Becker's Hospital Review: Judge OKs Sale Of 7 Steward Hospitals To American Healthcare Systems Affiliate
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Christopher Lopez approved the sale of seven Dallas-based Steward Health Care hospitals to Healthcare Systems of America, an affiliate of Glendale, Calif.-based American Healthcare Systems during an Oct. 25 court hearing. Steward sought Chapter 11 protection May 6 and has been working to sell its 31 hospitals. (Ashley, 10/25)

San Francisco Chronicle: Millionaire To Ruin: Woman’s Family Says Caregivers Drained Her Money
In October 2022, the private caregiver of 91-year-old Geraldine Clark called her patient’s family with some alarming news. Clark, whose nest egg had long afforded her a comfortable lifestyle in San Francisco, couldn’t make rent, and her caregiving staff hadn’t been paid in weeks, the woman told Clark’s nephew, David Stewart. (Cassidy, 10/26)

The New York Times: How Taxpayers Are Helping Health Insurers Make Even Bigger Profits 
Health insurers have made an enticing pitch to local governments across the country: When your workers see doctors outside your health plan’s network, costs can balloon, but we offer a program to protect against outrageous bills. Cities, counties and school districts have signed up, hoping to control the costs of their medical benefits. Then come the fees. (Hamby, 10/28)

Axios: Insured Americans Can't Predict Drug Costs: Survey
More than half of insured Americans say they can't predict how much their covered prescription drugs will cost, according to an annual survey by the pharmaceutical industry trade group PhRMA. The results, shared first with Axios, come as the drug industry is pressing for more transparency regulations on pharmacy benefit managers and insurers in the lame-duck period following the election. (Goldman, 10/28)

Modern Healthcare: False Claims Act Challenged By Whistleblower Lawsuit Verdict
Healthcare companies would likely spend less time and money litigating whistleblower lawsuits if a recent federal court ruling holds. U.S. District Court of the Middle District of Florida Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle ruled late last month whistleblowers could not file False Claims Act lawsuits on behalf of the federal government. The opinion diverged from five other cases evaluating the constitutionality of the act’s qui tam provisions, but still casts doubt on a widely used tool designed to root our fraud in the healthcare industry. (Kacik, 10/25)

CalMatters: California Families Battling Addiction Fight For Their Lives After Insurance Denials
Christine Dougherty heard the panic in her son’s voice. “Mom, they’re going to release me soon,” Ryan Matlock told his mother over the phone from his addiction treatment center. She remembered him sounding like he was crying. “I’m not strong enough to do this. I need help.” At 23 years old, Matlock had already overdosed at least once on fentanyl. In this quiet Southern California community dotted with soccer fields and American flags, little blue pills laced with the highly addictive drug were easy enough to obtain. (Wiener, 10/28)

Times of San Diego: Mayor Todd Gloria to Announce Shelter Expansions, Homelessness Diversion Plans
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria will announce new initiatives Monday to expand shelter options and help individuals experiencing homelessness connect to long term housing. The number of beds in the shelter system will increase with beds from the Veterans Village of San Diego campus and other locations. Details of a new homelessness diversion initiative will also be provided. (Brown, 10/27)

Voice of San Diego: Here’s The City’s Plan To Respond To Two Big Shelter Closures
Mayor Todd Gloria and other city officials want to open more than 200 homeless shelter beds at troubled Veterans Village of San Diego and a San Diego Rescue Mission shelter in National City to help address the impending closure of two large shelters. The plan, developed by city and Housing Commission leaders, also calls for the city to repurpose 56 beds in a transitional housing program for homeless people dealing with chronic alcoholism and to deploy funding to help residents of other homeless shelters move into housing. (Halverstadt, 10/28)

Sacramento Bee: Death Rates Of Sacramento’s Black Children, Infants Decline 
Sacramento County has seen a 18% decline in the deaths of Black children since 2013, according to a new report given to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. The county credits the work of the Black Child Legacy Campaign, which was created to reduce the death of Black children. In 2011, a report found that Black children were dying at twice, and sometimes three times, the highest rate out of any ethnicity in the area over the span of two decades. (Hall, 10/26)

EdSource: Why Housing And Education Leaders Must Work Together To Help Students Thrive 
Education and housing are often inextricably linked, but policy decisions made in the two sectors are generally siloed, at times shaped and passed without considering how a housing policy might impact education and vice versa. Megan Gallagher’s research bridges the two, focusing on housing and educational collaborations that support students’ academic outcomes. Some of her latest work as a principal research associate at the Urban Institute, a nonprofit research organization focused on public policy, provides school officials and housing developers with ideas on how to partner together to desegregate schools by desegregating neighborhoods. (Rosales, 10/25)

San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego County Detects Its Second Locally Acquired Dengue Case 
Just weeks after taking similar actions in Escondido, crews began spraying insecticide in Vista on Friday, working to kill any mosquitoes carrying dengue virus after detecting the second locally acquired case in San Diego County. But while workers wielding hand-held sprayers were the most visible part of the ongoing dengue fight, they were far from the only ones with this particular pathogen in their crosshairs. (Sisson, 10/26)

Stat: Flu Season Will Complicate Tracking Spread Of H5N1 Avian Influenza
If one can point to anything good about the H5N1 bird flu outbreak in dairy cattle — to be honest, there’s nothing good about this situation — it’s the timing. Transmission of the virus through U.S. dairy herds took off when last winter’s flu season was effectively over, making the job of looking for people infected with H5N1 an easier task in theory, though there have been plenty of human hurdles impeding those efforts. (Branswell, 10/28)

Reuters: E. Coli Infections Tied To McDonald's Burgers Rise To 75, US FDA Says 
The number of people infected by the E. coli outbreak tied to McDonald's Quarter Pounder hamburgers increased to 75 from 49, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday. Of the 61, on whom information was available, the health regulator said 22 persons have been hospitalized. Two of them have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious condition that can cause kidney failure. (Rajesh and Venugopal, 10/25)

Los Angeles Times: Beef Not Behind McDonald's E. Coli; Quarter Pounders Back This Week
McDonald’s Quarter Pounders are back on the menu in hundreds of restaurants after new testing confirmed that the chain’s beef patties were not to blame for a deadly E. coli outbreak, strengthening the case that California onions served on the burgers were the culprit. Salinas-based produce company Taylor Farms was the onion supplier in all restaurant locations connected to the outbreak, and the fast-food chain has indefinitely halted business with them, McDonald’s has confirmed. (Harter, 10/27)

Reuters: McDonald's E. Coli Crisis Reveals Why Vegetable Contamination Is Harder Problem Than Beef 
Moves by major U.S. fast-food chains to temporarily pull fresh onions off their menus on Thursday, after the vegetable was named as the likely source of an E. coli outbreak at McDonald's, laid bare the recurring nightmare for restaurants: Produce is a bigger problem for restaurants to keep free of contamination than beef. (Cunningham, 10/25)

NBC News: What Food Safety Experts Steer Clear Of To Avoid E. Coli
An E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least 75, killing one, is a reminder of the contamination risk that can plague certain types of fresh produce, according to food safety experts. The four professors said they routinely avoid particular raw fruits and vegetables themselves, such as sprouts, bagged salad greens and cantaloupe. Though the investigation is ongoing, federal officials suspect prewashed, slivered onions that were served raw on McDonald’s Quarter Pounders are the likely source of the E. coli outbreak. For those who specialize in foodborne illness prevention, the news was not a surprise. (Chuck and Bendix, 10/26)

The Hill: Trump Says He'll Let RFK Jr. 'Go Wild' On Health, Food In Potential Second Term
Former President Trump said Sunday that he would let Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “go wild” in dealing with issues related to food, medicine and health in a potential second administration. “I’m going to let him go wild on health. I’m going to let him go wild on the food. I’m going to let him go wild on the medicines,” Trump told supporters at Madison Square Garden. Kennedy, who has led an initiative for the Trump campaign dubbed “Make America Healthy Again,” has long drawn criticism for his anti-vaccine comments. He has spoken about the proliferation of processed foods and additives, and he has worked as an environmental lawyer. (Samuels, 10/27)

The Hill: 5 Takeaways From Trump's Madison Square Garden Rally
Donald Trump rolled out one new policy, and it is one that echoed something first proposed by his opponent. “I am announcing a new policy today that I will support a tax credit for family caregivers who take care of a parent or a loved one. It’s about time that they were recognized,” Trump said. Harris earlier this month introduced a new plan to expand Medicare benefits so that the program covers the costs of long-term home care for older Americans. The plan is aimed at helping the “sandwich generation” who are caring for both their own children and their aging parents. (Samuels, 10/27)

Stat: Donald Trump's Health Care Policy Plans, From Medicaid To Abortion
A second Trump presidency could mean significant changes to health care access and costs, even if former President Trump is still working out the details. (Owermohle, 10/28)

Capital & Main: Trump Tried To Slash Aid For Tens Of Millions Of Poor Americans — And Some Voters Worry He’ll Succeed If Elected Again
When Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was last in office, his administration repeatedly attempted to gut the country’s social safety net, proposing cuts to nutrition assistance, Medicaid and other government programs that one in four Americans rely on. If he wins in November, experts say it’s likely that Trump would once again target those programs, spelling financial peril for the most vulnerable Americans. (Herschander, 10/25)

Becker's Hospital Review: Where Trump, Harris Stand On Prescription Drug Prices: 6 Notes
The high cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. has emerged as a pressing issue for many voters this election cycle. ... As the presidential election approaches, here is a breakdown of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump's positions and proposals on prescription drug pricing. (Murphy, 10/25)

Becker's Hospital Review: 5 Reactions To Harris' Home Care Coverage Proposal
As part of her presidential campaign platform, Vice President Kamala Harris has proposed expanding Medicare coverage to include at-home care. Since the Oct. 8 announcement, industry experts and organizations have expressed support for the plan. (Gregerson, 10/25)

Capital & Main: Election May Decide Health Coverage Fate For Millions As Some Affordable Care Act Subsidies Are Set To Expire
The upcoming election will likely affect the affordability of health insurance for millions. That is because pandemic-era subsidies that lowered the cost of Affordable Care Act marketplace premiums are set to expire next year unless Congress and the next president’s administration take action to preserve them. Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris has pledged to make the enhanced subsidies on premiums permanent, while her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, has made no such commitment and during his presidency repeatedly worked to weaken the ACA. (Lindenfeld, 10/27)

Politico: Everyone’s Tough On Drugs Again
There’s a rare point of agreement among Republican and Democratic candidates this election year: America has a drug problem and it’s fentanyl traffickers’ fault. Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, are hammering Democrats over border policies they say have allowed fentanyl to surge into the country. Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, respond that they, too, have cracked down on traffickers and want stricter border enforcement. (Paun, 10/27)

The Atlantic: Election Anxiety Is Telling You Something
Americans are anxious about the election. The American Psychological Association’s annual Stress in America survey found that, as of August, politics was the leading cause of stress for seven out of 10 adults across party lines. In a poll from a mental-health-care company the same month, 79 percent of respondents reported that the presidential election made them feel anxious this year, and more than half thought about the election every day. Now that the election is imminent, one can only assume that Americans’ anxiety is even higher. (Love, 10/25)

Axios: How Politics Is Stressing Us Out More Than Ever
The 2024 election cycle may be remembered for redefining anxiety and drawing attention to the unique way politics stresses Americans out. Pitched partisanship, razor-thin margins, political violence and a barrage of ads have measurable health effects, including high levels of stress-related hormone in the body that can lead to weight gain, diabetes, heart disease and more. (Goldman, 10/28)

USA Today: Supreme Court Asked To Get Rid Of Abortion Clinic Protest-Free Zones
The goal, says one group involved in the case, is to get close enough to make eye contact with women as they enter an abortion clinic. (Groppe, 10/28)

The New York Times: Trump’s Changing Messages On Abortion, In 670 Quotes
Donald Trump has softened his rhetoric, contradicted himself and nearly dropped “pro-life” from his vocabulary. Yet there is no evidence that his views on abortion have changed. (Sanger-Katz, Miller and Washington, 10/26)

Times of San Diego: Camp Pendleton Barracks Unhealthy And Unsafe, Says Bipartisan Letter To Navy Secretary
Living conditions at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton are unhealthy and unsafe, along with other military barracks across the country. That’s according to a bipartisan letter co-written by Democratic Rep. Mike Levin, who represents the 49th Congressional district of California — which includes Camp Pendleton — to Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro. North Carolina Rep. Greg Murphy, a Republican, also co-wrote the letter. (Binkowski, 10/25)

CIDRAP: Studies Show Long-COVID Symptoms Distinct From Other Respiratory Infections, Common In Marines
Two new studies offer fresh insights into long COVID, with the first noting a greater neurological, cognitive, and fatigue impact compared with long-term symptoms after similar respiratory diseases, and the second demonstrating that a fourth of young Marines who contracted COVID-19 went on to develop long COVID.  (Soucheray, 10/25)

Reuters: US FDA Approves Iterum's Treatment For Urinary Infection
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Iterum Therapeutics' oral antibiotic to treat certain types of bacterial urinary tract infections (UTI) in adult women, the health regulator said on Friday. The drug, Orlynvah, has been approved to treat uncomplicated UTIs in women who have limited oral antibacterial treatment options or none at all. UTI is a common bacterial infection of the bladder that mostly affects women with normal anatomy of the urinary tract. (S K and L, 10/25)

Stat: Drug May Make Chemotherapies Less Effective In Cancer Patients With Obesity
A drug used to combat fungal infections in cancer patients comes with a big caveat — research shows the medicine can last twice as long as in people with obesity. This means chemotherapies may be less effective when interacting with the medicine, but some clinicians, and their patients, are unaware of that possibility. (Silverman, 10/28)

Bloomberg: Apple Secretly Tests Blood-Sugar App In Sign Of Health Ambitions
Apple Inc., seeking to make further inroads in health care, tested an app this year to help people with prediabetes manage their food intake and make lifestyle changes, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The company tested the service on select employees earlier this year, part of its broader push into blood-sugar features, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the work is secret. (Gurman, 10/25)