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Abortion isn’t normally a central issue in statewide elections in New England, home to some of the most pro-choice voters in the nation. But just days from the election, it is surfacing as an unlikely front-burner topic in gubernatorial races in New Hampshire and Vermont, where Democratic and abortion-rights groups launched an advertising blitz essentially questioning whether two candidates running as pro-choice Republicans are pro-choice enough. (Levitz, 11/6)

Both New Hampshire Republican candidate Chris Sununu and Vermont Republican candidate Phil Scott say they favor abortion rights. However, in both states, Planned Parenthood and abortion rights groups have argued the GOP candidate’s support isn’t sufficiently strong. (Pindell, 11/5)

But Rob Moir can’t remember anything Trump’s been saying. And last week Rob needed his wife to remind him which down-ballot candidates he prefers, and to stand beside him at the voting booth guiding him gently while he bubbled in his early ballot. Rob is one of millions of Americans with dementia. And like many of them, he’s had to navigate the voting process alongside a caregiver this election season. For people like Rob in the earlier stages of the disease, voting can be at once empowering and challenging. And it can grow increasingly fraught as the disease advances. (Robbins, 11/7)

Ballot measures in the states this year will test voter attitudes on many controversial issues that are playing out on a national level — whether it be drug pricing, universal health coverage or legalizing marijuana. The pharmaceutical industry faces a make-or-break fight in California over a controversial measure capping prices paid through state health programs. In Colorado, voters will decide whether they want to move beyond Obamacare to establish a single-payer system. (Pradhan and Cancryn, 11/6)

Are those memes about Hillary Clinton’s emails and Donald Trump’s tax returns making you rub your temples, clench your teeth or lose sleep? If so, mental health experts say, it might be time to take a social-media break. This presidential election season is seriously stressing us out. (Viviano, 11/5)

ObamaCare isn’t generally a favorite topic for Democrats in tight Senate races around the country. Premium hikes announced this fall have made negative headlines, adding to criticism of President Obama’s signature legislative achievement. The Affordable Care Act has never been that popular in any event, and it was widely blamed for huge Democratic losses in the 2010 midterm elections. Yet in this fall’s pitched battle for the Senate, Democrats have found a part of ObamaCare that they want to tout: its expansion of Medicaid, the healthcare program for the poor. (Sullivan, 11/5)

A group of Harvard researchers released a study last fall revealing that 14 percent of the health plans sold on federal exchanges were missing at least one key specialist. Some low-cost plans have lower upfront prices, but they often have the most limited network of doctors. (Baggett, 11/4)

It’s open enrollment season, the time of year when we need to sort through confusing options and try to predict how often we’ll get sick next year. Some people, especially those shopping for plans on the Obamacare insurance exchanges are facing bigger price tags. Rolling over into the same plan may not be an option for people who learned that their plans are being eliminated or that their premiums are doubling. Workers who get insurance through their jobs may also find new options for next year, such as telemedicine services, and rising drug costs. (Marte, 11/4)

Kansas health care organizations are opening their checkbooks to back legislative candidates who support Medicaid expansion. The Kansas Hospital Association is the biggest player. Its political action committee has contributed more than $112,000 to legislative candidates this year -- $38,551 in the primary and $73,692 in the general, according to reports filed this week. In past elections KHA, like many organizations, spread its contributions fairly evenly, backing incumbents of both parties regardless of their positions on issues. But it abandoned that strategy this year by giving mainly to candidates who publicly support expansion even if that meant backing challengers over longtime incumbents. (McLean, 11/4)

Higher than anticipated Medicaid spending in Louisiana and Iowa could create trouble for governors of both political parties. (Pradhan and Ehley, 11/7)

Sandra Cook got in line midday on a recent Friday for dental care that she wouldn’t receive until the next morning. Hundreds more like her showed up at Riverview Elementary and Middle School here, many planning to spend the night, just as buses brought kids home and volunteers arrived by the hundreds to turn the school into a makeshift dental, eye and medical clinic run by Remote Area Medical, a nonprofit charity program. ... The decision by states like Virginia not to expand Medicaid and the lack of dental and vision coverage even for those with insurance have meant that the demand for RAM’s free mobile clinics has stayed strong. (Varney, 11/7)

Newly disclosed emails underscore the extent to which high-ranking US Food and Drug Administration officials were upset with the decision-making process used to approve a controversial Sarepta Therapeutics drug for combating Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The Sept. 14 emails were written in response to a memo that Dr. Robert Califf, the FDA commissioner had drafted in which he sided with Dr. Janet Woodcock, the controversial head of the drug review division. She had pushed hard to approve the Sarepta medication over objections of key people on her staff, one of whom had filed an official scientific dispute over the approval, which occurred on Sept. 19. (Silverman, 11/4)

Precision Fabrics partnered with Standard Textile, a global supplier of hospital linens with U.S. headquarters in Ohio, to test DermaTherapy. After 11 clinical trials at several hospitals showed incidences of pressure ulcers were reduced by 65 percent to 80 percent, the Food and Drug Administration in June certified DermaTherapy as a medical device. It's a first for a bed sheet, and it flips conventional thinking: Instead of sheets and pads protecting the mattress, they protect the patient. (Rife, 11/6)

The Massachusetts Division of Insurance plans to hold a series of meetings and a public hearing in the coming weeks about long-term care insurance rate increases, which have angered consumers and left them with few options as they age. ... State legislators approved changes to the law in 2012 an effort to protect consumers from sticker shock. Policyholders have been waiting for rules governing the law to take effect since then. (Fernandes, 11/4)

Hospitals and insurers traditionally tussle over pay for health services, but metro Phoenix's largest health provider, Banner Health, and insurer Aetna will instead join together to provide health care to employers. Banner Health and Aetna have formed a new company, Banner|Aetna, that will start by marketing health insurance to large and small employers in Maricopa and Pinal counties next year with plans to expand to Tucson and other areas of the state. Aetna will own 51 percent of Banner|Aetna and Banner Health will own 49 percent. (Alltucker, 11/4)

As open enrollment periods begin in workplaces, workers are facing the annual shock of rising health care costs. You may not see a horrible rise in premiums — at least not an increase as extreme as the last few years. But you are likely to have to pay higher deductibles before your insurance kicks in, as well as copays when you go to the doctor or hospital. As health care costs climb and businesses deal with a slow-growing economy, companies are passing more health care costs onto their employees. And they've been cutting back other benefits too over the last few years, according to a survey by the Society of Human Resource Management. (MarksJarvis, 11/4)

The organization that oversees the training of young doctors recommended Friday that first-year physicians in hospitals be allowed to work 24-hour shifts — eight hours longer than they are permitted now. If approved in February, the proposal by a task force of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education would go into effect in July, when the members of the next class of medical school graduates begin their residencies at teaching hospitals across the United States. (Bernstein, 11/4)

For years, medical interns have been limited to working no more than 16 hours without a break to minimize the chances they would make mistakes while fatigued. But that restriction could soon be eased. The group that sets the rules for medical residents proposed scrapping the 16-hour limit for interns, doctors in their first year of on-the-job training after finishing medical school. The new rule would let these new doctors work for as many as 28 hours at a stretch. (Stein, 11/4)

In a controversial move, the national body that oversees graduate medical education is looking to end the 16-hour shift limit for first-year residents. Under revised rules proposed Friday, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education would allow residency programs to assign first-year trainees to shifts as long as 28 hours, the current maximum for residents in later years. The proposed rules would not change the current maximum hours a resident can work per week at 80, averaged over four weeks. The decision comes amid fierce debate over whether longer shifts compromise patient safety and expose young residents to burnout that could shorten their careers, or even end them before they get started. (Ross, 11/4)

Not long after Keeley Hobart started medical school at Texas Tech University in 2011, she joined a federally funded program that allowed her to finish school one year early and receive a scholarship equal to a full year of tuition. The caveat: the program's curriculum focused exclusively on preparing medical students to become family physicians, one of the lowest-paid specialties in medicine. ... Texas Tech's admissions officers look for students for the Family Medicine Accelerated Track who eventually want to practice in small towns, which face a shortage of qualified doctors willing to locate in their communities. (Castellucci, 11/5)

Extending this sort of care, as well as that of OB-GYNs, to more women in underserved areas nationally is the goal of legislation that won the recommendation of a U.S. House committee this fall and awaits Congress upon its post-election return. The bill,  “Improving Access to Maternity Care Act of 2015 (H.R.1209/S. 628),” calls for the assessment of gaps in OB-GYN and midwifery care in rural areas. The resulting data could put the spotlight back on North Carolina’s requirement for midwives to have a contract to work under physician supervision. That requirement that has ended up limiting midwives’ ability to establish and run practices in many underserved areas. (Goldsmith, 11/7)

After years of relative equilibrium, the job market for nurses is heating up in many markets, driving up wages and sign-on bonuses for the nation’s fifth-largest occupation. The last nursing shortage more than a decade ago ended when a surge of nursing graduates filled many positions, and the Great Recession led older nurses to delay retirement. But as the economy improves, nurses who held on to jobs through the uneven recovery are now retiring or cutting back hours, say recruiters. (Evans, 11/7)

Tim van Opijnen has an unusual library. Instead of books, it holds over 10,000 mutant strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae, each with a gene disabled ­— though a different one than its neighbor. By knocking out a single gene, van Opijnen’s lab at Boston College is trying to understand individual genes’ importance and function in the presence of an antibiotic. His choice of bacterium is intentional: there are 1.2 million drug-resistant pneumococcal infections per year in the US, joining several other species of bacteria that are growing in immunity to antibiotic treatment. (Love, 11/7)

Just five months after federal health officials asked hospitals and physicians to be on the lookout for an often-fatal, antibiotic-resistant fungus called Candida auris, 13 cases have been reported, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday. It is the first time that the fungus, which is easily misidentified in lab tests as a more common candida yeast infection, has been found in the US, and four of the first seven patients with it have died. (Begley, 11/4)

A deadly new drug-resistant fungus has been linked to the deaths of four hospital patients in the U.S., according to a report released Friday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The fungus, called Candida auris, preys on the sickest patients and can spread in hospitals. Although doctors have been concerned about the spread of antibiotic-resistant bugs for many years, this fungus is relatively new on the world scene. (Szabo, 11/4)

Even as the opioid epidemic rages, that shortage could become worse next year, unless advocates can beat back a plan to limit federal matching funds for Medicaid drug rehab to 15 days a month. The limit would apply to all facilities with more than 16 beds. The situation is particularly worrisome in Pennsylvania because of how the state has been financing rehab under Medicaid. The program is run jointly by the states and the federal government, and varies somewhat among states. For instance, the regulation change will not affect New Jersey because it has never received federal Medicaid matching dollars for residential rehabs larger than 16 beds, a spokeswoman for the state's department of health services said. (Bond, 11/6)

Since Suboxone film strips were removed from the Medicaid Preferred Drug List in July, the amount of the drug recovered in Maryland correctional facilities as contraband has decreased by 41 percent, according to Maryland’s Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. Suboxone — a drug used to treat opiate addiction — has a high risk of addiction and dependence, and can even lead to death when paired with other drugs or alcohol, according to the Food and Drug Administration. (Lang, 11/4)

Hundreds of Northeast Ohio pharmacies now offer the opioid overdose-reversing medication, naloxone, without a prescription, part of a statewide effort that's made the potentially lifesaving drug available in most pharmacies in 84 of Ohio's 88 counties. The drug, if used properly, can rapidly reverse an overdose of opioids, including heroin, fentanyl and other prescription painkillers in the same drug family. (Zeltner, 11/5)

Edwin Sobony II had had enough. It was December 2015 and Sobony’s wife was on heroin, which she got from her cousin, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Sobony had asked the cousin, Larry Jewell, to stay away from their home. But that day in December, Jewell came by, and Sobony picked up an aluminum baseball bat and began to beat him. ... Now, Sobony has received his sentence for the conviction: Two years of probation. ... “I’m not supporting what Mr. Sobony did,” Judge Charles Schneider said. “Vigilante justice is not supported by the court. But the people in this community have just had it.” (Larimer, 11/5)

Methadone is one of the few proven treatments for opioid addiction, and physicians say it remains an essential tool. But it is addictive and dangerous in its own right, and in Minnesota it is provided largely at for-profit clinics with histories of lawsuits and licensing infractions. (Olson, 11/5)

Chicago has been pummeled with near constant gun violence this year. An estimated 3,600 shootings have taken place, on average—that's about 10 shootings a day. During the recent Halloween weekend alone, 17 people died and 41 were wounded.And while politicians and policy makers struggle to find ways to create policies to address America's violence, another related crisis is slowing growing. Most of the shootings are concentrated in impoverished communities. The virtual war zones are home to people who suffer from poor health and lower rates of insurance coverage, leaving them at a disadvantage when they are injured, either physically or tangentially, by gun violence. (Johnson, 11/5)

A “culture of shaming” is now permeating psychology, and science in general, according to a former president of the Association for Psychological Science.In an essay in the society’s house organ, the Observer, Princeton psychologist Susan Fiske claims that the “new media” “can encourage a certain amount of uncurated, unfiltered denigration. In the most extreme examples, individuals are finding their research programs, their careers, and their personal integrity under attack.” (Oransky and Marcus, 11/4)

This kind of behavior was no mere one-off for the future author of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” While Dahl is known around the world for his exuberant children’s books ... he also held a quieter, parallel fascination with medicine that spanned his entire adult life. That passion not only crept into Dahl’s fiction over the years, but even led to the writer’s making some legitimately groundbreaking contributions to the field. He led vaccination awareness campaigns and invented a medical device that was implanted in thousands of children. And when his first wife suffered a stroke, Dahl, who would have turned 100 in September, came up with a treatment whose legacy he couldn’t have foreseen. (Hingston, 11/6)

Janet Reno, the first woman to serve as U.S. attorney general, has died at age 78.Her godddaugher, Gabrielle D’Alemberte, told The Associated Press that she died early Monday from complications related to Parkinson’s disease. Reno was sworn in as the first female attorney general on March 12, 1993, under the administration of Bill Clinton. She served in the role until 2001. (Onyanga-Omara, 11/7)

When Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.’s medical alert pendant accidentally went off five years ago, the 68-year-old told police who showed up that he was fine, barred them from entering his apartment and repeatedly asked them to go away. They didn’t. That set off a tense, 90-minute standoff that ended with the mentally ill, former Marine, shot dead. (Hays, 11/6)

This fiscal year began with $55 million in cuts to the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and big questions about how they would be felt in a system that many say is already stretched to capacity. So far, many involved in the system say the impact has been mixed: Some agencies have been able to absorb reductions, while others have reduced hours, closed programs or laid off staff. (Levin Becker, 11/7)

The Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services has decided to abandon a pilot program that would have significantly expanded access to services for people seeking mental health help at eight of the state’s 40 public treatment centers, known as community services boards, or CSBs. The expansion was deemed too costly and ambitious. State officials instead are working on a plan to make changes at all 40 community services boards, saving money by spreading the reforms over the next decade. (Kleiner, 11/6)

When Mrs. Vitale falls or seems lethargic or short of breath, her aides no longer call 911. They dial the House Calls service at Northwell Health, the system that includes Long Island Jewish Medical Center and that dispatches what it calls community paramedics. They often arrive in an S.U.V. instead of an ambulance. And with 40 hours of training in addition to the usual paramedic curriculum, they can treat most of Mrs. Vitale’s problems on the spot instead of bustling her away. (Span, 11/4)

For seniors, adjusting to a different stage in life can be a difficult time.Some are transitioning to a nursing home from their lifelong home. Or, they may have retired recently or they may be facing an illness that’s causing depression. There is an outpatient program where seniors can seek help. Many times, “they didn’t know what they were dealing with was treatable or had a name,” said Kathleen Edwards, a counselor for Christian Hospital’s Center for Senior Renewal. The program is designed to help seniors develop coping skills for their anxiety, depression and trouble adjusting to retirement. (Liss, 11/6)

Home modifications support aging in place, according to Susan Stark, an assistant professor of occupational therapy at Washington University, and colleagues who prepared a research paper that will be published soon. Things like bathtub transfer benches, lower steps, grab bars, handrails, widened doorways, ramps and toilet risers help people stay safe and independent in their daily activities. While many people would benefit from the upgrades, few actually have them. They aren’t covered as part of health care in the U.S. (Bogan, 11/6)

The federal government on Friday approved a sweeping overhaul of the state’s health care program for poor and low-income residents, pushing medical providers to better coordinate the care of nearly 2 million people. The goals are to improve the health and quality of care for a population of patients that tends to have complex medical needs, while also attempting to control spending in the $15 billion-plus Medicaid program — the single largest expense in the state budget. (Dayal McCluskey, 11/4)

The Obama administration denied New Hampshire's bid to make 50,000 low-income adults face a work requirement to receive taxpayer-paid coverage under an expansion of Medicaid. The decision, while expected in many quarters, was stunning in its timing coming on near the eve of an election in which this issue has been a hot topic for months. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services also rejected provisions of the 2015 New Hampshire Health Protection Program that would impose more rigorous standards to prove U.S. and New Hampshire citizenship to be eligible. (Landrigan, 11/6)

New Hampshire, a state where Republicans currently control both legislative chambers, also sought to require newly eligible adults to verify that they are U.S. citizens by providing two forms of identification, and verify that they are residents of New Hampshire by providing a state-issued driver's license or a non-driver's license picture ID card. The state also wanted to require beneficiaries who visit the emergency room for non-emergency purposes to pay a copayment of $8 for the first visit and $25 for each subsequent visit. The CMS denied this request but left the door open for the state to reapply if the program covered non-emergency services provided in the ER. (Dickson, 11/5)

An Alaska man developed gangrenous toes. A Philadelphia woman froze to death on the street. An Illinois woman died emaciated, covered in excrement. These patients suffered as their government-paid caretakers neglected them, collecting paychecks under a Medicaid program that gives elderly and disabled people non-medical assistance at home. In some cases, the caretakers convicted of neglect were the victims’ own family members. (Bailey, 11/7)

Court-appointed special masters Friday released dozens of recommendations on how Texas should overhaul its troubled foster care system, including better health care for foster children, limiting the workload of caseworkers, and proposing a plan to curb caseworker turnover rates. In December, U.S. District Judge Janis G. Jack found the Texas foster care system unconstitutional and suggested that foster children were better off before they entered the system. (Chang, 11/4)

Special masters hired by the state to scrutinize the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services say the embattled agency should increase its focus on improving the timeliness in seeing children under its care — one of about 56 recommendations it made in a report released Friday. (Evans, 11/4)

It took a dozen boxes of documents and a six-page letter for Miami-Dade officials to respond Friday to a request from State Surgeon General Celeste Philip for more information on the county’s spending, surveillance data and future plans for combating the mosquito-borne spread of Zika in South Florida. According to a table of contents attached the letter, the cardboard boxes included comprehensive spending reports, dates and locations for ground and aerial spraying, mosquito trap counts, analysis and research on mosquito-control efforts, and the county’s plan for the current season. (Chang, 11/4)

Nearly 120,000 people worldwide have undergone deep brain stimulation to treat neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease when traditional medications failed to provide relief. While the procedure often works, U [University of Minnesota] scientists are exploring ways to fine-tune the placement of electrodes in the regions of the brain that cause muscle spasms, stiffness and other often-painful symptoms of neurological disorders. In addition, Minnesota neurologists are researching a potentially groundbreaking technique that would make the procedure less invasive and give patients more control of the implants after surgery. (Serres, 11/5)

The number of teenagers seeking treatment at a hospital after being sexually assaulted dropped between 2010 and 2014 in Minnesota, the state Health Department reported Friday. The overall number of hospital-treated sexual violence cases didn’t change much over the five years — from 1,442 in 2010 to 1,411 in 2014, according to data the Minnesota Department of Health released. But among 15- to 19-year-olds, the number decreased from 339 visits in 2010 to 276 in 2014. Health officials say they’re concerned that a far greater number go untreated. A 2005 Minnesota study found that only about one in five people who experience sexual assault seek medical care, the Health Department noted in a news release. (11/5)

Sixteen Leon County elementary schools were tested for lead. The contaminant was found in drinking fountains and cafeteria water supplies. But only two schools—Killearn Lakes and W.T. Moore, had levels above what the Federal Environmental Protection Agency deems actionable. The others were above what the American Academy of Pediatricians deems as safe. (Hatter, 11/4)

The number of Minnesotans seeking hospital care for sexual assaults has remained stubbornly high in recent years, despite more than a decade of public efforts to reduce sexual violence and make it easier for survivors to report incidents, according to a state analysis released Friday. (Serres, 11/4)

The Florida Supreme Court is preparing to rule on whether to allow a new abortion restriction to take effect.  The measure requires women wait 24 hours after an initial consultation before receiving treatment. (Evans, 11/6)

Bill Facteau made millions of dollars by selling a company that sold devices to treat sinus infections. But after the government accused him of questionable marketing practices surrounding one device, the Atherton biotech executive landed in federal court. Now his cautionary story has turned into a closely watched legal appeal that has consumer advocates, industry leaders and legal analysts debating a question that could have major consequences for Silicon Valley’s biotech and pharmaceutical companies: Should the First Amendment protect a firm’s right to market and sell its products for uses that federal regulators have not approved? (Seipel, 11/4)

A big, noisy, century-old brass mill in East Alton turns the likes of old bullet casings and bent Canadian quarters into copper alloys for American industry. It might also save hospital patients from infection and keep some St. Louis Blues players off the sick list. That unlikely marriage of smokestack industry and medicine takes advantage of a long-known fact: Bacteria can’t survive long on copper. That has Olin Brass trumpeting its CuVerro alloy to manufacturers serving hospitals, schools and gyms — places where the sick and healthy can touch the same things. (Gallagher, 11/6)

On Election Day, the health care and financial security of 20 million Americans will be at stake. That’s the number of people who have gained health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. And news that premiums for plans under the law are set to increase by an average of 22 percent, just before voters head to the polls, has thrown another curveball into an unpredictable election. (Topher Spiro, 11/7)

Our map shows the price change for the most inexpensive midlevel plan everywhere in the country, thanks to data collected by the McKinsey Center for U.S. Health System Reform. We looked at that kind of plan because it tends to be the most popular among Obamacare customers. The administration study looked at a more expensive type of plan, known as the benchmark. Prices for those plans are also going up by an average of 22 percent nationwide. (Margot Sanger-Katz, 11/4)

Several weeks ago, thick envelopes from Anthem Blue Cross stuffed with 21 pages of text landed in the mailboxes of thousands of the company’s California customers. The cover letter indicated right at the top that their premiums were going up, and advised that “if you’re happy with your health plan, it’s easy to keep it for 2017” — the only thing required was to pay the full premium on the bill for January. At least as noteworthy was a change that wasn’t explained until the packet’s next page: the elimination of coverage for non-emergency healthcare services provided by out-of-network doctors, hospitals, clinics or laboratories. (11/7)

Utah, like the rest of the country, faces a crisis in healthcare. We currently have over 13 percent uninsured in Utah. This population often has no primary care physician, has poor or absent preventative care and comes to the ER as a last resort. Often too late to diagnose a medically disastrous condition. For those with insurance, our health care premiums and co-pays are skyrocketing. A Medicaid expansion would help in a number of ways. (Brian Shiozawa, 11/5)

The series of victories by challengers over incumbents in the August primaries gave hope for a healthy Kansas to many, including 150,000 hardworking Kansans who will gain access to more affordable health care if our state leaders commit to expanding KanCare. By returning to the polls on Nov. 8, I am confident we can continue on the path to a bright and healthy future for Kansas. (Vallerie Gleason, 11/6)

The fourth enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act opened Tuesday. The imperative to enroll is undiminished in terms of personal health needs, but there is some added urgency this time around. Full tax penalties come into play next year. (11/6)

New parents get a lot of advice. It comes from breast-feeding “lactivists” and Ferberizers, attachment parents and anti-helicopter ones. It’s not enough to keep babies fed, rested and changed — they also need to learn grit and sign language. So when the American Academy of Pediatrics recently issued new infant sleep guidelines — highlighting a recommendation that babies sleep in their parents’ rooms for at least six months but ideally a full year — some parents despaired. (Claire Cain Miller and Aaron E. Carroll, 11/4)

With Election Day nearing, it seems inevitable that voters will approve a measure that makes it legal for adults 21 and over to use marijuana recreationally. Is California ready for the regulatory, social and health consequences of this? No. (Marcos Breton, 11/6)

In this most contentious of elections, you wouldn’t think that a soda tax would be the issue to attract the big bucks. But measures in just two California cities have drawn more money than that state’s Senate race and statewide referendums on marijuana legalization and gun control — combined. Soda taxes are on the ballots in San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., and spending to persuade citizens to vote for or against them has topped $50 million, enough to buy every person in those two cities about 40 cans of Coke. (Margot Sanger-Katz, 11/6)

Expansion advocates support a unique, Kansas-based solution that is cost effective for the state. By voting Tuesday, you can help elect state leaders who want to make health care accessible for all Kansans. Strong leaders — leaders who understand the importance of investing in Kansas communities and hospitals — are important to passing legislation that strengthens our economy while protecting access to health care for all. (Ken Bacon, 11/6)

This term, health equity, has broadened the agenda for health and challenges conventional ways of thinking. Health is more than health care, more than disease or illness, even more than how long we live. Health is how well we live and is determined by the spaces in which we live, learn, work, play and worship. Health is a measure of equity in our society, and equity is compassion inspired by social justice. In Louisville, we lean into the hard questions of health equity, and we are beginning to find new ways to delve into the root causes of inequities: racism, sexism, wealth distribution, homophobia and ageism. (Brandy N. Kelly Pryor, 11/6)

The cumulative effects of the "isms" in general (Racism, Sexism, Classism, Ableism, Ageism, Heterosexism, etc.) are literally causing most of the poor health outcomes we have in Louisville and America where a person’s zip code has more to do with how long they live than their genetic code. If we are to have a city where people can achieve their dreams, we must work toward health equity and support efforts to ensure that all people have full and equal access to opportunities that enable them to lead healthy lives. (Theo Edmonds, 11/6)

Telemedicine is a cost-effective way to improve health care outcomes for Texans. The convenience and lower cost of treatment through telemedicine can diminish existing barriers, improve Texans’ access to health care and lead to better health outcomes for people across this state. (Gary Gibson, 11/5)

I sympathize with the frustration that Dr. Elisabeth Poorman expressed in her recent post: Why I've Stopped Telling My Patients To Lose Weight. And I agree with her that for primary care physicians, there is a problem: Ineffective weight loss counseling may bring few benefits, or even backfire. But as a specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital who has spent more than a decade treating patients with obesity, I disagree that silence about weight is an acceptable solution. (W. Scott Butsch, 11/4)

If an individual causes a minor traffic accident in Iowa and is charged with drunken driving, that individual’s blood-alcohol level is treated as a matter of public record, just as it should be. But if that very same accident caused the death of several people — including the driver in question — the driver’s blood-alcohol level is kept confidential. That’s because the blood-alcohol level of a dead person is part of a medical examiner’s report, and under Iowa law, information in a medical examiner’s report is to be kept confidential. (11/6)

While the opiate crisis continues in our communities unabated, a group of stakeholders meet this month to discuss one way to intervene that may be unexpected – providing clean needles to those who inject drugs. The clean needles will be exchanged for used needles that individuals bring to an exchange site. (Melissa Federman, 11/6)

Ohio has been called the "face of the nation's opiate epidemic." Although this is an awful designation, it brings to light a much-needed recognition and discussion of the magnitude of the addiction problem here in the Buckeye State. (Deborah King, 11/6)