The New York Times: How Amy Klobuchar Pulled Off The Big Surprise Of The New Hampshire Primary
Senator Amy Klobuchar knew she might have an opportunity in New Hampshire’s presidential primary. As a fiscally moderate Democrat who opposes the “Medicare for all” and free four-year college plans of her liberal rivals, Ms. Klobuchar was in sync with the smaller-government tilt of plenty of Democrats in the state. Her emphasis on bipartisanship and pragmatism was a fit with New Hampshire’s large number of unaffiliated voters, or independents, who could participate in the Democratic primary. (Corasaniti, 2/12)

The Washington Post: Exit Poll Results From The 2020 New Hampshire Democratic Primary
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was boosted by strong support from younger and lower-income voters, as well as those who support his keystone policies of single-payer health care and free tuition at public colleges and universities, according to exit poll results. A slight majority of all voters under age 30 supported Sanders, as did over a third of those between ages 30-44, outpacing his competitors among both groups. He also won almost 4 in 10 of voters with incomes under $50,000, more than twice as much support as any other candidate. (Alcantara, Clement, Guskin and Keating, 2/12)

The Wall Street Journal: New Hampshire Democratic Primary: Top Takeaways
Just a few months ago, Ms. Warren was competing with Mr. Sanders for the lead in New Hampshire as the other New Englander in the race. But as results poured in on Tuesday, she struggled to break double-digits in what looked to be a distant fourth-place finish. Ms. Warren has seen a steady decline recently after surging last summer and through most of the fall, as attacks on how she would pay for her Medicare-for-All health-care plan appeared to pay dividends for her rivals. (Siddiqui, 2/12)

Politico: Sanders Ekes One Out, But The Revolution Has Yet To Arrive
According to exit polls, 57 percent of voters on Tuesday were female, up two points from 2016. A majority of voters were college graduates (53 percent), liberal or somewhat liberal (60 percent), and their three big issues were health care, climate change and income inequality. A big majority supported single-payer (61 percent). (Lizza, 2/12)

In other news from the campaign trail —

The Hill: Klobuchar: 'We Need To Build A Big Tent' For Anti-Abortion Democrats
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) on Tuesday said that the Democratic Party should be a "big tent" for people of different beliefs, including those who oppose abortion rights. Klobuchar, who is running as a centrist candidate and alternative to Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), said while she is "pro-choice" but she doesn't think the party should shut out Democrats who disagree. (Hellmann, 2/11)

The Associated Press: Former Staff Claims Iowa Center Exploited Disabled Patients
Two doctors and other former employees of an Iowa care center for people with intellectual disabilities have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against a state agency and several officials, alleging a conspiracy to silence complaints about sexual arousal research that included using pornographic material that they claim exploited fragile and dependent residents. The allegations center on Jerry Rea, the former superintendent of the Glenwood Resource Center, a researcher hired in 2017 by the state of Iowa from Kansas. (2/11)

The New York Times: Coronavirus Live Updates: The Illness Now Has A Name: COVID-19
The World Health Organization on Tuesday proposed an official name for the illness caused by the new coronavirus: COVID-19. The acronym stands for coronavirus disease 2019, as the illness was first detected toward the end of last year. (2/11)

Time: What's In A Name? Why WHO's Formal Name For The New Coronavirus Disease Matters
“Having a name matters to prevent the use of other names that can be inaccurate or stigmatizing,” said Director-General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “It also gives us a standard format to use for any future coronavirus outbreaks.” The WHO referenced guidelines set in 2015 that ensure the name does not refer to a geographical location, an animal, an individual or group of people, while still being pronounceable and related to the disease. (Mansoor, 2/11)

NBC News: Coronavirus Gets Official Name From WHO: COVID-19
Naming an illness is not as easy or as straightforward as it might appear. The original name was nCoV-2019, which stood for novel coronavirus, discovered in 2019. It's like naming a child "son born in 2019." There are many different kinds of coronaviruses. Some cause mild illness, such as the common cold. Others cause deadly respiratory diseases, as has been illustrated by COVID-19. By Tuesday afternoon, COVID-19 had claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people, nearly all of them in China. (Edwards, 2/11)

The Associated Press: New Name For Disease Caused By Virus Outbreak: COVID-19
The new name comes from “coronavirus," the type of virus that causes the disease. Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause the common cold and some more serious diseases, including SARS, which killed 800 in 2002-2003 and the Middle East respiratory syndrome, which continues to cause sporadic cases and is believed to jump to humans from camels. (2/11)

Stat: What Do You Call The Disease Caused By The Novel Coronavirus? Covid-19
Viruses and the disease they cause do not have to have related names — think HIV and AIDS — but more recently those responsible for the formal naming process have kept them associated. For example, SARS, the disease, is caused by SARS-CoV, the virus. (Joseph, 2/11)

Reuters: Coronavirus Cases Fall, Experts Disagree Whether Peak Is Near
China reported on Wednesday its lowest number of new coronavirus cases since late January, lending weight to a prediction by its senior medical adviser that the outbreak could end by April. Global markets took heart from the outlook but other international experts are alarmed at the spread of the flu-like virus, which has killed more than 1,100 people, all but two in mainland China, and said optimism could be premature. (Woo and Geddle, 2/12)

The Associated Press: China's New Virus Cases Fall Again, Deaths Now Exceed 1,100
The National Health Commission on Wednesday said 2,015 new cases had been reported over the last 24 hours, declining for a second day. The total number of cases in mainland China is 44,653, although many experts say a large number of others infected have gone uncounted. The 97 additional deaths from the virus raised the mainland toll to 1,113. (2/12)

Reuters: China's Huanggang Says Virus Situation In City Remains Severe
China's Huanggang city, one of the hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak, is still facing a severe virus situation and a lack of medical supplies, its Communist Party boss said on Tuesday. Huanggang is located in the central province of Hubei near to Wuhan, believed to be the epicentre of the outbreak. Huanggang has recorded the second highest number of deaths from the virus after Wuhan. (2/11)

The Wall Street Journal: At Outbreak’s Center, Wuhan Residents Question Accuracy Of Virus Tests
Medical experts around the globe have expressed fears that the scale of the outbreak could be much larger than Chinese data suggests—in large part because of concerns about potential flaws in testing. Independent experts say many tens of thousands of Wuhan residents are likely infected by the coronavirus, while the city’s government puts the tally at less than 20,000. Only one in 19 infected people in Wuhan was being tested and confirmed, according to an estimate by Imperial College London as of Jan. 31. (Deng, 2/11)

The New York Times: Huge Shelters For Coronavirus Patients Pose New Risks, Experts Fear
As the new coronavirus continued to spread unabated within the city of Wuhan, China, government officials last week imposed draconian measures. Workers in protective gear were instructed to go to every home in the city, removing infected residents to immense isolation wards built hastily in a sports stadium, an exhibition center and a building complex. (Rabin, 2/11)

The New York Times: A Store, A Chalet, An Unsealed Pipe: Coronavirus Hot Spots Flare Far From Wuhan
An apartment building in Hong Kong, its units linked by pipes. A department store in the eastern Chinese city of Tianjin, where more than 11,000 shoppers and employees mingled. A ski chalet in France, home base for a group of British citizens on vacation. These sites, scattered around the world, have become linked by a grim commonality: They are places where pockets of new coronavirus cases have emerged in recent days, raising fears about the virus’s ability to spread quickly and far beyond its origins in central China. (Wang, Ramzy and Specia, 2/11)

The Wall Street Journal: China Fires Highest-Level Officials Yet Over Coronavirus Outbreak
Beijing fired the highest-ranking officials yet over the handling of the coronavirus outbreak, replacing two provincial health officials in charge of virus-racked Hubei province with a trusted official from China’s national health agency. The director and Communist Party secretary of Hubei’s provincial health committee were removed, state broadcaster China Central Television reported Tuesday, making them the highest-level officials known to be punished for the government’s handling of the outbreak. (Mendell, 2/11)

The Washington Post: For China’s Leaders, Pop-Up Hospitals Are About Politics As Much As Health
Some of the workers were replacing the small “Fever clinic” sign with a huge “Fever clinic” sign. Others were arranging the flower planters out front to ensure the place looked perfect. On that recent afternoon, a delegation of officials and attendant state media journalists would be arriving at the new coronavirus treatment unit in Fuqing, in southeast China. For the authorities, it was not enough to have built the 200-bed center in a matter of days; it also had to sparkle for the cameras. (Fifield, 2/11)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus Infections On Diamond Princess Cruise Ship Swell To 174
Authorities in the virus-hit city of Wuhan have announced fresh restrictions on residents, making millions of people virtual prisoners in their own homes. Two provincial health bosses have been fired as the Communist Party struggles to contain widespread anger over the spread of the virus. (Denyer, Hawkins, Noack, O'Grady and Berger, 2/11)

Los Angeles Times: China's 'People's War' Against Coronavirus Seen By Many As Unorganized Propaganda
It’s a classic Chinese campaign, harking back to Chairman Mao’s methods of inspiring patriotism and mobilizing the masses: Bright red banners and posters with large characters quoting the state leader’s slogans adorn every neighborhood. Communist Party workers march through villages against a deadly enemy, banging gongs and shouting orders dictating every individual’s behavior. They strap on red armbands and go door-to-door — promising, in some cases, financial rewards for neighbors who snitch on those who break the rules and, in other cases, threatening to punish those who resist. (Su, 2/11)

Reuters: Japan Cruise Ship Coronavirus Cases Climb To 175, Including Quarantine Officer
Another 39 people have tested positive for the coronavirus on the Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined in Japan, with one quarantine officer also infected, bringing the total to 175, the health ministry said on Wednesday. The Diamond Princess was placed in quarantine for two weeks upon arriving in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, on Feb. 3, after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong was diagnosed with the virus. (2/12)

The New York Times: Quarantined Cruise Passengers Have Many Questions. Japan Has Few Answers.
The 3,600 people aboard the Diamond Princess, locked down for more than a week and desperate for information, have been reduced to peering out windows as hazmat-suited workers take away the newest coronavirus patients and mysterious buses, their interiors shrouded by curtains, come and go from the port. They have Wi-Fi, but it is spotty, and even if it were not, they might search in vain for information about their plight from tight-lipped Japanese authorities. (Rich and Dooley, 2/11)

The Washington Post: Diamond Princess Crew Fear No Protections From Coronavirus On Ship
Crew members aboard the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship say they are terrified of catching the deadly coronavirus yet aren't being afforded the same protections as the passengers they serve. Ten shipboard workers have been confirmed as having caught the virus, and others feel sick — but unlike the passengers, no effort is being made to keep them apart from one another, they said. (Denyer, Dutta and Kashiwagi, 2/11)

WBUR: Coronavirus Casts A Pall Over Cruise Industry At Height Of Booking Season
The Diamond Princess cruise ship has become a symbol of a global health nightmare. To date, 135 cases of the coronavirus — the infectious disease the World Health Organization is now calling COVID-19 — have been confirmed aboard the ship. David Abel is one of the remaining 3,600 people on board, quarantined in waters off the coast of Japan until at least Feb. 19. He's been documenting life in quarantine: Medical staff doing checkups through the night, small boats ferrying supplies of food and medicine. (Noguchi, 2/12)

Reuters: U.S. Evacuees Freed From Coronavirus Quarantine, Officials Fear Discrimination
Nearly 200 people evacuated from the China coronavirus outbreak were released from quarantine in California on Tuesday with officials urging Americans not to shun them, or workers who helped them, after both groups faced discrimination. The 195 U.S. citizens, mostly U.S. State Department employees and their families, underwent the United States' first mandatory quarantine since 1963 after they were evacuated from the coronavirus-stricken Chinese city of Wuhan. (2/11)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Quarantine Ends As Evacuees Leave Riverside Base
After flying halfway around the world to flee a deadly viral outbreak and then spending two weeks quarantined at a California military base, a group of Americans evacuated from China couldn’t help but celebrate Tuesday morning. Following a series of final screenings, all 195 Americans quarantined amid the coronavirus outbreak were cleared to leave March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, where they had been confined the last 14 days. (Shalby, 2/11)

NPR: 195 Americans Released From Coronavirus Quarantine At Southern California Air Base
The group, which faced numerous health screenings both in China and during their trip and quarantine, has now been "medically cleared," health officials said Tuesday, making it possible for them to leave the March Air Reserve Base in Southern California. "Our guests at March Air Reserve Base are happy to see an official end today to their 14-day quarantine and are looking forward to returning home. We wish them well!" Riverside University Health System - Public Health said via Facebook Tuesday, posting an image of the evacuees gathered together outside, tossing blue face masks into the air. (Chappell, 2/11)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 200 Georgia Residents Are Being Monitored For Coronavirus
Nearly 200 Georgia residents are quarantined in their homes after returning from recent trips to China, where a deadly new coronavirus has sickened more than 40,000 people. So far, Georgia authorities said Tuesday, none of the Georgia residents has shown symptoms of the virus. And none visited China’s Hubei province, the epicenter of coronavirus outbreak. They are sequestered because they traveled to other parts of that country, where the virus is also spreading rapidly. (Oliviero, 2/11)

Georgia Health News: About 200 People Here ‘Self-Monitoring’ After Travel To China
Dozens of people in Georgia who have recently traveled to China are ‘‘self-monitoring’’ for possible symptoms of the novel coronavirus, Public Health officials said Tuesday. None so far has emerged with symptoms or has warranted being quarantined, said Cherie Drenzek, the state epidemiologist. (Miller, 2/11)

The Associated Press: Virus Puts Hong Kong Protests On Ice. Will They Return?
The crowd lining up recently on a cold, dark Hong Kong street wasn't part of the anti-government protest movement that rocked the semi-autonomous Chinese territory for months. Their demand: surgical masks, now in short supply as fears grow over a new virus that has claimed more than 1,000 lives across the border in mainland China and one in Hong Kong. (Ng, 2/11)

The Associated Press: 2 Russians Flee Virus Quarantine, In Dismay At Hospitals
One patient jumped out of a hospital window to escape her quarantine and another managed to break out by disabling an electronic lock. Two Russian women who were kept in isolation for possible inflection by a new virus say they fled from their hospitals this month because of uncooperative doctors, poor conditions and fear they would become infected. Russian health authorities haven’t commented on their complaints. (Heintz and Litvinova, 2/12)

The Washington Post: British Coronavirus ‘Superspreader’ May Have Infected At Least 11 People In Three Countries
The story of a traveling British businessman who appears to have passed the coronavirus to Britons in at least three countries has prompted concerns over a "superspreader" who could play an outsize role in transmitting the infection. A British national may have unwittingly spread the pneumonia-like virus to at least 11 people in the course of his travels from Singapore to France to Switzerland to England, according to public health authorities and accounts in the British media. (Adam, 2/11)

CNBC: What Is A Coronavirus COVID-19 Super Spreader? Infections, Explained
A British businessman who likely contracted coronavirus in Singapore, and traveled to France, Switzerland and England, is being dubbed a “super spreader” of the virus, because he has infected at least 11 people, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. The man, Steve Walsh, said he has “fully recovered” from coronavirus, which was renamed COVID-19 on Tuesday. COVID-19 has infected a total of 43,100 people in China and caused 1,018 deaths to date. The infection has spread to 24 countries, although the majority of the cases are in China. (Stieg, 2/11)

WBUR: WHO Africa Official: Continent Remains At ‘High Risk’ For Potential Coronavirus
So far, more than 1,000 people have died from COVID-19, mostly in China.But on the continent of Africa, where an estimated 1 million Chinese people live, there are no confirmed cases. Michel Yao, head of emergency response operations in Africa for WHO, says the continent remains at high risk. (Hobson, 2/11)

Stat: Major Drug Makers Haven't Stepped Up To Make NIH Coronavirus Vaccine
No major pharmaceutical company has come forward to say it would manufacture a vaccine for the novel coronavirus currently being developed by the National Institutes of Health, a top U.S. official acknowledged Tuesday, a reality that he called “very difficult and very frustrating.” The comments by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, highlight how challenging it could be to translate the NIH’s work, being undertaken in partnership with the biotech company Moderna Therapeutics, into a vaccine that could be marketed. (Florko, 2/11)

The Washington Post: Global Experts Study Promising Drugs, Vaccines For New Virus
The World Health Organization convened outside experts Tuesday to try to speed the development of tests, treatments and vaccines against the new coronavirus, as doctors on the front lines experiment on patients with various drugs in hopes of saving lives in the meantime. The 400 scientists participating in the two-day meeting — many remotely — will try to determine which approaches seem promising enough to advance to the next step: studies in people to prove if they really work. (Keaten and Cheng, 2/11)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Inside A Philadelphia Lab, Scientists Race To Design A Coronavirus Vaccine
Faraz Zaidi and Daniel Park peered at a series of small, black blots that appeared on a clear sheet of plastic — confirming they had created a type of protein that, until January, was unknown to science. It was a signal alerting them to the presence of the microscopic “spikes” on a coronavirus — the infectious microbe that, at last count, had killed more than 1,000 people in China. (Avril, 2/11)

WBUR: There's No Specific Drug That Kills Coronavirus. But Doctors Have Ways To Treat It
Even though the coronavirus disease that has sickened tens of thousands of people in China is new to science, doctors have a pretty good idea about how to treat it. COVID-19, as it is now named, attacks the lungs. Doctors see similar symptoms from other diseases all the time, especially from serious cases of the flu.There's no specific drug that can kill this virus. So doctors provide what's known as supportive care, says Dr. Laura Evans, a critical care specialist at the University of Washington and a member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine's Leadership Council. (Harris, 2/11)

And in other news —

Stat: Understanding Pandemics: Key Questions As The Coronavirus Spreads
The word “pandemic” is not a comforting one. And yet it is increasingly being bandied about in connection with the spread of the novel coronavirus that emerged from China. U.S. health officials have been signaling for nearly two weeks now that a coronavirus pandemic may be on the horizon. While stressing that the virus presents only a “low risk” to Americans right now, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, acknowledged Tuesday that that might not remain the case for long. (Banswell, 2/12)

Bloomberg: Early Coronavirus Genetic Data May Have Forewarned Outbreak
China didn’t release key genetic data on the coronavirus until about two weeks after it emerged that a new SARS-like illness may be sickening people, highlighting the need for outbreak detection systems to incorporate modern scientific tools. Insufficient attention was paid to the information doctors had gathered about the genetic sequence of the novel coronavirus, scientists said in a commentary paper in the Lancet medical journal Tuesday. The authors, who include two members of the World Health Organization’s emergency committee, said this wasn’t the result of a cover-up or deliberate delay, but rather the absence of mechanisms to inform outbreak warning systems. (Gale, 2/11)

The Wall Street Journal: Beware Of Wall Street’s Armchair Epidemiologists
Investors and analysts are racing to figure out how far the coronavirus outbreak will spread and what its eventual impact will be. Unfortunately, many are making assumptions that actual disease experts caution against. Some of Wall Street’s reassuring statements about the epidemic could be wildly off, and so, too, their expectations of the economic disruption the virus could cause. As of Monday afternoon there were 40,787 confirmed cases of coronavirus around the world, according to Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering data: 40,196 in China’s mainland and 591 elsewhere. (Lahart, 2/11)

Reuters: 'Everyone Is Guessing' About Coronavirus Economic Impacts, Say Experts
The coronavirus that spread from a seafood market in Wuhan, China to infect tens of thousands has shuttered businesses, grounded flights and killed over 1,000 people so far, mostly in China. As the world's second-largest economy struggles to get back to work after an extended Lunar New Year holiday, analysts and bankers have been revisiting their estimates of the economic impact of the virus. (Kerber and Timmons, 2/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Travel Industry Set For Multibillion-Dollar Hit From Coronavirus
While the number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. remains small, the reverberations of a worsening outbreak across the Pacific are being felt in the American tourism industry. Airlines have canceled flights between the world’s two biggest economies into April, and the U.S. has banned noncitizens who traveled recently to China from entry. That effective freeze on visitors from China is a blow to hotels, retailers and other businesses that have come to rely on their spending. (Morris and Hufford, 2/12)

Politico: China Warns Against Virus-Related Trade Restrictions
China warned other countries on Tuesday that an "overreaction" to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak through trade restrictions could have a negative impact on the global economy. Beijing made the statement at a meeting of the World Trade Organization, where it noted that it is a large contributor to global economic output and growth, according to a Geneva-based trade official. (Behsudi, 2/11)

The Associated Press: US Survey Finds Smaller Decline In Medical Bill Worries
The proportion of people in families struggling to pay medical bills is down, but the number isn't dropping like it used to, according to a big government study. In a 2018 national survey, just over 14 percent of people said they belonged to a family struggling with those bills, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday. That’s a big drop from nearly 20 percent in 2011 but only slightly less than the proportion who reported the problem in 2016 and 2017. (Murphy, 2/12)

Reuters: Surprise Surgery Bills Happen Even When Patients Plan Ahead
Even among those who did their best to go where their insurance was accepted, 21% still got surprised by out-of-network bills. And tabs were not small, averaging more than $2,000. "We had no idea how often this actually happened or how damaging it could be," said Dr. Karan Chhabra, of the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation in Ann Arbor and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who led the study. (2/11)

Modern Healthcare: 1 In 5 Patients Gets Surprise Bills For Elective Surgeries
Though states such as California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi and New York have enacted varying laws protecting patients from surprise medical bills, all had proportions of surprise billing above the national median for elective surgery with an in-network facility and primary surgeon. "This suggests several hypotheses, including that these states may have been responding to endemic surprise billing problems, and that these policies may not have been completely effective," the study authors wrote. (Cohrs, 2/11)

NPR: Surprise Billing Is As Common After Elective Surgery As In Emergencies
The study arrives during a time when Congress is debating how to address this problem. The two bills under discussion take differing approaches to resolving these outstanding payments when they're no longer placed on the shoulders of patients. Either of the two bills would be an improvement over the status quo, Cooper says. But it's unclear what measures will really make it into law. "The devil's obviously in the details," Chhabra says. (Renken, 2/11)

The Hill: House Panel Advances Bipartisan Surprise Billing Legislation Despite Divisions
The House Education and Labor Committee on Tuesday approved a bill to protect patients from massive “surprise” medical bills, but not before a vigorous debate that showed the divides within both parties on the issue. The vote of 32-13 sent the measure to the full House. But competing proposals must be reconciled before the chamber can vote on the issue, which is a rare area of possible bipartisan action this year. (Sullivan, 2/11)

Modern Healthcare: Second House Committee Falls In Line With Surprise Billing Compromise
The Ban Surprise Billing Act passed out of the Education & Labor Committee on a 32-13 vote with opposition from both parties. The vote leaves the House Ways & Means Committee as the lone dissenting voice advocating for an approach backed by hospitals and some physician specialty groups, with three other committees essentially united behind a proposal blending a benchmark payment with an arbitration backstop preferred by consumer groups and unions. (Cohrs, 2/11)

The Hill: Conservative Lawmakers Warn Pelosi About 'Rate-Setting' Surprise Billing Fix
Conservative Republicans came out against a bipartisan proposal that would end the "surprise" medical bills patients sometimes get from doctors and providers. In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) dated Monday, 39 Republicans, led by Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) warned against passing a bill that would impose what they see as "government-dictated price controls" on private negotiations between insurers and providers. (Hellmann, 2/11)

The Hill: White House Warns Of Raising Health Costs In Debate Over Surprise Medical Bills
The White House on Tuesday stepped farther into the contentious debate over legislation to protect patients from surprise medical bills, weighing in with a warning against one approach to the problem. A statement from the White House warned against the overuse of arbitration to resolve billing disputes, saying it could drive up health care costs. That means the White House is raising concerns with an approach from the House Ways and Means Committee in favor of a rival approach favored by both the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Education and Labor Committee. (Sullivan, 2/11)

Kaiser Health News: When Your Doctor Is Also A Lobbyist: Inside The War Over Surprise Medical Bills
When Carol Pak-Teng, an emergency room doctor in New Jersey, hosted a fundraiser in December for Democratic freshman Rep. Tom Malinowski, her guests, mostly doctors, were pleased when she steered the conversation to surprise medical bills. This was a chance to send a message to Washington that any surprise billing legislation should protect doctors’ incomes in their battle over payments with insurers. Lawmakers are grappling over several approaches to curtail the practice, which can leave patients on the hook for huge medical bills, even if they have insurance. (Pradhan, 2/12)

In other news on health care costs —

The New York Times: A $4 Million NICU Bill: The Price Of Prematurity
Eric Brown and his wife, Stacey, were stunned to learn that Stacey was pregnant again and even more surprised that not one — not two — but three more babies were on the way. “They were naturally conceived, so this was a complete and total surprise,” said Mr. Brown, 37, a high school special education teacher. He and his wife, who live in College Station, Texas, about 90 miles northwest of Houston, already had two children. The second trimester did not go smoothly: Ms. Brown developed infections that led to an unplanned cesarean section at the Woman’s Hospital of Texas in Houston. (Caron, 2/11)

The New York Times: ‘It’s Pretty Brutal’: The Sandwich Generation Pays A Price
When Tanya Brice’s mother moved into her apartment in Owings Mills, Md., five years ago, she was already caring for twin toddlers, one of whom has autism and an intellectual disability, and a teenage son. Brice, 43, is a single mom, and was supporting the household on a social worker’s salary. Her budget and schedule were stressed to the breaking point. Her mother, Janice, was medically fragile — she had hepatitis C and diabetes — and Medicaid wouldn’t pay for a home health aid, so that came out of Brice’s pocket, along with the money for higher electricity bills from her mother’s ventilator, and the extra food and necessities her mother needed. (Grose, 2/11)

Modern Healthcare: VA Delays Cerner EHR Go-Live Due To Slower Build Time
The Veterans Affairs Department has delayed plans to begin end-user training for its new electronic health record system, which was slated to begin this week. That could lead to a delay for the VA's overall EHR implementation timeline. The department is slated to bring its first site—Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane, Wash.—live on a new Cerner Corp. EHR next month. (Cohen, 2/11)

Modern Healthcare: AdventHealth To Drop Cerner, Athenahealth EHRs For Epic
AdventHealth, a faith-based health system with 50 hospital campuses, plans to implement an integrated electronic health record and revenue cycle management system from Epic Systems Corp. over the next three years. Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth said it will install the Epic system at its more than 1,200 acute-care, physician-practice, ambulatory, urgent care, home health and hospice sites. The system currently uses EHRs from Cerner Corp., Athenahealth and Homecare Homebase, said Jayne Bassler, a senior vice president leading the transition to Epic. (Cohen, 2/11)

Modern Healthcare: ONC's Rucker: Lawsuits Show Hospitals Don't Care About Privacy
A top federal official on Tuesday argued that hospitals' concerns about how forthcoming interoperability rules could affect patient privacy ring hollow because many providers expose sensitive health information when they sue patients to collect medical debts. "Your medical care is public because it's now part of a court record," said HHS national coordinator for health information technology Dr. Don Rucker at AcademyHealth's 2020 Health Datapalooza conference in Washington. (Brady, 2/11)

CBS News: Louisiana Has Passed Nearly 100 Anti-Abortion Restrictions Since Roe V. Wade
Since abortion was nationally legalized nearly 50 years ago, Louisiana has enacted almost 100 anti-abortion restrictions, more than any other state in the country, according to a new study shared exclusively with CBS News. The study, released by the Guttmacher Institute on Tuesday morning, highlights what some reproductive rights supporters say is a strategy to "regulate abortion out of existence." (Smith, 2/11)

Kansas City Star: Lawmaker: Gov. Kelly Pressured Democrats Over Abortion Vote
A Republican lawmaker accused Gov. Laura Kelly on Tuesday of pressuring Catholic Democrats to vote “against their own faith” in rejecting an anti-abortion amendment to the Kansas Constitution as legislators fought bitterly over whether to approve the governor’s sweeping plans to reorganize state government. Tempers have been rising in the Legislature since the House on Friday voted down an amendment asserting the state constitution doesn’t include the right to an abortion. But frustrations boiled during debates over Kelly’s plans for state agencies, including departments that oversee child welfare and energy policy. (Shorman, 2/11)

And in other news —

The Hill: Planned Parenthood, ACLU Sue Over Trump Abortion Coverage Rule
Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union are suing the Trump administration over a new rule requiring insurers to send a separate bill for abortion coverage. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, claims the rule is designed to make insurance companies stop offering coverage for abortion. (Weixel, 2/11)

North Carolina Health News: UNC-Duke Basketball Rivalry Informs Medicaid Transformation Woes
Whether you believe that politics has become a blood sport or sports have become too political, it’s hard to dispute the long-standing comparisons between the two. So on Tuesday, when key North Carolina lawmakers came together to talk about the state Department of Health and Human Services’ decision to put an indefinite pause on the long-awaited transformation of Medicaid to a managed care system, Rep. Donny Lambeth, a Republican from Winston-Salem, offered a sports analogy. (Blythe, 2/12)

St. Louis Public Radio: Politically Speaking: Columbia Reps. Kendrick And Stevens Talk Medicaid Expansion, Gas Tax, Clean MO
Missouri State Reps. Kip Kendrick and Martha Stevens, both Democrats from Columbia, appeared on Politically Speaking to talk about Medicaid expansion, the possible repeal of Clean Missouri and other topics. Both Kendrick and Stevens support the Medicaid expansion initiative that is expected to appear on the ballot later this year. (O'Donoghue, 2/11)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Missouri Republicans And Democrats Agree Eligible Kids Were Dropped From Medicaid. Now What?
Every Missouri child who is eligible for Medicaid should be enrolled in the program. That’s something House lawmakers agreed on at a Monday evening budget hearing.“ I don’t want to deny services to anybody that qualifies,” said Rep. David Wood, R-Versailles. Wood, vice chairman of the House Budget Committee, said Monday that he stood by a statement he made in January, when he said that some of the roughly 100,000 children who were removed from the program were likely still eligible for coverage. (Stewart, 2/11)

Meanwhile, in news from CMS —

Modern Healthcare: CMS To Alter Prior Authorization Process This Year, Verma Says
The CMS will be making changes sometime this year to prior authorization regulations, according to CMS Administrator Seema Verma during a speech at the American Medical Association's National Advocacy Conference in Washington D.C. Verma offered few details on what the changes will be, only mentioning that automation of the process can improve efficiencies. The CMS didn't immediately respond to a request for additional details. (Castellucci, 2/11)

WBUR: Major Teachers Unions Call On Schools To Rethink Active Shooter Drills
Two major teachers unions have called on schools to rethink lockdown drills — the active shooter training scenarios that some educators and psychologists say can traumatize children with little proof that they actually work. The American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, the country’s largest education unions, released a report Tuesday saying they do not recommend active shooter training for students. The unions put out the release jointly with the advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety. (Hobson, 2/11)

Chicago Tribune: Active Shooter Drills Are Now Required In Illinois Schools, But A New Report Says They Can Traumatize Students: ‘We May Be Doing More Harm Than Good.’ 
Since last year, every school in Illinois has been required by law to conduct active shooter drills to prepare students for potential violence. But two national teacher unions are calling for an end to the practice of simulating violence during such drills because of the potentially harmful effects they can have on the mental health of students and teachers. The American Federation of Teachers and the National Educators Association, along with anti-violence group Everytown for Gun Safety, said they want to end “simulations that mimic an actual incident” of gun violence during school safety drills. (Cherney and Nickeas, 2/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Growing Risk To America’s Seniors: Themselves
Rising numbers of older adults are unable to care for themselves, often leading to serious health problems and even death, according to state and local government agencies. So-called self-neglect cases generally involve the inability to perform essential self-care, such as providing oneself with food, shelter, personal hygiene, medication and safety precautions. Seniors who no longer drive, for example, are often unable to get to medical appointments, exacerbating health problems that can render them incapable of caring for themselves. A fall can result in a hip fracture leaving one bedridden and unable to care for oneself. Failure to pay bills for the phone or other utilities could lead to service cutoffs. Forgetting to pay rent could lead to the loss of a home. (Hayashi, 2/11)

The Associated Press: Epilepsy Treatment Side Effect: New Insights About The Brain
Though Genette Hofmann is still using her brain, last month she donated a bit of it — to science. Hofmann needed the surgery — her Seattle surgeon was looking deep into her brain, where he found the trigger for the epileptic seizures that had disrupted her life for 30 years. But to get there, he teased out a bit of healthy tissue the size of a lima bean, and with her blessing quickly sent it to some researchers, who were eager to study brain cells while they were still alive. (2/11)

NPR: Why Breastfeeding Rates Are Lower Among Black Moms
To explain the persistence of lower rates of breastfeeding among black mothers, we should look to systemic and historic factors rather than individual choice. That's the argument of Skimmed: Breastfeeding, Race, and Injustice (Stanford University Press) by law professor Andrea Freeman, which provides in-depth historical, socioeconomic and legal context that sheds new light on black motherhood. (July, 2/11)

The New York Times: Combining Aerobics And Weights Tied To Optimal Weight Control
To stave off obesity, we might want to both stride and lift, according to an important, large-scale new study of how different types of exercise affect the incidence of obesity in America. The study, which involved health records for almost 1.7 million men and women, indicates that people who exercise in almost any way are less likely to be obese than those who are sedentary. But the study also finds that the odds of being normal weight are greatest for those who complete both aerobic exercise and weight training, at least occasionally. (Reynolds, 2/12)

Reuters: Mother's Beauty Products Might Impact Girls' Weight Gain
Mothers who use beauty products containing chemicals known as parabens during pregnancy may be more likely to have overweight daughters, a small study suggests. Babies tended to be heavier at birth, and more likely to become overweight by age 8, when mothers used makeup, lotions and other common beauty products containing parabens while pregnant, the study found. One of these chemicals, butylparaben, was associated with excess weight only in girls. (2/11)

The New York Times: Sugary Drink Consumption Plunges In Chile After New Food Law
Four years after Chile embraced the world’s most sweeping measures to combat mounting obesity, a partial verdict on their effectiveness is in: Chileans are drinking a lot fewer sugar-laden beverages, according to study published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Medicine. Consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks dropped nearly 25 percent in the 18 months after Chile adopted a raft of regulations that included advertising restrictions on unhealthy foods, bold front-of-package warning labels and a ban on junk food in schools. (Jacobs, 2/11)

CNN: Three Young Brothers Are Fighting The Same Rare Childhood Cancer
Three brothers, none of them older than 5, are battling the same type of rare childhood cancer. Aaron and Angie Rush have three boys -- Tristen, 5, Caison, 3, and Carter, 7 months -- and all have been diagnosed with retinoblastoma. (Hughes, 2/11)

CNN: Keep Your Teen Moving To Reduce Risk Of Depression, Study Says
Science shows moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise is good for us -- it improves sleep; lowers blood pressure; protects against heart disease, diabetes and cancer; reduces stress; boosts mood; and fights anxiety and depression. It's especially important in adolescence, where the first signs of depression often begin, studies show. But unless your child is an athlete, it can be tough to wean them away from social media and the ever-present screen to swim laps or go for a blood-pumping jog. (LaMotte, 2/11)

MPR: Redefining Beauty: Advocates Work To Make Skin Lightening A Public Health Issue
Amira Adawe is on a mission to ensure those who are black and brown love the skin they’re in. This week, the state recognized Adawe’s work and awarded her nonprofit, The BeautyWell Project, a $55,000 grant to continue educating communities of color about the negative health effects of using products to lighten their skin. The grant was one of four allocated by the state Health Department to help communities begin to talk about the often taboo topic as a public health issue. (Zehn, 2/11)

NBC News: Many Miscarriages Are Still A Mystery. A New Test Could Give Women Faster Answers.
While miscarriages occur in up to a quarter of known pregnancies — and about 1 percent of women experience three or more miscarriages — it is rare for patients to learn the reason why. Chromosomal abnormalities are by far the most common cause, but genetic tests on fetal tissue cost thousands of dollars, and results can take weeks. In most cases, genetic testing is not even offered until a patient has had three or more miscarriages. Advances in rapid genetic testing may change that. By combining several new technologies, Dr. Zev Williams, director of the Columbia University Fertility Center in New York, has developed what he says is a faster, cheaper method to test fetal tissue for genetic abnormalities. (Chuck, 2/10)

CNN: Good News For Trump: Playing Golf May Help Older Adults Live Longer, Study Says
President Trump has spent more than 260 days at one of his golf clubs during his first three years in office as of February 2, according to CNN's tally. Now he can rest easy knowing that time hasn't gone to waste, according to preliminary research, which found that playing golf at least once a month can lower older adults' risk of premature death. (Rogers, 2/12)

CBS News: Women Face Some Unique Risks For Heart Disease. Here Are Symptoms To Look Out For. 
Heart disease is typically thought of as a male disease, but it's also the leading cause of death for women, killing nearly 420,000 women in the U.S. each year. Understanding the risk can help women take steps to protect their health. The most common sign or symptom of heart disease is chest pain — but that's not always the case for women, explains CBS News medical contributor Dr. Tara Narula, who is a cardiologist. (McNamara, 2/11)

ABC News: Mindfulness Helps Obese Children Lose Weight And Decrease Anxiety: Study
There may be a new secret ingredient to the tried and true methods of diet and exercise for weight loss. A new study has shown that mindfulness can aid in weight loss for obese children who also have anxiety. "Childhood obesity not only leads to chronic medical conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, it also leads to poor self-esteem and depression," said Dr. Mona Degan, a primary care physician practicing in Los Angeles. (Safai, 2/11)

CNN: Being An Optimist Will Help Recovery After Stroke, Study Says
Having a stroke is no laughing matter. But if you can stay optimistic about your recovery, a new study says you may be able to speed up your healing and reduce disability. Higher levels of optimism in stroke survivors was associated with reduced stroke severity, less physical disability and lower levels of inflammation at the end of three months, according to preliminary research presented at the American Stroke Association's 2020 International Stroke Conference on Wednesday. (LaMotte, 2/12)

The Washington Post: Virginia General Assembly Crossover: Action On Guns, Minimum Wage, Casinos
Virginia Democrats are delivering on the liberal agenda they promised for this year's General Assembly session, pushing through hundreds of bills that undo years of Republican leadership and change course on significant issues. In a cascade of votes Monday and Tuesday ahead of a legislative deadline, the new Democratic majority advanced measures to protect LGBT residents, help undocumented immigrants, protect the environment, fund roads and raise the minimum wage. (Schneider, Vozzella and Sullivan, 2/11)

Wyoming Public Radio: Seeking 'Health Freedom,' Some Parents Relocate To Idaho For Its Looser Vaccine Laws
An investigation by the newspaper found about two dozen others who said "they moved to Idaho because of the state's limited regulation—specifically, the ease of getting a vaccine exemption for schoolchildren." As the Idaho Statesman reports, some called themselves "refugees" of states like California and Washington, where immunization rules have recently become stricter. (Bichell, 2/10)

The Associated Press: Death Toll In Camp Fire Probably Includes 50 More People, Report Says
Doctors and other experts say at least 50 more people, many of them elderly or ill, probably died as a result of the 2018 wildfire that devastated the town of Paradise, Calif., but were not counted in the official death toll, an investigation by the Chico Enterprise-Record found. Authorities have said the deadliest wildfire in California history killed 86 people. But the newspaper reported Tuesday that it had identified at least 50 more people whose deaths were linked to the fire but not attributed to it. (2/11)

MPR: Psychiatrists Push To End Noncompete Agreements In Minnesota
Noncompete agreements are allowed in just about every industry in Minnesota — the only exception is for lawyers. Now some state lawmakers want to change that. State Rep. Alice Mann, DFL-Lakevile, a physician herself, is reintroducing a bill that would ban noncompete agreements for doctors. During the last session, legislation advanced through committees but never made it to a final vote. (Roth, 2/12)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Democrats Oppose Health Care Budget Cuts
Proposed budget cuts to health care fueled a Democratic press conference Tuesday at the Georgia Capitol. GOP legislative leaders have called a halt to the session in order to deal with Gov. Brian Kemp’s budget proposals. The Democrats criticized what they called Kemp’s “extreme budget cuts” and said the testimony about reductions to health programs over the past two weeks was “terrifying.” (Hart, 2/11)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: DCH 'Not Prepared' To Ask For More Inspectors
The cornerstone of Georgia’s program to protect seniors in assisted living and personal care homes is a platoon of state employees that licenses and inspects facilities and investigates complaints of abuse and neglect. But that team of 21 Department of Community Health inspectors has struggled to keep up with an expanding workload. (Schrade and Teegardin, 2/11)

Philadelphia Inquirer: At 87, This Philly Physician To Spinal Cord Injury Patients Finds Hope In Sculpting
Twenty-four years ago, John Ditunno took a sabbatical from his work as a spinal cord injury rehabilitation doctor at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital to learn something new in Italy. He and his psychologist wife, Patricia, were there to develop a measure of walking function in injured patients, but Ditunno also found time to study sculpture. He’d been carving wood for years, and he wanted to see what he could do with stone. (Burling, 2/11)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Ohio House Bill Would Prohibit Medical Procedures For Transgender Youth
Transgender people under age 18 wouldn’t be able to take puberty blockers or undergo surgical procedures if a draft bill in the Ohio House passed. The legislation, sponsored by Republican Reps. Bill Dean of the Dayton area and Ron Hood of Pickaway County, was announced Tuesday by the lawmakers, along with Christian policy group Citizens for Community Values. (Hancock, 2/11)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio Bill Would Punish Doctors Who Provide Gender-Affirming Treatment To Transgender Kids
A similar bill has been introduced in Kentucky and several other states. The South Dakota legislature rejected a transgender treatment bill on Monday, with one Republican saying the issue should be left to families, not government. Supporters argued children shouldn't be subjected to medical interventions and the legislation is meant to protect them. (Borchardt, 2/11)

Chicago Tribune: Palos Health, DuPage Medical Plan Health Centers In Mokena And Oak Lawn
Two health care providers are planning multimillion-dollar medical offices in Mokena and Oak Lawn, which they say are part of a continuing trend toward outpatient delivery of medical care. Palos Health, which operates Palos Hospital in Palos Heights, said it will break ground soon on a nearly 50,000-square-foot office center at the southwest corner of U.S. 30 and South Owens Road in Mokena. (Nolan, 2/12)

The CT Mirror: Connecticut Secret: Children Being Bought And Sold For Sex
Human trafficking is a business that thrives off of not having to pay their victims in money but instead what they need to survive. In turn, because the language in our law has not been changed to included anything of value as payment to victims as well as money, the state’s grade on Shared Hope on human trafficking has been reduced. Our state’s grade is a C since again in the 2019 legislative session our legislature failed to even have a public hearing on the bill in relation to changing our states definition of human trafficking. (Auretta, 2/12)

Kaiser Health News: Conservative Indiana Adopted Needle Exchanges But Still Faces Local Resistance
Back when Cody Gabbard was shooting heroin, his only significant human contact was with others in the throes of addiction, who only cared to see him when he had drugs. Then he walked into the basement of Fayette County’s courthouse in the eastern Indiana city of Connersville, where two women — a public health nurse and a recovery coach — ran a syringe exchange program. (Bruce, 2/12)

North Carolina Health News: This Dentist And His Teams Come To Their Patients. Their Focus Is Special Needs Populations.
Milner, a dentist in North Carolina for the past 45 years, was set up with two portable dental chairs and two hygienists and all their equipment in a conference room at a Cone Health clinic in Greensboro. They see 600 patients as part of a partnership with the infectious disease center, which draws from a community of people with compromised immune systems. Some are infected with HIV or have progressed to developing AIDS. Others have “undetectable viral loads. ”Milner explains that some of the people on the patient list have been shunned by dentists in private practice. Others are too worried about potential stigmatization or an outing of their diagnosis that they, themselves, choose to steer clear of such offices. Many live on the margins, too. A lack of transportation plagues some, making it difficult to get to appointments or keep them. (Blythe, 2/11)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Jefferson Parish Council Will Not Vote On East Jefferson Hospital Sale This Week
A seven-year quest to find a buyer for financially troubled East Jefferson General Hospital in Metairie appears to be nearing an end. But some Jefferson Parish Council members this week held up a "go slow" sign. They said they want more time to examine the proposed deal with New Orleans-based LCMC Health for the parish-owned hospital. (Roberts, 2/11)

Reuters: U.S. Judge Drops Some Charges Against Theranos's Holmes, Leaves Wire Fraud
A federal judge late on Tuesday dismissed some charges against Theranos Inc founder Elizabeth Holmes, but let stand wire fraud charges accusing her and an associate of misleading patients about the abilities of her company's blood tests. The court ruled that since the tests were paid by their medical insurance companies the patients were not deprived of any money or property in taking Theranos blood testing services. (2/12)

The Associated Press: Tenet Healthcare To Pay $1.4M To Settle Cardiac Lawsuit
Tenet Healthcare Corporation and its Southern California hospital Desert Regional Medical Center will pay $1.41 million to resolve allegations that they knowingly charged Medicare for implanting unnecessary cardiac monitors in patients, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed by former hospital employee Michael Grace saying that Tenet and Desert Regional violated the federal False Claims Act, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release. (2/11)

Iowa Public Radio: House Panel Advances Medical Cannabis Bill; THC Limit Remains Controversial
A bill that advanced Tuesday in the Iowa House of Representatives would expand some parts of Iowa’s medical cannabis program, but disagreement remains about the amount of THC, the chemical that can make cannabis users high, patients should be allowed to purchase. Last year, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds vetoed a bipartisan medical cannabis bill, citing concerns from a state advisory board that it would allow patients to have too much THC. (Sostaric, 2/11)

St. Louis Public Radio: Medical Marijuana Is Legal In Missouri, But Some Doctors Won't Certify Patients To Use It
Although medical cannabis is legal in Missouri and any doctor licensed in Missouri can certify patients for use, the region’s physicians don’t agree on whether certifying patients is safe, legal or ethical. Even though one of Lane’s doctors at Missouri Baptist Hospital was weaning her off opioid prescriptions, she wouldn’t certify Lane for a medical marijuana card. (Fentem, 2/11)

Stat: In Their Words: Warren, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, And Other Democrats Explain Exactly How They’d Lower Drug Prices
Every single Democratic presidential candidate agrees that the federal government should take a far more aggressive approach to lowering drug prices — including letting Medicare negotiate drug prices. But beyond that plank, there are quite a few differences between the candidates when it comes to taking on the pharmaceutical industry. To suss out exactly where they diverge, STAT questioned seven candidates during their interviews with the editorial board of the Boston Globe, STAT’s sister publication. (Joseph, 2/10)

Stat: After A New Version Of An Old Drug Gets Orphan Status, The Price Skyrockets
For years, hospitals and clinics have used an injectable medicine called dehydrated alcohol to treat such maladies as chronic pain or to prevent infections in patients who must receive nutrients intravenously. Yet after a small company won a monopoly to sell its version for use with a specific heart procedure, the cost for a pack of 10 vials is about to spike from about $1,300 to nearly $10,000. (Silverman, 2/12)

Georgia Health News: PBMs: Power Brokers In The Prescription Drug World
While these people and many others in the health care world know what a PBM is, most people don’t have a clue. Yet PBMs, more formally known as pharmacy benefit managers, play a big role in the prescription drug coverage of tens of millions of Americans. (Miller, 2/10)

Columbus Dispatch: Report Finds That Drug Rebates Drive Up Consumer Costs
Discounts by pharmaceutical manufacturers to drug middlemen appear to be driving up list prices and ultimately some consumer costs, a new report by a team of researchers at the University of Southern California said. The phenomenon appears to be another symptom of an uncompetitive marketplace, they said. (Schladen, 2/11)

The Hill: McConnell: GOP Has 'Internal Divisions' On Bill To Lower Drug Prices
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday said Senate Republicans have “internal divisions” on a bill to lower drug prices and that he does not know yet whether the measure will get a vote. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) for months has been calling for action on his bipartisan bill to lower drug prices with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), noting that it is also backed by the White House and could help vulnerable Republicans in their reelection campaigns. (Sullivan, 2/11)

Bloomberg: Trump Eyes Drug-Price Cuts After His Health-Care Record Assailed
President Donald Trump is considering executive action to cut drug prices ahead of the 2020 election, officials familiar with the matter say, as he enters his re-election seeking to rebut Democratic criticism that his policies have hurt U.S. health care. If he proceeds, Trump would force drug companies to accept lower payments from Medicare for treatments administered in doctors’ offices, such as Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s immune-boosting Opdivo for cancer and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Eylea for eye conditions. The rule would apply to certain drugs bought by the “Part B” section of Medicare, the program for the elderly and disabled. (Wingrove and Griffin, 2/10)

Fox News: How Some States Are Taking Unusual Action To Lower Prescription Drug Prices
Amid the issue of high prescription drug prices in the United States, “pharmaceutical tourism” is starting to become a new way out: unusual action for access to lower prescription drug prices. According to a recent report by the Kaiser Family Foundation, six in 10 Americans were taking at least one prescription drug and 79 percent of those surveyed said the cost of the medications was unreasonable. The report also found that three out of 10 Americans did not take their medications as prescribed because they're worried about the cost. (Miles, 2/10)

ABC News: 'Insulin Or Death': New Hampshire Voters Gripped By Skyrocketing Drug Prices
A quiet struggle over the skyrocketing price of insulin is turning the 2020 election into a referendum on survival for many New Hampshire families. "It is insulin or death," said Stacey Patterson of Pembroke, New Hampshire, of the 100-year-old drug. "There's no other treatment for Type 1 [diabetes]. There's nothing you can do. If it's $1,000, I'm going to pay $1,000, because I have to. There's no other choice for me." Dependence on life-saving prescription drugs, especially insulin, has dominated discussion on the campaign trail, as skyrocketing prices force families to confront political candidates over solutions. (Dwyer, Sunseri and Yoo, 2/11)

Philadelphia Inquirer: ‘Fail First’ No More: Pennsylvania Moves To Expand Coverage Of Treatments For Advanced Cancers
Patients in Pennsylvania facing the most serious stage of cancer will no longer be forced to try cheaper drugs before their insurance covers other, more expensive treatments. The state House on Tuesday gave final approval to a bill that would abolish the heavily criticized “fail first” approach for stage IV cancer, which requires patients to show no improvement with cheaper, insurance-approved drugs before moving on to more innovative approaches. (Fernandez, 2/5)

Stat: Pete Buttigieg’s Aggressive, Wonky Plan To Lower Drug Prices
Pete Buttigieg has said he wants drug companies to “thrive.” Thriving under a Buttigieg administration, however, won’t be business as usual for the pharmaceutical industry. The former mayor of South Bend, Ind., has an expansive platform to lower drug prices that relies on aggressive planks including Medicare negotiation and, if need be, stripping monopolies from companies determined to have priced their drugs abusively. (Facher, 1/5)

WBUR: Mass. Will Try A Radical Approach For A $2 Million Drug: Pay Only If It Works
If it works, we pay. If not, we get most — if not all — of our money back. That’s the gist of a deal the Massachusetts Medicaid program, MassHealth, has reached for one of the most expensive drugs on the market. (Bebinger, 2/7)

Bloomberg: Coronavirus: China Drug Patent Grab Is Scary For Pharma
The coronavirus outbreak in China is already threatening to undermine the global economy. It may soon create a similar shake-up in the drug industry. I'm not talking about pharmaceutical companies’ attempts to develop a vaccine, but about intellectual property. Chinese researchers have applied for a patent on an antiviral drug candidate called remdesevir owned by Gilead Sciences Inc. The drug is being tested in clinical trials in short order, but the company could eventually be cut out. (Max Nisen, 2/5)

The Hill: New Cancer Drug Take-Back Program Can Reduce Financial Burdens And Save Lives
Finding quality cancer treatment is a life-altering pursuit, but too often financial challenges force patients to decide whether they can afford a potentially life-saving treatment. But a policy change by the state of Ohio has allowed for a new program from The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) that serves as a step toward minimizing the financial burden of treatment. (Jennifer Carlson, 2/11)

Coloradopolitics.Com: Federal Legislation Is The Rx For Reining In Prescription Drug Prices
During his State of the Union address, the president called on Congress to pass the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act to help lower the drug bills of struggling Americans. And, off the heels of his speech, Vice President Mike Pence endorsed the bill in an effort to push lawmakers to act quickly in order to provide financial relief to millions of Americans, including us here in Colorado. A recent Morning Consult poll reported that nearly 92 percent of our state’s voters said that drug prices are an important issue for them and 71 percent blamed pharmaceutical companies for rising prices, but lawmakers have yet to pass legislation that would prevent price gouging, which has put our residents in harm’s way. (Kevin Priola, 2/11)

Las Cruces Sun News: Here's How The New Mexico Is Proposing To Lower Prescription Drug Prices
Many New Mexico families can’t afford the medication they need and either forgo filling their prescription drugs or end up rationing them to make their prescription last longer. Across the nation, one-fourth of all Americans report difficulty paying for their prescription drugs. People are forced with difficult choices like purchasing groceries or life-saving medication. (Mary Kay Papen and Kathy Kunkel, 2/12)

Detroit News: Trump's Drug Pricing Plan Is Wrong For Michigan, U.S.
The Trump administration has been toying with the idea of implementing an international pricing index (IPI) model for Medicare Part B drugs and biologicals. The ostensible goal of the model would be to lower drug prices. This supposedly would be accomplished by pegging the price that the Medicare system pays for drugs to a level closer to the prices paid in a collection of other countries. (Kent Kaiser, 2/11)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Out-Of-Control Prescription Drug Prices Finally Have A Solution In Pennsylvania
Prescription drug pricing is reaching a crisis point. A 2018 study showed that between 2012 and 2017, the cost of prescription drugs under Medicare increased nearly 10 times faster than the rate of inflation. And it continues to rise; the prices of more than 400 prescription drugs have already increased by an average of 5% in 2020. (Antoinette Kraus, 2/6)

Stat: We Need More Data To Prepare For The New Coronavirus Outbreak 
As of Feb. 9, China has reported 908 deaths from 2019-nCoV, more deaths than were caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Although some details on a small number of deaths have been provided in clinical case series published in top academic journals, more data are needed.Governments, public health authorities, clinicians, and hospitals trying to prevent deaths from 2019-nCoV would benefit from knowing, for example, what was the time elapsed between the first appearance of symptoms and the time of death? What percentage of deaths occurred due to resource constraints, such the lack of availability of mechanical ventilators or high-flow oxygen? What percentage occurred despite access to mechanical ventilation? What percentage occurred because of co-infection or some other disease mechanism? Are there any early symptoms or indicators of a poor outcome? (Caitlin M. Rivers and Tom Ingles, 2/11)

The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Needs A Free Press
China has declared a people’s war on the Wuhan virus. President Xi Jinping’s leadership is being tested, but so is the argument that a regime that at first underreacted now is overreacting. A young doctor who died after being interrogated for sounding the alarm about the virus has become a rallying symbol for reformers. All this is true. Politics is in charge. A flu-like disease may be impossible to contain but a plausible victory might be to slow its world-wide spread until a vaccine can be developed. Then we’d be able to say, for all the misdirected political energy, it could have been worse. Will we be able to say this? Probably not. (Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., 2/11)

The Washington Post: China’s Chernobyl? The Coronavirus Outbreak Leads To A Loaded Metaphor.
The official death toll from the coronavirus outbreak surpassed 1,100 on Tuesday. Chinese authorities have intensified the draconian lockdown on the epicenter of the crisis, the central Chinese city of Wuhan, as well as quarantines throughout the rest of the country. The precautions in place are understandable: Ahead of a World Health Organization expert meeting in Geneva on Tuesday, a leading Hong Kong epidemiologist warned that, if left unchecked, the current strain of the virus (now branded covid-19) could infect up to 60 percent of the global population. (Ishaan Tharoor, 2/12)

USA Today: Coronavirus Cruise: Evacuate More Than 400 American Passengers Home
Here's a dark quiz of the day: Outside of China, where is the largest outbreak of the deadly coronavirus that has infected more than 45,000 and killed over 1,100?Hint: It's not a country. It's the cruise ship Diamond Princess, quarantined in Yokohama, Japan, with more than 400 Americans aboard. The number of passengers infected with the virus increased to 174 on Tuesday, at least 20 of them U.S. citizens. ..."We are in a desperate, desperate stage," passenger Milena Basso pleaded to Fox News. "We're American citizens; we just want to get home." Here's an idea: How about the U.S. government make that happen? (2/11)

The Washington Post: Michael Phelps Says Olympians Face Greater Mental Health Risks. Does The USOPC Care?
You would like to believe athletes who wear USA on their chests are better cared for these days, after all the ghastly problems. The trouble is, you can’t. Not after you read William Moreau’s lawsuit accusing U.S. Olympic Committee officials of mishandling mental health issues. And especially not after you call up Michael Phelps and ask him what the leadership’s response was to his revelation that he suffered from depression while he was winning gold medals. The phone line practically burns up with Phelps’s answer. (Jenkins, 2/11)

Stat: Paying Gestational Carriers Should Be Legal In All States
Every year, hundreds of thousands of babies are born in the U.S. using assisted reproductive technologies, a multibillion-dollar industry that is controversial and largely unregulated. One of the controversies involves the use of paid gestational carriers, women who agree to carry a fertilized embryo, created from another woman’s egg, give birth, and give the baby to its parents. This is different from tradition (or genetic) surrogates, who provide both their own eggs and their own wombs. Gestational surrogacy now constitutes 95% of all surrogacy in the U.S. (Robert Klitzman, 2/12)

Detroit News: Opinion: Trump's Drug Pricing Plan Is Wrong For Michigan, U.S.
The best way to lower consumer drug prices is to encourage a competitive marketplace, not to impose more government intervention in drug pricing. Improving approval processes at the FDA would enable drugs to enter the marketplace faster. It currently takes a decade or more to obtain FDA approval for new drugs and generics and costs billions of dollars to obtain the data necessary to obtain approval. (Kent Kaiser, 2/11)

Stat: A Daughter’s Plea: Doctors Must Stop Shirking Palliative Care 
I believe that every physician who works with acutely ill people needs to be trained in having goals-of-care conversations with their patients, and these conversations need to happen early and often. In my dad’s case, this conversation should have started during his first hospital visit after moving to Massachusetts and continued through each subsequent visit. This work, of course, shouldn’t all fall on doctors’ shoulders. Patients and their family members need to be having conversations with each other about their wishes, ideally before a significant medical event even occurs. A better understanding about how my father would have wanted to live and the minimum quality of life he would have found acceptable would have given me the confidence to push back on his physicians much earlier. (Aimee Gindin, 2/12)

The Hill: What's Old Is New: Patients Want Good New Days In Health Care
Until last year in our cancer center, health care staff scheduled tests and referrals for patients at check-out; ideally creating less stressful scheduling for patients. However, recently, staff now give patients resources to make their own appointments. Hospitals and health care providers in the U.S. have recently shifted from practices of the past to managed care, meaning a managing company monitors a patient’s health care treatment. Based on the number of individuals covered by the plan, the managing company sends the health care provider a set amount of funding each month. (Tochi Okwuosa, 2/11)