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After two days of intense criticism, Joseph R. Biden Jr. reversed himself Thursday night on one of the issues most important to Democratic voters, saying he no longer supports a measure that bans federal funding for most abortions. As recently as Wednesday, Mr. Biden’s campaign had said he supported the measure, known as the Hyde Amendment. His decision to change positions illustrates the intense pressure he faces as the presumed front-runner for the Democratic nomination for president. (Glueck, 6/6)

"If I believe health care is a right, as I do, I can no longer support an amendment" that makes it harder for some women to access care, Biden said at a Democratic Party fundraiser in Atlanta. The former vice president's reversal on the Hyde Amendment came after rivals and women's rights groups blasted him for affirming through campaign aides that he still supported the decades-old budget provision. The dynamics had been certain to flare up again at Democrats' first primary debate in three weeks. Biden didn't mention this week's attacks, saying his decision was about health care, not politics. (Barrow, 6/7)

The former vice president said he could no longer support the ban, known as the Hyde Amendment, blaming Republican efforts to limit access to abortions and overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. “It was not under attack…as it is now. But circumstances have changed,” Mr. Biden said during a speech in Atlanta, referring to the Supreme Court ruling protecting a women’s right to an abortion. “I’ve been struggling with the problems that Hyde now presents.” “It’s clear that these folks are going to stop at nothing to get rid of Roe, and it’s clear to me that we have to just be just as strong in defending it,” Mr. Biden said. He added, “Times have changed.” (Thomas, 6/6)

Biden, however, did indicate that he would not support taxpayer funding for abortion if it became more readily available for women in need, particularly women who live in poverty. (Caputo, 6/6)

“It seemed like he heard a lot of feedback and opened his mind to thinking about this in a different way,” Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said in an interview after Biden announced his new position. Hogue declined to discuss any conversations she had with Biden or his campaign, although she suggested that her group and others had mounted an effort to change his mind. (Itkowitz, 6/6)

The broad answer is that it’s a measure banning federal funding for abortion. More precisely, it states that Medicaid will not pay for an abortion unless the woman’s life is in danger or the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest. The amendment — named for former Representative Henry Hyde, Republican of Illinois — was first passed in 1976 as part of the appropriations bill for what is now the Department of Health and Human Services, and it is renewed every year, with occasional changes to the list of exceptions. (Astor, 6/7)

Planned Parenthood CEO Leana Wen lauded Biden's announcement on Twitter. "Happy to see Joe Biden embrace what we have long known to be true: Hyde blocks people—particularly women of color and women with low incomes—from accessing safe, legal abortion care," Wen wrote. (Hellmann, 6/6)

Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar's mental health plan has inspired her first Iowa endorsement. State Rep. Ruth Ann Gaines, one of Iowa's four black legislators, is the mother of a son with developmental and mental disorders. She said Klobuchar made a personal impression on her when the two exchanged ideas to improve mental health services during a one-on-one breakfast. (6/6)

Kaiser Health News: Legal Promise Of Equal Mental Health Treatment Often Falls Short

Amanda Bacon’s eating disorder was growing worse. She had lost 60% of her body weight and was consuming about 100 calories a day. But that wasn’t sick enough for her Medicaid managed-care company to cover an inpatient treatment program. She was told in 2017 that she would have to weigh 10 pounds less — putting her at 5-foot-7 and 90 pounds — or be admitted to a psychiatric unit. “I remember thinking, ‘I’m going to die,’” the Las Cruces, N.M., resident recalled recently. (Dangor, 6/7)

Efforts to repeal Missouri's new eight-week abortion ban with a public vote hit a roadblock Thursday, the latest development in a fight over abortion rights that's playing out on multiple fronts in the state. Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft told reporters that he rejected two referendum petitions aimed at repealing the sweeping abortion law — one backed by the ACLU of Missouri and the other backed by businessman David Humphreys, a wealthy GOP donor. (Ballentine, 6/6)

Missouri's constitution gives citizens the right to veto a newly enacted laws by referendum. The ACLU filed its lawsuit against Ashcroft in Cole County Circuit Court in Jefferson City, the state capital. In announcing his decision, Ashcroft said, "there are certain limits to the people's right to a referendum." (6/6)

However, the constitution prohibits referendums for laws that are “necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety.” That’s boilerplate language for what’s known as an emergency clause, which makes either an entire law or part of a law go into effect immediately after a governor signs it. In the bill Parson signed last month, there’s an emergency clause for a provision requiring notification to both parents in some circumstances if a minor is seeking an abortion. And Ashcroft cited that for rejecting two of three referendum proposals submitted to his office. (Rosenbaum, 6/6)

A federal judge in Richmond is being asked to decide whether four Virginia abortion laws create mere inconveniences or undue burdens for women seeking abortions. During closing arguments Thursday in a lawsuit challenging the laws, an attorney for women's health groups said the regulations are medically unnecessary and limit women's access to abortion. "The benefits must outweigh its demonstrated burdens, and here they do not," said Jenny Ma, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights. (Lavoie, 6/6)

A lawyer for the plaintiffs told U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson on Thursday that the evidence shows the laws are unconstitutionally burdensome for women seeking abortions, and a lawyer representing state officials said the plaintiffs failed to prove the laws were substantial obstacles to abortions and unconstitutional. The suit was filed a year ago by the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the law firm O’Melveny & Myers, and local counsel for the ACLU of Virginia on behalf of the Falls Church Healthcare Center, the Whole Woman’s Health Alliance, the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood, and “Dr. Jane Doe.” (Green, 6/6)

Three-quarters of Americans say they want to keep in place the landmark Supreme Court ruling, Roe v. Wade, that made abortion legal in the United States, but a strong majority would like to see restrictions on abortion rights, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll. (Montanaro, 6/7)

Kaiser Health News: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Fetal Tissue Research Is Latest Flashpoint In Abortion Debate

The Trump administration this week announced efforts to restrict research using fetal tissue from elective abortions. The new policy bars such research by government scientists and creates hurdles for outside scientists that get funding from the National Institutes of Health. The move displaces a policy passed with bipartisan support in Congress more than 25 years ago. (6/6)

A 16-year-old from Guatemala died of complications of the flu while in U.S. Border Patrol custody, according to preliminary autopsy findings, alarming doctors who questioned whether immigration authorities missed warning signs or chances to save his life. Carlos Hernandez Vasquez contracted bacterial infections in addition to the flu, as well as sepsis, which can lead to tissue damage and organ failure, according to a report released by Hidalgo County authorities this week. He died May 20. A full autopsy is pending. (Merchant, 6/6)

The federal government is opening a new mass facility to hold migrant children in Texas and considering detaining hundreds more youths on three military bases around the country, adding up to 3,000 new beds to the already overtaxed system. The new emergency facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, will hold as many as 1,600 teens in a complex that once housed oil field workers on government-leased land near the border, said Mark Weber, a spokesman for Office of Refugee Resettlement. (Burke, 6/6)

Two Democratic lawmakers want the company operating the country’s largest shelter for migrant children to explain why it hired former Trump White House chief of staff John Kelly to serve on its board of directors. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (Wash.) sent a letter Thursday to the CEO of Caliburn International asking questions ranging from Kelly's compensation to company revenue from operating shelters for unaccompanied migrant children. (Weixel, 6/6)

Department of Homeland Security officials told senators at a lunch Wednesday that migrants are “renting babies” to speed their trip across the border, according to Sen. Chuck Grassley. “I can't believe that this actually happened, that the people down there in Central America or Mexico are renting babies to get across the border and then sending the babies back and renting them again to come back across the border,” the Iowa Republican said Thursday. (Levine, 6/6)

Progressive House Democrats are growing increasingly frustrated with their party’s leadership, accusing them of writing Democrats’ signature bill to lower prescription drug prices in secret and without their input. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) compared the process around Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) drug pricing measure to the secrecy surrounding the GOP’s ObamaCare repeal bill in 2017, when Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) famously wheeled a photocopier across the Capitol in a dramatized search for the hidden legislation. (Sullivan, 6/6)

A group of eight Republican senators is writing to pharmaceutical companies asking them what solutions they have for lowering drug prices. The letter to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America released Thursday, led by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), says the lawmakers are looking for “cooperation” from drug companies as they seek to lower drug prices. (Sullivan, 6/6)

Lowering the cost of prescription drugs is an issue agreed on by a wide swath of politicians, from President Donald Trump to U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. As the ranking Democrat on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., is better positioned than most to do something about it. Murray was in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood on Thursday to talk about legislation she has introduced, and plans to introduce, this year to lower health-care costs. The senator spoke in the lobby of the Country Doctor Community Clinic, flanked by clinic employees and people struggling to pay for prescription drugs. (Blethen, 6/6)

Next Wednesday, a cadre of ALS patients will gather for a protest outside the FDA’s headquarters in suburban Maryland with a clear message: “No More Excuses.” The rally is being organized by a ragtag group of ALS patients who connected mostly through Facebook, and it’s far less a production than other efforts like the 2014 ice bucket challenge that swept around the world. These protesters haven’t even established a formal organization or a website; some said they’ve never even been to a protest. There’s nary a poster board in sight, yet. (Florko, 6/7)

Sanofi is poised to appoint Paul Hudson, a top executive with Switzerland's Novartis, to become the French drugmaker's next CEO from Sept. 1, a source familiar with the decision told Reuters on Thursday. Current Sanofi SA CEO Olivier Brandicourt will leave the company to retire, said the source, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. "Hudson has been chosen because of his reputation. He is known as a solid manager and has an expertise in digital relating to pharmaceuticals," the source said. (Blamont, 6/6)

This year, the dancers weren’t topless. It was the most noticeable — and perhaps the most significant — change to the infamous biotech bash known as PABNAB, an annual event thrown alongside the BIO International Conference that is decidedly not affiliated with that gathering. (PABNAB stands for Party at BIO Not Associated with BIO.) Last year, topless dancers painted with the logos of biotech companies who had sponsored the event — including Selexis and Alpha Blue Ocean — sparked a widespread outcry among women in the industry and even drew a rebuke from a U.S. senator. (Sheridan, 6/6)

A recent decision by one of the largest pharmacy benefit managers in the U.S. to exclude several HIV medicines from its list of drugs eligible for insurance coverage has angered AIDS advocacy groups, which argue the move may harm patients. In two separate actions over the past few months, Express Scripts excluded seven HIV medicines for anyone starting treatment. The pharmacy benefit manager explained that less expensive alternatives are available and its decisions were supported by clinical guidelines. The company also noted the drugs remaining on its national 51��Ƶry appear on federal guidelines for most patients. (Silverman, 6/6)

Two days of unprecedented court hearings on CVS Health Corp.’s acquisition of Aetna Inc. wrapped up without a firm date for when a federal judge would rule on a Justice Department settlement that allowed the deal, and legal uncertainty for the merged firm could last well into the summer. Judge Richard Leon heard testimony this week on the nearly $70 billion merger in a proceeding he decided to conduct after reviewing the terms of the October settlement between the two companies and the Justice Department that allowed the deal to go through. (Burton, 6/6)

Wendy Matney hesitated to tell her family not to call 911. “It seemed almost selfish to say, ‘Please don’t call because we can’t afford this,’” said the 39-year-old home health aide, who has a form of epilepsy that causes frequent, sometimes violent, seizures. Matney has been to the hospital enough, though, to know a trip means thousands of dollars in bills under the family’s high-deductible health plan. And she and her husband — struggling with more than $20,000 in medical debt — can afford no more. Hit with a hospital lawsuit over unpaid bills, the couple are declaring bankruptcy, effectively giving up hope of moving out of their trailer and buying a house. (Levey, 6/6)

Lawmakers hoping to address rising medical costs this year are working behind the scenes to reach consensus on a sprawling measure, but comments sent to Capitol Hill by industry groups show reaching agreement on some key issues remains difficult. Two weeks ago, Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., unveiled the draft legislation meant to lower prescription drug costs, end surprise medical bills and increase transparency for patients. The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which they lead, plans to hold a legislative hearing on the draft bill before marking it up. Alexander has said he hopes to hold a markup before the end of the month. (McIntire, 6/6)

This is the second installment of a new column exploring the financial decisions that homeowners face, and how they intersect with the social, cultural and economic forces that shape homeowners’ lives. For Stephanie Burns, the first shock came when she found her husband, Gary Burns, bloodied and unconscious on the driveway of their home in rural South Carolina. Mr. Burns had been on his roof spraying for carpenter bees when he fell 14 feet to the ground below. The second shock came when they opened a $22,452 bill for the medevac helicopter that transported Mr. Burns to a trauma center in Greenville, a trip that would have taken an hour by car. (DeCarbo, 6/6)

When Daniel Donnelly spent $9 million on a three-bedroom, three-bathroom Manhattan condominium in November, he wasn’t just buying high-end real estate. He was investing in his own wellness. “We have the cleanest possible water in the building, the best air. My building is healthy,” said Mr. Donnelly, 60, who owns a design firm and a restaurant, and recently sold an HVAC and water tower company. He regularly uses 252 E. 57th’s “hydrotherapy circuit,” consisting of a steam room, experiential shower and ice room. He meditates in the sauna, studies Pilates in the Pilates room and receives massages twice weekly in the massage room. (McLaughlin, 6/6)

Kaiser Health News: A Large Employer ‘Frames’ The ‘Medicare For All’ Debate

Walk into a big-box retailer such as Walmart or Michaels and you’re likely to see MCS Industries’ picture frames, decorative mirrors or kitschy wall décor. Adjacent to a dairy farm a few miles west of downtown Easton, MCS is the nation’s largest maker of such household products. But MCS doesn’t actually make anything here anymore. It has moved its manufacturing operations to Mexico and China, with the last manufacturing jobs departing this city along the Delaware River in 2005. MCS now has about 175 U.S. employees and 600 people overseas. (Galewitz, 6/7)

Kaiser Health News: Payroll Tax Is One State’s Bold Solution To Help Seniors Age At Home

Nearly a decade after federal officials discarded a provision in the Affordable Care Act that would have provided Americans with long-term care insurance benefits, two states — Washington and Hawaii — are experimenting with taxpayer-funded plans to help older residents remain in their homes. Washington state’s ambitious plan, signed into law in May, will employ a new 0.58% payroll tax (or “premium,” as policymakers prefer to call it) to fund a $36,500 benefit for individuals to pay for home health care, as well as other services — from installing grab bars in the shower to respite care for family caregivers. (Blankinship, 6/7)

President Donald Trump Thursday signed a package that would deliver $19.1 billion in disaster relief to communities across the country that are still recovering from a spate of catastrophic hurricanes, wildfires and flooding. The House passed the bill on Monday after Republicans successfully thwarted three attempts to fast-track the package. The Senate passed the bill before the Memorial Day recess, removing Trump’s request for billions in emergency border aid in a last-minute scramble because it was holding up the deal. The legislation was delayed for months prior to that amid partisan infighting. (Emma, 6/6)

“Just signed Disaster Aid Bill to help Americans who have been hit by recent catastrophic storms,” Trump tweeted on Thursday along with a photo of him holding a signed document. “So important for our GREAT American farmers and ranchers.” He also contended that “Puerto Rico should love President Trump.” The president claimed the island “would have been shut out” without him. (Pramuk, 6/6)

[Sen. Chuck] Schumer replied to Trump's tweet, claiming that it was the president's fault the bill was held up. "This is a lie. Without your interference, Puerto Rico and these other disaster-impacted areas would have received disaster relief aid months ago," Schumer, D-N.Y., tweeted. "Fortunately, Democrats remained resolute and got this done." (Morin, 6/6)

Dr. Gary LeRoy had to spend a significant part of a primary-care visit with one of his patients Tuesday hunting for information on his electronic health record about his recent hospitalization and medication use. LeRoy was already over the 20 minutes allotted for the visit, and didn't have time to discuss whether the elderly man was up to date on immunizations. "That's pretty typical, I fight with my EHR, and sometimes I win and sometimes it wins," said LeRoy, president-elect of the American Academy of Family Physicians, who practices at the East Dayton Health Clinic in Ohio. (Meyer, 6/6)

Kaiser Health News: Social Security Error Jeopardizes Medicare Coverage For 250,000 Seniors

At least a quarter of a million Medicare beneficiaries may receive bills for as many as five months of premiums they thought they already paid. But they shouldn’t toss the letter in the garbage. It’s not a scam or a mistake.Because of what the Social Security Administration calls “a processing error” that occurred in January, it did not deduct premiums from some seniors’ Social Security checks and it didn’t pay the insurance plans, according to the agency’s “frequently asked questions” page on its website. The problem applies to private drug policies and Medicare Advantage plans that provide both medical and drug coverage and substitute for traditional government-run Medicare. (Jaffe, 6/6/)

Providers, health plans and trade groups are calling on HHS agencies to slow down a push to put health data in patients' hands via third-party apps, citing privacy and implementation concerns. Patient-facing apps are a key component of the CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's companion interoperability and information-blocking proposals released in February. The rules outline how regulators will require insurers and providers to share medical data with patients. That could include using application programming interfaces that connect electronic health record systems with third-party apps. (Cohen, 6/6)

The state Department of Community Health said the 17,000 had simply not responded to renewal notices informing them how to continue their coverage. Patients interviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution say they never received renewal notices, and their lawyers say their clients’ Georgia Gateway computer accounts show that no such notices were ever sent. (Hart, 6/6)

The federal government owes at least $189 million to 53,000 disabled veterans who overpaid on their home loans, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ inspector general. When veterans take out a mortgage, they pay a funding fee to the lender that usually costs several thousand dollars. The fee is waived for veterans who receive disability compensation. A review by VA’s Office of Inspector General released Thursday found that from 2012 through 2017, more than half of the veterans entitled to this added benefit paid the fee and never received reimbursement from the government. (Itkowitz, 6/6)

Many U.S. military veterans will gain a choice in their health care decisions Thursday, and depending on who’s talking, this new freedom will either give them greater access to doctors closer to their homes or sabotage the quality of care delivered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The debate hinges on implementation of a piece of federal legislation, the MISSION Act. It’s more formally known as the VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks Act of 2018. (Anderson, 6/6)

The hazy-eyed sheep shearer was shifting in his seat in a clinic in Western Australia, unsure if he could do what the doctor said would save his life. A heroin user for 20 years, he was now in the depths of a detoxification treatment. “I’m all alone,” he said. In a soft voice, the doctor, George O’Neil, pleaded with the man to continue to the next stage: an implant of the drug naltrexone, a device that the physician himself had invented and that is an emerging facet of an impassioned debate over the best way to treat addiction. “I don’t win with everybody,” the doctor said after the man had left. “But I try.” (Kwai, 6/6)

Prosecutors face a legal hurdle as they pursue 25 murder charges against an Ohio doctor accused of essentially using his colleagues as weapons by ordering fatal painkiller doses for hospital patients but not directly administering them himself, legal experts say. Critical care doctor William Husel has pleaded not guilty. His lawyer, Richard Blake, said Husel was trying to provide "comfort care" for dying patients and didn't intend to hasten their deaths, as prosecutors allege. (Franko, 6/6)

For years, the prevailing wisdom has been that our cells contain genes that are essentially carbon copies of each other. That notion is being dashed by studies painting a different picture — one in which even “normal” cells and tissues accumulate mutations over time. New research out of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has identified mutations in normal tissues throughout the body, including some known to drive cancer. (Flaherty, 6/6)

"These are all normal tissues," says Gad Getz, who runs the lab where Yizhak worked. "They are not cancerous." These tissues are just — you. It turns out you aren't simply a clone of the cells you started with, despite what you may have learned in biology class. "You're just like a big puzzle, with different pieces with different sizes," Getz says. "All of them are very much similar to your original DNA," but you are actually a mosaic of cells with small variations. This finding in itself is intriguing. But it also has implications for detecting cancer. (Harris, 6/6)

High school biology teacher Kelly Chavis knew smartphones were a distraction in her class. But not even her students realized the psychological toll of their devices until an in-class experiment that, of course, was then spreading on social media. For one class period, students used a whiteboard to tally, in real time, every Snapchat, Instagram, text, call or other notification that popped up. Students were told not to respond to avoid generating replies ... and further notifications. (6/7)

Doctors had broken the disheartening news to Rachel Palma, explaining that the lesion on her brain was suspected to be a tumor, and her scans suggested that it was cancerous. Palma, a newlywed entering a new chapter in her life, said she was in shock, unwilling to believe it was true. (Bever, 6/6)

Girls, boys, young men and women, parents: the HPV vaccine helps to prevent cervical, anal, penile, vulvar, throat and esophageal cancers. The news Wednesday that former "Desperate Housewives" actress Marcia Cross may have gotten anal cancer from the human papillomavirus and her husband who had throat cancer about a decade ago, provides a Hollywood health lesson on the importance of the controversial HPV vaccine. (O'Donnell, 6/6)

Dominican government officials released more-detailed autopsy results Thursday for three American tourists who died at adjacent beach resorts owned by the same hotel company during the last week of May. All three victims experienced eerily similar symptoms and internal trauma before their deaths, according to a news release from Dominican authorities. Pathologists said autopsies showed the three had internal hemorrhaging, pulmonary edema and enlarged hearts. (Hernandez, 6/6)

When dog owners go through a stressful period, they’re not alone in feeling the pressure — their dogs feel it too, a new study suggests. Dog owners experiencing long bouts of stress can transfer it to their dogs, scientists report in a study published Thursday in Scientific Reports. The Swedish researchers focused on 58 people who own border collies or Shetland sheepdogs. They examined hair from the dog owners and their dogs, looking at the concentrations of a hormone called cortisol, a chemical released into the bloodstream and absorbed by hair follicles in response to stress. (Rehm, 6/6)

In the 15,000 years that humans and dogs have lived together, dependence and mutual affection have deepened our bond. And science has long established that “emotional contagion” between us and our canine pets is very real. The new study, published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports, is the first to find that this contagion is not fleeting. It also suggests that a dog owner’s mental well-being shapes the pet’s emotional health in a uniquely powerful way. Much has been made of the health benefits that dogs offer to humans. Our heart rates and blood pressure routinely decline in their presence. Our levels of circulating oxytocin — often referred to as the “love hormone” — rise when we gaze into a dog’s eyes. (Healy, 6/6)

Putting up pictures in our new house last fall, I opted for nails, not tape. My family had just relocated from California to Brooklyn, our fourth move in five years. With so much change, it had been hard to feel settled, but it was my job to try. I wanted to create a sense of stability while my children, then 8 and 11, were still innocent enough to believe that life could be stable. I wanted to create a sense of hope while my husband, Jonathan, was still young enough to start over. (Bergstrom, 6/7)

Texas will allow more teachers to have guns in school and will increase mental health services for students under bills that Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Thursday as major parts of the state's response to a 2018 mass shooting at a high school near Houston. School districts will be allowed to place as many armed teachers or school personnel on campus as they see fit. (6/6)

Capping off a yearslong effort to prevent another school shooting like the Santa Fe High tragedy, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a series of bills into law Thursday that would, among other things, strengthen mental health initiatives available to children and allot money to school districts that can go toward “hardening” their campuses. A sweeping school safety measure, Senate Bill 11, instructs school districts to implement multihazard emergency operation plans, requires certain training for school resource officers, ensures school district employees — including substitute teachers — are trained to respond to emergencies, and establishes threat assessment teams to help identify potentially dangerous students and determine the best ways to intervene before they become violent. (Samuels, 6/6)

After a state commission found out Wednesday that nearly 200 schools --- including many charter schools --- have not had armed security as required by state law, commissioners urged the Florida Department of Education to “name names and name people” to try to force compliance. Within two hours, Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran agreed to publicly name non-compliant school districts at a news conference if they do not comply with all school-safety mandates by Aug. 1. (Ceballos, 6/6)

One by one their names were read aloud. But not their formal names; their more familiar names, the ones you use with someone you’ve gotten to know. Bobby. Rich. Missy. Keith. Bert. Formality wasn’t necessary for a grieving city that has treasured the memories of the 12 people who were killed in a mass shooting at a municipal complex last week. The thousands at Rock Church stood in silence, listening to the names — with the quiet broken, at the end, by the agonized wail of a woman amid the victims’ families. (Morrison and Williams, 6/6)

The stunning increase in homelessness announced in Los Angeles this week — up 16% over last year citywide — was an almost incomprehensible conundrum given the nation's booming economy and the hundreds of millions of dollars that city, county and state officials have directed toward the problem. But the homelessness crisis gripping Los Angeles is one that has been many years in the making with no easy fix. It is a problem driven by an array of complex factors, including rising rents, a staggering shortage of affordable housing units, resistance to new shelters and housing developments in suburban neighborhoods, and, above all, the lack of a cohesive safety net for thousands of people struggling with mental health problems, addiction and, in some cases, recent exits from the criminal justice system that have left them with no other options beyond living on the streets. (Reston, 6/6)

California’s homeless population is going up despite billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded efforts, according to recently released data and officials. Homelessness jumped 12% and 16% from a year ago in the county and city of Los Angeles, respectively, according to figures released this week based on a count conducted in January. The tally showed 58,936 homeless people in Los Angeles County, which includes 36,300 in the city. The county has the nation’s largest outdoor-homeless population. (Lazo, 6/7)

One was a veteran deputy chief found dead in his police vehicle in the neighborhood where he worked. The other was a longtime homicide detective, discovered lifeless hours later in the dark marshlands of southern Brooklyn. Both men had killed themselves, startling back-to-back suicides that prompted senior police officials to make direct pleas to troubled officers on the 36,000-member force to seek help. (Wilson, 6/6)

The Virginia Health Department issued an advisory Thursday, cautioning the public that they may have been exposed to a measles-infected child at Dulles International Airport on Sunday and in several other places in Northern Virginia a few days later. Alison Ansher, health director for the Prince William Health District, said the case was not related to a current outbreak in several parts of the United States. (Kunkle, 6/6)

The Virginia Department of Health is investigating a suspected case of measles in Northern Virginia that doesn't appear to be related to the nationwide outbreak that on Wednesday surpassed 1,000 confirmed cases. A child who recently traveled outside the U.S. was taken to an emergency room with symptoms that appear to be measles. If confirmed, it would be the state's first case this year. (Balch, 6/6)

After months of heated debate, the so-called public option bill foundered in the Senate late Wednesday. Lawmakers engaged in last-minute talks but ultimately could not muster the support to bring the measure up for a vote. (Carlesso, 6/6)

Anthem Blue Cross will pay $2.8 million to the state of California and invest $8.4 million to improve how it logs consumer calls as part of a settlement with the Department of Managed Health Care over its allegations that the insurer was failing to identify, process or resolve consumer complaints, the department announced Thursday. (Anderson, 6/7)

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more people die from the heat than all other natural disasters combined. Last year, heat-associated deaths in Maricopa County were the highest on record at 182. (Hudson, 6/6)

Few issues in recent Chicago history have been as contentious as former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s decision to close half the city’s mental health clinics, and now Lori Lightfoot will inherit complaints that the move left hundreds of at-risk patients without stable care. The new mayor has said she is up to the challenge, promising to repair what she calls the city’s broken mental health safety net. But Lightfoot’s immediate plans aren’t expected to include reopening the clinics, according to some advisers and priorities identified by her transition team. (Coen, 6/6)

The University of Maryland Medical System, under fire for lucrative no-bid contracts with some of its board members, is earning above-average profits even as it seeks state approval to charge some patients more, according to an analysis by The Baltimore Sun. The system’s profitability raises questions among advocates and some regulators and lawmakers who wonder why it needs to make even more money — especially considering those insider deals and millions in bonuses the state-supported, nonprofit health system has paid its executives in recent years. (Cohn and Rector, 6/6)

The call came out of nowhere one April day last year: Everett Palmer Jr. was dead. The 41-year-old Army veteran and father of two had traveled from his home in Delaware to Lancaster County, Pa., on April 7 to resolve an outstanding DUI warrant from 2016, his family told The Washington Post on Thursday. But two days later, his family received a call that he had died at York County Prison. (Epstein, 6/6)

City Council took up a national political debate Thursday, voting to support universal health care. The resolution, which passed 6-2, was requested by Council member Steve Kornell. ...About a dozen people spoke in favor of the resolution, which requests members of congress who represent St. Petersburg support the Medicare for All Act of 2019. Only one person spoke against it. (Solomon, 6/6)

Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services is buying a medical practice with three clinics in western Wisconsin, a deal that adds to the trend of Minnesota-based health care groups seeking more patients east of the St. Croix River. Fairview did not release financial terms for its purchase of Vibrant Health Family Clinics, which includes 12 doctors, four advanced practice providers and a total of 93 employees. (Snowbeck, 6/6)

Older New Yorkers, who make up roughly 13% of the city’s population, are living longer than ever, according to a new report released Thursday from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The life-expectancy of older New Yorkers is now 81.2 years, roughly 2.5 years longer than the national average and up from the reported life expectancy of 80.9 years in 2010. Roughly half of the city’s older New Yorkers, defined as those 65 and older, were born outside the U.S. and are more likely to live in neighborhoods where there are high rates of poverty with less access to medical care. (West, 6/6)

With the help of Northwest Assistance Ministries and a $120,000 grant from the Alzheimer’s Association, Pickens is spearheading a six-month pilot program study to gauge the effectiveness of telephone-based care for Meals on Wheels clients with dementia and their caregivers. NAM, a nonprofit providing resources for people in need throughout northwest Harris County, is enlisting participants for the study through the organization’s Meals on Wheels program. ...The program identifies unmet needs of seniors with dementia and their caregivers through baseline assessments that test for a variety of domains, including anxiety, loneliness, depression, financial and safety concerns. Based on what participants trigger positive for, short-term and long-term goals are established to address those concerns. (Feuk, 6/6)

The Minnesota Medical Association represents physicians and doctors-in-training in the state. The group said the discussion will focus on the health effects of marijuana and what legalizing recreational use of the drug might mean for Minnesota. (Zdechlik, 6/6)

Concurring in an abortion case in May, Justice Clarence Thomas penned a lengthy and lurid polemic, warning that abortion rights are a form of racist eugenics revivalism. The statute at issue, passed in Indiana and signed into law, in 2016, by Mike Pence, the governor at the time, prohibited providers from performing an abortion if they know that it is sought solely because of the fetus’s race, sex, or disability. (Jeannie Suk Gersen, 6/5)

Just in the last few years, nonbinary identity has been slowly seeping into societal consciousness. A nonbinary actor, Asia Kate Dillon, has starred since 2017 as a nonbinary character on the Showtime series “Billions.” A raft of new nonbinary models are featured in fashion spreads, and a Coke ad, aired during the 2018 Super Bowl, paired an androgynous face with a pointed gender-neutral pronoun. “There’s a Coke,” the voice-over said, “for he and she and her and me and them.” Nonbinary as a category has even slipped into state laws. In 2016, an Oregon court granted a plaintiff the right to label themself nonbinary on their driver’s license, and by now, though the Trump administration proclaims that gender is a simple matter of biology, some dozen states, from New York to Utah, offer some form of Oregon’s flexibility. Yet the nation’s glimmers of tolerance don’t necessarily mean much — even in New York, let alone in rural North Carolina — when you’re living in opposition to our most basic way of seeing and sorting and comprehending one another. (Daniel Bergner, 6/4)

When Medicare was created in 1965, few Americans were talking about universal health care. Even fewer realized that the bureaucrats behind the program hoped that it would eventually become that. (Abigail Abrams, 5/30)

Abortion over the internet can be an effective, practical alternative for women in areas where clinics are scarce. (Adam Rogers, 6/5)

In 2000, the United States achieved a historic public health goal: the elimination of measles, defined by the absence of sustained transmission of the virus for more than 12 months. This achievement resulted from a concerted effort by health care practitioners and families alike, working to protect the population through widespread immunization. Unfortunately, that momentous achievement was short-lived, and localized measles outbreaks have recently been triggered by travel-related introductions of the virus by infected persons, with subsequent spread through undervaccinated subpopulations. (Catharine I. Paules, Hilary D. Marston and Anthony S. Fauci, 6/6)

Constitutional law is clear that states may require individual liberty to yield to reasonable public health regulations, including mandatory vaccination laws that threaten fines. As the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which encompasses New York State, recently noted, arguments that such laws infringe impermissibly on liberty are “foreclosed.” States may also require vaccinations for school admission and forgo religious exemptions to such laws. Notably, mandatory vaccination is not forcible vaccination. But the city’s “shall be vaccinated” language appears to leave the latter option open, and the health commissioner said it could be considered on a “case-by-case basis.” That suggestion is startling.(Julie D. Cantor, 6/5)

The United States has been experiencing an increasing number of measles outbreaks, and more measles cases were reported in the first 5 months of 2019 than in any full year since 1992, which was 8 years before endemic transmission was interrupted. Parents’ resistance to vaccination is leaving more children vulnerable to measles and various other preventable illnesses. Some of these children have begun to seek opportunities to revisit vaccine-refusal decisions made on their behalf by their parents and are now pursuing vaccination. (Ross D. Silverman, Douglas J. Opel and Saad B. Omer, 6/5)

The Trump administration this week made good on its threats to clamp down on the use of tissue derived from aborted fetuses in federally funded medical research, cancelling a $2-million-a year contract with the University of California San Francisco for HIV research. The government said it will reject future projects that seek federal funding through the National Institutes for Health.This is nothing more than an anti-scientific sop to the religious right, which sees fetal tissue research as another front in the war on abortion. But barring fetal tissue research will hurt more babies than it will save. In fact, it won’t save any babies at all, because abortion is a constitutionally protected right that will continue regardless of these rules. (6/7)

No fetuses will be saved by the Trump administration’s move this week to cut off funding for research on fetal tissue. In a story appearing Wednesday in Science magazine, anti-abortion activists were quoted saying they were elated to see the cancellation of research that could “destroy human lives,” but they have it backward. The canceled research could have saved lives, and it would not have destroyed any. That is a statement of fact, no matter where you stand on the question of when life begins. Women aren’t choosing to have abortions because they want to provide tissue that could help medical researchers. Fetal tissue research was only making use of tissue that otherwise would have been incinerated. (Faye Flam, 6/6)

In an effort to bring down the costs of medical care, the Trump administration wants to make prices visible to patients, and it’s moving aggressively to make that happen. Last year President Trump signed a legal requirement barring pharmacy gag clauses under Medicare Part D plans. Those clauses prohibited pharmacists from volunteering that a medication may be less expensive than an insurance copay if purchased for cash—as was the case more than 20% of the time. (Scott W. Atlas, 6/6)

Medicare-for-all is bad policy for the country and bad politics for the Democratic Party. The Democratic nomination for president shouldn’t go to anyone who supports it, and Medicare-for-all shouldn’t be in the party’s 2020 platform. If we Democrats become the party of Medicare-for-all, advocating that every U.S. citizen is forced into a government-run health-insurance program, President Trump will be reelected and Republicans will control both houses of Congress — ensuring that today’s health-care system will be endangered by renewed GOP attacks. (John Delaney, 6/6)

I'd like every American to be guaranteed health care, higher education and meaningful employment — things some Democratic candidates for president frequently refer to as "rights." Trouble is, these are not rights, and to frame them as such is counterproductive to good causes.  (Peter Funt, 6/6)

We've read it before, but it bears repeating: Bipartisan political support is often a necessary condition of good policy, but it’s never a sufficient one. Consider the House supermajority, made up of Democrats and Republicans favoring repeal of the excise tax on high-cost health insurance plans, which would otherwise take effect in 2022. Supporters filed a bill in January, and, taking advantage of a new House rule, on May 21 they filed a motion that allows for accelerated action on the measure after 25 legislative days. Depending on the vagaries of the House calendar, this could force at least a committee vote by summer’s end. (6/6)

A 19-year-old in Delaware, a 25-year-old in Columbus, Ohio, a 33-year-old in California, and a 64-year-old in Indiana. They are among the 29 people fatally shot in the United States on March 6. Meaning that any one of them might have been the shooting death that pushed the year’s total past the number of deaths suffered by American forces during the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. (Philip Bump, 6/6)

Ivey offered her assessment to a bank of television cameras after signing into law a bill that bans doctors from performing abortions during any stage of pregnancy, punishable by up to 99 years in prison. The legislation, which passed May 14, is the most restrictive abortion legislation in the country and is likely to be struck down by the courts. Whether you agree with a total ban on abortion or not, it’s hard for me to fathom any woman believes abortion should be used as a form of birth control. It shouldn’t and under no circumstance. (Bonds Staples, 6/6)

During one of his debates with John Kerry in 2004, President George W. Bush was asked what kind of justices he’d appoint to the Supreme Court in a second term, and gave what at first sounded to some like an odd reply. He wouldn’t appoint a justice, Bush said, who would issue a ruling like “the Dred Scott case, which is where judges, years ago, said that the Constitution allowed slavery because of personal property rights.” What a universally condemned decision from 1857 had to do with anything was unclear, until it was pointed out that in the antiabortion movement, Roe v. Wade is often compared to Dred Scott. (Paul Waldman, 6/6)