The New York Times: Obama Orders Federal Contractors To Provide Workers Paid Sick Leave
President Obama signed an executive order on Monday requiring federal contractors to provide up to seven days of paid sick leave a year, even as he accused Republican congressional leaders of endangering the economy and Republican presidential candidates of undercutting American workers. ... He also chastised abortion opponents in Congress for threatening to shut down the federal government in an effort to cut off taxpayer financing for Planned Parenthood, saying such a move could damage the economy at a time of global volatility. “A shutdown would be completely irresponsible,” Mr. Obama said. “It would be an unforced error, a fumble on the goal line.” (Baker, 9/7)

The Washington Post: In Boston Speech, Obama Unveils Executive Order For More Paid Sick Leave
President Obama rallied union workers here Monday, unveiling a new executive order that will require federal contractors to offer employees up to seven days of paid sick leave, a move he sought to contrast with Republican economic policies. Obama announced the new directive, which the White House said could benefit more than 300,000 workers, during a Labor Day speech in Boston. It was the latest in the White House’s year-long effort to pressure Congress to approve legislation that would provide similar benefits for millions of private-sector workers. (Nakamura, 9/7)

Politico: Paid Sick Leave: Obama Issues Executive Order
Obama addressed the order during a Labor Day speech at a Boston breakfast and rally, where he also called on Congress to extend paid leave to millions more Americans by passing the Healthy Families Act, which would mandate that all employers with more than 15 employees would have to grant at least seven sick days annually. In addition, Obama pointed to Massachusetts as an example of a state that has passed similar sick leave laws, calling on other cities and states to do the same. (Gass, 9/7)

The Boston Globe: Obama Targets Sick Time In Boston Visit
Business groups said Obama’s order would make it harder for small businesses to retain federal contractors and could hinder economic growth. ‘‘Once again President Obama is using the federal procurement system to do something it was never been designed to do: usurp the legislative authority of Congress to determine appropriate workplace policies,’’ said Randy Johnson, senior vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. (Ebbert, 9/7)

The Huffington Post: Obama Signs Executive Order On Paid Sick Days
According to the White House, the order will give roughly 300,000 workers under federal contracts up to seven paid sick days per year. Workers will earn one hour of leave for every 30 hours worked. The rules will start with new federal contracts signed starting in 2017. (Jamieson, 9/7)

The Hill also examines regulatory changes that the administration may be looking at.

The Hill: Nine Obama Regulations To Watch This Fall
The window is already closing on President Obama’s regulatory agenda, and agencies across the federal government are moving to crank out a slew of new rules before election year politics bring business in Washington to a virtual standstill. ... Here are ten of the most highly anticipated rules likely to come down the pipeline in the remainder of 2015: Tobacco: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to finalize its tobacco “deeming rule” to regulate all tobacco products under the Tobacco Control Act, including electronic cigarettes and cigars. ... Food safety: The Food and Drug Administration has signed off on final rules to protect people and animals from foodborne illnesses. ... Electronic records: Final rules from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to simplify requirements for its new electronic health record system could come this fall. (Wheeler, 9/6)

The Fiscal Times: White House Takes Aim At Billions In Medicare And Medicaid Fraud
Alarmed by the tens of billions of dollars in Medicare and Medicaid fraud and overpayments annually that are draining the federal health care system, the Obama administration has quietly stepped up its auditing and enforcement efforts to crack down on doctors, hospitals and other medical facilities cheating on their billings. (Pianin, 9/4)

The Hill: White House Sought Safeguards To Reduce Obamacare Fraud
The White House is calling for a “more aggressive strategy” to reduce improper payments made by Medicare and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to a letter made public to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Center for Public Integrity obtained the February letter — written by Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan and addressed to HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell — after a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. (Sullivan, 9/4)

Meanwhile, fraud convictions are handed down for two Potomac, Md. doctors -

The Associated Press: Husband And Wife Physicians Convicted Of Health Care Fraud
Two Potomac [Md.] doctors who owned and operated a pain management clinic have been convicted of health care fraud. A federal jury in Greenbelt on Friday convicted 60-year-old Paramjit Singh Ajrawat and his wife, 57-year-old Sukhveen Kaur Ajrawat, of numerous offenses, including health care and wire fraud, obstruction of justice, and aggravated identity theft. (9/4)

Politico: Countdown To Shutdown Begins
Congress returns from its long summer vacation Tuesday to an all-out, three-week sprint to avert a government shutdown – and no apparent plan yet to quell the conservative rebellion over Planned Parenthood that has dramatically increased the odds of a closure. The mad dash – just 10 legislative work days to solve the shutdown crisis, in between major votes on the Iran nuclear deal and the first-ever papal address to a joint session of Congress – presents a major test for Republican leaders in both chambers who vowed to end crisis-driven legislating. (Kim, 9/7)

The New York Times: Prospect Of Another Shutdown Looms As Congress Girds For Fights Over Spending
When Congress returns for business on Tuesday, lawmakers have scheduled a mere 12 legislative days to find a bipartisan compromise to keep the government open, vote on one of the most contentious foreign policy matters in a generation, reconcile the future of funding for Planned Parenthood and roll out the red carpet — and a few thousand folding chairs — to greet Pope Francis. What could go wrong? (Steinhauer, 9/7)

The Washington Post: Defunding Backers May Induce Shutdown
The last thing Republican leaders want is another shutdown quagmire. But a group of conservatives — led by GOP presidential candidate and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz — has vowed to oppose any government spending bill that includes Planned Parenthood funds. That includes a stop-gap spending bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), that needs to pass before Sept. 30. (Snell, 9/4)

The Associated Press: Congress Returns To Weighty List Of Unfinished Business
Some tea party lawmakers say they will only back legislation to keep the government open in the new budget year, which begins Oct. 1, if the measure also terminates Planned Parenthood's federal money — even if their battle with Obama over the issue should spiral into a government shutdown. "I'm for doing everything" to halt funds for Planned Parenthood, said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. "There is no way they can get taxpayer support." Conservative groups such as Heritage Action are backing the strategy, though establishment anti-abortion organizations aren't throwing their influence behind it. (Taylor and Fram, 9/5)

USA Today: Congress Returns To Yet Another Spending Crisis, Fears Of Government Shutdown
Members of Congress return from summer recess facing a Sept. 30 deadline to fund the federal government, a deadline they are certain to miss, as they have each of the past 18 years. The question is: Will the government shut down Oct. 1, or can lawmakers agree to a temporary spending plan while they argue about a longer-term solution? (Singer, 9/7)

The Hill: Conservatives Prepare To Make Stand On Planned Parenthood
The make-or-break moment for House conservatives to defund Planned Parenthood is here. Outraged by undercover videos on fetal tissue donation, conservatives are pushing to cut all federal funding for Planned Parenthood as part of legislation that would avert a government shutdown on Oct. 1. ... But with Congress set to return to Washington this week, it remains to be seen whether [Rep. Mick] Mulvaney and his allies can gather enough support to force the hand of leadership. (Marcos, 9/7)

The Washington Post: Ted Cruz To Mitch McConnell: Don’t Schedule Legislation To Fund Planned Parenthood
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who is taking a lead role in a campaign to end taxpayer support for Planned Parenthood, will send Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell a letter next week urging him not to schedule a vote on or help push legislation that gives federal money to the organization. (Zezima, 9/4)

Politico: Boehner's Future As Speaker In Doubt
Something has changed for John Boehner. Figures in his close-knit circle of allies are starting to privately wonder whether he can survive an all-but-certain floor vote this fall to remain speaker of the House. And, for the first time, many top aides and lawmakers in the House do not believe he will run for another term as House leader in 2017. ... consider what he faces this fall: a quixotic but determined fight to defund Planned Parenthood, a potential government shutdown, a deadline to raise the federal debt ceiling or risk default, and a contentious showdown over highway spending. Boehner's aides say they expect a vote to oust him, formally known as a motion to vacate the chair. (Sherman and Bresnahan, 9/8)

Even as the question of funding is being considered on Capitol Hill, Planned Parenthood is facing another challenge from the health law.

Reuters: Planned Parenthood Faces Unexpected Challenge From Obamacare
Many formerly uninsured women who once depended on Planned Parenthood for low-cost access to birth control, abortions and other reproductive healthcare have gotten coverage under President Barack Obama’s healthcare law, making them less reliant on the organization’s 700 clinics. In many states, Planned Parenthood is losing clients as newly insured patients turn to medical providers included in their health plan's networks, according to data provided to Reuters and interviews with more than two dozen of its affiliates. (Mincer, 9/8)

In other congressional news -

The Hill: On ObamaCare, GOP Asks: Where Do We Go From Here?
While 2015 was supposed to be the year that saw the demise of ObamaCare, the new GOP majority has so far failed to send a single repeal bill to the president’s desk. But there is one last hope before the 2016 elections: repealing some of the most controversial pieces of the law using a rare budget procedure known as reconciliation. Using that tool, the GOP-led Congress can push legislation through the Senate with just 51 votes. So far, creating the gameplan for reconciliation has been messy. ... [Wyoming Sen. John] Barrasso, and others, acknowledged that in the end, reconciliation is a chance to boost the party’s chances in future elections. If a reconciliation bill passes this fall, it tees up the healthcare law for the 2016 presidential debates — the arena where most Republicans believe the next ObamaCare fight will play out. (Ferris, 9/6)

The Associated Press: Congress Wades Into Toxic Mine Spill Caused By EPA Crew
The focus on a toxic mine spill that fouled rivers in three Western states shifts to Congress this week as lawmakers kick off a series of hearings into how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency accidentally unleashed the deluge of poisoned water. Against that political backdrop, uncertainty lingers over the long-term dangers to public health and the environment from an event that tainted rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah with heavy metals. A month after the spill, EPA claims that the threat has eased are still met with skepticism from the Navajo Nation, whose president said many farmers have lost a season's work and trust in the EPA has evaporated. (Brown, 9/7)

Kaiser Health News: Getting The Word Out: Obamacare Is For Native Americans Too
As a member of the Navajo tribe, Rochelle Jake has received free care through the Indian Health Service (IHS) her entire life. ... Recently, though, she felt sharp pains in her side. Her doctor recommended an MRI and other tests she couldn’t get through IHS. To pay for it, he urged her to sign up for private insurance under the Affordable Care Act. ... Tribes, health care advocates and government officials across the nation are trying to enroll as many Native Americans as possible in Obamacare, saying it offers new choices to patients and financial relief for struggling Indian hospitals and clinics. (Gorman, 9/8)

The Associated Press: Northern Arapaho Tribe Appeals Affordable Care Act Ruling
The Northern Arapaho Tribe wants a federal appeals court to overturn a judge's recent ruling that the tribe is legally a large employer under federal health care law — a designation that requires the tribe to provide insurance coverage for its hundreds of employees. Beginning this year, the Affordable Care Act requires employers with 50 or more employees to offer them health coverage or face federal penalties. (Neary, 9/4)

The law is also continuing to affect health employment statistics.

Bloomberg: Health Jobs Hit Record, Driven By Economy And ACA
Health-care jobs hit a record as a percentage of total non-farm employment in the most recent U.S. payrolls report, fueled by an improving economy and President Barack Obama's health-care overhaul. Health jobs made up 10.7 percent of all jobs in August. That's 15.2 million people employed in doctors' offices, hospitals and home care on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department said Friday, up from 14.7 million a year earlier. (Tracer and Armstrong, 9/4)

The Baltimore Sun: CareFirst Health Insurance Rates To Rise As Much As 26 Percent
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, the state's largest insurer, is raising rates up to 26 percent on average after absorbing more than $100 million in losses incurred as more older and sicker patients received coverage under federal health care reform. The Maryland Insurance Administration announced Friday that it approved new premium rates for CareFirst and four other insurance companies that sell plans to individuals and small businesses on the state's online exchange created through the Affordable Care Act. (McDaniels, 9/4)

The Washington Post: Price To Jump For Most Popular Health Plan On Maryland Insurance Exchange
The price of the most popular health plans sold through Maryland’s insurance exchange will jump, on average, by about one quarter next year, fueling questions about whether coverage under the Affordable Care Act will remain affordable in the state and elsewhere. The 26 percent average increase in monthly premiums are for CareFirst plans, which cover three-fourths of the state residents who have bought insurance under the federal health-care law. (Goldstein, 9/4)

The Associated Press: Maryland Officials Announce New Health Insurance Rates
Officials announced new premium rates for small group and individual health insurance plans Friday, with critics highlighting substantial increases for individual plans for CareFirst of Maryland Inc. — the largest insurer for the state’s exchange. The new rates announced by the Maryland Insurance Administration are for coverage beginning in 2016. In total, the administration said, rates are about $66.4 million less than what insurers had proposed in May. (Witte, 9/4)

The Des Moines Register: Iowa Employers' Health Insurance Costs Jump 7.7 Percent
Iowa employers continue to face rising health insurance premiums, but few have been dissuaded from offering the benefit, a new survey shows. On average, Iowa employers faced 7.7 percent price increases for 2015 health insurance coverage for their workers, according to the study from the David P. Lind Benchmark research firm. Just 1 percent of employers said they dropped coverage this year. Most of those were companies with fewer than 10 employees. (Leys, 9/8)

The Wisconsin State Journal: Wisconsin Democrats Target Health Insurance Rates With Bill
Democrats in the Wisconsin Legislature are pushing a bill designed to prevent large increases in health insurance rates, but it's doubtful Republicans who hold a majority and control the legislative agenda will get behind it. Democrats and supporters of President Barack Obama's federal health care law who unveiled the proposal on Thursday have been frequent critics of Gov. Scott Walker's approach toward the Affordable Care Act. Walker rejected federal money to pay for a Medicaid expansion and has called for immediate repeal of the law on the Republican presidential campaign trail. (9/4)

News outlets cover other health law developments, including the potential impact of the "Cadillac tax" on wages, federal grants to North Carolina and Florida to help with insurance enrollment and the role Texas' doctor-lawmakers play in the state's health care debate -

Marketplace: How A Tax On Health Plans May Lead To Higher Wages
School is starting around the country this week. But as the doors open, teachers in Minnesota, New York and elsewhere are in contract negotiations, and health benefits are on the table. School districts are reluctant to be on the hook for the so-called Cadillac Tax, a provision under Obamacare that penalizes health insurance plans that are considered too generous, or expensive. It begins in 2018. (Gorenstein, 9/7)

North Carolina Health News: Feds Send Money To N.C. To Help With Insurance Enrollment
As the third enrollment period for insurance under the Affordable Care Act approaches, federal officials signaled their continued support for efforts to get more people signed up for coverage in the coming years. Officials with the federal Department of Health and Human Services announced a third round of funding for nonprofits to do outreach to get people signed up for insurance. And unlike the first two rounds of annual funding, this round of grants will be for three years. (Hoban, 9/3)

The Miami Herald: Feds Award $10M In Grants To Help Floridians Enroll For Obamacare
Federal healthcare officials on Wednesday announced nearly $10 million in grants to fund in-person counseling for eligible Floridians to enroll for health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act exchange. The grants announced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will help Florida-based and national organizations hire and train enrollment counselors known as “navigators.’’ Unlike independent insurance agents and brokers, navigators are prohibited from earning commissions or other monetary benefits for advising consumers on health plans. (Chang, 9/3)

The Dallas Morning News: Texas' Physician Lawmakers Haven’t Expanded Health Care Policy Debate
Texas has more doctors in its Legislature than any other state — six, all of them Republicans. Among the states, Texas’ lawmaking body has the third-highest percentage of doctors, according to an analysis by The Dallas Morning News. But a bigger contingent of physician lawmakers hasn’t kindled a bigger debate on health policy in the Legislature, especially on questions of access to care and coverage expansion, experts and some of the physician lawmakers say. (Garrett, 9/4)

The Associated Press: Rubio Visits Charleston Church Where 9 Worshippers Killed
At the town hall meeting [after his off-camera visit to the church in Charleston, S.C., Sen. Marco] Rubio appearing relaxed and jovial and was applauded loudly at times. He drew laughs with some quips about himself, while fielding a wide range of questions from the largely GOP audience. ... On the topic of the country's finances, he said the country's growing $18 trillion debt is caused by how Social Security and Medicare are structured, saying future generations may need to retire later in life. "Anyone who is in favor of doing nothing is in favor of bankrupting these programs," he said. But he noted he would not change the entitlement programs for those 55 and older, a group that includes his mother in Florida. "I'm against anything that's bad for my mother," he said. (Bustos, 9/7)

The Associated Press: Clinton, Rubio Court Puerto Rico Voters As Crisis Looms
Puerto Rico's financial crisis loomed over dueling Friday campaign appearances by Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican Marco Rubio, two presidential contenders with sharply different positions on a key issue for Puerto Rican voters whose influence is growing in U.S. politics. ... At the round-table discussion, Clinton, with pen and notepad in hand, said she came to "listen" and asked questions about reimbursement rates under Medicaid and Medicare, the exodus of doctors from the island and the lack of access Puerto Rican veterans have to full health-care coverage. "You can't solve the health care crisis without addressing the economic crisis," she said. (Bustos and Coto, 9/4)

The Washington Post: Ben Carson’s Claim That ‘We Have 10 Times More People On Welfare’ Since The 1960s
Ben Carson, a neurologist who is seeking the GOP presidential nomination, asserted in a television interview that government efforts to ease poverty have largely been a failure. He specifically made two claims — that $19 trillion has been spent on anti-poverty programs since the mid-1960s and that “we have 10 times more people on welfare.” ... Doug Watts, a Carson campaign spokesman, said, “We’re speaking of means-tested public assistance programs.” ... Watts also provided two other figures, though without providing a source: In 1965, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) “had roughly 400,000 cases (recipients),” he said. “In 2015, TANF (the successor to AFDC) had 3.1 million recipients. That alone is 8 times.” Definitions are important for this number, which is made up primarily of people on Medicaid (64.9 million people in 2014) and food stamps (46.5 million in 2014). But Medicaid is increasingly aimed at the elderly (people in nursing homes) or the disabled. (Kessler, 9/8)

The New York Times: Doctors’ Association Sees Harm In Insurance Mergers
In a new study to be released on Tuesday, the American Medical Association says that most insurance markets in the United States are dominated by a few companies and would become even more concentrated with a plan by Anthem to acquire Cigna and a proposal by Aetna to buy Humana. The American Hospital Association raised similar concerns last week in a letter to the Justice Department that said the proposed Aetna-Humana deal “threatens serious and widespread competitive harm” to Medicare beneficiaries because it would reduce options in the market for private Medicare Advantage plans. (Pear, 9/8)

USA Today: Aetna CEO Got Summer's First Merger Agreement, Raised Minimum Wage And More
The CEO who pulled off the first major insurance company merger agreement of the summer also achieved what many executives might think impossible: He raised his company's minimum wage, announced plans to up its contribution to workers' health care and watched the stock soar by nearly 30% since January. But Aetna's Mark Bertolini is used to defying expectations. (O'Donnell, 9/7)

The New York Times: What Are A Hospital’s Costs? Utah System Is Trying To Learn
Only in the world of medicine would Dr. Vivian Lee’s question have seemed radical. She wanted to know: What do the goods and services provided by the hospital system where she is chief executive actually cost? ... No one on Dr. Lee’s staff at the University of Utah Health Care could say what a minute in an M.R.I. machine or an hour in the operating room actually costs. They chuckled when she asked. But now, thanks to a project Dr. Lee set in motion after that initial query several years ago, the hospital is getting answers, information that is not only saving money but also improving care. (Kolata, 9/7)

Earlier KHN coverage: Retooling Hospitals, One Data Point At A Time (Appleby, 6/30/14)

The New York Times: Premature Babies Study And Judge’s Ruling Raise Debate Over Consent
Two years ago, researchers in a clinical trial involving oxygen levels for the tiniest premature babies were accused by a federal watchdog agency of not properly disclosing the risks to families who participated. What followed was extensive public scrutiny of the trial, called Support, and soul-searching in the research community about how best to obtain informed consent from participants. Some families sued, arguing that their babies suffered serious injuries as a result of their treatment. But last month, a federal judge threw out the suit .... Last week, the editors of a prestigious medical journal wrote that the decision showed that the trial was solid to begin with. ... But some bioethicists disagreed. (Tavernise, 9/7)

The Associated Press: New Medical Coding System Aims To Help Track Quality Of Care
If things are a bit tense in your doctor's office come Oct. 1, some behind-the-scenes red tape could be to blame. That's the day when the nation's physicians and hospitals must start using a massive new coding system to describe your visit on insurance claims so they get paid. Today, U.S. health providers use a system of roughly 14,000 codes to designate a diagnosis, for reimbursement purposes and in medical databases. To get more precise, the updated system has about 68,000 codes, essentially an expanded dictionary to capture more of the details from a patient's chart. (Neergaard, 9/7)

Marketplace: An Upstart In The Certification Of Doctors
Board certification of physicians has grown into a big business. What was once a one-time exam has slowly expanded to an ongoing and time-consuming process that includes recertification exams every decade and a near continuous stream of online learning modules. It’s also gradually become a multi-million dollar industry that includes fees, study materials and prep courses. Many doctors claim it’s an expensive waste of time, and now some of them are challenging the business of board certification. (Cuda Kroen, 9/7)

The Connecticut Mirror: In Some Primary Care Offices: The Social Worker Will See You Now
The idea of better integrating primary care and behavioral health has been talked about for years by health care experts as a way to both improve health outcomes and save money. Actually bringing the two fields together has lagged, stymied by a host of barriers that include differences in the way the two fields operate, differing payment systems, a lack of funding for the initiatives, and concerns about sharing information between behavioral health and medical providers. But some experts say there appears to be momentum toward integration. (Levin Becker, 9/8)

Also, drug ads' costs to the system are examined, and a look at the actors that help train medical students --

The Chicago Tribune: Do Drug Ads Help Patients Or Lead to Expensive Treatments?
They bombard your TV day after day: ads for drugs to treat arthritis, diabetes, depression and countless other maladies, hour after hour, around the clock. There's the elephant sitting on a man's chest, touting Spiriva for chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder. If you think you're seeing more of them every year, you're right. Last year, drugmakers spent $4.5 billion on such advertising, a 30 percent jump from 2012, according to Kantar Media, a market research firm that specializes in media consumption. (Russell, 9/4)

The Washington Post: Your Gynecologist Had To Start Somewhere. You Can Thank These Actors Later.
For her next lesson, the teacher, a petite, dark-haired woman named Anna C. Sosa, shrugs off her red robe, kicks her striped socks into the footrests and steels herself for yet another potentially disastrous pelvic exam. ... Sosa is a gynecological teaching associate, and she holds one of modern medicine’s most awkward jobs, using her body to guide med students through some of its most delicate, dreaded exams. Every week, she lies back for dozens of the next medical generation’s first pelvic and breast screenings, steering gloved fingers through the mysteries of her own anatomy and relaying the in-depth feedback they’ll need out in the wild. (Harwell, 9/3)

The Washington Post: One Female Veteran’s Epic Quest For A ‘Foot That Fits’
Every morning for more than two years, retired Army Sgt. Brenda Reed had the infuriating chore of screwing on what she calls her “man foot.” The prosthesis was given to her by the Department of Veterans Affairs after her left leg was amputated in 2013 .... She pleaded with VA officials for “a foot that fits, a female foot,” only to be told repeatedly that the agency doesn’t carry that kind of customized prosthesis .... a health-care system that for generations catered almost exclusively to men has been slow to recognize that the 2.3 million female veterans represent the fastest-growing population turning to the agency. (Wax-Thibodeaux, 9/5)

The Chicago Tribune: At VA Suicide-Prevention Program, Loss Turns To Hope
The call came in at 3:30 p.m. "I just want you to know that I'm about to check out," the caller said. Social worker Tonnia Hinshaw had picked up the phone in the suicide-prevention office of the veterans hospital in North Chicago. She recognized the man's voice, which was slurred from alcohol. A 62-year-old Vietnam veteran, he had called before and told her about his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder. (Mastony, 9/7)

Fox News: VA Claims Backlog, Signature Problem Frustrate Nevada Veterans
Nevada veterans with questions about delays in processing their disability claims and the ever-growing backlog say they've hit another roadblock. Veterans in the Reno area received letters about the status of their claims from a manager at the city's Veterans Benefits Administration Service Center who no longer works there, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. (9/7)

The Washington Post: Researchers Are Trying Again To Help You Take Your Medicine
[P]hysicians, pharmacists and researchers have been frustrated for decades at patients’ inability to follow such simple instructions and remain on their medication regimens. Twenty to 30 percent of prescriptions are never filled, according to research published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, and half of all people do not follow their drug instructions, even when that is critical to keeping them alive. ... A wide variety of attempted solutions — including free medicine — haven’t helped much. But with the Obama administration keen to control medical costs and improve the quality of health care, a round of experiments funded by the Affordable Care Act is winding to a close. They offer hope of progress against one of medicine’s most in­trac­table problems. (Bernstein, 9/5)

The Wall Street Journal: New Push For Meningitis B Vaccines On College Campuses
As the fall semester gets under way, some U.S. colleges and universities are offering students new vaccines against a bug responsible for recent campus outbreaks of a rare but life-threatening form of meningitis. Academic institutions are taking a range of approaches, from simply making the shots available at student health centers to anyone who is interested, to holding vaccine clinics on campus that students are required to attend. (Loftus, 9/7)

The Associated Press: Infants’ Whooping Cough Source Likely Siblings, Study Finds
Infants are more likely to catch whooping cough from their siblings than their moms, says a study with implications for how to protect them. Previously, moms were considered the more common source of infection. The change is probably due in part to an increased frequency of whooping cough among school-aged children, the study of government data suggests. (Tanner, 9/6)

The New York Times: Pertussis Passed To Newborns From Siblings
A new study has found that siblings, not mothers, are now the most common source of pertussis infection in newborns. Infants can be given the DTaP vaccine (it also protects against tetanus and diphtheria) starting at 2 months, and the schedule calls for four more shots periodically through ages 4 to 6. (Bakalar, 9/7)

The New York Times: Cucumbers Recalled In Salmonella Outbreak
A California distributor has begun recalling cucumbers imported from Mexico after they were linked to a salmonella outbreak that has killed one woman and sickened at least 285 others, health officials said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the cucumbers were most likely the cause of an outbreak of salmonella poona that began July 3 and has reached 27 states. The bacteria killed a 99-year-old San Diego woman and sent 53 people to the hospital, the federal agency said, and more than half of those infected have been younger than 18. (Southall, 9/5)

The Washington Post: How America’s Love Affair With Caffeine Has Sparked A Crisis Of Overdoses — And What The FDA Is Trying To Do About It
Today, caffeine comes in all shapes and formulations -- Red Bull and Monster energy drinks, "Stay Awake" pills, Jolt gum. The most potent form, the pure powdered kind that's meant for people to mix into their food, is sold in bulk in bags or canisters that can cost as little as $10 per pound. A single teaspoon can be packed with as much caffeine as 28 cups of regular coffee. The new products have led to an alarming public health development in recent years that was unheard of in the many previous decades that people enjoyed caffeine: a rash of thousands of overdoses and reports of addiction and withdrawal. ... The Food and Drug Administration has been so alarmed that it's mounted an aggressive effort to warn consumers about the risks of caffeine products and to take manufacturers to task for the way they are marketed. (Cha, 9/2)

The Associated Press: Pay, Paperwork Feed Psychiatrist Shortage In U.S.
It is an irony that troubles health care providers and policymakers nationwide: Even as public awareness of mental illness increases, a shortage of psychiatrists worsens. In vast swaths of America, patients face lengthy drives to reach the nearest psychiatrist, if they can even find one willing to see them. Some states are promoting wider use of long-distance telepsychiatry to fill the gaps in care. In Texas, lawmakers recently voted to pay the student loans of psychiatrists willing to work in underserved areas. A bill in Congress would forgive student loans for child psychiatrists. (Crary, 9/7)

USA Today: Doctors Urged To Screen Teens For Major Depression
Doctors should screen teenagers for major depression, a federal advisory group said Monday, but only if their young patients have access to mental health professionals who can diagnose them, provide treatment and monitor their progress. That’s a big “if.” Mental health services are in short supply for anyone, but especially teens, said Jeffrey Lieberman, a professor and chairman of psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. (Szabo, 9/7)

The Associated Press: Hospital Detentions Of Mentally Ill Increasing
More than a year ago, a state Supreme Court ruling spurred a full-court press by state government to find space for patients with mental illness. Detentions outside the psychiatric units intended to treat those patients became more rare. Now such detentions are back on the rise and happening as frequently as they did just before the court decision. (Schrader, 9/5)

In regional news, a Brooklyn sister tries to track down her brother diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, Maryland sees an uptick in gambling addiction and Austin, Texas expands mental health services for students -

The New York Times: On The Trail Of A Mentally Ill Brother, Lost In Brooklyn
Ever since they were children, Aukejshia Boyce-Gaskins made sure to look out for her younger half brother, Birshon Daley. Their mother, addicted to crack cocaine, dumped them with their great-grandmother when Ms. Boyce-Gaskins was 10 and her brother was 2. Ms. Boyce-Gaskins helped raise Mr. Daley in a small town in Georgia, even taking him in after she graduated from high school. Eventually, she sent him to live with his father in Brooklyn. But then came his diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. His father died. Almost three years ago, he disappeared. (Barker, 9/5)

The Washington Post: In Maryland, Gambling Addiction Is Growing, But Treatment Options Are Not
Michael Rosen listens to the wreckage that the $1 billion gambling industry has wrought in Maryland. He listens to the man, $400,000 in debt, whose wife threw him out of the house and told him he couldn’t see his kids again unless he gave up gambling. He listens to the gambler who went on a three-day blackjack binge without sleeping and rarely eating. ... Rosen, who helps manage the state’s increasingly busy 1-800-GAMBLER help line, commiserates with the desperate and directs many to Gamblers Anonymous meetings. But he can’t suggest any free treatment programs because Maryland, one of the country’s most concentrated casino markets, doesn’t offer any. (Heim, 9/7)

The Austin-American Statesman: Austin District Expands Campus-Based Mental Health Services
From the outside, it looks like any other classroom. But just beyond the yellow door at Crockett High School is a counseling center with a licensed psychologist that offers therapy and mental health services beyond what administrators and high school guidance counselors are usually able to provide. (Taboada, 9/6)

The New York Times: Food Industry Enlisted Academics In G.M.O. Lobbying War, Emails Show
Corporations have poured money into universities to fund research for decades, but now, the debate over bioengineered foods has escalated into a billion-dollar food industry war. Companies like Monsanto are squaring off against major organic firms like Stonyfield Farm, the yogurt company, and both sides have aggressively recruited academic researchers, emails obtained through open records laws show. (Lipton, 9/5)

The New York Times: New Type Of Drug-Free Labels For Meat Has U.S.D.A. Blessing
As meat companies scramble to eliminate antibiotics from their products to address consumer and regulatory concerns, the federal Agriculture Department has quietly opened a new front in the debate over the use of drugs in the livestock and poultry industries. In the next few months, consumers will start seeing the phrase “produced without ractopamine” on packages of Organic Buttercroft Bacon from Tendergrass Farms, a company that markets “natural” and organic meats. Ractopamine hydrochloride is among a class of drugs called beta-agonists, which are used to add muscle weight to animals in the weeks before slaughter. (Strom, 9/4)

The New York Times: Flicker Of Hope For Children With Rare And Devastating Disease
Once a year, Crystal and Jonathan Bedford drive 1,000 miles from their home in Texas to rural Alabama, their three children in tow. Beside a wooded lake, they huddle with other families whose children have the same extremely rare genetic disorder that their 5-year-old daughter, Marley, has. The disease, rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata, is a painful form of dwarfism, usually accompanied by severe intellectual disability and respiratory problems. There is no cure, and children with RCDP, as it is known, rarely survive into adolescence. ... But this year was different. A biotech executive from Canada had come to discuss a potential treatment being developed by his company and the possibility that the children could be part of a clinical trial next year. It seemed too good to be true. (Goodnough, 9/6)

The Washington Post: Family Carves Out Its Own Path In Fight Against 4-Year-Old’s Rare Disease
Arturito [Estopiñan] was 1 when he was diagnosed with a disease caused by a disruption in the mitochondria, a part of the cell that supports growth. Only 83 such cases have ever been recorded. Doctors told his parents, Arturo and Olga, that there was no treatment and that he would die soon. ... Today, Arturito is enduring with the help of an experimental drug that only a handful of people in the world are taking. ... The Estopiñans’ experience illustrates how families struggle to find help fighting diseases that don’t attract a huge amount of research or specialized funding. It also shows how determined parents can forge a path for other families encountering similar obstacles. (Gebelhoff, 9/7)

Another article examines how many patients are turning to crowdfunding.

The Sacramento Bee: Rise In Crowdfunding Lets Patients Seek Help For Medical Treatment
Internationally, medical crowdfunding campaigns on GoFundMe have jumped from just over 8,000 in 2011 to more than 740,000 this year. Some people donate a few dollars, some a few hundred. And patients’ loved ones often use social media to spread the word. (Kuang, 9/7)

Spokesman-Review: Planned Parenthood Fire Determined To Be Arson
An early-morning fire at Planned Parenthood in Pullman Friday was arson, according to the Pullman Fire Department and the Inland Northwest Joint Terrorism Task Force. The fire, which started around 3:30 a.m., caused significant damage that may keep the health center closed for a month or more, Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Tanya Riordan said. (Alexander and Sokol, 9/4)

Reuters: Fire At Washington State Planned Parenthood Ruled Arson
A fire that badly damaged a Planned Parenthood building in Washington state early on Friday was caused by arson, local officials said. The blaze was set around 3:30 a.m. local time and caused extensive damage to the front of the structure in Pullman, the Pullman Fire Department said in a news release. No one was injured in the fire. (Cavaliere, 9/5)

The Associated Press: Arson Was Cause Of Planned Parenthood Fire In Washington
A pre-dawn blaze that heavily damaged a Planned Parenthood clinic was arson, fire investigators in Washington state determined Friday. Pullman Fire Department investigator Chris Wehrung also said a task force involving local agencies was investigating with the help of federal agencies. He declined to release other details. (9/4)

The San Jose Mercury News: California Right-To-Die Bill Clears Finance Committee, Heads To Assembly Floor
Legislation that would allow terminally ill Californians to end their lives with help from a doctor cleared an Assembly committee Friday after a low-key hearing on one of the year's most controversial proposals. Earlier this summer, it appeared the issue was dead for the year after a right-to-die bill stalled in the Assembly Health Committee over growing personal and religious concerns from a group of mostly Southern California Democrats. (Calefati, 9/4)

The West Virginia Gazette: First Responders Now Can Find Patients' End-Of-Life Wishes
EMTs and other first responders in the Mountain State can now know their patients’ end-of-life wishes, because the West Virginia Center for End-of-Life Care gave them access to its online registry. Dr. Alvin Moss, director for the WVCELC and of the Center for Health Ethics and Law at West Virginia University, said the addition of EMS providers to the system will improve West Virginia’s already strong response to the registry — more than 100 hospitals, hospices, doctor’s offices and other health care providers across the state have opted for access to the registry. (Nuzum, 9/5)

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Independent Physicians Group Leads State In Effective And Affordable Care
For the second consecutive year, an organization of independent physicians in the Milwaukee area led the state in providing care to people covered by Medicare at the lowest cost while meeting targets for quality. The physicians — part of an accountable care organization, or ACO, set up by Independent Physicians Network — are participating in a Medicare program designed to reward physicians and hospitals when they provide quality care at a lower cost. (Boulton, 9/4)

The Associated Press: Review Cites Problems At Texas Hospital During Ebola Crisis
The Texas hospital that treated the first person diagnosed in the U.S. with Ebola was not adequately prepared for a patient with the deadly virus and stumbled because of communication failures, an independent review released Friday found. (Schmall, 9/4)

The Washington Post: Failures Of Dallas Hospital During Ebola Crisis Detailed In New Report
Lack of communication among emergency room staff, poor configuration of information on the patient's electronic health record and diminished focus on patient safety were three of the main deficiencies of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas where a man infected with the Ebola virus was misdiagnosed last year and died, according to an independent report released by the hospital Friday. (Nutt, 9/4)

The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore Jury Awards $28M In Damages Over Alleged Misdiagnosed Ulcer
A Baltimore jury has awarded $28 million in damages to a patient who accused doctors of misdiagnosing an ulcer. Gary B. Stern, a former restaurant owner from Glen Burnie, filed a lawsuit in March 2014 in Baltimore Circuit Court alleging that abdominal pain from an intestinal ulcer was misdiagnosed in 2011. A perforated ulcer led to more than a dozen surgeries and nearly three years of hospitalizations, leaving Stern with short-bowel syndrome and unable to work or care for himself, the lawsuit said. (Mirabella, 9/4)

The Denver Post: State, Federal Lawsuits Accuse Found Of Denver-Area Clinic Of Fraud
The founder of a Denver-area addiction clinic claims she and her staff have cured up to 90 percent of her 6,000 drug-addicted clients by repairing damaged brain synapses with a patented genetic formula she invented. "Give us 3 days and we'll get you clean ... give us 10 days and we'll repair the damaged neurotransmitters & receptors in your brain ... give us 30 days and we'll give you your joy back ... give us 60 days and we'll give you a new lease on life," Aminokit Labs advertises online. But some question whether the treatments — which typically cost thousands of dollars — are effective, and a series of Colorado and federal lawsuits have accused Aminokit's founder, Tamea Rae Sisco, of fraud, racketeering and practicing medicine without a license. (Mitchell, 9/6)

The Washington Post: Alexandria Paramedics Fighting Chief’s Plan To Cross-Train Them As Firefighters
A year-old plan to cross-train Alexandria [Va.] firefighters and paramedics and add a fourth person to every firetruck is encountering resistance from city paramedics, who say it is unworkable unless the city hires more staff. Alexandria Fire Chief Robert Dubé said that his plan will ensure that at least one person in every fire crew will be certified in advanced life support. Since firetrucks are usually the first to arrive at a scene, he said the change will provide better service to residents who need emergency medical care. But paramedics, who specialize in advanced life support, say the proposal will actually dilute the care they provide, while also preventing promotions for those who don’t cross-train. (Sullivan, 9/7)

The Chicago Tribune: Lurie Children's To Acquire First Physician Practice
Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago said Friday that it plans to acquire its first physician practice, a late arrival to consolidation sweeping the health care industry. Lurie Children's has agreed to purchase Town & Country Pediatrics, a 20-doctor group with two offices in Chicago and a third in Glenview. Financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close by the end of the year, were not disclosed. (Sachdev, 9/6)

The Kansas Health Institute News Service: Independence, Coffeyville Hospital Merger Discussions Dissolve
A major blow was dealt to the Independence community — and to the future of medical coverage in Montgomery County — on Wednesday when officials with Mercy Hospital Independence and Coffeyville Regional Medical Center ended discussions toward a possible affiliation. The lack of resolution toward an affiliation between the two hospitals means Independence will likely be devoid of hospital and emergency room coverage in the near future. Coffeyville Regional Medical Center will continue to serve its patients and provide medical coverage to its customer base in southeast Kansas. (Taylor, 9/7)

The Pioneer Press: Family Members Of Woman Who Died Sue Park Ridge Hospital
Family members of a Mount Prospect woman who died in 2013 are the latest to sue Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge and a medical device manufacturer related to a piece of equipment the lawsuit says "had not been properly maintained, cleaned and/or sterilized." The wrongful death suit, filed Aug. 31 in Cook County Circuit Court, alleges that Renate Winkler, 82, died after contracting an antibiotic-resistant bacteria from a hospital procedure. (Johnson, 9/5)

The Denver Post: Senior Cohousing Residents Build Community, Deal With Issues Of Aging
A case of shingles that morphed into pneumonia and left him in a wheelchair for months gave Alan O'Hashi, 60, a telling preview of what his life could be like after age 80. After a harrowing year that started with six weeks in the hospital, O'Hashi, a documentary filmmaker, is eager to talk about the changes that Boulder's Silver Sage Village senior cohousing community will need to make to accommodate its aging residents. But not all of his neighbors are quite ready to listen. (Martin, 9/5)

The New York Times: Trump Is Right On Economics
Mr. Bush has chosen to attack Mr. Trump as a false conservative, a proposition that is supposedly demonstrated by his deviations from current Republican economic orthodoxy: his willingness to raise taxes on the rich, his positive words about universal health care. And that tells you a lot about the dire state of the G.O.P. For the issues the Bush campaign is using to attack its unexpected nemesis are precisely the issues on which Mr. Trump happens to be right, and the Republican establishment has been proved utterly wrong. (Paul Krugman, 9/7)

The Wall Street Journal: Disabling Entitlement Reform
To glimpse the Democratic Party’s idea of entitlement reform, consider the “One Social Security Act” introduced this summer by California Rep. Xavier Becerra, the ranking Democrat on the House Social Security Subcommittee. His bill would merge Social Security’s disability and retirement trust funds, thus papering over the problems that have pushed the disability-insurance program toward insolvency. (Andrew G. Biggs, 9/7)

The New York Times' Upshot: Is Trump The Candidate Reform Conservatives Are Seeking?
For the last few years, a small but prominent group of conservative writers and thinkers has urged the Republican party to rethink its economic agenda with a greater focus on the needs of the middle class. The so-called reform conservatives have criticized the G.O.P.’s economic prescription of cutting entitlement programs and tax rates (especially on high earners) as unresponsive to the concerns of workers earning stagnant wages. ... the polls show that Republican voters have not yet punished [Donald Trump] for his praise of single-payer health care (in other countries) or his past support for a wealth tax. (Josh Barro, 9/8)

Los Angeles Times: Planned Parenthood And The Cynical Attack On Fetal Tissue Research
As with all orchestrated uproars, the current political attack on Planned Parenthood employs distraction and misdirection to keep people from focusing attention on facts and reality. In this case, the distraction involves an attack on the use of fetal tissue in medical research, which may well become collateral damage in the campaign against Planned Parenthood. If that happens, it would warrant our moral outrage. It's time to set the record straight. The prominent bioethicist R. Alta Charo of the University of Wisconsin does so incisively in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. (Michael Hiltzik, 9/4)

USA Today: States' Abortion Limits Erode Right To Choose: Our View
A constitutional right that's almost impossible to exercise isn't much of a right at all. Yet the right to an abortion — guaranteed 42 years ago by the U.S. Supreme Court — has been saddled with so many onerous strictures in so many states that for millions of women, it has become almost meaningless. (9/7)

USA Today: Abortion Industry Rejects Oversight: Opposing View
It should be a national scandal that the abortion industry fights viciously against any kind of medical standard of care to protect women, even when those efforts mirror its own internal recommendations. The industry simply rejects accountability. (Charmaine Yoest, 9/7)

The New York Times: The Price For Lowering Cholesterol
Two new, powerful and expensive drugs to treat very high cholesterol are raising concerns about the ability of public and private insurers to pay and whether the benefits the drugs bring will outweigh their long-term costs. ... At first glance, the new cholesterol drugs appear less expensive than the costly new drugs to treat hepatitis C, whose exorbitant prices have raised alarms among health experts, insurers and patients. ... But the [cholesterol] drugs, which cured a vast majority of patients in clinical trials, are essentially a one-time cost. The cholesterol drugs, by contrast, will be taken for a lifetime. (9/8)

Los Angeles Times: Doctor's Attempt To Bring Lower-Price Diabetes Drug To Market Thwarted
Dr. Mayer Davidson has long been frustrated by the rising cost of prescription drugs, especially in his area of expertise — diabetes. ... Davidson had reason for hope after he and colleagues came across research suggesting that a World War II-vintage malaria drug called Plaquenil, or hydroxychloroquine, could improve the blood-sugar counts of people with Type 2 diabetes. ... Unfortunately, even though Davidson received a research grant, he never got to fully test his hypothesis. As with many generics, the price of Plaquenil has risen in recent months. Davidson said the wholesale price of the drug was 50 cents a pill last year. It's now $1.75 — a 250% increase. The retail price is about $3 for each 200-miligram dose, according to price-comparison site GoodRX.com. Davidson said his team's modest funding couldn't support such a price hike. (David Lazarus, 9/4)

The Washington Post: It’s Time To Get Chewing Tobacco Out Of Baseball
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released some dismaying findings last week. Though combustible tobacco use is down among high school students, smokeless tobacco use is up among high school athletes. If professional sports leagues don’t do more to stamp out this horrid addiction, local governments should step in and do it for them. (9/7)

Los Angeles Times: A Smart Step For The VA In West L.A.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) plans to introduce a bill this week that would give the Department of Veterans Affairs new authority to provide housing for homeless veterans on its sprawling West L.A. campus by building units or renovating existing ones. ... The bill is a smart and necessary next step for the VA as it broadens the mission of its West LA facility to include housing with therapeutic services for homeless veterans, as well as to provide recreational and educational facilities for all vets. Supportive housing is desperately needed in Los Angeles County, with its more than 4,300 homeless veterans — the largest number in the nation. (9/6)

Alaska Dispatch News: Let's Stick To Facts On Alaska Medicaid Expansion And Work Together
Ever since the Affordable Care Act passed without bipartisan support, it has been one of the most dividing political issues of our time. Republicans generally oppose it and Democrats almost universally embrace it. When an issue inspires such political passion, it’s a challenge to step back and think rationally. It’s far easier to construct, grasp at and, yes, even make up facts to support our positions. It is in this context that we continue to debate Medicaid expansion in Alaska. Unfortunately, it’s hard to have a debate based on facts in such a politically charged environment. (Becky Hultberg, 9/6)

The New York Times: For Teens In Crisis, The Next Text Could Be A Lifesaver
The message to the Crisis Text Line was answered by Aaron Amrich, a volunteer crisis counselor based in California. It was sent by a 19-year-old woman who wrote that she was feeling hopeless and beginning to give up on life. Amrich, a veteran who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, has himself suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. ... For the past year, he has been able to draw upon his experiences to assist this woman and others by volunteering with the Crisis Text Line — a free, confidential 24-hour service accessible via the number 741741. (David Bornstein, 9/4)