The Wall Street Journal: Aetna Lifts Guidance As Profit Tops Expectations
The consolidation momentum is being fed by a desire to diversify and cut costs following changes brought by the Affordable Care Act. The deal to buy Humana would boost Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna’s Medicare business and give it scale to thrive as the industry consolidates. In the latest quarter, Aetna said strength in its Medicare and Medicaid businesses offset the impact of net charges incurred under the federal health law’s provisions meant to adjust for insurers’ risk if they enroll a large share of sicker, higher-cost consumers. (Dulaney, 8/4)

USA Today: Aetna Reports Strong Profit As Humana Deal Continues
The company's medical benefits ratio -- which measures the slice of premiums that is spent on medical claims -- fell from 83.1% a year ago to 81.1%. That's an encouraging trend for investors, who want the company to limit its medical costs. (Bomey, 8/4)

Reuters: Aetna Profit Beats As Moderate Medical Costs Help Government Plans
Aetna Inc on Tuesday reported a better-than-expected adjusted net profit for the second quarter and said "moderate" medical costs boosted the profitability of its government Medicare and Medicaid plans. The third-largest U.S. health insurer, which is in the process of buying rival Humana Inc, also raised its full-year forecast for adjusted net profit to at least $7.40 per share from $7.20-$7.40. (8/4)

The Associated Press: Aetna Turns In Better-Than-Expected 2Q, Hikes Forecast Again
Insurers like Aetna and the Blue Cross-Blue Shield carrier Anthem have been pushing to expand their government business as the baby boomer generation ages and becomes eligible for Medicare coverage and as the federal health care overhaul makes more people eligible for the state-and-federally funded Medicaid program. Aetna stoked its government growth a couple years ago when it completed a $6.9 billion acquisition of fellow insurer Coventry Health Care. It plans to further juice that business with a pending acquisition of Humana Inc., the nation's second-largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans. (8/4)

The Wall Street Journal: Aetna Will Clear Commercial Paper Balances At End Of The Year
Health insurer Aetna Inc. will clear its commercial paper balances at the end of the year to make room to finance its $34 billion acquisition of Humana Inc. The company had no commercial paper outstanding at the end of June, but could borrow more during the second half of the year, said David Buda, treasurer at the company, in an interview with CFO Journal. Instead of rolling the short-term debt over, the company will clear the books at the end of the 2015, freeing up room to borrow more in 2016 to fund the Humana deal, he added. (Monga, 8/4)

CVS also issues its quarterly earnings report -

Marketplace: Post Cigarettes, CVS Looks To Grow As A Health Company
The company is investing in providing health services. It’s taken over the pharmacy counter at hundreds of Target stores. CVS, which reports its quarterly earnings Tuesday, bought Omnicare, a company that provides prescription drugs to long-term care facilities. And for years it has been expanding walk-in clinics in its stores. (Weissmann, 8/4)

The Associated Press: CVS Earnings Rise Despite No Tobacco Fix
Pricey specialty drugs helped CVS Health cope with tobacco withdrawal and top analyst expectations in the second quarter. But the nation's second-largest drugstore chain also narrowed its full-year earnings outlook and issued a third-quarter forecast that fell short of Wall Street's expectations. The Woonsocket, Rhode Island, company said that revenue from its biggest business, its pharmacy benefits management segment, jumped 12 percent in the second quarter to more than $24 billion, spurred in part by specialty drugs. These complex medications treat certain forms of cancer and hepatitis C, among other conditions. They often represent treatment breakthroughs but can cost considerably more than other prescriptions. Use of these drugs is soaring, and health insurers, employers and other bill payers are relying more on companies like CVS Health to help restrain this growth. (Murphy, 8/4)

And in other marketplace news -

The Wall Street Journal: Community Health Spinoff To Focus On Smaller Markets
Community Health Systems Inc. said it would spin off 38 hospitals from California to the Deep South to form a new publicly traded company that focuses on smaller, often rural markets. The plan stands in contrast to the broader pattern among U.S. health-care companies and providers, which have been rushing to consolidate to build market share, find savings and steady themselves for a fast-changing market under the Affordable Care Act. (Weaver and Jaramillo, 8/4)

Los Angeles Times: Shire Offers To Buy Baxter Drug Spinoff For $30 Billion
The Irish drugmaker Shire Is offering to buy Baxalta for about $30 billion in stock as it attempts to solidify its strengthening position in rare disease treatments. Earlier this year, Shire said it would pay $5.2 billion to acquire NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc., which specializes in drugs for rare conditions. Baxalta, a Deerfield, Illinois, company spun off by Baxter International Inc. in July, focuses on bleeding disorders. (8/4)

The Associated Press: Tax Filing Problems Could Jeopardize Health Law Aid For 1.8M
About 1.8 million households that got financial help for health insurance under President Barack Obama's law now have issues with their tax returns that could jeopardize their subsidies next year. Administration officials say those taxpayers will have to act quickly. "There's still time, but people need to take action soon," said Lori Lodes, communications director for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs HealthCare.gov. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 8/4)

The Des Moines Register: CoOportunity Failure Could Cost Feds $140M
The federal government could be out more than $140 million by the time a defunct Iowa health-insurance cooperative's finances are settled, a new court filing suggests. CoOportunity Health, which was created under the Affordable Care Act, went belly up last December after losing millions of dollars. Its financing included $147 million in loans from the federal government. That money was used to launch the company in 2012 and then to keep it afloat as it sold health-insurance policies to about 110,000 people in Iowa and Nebraska. (Leys, 8/4)

Los Angeles Times: Blue Shield Of California Owes $82.8 Million In Obamacare Rebates
Health insurance giant Blue Shield of California owes $82.8 million in rebates to consumers and small employers under requirements of the federal health law. The majority of that money, $61.7 million, will be divvied up among 454,000 individual policyholders who had Blue Shield coverage in 2014. The average rebate is $136. The remaining rebates of $21.1 million are owed to about 19,000 small employers. Customers will receive their money by the end of next month, according to the San Francisco insurer. (Terhune, 8/4)

The Associated Press: Wisconsin Health Care Leaders Say Medicaid Expansion Not Dead
Taking federal money to pay for expanding Medicaid coverage in Wisconsin isn't dead yet, even though Gov. Scott Walker and Republicans who control the Legislature have repeatedly refused to accept the funding, health care leaders in the state said Tuesday. Walker has touted his decision to reject the money while he runs for president, and Republican legislators have repeatedly voted down Democratic attempts to accept the money. The funding would make more people eligible for Medicaid and free up state money to pay for other priorities. (Bauer, 8/4)

Politico: Jeb Bush’s Ad-Lib Offers Dems Another Gift
Another ill-advised ad lib from Jeb Bush, another opportunity for Democrats. Looking to curry favor with religious conservatives at the outset of a competitive primary fight, Bush on Tuesday repeated his call to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood — and then he went even further, questioning the amount of government support for women’s health programs generally. The Romneyesque unforced error drew a fast and furious backlash from Democrats, causing Bush to backtrack almost immediately and to acknowledge that he “misspoke.” (Stokols, 8/4)

The Associated Press: Dems Hit Bush After Comments On Funding For Women's Health
Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush vowed Tuesday to cut off federal funding for Planned Parenthood if elected to the White House, but drew immediate fire from Democrats for adding, "I'm not sure we need half a billion dollars for women's health issues." Democratic frontrunner Hillary Rodham Clinton replied on Twitter, "@JebBush: You are absolutely, unequivocally wrong." And Planned Parenthood issued a statement saying Bush "told the rest of America what Florida women have known for years, which is that he doesn't believe women's health is worth much." Bush leapt at the chance Tuesday to prove his anti-abortion bona fides before a group of largely conservative Christian voters at a meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. The former Florida governor was asked during an onstage interview, "Shouldn't we ... say not one more red cent for Planned Parenthood?" (Bustos and Schelzig, 8/4)

The Associated Press: Hillary Clinton Slams Bush On Immigration, Women’s Health
Clinton, running for the Democratic presidential nomination, ... noted that the entire GOP field agrees with Bush. “When you attack Planned Parenthood, you attack women’s health, and when you attack women’s health, you attack America’s health,” Clinton said to cheers from hundreds of Democrats crowded into a small Denver nightclub. (Riccardi, 8/4)

The Washington Post: Jeb Bush Draws Fire For Suggesting ‘Women’s Health Issues’ Are Overfunded
In recent weeks, conservative media have taken [Bush] to task for the time he spent on the board of a charity run by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg that gave money to Planned Parenthood, which provides contraceptives and STD treatment among other services. Republicans have been calling for the organization’s defunding after an anti-abortion group secretly recorded a series of videos with the organization’s medical officer speaking in a manner that critics called calllous about how best to extract fetal tissue during abortions before transferring it to research facilities. (Bailey, 8/4)

The Washington Post: Jeb Bush’s Quick Turnabout On Women’s Health Funding, And What It Tells Us
And by Tuesday afternoon, word went out via Twitter. Jeb Bush had told a group gathered at the Southern Baptist Convention that he was less than certain that "half a billion" dollars was needed to cover "women's health issues." ... That little aside was quickly highlighted on social media as precisely an example of the GOP "attacking women's health issues." And less than two hours later, the Bush campaign released it's own statement clarifying Bush's comments. (Ross, 8/4)

The Wall Street Journal: Republicans Step Up Calls To Defund Planned Parenthood After New Video
Republicans repeated calls Tuesday to bar Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funds and highlighted their investigations as an antiabortion group released a fifth undercover video depicting a Planned Parenthood official discussing obtaining fetal tissue for research. Antiabortion groups say the video shows Melissa Farrell, research director for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast in Houston appearing to agree to adjust abortion procedures to obtain intact fetuses or specific fetal tissue. (Armour, 8/4)

Politico: Trump: Shut Down The Government To Defund Planned Parenthood
Presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Donald Trump are teaming up to promote a confrontational tactic intended to strip Planned Parenthood of government funding, a move that plays to the GOP’s conservative base but also risks a shutdown. On Monday evening, GOP front-runner Trump officially blessed a strategy that would include a rider that defunds Planned Parenthood in a government funding bill. But Democrats have said they would oppose any bill that includes such a defunding rider, which would imperil funding legislation that Congress must pass by Sept. 30. (Everett, 8/4)

Politico: Fifth Planned Parenthood Video Released
The Center for Medical Progress on Tuesday released its fifth undercover video on Planned Parenthood and its alleged sale of fetal organs, this time focusing on a Texas branch of the organization. (Pradhan, 8/4)

CNN: CBO: Defunding Planned Parenthood Could Increase Federal Spending
A Congressional Budget Office analysis found that defunding Planned Parenthood could increase federal spending on Medicaid and other programs. The office, which provides nonpartisan analysis for Congress, released the findings Monday, the same day the Senate blocked a bill to defund the women's health organization. (Scott, 8/4)

The Washington Post's Fact Checker: Harry Reid’s Incorrect Claim That 30 Percent Of Women Rely On Planned Parenthood For Health Care
Center for Medical Progress, a group that opposes abortion rights, in recent weeks released a series of covert videos filming Planned Parenthood officials describing the non-profit’s fetal tissue donation process. Amid Center for Medical Progress’s allegations that Planned Parenthood illegally and unethically is selling fetal tissues for profit, there is a renewed push among conservatives in Congress to pull federal funding for Planned Parenthood. In defense of Planned Parenthood, Reid said eliminating funding would jeopardize health care for 30 percent of women. Is he correct? (Lee, 8/5)

The Hill: Senators Unveil Bipartisan Mental Health Bill
Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) introduced a bipartisan mental health reform bill on Tuesday. The measure is partly intended as a response to mass gun shootings in each senator’s state that were carried out by people with mental health issues. (Sullivan, 8/4)

The Connecticut Mirror: Murphy Presses For Mental Health Overhaul
Sen. Chris Murphy has teamed up with a Republican colleague from Louisiana to press for an overhaul of the nation’s mental health system at a time when Congress – stung by a rash of mass shootings by mentally unstable people – may be willing to consider changes. (Radelat, 8/4)

In other Capitol Hill news -

The Kansas Health Institute: More Debate Ahead On Medicare 'Observation' Stays
A bill headed to President Barack Obama’s desk will require hospitals to notify Medicare patients if they were admitted or only kept under observation. But advocates for hospitals and nursing homes say there’s more work to be done on Medicare regulations that tie patients’ hospitalization status to reimbursements for skilled nursing care afterward. (Marso, 8/4)

The Seattle Times: FDA Urges Additional Steps To Prevent 'Superbugs' On Scopes
Following reports of “superbug” infections tied to contaminated medical scopes in Seattle and elsewhere, the federal Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday issued additional guidelines for hospitals to prevent the spread of potentially deadly pathogens. In a detailed MedWatch warning, the agency suggested several specific steps to address the infections detected at Virginia Mason Medical Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and elsewhere. The advice followed a meeting of experts in May. (Aleccia, 8/4)

Kaiser Health News: Lack Of Cooperation Among Health Facilities Mars Antibiotic Resistance Fight, CDC Says
Unless hospitals and other health care facilities begin cooperatively fighting the country’s most aggressive antibiotic-resistant germs, infection rates could increase as much as 10 percent over the next five years, hitting about 340,000 people annually, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report released today. Individual institutional efforts, the study said, will not be sufficient to combat these germs. Part of the problem, it notes, is that they are spreading as infected patients move between hospitals, nursing homes and long-term care facilities. For the most part, however, efforts to catch and prevent these infections are being done autonomously. (Rau, 8/4)

The Washington Post: CDC: Coordinated Approach Could Cut Projected ‘Superbug’ Infections In Half
With the United States facing an increasing number of drug-resistant “superbugs,” federal health officials said a relatively simple solution could prevent more than half a million of the most deadly infections over five years. Hospitals or nursing homes try to control infections on their own, but they rarely tell each other when a patient being transferred into another facility is carrying antibiotic-resistant bacteria. That lack of information greatly increases the risk that the germ will be spread. (Sun, 8/4)

The Boston Globe: Union Seeks To Shift Hospital Payments
The Service Employees International Union is pushing a ballot initiative that would divert millions of dollars from Partners HealthCare to lower-paid competitors in an effort to boost community hospitals and preserve union jobs. Payments to hospitals vary widely under the contracts they strike with health insurers, and larger health systems, which provide a range of specialized services, can use their market power to extract higher payments. (Dayal McCluskey, 8/5)

The San Jose Mercury News: Daughters Of Charity Deal Would Keep Hospitals Open Five Years
Desperate for a deal to save its beleaguered hospitals, Bay Area-based Daughters of Charity Health System was left at the altar this spring when California's Attorney General told its prospective new owner it must keep most of the hospitals open for at least 10 years. (Seipel, 8/4)

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Mayo Clinic To Offer More Procedures Through Centers-Of-Excellence Program
UnitedHealth Group is expanding a program with Mayo Clinic that encourages patients across the country to travel to the Rochester-based health system for certain specialized procedures. For more than 10 years, Mayo Clinic has been designated by the Minnetonka-based insurer as a “center of excellence” for organ transplants, which means health plans offer incentives if patients travel to Rochester for care. Under an agreement being announced Wednesday, the program will expand to include cancer, bariatric surgery, heart failure, congenital heart disease and infertility services. (Snowbeck, 8/5)

Kaiser Health News: Hospitals Seeking An Edge Turn To Unlikely Adviser: A Car Maker
The equipment closet for the operating rooms at Los Angeles County Harbor-UCLA Hospital was a mess. Nurses had to maneuver through a maze of wheelchairs, beds, boxes and lights to find the necessary surgical supplies. 'It looked kind of like a dog pile of equipment,' said Dawna Willsey, a clinical director at the hospital. 'It was every man for themselves trying to find anything.' As public hospitals like Harbor-UCLA try to cut costs and make patients happier, administrators have turned to an unlikely ally: Toyota. They are adapting the car maker’s production system to healthcare, changing longstanding practices such as how to store equipment, schedule surgeries and discharge patients. The philosophy, known as lean, depends on a continuous team effort to pare inefficiency and improve quality. (Gorman, 8/5)

The Washington Post: Tax-Exempt Hospitals Spend Just As Much On Charity Care As For-Profits, Study Finds
Nonprofit hospitals get billions of dollars in tax breaks every year, but a new study shows that they may not be giving back very much to communities in return, as intended by law. The study, out of the University of California San Francisco, found that some tax-exempt hospitals are spending as much on free or subsidized care as their for-profit counterparts. The authors say that's because the criteria to have tax-exempt status is vague, specifically under the Affordable Care Act. (Gebelhoff, 8/4)

Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser: Medicaid Would See Major Cut In General Fund Budget
In the climax of an exceptionally tense day, the House Ways and Means General Fund committee Tuesday approved a General Fund budget that chairman Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, said would strip $156 million from the state’s Medicaid program, a program that even the sponsor of the budget calls the “foundation” of health care in Alabama. The move came about two hours after the committee voted down a proposal to increase the cigarette tax by 25 cents a pack, a key element of House leadership’s proposal to balance the General Fund. The budget faces a $200 million shortfall. (Lyman, 8/4)

Al.com: Gov. Bentley's Reaction To Cut To State Health Care Program Medicaid: "Unworkable And Unacceptable."
A frustrated Gov. Robert Bentley this evening sounded much like a man planning on calling legislators into a second special session even while they are struggling and mostly failing in an on-going special session to solve a looming budget crisis. "I am disappointed, very disappointed with the Legislature," Bentley said in a news conference on the south side of the Capitol shortly after a key House budget committee voted to slash $156 million from Medicaid, the state program that serves just over 1 million of Alabama's almost 5 million people, many of them poor. (Dean, 8/4)

In other state Medicaid news, Texas cuts $350 million in funding for speech, occupational and physical therapy, Arkansas' governor suspends thousands of eligibility terminations for two weeks and North Carolina moves forward on changes to its program for the poor -

Dallas Morning News: Texas' Cuts To Medicaid Could Leave Poor Without Therapy
Even as they left nearly $18 billion unspent, Texas lawmakers ordered a $350 million cut this year to Medicaid pay for therapists who perform one of health care’s most exacting jobs. In a two-year budget that was flush enough to trim taxes and triple state spending on border security, the Legislature told Medicaid officials to slash nearly a quarter of the $1.4 billion they shell out for acute care — or outpatient — therapy. The move threatens the jobs of speech, physical and occupational therapists who work with 445,000 poor Texans afflicted with, among other things, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, autism and Alzheimer’s disease. (Garrett, 8/4)

The Associated Press: Arkansas Governor Suspends Medicaid Terminations For 2 Weeks
Gov. Asa Hutchinson says Arkansas is suspending a push to terminate coverage for thousands on Medicaid as the state addresses a backlog of responses from recipients trying to verify their incomes. The Republican governor on Tuesday said the state won't send any more termination notices over the next two weeks. Notices have already gone out to thousands who haven't responded to efforts to verify their incomes. The state has already terminated coverage for more than 35,000 people, most of who were on Arkansas' compromise Medicaid expansion. (DeMillo, 8/4)

The Associated Press: NC House Incentives, Medicaid Bills Out Of Senate Limbo
There's some small movement in the state Senate over two key policy differences with the House, a development that could help the North Carolina General Assembly wrap up this year's work session. Senate Rules Committee Chairman Tom Apodaca of Hendersonville on Tuesday shifted House bills on economic recruitment incentives and overhauling Medicaid from committees where they seemingly were sent to die to new committees. (8/4)

Stateline: In 40 States, A New Focus On End-Of-Life Care And Counseling
Beginning next year, the federal government will conduct a five-year, 40-state experiment to determine whether there is a better way to help elderly Americans come to grips with terminal illnesses and prepare to die. Last month, the Obama administration announced that 141 hospices across the country will offer end-of-life care and counseling to dying Medicare patients at the same time those patients receive treatment to extend their lives. Currently Medicare, the federal health insurance system for people older than 65 or with certain disabilities, requires terminally ill patients to choose one or the other. (Ollove, 8/5)

Minnesota Public Radio: Minnesota Blue Cross Plans 450 Job Cuts Through 2019
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota will cut around 450 positions over the next four years with losses coming in information technology, the state's largest insurer said Tuesday. (Cox, 8/4)

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Blue Cross And Blue Shield Minnesota Will Cut 450 IT Jobs
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is eliminating 450 jobs within its information technology division over the next several years, the Eagan-based health insurer announced Tuesday. (Snowbeck, 8/4)

Georgia Health News: Most Georgia Hospitals Face Readmission Fines
Two-thirds of Georgia hospitals will receive Medicare fines for having too many discharged patients return within a month for additional care, federal data show. The 67 percent of Georgia hospitals facing penalties is higher than the national average of 54 percent, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis. (Miller, 8/4)

The Kansas Health Institute News Service: CDC Report: One In Five Adults Kansans Has A Disability
One of every five Kansas adults has at least one disability, according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Kansas, difficulty walking was the most common disability (13 percent), followed by cognitive impairment (9 percent); inability to live alone due to physical, mental or emotional conditions (5 percent); difficulty bathing or dressing (3 percent), and seriously impaired vision (3 percent). (Ranney, 8/4)

The Charlotte Observer: Mecklenburg County Rescinds Benefits For Unmarried Same-Sex Partners
Now that gay marriage is legal nationwide, eight Mecklenburg County employees whose live-in mates received health benefits will have to marry if they want their partners listed as dependents. With little discussion, the board of county commissioners unanimously approved on Tuesday cutting benefits for domestic partners of gay employees in light of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage. Under the change, domestic partnerships – defined by the county as a long-term relationship between people of the same sex who live together and are financially interdependent – will no longer be an option when employees choose their health care plans this fall. Gay employees who wed will be able to list their spouses as dependents. (McFadden, 8/4)

The Charlotte Observer: Premier Inc. To Buy Pittsburgh Firm For $40M
Charlotte-based health solutions company Premier Inc. said Tuesday it has reached an agreement to purchase Pittsburgh-based CECity Inc. for $400 million. CECity, a privately held company, specializes in improving electronic health care reporting, pay-for-value reporting and continuing medical education. The deal is expected to close in Premier’s fiscal first quarter that ends Sept. 30 and is subject to regulatory approval, according to a statement from Premier Tuesday. Susan DeVore, president and chief executive officer of Premier, said the acquisition will better enable Premier to provide performance improvement technology for health care professionals in a rapidly changing market. (Peralta, 8/4)

The Chicago Sun-Times: Abortions Won't Drop If Planned Parenthood Loses Federal Funding
If our goal as a society is to reduce the number of abortions, or to end the practice entirely, cutting off federal funding for Planned Parenthood is one of the last things we should do. If Republicans in Congress take down Planned Parenthood by cutting off the more than $500 million in annual funding it receives — more than one-third of the health organization’s revenue — the number of abortions is likely to increase, not decrease. And worse, there will be an increase in unsafe abortions if women denied Planned Parenthood services have nowhere else to turn. (8/4)

The Chicago Sun-Times: Women, Children Deserve Better Than Planned Parenthood
A video investigation has caught several of Planned Parenthood’s top officials eagerly promoting the harvesting of the lungs, livers, heads and hearts of aborted babies, purportedly for research but likely for profit. Over lunch and red wine, these so-called doctors talk about a daily “huddle” to determine what body parts are in demand and how to obtain them by strategically “crushing” the children’s bodies. It is also illegal to alter the abortion procedure to better harvest organs — not to mention medically and ethically dubious. Yet, in another video, an official at Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast said: “If we alter our process and we are able to obtain intact fetal cadavers, then we can make it part of the budget. … It’s all just a matter of line items.” (Randy Hultgren, 8/4)

Los Angeles Times: Political Grandstanding On Planned Parenthood
An effort by Senate Republicans to defund Planned Parenthood failed Monday evening when a procedural measure fell short of the 60 votes needed to proceed. Good. The bill, introduced in the wake of several undercover videos showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing what the organization does with the tissue from aborted fetuses, was uncalled for, wrongheaded and a transparent case of partisan grandstanding. (8/4)

The New York Times: How To Really Defend Planned Parenthood
Why does the pro-choice movement so often find itself in a defensive crouch? I cringed as I watched Planned Parenthood’s president, Cecile Richards, apologize in a YouTube video last month for the lack of “compassion” in two doctors’ language at supposed business lunches arranged and secretly recorded by the anti-abortion Center for Medical Progress. Not because she wasn’t eloquent, but because of what her words said about the impossibly narrow path abortion providers now are forced to walk. After all, have you ever heard an apology from a crisis pregnancy center for masquerading as an abortion clinic? What about the women in Texas who lost access to gynecological care when the state defunded Planned Parenthood and did not, as promised, adequately replace its services? Has anyone said sorry about that? (Katha Pollitt, 8/5)

Los Angeles Times: Defunding Planned Parenthood Is Not The Same As Repealing The Right To Abortion
The GOP-controlled Congress is taking up the cause, once again, of defunding Planned Parenthood. This latest effort comes in response to macabre hidden-camera videos shot by the Center for Medical Progress of staff at Planned Parenthood talking about the grisly practice of chopping up fetuses for parts. There's a debate over whether the videos prove the center's claim that Planned Parenthood is ghoulishly trying to make a profit selling baby lungs, livers and hearts. There's less of a debate that the videos speak directly to the ugly nature of second trimester abortions. (Jonah Goldberg, 8/4)

The Washington Post's Plum Line: Why The War Over Planned Parenthood Will Hurt The GOP In 2016
Let’s be clear about what it means to “defund” Planned Parenthood. While the organization gets some Title X funding for family planning programs, the bulk of the federal funds it receives comes in the form of Medicaid reimbursements for medical services. Those services do not include abortion. By law, federal funds are barred from paying for abortions. So what Republicans want to shut down is things like a poor woman on Medicaid going to a Planned Parenthood clinic to get a gynecological checkup or a mammogram. (Paul Waldman, 8/4)

The Washington Post: Jeb Bush Raises A Good Question: What IS A Good Amount Of Dollars To Spend On Women’s Health Issues?
“The next president should defund Planned Parenthood,” Jeb Bush said. “The argument against this is, well, women’s health issues, you’re attacking, it’s a war on women, and you’re attacking women’s health issues. You could take dollar for dollar, although I’m not sure we need a half a billion dollars for women’s health issues, but if you took dollar for dollar there are many extraordinary fine organizations, community health organizations, that exist to provide quality care for women on wide variety of health issues. ..." How many dollars is too many dollars for women’s health issues? (Alexandra Petri, 8/4)

The Washington Post: How Will The GOP Candidates Tackle Obamacare On The Debate Stage?
Center stage will be the man who needs no further introduction. And the big topic will be — are you ready for it? — the Affordable Care Act. Can you hardly wait? I know I can’t. Any fresh opportunity to talk about repealing and replacing Obamacare is like dipping into a warm bath. Toss in a breathtaking view and the smell of fresh-cut grass and — pinch me. (Kathleen Parker, 8/4)

Los Angeles Times: Another Benefit Of Obamacare You Probably Didn't Know About
Richard Mayhew, the pseudonymous health insurance expert blogging at balloon-juice.com (and a must-read on insurance issues), points us to a subtle benefit provided to unionized workers by the Affordable Care Act: It gives them more leverage in contract negotiations with employers. That's because it gives employees a backstop against the employers' withdrawal of health insurance during a strike. (Michael Hiltzik, 8/4)

Raleigh News & Observer: The Case For Improving, Not Repealing The Imperfect ACA
Yet, what the ACA could use most is some honest discussion rather than political posturing. While working pretty well, the law needs some improvements such as increasing the hours worked threshold from 30 to 32 or more, making compliance easier for small employers and reconsidering the veracity of various fees charged employers. With the exception of the mandate to buy coverage, the law’s component parts are well-received. But when the nickname of Obamacare is used, the entire law is viewed less favorably. When ACA is used, the entire law favorability improves but is beneath 50 percent. Yet in Kentucky, when the ACA name of KyNect is used, it polls more favorably than either its national name or nickname. (Keith Wilson, 8/3)

Los Angeles Times: Treatment, Not Just Jail, For The Mentally Ill
The U.S. Department of Justice and Los Angeles County officials are negotiating the details of a consent decree to govern the treatment of mentally ill inmates in the troubled county jails, following more than a decade of reported abuse and excessive force by sheriff's deputies. ... Of course it will be costly. No proposal for properly dealing with people suffering from mental illness — from the time they are reported for petty crimes, to their arrest, to transport to properly staffed urgent care centers, to treatment by qualified community-based providers and support after discharge — can be implemented without substantial funding. But such an investment would be wiser, more effective and more humane — and, by the way, less outrageously immoral — than waiting to spend that same money, and more, on lawsuits over the neglect or abuse of people whose crimes are a result of their illnesses. (8/4)

The Washington Post: My Son Committed Suicide In A Mental Health Facility. Here’s Why It Could Have Been Prevented.
On Nov. 23, I received the call no parent wants to get – my only son was dead. My beautiful, 24-year-old boy was gone. It is a nightmare I have yet to wake up from; one I will never wake up from. I could barely hear the words from the other end of the line; my cries were drowning them out. I was driving when I received the call, and had to pull over to call my son’s father. Then I had to drive home to deliver the news to my daughter, Paris. How I made it home without getting in a wreck is a mystery to me. (Mia St. John, 8/5)

JAMA: Physician Counseling On Firearm Safety
Physician counseling concerning gun safety has been identified as a key component of the prevention of firearm injury and deaths. However, recently proposed or enacted state laws that are perceived as restricting physicians’ conversations with patients about firearms have spurred debates about the role of physicians in preventing firearm injury and death. ... Yet maintaining this right is not enough to protect patients. Physicians and other health professionals also need to consider how to speak with patients. This means identifying what kinds of information, and what approaches to the discussion, are most effective in changing patient behavior concerning firearm storage and misuse. (Marian E. Betz and Garen J. Wintemute, 8/4)

JAMA Pediatrics: Evidence, Politics, And The Future Of The Children’s Health Insurance Program
Since the creation of the [Children's Health Insurance Program], states have implemented a diverse array of policy options under CHIP to serve children and have dramatically improved access to and continuity of insurance coverage for children in low-income families. In the short term, funding for CHIP is likely to be temporarily extended by Congress. In the long term, the future of CHIP should be part of a serious and bipartisan discussion among policy makers about how to best ensure access to health insurance for children in low-income families and develop a comprehensive health policy approach for children and families. (Marian Jarlenski, 8/4)

JAMA: Sexual Assaults Among University Students
Although sexual assaults are underreported in all settings, college students are particularly less likely to report; up to 80% of sexual assaults in college settings are unreported. ... How could university administrators help prevent sexual assaults and, if necessary, fairly adjudicate claims? The critical points of intervention include nurturing a respectful environment; encouraging reporting; ensuring fair and rigorous investigations; implementing appropriate sanctions for inappropriate behavior; and reintegrating survivors back into the academic community. Importantly, coordination and cooperation between the university and criminal justice systems will improve experiences for survivors of sexual assault. (Rebecca B. Reingold and Lawrence O. Gostin, 8/4)