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Polls lately have begun to suggest that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) might have found a glide path to the Democratic presidential nomination. But on Tuesday night, she hit some turbulence. What’s troublesome for Warren is not the fact that she found herself the chief target of attacks from her rivals in the fourth Democratic debate; that was, in a sort of backhanded way, a tribute to her newfound status as a leader — perhaps the leader — in a crowded field of candidates. More ominous was her repeated evasion of a question put to her by moderator Marc Lacey of the New York Times: Would her Medicare-for-all proposal require an increase in taxes on the middle class? (Karen Tumulty, 10/16)

Tuesday’s Democratic debate showed that Bernie Sanders still has some pep in his step, Joe Biden needs a better answer on his son Hunter’s business dealings, and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar deserves more media respect. But the most important news was Senator Elizabeth Warren’s determined refusal to say if her plans would require taxes to increase on the middle class. Ms. Warren, the new leader in the polls, was given at least six chances to answer yes or no. She ducked every time. “Will you raise taxes on the middle class to pay for it, yes or no?” asked one of the media questioners. (10/16)

Eventually, Elizabeth Warren is going to need to find a different way to answer the Medicare question. A central part of last night’s debate was the criticism she received from rivals over her unwillingness to talk about whether middle-class taxes will rise under her plan. Warren refused to answer the question, implicitly arguing that it’s irrelevant. (David Leonhardt, 10/16)

Sesame Street has a new puppet and a new human character, both of whom have parents with a “kind of sickness called addiction.” The puppet’s name is Karli and, according to Elmo, Karli’s mommy was away for a while and is home now. Sesame Street's new human child character, Salia, explains that drug use disorder is “Getting attracted to something so you keep doing it over and over again. It makes people feel like they need drugs and alcohol to feel ok. And they can’t stop doing it.” (Marjorie S. Rosenthal, 10/16)

Matthew Knowles, the father of the artists Beyoncé and Solange, recently announced that he had been told that he has a breast cancer caused by a BRCA2 gene mutation and that his children have a 50 percent chance of inheriting it. In 2007, my mother was in a similar position. She learned after receiving a breast cancer diagnosis at age 42 for a second time — her first bout with cancer came when she was 28 — that she carried a BRCA2 mutation. It meant that as her daughter, I had even odds of having inherited it from her. (Erika Stallings, 10/16)

As the country delves into the throes of an impeachment inquiry and a tumultuous election year, another threat to our communities looms large. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is currently deliberating whether the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional, leaving over 130 million Americans’ health care hanging in the balance. The decision could be made as early as this month. The impact will be devastating to communities around the country, and hits home particularly hard. If the ACA is repealed, millions of Pennsylvanians’ access to affordable health coverage is at stake. (Rosalina Jowers, 10/17)

Surprise medical bills can have a long-lasting, financially devastating effect on patients’ lives.No one who visits an emergency room with a life-threatening medical crisis, or who is recovering from a major surgery, wants to be blindsided with a massive bill weeks later. But these bills arrive all too often, and I agree with President Donald Trump: Congress should act to end surprise medical billing. (Scott DesJarlais, 10/16)

The federal government regulates methadone—limiting distribution to specialized clinics, which are mostly in cities. Yet over the past two decades, opioids have spread rapidly to the suburbs and rural communities. (Steve Hamm, 10/16)

It’s common sense to look under the hood of a used car and at least drive it around the block before you buy it. So, why take at face value what politicians say about plans they propose? Just like with any consumer transaction, you have to look beneath politicians’ claims about a proposed program or policy and see what you will really get. (Anne Ferrell Quillen, 10/17)

Each patient’s caregiving must be individualized to meet the specific needs of that person. This is why nursing staff ratios are such a fiercely debated topic in the health care industry. It is not a question of whether patients are receiving the high-quality care they trust our nurses to provide, but rather of why the voices of nurses are not being heard when they say their patients are not being properly cared for. (Jacqueline Rivera, 10/17)