First Edition: January 19, 2017

Kaiser Health News: Six U.S. Senators Confronting Trump’s HHS Cabinet Pick Own Health Care Stocks, Too
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run Health and Human Services is taking heat for his controversial stock holdings in companies affected by laws he’s worked on and voted for. But federal records show several senators who will take part in his confirmation hearings have substantial health-related holdings as well. (Lupkin, 1/18)

Kaiser Health News: 21 Medicare Health Plans Warned To Fix Provider Directory Errors
Federal officials this month warned 21 Medicare Advantage insurers with high rates of errors in their online network directories that they could face heavy fines or have to stop enrolling people if the problems are not fixed by Feb. 6. Among the plans that were cited are Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Highmark of Pennsylvania, SCAN Health Plan of California as well as some regional plans owned by national carriers such as UnitedHealthcare and Humana. (Galewitz and Jaffe, 1/18)

California Healthline: Foul-Up Means Thousands On State Exchange Surprised By Higher Premiums
Thousands of Covered California enrollees face higher-than-expected bills from their insurers because the exchange sent incorrect tax credit information to the health plans. The exchange confirmed it gave insurers wrong subsidy information for about 25,000 policy holders, resulting in inaccurate bills. Insurers are now sending out new bills correcting the errors, and in most cases that means higher premiums than consumers had initially anticipated. (Bazar, 1/18)

Kaiser Health News: Advocacy Group Pushes For Changes In U.S. Food Assistance Program
As policymakers and health officials sound the alarm on the nation’s obesity epidemic, a team of researchers want to improve health outcomes among the most vulnerable Americans by overhauling the federal food assistance program. (Heredia Rodriguez, 1/19)

California Healthline: California’s Community Clinics, Big ACA Beneficiaries, Worry About Their Future
Paula Wilson has seen some tough times in her 23 years as the CEO of Valley Community Healthcare, a clinic that provides care for the poor in North Hollywood, Calif. But nothing was quite like November 9, the day after the U.S. elections, when walking around the office “was like coming into a funeral,” she said. Her staff worried that a repeal of the Affordable Care Act, long promised by Republicans, would obliterate their jobs. Patients fretted it would jeopardize their care. (Brown, 1/19)

California Healthline: Fight Is On To Protect Health Care In California, Says Foundation Head
As Republicans seek to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, advocacy organizations around the nation are strategizing on how best to respond. Do they defend the law at all costs? Do they take part in the repeal conversation so they can help design an alternative? (Gorman, 1/19)

The New York Times: Choice For Health Secretary Is Vague On Replacing Affordable Care Act
Representative Tom Price, the man President-elect Donald J. Trump has chosen to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, promised on Wednesday to make sure people do not “fall through the cracks” if the Affordable Care Act is repealed, and set a goal to increase the number of people with health insurance But at a hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Mr. Price provided only vague reassurance to members of both parties who pressed him for specific policies. (Pear and Kaplan, 1/18)

The Associated Press: Price Tries To Reassure On Health Care; Dems Not Buying It
Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that Trump is "absolutely not" planning to launch an overhaul of Medicare as he tries to revamp coverage under President Barack Obama's signature health care law. He acknowledged that high prescription drug costs are a problem, but did not endorse the idea of government directly negotiating prices. (Alonso-Zaldivar and Fram, 1/18)

The Washington Post: HHS Nominee Price Pressed Hard On Health Policy Positions, Financial Dealings
Price began by laying out central elements of his years-long attempt to replace the Affordable Care Act. In doing so, he signaled ways in which Trump’s more populist message could collide with the core beliefs of congressional Republicans. He told senators that “it is absolutely imperative” for the government to ensure that all Americans “have the opportunity to gain access” to insurance coverage — a more modest goal than the “insurance for everybody” declaration that the incoming president made this past weekend. (Eilperin and Goldstein, 1/18)

Los Angeles Times: Trump's Pick For Health Secretary Tells Senators He Will Protect The Vulnerable, But Doesn't Say How
During a testy four-hour hearing on Capitol Hill — which also featured several heated exchanges about Price’s ethics — Price also repeatedly dodged questions from Democrats seeking assurance that he would preserve basic protections required by law. Among other things, Obamacare bans lifetime limits on coverage, requires that health plans offer basic benefits such as substance abuse treatment and mandates that plans allow parents to keep their children on their insurance until they are 26. (Levey, 1/18)

The Wall Street Journal: Key Republicans At Tom Price Hearing Still Wary On Health Law Repeal
A hearing on President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for health secretary became an arena Wednesday for key Republicans to stress their opposition to overturning the current health law without a clear replacement. ... Mr. Alexander, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, warned that the fragile insurance market in his state means he cannot support anything that would trigger further disruption. He finished on a similar note, telling Mr. Price he was confident he had secured his agreement. (Armour and Radnofsky, 1/18)

Reuters: Trump Health Pick Defends Stocks, Says Americans Won't Lose Insurance
President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defended his stock holdings and proposals to dismantle Obamacare on Wednesday, saying Americans would not suddenly lose health insurance. (Clarke and Cornwell, 1/18)

Politico: Democrats Pummel Price On Stock Trades, Sweetheart Deals
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) demanded to know whether Price had actively tried to "help the company that you now own stock in." It was one of the only moments in the nearly four-hour grilling by the Senate HELP Committee when Price flashed anger. "I'm offended by the insinuation, senator," he responded. (Diamond, 1/18)

USA Today: Price, HHS Nominee, Says Trump Doesn't Want To 'Pull The Rug Out On Anyone'
Price and his longtime friend, Senate Ethics Chairman Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., defended Price's purchases. Price said his broker bought shares in one medical device company without his knowledge and others were part of mutual fund or pension plan purchases that are made on behalf of many members. Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Conn., raised the issue of Price's stock purchases in six companies that would have been hurt by a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services pilot project that Price led opposition to in the House. More ominously, Murray peppered Price for details on his purchase of stock in the company Innate Immunotherapeutics after discussing the company with Trump transition official Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., a large shareholder who sits on the company's board. Price acknowledged he directed his broker to make the purchases. Murray pointed out that was soon before Senate action on the 21st Century Cures Act, which benefited drug companies. (O'Donnell, 1/18)

NPR: Tom Price, HHS Nominee, Faces Senate Questions On Obamacare, Stock Deals
Price denied profiting from inside information, or benefiting from legislation he helped author. "Everything that we have done," Price said, "has been above board, transparent and legal." (Naylor, 1/18)

The Wall Street Journal: Rep. Tom Price Testifies On Stock Purchase After Discussing Company With Board Member
Rep. Tom Price, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run the Department of Health and Human Services, said he purchased stock in an Australian biomedical firm after discussing the company with a fellow congressman who sits on its board. (Grimaldi and Hackman, 1/18)

The Washington Post: Trump Cabinet Nominees Meet Growing Ethical Questions
One factor making it easier for Trump’s nominees to prevail in the GOP-controlled Senate is a 2013 rule change — ironically, one that was engineered over Republican objections by the Democrats who were then in the majority. It ended the ability of senators to filibuster Cabinet nominees, which means that nominees can be confirmed with 51 votes. There are 52 Republicans in the chamber. “What’s different now is that [blocking a nominee] is going to require Republicans to stand up to their own president,” said Jim Manley, a longtime aide to former minority leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.). (Tumulty, Wagner and O'Keefe, 1/18)

Politico: Obamacare Attack Dog To Lead GOP Effort To Replace It
Rep. Greg Walden spent four years capitalizing on Americans’ unease with Obamacare to usher in the largest House Republican majority in 90 years. Now, he has to help figure out how to replace it. (Cheney and Bade, 1/18)

The Associated Press: GOP Governors Who Turned Down Medicaid Money Have Hands Out
Republican governors who turned down billions in federal dollars from an expansion of Medicaid under President Barack Obama's health care law now have their hands out in hopes the GOP Congress comes up with a new formula to provide insurance for low-income Americans. (1/19)

The Washington Post: Republicans Look To Avoid YouTube Moments In Fight Over Obamacare Repeal
Seven years after unruly Democratic town halls helped stoke public outrage over the Affordable Care Act, Republicans now appear keen to avoid the kind of dustups capable of racking up millions of views on YouTube and ending up in a 2018 campaign commercial. One week after the Republican Congress kicked off the process of repealing the landmark health-care legislation, only a handful of GOP lawmakers have held or are currently planning to host in-person town hall meetings open to all comers — the sort of large-scale events that helped feed the original Obamacare backlash in the summer of 2009. (DeBonis, 1/19)

The Associated Press: AP-NORC Poll: Americans Of All Stripes Say Fix Health Care
Sylvia Douglas twice voted for President Barack Obama and last year cast a ballot for Democrat Hillary Clinton. But when it comes to "Obamacare," she now sounds like President-elect Donald Trump. This makes her chuckle amid the serious choices she faces every month between groceries, electricity and paying a health insurance bill that has jumped by nearly $400. "It's a universal thing, nobody likes it," Douglas, a licensed practical nurse in Huntsville, Alabama, said of Obama's signature law. (Kellman and Swanson, 1/18)

The Wall Street Journal: Republican Governors Warn Lawmakers About Repeal Of Obamacare
As U.S. Congress moves ahead with repealing the Affordable Care Act, some Republican governors are reaching out to lawmakers and urging caution. In recent comments and letters to Republican House leaders who sought input from state officials on potential health-system changes, several governors have voiced concerns about the effects of abruptly scrapping the 2010 law. At least nine governors and two lieutenant governors have signed up for a Thursday round table held by Senate Finance Committee Republicans on the future of the health law’s Medicaid expansion. (Levitz and Kamp, 1/19)

USA Today: Cuomo Warns Trump On Obamacare Cuts
Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday of a "dramatic impact" on New Yorkers if Trump moves ahead with a repeal and replace of the Affordable Care Act. The meeting at Trump Tower was the first face-to-face sit down between the two New Yorkers, who are both Queens natives, since Trump was elected. (Spector, 1/18)

The Washington Post: Can Donald Trump And The Republicans Repeal Obamacare? Here’s What Hundreds Of Forecasters Predict.
No item on Donald Trump’s agenda seems to have received as much publicity as his desire to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with “something terrific.” Since his election, the prospects for repeal have taken many a twist and turn. Two weeks ago, repeal suddenly appeared doubtful — as key Senate Republicans balked at the idea of repeal without a full-fledged replacement. (Sides, 1/19)

The Washington Post: The GOP Plan To Fund Medicaid Through Block Grants Will Probably Weaken It
Many key Republicans are especially interested in changing Medicaid, the nation’s health insurance program for the poor — including Trump, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (Wis.) and Tom Price (Ga.), Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Each of those three has proposed converting Medicaid from a program funded jointly by the federal government and the states into a block grant program. Doing so would send a set amount of money to each state, thus capping total Medicaid spending, and would let each state decide how to disburse those funds. (LaRochelle, 1/18)

The Associated Press: California Withdraws Immigrant Health Care Request
California officials on Wednesday withdrew their request to sell unsubsidized insurance policies to people who can't prove they're legally in the United States after learning the decision would fall to President-elect Donald Trump's administration. (Cooper, 1/18)

The Washington Post: House Democrats To Donald Trump: ‘The Women Of America Are Watching’
One day before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, the vast majority of House Democrats are warning him to think twice before supporting and signing Republican laws that they say would undermine women’s health care. A letter set to be delivered to Trump on Thursday urges the soon-to-be president to oppose GOP plans in Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act — which includes measures to prohibit discriminatory insurer practices and expand access to breast-cancer screenings and birth control — and to strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding. It is signed by 173 of 194 House Democrats. (DeBonis, 1/19)

The Associated Press: Insurance Equality? States Push For Cost-Free Vasectomies
Vasectomies, which are not covered under President Barack Obama's health care law, are increasingly being included in state measures that would require insurers to provide cost-free coverage of birth control. Backers of laws and proposals in such states as Illinois, Vermont, Maryland and most recently New York say that if women can get tubal ligations with no out-of-pocket costs, men should be able to get their surgical sterilization covered cost-free as well. (1/18)

The Washington Post: Senators Demand Better Information From DEA On Opioid Campaign
Seven U.S. senators sharply criticized the Drug Enforcement Administration on Wednesday for failing to answer questions about enforcement actions against pharmaceutical companies accused of violating laws designed to prevent painkillers from reaching the black market. (Higham and Bernstein, 1/18)

The Washington Post: New Global Coalition Launched To Create Vaccines, Prevent Epidemics
The partnership will be called the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, or CEPI. It grew out of the lessons from the world’s woeful lack of preparedness for the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa, which killed more than 11,000 people and caused at least $2.2 billion in economic losses in the three hardest-hit countries. As a result of that and the current Zika epidemic in the Americas, a global consensus has steadily grown among an array of governments, public health leaders, scientists and vaccine industry executives that a new system is needed to guard against future health threats. (Sun, 1/18)

The New York Times: Donors And Drug Makers Offer $500 Million To Control Global Epidemics
Stung by the lack of vaccines to fight the West African Ebola epidemic, a group of prominent donors announced Wednesday that they had raised almost $500 million for a new partnership to stop epidemics before they spiral out of control. (McNeil, 1/18)

The Wall Street Journal: New Initiative Aims To Develop Epidemic-Targeting Vaccines
“Ebola showed how unclear it was who should step up and how and when,” said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is contributing $100 million for the first five years. Other funders are the Wellcome Trust, with $100 million, as well as the governments of Norway, Japan and Germany. India and the European Commission are also planning donations. (McKay, 1/18)

The Wall Street Journal: Most Infected With Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Catch It From An Ill Person, Study Suggests
Most people who are infected with drug-resistant tuberculosis catch it from an ill person who transmits the deadly bacteria by coughing or some other form of airborne transmission, rather than developing it from poor drug treatment, a new study suggests. (McKay, 1/18)

NPR: Scientists Troubled: 'Identical' Cancer Studies Produce Different Results
The first results from a major project to measure the reliability of cancer research have highlighted a big problem: Labs trying to repeat published experiments often can't. That's not to say that the original studies are wrong. But the results of a review published Thursday, in the open-access journal eLife, are a sobering reminder that science often fails at one of its most basic requirements — an experiment in one lab ought to be reproducible in another one. (Harris, 1/18)