First Edition: January 28, 2015

Kaiser Health News: Indiana Medicaid Expansion May Tempt Other GOP-Led States
The deal reached Tuesday between the Obama administration and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to expand Medicaid under the president’s health law should help sway reluctant Republican officials in other states because it imposes new costs on poor adults, promotes healthy behaviors and relies on financing from smokers and hospitals instead of state taxpayers, health experts say. (Galewitz, 1/28)

Kaiser Health News: If Supreme Court Rules Against Insurance Subsidies, Most Want Them Restored
A new poll finds that most people think Congress or states should act to restore health insurance subsidies if the Supreme Court decides later this year they are not permitted in states where the federal government is running the marketplace. The court in March is set to hear King v. Burwell, a lawsuit arguing that the wording of the Affordable Care Act means that financial assistance with premiums is available only in the 13 states that created and are running their own online insurance exchanges. If the court sides with those challenging the law, millions of people in the 37 states that use the federal Healthcare.gov site would lose the help they have been getting. A decision in the case is expected in late June. (Rovner, 1/28)

The New York Times: Health Care Enrollment Appears To Be Near Goal
The Obama administration said Tuesday that 9.5 million people had signed up to receive health coverage through public marketplaces in 2015, with less than a month to go before the enrollment deadline. At first glance, the report suggests that the administration has achieved its goal of having 9.1 million people enrolled at the end of this year. But in 2014, more than 15 percent of people who selected health plans in the public marketplaces failed to pay their share of premiums and were therefore not on the rolls at the end of the year. Officials said they thought that similar attrition could occur this year. (Pear, 1/27)

The Associated Press: Obama Administration On Track To Surpass Health Care Goal
Some 9.5 million people have already signed up for 2015 coverage under President Barack Obama's health care law, and the administration is on track to surpass its nationwide enrollment target set last year. The Health and Human Services Department said Tuesday that, through the middle of January, more than 7.1 million people had signed up in 37 states where the federal government is running the insurance markets. At least another 2.4 million signed up in states running their own exchanges. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 1/27)

Politico: Obamacare Advocates Refine Their Pitch To Millennials
Gone are the splashy tweets about health coverage from Katy Perry and the “brosurance” ads featuring guys doing keg stands. Fliers in coffee shops and bars are in, as are partnerships with community colleges and job training centers. Millennials are still a critical demographic for Obamacare, but young adults are being wooed very differently in Year Two of enrollment. They showed last year that they’re not slackers when it comes to the health care law — disproving fears that they’d feel too invincible to want insurance — so the approach now is quieter, better targeted, more local, according to advocates. And the data so far suggest it’s on track, they say. (Villacorta, 1/28)

USA Today: Florida Tops Obamacare Sign-Ups; Texas Lags
State and federal health care exchanges have enrolled more than 9.5 million people, according to data out Tuesday, meeting their target a full month before the enrollment period closes. Success has varied widely across the country, according to a USA TODAY analysis of new ZIP code-level healthcare.gov data. The data show that aggressive outreach in South Florida helped that state account for nearly a seventh of all people who have selected plans on the exchanges. In the areas of Texas with the largest share of uninsured adults, insurance enrollments have lagged. Within the 35 Texas ZIP codes where at least a quarter of adult residents are estimated to be uninsured, total enrollments are up just 8.9 percent from last year, while the five Florida ZIP codes with similar populations are up 23 percent, the analysis shows. (Hoyer and O'Donnell, 1/27)

The Associated Press: Poll: Most Say Restore Health Aid If Court Kills Subsidies
More than 6 in 10 Americans would want Congress to restore federal financial assistance for millions buying health care coverage under President Barack Obama's health care law if the Supreme Court invalidates some of those government subsidies, a poll said Wednesday. The finding by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation suggests that a complicated political landscape might await Republicans, who want to repeal and replace the law, should the court annul a crucial part of it later this year. (Fram, 1/28)

The Washington Post's The Fix: The Supreme Court Could Gut Obamacare. Here’s Why That Might Not Matter.
The Supreme Court could soon move to void many Obamacare subsidies -- something Republicans are banking on to effectively gut the law. But even if that happens, the American people say they would like the GOP Congress to restore the subsidies. That’s according to a new poll. And though it might not be quite that simple, it demonstrates the real dilemma Republicans could find themselves in if the Supreme Court does what they hope it will. The poll, from the Kaiser Family Foundation, shows 64 percent of people say they would want Congress to re-expand the subsidies to all beneficiaries of the Affordable Care Act, if the Supreme Court voids some of them. (Blacke, 1/28)

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: White House To Court: GOP Health-Care Lawsuit Is ‘Incoherent’
The White House said a Republican lawsuit challenging its implementation of the 2010 health-care law misunderstands the constitutional separation of powers and should be thrown out, according to court papers filed Monday night. “Simply put, Congress’s power to enact legislation does not give it the power (either on its own or with the assistance of the judiciary) to manage the implementation of federal law,” Justice Department lawyers said in papers that ask U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer to dismiss the lawsuit. House Republicans filed a complaint in November, alleging the Obama administration exceeded its powers in how it is paying for and enforcing certain parts of the Affordable Care Act. The lawsuit said the administration had no authority without permission from Congress to pay certain discounts to insurers or to delay implementation of an insurance-coverage mandate that applies to large employers. (Kendall, 1/27)

The Wall Street Journal: Indiana Governor To Expand Medicaid Coverage
Indiana on Tuesday announced plans to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act after securing concessions from the Obama administration that could pave the way for other Republican-led states to widen health coverage for low-income residents. Gov. Mike Pence is the latest Republican to opt into the health law’s expansion of Medicaid despite his party’s opposition to the legislation. His move could prompt up to a half-dozen other GOP-led states to follow suit, including Florida, Tennessee and Alabama, by giving them a model to follow. Under Indiana’s agreement, the state can require some Medicaid enrollees to contribute toward their care. (Radnofsky and Campo-Flores, 1/27)

The New York Times: Indiana Will Allow Entry To Medicaid For A Price
After a lengthy back-and-forth, the Obama administration has agreed to let Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, a Republican, expand Medicaid on his own terms, including some that have not been allowed before under federal rules. (Goodnough, 1/27)

Los Angeles Times: Indiana Becomes Latest State To Expand Medicaid Through Obamacare
Indiana on Tuesday became the latest state to expand its Medicaid program through the Affordable Care Act, as another Republican governor agreed to accept federal dollars to extend government health coverage to low-income state residents. ... Indiana’s move, which had been closely watched nationally, marks a significant victory for the Obama administration. It has been working to persuade Republican state leaders to back coverage expansions made possible through the 2010 health law often called Obamacare. (Levey, 1/27)

Politico: Mike Pence’s Perils On Obamacare
It’s a policy advocates say will ensure hundreds of thousands of Indiana residents get access to health care but that conservatives argue will blow a hole in federal and state budgets. And it’s just the kind of ammunition opposing candidates are likely to deploy in a crowded presidential primary as they try to distinguish themselves. (Cheney, 1/27)

The Associated Press: Indiana Wins Federal OK For State-Run Medicaid Alternative
Indiana has received federal approval to expand health coverage to about 350,000 uninsured residents through a state-run program Gov. Mike Pence said Tuesday will help the state's working poor families. Surrounded by state officials and staffers at an Indianapolis hospital, Pence announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had approved Indiana's waiver request for the plan his administration calls HIP 2.0. (Callahan, 1/27)

The Washington Post: Indiana Latest Red State To Opt Into Medicaid Expansion
As newly empowered Republicans in Washington are contemplating ways to unwind the president’s health-care law, another Republican governor with conservative credentials announced Tuesday morning he reached a deal with the Obama administration to accept Medicaid expansion funding in his state. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, a former member of House leadership who’s viewed as a possible 2016 presidential candidate, announced he and the feds after months of negotiations agreed to a plan that will cover an estimated 350,000 low-income adult Hoosiers earning under 138 percent of the poverty level, or about $16,105 for an individual. It makes Indiana the 28th state (plus the District of Columbia) to opt into the voluntary coverage expansion. (Millman, 1/27)

USA Today/Indianapolis Star: Feds OK Indiana's Medicaid Expansion
About 350,000 low-income Indiana residents who lack insurance could benefit from the program, whose approved expansion was announced Tuesday, the day enrollment began. Coverage could start as early as Feb. 1. Pence said the Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0, a revamped version of a program started by then-Gov. Mitch Daniels, goes beyond standard Medicaid expansion by requiring that participants contribute to the cost of their care. (Rudavsky and Groppe, 1/27)

The New York Times: Industry Group to Back Results-Focused Care
A coalition of some of the nation’s largest health care systems and insurers vowed on Wednesday to change the way hospitals and doctors are paid — placing less emphasis on the sheer amount of care being delivered and more on improving quality and lowering costs. (Abelson, 1/28)

USA Today: Obama Veto Threats At Record Pace To Begin New Congress
The Obama White House has threatened to veto eight bills taken up by the Republican House in January — the most veto threats to begin a new Congress since the Reagan White House first started issuing formal veto threats in 1985. The spurt of veto threats has rankled congressional Republicans, who say that President Obama isn't giving bipartisanship a chance. But the White House blames Republicans, saying they're bringing up bills they already know he opposes. (Korte, 1/27)

The Washington Post: House Panel Easily Passes Veterans Sick Leave Bill But Can’t Shake Partisan Past
Despite the partisan tussle over rules, this first meeting managed a good bipartisan start for one group of feds in particular — newly hired disabled veterans. On a voice vote, the committee unanimously approved the Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act. It would allow most new federal employees with at least a 30 percent disability rating related to military service 104 hours of paid sick leave. That’s 13 work days. Generally, employees initially have no sick leave and earn hours as they work. Additional legislation is planned for the 15 percent of employees not covered. (Davidson, 1/27)

The Wall Street Journal: Graying America, Health-Care Overhaul Boosts Medical Properties
Investors are pouring money into buying and developing senior housing, medical-office buildings and other health-care-related properties, a class of commercial real estate that has been outperforming almost all others since the recession. The country’s aging population and recovering economy, as well as major changes taking place in the economics of health care, are fueling demand for more space. (Grant and Whelan, 1/27)

Los Angeles Times: U.S. Settles Suit Over Misuse Of West L.A. Veterans Campus
The federal government has agreed to settle a lawsuit accusing the Department of Veterans Affairs of misusing its sprawling West Los Angeles health campus while veterans with brain injuries and mental impairment slept in the streets, people familiar with the agreement said Tuesday. Under the settlement, the VA will develop a master land-use plan for the campus that identifies sites for housing homeless veterans. Further details were not available. (Holland, 1/27)

NPR: VA Steps Up Programs As More Veterans Enter Hospice Care
Starting last year, more military veterans are passing away in hospice care than in all of VA trauma and ICU wards combined. That's because the millions of Americans who served in Korea and World War II are reaching their 80s and 90s; Vietnam veterans are reaching their 70s. That means the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is focusing on how to make veterans comfortable in their final weeks and months. (Lawrence, 1/28)

The Associated Press: Vermont Takes 2nd Look At Aid-In-Dying Law
The first Legislature in the country to pass an aid-in-dying law may revisit the issue, as a key backer says changes to automatically take effect in mid-2016 would remove too many patient protections. (1/27)