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Aetna Inc.’s decision to scale back participation in the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges is putting new pressure on Hillary Clinton over health care, a onetime signature issue that has taken a back seat in her presidential campaign. The pressure is coming from the right but also the left. Liberals say the Aetna decision shows the need for a government-run option to compete with the private insurance companies, or even for a single-payer, Medicare-for-all program, as Sen. Bernie Sanders proposed again this week. (Meckler, 8/18)

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) renewed push for a government-run healthcare plan is getting a tepid reception from Democrats, with some saying he is waging a losing battle. Long-time “public option” supporters like Sanders believe Aetna’s decision to flee the ObamaCare marketplaces this week proves what they’ve been saying all along: that the time has come for a new government-run healthcare plan in the United States. (Ferris, 8/18)

Two days in a row, in prepared speeches, Trump asserted that that his rival Clinton lacks “mental and physical stamina” to do the job as president. That’s surely no accident, but a campaign official did not respond to a query about why the GOP presidential nominee was making this claim. We assume Trump’s rhetoric is related to a not-so-quiet campaign among right-leaning news entities to highlight “concerns” about Clinton’s health, often shared on social media with #HillarysHealth. Our colleague David Weigel has already taken a good look at the smorgasbord of junk science being used to promote such claims. (Kessler, 8/18)