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President Trump celebrated with House Republicans in the White House Rose Garden last year when they passed a bill to undo the Affordable Care Act and its protection for Americans with preexisting medical conditions. On Wednesday, less than two weeks before the midterm elections, Trump falsely claimed that ensuring coverage for those with asthma, diabetes, pregnancy and other conditions was a Republican priority, rather than a Democratic one. (Sonmez and Wagner, 10/24)

Trump offered a similar argument in a tweet last week, stating that “all Republicans support people with pre-existing conditions, and if they don’t, they will after I speak to them.” At rallies, Trump has been offering a similar argument. The statements are an effort to fend off a barrage of Democratic attacks in the campaign. “Poll after poll shows that voters tend to trust a candidate with a D next to their name rather than a candidate with an R next to their name when it comes to the issue,” said Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist. (Sullivan, 10/25)

Since the start of October, New York Democrat Antonio Delgado has posted 14 ads on YouTube. Some show him out greeting voters. Others are attack ads on his opponent, Republican Rep. John Faso. But the overwhelming majority — all but one of the ads — mention health care. (Kurtzleben, 10/25)

Arizona Republican Martha McSally escalated a fierce health-care debate in the state’s closely contested Senate race with a new ad proclaiming her support for protecting insurance coverage for individuals with pre-existing conditions. ...But McSally voted for Republican-sponsored legislation in 2017 that would have granted states waivers from an Obamacare provision that forbids insurers from charging people more on the basis of health status. Health-care specialists say that would allow insurance companies to raise prices, forcing sick people out of the market as was common before the the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010. (Kapur, 10/24)

For weeks, vulnerable Rep. Glenn Grothman had been getting pummeled by his Democratic opponent for voting to curb protections for people with pre-existing conditions — most recently with an attack ad depicting a little boy with an oxygen mask over his face gasping for air. So on a conference call with GOP leaders last week, Grothman pleaded with party leaders to invest in a nationwide TV ad that could run in competitive districts like his, defending the House GOP’s Obamacare repeal bill that passed the chamber last year, according to three sources on the call. (Bade and Schor, 10/24)

If a Trump-administration backed lawsuit against ObamaCare succeeds, more than 15 million people could either lose their health coverage or face premium increases as a result of their pre-existing conditions, gender or age, according to a new report released by congressional Democrats on Wednesday. The report, released by Democratic staff on the House Oversight Committee, serves as a counterpoint to claims by Republican claims heading into the midterms that they will protect people with pre-existing conditions. (Weixel, 10/24)

U.S. voters are saying health care is their No. 1 issue, but it’s a judge -- not the midterm congressional elections next month -- who may decide the future of the Affordable Care Act. A federal judge in Texas could rule any day on the politically explosive question of whether to wipe out Obamacare, including its popular provision requiring insurers to cover pre-existing conditions. (Korosec, 10/25)

The largest Democratic super PAC is launching national TV ads this week tying Republicans to recent comments Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made about entitlement spending. The $2 million ad buy from Priorities USA Action will air nationally on Thursday through Election Day. (Hellmann, 10/24)

The majority of Nebraskans want to expand Medicaid, and it's on their midterm ballots this November. But four years into the implementation of Medicaid expansion under Obamacare, hospitals in the Cornhusker State have tempered their expectations of how much the expansion will boost their margins. (Luthi, 10/24)

Marijuana legalization. An increase in the minimum wage. Expansion of Medicaid. Come Election Day, voters in a batch of Republican-dominated states will weigh in on these and other liberal or centrist proposals that reached the ballot after bypassing state legislatures. Pushed forward via signature-gathering campaigns, these measures offer a chance for voters to do things their GOP-run legislatures oppose. Many are considered to have a good chance of passage. (Crary, 10/24)

With the election less than two weeks away, California voters must choose between two gubernatorial candidates who offer very different visions for the state. That is especially true when it comes to health care. (10/24)

In a debate Tuesday night, Democrat Stacey Abrams and Republican Brian Kemp competed to convince voters to come out for them, as Georgians already are casting early ballots in an expensive race to lead the state. The two major-party candidates for Georgia governor split early on the question of in-state college tuition rates for young people who were brought to the United States illegally as children and who have temporary protection from deportation. (Lee, 10/23)

Surrounded by medical providers and state legislators, Democrat Ned Lamont on Wednesday attacked Republican Bob Stefanowski for comments he made about childhood vaccinations during a campaign event this summer. NBC Connecticut obtained the video of Stefanowski from a source working for Democratic campaigns in Connecticut. The video is two minutes long, and does not include what is said before or after the two-minute portion on immunization policy, according to the NBC Connecticut report. (Rigg, 10/24)

Small business owners interested in buying insurance through an association health plan should tread as carefully as they would with any kind of health care coverage. Labor Department rules that began phasing in Sept. 1 make it possible for sole proprietors and partners to join AHPs, something they couldn't do under the Affordable Care Act. But there are still many unknowns about these plans — for example, whether the new rules will survive a lawsuit brought by 11 states and Washington, D.C., that claims they allow insurance to be sold that's in violation of federal law. The rules allow very small companies to band together and act as a large company, and large companies are exempt from some of the Affordable Care Act's coverage requirements. (Rosenberg, 10/24)

It's time to think health insurance. There's a sentence many Americans will dread reading. Picking the right plan every year involves sifting through deductibles, provider networks and other arcane terms that can quickly scramble the brain. Don't worry, though, help is available. It just may be harder to find this fall. (Murphy, 10/24)

President Donald Trump pledged on Wednesday to put an "extremely big dent" in the scourge of drug addiction in America as he signed legislation intended to help tackle the opioid crisis, the deadliest epidemic of overdoses in the country's history. Nearly 48,000 people died last year from overdoses involving opioids. Overall, U.S. drug overdose deaths have started to level off, but Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar says it's too soon to declare victory. (10/24)

"Together we are going to end the scourge of drug addiction in America," Trump said at a White House event celebrating the signing. "We are going to end it or we are going to at least make an extremely big dent in this terrible, terrible problem." (Rascoe and Horsley, 10/24)

The bill addresses numerous aspects of the opioid crisis, including prevention, treatment and recovery. It knits together bills sponsored by hundreds of lawmakers, many of whom are embroiled in tough reelection battles and can now tout their support of the law in the run-up to Election Day. “Together we will defeat this epidemic — it’s a true epidemic — as one people, one family and one magnificent nation under God,” Trump said. Drug overdoses killed about 72,000 people last year, and opioids have become a major campaign issue for both Democrats and Republicans. (Zezima and Kim, 10/24)

A hallmark provision of the bill aims to stop the flow of deadly synthetic opioids into the U.S. from other countries by requiring the U.S. Postal Service to obtain electronic data on international mail shipments that can be used to target suspicious packages for inspection. (Hellmann, 10/24)

The bill “is an important step forward,” Dr. Kelly Clark, the president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, said in a statement. “[But] there is much work ahead to ensure that all Americans living with addiction have access to treatment that is standardized and evidence-based, as well as comprehensive insurance coverage.” The legislation extended the ability of nurses to prescribe addiction-treatment medications, made it easier for Medicare beneficiaries to access the addiction treatment drug methadone, and allowed more flexibility for doctors wishing to prescribe those treatments via telemedicine. (Facher, 10/24)

Rural Americans can take a dim view of outsiders from Washington, D.C., (or even from the state capital) meddling in their communities. Ronald Reagan summed up the feeling when he was president: "I've always felt the nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government, and I'm here to help.' " (Morris, 10/25)

Nora Volkow is America's top scientist on addiction. And she's worried that by focusing on the opioid crisis, we're missing a chance to fight what caused it in the first place. (10/25)

Larrecsa Cox is a paramedic, but instead of an ambulance with flashing lights and sirens, she drives around in an old, white sedan. Her first call on a recent day in Huntington, W.Va, was to a quiet, middle-class neighborhood. "He overdosed yesterday," Cox says. "And I think we've been here before. I'm almost 100 percent sure we've been to this house before." (McCammon, 10/24)

A small Pennsylvania county will pay nearly $5 million to the family of a teenager who collapsed and died after four days of heroin withdrawal in jail. The family’s lawyer said jail staff ignored her dire medical needs for days and then lied about it. (Dale, 10/24)

After drawing overwhelming bipartisan support, a bill expanding drug treatment courts to every county in Missouri was signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Mike Parson. The measure places all of Missouri’s treatment courts beneath the same umbrella, allowing a state commission to establish “best practice standards” for treatment courts. Treatment courts, which include DWI and veterans treatment courts, provide offenders with an alternative to incarceration by allowing them to remain in their communities.  (Calacal, 10/24)

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield announced Tuesday plans to award about $2.1 million in grants to 11 community health organizations in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia — a move that health care and government officials hope will boost addiction treatment efforts. CareFirst officials, along with Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, announced the grants at a news conference Wednesday, emphasizing the urgent need to address the soaring number of drug- and alcohol-related deaths in Maryland. In 2017, the state saw an all-time high of 2,282 deaths stemming from drugs and alcohol. (Reed, 10/24)

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved a new, single-dose flu medication to treat people 12 and older who have had the flu for no more than 48 hours. Baloxavir, to be sold by Genentech under the brand name Xofluza, is the only single-dose oral medicine approved to treat the flu. It has been shown to significantly reduce the duration of symptoms. It's expected to be available within weeks. (O'Donnell, 10/24)

Xofluza works in a new way, by blocking an enzyme the virus needs to copy itself. So, at least in theory, circulating flu strains resistant to earlier drugs should not have any resistance to it. It has been shown to work against both A and B strains, which circulate each year, and it is expected to work against dangerous bird flus known to occasionally infect humans, such as the A strains of both H5N1 and A H7N9. (McNeil, 10/24)

Xofluza is a pill that can reduce severity and shorten duration of flu symptoms after one just dose. It was developed by the Roche Group and Shionogi & Co. It works about as well as Tamiflu, Roche's older flu treatment, which is also available in cheaper generic versions. Tamiflu is taken twice daily for five days. (Johnson, 10/24)

“With thousands of people getting the flu every year, and many people becoming seriously ill, having safe and effective treatment alternatives is critical.” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in the agency’s statement announcing the approval. “This novel drug provides an important, additional treatment option.” (Branswell, 10/24)

Officials at the Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services weren’t given advance notice of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, leaving them struggling to accommodate children separated from their parents, according to a new government report. (Duehren, 10/24)

Officials from DHS and HHS told investigators they were unaware of the memo before it was released, and did not take specific steps in advance of the memo to plan for the separation of parents and children or potential increase in the number of children who would be referred to HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement. The “zero tolerance” policy called for the criminal prosecution of all adult migrants who were detained after trying to cross the country’s southern border. Any children brought across the border were separated from their parents, deemed to be “unaccompanied,” and detained by HHS in separate facilities sometimes hundreds of miles from their parents. (Weixel, 10/24)

The nation’s largest provider of shelters for immigrant children has surrendered two of its licenses in Arizona following a state investigation that found the organization didn’t have fingerprint records for some employees. (Galvan, 10/24)

The maker of an expensive cholesterol drug is slashing the list price, which should make it more affordable for patients. Amgen Inc. said Wednesday it is immediately cutting the price of Repatha by 60 percent, from about $14,000 to $5,850 per year. The move could help boost Amgen's 60 percent share in the U.S. market. The reduction comes after rivals Sanofi and Regeneron in May slashed what they charge prescription plans — though not the list price — for their similar cholesterol medication, Praluent. (Johnson, 10/24)

The decision also follows three years of frustration for Amgen, as well as Sanofi (SNY) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN), which together sell Praluent. Both drugs are PCSK9 inhibitors, a new type of cholesterol medicine for treating patients who struggle to control cholesterol using statins, particularly those with an inherited disorder known as familial hypercholesterolemia. (Silverman, 10/24)

Repatha is part of a class of injectable medications intended to reduce complications of high cholesterol including heart attack and stroke. The drugs, called PCSK-9 inhibitors, are meant to be taken indefinitely. The steep price has resulted in far slower adoption than expected for what once thought to be a sure-fire blockbuster. (Brown, 10/24)

The commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration sounded a note of alarm Wednesday over how hospitals are being paid for custom-built cancer treatments, suggesting that if a solution is not found soon, drug development could suffer. “I’m extremely worried that if we don’t adapt the approach to reimbursement soon, we may foreclose the therapeutic opportunities,” Gottlieb said. (Swetlitz, 10/24)

Nearly two years ago, the San Diego-based genomics giant Illumina reaffirmed its dominance of the DNA sequencing market when it announced a fast and powerful new machine, called the NovaSeq, that’s since been adopted in labs all over the world. (Robbins, 10/25)

Nearly half (46%) of 174 hospice agencies surveyed by Optima Healthcare Solutions said they aren't confident that they could sustain the financial impact of a federal audit. The proper technology and infrastructure to manage their clinical documentation was at the core of their concerns. Ninety-four percent said their clinical documentation system or process needed at least some improvement. Only about a third said they are using software customized for hospices. (Kacik, 10/24)

Two South Florida healthcare institutions are waging a public fight over the price of healthcare services and warning of a potential breakup that could affect more than 100,000 Miami-Dade residents. Aetna Health and Coventry Health Care of Florida, which provide health insurance coverage for workers in large companies and for people with Medicare and Medicaid, informed their members earlier this month that Mount Sinai Medical Center will be “leaving” their provider network. (Chang, 10/24)

Three of the biggest local names in health care are partnering to expand their pediatric offerings and their reach — the latest effort by area hospital systems to spread services to wider swaths of Chicagoland. Advocate Children’s Hospital and NorthShore University HealthSystem, which teamed up on pediatric care earlier this year, began their new collaboration with University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital this month. (Schencker, 10/24)

Cincinnati is continuing to get high marks for its health care. This week, Healthgrades reported that Cincinnati ranked No. 4 in its 2019 rankings of the top 100 cities in the country who get health care right. (Pugh, 10/24)

It made an arresting tableau: four former surgeons general, aged 68 to 85, all in their blue admirals’ uniforms, together on stage like four grizzled Civil War veterans rehashing their biggest battles, and how they were treated afterward by the President and Congress. But this was no re-enactment of Bull Run or Shiloh. It was an after-action report on America’s medical wars, and it took place this month on the stage of the New York Academy of Medicine. (McNeil, 10/24)

For the first time, a U.S. advisory committee is recommending a routine vaccination for homeless people, voting Wednesday to urge hepatitis A shots to prevent future outbreaks of the contagious liver disease. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices made the recommendation at a meeting in Atlanta. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to adopt it and send guidance to health care providers. (10/24)

Hepatitis A outbreaks have increased since 2016, partly because of homelessness and drug use, health experts said. Crowding and poor hygiene among the homeless and drug users have contributed to transmission. The virus is spread through contaminated food and dirty needles used for injecting drugs. As of last week, 12 states have reported more than 7,500 hepatitis A infections since January 2017, according to data presented at a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. There were more than 4,300 hospitalizations and 74 deaths. Homeless people made up more than 40 percent of the cases in San Diego and more than 10 percent of cases in Kentucky, Michigan, Tennessee and West Virginia. (Sun, 10/24)

A common virus blamed for a deadly outbreak at a New Jersey children's rehabilitation center usually poses little risk for healthy people but can lead to dangerous pneumonia in already frail patients. The patients, most younger than 18, were infected by a germ called adenovirus 7, a strain that is among the more potent of these types of viruses. While it usually causes cold or flu-like symptoms, it can sometimes cause more serious respiratory illness, particularly in people with weak immune systems or who have lung conditions. (10/24)

A deadly viral outbreak claimed the life of a seventh child at a New Jersey rehabilitation center, where 11 other medically fragile young patients remain hospitalized with adenovirus infections, state health officials said on Wednesday. The outbreak at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Haskell, New Jersey, was first reported by the New Jersey Department of Health on Tuesday with the deaths six children with compromised immune systems. (10/24)

The state, with the assistance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is investigating the outbreak. Wanaque Center voluntarily has agreed not to admit new patients until the outbreak is declared over, which would be four weeks after the last case is reported, Dr. Elnahal said. The children, who all died this month, ranged in age from toddler to young adult, with most under the age of 18, Dr. Elnahal said. Those who are ill from the virus are being treated in hospitals or cared for at Wanaque Center, he said. (West, 10/24)

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said in a statement that he was “heartbroken by the news that several children have lost their lives in an adenovirus outbreak at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, and pray for the full recovery of the other children impacted." (Bever, 10/24)

The 227-bed facility, about 25 miles northwest of New York City, has been cited for several deficiencies in recent years that could lead to the spread of infection, according to New Jersey state inspection reports. “Since new for-profit ownership took over at Wanaque Center in 2014, workers have expressed serious concerns over worsening staffing levels, lack of adequate supplies, and severe cutbacks to job standards," said Ron McCalla, a vice president of the Service Employees International Union Local 1199 that represents 136 workers at the facility. (Fallon and Washburn, 10/24)

Fourteen of 15 U.S. diplomats pulled from China for medical testing this year have been found not to have the same set of injuries as personnel evacuated earlier from Cuba, the State Department said Wednesday. The department said 14 of the 15 brought to the U.S. for medical testing earlier this year did not present the “constellation” of symptoms suffered by more than two dozen diplomats in Cuba that it blames on mysterious health attacks. Results for the 15th were inconclusive, it said. (Lee, 10/24)

How doctors and nurses should screen patients for such intimate partner violence is the subject of updated recommendations issued Tuesday by the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The best estimates likely under-represent the true scope and scale of intimate partner violence because victims often are afraid to disclose what has happened to them. (Santhanam, 10/24)

Ashley Goette of West St. Paul, Minn., is being compared to a superhero these days, and not just because she’s a new mother. (Though her 22 hours of labor alone would qualify.) It’s because in the span of four days, she not only gave birth to her first child, but also saved her husband’s life. It all began last Tuesday, around 5 a.m., when Ms. Goette was awakened by her husband, Andrew. He seemed to be snoring. She nudged him and asked him to roll over. He didn’t respond. (Caron, 10/24)

When the weather is bad, more people have heart attacks, Swedish researchers have found. In a study published in JAMA Cardiology, scientists report that lower temperature, higher wind speeds and less sunshine are all associated with a greater incidence of heart attack. (Bakalar, 10/24)

That first cold spell of the season always feels especially harsh. If you’ve ever wondered, from beneath several layers of clothing, whether you were overreacting to those frigid early fall days, take solace. It may not just be in your head: The human body takes time to acclimate to the cold. (Chokshi, 10/24)

A team of surgeons has repaired the spinal cords of two babies while they were still in their mothers’ wombs, the first surgery of its kind in Britain. The operations were carried out over the summer at University College Hospital in London by 30 surgeons to treat spina bifida, a condition in which the spinal column and spinal cord do not develop properly in the womb, causing a gap in the spine. (Yeginsu, 10/24)

A mother’s recorded voice will wake a child and get him out the room much faster than a standard smoke alarm, a randomized trial has found. Researchers recruited 176 5- to 12-year-olds old to test alarms. They taught the children a simulated escape procedure: Get out of bed at the alarm, walk to the door and leave the room. (Bakalar, 10/25)

Harrowing stories of discrimination against pregnant women in the workplace. It’s rampant and in some cases, can lead to miscarriage. We’ll take a deep dive into The New York Times investigation. (Chakrabarti, 10/24)

A South Carolina sheriff's office has fired two deputies who drove a transport van into floodwaters, resulting in the death of two mental-health patients. The Horry County Sheriff's Office announced the decision Wednesday as part of an investigation into the actions of deputies Stephen Flood and Joshua Bishop. (10/24)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn’t know why young children across the country are coming down with a rare condition called Acute Flaccid Myelitis. Many are calling AFM  a “polio-like” illness, because it causes weakness and paralysis in childrens’ arms and legs. Doctors say the disease starts off as a common cold but the virus attacks the spinal cord. There are reports that some patients have needed breathing assistance. State health departments have reported an increase in confirmed AFM cases in the past few months. This year the CDC has reported 62 cases in 22 states. Midwest states make up 40 percent of all confirmed cases including Illinois with 10 confirmed cases. Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky and Ohio each have one case. (Gomez-Aldana, 10/24)

Six or seven Minnesota children have been diagnosed this year with AFM, a polio-like disorder that attacks the spongy core of the spinal cord. The local cluster has renewed national attention to the disorder, which federal officials started tracking in 2014 after outbreaks in California and Colorado, while forcing parents to confront the realities of prevention and treatment. (Olson, 10/24)

Soda industry giants including the Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo, Inc. are spending more than $20 million to convince voters in Washington state to pass an initiative that would block local governments from imposing taxes on soda, sugary beverages and some food items. The effort follows a tax on sugary beverages that went into effect in Seattle earlier this year. (10/24)

ProPublica Illinois reported in April that the UIC psychiatrist who oversaw several federally funded studies, Dr. Mani Pavuluri, violated research rules, failed to alert parents of risks and falsified data to cover up misconduct, and that UIC didn’t properly oversee her work. ...The decision to enroll in the UIC study would affect them all: Aline, a stay-at-home mom, and Thomas, an engineer who works in international sales, and their four children — twin daughters Tess and Page, then seniors in high school, and fifth-graders Wilson and Nash, both with mental illness and learning challenges. (Cohen and Jaffe, 10/25)

Buoyed by the mid-morning arrival of a busload of employees from University of California, Merced, roughly 500 pickets spilled out four astride onto city sidewalks Wednesday from the rotary at UC Davis Medical Center. It was the second day of a three-day strike against the University of California health systems. Roughly 39,000 workers in AFSCME Local 3299 and UPTE -CWA Local 9119 are on strike Tuesday through Thursday of this week at the UC’s five academic hospitals around the state. (Anderson, 10/24)

Patients like [Lorraine] DePriest were already struggling to access healthcare before Hurricane Michael, but the storm has exacerbated those hardships into impasses. ...What remains for them in Michael’s wake is dread, doubt and an uncertain timeline for a return to normal healthcare. (Koh, 10/25)

A report from Tennessee's health department says a doctor borrowed money from a patient then diagnosed her with dementia when asked to repay it. Suellen Lee was quoted by The Tennessean as saying that she voluntarily retired her medical license because her case was unwinnable. She maintains the accusations are "all lies." (10/24)

Alabama health officials announced Wednesday that a study did not find evidence of an eye cancer cluster at Auburn University, despite a rash of reported cases of the rare and deadly cancer that drew national attention earlier this year. The Alabama Department of Public Health said the study "based on the best available information" did not find higher than expected rates of uveal melanoma among former students and university employees. (10/24)

In an effort to prevent stillbirths, Ohio is encouraging pregnant women to track fetal movement in the third trimester of pregnancy by counting and tracking kicks and other in utero activity using a free app. With $50,000 and materials from Iowa-Based Count the Kicks, a non-profit started by mothers who lost babies to stillbirth, the Ohio Department of Health has started sending letters and emails about the program to more than 3,000 healthcare providers. (Zeltner, 10/24)

Researchers are still recruiting women who were pregnant during and after the wildfires last year to participate in a study of the health effects of the polluted air on them and their babies. Studies of pregnant women exposed to traffic-related air pollution show an association with respiratory and developmental problems in their children, including autism. (Dembosky, 10/24)

A woman with intellectual disabilities resulting from a stroke was sexually abused and impregnated early this year at a St. Anthony group home for vulnerable adults by a male caregiver who worked there. The alleged assailant then threatened the woman and offered her $700 to abort the pregnancy in April, according to a state investigation and police records. (Serres, 10/24)

Milwaukee County Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic wants the county to provide free menstrual hygiene products — pads and tampons — in restrooms at the courthouse and the Coggs Human Services Center as a step toward gender equity. Dimitrijevic will ask the County Board to approve spending up to $25,200 next year to buy dispensers and menstrual products so they can be available at no cost along with toilet paper, soap and paper towels in the bathrooms of the county's two busiest public buildings. (Behm, 10/24)

Austin’s water officially failed state standards on Tuesday, and what began as a precautionary measure urging residents to boil their water is now required by state law. That means Austin Water will have to follow Texas Commission on Environmental Quality procedures to lift the boil notice, but officials remained vague about what that will entail or how it will affect the timeline for when water will be safe to drink. (Findell and Huber, 10/24)

The Schottensteins are going to bring their experience running DSW and American Eagle to the marijuana trade.After failing to receive a marijuana cultivation license in Ohio, the central Ohio family has turned to building a number of brands around cannabis products, including health and beauty items, a chain of dispensaries — the retail spaces where people buy cannabis products — and what the company calls “lifestyle” brands. (Malone, 10/24)

It does seem incongruous. At a time when the U.S. president is undermining democracy at home and human rights abroad, all the while vigorously attacking truth wherever it finds refuge, the Democratic Party's midterm election messaging is focused on Obamacare. New York Times columnist David Brooks is surely not alone in complaining that the Democratic response to Trump's dangerous "ethnic nationalism" is "inadequate." Yet in many ways a Democratic campaign centered on Obamacare is the perfect vehicle for the political moment. (Francis Wilkinson, 10/24)

In the face of these very real and difficult challenges, lawmakers have achieved little, settling instead for tired campaign slogans — “Repeal and Replace ObamaCare” vs “Medicare for all” — that suggest simple solutions are available. This flawed framing of the political dialogue has trapped our elected officials in unproductive debates. They are too narrowly focused, inadequately informed by relevant facts and experience; and more concerned with winning political points and preserving existing institutions than with improving health care or reducing costs. (Mark Litow and Marc Goldwein, 10/24)

Who would have thought that an attack on socialism would be so controversial? But these days it is. The White House’s Council of Economic Advisers  issued a report called “The Opportunity Costs of Socialism” to a scathing reception on social media: “dreck,” said the economist Justin Wolfers, while Paul Krugman referred to it as “amazingly dishonest.” I’m here to tell you that I have read the entire report, and many of the sources it cites, and most of it is correct. (Tyler Cowen, 10/24)

It’s not often you hear about a proposal to lower prescription drug costs that is supported by 76 percent of Americans as well as Democratic and Republican senators, AARP, doctors, hospitals, insurance companies and the administration. But you have it with our bipartisan legislation to require pharmaceutical companies to disclose list prices for their medications in direct-to-consumer television advertisements. Our measure passed the Senate unanimously in August, and we remain undeterred in providing American patients and taxpayers with the transparency they deserve for the ever-growing cost of prescription drugs. (Sens. Richard J. Durbin and Chuck Grassley, 10/24)

Last year, he declared that transgendered men and women could no longer serve openly in the armed services, claiming that they were a burden on the military. Also, the administration revoked an Obama-era rule that allowed students in federally-funded schools to use the restroom corresponding to the gender with which they identified. Now Trump has said that his administration is considering a further policy change. His comments were vague, but reports said that the administration might narrowly define “sex,” for the purposes of anti-discrimination policies, as an unchanging condition determined at birth by a person’s genitalia. That would be foolish and inhumane. (10/25)

The University of Notre Dame accepted James for this year’s freshman class. It was his first choice for an undergraduate education. No financial issues blocked him from going, no last-minute academic problems emerged during his final days of high school. But James is not attending Notre Dame; he is now a student at another top university. He was forced elsewhere because Notre Dame insisted that, to join the class, James (not his real name) had to increase his risk of dying. (Kurt Eichenwald, 10/25)

It was billed as a town hall for Venice residents to hear about the shelter for homeless people that city officials had proposed for an unused Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus yard in that coastal community. Mostly, however, it was a three-hour flogging of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, City Councilman Mike Bonin — whose district includes Venice — and Police Chief Michel Moore.People packed into the auditorium of the Westminster Elementary School last Wednesday didn’t want to hear that the project would move at least 154 homeless people off the surrounding sidewalks and into ”bridge,” or interim, housing. (Carla Hall, 10/24)

A constant democratic struggle is protecting the public from professional guilds that use government power to block competition. A ballot measure in Oklahoma next month would make it easier for patients to get vision care, if voters can overcome the medical lobby. State Question 793 would amend the Oklahoma constitution to let optometrists conduct eye exams and write prescriptions in a Walmart, Costco or other retailer. Under current law, if optometrists want to practice in a retail environment, they must have a physical wall cutting off their office from the sales floor. Oklahoma also bars the sale of glasses or contact lenses in stores where optical products are less than half of income. (10/24)

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) recently released a report on sexual harassment of women working in academic sciences, engineering, and medicine. Its findings are deeply disturbing: sexual harassment is common across scientific fields, has not abated, and remains a particular problem in medicine, where potential sources of harassment include not just colleagues and supervisors, but also patients and their families. To highlight one statistic, as many as 50% of female medical students report experiencing sexual harassment. Imagine a medical-school dean addressing the incoming class with this demoralizing prediction: “Look at the woman to your left and then at the woman to your right. On average, one of them will be sexually harassed during the next 4 years, before she has even begun her career as a physician.” The report’s conclusions are consistent with the lack of progress in closing gaps between men and women in salary, career advancement, and leadership in medicine. (Esther K. Choo, Jane van Dis, M.D., and Dara Kass, 10/25)

A July 2018 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) sounded an alarm that high rates of sexual harassment in academic sciences, engineering, and medicine are compromising the integrity of education and research. The report also contained a finding that should be deeply worrisome for leaders of academic medical institutions: medical students experience sexual harassment more often than their peers in sciences and engineering, by a considerable margin. (Victor J. Dzau and Paula A. Johnson, 10/25)

After nearly a decade of experimentation with value-based payment (VBP), U.S. health care payers, providers, and purchasers are confronting uneven adoption of new care guidelines, modest early results, and still-unacceptable gaps in spending and quality. In determining what comes next, we believe it’s important to extrapolate from the lessons of these experiences to guiding principles for designing new approaches. It’s also essential to recognize that to truly redesign a system, one has to take a holistic approach and move multiple levers in concert, rather than fiddling with individual factors serially and hoping for a coordinated effect. Though we focus on tactics for private payers to consider, many of these principles and a holistic strategy could also be adapted to Medicare or Medicaid contexts. (Hoangmai Pham and Paul B. Ginsburg, 10/25)