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U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell wants Washington state to bring back the Basic Health Plan, which provided an inexpensive health insurance option for the working poor. The new federal program is modeled after a Washington plan that started in 1987 but suspended in 2014 with the start of provisions of federal health care reform. (Blankinship, 5/2)

Drinking water from private wells in northern New England may increase the risk of bladder cancer, according to a new study from the National Cancer Institute, Dartmouth and the state health departments in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont. (Rodolico, 5/2)

Washington health officials will review the state’s screening for and response to potential lead poisoning in water supplies and other sources, following a directive issued Monday by Gov. Jay Inslee. (Aleccia, 5/2)

A doctor on the University of California’s Board of Regents has been allowed to keep his seat despite a secret investigation that concluded he violated ethics rules by trying to strike a financially beneficial deal between his eye clinics and UCLA, part of the university system the regents oversee. Dr. William De La Peña also engaged in discussions about a prominent eye center affiliation involving UCLA even after recusing himself, an investigation found. At the time, he was chairman of the regents’ health services committee. (Ornstein, 5/2)

Dr. Alejandro Badia started an orthopedic urgent-care center out of frustration. "Every patient that came to see me had already been somewhere, and that somewhere didn't do much for them," he said. "I said to myself, 'Why can't somebody reach me more directly?'" (Miller, 5/2)

Look around and there is more: special lighting, new anesthesia machines, new instruments — just a few of the upgrades totaling $60 million that have been made throughout the hospital over the last three years. (McGrory, 5/1)

A doctor who oversees the medical needs of over 200 jailed inmates in Hillsborough County has been barred from practicing at the facility for at least the next 120 days, after an emergency license suspension by the state’s Board of Medicine (Corwin, 5/2)

In many cases, a pill might be the answer. But doctors and researchers also are increasingly looking toward less invasive and more basic methods of treating mental illness and mood disorders, including exercise and vitamin supplements. (Kurtzman, 5/2)

Usually, just a handful of people show up to meetings of the Board of Health in Orange County, if they show up at all. But last week’s open meeting in Hillsborough on whether or not include electronic cigarettes in the county’s ban on tobacco in restaurants, bars and public buildings drew several dozen people and provided emotional testimony both for and against the proposal. (Hoban, 5/2)

By the time Sanctuary ATC opened its doors in Plymouth — around 11 a.m. Saturday morning — about a dozen people were already huddled around on the porch or hanging out in the parking lot outside, hoping to get in. (McDermott, 5/2)