Haberkorn, 10/26)

USA Today: Congress, White House Near Deal To Avert Budget Crisis
The agreement would also set a two-year budget plan that would raise the strict government-wide spending limits — $520 billion for defense programs, $493 billion for non-defense — put in place by the 2011 "sequester." The official said it would add $50 billion to those totals in the first year and $30 billion the year after, divided equally between defense and non-defense spending. (Singer, Jansen and Kelly, 10/26)

Politico: John Boehner's Parting Gift To Paul Ryan
If Boehner can shepherd the deal through the House in his final hours in Congress, and the Senate sends it to the White House, Ryan would start out as speaker with more running room than Boehner ever enjoyed. ... Yet it's the kind of agreement that is born of old-fashioned, actual compromise between President Barack Obama and congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle, sources involved in the talks say. If the package makes it to the House floor — which it could by Wednesday — both sides say it has something for everyone to like. Senate action would come afterward. (Sherman and Bresnahan, 10/26)

The Washington Post: Congress, White House Reach Two-Year Budget Deal
The introduction sets up a vote as early as Wednesday on the bipartisan budget deal which would increase military and domestic spending and avert a potentially catastrophic default in exchange for long-term spending cuts. ... The timeline is tight for building support for the plan with the Treasury Department saying the debt ceiling will be hit by Nov. 3. ... The agreement includes about $80 billion in additional spending over two years, divided equally between defense and domestic programs. Those spending increases would be offset by savings from changes to the Social Security disability insurance fund and Medicare payments to doctors and other health care providers. (Snell, 10/27)

CNN: Budget Deal Divides Hill Republicans
The final details were ironed out late into the night Monday, including cuts to the Social Security disability program and to Medicare. But the deal was the product of weeks of negotiations led by Boehner, who is furiously trying to take the divisive fiscal issues off the plate for Ryan before his successor takes office. If the deal passes, Ryan could have a clear path to do his job without the fiscal brinksmanship that damaged Boehner's speakership. (Raju, Walsh and Barrett, 10/27)

Fox News: House GOP Leaders Unveil Two-Year Budget Deal With White House
A chief selling point for GOP leaders is that the alternative is chaos and a stand-alone debt limit increase that might be forced on Republicans. But conservatives in the conference who drove Boehner to resign were not ready to fall in line. "This is again just the umpteenth time that you have this big, big, huge deal that'll last for two years and we were told nothing about it, and in fact even today, were not given the details" said Rep. John Fleming, R-La. "And we're probably going to have to vote on it in less than 48 hours." (10/27)

CBS News: Congress, White House Strike Tentative Two-Year Budget Deal
The deal would lift spending levels, imposed by a 2011 fiscal deal, for both the Pentagon and domestic programs equally for the next two fiscal years. For the rest of the current fiscal year, the deal would boost spending by $50 billion and increase spending for the year after by $30 billion, sources said. (Shabad, 10/26)

In the background -

The Associated Press: AP-GfK Poll: Use Default, Shutdown Threats To Cut Spending
A divided public thinks it’s worth shutting the government or halting its ability to borrow to pay bills unless President Barack Obama consents to spending cuts, an Associated Press-GfK poll has found. ... Some specific goals of GOP lawmakers fare poorly when they are in the balance: There’s little taste for forcing a shutdown over halting federal payments to Planned Parenthood, repealing Obama’s health care overhaul or blocking a nuclear deal with Iran. The survey was conducted earlier this month as Obama and the GOP-controlled Congress crept toward a pair of deadlines that, without action, could trigger jolting political and economic reverberations. (Fram and Swanson, 10/27)

The Wall Street Journal: Premiums For Health Insurance Bought On Exchanges To Climb In 2016
The Obama administration said many consumers will see noticeable premium increases when buying health coverage on insurance exchanges in 2016, acknowledging for the first time what many health-care experts had predicted. ... The higher premiums are likely to intensify Republican’s claims that the health law isn’t holding down costs. The Obama administration is urging customers to go back online during open enrollment, which begins Nov. 1, and shop around to see if they can limit the impact of the cost increases. (Armour, 10/26)

The New York Times: Revamped HealthCare.Gov Opens With New Tools For Gauging True Cost Of Insurance
Consumers on Monday began shopping online for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act on a newly remodeled version of HealthCare.gov that worked more or less as promised by the government. When a consumer searches for health plans on the federal website, the results are listed in order of price — the premium — from the cheapest to the most expensive. But consumers can also see plans ranked by deductible, or the amount they must pay up front before the insurance begins to pay. (Pear, 26)

Kaiser Health News: Premiums For Key Marketplace Silver Plans Rising An Average Of 7.5 Percent, HHS Says
The HHS report, released late Monday, focuses on the monthly premiums for the second-lowest silver plan, also called the benchmark, which is used by the Internal Revenue Service to calculate tax credits to help pay for the premiums. The credits are available to people with incomes between 100 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty line ($11,770 to $47,080 for an individual) who purchase coverage on the federal or state-based online marketplaces, or exchanges. (Carey and Rau, 10/27)

The Associated Press: Health Insurance Prices Up 7.5 Percent For Benchmark Plans
The federal government says the cost of a benchmark plan on HealthCare.gov will increase 7.5 percent for 2016 coverage, but most people will still be able to buy a plan for less than $100 a month, after tax credits. ... Insurers in many states had underpriced their plans and are raising rates because of medical inflation and higher claims than expected. Insurers are trying to find the right prices in the new marketplace. (10/26)

USA Today: Healthcare.gov Premiums Have Bigger Increase For 2016
About 70% of those who return to the federal insurance exchange when open enrollment starts Nov. 1 will pay less than $75 a month after they receive tax credits, a government analysis released Monday shows. ... The new report did not address the important issue of total out-of-pocket costs, which include deductibles, co-payments and other cost sharing. Many people who shop based on premium costs alone can be alarmed when they see how much they have to contribute to their health care on top of their monthly premiums. (O'Donnell, 10/26)

Politico: Obamacare Rates To Rise 7.5 Percent Next Year
But the average rate hikes will vary dramatically from state to state — skyrocketing more than 30 percent in Alaska, Montana and Oklahoma while dropping 12.6 percent in Indiana. ... Those benchmark plans, which are among the most popular sold on the law's health insurance exchanges, are important because they're used to calculate how much federal support low- and middle-income exchange customers will receive toward their monthly premiums. (Demko, 10/26)

The Washington Post: 2016 Affordable Care Act Insurance Rates Are Climbing
The analysis is based on hundreds of health plans sold in local markets within 37 states that use HealthCare.gov, the federal online insurance marketplace. It excludes plans in other states that have created separate ACA insurance marketplaces. The rates reflect the prices of the second-least expensive health plan in each market for 2016 in a tier of coverage known as silver. ACA health plans are divided into four tiers, all named for metals, depending on the amount of customers’ care that they cover. Silver plans have proven by far the most popular. Officials at HHS issued the analysis as less than a week remains before the start on Nov. 1 of a third open-enrollment season for Americans eligible to sign up for health plans under the insurance marketplaces created by the 2010 health-care law. (Goldstein, 10/26)

Bloomberg: Obamacare Benchmark Health Premium Climb 7.5% On Average
The Obama administration has been seeking to make sure affordable options are available as part of its goal of getting more people signed up for insurance in the 2016 enrollment period, which starts Sunday. Those who remain uninsured tend to be younger and poorer than people who’ve already signed up, HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell has said. Some insurers had sought rate increases of 10 percent or more for 2016, raising concerns that cheap options would dwindle. (Tracer, 10/26)

The Hill: Average Premiums To Rise 7.5 Percent On Key ObamaCare Plan
The increase for next year does not take into account the billions of dollars in government subsidies that are given to people on the exchanges. It also doesn’t include the dozen state marketplaces that set their own rates and determine their own benchmark plans. The data released Monday afternoon shows that the change in premium prices varies widely among the 34 states. (Ferris, 10/26)

Kaiser Health News: Marketplace Customers Could See Higher Premiums, No Coverage For Out-Of-Network Care
When the health insurance marketplaces open on Sunday, consumers shopping for 2016 coverage may encounter steeper premium increases than last year and more plans that offer no out-of-network coverage. ... Although most consumers zero in on premiums when comparing plans, next year it could be especially important to pay attention to the network of doctors and hospitals that are part of the plans that they’re considering. There will likely be fewer plans that cover broad networks of providers, says Kathy Hempstead, who directs health insurance coverage issues for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In addition, a growing number of marketplace plans will cover only doctors or hospitals in their provider networks. (Andrews, 10/27)

The Denver Post: Colorado Health Exchange Ready For Influx Of Customers Of Failed Co-Op
The leader of the state health exchange expressed confidence Monday that most people losing Colorado HealthOP policies will stay with the exchange. The largest insurer on the Connect for Health Colorado exchange is shutting down after regulators determined it is financially unstable. It has about 83,000 exchange customers and 29,000 other policyholders. The nonprofit was one of 22 cooperatives created through the ACA and supported by the government to provide low-cost competition. Eight have folded. (Olinger, 10/26)

The Associated Press: Illinois Insurance Prices Up For Some Under Health Care Law
Many Illinois consumers will pay higher prices for health insurance entering the third year of President Barack Obama's health care law, industry experts said after the government published the 2016 prices Monday. The federal government said the cost of a benchmark plan in Illinois on HealthCare.gov will increase 6.1 percent for 2016 coverage, but most people will be able to buy a plan for less than $100 a month after tax credits. (Johnson, 10/26)

The Arizona Republic: HHS: Arizona Health Plan Set For 17.5% Rate Hike
Arizonans who buy health insurance from the Affordable Care Act marketplace next week will see that the key benchmark plan raises monthly rates 17.5 percent — more than twice the national average rate increase, according to figures released Monday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (Alltucker, 10/26)

The Des Moines Register: Obamacare Enrollment Fair Set For Nov. 2 In Des Moines
Central Iowans interested in signing up for subsidized health insurance are invited to an “enrollment fair” next week. The event is intended to help people understand their options under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Many moderate-income citizens can qualify for federal subsidies to help pay health-insurance premiums. The enrollment period for 2016 starts Sunday. (Leys, 10/26)

The Kansas Health Institute News Service: Latest Kansas ACA Lawsuit Mirrors Legislature's Action
When Rep. Jim Ward read the latest lawsuit brought by Kansas officials against the Affordable Care Act, the Wichita Democrat thought the federal action at the center of the suit sounded familiar. “My first thought was, ‘Wait a minute, didn’t we just do this about four months ago?’” Ward said, referring to the Legislature increasing a tax on health plans. “And why is one better than the other?” (Marso, 10/26)

Fox News: New Obamacare Challenge Filed With Supreme Court
Foes of President Obama's health care law are taking another crack at upending the legislation, filing a new challenge with the Supreme Court after a separate long-shot case was rejected earlier this year. The petition filed Monday by the Pacific Legal Foundation, like the prior challenge, focuses on an obscure aspect of the law. The case contends ObamaCare violates the provision of the Constitution that requires tax-raising bills to originate in the House of Representatives. (10/26)

The New York Times: Valeant Forms Committee To Investigate Ties With Pharmacy
Embattled Valeant Pharmaceuticals International said on Monday that its accounting related to its relationship with a specialty pharmacy was legal and appropriate, but added that its board was nonetheless forming a special committee to investigate the relationship. Valeant, based in Laval, Quebec, disclosed for the first time last week that it had acquired an option to buy the specialty pharmacy, Philidor Rx Services, which dispenses some of Valeant’s dermatology drugs. (Pollack, 10/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Valeant Finds No Illegal Activity At Company
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. tried to reassure shareholders on Monday that its accounting and disclosures were sound. But not all investors were convinced, and the shares continued their slide. After a tumultuous week, which saw the stock plunge almost 35%, management convened a conference call with investors Monday morning, attempting to quell their anxiety. (Rapoport and Rockoff, 10/26)

ProPublica: Federal Investigators Looking At Valeant's Contact Lens Dealings
The Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether Valeant Pharmaceuticals International has illegally cornered the market for a key component of rigid contact lenses, according to people familiar with the inquiry. Valeant, a large drug maker, has been under fire in recent months for steep price hikes on its heart medications. Its stock has sharply declined over the past week as investors questioned its convoluted relationship with a network of specialty pharmacies. (Ornstein, 10/27)

Bloomberg: Valeant CEO Staunchly Defends Drugmaker's Accounting, Ethics
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. took its first major steps Monday to push back against charges of accounting and ethical irregularities, appointing a new director aimed at calming investor concerns. Yet Valeant’s shares continued to decline after their 35 percent slump last week. Chief Executive Officer J. Michael Pearson, four other executives and six board members took to a conference call to mount a defense of the company’s arrangement to sell medications through mail-order pharmacy Philidor RX Services, a practice that a short-seller last week said pumped up Valeant’s revenue. (Bloomfield and Mittleman, 10/26)

Reuters: From Pilot To Profit-Maker, Valeant's Pharmacy Rose Quickly
The pharmacy at the centre of suspicions over Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc's business practices began as a small pilot project two years ago and quickly grew to account for 7 percent of the drugmaker's revenue. Valeant disclosed on Monday details of its relationship with Pennsylvania-based Philidor Rx Services, defending the pharmacy against allegations of illegal activity while pledging to review the business carefully. (10/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Things To Know About Valeant Pharmaceuticals
A report issued Wednesday by short seller Andrew Left’s Citron Research accused Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. of creating fraudulent invoices through a network of pharmacies it controls. The report compared Valeant to Enron, the energy-trading firm that collapsed in a 2001 accounting scandal. Shares of Valeant have fallen sharply since. The company said Monday that it properly accounted for its much-debated relationships with specialty pharmacies and found “no evidence whatsoever” of any illegal activity at the company. (Rockoff, 10/26)

Reuters: Novartis Profit Hit $390M Settlement In U.S. Kickbacks Case
Novartis has agreed in principle to pay $390 million to settle U.S. allegations that it used kickbacks to speciality pharmacies to push sales of some drugs, the Swiss company said on Tuesday, hitting third-quarter earnings. The U.S. Department of Justice had sued Novartis in the Manhattan federal court, saying the world's biggest seller of prescription drugs sought illegally to boost sales of drugs covered by Medicare and Medicaid. (Miller, 10/27)

Reuters: FDA Sees No Heart Risks From Novartis' Parkinson's Drug
U.S. health regulators said on Monday that there was no evidence of increased cardiovascular risks related to Novartis AG's treatment, Stalevo, for Parkinson's disease. Recommendations for using the drug, which won U.S. approval in 2003, will remain the same on the labels, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said, after examining data from a required clinical trial and one additional study. (10/26)

And in other marketplace news -

The Wall Street Journal: Senators Seek FTC Probe Of Drug Makers Over Saline Shortage
Four U.S. senators asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether suppliers of saline solution have illegally inflated prices to exploit a chronic shortage of the hospital staple. The senators sent a letter Monday to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez stating that prices for saline have risen 200% to 300% since a shortage began in late 2013. The letter was signed by two Democrats— Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota-—and two Republicans from Utah— Mike Lee and Orrin Hatch. (Loftus, 10/26)

The Associated Press: Clinton 'Outraged' By Delays For Veterans Seeking Care
Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign said Monday she is "outraged" by chronic delays for veterans seeking medical care or struggling to have their disability claims processed. But Clinton opposes privatizing the system and intends to lay out a plan next month to make further changes. (10/26)

CNN: Veterans' Groups Fire Back At Clinton's VA Comments
Some veterans groups are firing back after a comment Hillary Clinton made about the Department of Veterans Affairs scandal. The former secretary of state suggested in an interview late last week that the controversy which shook the VA last year was overblown, and Republicans used it to serve their own agenda. (Devine and Griffin, 10/26)

News outlets also report on public statements and policy positions offered by Republican candidates Ben Carson and Jeb Bush -

The Fiscal Times: Abolish Medicare? Ben Carson's Mixed Message On Health Care
Ben Carson has long prided himself as a political outsider who delivers unvarnished truths, whether it’s his assertion that Obamacare is the worst thing since slavery, that Muslims should not be allowed to serve as president or that Jews could have stopped the Nazis if only they had been armed. But as his GOP presidential campaign is beginning to pick up steam and he surges ahead of Donald Trump in Iowa, Carson is beginning to look more like a traditional, cautious politician. On Sunday, he disavowed his highly controversial proposal to replace Obamacare and Medicare with health savings accounts to cover the lion’s share of Americans’ annual health care needs. (Pianin, 10/26)

The Washington Post's Fact Checker: Jeb Bush’s Incorrect Claim About A Silly Obama Health-Care Promise
This statement by former Florida governor Jeb Bush is a particularly instructive example. It started with a misleading claim by then-Sen. Barack Obama, campaigning for the presidency in 2008. It then has morphed into a recurring GOP claim that has been repeatedly been proven false by The Fact Checker, FactCheck.org, and PolitiFact. And yet here it is again. We’re not going to give up. Time for a refresher course! (Kessler, 10/27)

The New York Times: Costs For Dementia Care Far Exceeding Other Diseases, Study Finds
Three diseases, leading killers of Americans, often involve long periods of decline before death. Two of them — heart disease and cancer — usually require expensive drugs, surgeries and hospitalizations. The third, dementia, has no effective treatments to slow its course. (Kolata, 10/26)

The Washington Post: End-Of-Life Care Vastly More Expensive For Dementia Patients Than For Others
Care in the last five years of life costs much more for patients with dementia than for those who die of heart disease, cancer, or other causes, a new study shows. In addition to costing more across the board, out-of-pocket spending for patients with dementia is 81 percent higher than for people with other diseases. according to the study, conducted by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Dartmouth College and University of California, Los Angeles and funded by the National Institute on Aging. (Bahrampour, 10/26)

Reuters: Out-Of-Pocket Health Costs Of Dementia Soar At End Of Life
Families may spend almost twice as much caring for dementia patients at the end of life than they might if their loved one suffered from a different disease, a U.S. study suggests. Costs paid by Medicare, the U.S. health insurance program for the elderly, were similar over the final five years of life for patients with dementia, heart disease, cancer and other conditions, according to the study published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine. (Rapaport, 10/26)

Reuters: U.S. Task Force Advises Blood Sugar Tests For Overweight Adults
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) now recommends blood sugar testing for all overweight adults ages 40 to 70 even if they don’t have symptoms of diabetes. Those with high blood sugar but not diabetes should be sent for intensive behavioral counseling to promote a healthy diet and exercise that may delay or prevent the disease, the Task Force says. (Doyle, 10/26)

NPR: Task Force Urges Screening Of Overweight Adults For High Blood Sugar
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force now says all overweight and obese Americans between 40 and 70 years old should get their blood sugar levels tested. The advisory group's previous recommendation, drafted in 2008, made no mention of weight, instead suggesting that doctors routinely test the blood sugar of patients who have high blood pressure, another risk factor for Type 2 diabetes. (Bichell, 10/26)

The Dallas Morning News: HHS Secretary Visits Dallas Amid Planned Parenthood Fight
Sylvia Burwell, the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, will be in Dallas Tuesday to promote insurance enrollment, a visit that comes amid a raging fight over Planned Parenthood funding. Last week, state officials moved to end Medicaid contracts with the women’s health provider. (Ayala, 10/26)

The Dallas Morning News: Whistleblower Accusations Led To Planned Parenthood Medicaid Investigations
Investigations into Planned Parenthood for possible Medicaid fraud were set off by a whistleblower, according to the inspector general of the state’s health agency. Inspector General Stuart Bowen sent a letter to Planned Parenthood affiliates in Texas last week informing them that their licenses to provide health care through the state’s Medicaid program were being revoked based on the content of undercover videos released by an anti-abortion group this summer and allegations of “illegal billing practices.” Planned Parenthood has until mid-November to appeal the decision. (Martin, 10/26)

CQ Healthbeat: Planned Parenthood's Southern Front
Southern states, including those trying hardest to prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving other federal public health contracts, are already a virtual desert of Planned Parenthood services, according to data the women’s health organization recently provided to Congress. Nationwide, Planned Parenthood provided services for an average of 8.4 patients per 1,000 people in 2013, according to the organization’s recent report to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. In individual states, the number of patients range from a high of 26 per 1,000 residents in Vermont to less than 1 per 1,000 in Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and West Virginia. The organization has no patients or clinics in North Dakota. (Evans, 10/26)

The Texas Tribune: Court To Decide If Autopsy Counts As Health Care
Eleven years after a man's unexplained death in a Katy hospital sparked a lawsuit involving allegations of malpractice, deception and theft of a human heart, the bizarre case has made its way to the Texas Supreme Court, which will answer a simple yet macabre legal question: Does an autopsy fall under the definition of health care? (Walters, 10/27)

The Associated Press: 1,300 Open-Heart Surgery Patients Warned About Infection
Patients who since 2011 have had open-heart surgeries at a central Pennsylvania hospital may have been exposed to a bacterial infection that's been linked to fourth deaths, officials said. York Hospital said the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked heater-cooler devices used during surgery to infections in eight patients, four of whom have died. The hospital is notifying about 1,300 patients who had surgery at the hospital between October 2011 and July 24, 2015. (10/26)

The Miami Herald: Jackson Doubles Down On Effort To Win State Approval For Trauma Center
Miami-Dade’s public hospital system refuses to take ‘No’ for an answer to its application to open a trauma center at Jackson South Community Hospital in Palmetto Bay. Instead, trustees for Jackson Health System have doubled down on their efforts: voting on Monday to spend $1.8 million in public funds to recommission two operating rooms at Jackson South in anticipation of a trauma center, and authorizing the hospital to hire an independent attorney to fight the Florida Department of Health’s application denial earlier this year. (Chang, 10/26)

Des Moines Register: Iowa DHS: Medicaid Director's Private Email 'Improper'
Iowa’s Medicaid director had improper communications with an insurance company worker and former lawmaker during a critical review period that ended with the for-profit company being selected to help privatize the state’s $4.2 billion annual Medicaid program, the state acknowledged in court Monday. Iowa Department of Human Services Director Chuck Palmer insisted in court that those communications with former Rep. Renee Schulte — some via private, non-state emails with Medicaid Director Mikki Stier — had no bearing on Iowa’s selection of four companies that are in line to manage the state’s Medicaid program. (Clayworth, 10/26)

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland To Require Lead Tests For All Children At Age 1 And 2
The Hogan administration plans to require that all Maryland 1- and 2-year-olds be tested for lead poisoning, declaring the new rule is needed because thousands of youngsters are still at risk for health problems. Under the plan announced Monday, an estimated 175,000 children statewide will be tested in their first two years, expanding on an approach that has focused on screening poor youngsters and those living in communities with older housing. (Wheeler, 10/26)

The Washington Post: Maryland To Test All 1- And 2-Year-Olds For Lead
The state of Maryland will expand its testing for lead poisoning to all one- and two-year-old children in the state, regardless of where they live, the administration of Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced Monday. (Hicks, 10/26)

The Baltimore Sun: Businesses That Sell Synthetic Drugs Face Shutdown Under Proposed Bill
Legislation backed by the administration of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake would empower city health inspectors to fine — and eventually shut down — retailers that sell synthetic drugs long criticized for appealing to youths with cartoon character marketing and claims of being natural and safe. State and federal law prohibits the drugs, known by such names as K2 and Spice, but enforcement has proved difficult, mainly because manufacturers change the packaging and chemical makeup of the drugs to avoid prosecution. (McDaniels, 10/26)

Reuters: Brooklyn Clinic Owner Pleads Guilty To Medicare Fraud
The owner of two Brooklyn medical clinics pleaded guilty on Monday to federal charges in connection with a $55 million healthcare fraud scheme, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Valentina Kovalienko, 46, admitted to participating in a scheme between 2008 and 2011 in which patients were paid to undergo unnecessary physical and occupational therapy, diagnostic tests and office visits billed to Medicare and Medicaid, the Justice Department said in a statement. (Freifeld, 10/26)

Huffington Post: What Obamacare Opponents Get Wrong -- And Right -- About Insurance Premiums
Donald Trump is attacking the Affordable Care Act again. He says health insurance premiums are rising by 35, 45 or even 55 percent in some places. Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services tell a very different story. They say premiums for the standard insurance plans are rising by just 7.5 percent on average .... Trump is right, but so is HHS. And therein lies a pretty good snapshot of how the health care law is working out, three years into implementation. Some of the scary-sounding reports are true. But they reveal only a small part of the picture. (Jonathan Cohn, 10/26)

Bloomberg: Obamacare Premiums Aren't Skyrocketing
One of the most persistent arguments against Obamacare has been that the cost of coverage on state exchanges will skyrocket. Figures released Monday by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, listing average 2016 premium increases for the 37 states whose exchanges are run by the federal government, suggest that argument just isn't true. (Christopher Flavelle, 10/26)

The Washington Post's Right Turn: It’s The GOP’s Moment To Offer An Obamacare Alternative
If Obamacare had met its projected enrollment of 20 million (instead of 10 million) or if it had stemmed rising health-care costs (and kept premiums flat), it would be hard for conservatives to advocate repeal based on abstract arguments about compulsion and centralization. Fortunately for Obamacare critics, they have no problem identifying serious deficiencies. (Jennifer Rubin, 10/26)

The New York Times: Is Valeant Pharmaceuticals The Next Enron?
Valeant Pharmaceuticals is a sleazy company. Although it existed as a relatively small company before 2010, it did a deal that year that put it on the map. The deal was with Biovail, one of Canada’s largest drugmakers — and a company that had run afoul of the Securities and Exchange Commission. In 2008, the S.E.C. sued Biovail for “repeatedly” overstating earnings and “actively” misleading investors. Biovail settled the case for $10 million. ... [Valeant's CEO J. Michael Pearson] didn’t have much patience for research and development. And while he certainly wanted moneymaking drugs, he didn’t really need blockbusters to make his business model work. His plan was to acquire pharmaceutical companies, fire most of their scientists and jack up the price of their drugs. Biovail gave him the heft to put his plan in action. And so he has done, to the delight of Valeant’s shareholders, and the dismay of most everyone else. (Joe Nocera, 10/27)

Reuters: Valeant's Clarification Efforts Further Tangle Web
Valeant Pharmaceuticals further tangled its web. The acquisitive $39 billion company tried on Monday to spell out its ties to drug distributors. Analysts didn’t ask – and a 90-page presentation and call with investors didn’t answer – why it obscured the dealings in the first place. The messy details also only go to confirm some fears about Valeant. At issue most urgently is Philidor Rx Services, a company Valeant says it doesn’t own or control. Even so, Valeant paid $100 million in 2014 for an option to buy the pharmacy for nothing over the next 10 years. Nearly all of Philidor’s sales are of Valeant’s drugs, and Valeant consolidates its financial figures. Valeant also has the right to approve important roles at the firm. (Robert Cyran, 10/26)

The New York Times' Opinionator: Talking Early About How Life Should End
For many years now, my mother has talked to my brother and me — often — about how she wants to die. She is still in good health. But when it happens, we both know that she wants above all to die quickly and without pain. She wants no heroic measures. Because my brother and I know this, and because she has the proper legal documents, she is likely to die as she wishes. My mother is unusual. (Tina Rosenberg, 10/27)