Stat: Why Is This Drug Pricing PAC Spending Millions On Long-Shot Races?
In 26 years in Congress, Rep. Anna Eshoo has always won reelection by at least 20 points. The Democrat is virtually certain to win big once again in November, buoyed largely by voters in her wealthy Silicon Valley district who do not struggle to pay for their prescription drugs. So why is a political action committee focused on high drug prices bothering to sink $500,000 into attack ads against her? The ad blitz from Patients for Affordable Drugs highlights the unorthodox tack the group is taking in the 2018 midterm elections: intervening in races in which there is no hope of altering the outcome. (Robbins and Facher, 10/5)

Los Angeles Times: How Does The Brain See? MacArthur Fellow Doris Tsao Says The Answer Will Reveal How The Brain Works
That question is at the heart of Doris Tsao’s research. The Caltech visual neuroscientist uses brain imaging technology, electrical recording techniques and mathematical modeling in her search for answers. That quest got a boost Thursday as Tsao was named to the 2018 class of MacArthur fellows. (Healy, 10/4)

In other public health news —

The Mercury News: Four Foods That Fight Aches And Pains Naturally
Wake up this morning with a nagging pain in your head or neck or back? You’re not alone. Chronic pain impacts about 116 million American adults, which is more than a third of the U.S. population. With more and more folks reluctant to pop pills to make the pain go away, medical experts are offering some alternatives. Cherries or ginger sound good? There are many foods that can help you manage pain. They may not be magic bullets, but there are some potentially pain-relieving foods that are worth giving a try. (D'Souza, 10/4)

KQED: Lawsuit: Systemic Racism Tainted S.F. Drug Stings That Targeted Only Black Suspects
Racism drove a series of undercover drug stings in San Francisco four years ago, resulting in indictments for more than three dozen black suspects, according to a federal lawsuit filed Thursday by the American Civil Liberties Union and its Northern California chapter. The sprawling complaint filed on behalf of six people arrested in the joint federal/SFPD operations in 2013 and 2014 cites official reports, academic research and news articles going back over a decade that document severe racial disparities in the city's arrest rates, as well as multiple high-profile scandals. (Emslie, 10/4)

The Associated Press: Congress OKs Opioid Legislation In Show Of Bipartisanship
Setting aside the Supreme Court fight, members of Congress this week approved bipartisan legislation aimed at curbing the devastating opioid addiction across the country. But the Support for Patients and Communities Act, which President Donald Trump said he would sign into law, has political implications. It includes contributions from at least 70 lawmakers, some of whom face tough re-election campaigns in November. The measure, which the Senate passed 98-1 on Wednesday and the House approved 393-8 on Sept. 28, ensures incumbents have something positive to campaign on in the final weeks before the election.(10/4)

The Wall Street Journal: ‘We Don’t All Hate Each Other’: Senate’s Bipartisanship Obscured By Kavanaugh Fight
The intense partisanship engulfing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has diverted attention from a raft of recent bipartisanship in the Senate during the past few weeks, drowning out issues that could appeal to voters in the midterms. ... Also on Wednesday, the Senate advanced an opioid bill to President Trump’s desk by a vote of 98-1. That bill includes several changes to Medicare and state Medicaid programs, such as requiring Medicare to cover services provided by certified opioid treatment programs. (Jamerson, 10/4)

In other national health care news —

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Administration To Step Up Oversight Of Hospital Watchdogs
The Trump administration announced increased oversight of organizations that accredit and inspect most U.S. hospitals, following a report last year in The Wall Street Journal focusing on problem-plagued facilities that kept their accreditation status. (Armour, 10/4)

Reuters: E-Cigarette Maker Juul Files Complaints Against 'Copycat Products'
Juul Labs, the e-cigarette maker at the heart of a U.S. crackdown on youth vaping, has filed patent infringement complaints in the United States and Europe against what it said were copycat rivals. The complaints follow the seizure this week by U.S. health regulators of more than 1,000 pages of documents from Juul Labs about its sales and marketing practices, as they investigate growing e-cigarette use among young people that threatens to create a new generation of nicotine addicts. (10/4)

Stat: Flu Season Likely To Stretch Longer In Big Cities Than Elsewhere, Study Says
The length of the flu season may vary depending on where you live, with large cities enduring longer periods of transmission and smaller cities experiencing shorter, but more explosive, spread, a new study suggests. The study doesn’t assert that one’s risk of contracting influenza varies depending on the size of any given community. Rather, it argues that in less populous places, flu needs the right atmospheric conditions to spread effectively. (Branswell, 10/4)

The New York Times: Daily Baby Aspirin May Lower Ovarian Cancer Risk
Taking low-dose aspirin is a daily routine for many people because it may lower the risk for heart attacks and strokes, and some research has tied it to a lower risk of colorectal cancer. Now a new study in JAMA Oncology suggests it may lower the risk for ovarian cancer as well. Researchers followed more than 200,000 women for more than 25 years, recording data on lifestyle, health factors and disease outcomes and updating information with periodic interviews. (Bakalar, 10/4)

The Associated Press: Scientists: US Military Program Could Be Seen As Bioweapon
A research arm of the U.S. military is exploring the possibility of deploying insects to make plants more resilient by altering their genes. Some experts say the work may be seen as a potential biological weapon. (10/4)

Sacramento Bee: CA Election: Prop. 4 Will Ensure The Best Health Care For California Kids
During my time as a state legislator and now as Sacramento’s mayor, I have always advocated for the health, well-being and future of California’s kids. I want our children to have opportunities to succeed in school and beyond – all of that begins with health. Fortunately, California’s children’s hospitals are some of the best in the country. On Nov. 6, Californians have the opportunity to vote on Proposition 4 to expand and upgrade our state’s children’s hospitals. (Darrell Steinberg, 10/3)

Sacramento Bee: CA Election: Prop. 4 Is An Unnecessary Windfall For Hospitals
I know from personal experience the importance of children’s hospitals. Six decades ago, I had heart surgery at the best one in Illinois. It saved me from an early death. Yet I’m voting “no” on Proposition 4, the Nov. 6 measure to authorize $1.5 billion in bonds to support construction at the 11 officially designated children’s hospitals ion California – eight non-profit private hospitals and five University of California medical centers. (Elizabeth Wall Ralston, 10/3)

Los Angeles Times: Pragmatic And Focused On Consumers, Steve Poizner Is The Right Choice For Insurance Commissioner
Lots of state elected officials run for higher office, and most of them lose. Steve Poizner is one example; he served one term as the state insurance commissioner before running for governor in 2010, getting trounced by Meg Whitman in the Republican primary. But now Poizner is back, looking for another shot — not at the governor’s office, but at his old job, insurance commissioner. And in a twist, Poizner has severed his ties with the GOP and is running as an independent. Poizner says his motive isn’t to create a new party in the gaps between the Republican and Democratic machines; it’s to show would-be public servants who are turned off by the political climate in this state that there is a nonpartisan path to office. (10/3)

Sacramento Bee: We Already Know What America Would Look Like If Roe Is Overturned
The nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court and threat to Roe v. Wade is cause for considerable concern for the future of legal abortion in the United States. But we don’t have to imagine what could happen in a post-Roe America. There are many current policies that already push abortion out of reach. (Sarah CM Roberts, 10/2)

San Jose Mercury News: Why I'm Training To Be A Doctor Who Performs Abortions
In my small class of just 100 students at Stanford School of Medicine, many of my peers dream of becoming neurosurgeons. The ability to save lives from the most devastating of diseases drives them to enter the most competitive and demanding of fields. I, too, want to save lives from the devastating circumstances that unfairly befall all of us. But it is not neurosurgery that interests me. Instead, I dream of becoming something else entirely: a gynecologist providing the full spectrum of reproductive services – including abortion. (Isabel Beshar, 10/3)

Los Angeles Times: Mentally Ill Homeless People Won't Get Well On The Sidewalks. They Need Housing. Yes On Prop 2
Of the roughly 134,000 homeless people on the streets of California, about a third are seriously mentally ill. Their illnesses cannot be successfully treated on sidewalks. They must get housing first. That’s why the state of California wisely enacted Assembly Bill 1816 two years ago to raise $2 billion to build or preserve permanent supportive housing for homeless people suffering from mental illness. ... But the housing program — titled No Place Like Home — has been stymied by a lawsuit that contends the Mental Health Services Act was never intended to be spent on housing. ... Voters will have the chance to resolve this issue in November by passing a ballot measure, Proposition 2, that would explicitly allow Mental Health Services Act dollars to be spent on the No Place Like Home program. We strongly endorse it. (10/2)

The Mercury News: Keep O'Connor, Saint Louise Hospital Beds Open
It’s imperative that San Jose’s O’Connor Hospital and Gilroy’s Saint Louise Regional Hospital remain open to serve Santa Clara County’s growing population. The county already has a shortage of hospital beds. Losing O’Connor’s 358 beds and Saint Louise’s 93 beds would exacerbate the problem for a county anticipating its population to grow from 1.75 million today to 2.3 million by the year 2030. The hospitals’ owner, Verity Health System of California, said Tuesday that it has asked a bankruptcy court to approve an auction in December. The county’s $235 million bid for the two hospitals will be considered along with any others that might come forward. (10/4)

Los Angeles Times: Breast Cancer Is Political. Tie That Up In Your Pink Ribbon
After my double mastectomy two years ago, I had to read two terrifying things: my pathology report and my hospital bill. The pathology report made me sink to the floor with despair; it noted multiple large tumors that had invaded my skin, and 15 underarm lymph nodes bursting with rapidly dividing cancer cells. I would require months of aggressive treatment. The bill for my hospital stay and surgery was $173,000. But there was some good news: My insurance plan paid for all of it. For this, I thanked the Affordable Care Act. (Sascha Cohen, 10/1)

Los Angeles Times: Orange County Prospers When Its Youngest Children Are Prioritized
Orange County will only be as strong as its children are. And they need our help now. The recently released 2018 Orange County Community Indicators Report shines a light on the current lack of priority placed on early childhood and its affect on our children. (Kim Goll, 10/2)

Los Angeles Times: Sending Migrant Kids To Trump's Tent City Is Atrocious. So Is The Congressional Cowardice That Got Us Here
Stoking fears of changing demographics and hinting at the decline of white America, the Trump administration has adopted a severe, xenophobic immigration policy. After trying to bar Muslims from the country, after insulting Mexicans, after cutting back the number of refugees admitted, after separating children from their parents, the latest outrage is that the government has moved nearly 2,000 of the estimated 13,000 “unaccompanied minors” it has in custody to a barren tent city in the remote border town of Turnillo, about 30 miles southeast of El Paso. (10/2)