CNN: FDA And The Government Shutdown: Foods You May Want To Avoid
Should you be worried about the safety of your food during the government shutdown? The answer is complicated, and it depends who you ask. "We are very concerned that the shutdown may lead to lapses in food safety, but we don't know where or when these will happen," said Sarah Sorscher, deputy director of regulatory affairs at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group. (Goldschmidt and Scutti, 1/16)

Reuters: U.S. Shutdown Taking Toll On FDA, USDA Inspection Roles: Experts
The partial government shutdown is taking a toll on key safety inspection duties performed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Department of Agriculture, food safety experts said on Wednesday. Workers in public health laboratories are reporting disruptions in the analysis of DNA from food samples involved in foodborne outbreaks, and have raised concerns about a USDA program that tests agricultural commodities for unsafe levels of pesticides, they said. (1/16)

Boston Globe: Antihunger Groups Tell Governor Baker To Craft ‘Disaster Plan’ For Emergency Food Requests Amid Shutdown
Leading antihunger groups in Massachusetts on Wednesday called for an end to the partial federal government shutdown and urged Governor Charlie Baker to prepare a “disaster plan” for a likely spike in emergency food requests if the stalemate grinds on past February. ...The statement was put out by the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, Greater Boston Food Bank, Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, Merrimack Valley Food Bank, and Project Bread. (Andersen, 1/16)

The Hill: Dem Chairwoman Plans Hearing On Medicare For All Proposals 
The incoming chairwoman of a powerful health care subcommittee on Wednesday said that she intends to hold a hearing on several “Medicare for all” proposals, potentially giving the plans a chance to be considered by key lawmakers. “There are several Medicare for all bills that are out there, but they all have a different interpretation,” Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), the new chairwoman of the Energy and Commerce health subcommittee, told reporters. “I think that it would be interesting to have the authors of these bills come to testify and explain what their bill does and have the members ask them questions.” (Sullivan, 1/16)

PBS NewsHour: Compare Democrats’ Many Medicare-For-All Proposals With This Chart
Now that Democrats have taken control of the U.S. House of Representatives, they have promised to hold hearings on proposals to move the U.S. toward the type of universal health care found in other industrialized nations, including our northern neighbors in Canada. These proposals range from extending the current Medicare program to people age 55 and older, to a single-payer system that does away with insurance companies and employer-based health insurance altogether. No fewer than eight proposals have been put forward to date, and more will surely follow. (Moeller, 1/16)

Meanwhile, in Tennessee —

Nashville Public Radio: Why Many In Nashville’s Health Care Industry Oppose ‘Medicare For All’
Calls are growing among Democrats to expand Medicare. They view opening up the government insurance program for seniors as a way to achieve universal health coverage. But Nashville's health care industry roundly rejects "Medicare for All," despite vocally supporting efforts to expand insurance coverage. (Farmer, 1/15)

The Associated Press: Battles Expected In Many States Over Abortion-Related Bills
On each side of the abortion debate, legislators and activists emboldened by recent political developments plan to push aggressively in many states this year for bills high on their wish lists: either seeking to impose near-total bans on abortion or guaranteeing women's access to the procedure. For abortion opponents, many of whom will rally Friday at the annual March for Life in Washington, there's a surge of optimism that sweeping abortion bans might have a chance of prevailing in the reconfigured U.S. Supreme Court that includes Donald Trump's appointees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. (Crary, 1/16)

The Associated Press: Planned Parenthood Challenges Wisconsin Abortion Laws
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin asked a federal judge on Wednesday to repeal state laws that make it more difficult for women, particularly in rural areas, to receive abortions. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Madison targets restrictions enacted by the Republican Legislature under former Gov. Scott Walker. The lawsuit comes 10 days after Walker left office, replaced by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. (1/16)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Planned Parenthood Sues Over Wisconsin Abortion Restrictions
In its filing in federal court in Madison, Planned Parenthood seeks to invalidate state laws that allow only doctors to perform abortions. The group contends advanced practice nurses — such as nurse practitioners and nurse-midwives — should be able to perform certain types of abortions. (Marley, 1/16)

Stat: Purdue Pharma Cemented Ties With Universities And Hospitals
In the early 2000s, when Dr. Jane Ballantyne was director of the Pain Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, the opioid-pill maker Purdue Pharma struck a deal with the Boston hospital to start a pain program there. To Ballantyne, it seemed like a boon. Two organizations — one academic, one a drug company — with the shared goal of easing patients’ pain coming together to collaborate. Working with Purdue, she said then, “will assist us in finding ways to clear up misconceptions and misunderstandings about pain and provide caregivers with the knowledge and resources they need to help patients.” (Joseph, 1/16)

The Associated Press: New Suits Filed Over Pain Meds Given To Near-Death Patients
An Ohio man said Wednesday he was stunned to learn of allegations that his wife's hospital death last year was caused by a doctor's order for a fatal dose of pain medication. David Austin said he called an ambulance in September after his wife, Bonnie Austin, had trouble breathing. A doctor told him she was brain dead after she suffered cardiac arrest. Austin felt "like somebody kicked me in the chest" when he was told this month of the alleged circumstances of the death of his wife of 36 years. (1/16)

Columbus Dispatch: Cases Of Health-Care Providers Intentionally Harming Patients Are Rare
Allegations that a doctor gave potentially fatal doses of a painkiller to 27 patients in the Mount Carmel Health System have shaken the Columbus medical community. But cases of medical staff members intentionally causing harm or death are very rare, say those involved in the matter. (Viviano and Sullivan, 1/16)

The Washington Post: D.C. Opioid Crisis: Federal Officials Launch Audit Of Grant Spending
Federal officials have launched an audit of the D.C. government’s handling of millions of dollars in grants that the city has been awarded over the past two years to treat opioid addiction and reduce fatal overdoses. The audit appears to focus on grant money that was not spent as intended to combat the opioid epidemic and on federally funded programs that D.C. government officials failed to implement, according to documents outlining the inquiry obtained by The Washington Post. (Jamison, 1/16)

Boston Globe: Rite Aid Agrees To Pay $177,000 To Settle Allegations Of Improper Opioid Dispensing
The Rite Aid drugstore chain has agreed to pay $177,000 and to follow state Medicaid rules on dispensing opioids and other drugs, in an agreement with Attorney General Maura Healey that was announced Wednesday. Healey accused Rite Aid of accepting cash payments for controlled substances from Medicaid recipients “in a limited number of instances,” instead of billing the agency as required by regulations. In some cases, court documents state, Medicaid had denied a claim for a controlled substance on the same day as a Rite Aid pharmacist dispensed it for cash. (Freyer, 1/16)

Modern Healthcare: Medicaid Block Grant Waiver Reports Revive Hospitals' Funding Worries 
Hospitals are furious that the Trump administration is reportedly exploring allowing states to convert their Medicaid programs into block grants, a policy the industry fervently fought when Congress tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act. If states take advantage of the block-grant flexibility, first reported in Politico, it would cap federal spending for Medicaid in those states and could leave them on the hook for any expenditures over that limit. States would either have to cut their Medicaid rolls or payments to disproportionate-share hospitals and nursing homes to curb spending, some experts said. (King, 1/16)

In other hospital news —

The Associated Press: Need Hospital Care Or Tests? Some Ways To Get Cost Estimates
Want to know how much your hospital is going to charge for that knee surgery? U.S. hospitals are now required to post list prices for medical services online, under federal rules meant to help patients find affordable care and avoid hefty surprise bills. The spreadsheets, often thousands of lines long, will leave many patients overwhelmed. Procedures are described in medical jargon and abbreviations. That's if you can find the lists. (Johnson, 1/16)

The Star Tribune: Minnesota Hospitals See Spike In Unpaid Bills 
Unpaid hospital debt in Minnesota surged 25 percent in 2017, another sign that even patients with health insurance are struggling to pay high deductibles and co-payments for medical care. The increase is the biggest jump since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) took effect in 2013, according to a report released Wednesday by the Minnesota Hospital Association. (Howatt, 1/16)

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Advantage Industry Sees Slower Growth For 2019 
Medicare Advantage insurers added 1.4 million members to their rosters for 2019 coverage, as they looked to grow membership in a market known for being politically safe and predictably lucrative. But Advantage membership is growing at slower pace compared with previous years. According to the latest federal data showing enrollment as of this month, 22.4 million people are enrolled in Medicare Advantage for 2019 coverage—an alternative to the traditional Medicare program in which private insurers contract with the federal government to administer program benefits. (Livingston, 1/16)

Modern Healthcare: UnitedHealth Loses Appeal Over Underpayments 
A federal appeals court on Tuesday unanimously ruled against UnitedHealth Group over the insurer's policy of withholding payments to out-of-network physicians and hospitals in order to recover previous overpayments. The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Minnesota district court decision that sided with provider groups against the insurer, saying UnitedHealth overstepped administrative authority over its employer-sponsored health plans with a practice that recoups overpayments to a physician or hospital from one plan by cutting another plan's subsequent payments to the same provider. This is known as "cross-plan offsetting." (Luthi, 1/16)

Stat: Gawande Will No Longer Give Keynote At Major Health Conference
Since drawing tremendous attention when he was dispatched by the leaders of Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, and Berkshire Hathaway to create a venture with the long-term goal of transforming health care, [Atul] Gawande has virtually disappeared from the public eye. He isn’t giving interviews or releasing information about the direction of the new company. And now, Gawande has canceled a keynote at a major health care technology conference where leaders in the industry were hoping to get at least a whiff of what he is working on. A spokeswoman confirmed to STAT that he will not give a planned keynote speech next month at the HIMSS meeting in Orlando, because he decided it is better to keep a low profile during the early stages of his venture. (Ross, 1/17)

The Associated Press: Less Beef, More Beans. Experts Say World Needs A New Diet
A hamburger a week, but no more — that's about as much red meat people should eat to do what's best for their health and the planet, according to a report seeking to overhaul the world's diet. Eggs should be limited to fewer than about four a week, the report says. Dairy foods should be about a serving a day, or less. (1/16)

CNN: Planetary Health Diet Could Help Save Lives And The Planet
To enable a healthy global population, the team of scientists created a global reference diet, that they call the "planetary health diet," which is an ideal daily meal plan for people over the age of 2, that they believe will help reduce chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease, stroke and diabetes, as well as environmental degradation. The diet breaks down the optimal daily intake of whole grains, starchy vegetables, fruit, dairy, protein, fats and sugars, representing a daily total calorie intake of 2500. (Avramova, 1/17)

The New York Times: New Diet Guidelines To Benefit People And The Planet: More Greens For All, Less Meat For Some
Written by 37 scientists from 16 countries and published Wednesday in the medical journal The Lancet, in conjunction with an advocacy group called the EAT Forum, the report was funded by the Wellcome Trust and Stordalen Foundation. In addition to the recommendations on meat, it calls for curbing food waste, a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, and overhauling agriculture so it doesn’t worsen deforestation and the depletion of scarce water. “It’s not a blanket approach, but when you look at the data there are certain individuals or populations that don’t need that much red meat for their own health,” said Jessica Fanzo, a professor of food policy at Johns Hopkins University and a co-author of the report. “There’s a real inequity. Some people get too much. Some people get too little.” (Sengupta, 1/16)

Reuters: Scientists Reveal 'Ideal Diet' For Peoples' And Planet's Health
Feeding a growing population of 10 billion people by 2050 with a healthy, sustainable diet will be impossible without transforming eating habits, improving food production and reducing food waste, he said. "We need a significant overhaul, changing the global food system on a scale not seen before." (1/16)

Kaiser Health News: Why Older Adults Should Eat More Protein (And Not Overdo Protein Shakes)
Older adults need to eat more protein-rich foods when they’re trying to lose weight, dealing with a chronic or acute illness, or facing a hospitalization, according to a growing consensus among scientists. During these stressful periods, aging bodies process protein less efficiently and need more of it to maintain muscle mass and strength, bone health and other essential physiological functions. (Graham, 1/17)

The Associated Press: The Best Rx For Teens Addicted To Vaping? No One Knows
The nation's top health authorities agree: Teen vaping is an epidemic that now affects some 3.6 million underage users of Juul and other e-cigarettes. But no one seems to know the best way to help teenagers who may be addicted to nicotine. E-cigarettes are now the top high-risk substance used by teenagers, according to the latest U.S. figures , which show that Juul and similar products have quickly outpaced cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana and other substances that have been tracked over more than four decades. (Perrone, 1/16)

CNN: Why Vaping Is So Dangerous For Teens
Most of what we know about nicotine addiction in teens, we know from cigarettes. But experts say the technology and chemistry of vaping might pose an entirely different threat. "It turns out that e-cigarette use by kids doesn't look the same at all," said Dr. Sharon Levy, director of the Adolescent Substance Use and Addiction Program at Boston Children's Hospital. "How you're delivering [nicotine] and how much you're delivering ... everything you change really matters." (Nedelman, 1/17)

The New York Times: In A Children’s Theater Program, Drama Over A Peanut Allergy
It seemed like the perfect setting for a shy, thoughtful 10-year-old boy’s first steps on stage: a kids’ Shakespeare program that doesn’t hold auditions, guarantees everyone a substantial speaking role, emphasizes community, and excludes no one. Unless, as Mason Wicks-Lim and his mother Ali discovered, you have a life-threatening nut allergy. (Rabin, 1/16)

In case you missed it: Will I Always Face The Threat Of A Peanut-Laden Kiss Of Death?

Stat: Trial Will Be First Human Test Of Nobel-Winning Stem Cell Technique 
Curing diabetes with stem cells? Everyone knew that would be hard. Parkinson’s disease? Harder. Alzheimer’s? Probably impossible. But age-related macular degeneration, a major cause of blindness? That was supposed to be low-hanging fruit. The cause of AMD is well-known, the recipe for turning stem cells into retinal cells works like a charm, and the eye is “immunoprivileged,” meaning immune cells don’t attack foreigners such as, say, lab-made retinal cells. Yet more than a decade after animal studies showed promise, and nearly eight years since retinal cells created from embryonic stem cells were safely transplanted into nine patients in a clinical trial, no one outside of a research setting (or a rogue clinic) is getting stem cell therapy for macular degeneration. (Begley, 1/16)

The Associated Press: Life In Limbo: Leftover Embryos Vex Clinics, Couples
Tens of thousands of embryos are stuck in limbo in fertility clinics, leftovers from pregnancy attempts and broken dreams of parenthood. Some are outright abandoned by people who quit paying storage fees and can't be found. In other cases, couples are struggling with tough decisions. Jenny Sammis can't bring herself to donate nearly a dozen of her extras to research. She and her husband agreed to do that when they made their embryos 15 years ago, but her feelings changed after using some of them to have children. (1/17)

Boston Globe: Report Raises Alarm About Physician Burnout
Physician burnout has reached alarming levels and now amounts to a public health crisis that threatens to undermine the doctor-patient relationship and the delivery of health care nationwide, according to a report from Massachusetts doctors to be released Thursday. The report — from the Massachusetts Medical Society, the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health — portrays a profession struggling with the unyielding demands of electronic health record systems and ever-growing regulatory burdens. (Dayal McCluskey, 1/17)

Stat: FDA Is Urged To Mandate Disclosure Of Clinical Trial Summaries As Pilot Stalls 
One year after the Food and Drug Administration launched a voluntary pilot program to release clinical study reports, which are summaries of clinical trial data, only one company has provided any information about a drug. As a result, a group of academics is concerned the effort has stalled and is calling on the agency to make such disclosures mandatory. Clinical study reports help form the basis for regulatory approval decisions, but disclosure has long been a flashpoint among researchers and drug makers, prompting heated debate about patient privacy, trade secrets, and improving medical research. (Silverman, 1/16)

The New York Times: High-Dose Vitamin D No Better Than Low-Dose
Low blood levels of vitamin D are tied to bone loss that can lead to falls and fractures. But taking vitamin D supplements in high doses showed no benefits over low-dose vitamin D, a randomized trial found. The study, in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, included 379 British men and women whose average age was 75. They were divided into three groups and given monthly doses of vitamin D, equivalent to 400, 800 and 1,600 IU a day; there was no placebo group. The groups were well matched at the start for vitamin D blood levels, bone mineral density, height, weight, blood pressure and other factors. (Bakalar, 1/16)

The New York Times: Sleeping Less Than 6 Hours A Night Tied To Heart Disease
Sleeping less than six hours a night, and sleeping poorly, are associated with hardening of the arteries, a new study has found. Researchers used accelerometers attached to the waists of 3,974 healthy men and women, average age 46, to monitor the duration and quality of their sleep over seven nights. All underwent physical exams and three-dimensional ultrasound, an imaging system that evaluates blood flow through the blood vessels. The study is in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. (Bakalar, 1/16)

Wyoming Public Radio: Many Parents Are In The Dark About Their Kids' Mental Health Struggles
Suicide is currently the second leading cause of death for adolescents in the country. And in the Mountain West, youth suicide rates are double, and in some cases triple, the national average. Now, a new study shows parents are often unaware that their kids are struggling. (Budner, 1/16)

NPR: Aging Brains Stay Sharper With Daily Housework And Exercise
Want to reduce your risk of dementia in older age? Move as much as you can. We've all heard about techniques to get us more physically active — take the stairs, park the car a bit further from your destination, get up and march in place for a minute or two when standing or sitting at a desk. Now a study finds even simple housework like cooking or cleaning may make a difference in brain health in our 70s and 80s. (Neighmond, 1/16)

PBS NewsHour: Why More Millennials Are Becoming Caregivers
More young Americans are becoming caregivers to elderly or disabled family members, according to a recent study from Genworth Financial, a company that researches long-term care options. That is putting them under considerable stress as they seek to balance their loved ones’ needs with their own work, finances and need to care for their children. (Rohrich, 1/16)

Boston Globe: Could Your Cellphone’s Electromagnetic Field Make You Sick?
A California health activist says the Massachusetts Department of Public Health may be withholding information about possible health risks posed by cellphones and other wireless technologies. Joel Moskowitz, director of the Center for Family and Community Health at the University of California Berkeley, said the state agency is refusing to release fact sheets about the health effects of electromagnetic fields, or EMF, that it began drafting two years ago. (Bray, 1/17)

NPR: When A Trip To The Doctor Leads To A Chat About Antibiotics
Sniffles, sore throats and fevers seem to be all around lately. If things get bad enough for you or a loved one to seek care, what are your expectations about treatment? Do you want a prescription for an antibiotic if symptoms suggest an infection? We decided to ask Americans in the latest NPR-IBM Watson Health Poll. We found that visits for symptoms that could be from an infection were common and that most people who saw a health professional under those circumstances got a prescription for an antibiotic. (Hensley, 1/16)

The Associated Press: Third Party To Run Center Where Comatose Woman Had Baby
The parents of an Arizona woman in a vegetative state who gave birth last month as a result of a rape hope an outside review of the Phoenix facility where she lived will lead to change, a lawyer for the family said Wednesday. In a statement, attorney John Micheaels said the woman’s family expects the independent review of management practices and procedures to be transparent and prevent further patient abuse. Meanwhile, Hacienda officials said state regulators ordered them Wednesday to hire an independent management team to run the Phoenix facility. (1/16)

Arizona Republic: Arizona Orders 3rd-Party Manager For Hacienda HealthCare After Patient Rape
The state on Jan. 3 suspended new patient admissions to Hacienda HealthCare and in a letter dated Wednesday ordered the facility to hire a third-party manager. Wednesday's letter refers to "several significant concerns raised" about Hacienda HealthCare's two facilities at 1402 E. South Mountain Ave. after site visits by state officials. The letter was signed by Arizona Department of Economic Security Director Michael Trailor and Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System Director Jami Snyder. (Innes and Anglen, 1/16)

Arizona Republic: Parents Of Hacienda HealthCare Patient Disappointed By Lack Of Apology
The parents of the woman who was sexually assaulted at Hacienda HealthCare in Phoenix say they had hoped for an apology. But John Micheaels, the lawyer representing the woman and her family said Wednesday that Hacienda HealthCare's leadership has never apologized to the family, either publicly or privately. (Innes, 1/16)

MPR: Doctor: Climate Policy Will Help 'Keep My Patients Out Of The Hospital'
The House Energy and Climate Policy and Finance Division is new this year, and it's expected to hear legislation this session aimed at reducing Minnesota's greenhouse gas emissions. But first, it's putting lawmakers through a sort of climate change boot camp, which started on Tuesday. (Dunbar, 1/17)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Sununu Joins Vermont Governor To Pitch Plan For Voluntary Paid Family And Medical Leave
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and Vermont Gov. Phil Scott announced a joint plan Wednesday to bring voluntary paid family and medical leave to the two states. The two Republicans chose to make the announcement at Schilling Beer Co. in Littleton, a company near the state border that employs residents of both New Hampshire and Vermont. (Garrova, 1/16)

Texas Tribune: How Will The Texas Legislature Address School Shootings?
Lawmakers returned to Austin this month for the first time since the Santa Fe shooting, and they have repeatedly assured their constituents that school safety — along with reforming property tax collection, school finance and combating human trafficking — will take center stage during the legislative session. State leaders seem inclined to spend significant money on their proposals. (Samuels, 1/17)

Seattle Times: Washington State Lawmakers Attempt Again To Raise The Minimum Legal Age For Tobacco Sales 
A bill to raise the minimum legal age of sale of tobacco in Washington made its first step in the state Legislature with a public hearing Tuesday. HB 1074, which was requested by state Attorney General Bob Ferguson and the Washington State Department of Health, would raise the minimum legal age of sale of tobacco and vapor products, including electronic cigarettes such as Juul, from 18 to 21 in hopes of curbing addiction and adolescent smoking. (Goldstein-Street, 1/16)

Kansas City Star: Missouri Medical Marijuana: Bills Help Minority Businesses
Two Kansas City legislators have introduced bills that would give minority- and women-owned businesses a slight edge when applying for licenses to grow, manufacture and sell medical marijuana products. But their proposals face an uphill climb, both politically and legally. (Marso, 1/17)

The Washington Post: On The Senate Floor With A Gun On Her Hip, Republican Says Packing Heat Can Deter Violence
Even in Virginia, where gun culture runs deep and some state lawmakers wear concealed weapons as routinely as dress socks, this scene raised eyebrows: state Sen. Amanda Chase standing on the floor of the ornate chamber with a .38 special openly strapped to her hip. “I’ve had people get in my face. I’ve had people come up and try to touch me inappropriately,” said Chase, a Republican freshman seeking reelection this year in a suburban-rural district south of Richmond. “And it’’ — the gun — “is a deterrent.” (Vozzella, 1/16)

The Associated Press: Health Care Task Force Recommends State Individual Mandate
A state task force headed by Democratic lawmakers is recommending that Delaware establish an individual mandate to bolster the financial stability of the state’s Affordable Care Act program. The recommendation follows the expiration earlier this month of the federal mandate that required individuals to obtain health insurance or face tax penalties. The mandate was eliminated as part of the 2017 tax reform law. According to the task force report, Delawareans paid $8 million in penalties in 2016 under the federal mandate. (Chase, 1/16)

The Star Tribune: MNsure Sign-Ups Rise Slightly, Bucking National Trend
The number of Minnesotans picking a private health plan through MNsure during the most recent open-enrollment period was up slightly over the comparable period last year — modest growth at a time when sign-ups have been down in several other states and the Trump administration has promoted alternatives to coverage under the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA). During the open-enrollment period that started in November and ended Sunday night, 123,731 people used Minnesota’s health insurance exchange to select a health plan for individuals and families. That was an increase of nearly 400 people, or less than 1 percent, compared with the open-enrollment tally from a year ago. (Snowbeck, 1/16)

Pioneer Press: Here’s What Minnesota Democrats And Republicans Propose To Cut Health Care Costs 
Health care was a top issue during the 2018 campaign and Minnesota lawmakers have wasted no time detailing their ideas for improving the system by making it more affordable and accessible. The challenge is Republicans and Democrats have vastly different ideas on the best ways to accomplish those goals. Members of the Republican-led Senate on Wednesday pitched the idea that patients with better relationships with their doctors and a clearer understanding of the price of procedures and drugs would lower overall health care costs. (Magan, 1/16)

The New York Times: New York Confronts Its Worst Measles Outbreak In Decades
Through the fall, traveler after traveler arrived in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities of New York from areas of Israel and Europe where measles was spreading. They then spent time in homes, schools and shops in communities where too many people were unvaccinated. Within months, New York State was facing its most severe outbreak of the disease in decades, with 177 cases confirmed by Tuesday, almost exclusively among ultra-Orthodox Jews. Health officials in New Jersey have reported 33 measles cases, mostly in Ocean County, driven by similar conditions. (Otterman, 1/17)

The Oregonian: Clark County Measles Outbreak: 14 Kids Sickened So Far; Possible Exposure Sites Include Costco, Airport 
A measles outbreak in Clark County has grown to 14 confirmed cases with three more suspected, and people who visited some 20 locations in Vancouver and Portland might have been exposed. The confirmed cases include 12 children under 10 years old, and the remaining two are under 18. Most of the victims were not immunized against the disease, a highly contagious viral illness spread through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. (Njus, 1/16)

Tampa Bay Times: Foster Care Failures Uncovered In Death Of 2-Year-Old Jordan Belliveau
Child welfare agencies missed warning signs, failed to make home visits and said nothing when a mother lied in court about completing mandatory counseling classes to get her child back from foster care, according to a state review into the death of 2-year-old Jordan Belliveau. The Florida Department of Children and Families report released Wednesday also criticized child protective investigators with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office who "failed to identify the active danger threats occurring within the household that were significant, immediate and clearly observable," while investigating the latest of several reports of domestic violence between the parents. (O'Donnell, 1/16)

Houston Chronicle: Two New Lawsuits Allege Surgical Errors During Heart Transplants At St. Luke’s In Houston 
Two new lawsuits have been filed against Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center by patients who say they suffered serious injuries as a result of surgical errors during heart transplants at the troubled Houston hospital. The suits, both filed Friday in Harris County District Court, bring to five the number of malpractice complaints involving heart transplants that have been leveled against St. Luke’s or its doctors since a Houston Chronicle and ProPublica investigation last year documented deaths and unexpected complications in the once-renowned program. (Hixenbaugh and Ornstein, 1/16)

WBUR: Boston Children's Hospital Launches Campaign To Promote HelpSteps App
Boston Children's Hospital aims to bring access to health care and social services to the fingertips of one million consumers in Massachusetts each year through a new app called HelpSteps. Dr. Eric Fleegler, a pediatric physician at Boston Children's Hospital and creator of the HelpSteps app, joined Morning Edition ahead of the launch Wednesday of a campaign by the hospital to promote the app. (Oakes, 1/16)

Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Initiative Has Helped 10,206 Children, Saved $173 Million Over 10 Years, Group Says
The first-of-its-kind initiative, known as the Children’s Hospitals’ Solutions for Patient Safety, now includes a network of more than 135 pediatric hospitals across North America. The hospitals share data and ideas to reduce hospital-acquired infections and other patient risks such as allergic reactions to medicine. (Stankiewicz, 1/16)

The Associated Press: Idaho Woman Has 50-Pound Tumor Removed
An Idaho woman who thought she was gaining weight because of menopause discovered she actually had a 50-pound tumor that had been growing inside her for decades. Boise television station KTVB reports Brenda Cridland of Meridian chalked up her weight gain to aging, but when her health started to quickly decline about eight months ago she decided to see a doctor. (1/16)

KQED: California's Top Pesticide Regulator Resigns Without Offering Explanation
California's chief pesticide regulator is leaving his post. Brian Leahy, who has served as director of the state Department of Pesticide Regulation for the last seven years, announced his resignation in an email to agency staff last week, but stopped short of explaining why. (Goldberg, 1/16)

Georgia Health News: With Flu Activity Up, Mobile ER Back At Grady
A surge in cases of flu and other illnesses has led Grady to return a mobile ER to its downtown Atlanta campus. The mobile unit, which is about the size of a tractor trailer and is owned by North Carolina-based Atrium Health, is the same one that served Grady last winter. It will open Thursday morning to Grady patients. (Miller, 1/16)

Dallas Morning News: Healthcare Company Leaves Irving For New Headquarters In Plano 
A medical firm is moving its headquarters from Irving to Plano. Healthcare Associates of Texas has leased more than 20,000 square feet of offices for its head offices in the International Business Park at 6500 International Pkwy. The move will allow the company — which has been based in Irving for 20 years — to expand its operation in the location near the Dallas North Tollway and Bush Turnpike. (Brown, 1/16)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Advocacy Group Sues Over Access To Mentally Ill Inmates
On Friday, the Georgia Advocacy Office asked to see mentally ill women held at the jail’s annex in Union City to follow up on recent reports that contended the women were living in “barbaric” conditions and being held in isolation for weeks at a time. But, despite repeated requests, the office’s lawyers were not allowed inside by jail officials, said the lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta. (Rankin, 1/16)

Miami Herald: Florida ALF Fined For Death, Attempted Suicide, Runaways
A South Florida assisted living facility is facing $16,500 in fines after officials say improper care by staff led to the death of one resident, the attempted suicide of another and at least three runaways that resulted in serious injury, state records show.In a 33-page final order issued by the Agency for Health Care Administration, officials detail how workers at New Era Community Health Center in Homestead failed to provide adequate care to several residents in 2017 and 2018. (Madam, 1/16)

Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Execution: Death Row Inmate Charles Wright Is Terminally Ill
Charles Walton Wright is bed-ridden. Doctors say he has terminal cancer that has spread from his prostate into his bones. He was given weeks to live last summer, but he has surpassed the expectations of his medical team. If he survives long enough, the state plans to put him to death on Oct. 10, part of a deluge of executions scheduled by the Tennessee Supreme Court. His lawyers are fighting to get him released from prison so he can die in his family's care rather than a gurney in the execution chamber. They've asked Gov. Bill Haslam to intervene before he leaves office on Saturday, and they've enlisted a pair of high-profile supporters to bolster their case. (Tamburin, 1/16)

Urban Institute: 'Public Charge' Could Lead To Fewer Immigrants—And Taxpayers—Contributing To The US Economy
Immigrants have always played a critical role in America’s economy. Today, they may play a more important role than ever as the native-born workforce ages and its birth rate slows. In the coming decades, immigrants and their children are expected to make up a greater share of our labor force and contribute significantly to economic growth. One in four infants, toddlers, and preschoolers has at least one immigrant parent. Despite these demographic and economic realities, the Trump administration has proposed or supported policies that would restrict legal immigration—either directly, through proposals to limit the number of green cards or temporary visas issued each year, or indirectly, through such measures as a proposed expansion of the “public charge” rule. (Cosic, Johnson and Pyati, 1/9)

JAMA Internal Medicine: Analysis Of Proposed Medicare Part B To Part D Shift With Associated Changes In Total Spending And Patient Cost-Sharing For Prescription Drugs.
In this analysis of 75 brand-name drugs with the highest Part B expenditures in 2016, shifting Medicare Part B drugs to Part D was estimated to decrease total drug spending by 7% to 18% after rebates. Under the standard 2018 Part D benefit, out-of-pocket costs for most drugs were projected to be lower in Part D among fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries without Medicaid or supplemental insurance in Part B and among those who would qualify for the low-income subsidy program; however, out-of-pocket costs were estimated to increase among beneficiaries with Medicare supplement insurance and among those currently without Part D coverage. (Hwang et al, 1/14)

The Pew Charitable Trusts: Romaine Lettuce Contamination Reinforces Need For Agricultural Water Quality Rule
A deadly E. coli strain that contaminated romaine lettuce in early 2018, causing five deaths and more than 200 serious infections, most likely infiltrated crops through canal water used to irrigate and apply pesticides in the Yuma, Arizona, growing region, which includes farms in southeastern California. This finding, from an environmental assessment report released Nov. 1 by the Food and Drug Administration, demands a swift response by the agency, including an accelerated timeline to implement an agricultural water standard for fruits and vegetables that protects public health. (Eskin, 1/7)

Pediatrics: Father-Son Communication About Consistent And Correct Condom Use
Twenty-five father-son dyads completed semistructured interviews designed to elicit specific preferences for teaching and learning about consistent and correct condom use and strategies for addressing common condom use errors and problems. For analysis, we used in vivo coding and vertical and horizontal analysis techniques. (Guilamo-Ramos et al, 1/1)

Commonwealth Fund: Health Care For Justice-Involved Populations: Role Of Medicaid
With many states expanding Medicaid eligibility, individuals leaving jail or prison are now often able to enroll in health coverage upon release. It is increasingly clear, however, that coverage alone is insufficient to address the often complex health and social needs of people who cycle between costly hospital and jail stays. (Guyer et al, 1/11)

Bloomberg: Dementia And Firearms Make A Lethal Combination
Nationwide since 2012, firearms have been used in at least 15 homicides and more than 95 suicides related to dementia, a Kaiser Health News investigation found. This is probably a severe undercount, because dementia often goes undiagnosed. Consider the 76-year-old Milwaukee man who was considered mentally competent when he was convicted of murdering his neighbor, a 13-year-old boy he had accused, without evidence, of stealing some of his guns.Partly in response to mass shootings, more than a dozen states have enacted red flag laws, which enable family members or law enforcement to petition a court to temporarily remove guns from a person who could be a danger to self or others. (1/16)

Forbes: What Andy Samberg And Sandra Oh Got Right At The Golden Globes: Vaccines Are Worth Celebrating!
Last week at the Golden Globes, hosts Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh made headlines as they tried to give out free flu shots to celebrities in the audience. This surprise stunt showed famous stars looking shocked and nervous as needle-wielding nurses descended from the stage to offer vaccinations. Samberg joked, “If you are an anti-vaxxer, just put a napkin on—perhaps over—your head and we will skip you.” (Bill Frist, 1/16)

Stat: Diversity In Clinical Trials Defines Good Science And Better Medicine 
Hispanic Americans have higher levels of diabetes and less access to health care services, yet they live on average about three years longer than non-Hispanic whites and six years longer than African-Americans. Why? No one really knows. Hispanics are underrepresented in both clinical trials and the genome-wide association studies that have informed our understanding of the molecular foundation of health and disease, so we can only guess. (Jane L. Delgado and Edward Abrahams, 1/17)

The New York Times: Can States Fix The Disaster Of American Health Care?
Last week, California’s new governor, Gavin Newsom, promised to pursue a smorgasbord of changes to his state’s health care system: state negotiation of drug prices; a requirement that every Californian have health insurance; more assistance to help middle-class Californians afford it; and health care for undocumented immigrants up to age 26. The proposals fell short of the sweeping government-run single-payer plan Mr. Newsom had supported during his campaign — a system in which the state government would pay all the bills and effectively control the rates paid for services. (Elisabeth Rosenthal, 1/16)

The Herald: Congress Must Join Appeal To Defend The ACA 
Seeking to assist in the appeal to protect the ACA, Washington Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell on Wednesday joined in a Senate resolution that seeks to authorize the Senate’s legal counsel to assist in the appeal and defend the ACA and its protections. The resolution notes that ordinarily the federal Department of Justice defends laws when challenged in court, even when an administration disagrees with the law. The Trump administration did the opposite, bucking precedent and arguing against the ACA’s constitutionality in the Texas case. (1/17)

Boston Globe: Doctor Burnout Is Real. And It’s Dangerous
Burnout — a condition characterized by emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and feelings of reduced effectiveness in the workforce — impacts all caregivers and, in particular, threatens to undermine the physician workforce, endangering our health care system. So profound it has been described as “moral injury,” burnout results from a collision of norms between the physician’s mission to provide care and increasing bureaucratic demands of a new era. (Alan Chaoui, Steven Defossez and Michelle Williams, 1/17)

The Wall Street Journal: Masculinity Isn’t A Sickness
In my practice as a psychotherapist, I’ve seen an increase of depression in young men who feel emasculated in a society that is hostile to masculinity. New guidelines from the American Psychological Association defining “traditional masculinity” as a pathological state are likely only to make matters worse. True, over the past half-century ideas about femininity and masculinity have evolved, sometimes for the better. But the APA guidelines demonize masculinity rather than embracing its positive aspects. In a press release, the APA asserts flatly that “traditional masculinity—marked by stoicism, competitiveness, dominance and aggression—is, on the whole, harmful.” The APA claims that masculinity is to blame for the oppression and abuse of women. (Erica Komisar, 1/16)

Washington Times: Everyone Calm Down, The Gillette Ad Is Just Fine
Back to the ad. Nowhere does Gillette say “all men are rapists” as outraged critics claim (and to all those guys with their panties in a wad, maybe you should just man up and get over it). Nowhere does the ad say that we should dress little boys in petticoats and force them to play with dolls. Gillette simply says “the boys watching today will be the men of tomorrow” — and that’s making them all pansies? Please. That declaration is exactly right, and, frankly, impossible to refute. So everybody just calm down. What Gillette is preaching is perfectly fine. (Joseph Curl, 1/15)

Kansas City Star: Gun Violence Costs Missouri $1.9 Billion Per Year
Gun violence in Missouri costs the state $1.9 billion per year, according to a new report from the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. And taxpayers are on the hook for much of the tab.About 85 percent of victims are either uninsured or reliant upon some form of publicly-funded insurance. (1/16)

Austin American-Statesman: New Moms Should Get More Than Two Months Of Health Care
The Medicaid program in Texas, which covers more than half the births in the state, phases mothers out of Medicaid for Pregnant Women two months after they’ve given birth. But new moms aren’t out of the woods then: Among the 382 Texas women who died within a year of giving birth between 2012 and 2015, more than half — 215 — died after that two-month mark, according to the state task force on maternal mortality. (1/16)

Washington Examiner: Indiana AG Curtis Hill: After Obamacare, What's Next For Healthcare?
Across the nation, meanwhile, individual states are also taking their own steps to increase the number of people covered by health insurance. You need look no further than Indiana. A waiver from the federal government allows Indiana to opt out of certain Medicaid state plan requirements in order to operate the Healthy Indiana Plan. This consumer-driven program provides health insurance coverage for adults with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level. The Healthy Indiana Plan serves the state well, providing quality healthcare at low cost to several hundred thousand Hoosiers. (Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill, 1/17)

Los Angeles Times: How The Teachers’ Strike Is Playing Out At The School With The Most Homeless Students In The District
Telfair Elementary School Principal Jose Razo returned to his roots Tuesday, filling in as a pre-K teacher while the L.A. Unified strike continued. His text for the day: “How I Became a Pirate.” But first he asked his students whether anyone knew what a pirate does. “A pirate lives on the ocean and sometimes steals things,” said a future valedictorian. (Steve Lopez, 1/16)