Reuters: Bayer Gets Tentative Ruling For New Trial In Weed-Killer Case
Bayer AG's Monsanto unit received a tentative ruling for a new trial on the $250 million in punitive damages awarded by a jury to a groundskeeper who alleged the company's glyphosate-based weed killers, including Roundup, caused his cancer. According to a Wednesday court filing in San Francisco's Superior Court of California, Judge Suzanne Bolanos was considering whether to grant the company's motion for a new trial on the punitive damages. (10/10)

The Wall Street Journal: Bayer Could Win A New Trial For Roundup
If finalized, Judge Suzanne Ramos Bolanos’s ruling would grant a motion by Bayer arguing that sum wasn’t justified and that the evidence didn’t prove the company intended to harm the plaintiff. It isn’t clear when the judge may finalize the ruling, issued ahead of a court hearing Wednesday. The ruling calls into question the bulk of the $289 million judgment, the first in thousands of cases alleging that glyphosate, the main ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup herbicide, causes cancer. (Bunge, 10/10)

Los Angeles Times: 3 Women Sue Huntington Hospital, Accusing Gynecologist Of Sexual Misconduct
Three women filed a federal lawsuit against Huntington Memorial Hospital and one of its longest-serving obstetricians Wednesday, alleging that the physician subjected them to unwanted sexual remarks during exams in the 1990s. The suit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles comes a week after The Times reported that Dr. Patrick Sutton had been accused of sexual misconduct by five other patients. Sutton, 64, settled four of those accusations without admitting any sexual wrongdoing, and he has said through a lawyer that he plans to contest the fifth pending complaint. (Ryan and Hamilton, 10/10)

In other hospital news —

KQED: Santa Clara County Moves To Buy Two Hospitals After Bankruptcy 
Santa Clara and San Mateo County leaders are hoping to keep the doors open at four Bay Area hospitals owned by financially embattled Verity Health System, which filed for bankruptcy in late August. In Santa Clara County, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to authorize its staff to move forward with a process to purchase O’Connor Hospital in San Jose and Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy, both operated by Verity. (Clyde, Shuler and Klivans, 10/10)

San Francisco Chronicle: ‘Disease Detectives’ Crack Cases Of 130 Patients With Mysterious Illnesses
A national network of “disease detectives” has cracked the complicated medical mysteries of more than 130 patients with rare, previously unidentified diseases, though the bulk of the cases that come to them remain unsolved, according to an analysis of the network released Wednesday. The Undiagnosed Diseases Network — which now has 12 clinics nationwide, including one at Stanford — has a solve rate of about 35 percent, according to the analysis, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Allday, 10/10)

In other public health news —

KQED: Big Data Gives A Boost To Immunology Research And Potentially, Treatments
Researchers at UC San Francisco have unveiled the largest searchable database of immunology data, gathered from 10,000 people of various ages, ethnicity, and backgrounds. It could lead to more effective treatments for a wide range of immune disorders. (Ahmed, 10/10)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Woman With Bipolar Disorder Will Receive $110,000 From Company That Dismissed Her After She Texted During Manic Episode
Triton Management Services, a Carlsbad-based company that provides administrative and other services for bail bond businesses, has agreed to pay $110,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging discrimination against an employee with a disability, federal regulators announced Wednesday. The lawsuit, filed a year ago in federal court by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after pre-litigation settlement negotiations failed, accused Triton of denying a leave of absence an employee who needed medical attention and firing her instead of trying to provide reasonable accommodation. (Cook, 10/10)

The Bakersfield Californian: If It Works, This Tiny Homes Plan For Homeless Vets Will Likely Be Duplicated
The grassy patch of land on Covey Avenue in Oildale is mostly hidden behind a wooden fence that has seen better days. But by this time next year, the vacant lot could be well on its way to becoming home sweet home to more than two dozen homeless veterans. Think about that for a moment: They served their country yesterday. They're homeless today. They could be living under a secure roof tomorrow. (Mayer, 10/11)

In other news on the homeless crisis —

Los Angeles Times: L.A. Prepares To Begin Crackdown On Homeless Camps, Under Fire From Civil Rights Lawyers
Outreach workers went tent to tent early Wednesday with offers of homeless services as the city launched a crackdown on encampments around a new shelter in downtown Los Angeles’ El Pueblo historic district. The city plans five-day-a-week cleanups and increased police presence in “special enforcement zones” around a network of 15 shelters it hopes to build by the middle of next year. (Holland, 10/10)

The Desert Sun: Valley Cities Seek Emergency Funds To Combat Homelessness
Despite a slight increase in the overall number of homeless residents in Riverside County this year, homelessness remains an issue in the Coachella Valley and across the state. Coachella and Indio were among the first cities to join a valleywide effort to secure additional money to combat the problem. In response to the crisis, a law was enacted providing emergency funds to counties, supporting local efforts to fight homelessness. To compete for the $9.8 million allocated to Riverside County through the new law, SB-850, cities have to officially declare a "shelter crisis." (Mashke, 10/10)

Capital Public Radio: San Joaquin County Opens New ‘One-Stop’ Center For Crime Victims Seeking Help
For crime victims, seeking help often means making multiple trips: first to the police, then maybe the district attorney’s office, and then yet another journey to talk to a counselor. San Joaquin County’s new Family Justice Center, which opened Wednesday at the former county administration building in downtown Stockton, puts all of those agencies under one roof — giving victims a “one-stop” destination for accessing help. (Ibarra, 10/10)

In other news from across the state —

The Desert Sun: Palm Desert Tries To Ban Smoking At Affordable Housing Communities
Palm Desert City Council members and residents were divided during a recent council meeting on whether city-owned affordable housing communities should be 100 percent smoke-free. After shooting down the proposal for a complete ban, the City Council agreed they would address the issue at a November council meeting in hopes of finding a compromise. (Hayden, 10/9)

The Bakersfield Californian: Medicine Shoppe Signs Up For County Opioids Program
ninth retailer has signed up to participate in Kern County's efforts to rein in local opioid abuse. The Medicine Shoppe at 5465 Auburn St., Suite B, will soon host a medication drop box where people will be encouraged to dispose of unused, unwanted or expired prescription and over-the-counter drugs. (10/11)

The New York Times: CVS Health And Aetna $69 Billion Merger Is Approved With Conditions
The Justice Department’s approval of the $69 billion merger between CVS Health and Aetna on Wednesday caps a wave of consolidation among giant health care players that could leave American consumers with less control over their medical care and prescription drugs. The approval marks the close of an era, during which powerful pharmacy benefit managers brokered drug prices among pharmaceutical companies, insurers and employers. (Abelson, 10/10)

The Associated Press: DOJ Approves $69B CVS Health-Aetna Merger, With Conditions
The Justice Department on Wednesday approved the deal on the condition that Aetna moves ahead with its plan to sell its Medicare Part D prescription drug plan business, resolving some anti-monopoly issues. (10/10)

The Washington Post: CVS’s $69 Billion Merger With Aetna Is Approved In Deal That Could Transform Health-Care Industry
The tie-up will allow CVS — whose retail pharmacy business serves 5 million customers a day — to turn more of its brick-and-mortar locations into front-line clinics for basic medical services and patient monitoring. By deepening its knowledge of and relationships with patients, CVS has said the combination could help Americans stick with medication regimens and stay out of the hospital. (Fung, 10/10)

The Wall Street Journal: Justice Department Approves CVS-Aetna Deal
CVS said that it already had gotten “many” of the state approvals it needs. “We are pleased to have reached an agreement with the Justice Department that maintains the strategic benefits and value creation potential of our combination with Aetna,” said CVS’s chief executive, Larry Merlo. “We are now working to complete the remaining state reviews.” Aetna rival Cigna Corp. has already gotten Justice Department antitrust clearance for its acquisition of Express Scripts Holding Co. , which also brings together a major health insurer with a pharmacy-benefit manager. (Wilde Mathews and Maidenberg, 10/10)

The Associated Press: Trump Trashes Democrats’ Medicare For All Plan In Op-Ed
President Donald Trump is stepping up his attack on Democrats over a health care proposal called Medicare for All, claiming it “would end Medicare as we know it and take away benefits that seniors have paid for their entire lives.” Trump, omitting any mention of improved benefits for seniors that Democrats promise, writes in an op-ed published Wednesday in USA Today, “The Democrats’ plan means that after a life of hard work and sacrifice, seniors would no longer be able to depend on the benefits they were promised.” (Miller, 10/10)

The Washington Post: Fact-Checking President Trump’s USA Today Op-Ed On ‘Medicare-For-All’
President Trump wrote an opinion article for USA Today on Oct. 10 regarding proposals to expand Medicare to all Americans — known as Medicare-for-All — in which almost every sentence contained a misleading statement or a falsehood. Many of these are claims we have already debunked. Presumably, the president is aware of our fact checks — he even links to two — but chose to ignore the facts in service of a campaign-style op-ed. Medicare-for-All is a complex subject, and serious questions could be raised about the cost and how a transition from today’s health-care system would be financed. Trump correctly notes that studies have estimated that the program — under the version promoted by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — would add $36 trillion in costs to the federal government over 10 years. (Kessler, 10/10)

The Associated Press: Trump's View Of 'Medicare For All' Simplistic
The president's op-ed column flubbed some facts and omitted some key context: Trump put the cost of "Medicare for All" at $32.6 trillion over 10 years, calling it an "astonishing" figure. He actually underestimated the expected cost. He cited the added cost to the federal government of taking over private insurance, as estimated by Blahous. The total cost of the new system would be even higher. Trump said Democrats have already "harmed seniors by slashing Medicare" to pay for President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. He neglected to mention that when Republicans later won control of Congress, they kept in their own budgets the Obama Medicare cuts that they had campaigned against. (10/11)

PolitiFact: Fact-Checking Donald Trump's Op-Ed Against Medicare For All In USA Today
Trump: Medicare for All would "take away benefits that seniors have paid for their entire lives." This is a "horrible mischaracterization of the proposal," said Linda Blumberg of the Urban Institute. Medicare for All would actually give an expanded version of traditional Medicare to everyone, with broader coverage -- including items such as dental and vision care -- while eliminating virtually all out of pocket costs, she said. (Greenberg and Jacobson, 10/10)

NPR Fact Check: Trump's False Claims On 'Medicare For All' In USA Today Op-Ed
Trump notes that as a candidate, he "promised that we would protect coverage for patients with pre-existing conditions." In fact, Trump and his fellow Republicans tried — unsuccessfully — to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which guarantees insurance coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. GOP plans would leave it up to the states to craft alternative protections. In addition, Republican attorneys general have sued to overturn Obamacare's protections, and the Trump administration has declined to defend them. America's Health Insurance Plans, the trade group for the insurance industry, warns that ending the Obamacare guarantee could result in hardship for the estimated 130 million Americans under 65 with pre-existing conditions. (Horsley, 10/10)

The Hill: Schumer Rips Trump 'Medicare For All' Op-Ed As 'smears And Sabotage'
Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) said President Trump’s USA Today op-ed ripping “Medicare for all” was full of misinformation meant to deliberately mislead the public. “The American people deserve better than smears and sabotage,” Schumer said in a statement. “All of the false and misleading words in the world can’t cover up the truth: President Trump and Republicans in Congress are forcing millions of Americans to pay more for health insurance and trying to rip away protections for people with pre-existing conditions.” (Weixel, 10/10)

The Hill: Sanders Blasts Trump's Attack On 'Medicare For All' As 'Full Of Lies' 
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday hit back against an op-ed by President Trump attacking Sanders’s signature "Medicare for all" proposal, saying Trump’s piece is filled with “blatant lies.” “Bottom line is he's trying to frighten seniors and suggest that Medicare for all would cut back the benefits they have,” Sanders told reporters. “The truth is it would expand the benefits that they have.” (Sullivan, 10/10)

Politico: ‘Just Ridiculous Lies’: Dems Incensed Over Misleading GOP Ads On Medicare For All
The GOP is hammering Democratic challengers in swing districts over a plan putting the government in full control of the health care system, betting that voter backlash over the multi-trillion dollar proposal will tip crucial House races to Republicans. There’s just one problem: Few of the targeted Democrats actually support such a plan. (Cancryn, 10/10)

Politico: Senate Democrats Fail To Block Trump's Short-Term Health Plans
A long-shot bid to derail the Trump administration’s expansion of short-term health plans died in the Senate on Wednesday, even with Sen. Susan Collins providing the lone Republican vote for the resolution. The Senate vote ended in a 50-50 tie, falling short of the majority needed to pass the measure reversing new regulations allowing insurers to sell skimpy health plans outside the Obamacare markets for up to a year, rather than the previous limit of three months. (Cancryn and Ollstein, 10/10)

The Associated Press: Senate Vote On Health Care Likely Fodder For Both Parties
But by pushing ahead, Democrats made Republicans cast a health care vote that Democrats could wield in campaign ads for next month's midterm elections, in which they hope to topple the GOP's 51-49 Senate majority. The vote was also aimed at refocusing people away from the Senate's nasty battle over confirming Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, which both sides say has transformed indifferent conservative voters into motivated ones — for now. (10/11)

The Washington Post: Midterm Fear Factor: Republicans, Democrats Stoke Anxiety Over Health Care, Rule Of Law
Only one Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, voted with them. In a speech on the Senate floor, Baldwin pointed to a plan sold in her state that she said does not cover hospital care on a Friday or Saturday. “So, it will just be your bad luck if you happen to get sick and need health care on the weekend,” she said. (Sullivan and Wagner, 10/10)

The New York Times: Trump Signs New Laws Aimed At Drug Costs And Battles Democrats On Medicare
President Trump signed bipartisan legislation on Wednesday that would free pharmacists to tell consumers when they could actually save money by paying the full cash price for prescription drugs rather than using health insurance with large co-payments, deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs. ... The back-and-forth over health care showed how prominent the issue has become in the midterm election campaigns. As the parties were coming together on prescription drug costs and fighting over Medicare, the Senate deadlocked on Wednesday over a Democratic proposal to block the expansion of cheap “short term” health insurance policies that do not have to cover maternity care or pre-existing conditions, a top priority of Mr. Trump’s. (Pear, 10/10)

The Associated Press: Trump Signs Bills To Help Patients Stop Overpaying For Drugs
The measures bar health plans or middlemen that manage pharmacy benefits from getting in between pharmacists and their customers. No longer can pharmacists be contractually prohibited from telling consumers when they would actually save money by not using their insurance plans. Such head-scratching situations can arise because of convoluted deals between drug companies, insurers, middlemen and pharmacies. (10/10)

The Hill: Trump Signs Bills Banning Drug Pricing 'Gag Clauses' 
"This is very strong legislation to end these unjust gag clauses once and for all," Trump said during a signing ceremony at the White House. "All our citizens deserve to know the lowest price available at our pharmacies, and now that's what they'll be getting." (Hellmann, 10/10)