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Health care is a promising issue for Democrats. Assailing Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare helped the party win back control of the House of Representatives in 2018. All of the remaining candidates fighting to be the party’s 2020 presidential nominee are pushing for further reform to the system, to varying degrees. The direction the eventual nominee takes could determine whether the country completely rethinks nearly 18% of the economy, or merely tweaks it. It may also determine whether they win or lose a particularly crucial election. (Max Nisen and Elaine He, 10/14)

Before each of the three Democratic presidential debates I have been asked, “What questions do you want the candidates to answer in health care?” Each time I ask the same three questions, because they have not yet been answered:We need to know exactly what those supporting Medicare for All mean by that. Are they really saying that everyone can have everything and it will cost less? Those not proposing Medicare for All would keep private insurance and add the choice of a government plan, or "public option," such as “Medicare for all who want it.” For them, is the real goal for the public option to dominate and eventually crowd out private insurance? And whatever the new system, how do we pay for it? We still have no answers. (Arthur “Tim” Garson Jr., 10/13)

New polling shows that most of the public does not think President Trump has or will have a health care plan. Driving the news: The Kaiser Family Foundation’s next tracking poll will show that most Republicans are sticking with Trump, but few other voters are buying his repeated promises about delivering a “phenomenal health plan.” By the numbers: 81% of Republicans are somewhat or very confident Trump will deliver on his health care promises. But 95% of Democrats and 61% of independents say they are not confident Trump will follow through on those promises. In fact, just 37% of those polled were aware that Trump had promised to release a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. (Drew Altman, 10/14)

Medicare is not free. That’s the bad news. The premiums alone can run thousands of dollars a year, and you can go broke if you get stuck in a hospital long enough. Medicare, the federal health insurance program for people 65 and older, won’t pay anything for a skilled nursing facility past 100 days, and the co-payment for days 21 through 100 will cost you $13,640. (Thomas Heath, 10/11)

In the research community, concern is growing that those with intellectual and developmental disabilities are becoming invisible in data collected from nationwide health surveys. Regular collection, analysis and interpretation of health data is a crucial part of how the United States tackles public health. Data collected from health surveys informs planning, implementation and evaluation of public health practices which, in turn, affect researchers, policy makers, planners and IDD advocates in roles like ours at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.  (Susan Havercamp, 10/12)

We are learning from this horror. All the information we have now is too late for Derek, so we as a family have decided to dedicate ourselves to educating others to the dangers and realities of drug abuse. And we are very angry with big pharma for developing these opioids that are killing our friends, family and neighbors at alarming rates. Were it some tainted lettuce on a taco that caused an outbreak of diarrhea, it would be front-page news. (Mary Anne French and Tom Wega, 10/12)

When my daughter became pregnant with my grandson last year, she stopped drinking. Had she been a smoker, she would have forsworn her Marlboros. Her husband, on the other hand, was free to lift a glass and light up if he so chose. Or was he? The belief that a pregnant woman is responsible for the well-being of her fetus is easy to understand. A fetus is (literally) connected to its mother. (Judith Finlayson, 10/13)

Milwaukee has adopted some of the same violence reduction tactics as Oakland but the city needs to do even more, and it needs to ensure that there is a stable, long-term funding stream for this vital work. (10/11)

National Coming Out Day, at its core, is about making sure LGBTQ people feel safe, seen, heard and accepted.It is a day of empowerment, a day for LGBTQ people to own their own narrative. But it’s also an important day to remember the places in which LGBTQ people don’t always feel safe and supported – like our schools. Too many students across California and the nation still face discrimination, harassment, bullying and even violence when they come out. This is an unacceptable reality in 2019. (Tony Thurmond and Rick Zbur, 10/11)

Rikers continues to be a place of violence and cruelty. In 2010, a 16-year-old African-American by the name of Kalief Browder was accused of stealing a backpack, a crime he said he did not commit, and sent to Rikers. The teenager never received a trial. Yet he remained in jail for three years, including two years in solitary confinement. In 2015, two years after his release, he took his own life, after speaking openly about the trauma the ordeal had caused him. (10/13)