Politico: House Leaders: Obamacare Repeal Will Pass This Month
Take it to the bank, GOP leaders are all but declaring: The House will vote to repeal and replace by the end of this month. Their confidence, coming after months of dead ends and false starts, is fueled by the belief that President Donald Trump has their back — even if some conservatives currently don't. (Bade, Cheney and Bresnahan, 3/3)

The Washington Post: House Leaders Forge Ahead With Health Bills, Hoping To Bulldoze Internal Strife
Key House committees are set to take up legislation to repeal and begin replacing the Affordable Care Act next week, with Republican leaders intent on overcoming internal GOP debates to quickly deliver on a central campaign promise. Those intraparty struggles were highlighted Thursday when a Republican senator joined Democrats in calling for more transparency in the legislation’s drafting and suggested that House leaders were keeping details under wraps to sideline conservatives. (DeBonis, 3/2)

The Washington Post: Paul Ryan’s Feeling Confident About Repeal-And-Replace. McConnell Not So Much.
With each passing day, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan gets more confident that his troops are falling in line and that they will soon pass legislation repealing the Affordable Care Act. “I am perfectly confident that when it’s all said and done, we are going to unify,” Ryan (R-Wis.) told reporters Thursday. “Because we all — every Republican — ran on repealing and replacing [the ACA]. And we are going to keep our promises.” Yet over in the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is much more circumspect. “The goal is for the administration, the House and the Senate to be in the same place,” McConnell told reporters Tuesday. “We’re not there yet.” (Kane, 3/2)

The Washington Post: Conservative Groups And Lawmakers Demanding ‘Full Repeal’ Could Derail Obamacare Rollback
An array of conservative lawmakers, organizations and activists are demanding a swifter and more aggressive remake of the Affordable Care Act than many Republicans are comfortable with, raising questions about whether President Trump and the GOP are headed toward gridlock as they try to fulfill their promise to repeal the health-care law. Three conservative senators known for bucking GOP leadership during Barack Obama’s presidency — Ted Cruz (Tex.), Rand Paul (Ky.) and Mike Lee (Utah) — are raising the possibility of doing the same under Trump. (Weigel, Sullivan and DeBonis, 3/2)

Roll Call: House GOP Moving Toward Health Care Markup Despite Unresolved Concerns
House Republicans hope to start marking up a bill to repeal and partially replace the 2010 health care law next week, despite a litany of concerns about the plan. But proceeding with the legislative process is one way members say they can break through the impasse. Lawmakers with concerns about the plan range from conservatives, who view the refundable tax credits that are designed to help people purchase coverage in the private market as the creation of a new entitlement program, to moderates from states that have expanded Medicaid, who worry the plan won’t provide enough funding needed to sustain coverage provided through that program. (McPherson, 3/2)

Bloomberg: House Panels To Take Up Obamacare Replacement Measure Next Week
U.S. House committees plan to begin considering legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare next week, Republicans said Thursday after a closed-door meeting. Speaker Paul Ryan told lawmakers that the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Ways and Means Committee will begin debating the measure, which has so far been kept under wraps, with the goal of sending a bill to the Senate within three weeks, according to several Republicans who attended the meeting. (Greifeld, 3/2)

The Hill: Cornyn: Senate Will Take Up House ObamaCare Repeal Bill 
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said on Thursday that Senate Republicans will take up a forthcoming House ObamaCare repeal bill rather than formulate an alternative bill. The Senate's No. 2 Republican said that it was "correct" that the way forward for the upper chamber was to wait and see the House bill, then take up that legislation. "No, we're working with the House. The goal is for the House to pass a bill that we can then take up and pass here in the Senate," Cornyn added, when asked if Senate Republicans were working on their own plan. (Carney, 3/2)

Meanwhile, with all the jargon flying around over repeal and replace, The Associated Press answers some questions on the GOP's plan —

The Associated Press: GOP Health Bill: Less Government; But What About Coverage? 
Health insurance tax credits, mandates, taxation of employer coverage, essential benefits. Mind-numbing health care jargon is flying around again as Republicans move to repeal and replace the Obama-era Affordable Care Act. It’s time to start paying attention. The GOP plan emerging in the House would mean less government, and many fear that will translate to less coverage and a step backward as a nation. Still, there would be new options for middle-class people who buy their own policies but don’t now qualify for help under the ACA. Some popular provisions such as allowing young adults to stay on a parental plan remain untouched. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 3/3)

Morning Consult: High-Risk Pools Another Sticking Point Among Republicans
Sen. Rand Paul on Wednesday expressed opposition to House GOP leaders’ plan to cover people with pre-existing conditions, highlighting another division that Republicans must overcome to repeal the Affordable Care Act. The Kentucky Republican said it doesn’t make “logical sense” to allocate federal funds to help states run high-risk pools, which would be used to cover people who would be priced out of the marketplace if Obamacare is repealed. While dollar amounts haven’t been decided on, a leaked draft bill would divide $100 billion among the states over a decade to go to high-risk pools and other health care needs. (Reid, 3/1)

The Hill: Tying ObamaCare Repeal To Planned Parenthood Worries Some In GOP
Some congressional Republicans think tying the defunding of Planned Parenthood to an ObamaCare repeal bill could jeopardize the healthcare law rollback that they’ve been working on for eight years...Republicans have fought for years to cut off Planned Parenthood's funding because it provides abortions. Now with Republican majorities in Congress and a Republican president, the party faces its best chance to do it. Speaker Paul Ryan said earlier this year that Planned Parenthood would be defunded in the same bill as the ObamaCare repeal. (Hellmann, 3/3)

The New York Times: G.O.P. Accused Of Playing ‘Hide-And-Seek’ With Obamacare Replacement Bill
It was “find the Affordable Care Act replacement” day on Thursday as publicity-seeking Democrats — and one frustrated Republican — scampered through Capitol corridors, hunting for an elusive copy of a bill that Republican leaders have withheld from the public as they search for party unity. Just a week before two powerful House committees plan to vote on the measure, opponents spent hours making the point that almost no one has actually seen legislation that would affect the lives and pocketbooks of millions of Americans. (Pear, 3/2)

The Associated Press: GOP, Dem Foes Of Health Care Bill In Scavenger Hunt For Copy
Where’s the Republicans’ embryonic health care bill? A maverick GOP senator and top Democrats staged made-for-TV scavenger hunts across the Capitol on Thursday for a draft of the measure, momentarily overshadowing months of labor by Republicans out to reshape the nation’s health care system. Their goal: embarrass Republican leaders who have vowed to make the overhaul transparent and are struggling to solidify support. (Fram, 3/3)

The Washington Post: Rand Paul, A Copy Machine And A ‘Secret’ Obamacare Bill
The story of Rand Paul and the copy machine starts with a seemingly benign meeting. Paul got word that the members of a House Energy and Commerce Committee were gathering to talk about the legislation, as committee members with jurisdiction over health care sometimes do. Paul marched over from the Senate to the House side — a good quarter-mile walk, depending on where you start — to bang on the door and demand that his colleagues in the House show him the “secret” draft Obamacare bill. Never one to miss a posturing opportunity, Paul sent nearly a dozen tweets on his march over, ensuring that cameras and tweeting reporters greeted him when he showed up. He even brought his own copy machine — you know, just in case. (Phillips, 3/2)

Politico: Paul Blocked From Seizing GOP Obamacare Bill
The conservative senator from Kentucky went into a House hideaway in the Capitol, claimed he was told he could not remove the bill and make it public, and then held an impromptu news conference, complaining about House Republicans' lack of transparency. “If you recall where Obamacare was passed in 2009, 2010, Nancy Pelosi said we’ll know what’s in it after we pass it. The Republican Party shouldn’t act in the same way," Paul said in a circus-like atmosphere outside the offices of House leaders. (Everett, 3/2)

NPR: Republicans Finally Get A Look At GOP's Obamacare Replacement Bill, But Dems Shut Out
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, a Democrat from New Jersey, has been trying to get a look at the Republicans' bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. He's the top-ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which will have to approve the bill before the whole House can vote on it. But as of Thursday afternoon, Pallone still couldn't get his hands on a copy. (Kodjak, 3/2)

Roll Call: Lawmakers Hunt Around The Capitol For Obamacare Repeal Bill
Joined by Rep. Jane Schakowsky, D-Ill., a fellow committee member, Pallone was told to head to the office of Energy and Commerce Chairman Greg Walden. Pallone's search was not successful. The New Jersey Democrat, who called looking for a bill he wasn't sure existed "extremely bizarre," said Americans expected such a measure to be worked out in a bipartisan manner "and that's just not the case." "It's just an outrage and I'm going to keep demanding where the bill is," Pallone said. (Rahman, 3/2)

The Hill: Rand Paul Creates Storm Over Access To ObamaCare Draft Bill 
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, pushed back on accusations that the process is being kept secret. “Reports that the Energy and Commerce Committee is doing anything other than the regular process of keeping its members up to speed on latest developments in its jurisdictions are false. We are continuing to work on drafting and refining legislative language to provide relief from a failing law," Walden said in as statement. (Hellmann and Sullivan, 3/2)

Bloomberg: ‘Secret’ Obamacare Plan Leads Lawmakers On Hunt Across Capitol 
The sought-after draft bill is the part of the Republican health care effort being written by the Energy and Commerce Committee, with the Ways and Means panel putting together another chunk. Energy and Commerce Chairman Greg Walden of Oregon insisted in a statement that it was "false" to contend that the committee was "doing anything other than the regular process" of refining the bill to make it ready for committee debate. (House, Edney and John, 3/2)

Modern Healthcare: Lawmakers Play A Game Of Hide And Seek With ACA Repeal Bill 
Ryan's bill reportedly was being shown privately to GOP lawmakers without distributing copies to avoid leaks, something that's been a problem for the Trump administration. Lawmakers often avoid sharing too many details of draft bills as they make final deals to gain support for their legislation. (Dickson, 3/2)

The Hill: GOP Takes Heat For ObamaCare Secrecy
House Republicans are coming under growing pressure to release their ObamaCare repeal and replace plan ahead of committee markups that could begin next week. Even some Republican lawmakers are criticizing their party for the lack of access to the House Energy and Commerce Committee's draft bill, which is apparently being kept in a designated room in the Capitol where entry is limited to certain members. (Sullivan, 3/3)

CQ Roll Call: Health Bill Details Emerge Amid Controversy Over Secret Draft
The latest House Republican plan to replace parts of the 2010 health care law still includes several controversial policies, like advanceable tax credits and a cap on the tax breaks that employers get for providing insurance to their workers, according to lawmakers who were briefed on it Thursday. It also includes provisions to let states keep some Medicaid expansion funding, they said. House Republicans received a broad briefing on the plan at their conference meeting Thursday morning, and the Ways and Means Committee separately met later to discuss the plan. Both the Ways and Means and the Energy and Commerce committees plan to mark up the legislation next week, several lawmakers said, although neither panel's chairman confirmed that timeline. (Mershon and Williams, 3/2)

Bloomberg: GOP Governors Forming Plan To Keep Obama Medicaid Expansion
A group of Republican governors is preparing a compromise plan for their peers in Congress who want to roll back Obamacare’s Medicaid benefits, asking them to preserve the law’s expansion of coverage to millions of poor people. The compromise proposal has been initiated by a group including Ohio Governor John Kasich and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, and would hold on to parts of the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of the program. It’s meant to satisfy Republican goals of repealing Obamacare and giving more control of Medicaid to the states, while also maintaining coverage of people such as childless adults and those just above the poverty level. It would also open the door for states such as Wisconsin to broaden Medicaid eligibility. (Tracer and Edney, 3/2)

Columbus Dispatch: Kasich Talks To Pence, Still Pushing Obamacare Alternative
A week after his Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump, Ohio Gov. John Kasich continues to push for his own version of an Obamacare replacement. Thursday, the Republican governor spoke by telephone with Vice President Mike Pence, who was in the Cincinnati area to discuss health care with business leaders. Kasich repeated his concerns about maintaining coverage for low-income Ohioans added to Medicaid rolls with federal aid provided under the Affordable Care Act. (Rowland, 3/3)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Gov. Scott Walker: Repeal Obamacare The Wisconsin Way
Gov. Scott Walker Thursday will urge his fellow Republicans in Congress to overhaul Obamacare but also caution them about going too far in the process. On the invitation of U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan of Janesville, Walker is meeting Thursday with the House Republican Conference to talk about how he dealt with massive labor demonstrations in 2011 and how they can deal with contentious town hall meetings over Obamacare. The Wisconsin governor is also meeting with other high-level Republicans in Congress. (Stein, 3/2)

Reuters: Governors Met On Obamacare Replacement Plan With Pence
Ten state governors seeking to avoid millions of dollars in federal healthcare cuts under Republican plans to replace Obamacare pressed their case in a meeting with Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday, according to two people briefed on the talks. The governors are worried that repealing former President Barack Obama's 2010 healthcare law without a detailed replacement will take coverage away from millions of Americans and land the states with a large financial hit. (Abutaleb and Cornwell, 3/2)

USA Today/Nashville Tennessean: Lifetime Health Insurance Caps Worry Those Facing Chronic Illness
Many young adults who have come of age under the Affordable Care Act may not know there once were lifetime caps on how much an insurer would pay to treat them. Those lifetime limits were "one of those things in the fine print of your insurance plan," said John Graves, professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. "They don’t go out there and advertise these things.” (Fletcher, 3/2)

Modern Healthcare: Employers Gear Up For Next Fight After Cadillac Tax 
Employer and business groups are shifting their lobbying efforts from repealing the Affordable Care Act's unpopular “Cadillac” tax to fighting GOP proposals to chip away at the tax break on employer-provided health insurance. Capping the tax break, they say, would cause employers to offer skimpier benefits, and some would stop offering coverage altogether. That would erode the employer-sponsored health insurance market, where 178 million Americans get their health coverage. (Livingston, 3/2)

Politico: Science Could Suffer If Obamacare Protections Are Weakened
Scientists and tech experts are worried about an unanticipated casualty of Obamacare repeal: weaker innovation. More and more Americans have been confidently enrolling in clinical trials and using data-generating smartphone apps — for research and personal use — over the past eight years. But questions now arising about whether an Affordable Care Act replacement will maintain strong protection for people with pre-existing conditions risks dampening research and technology. (Tahir, 3/2)

Financial Times: Healthcare Investors Grapple With Trump’s Obamacare Reforms
While the wider US stock market has moved steadily upwards since the election, setting many highs, the performance of healthcare stocks has been bumpy. For investors in US healthcare industry spanning insurers to hospital operators — recent weeks have been spent trying to decipher how the broad brushstrokes of reform pitched by Mr Trump and Republican legislators might actually morph into law.

The Washington Post Fact Checker: Trump’s Fishy Suggestion That Nearly 20 Million Are Paying An Obamacare Penalty
“It has gotten so bad that nearly 20 million Americans have chosen to pay the penalty or received an exemption rather than buy insurance. That’s something that nobody has ever heard of or thought could happen, and they’re actually doing that rather than being forced to buy insurance," President Trump remarks in a meeting with health insurance executives. This number struck us as a bit curious when President Trump launched into one of his standard attacks on the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare, as he met with representatives of the health-insurance industry. Are 20 million Americans actually refusing to buy health insurance and instead pay a penalty? (Kessler, 3/2)

Meanwhile, in the states —

The Associated Press: GOP Health Plan Could Cost Minnesota Billions
Minnesota officials are bracing for billions of dollars in additional health care expenses if congressional Republicans enact a plan they’re discussing to replace the Affordable Care Act, according to a draft document obtained by The Associated Press. The planning document shows that the GOP proposal, a draft of which was circulated last week, would cut $1.3 billion next year from the state’s low-income health care program that covers roughly one-sixth of its 5.5 million residents. By 2021, the losses would accumulate to more than $5 billion, eventually costing the state $6 billion a year starting in 2029. That analysis was prepared by the state’s Department of Human Services, which runs those programs. (Potter, 3/2)

Miami Herald: Jackson Nurses, Doctors Rally With Patients To Save Obamacare
Doctors and nurses at Jackson Memorial Hospital joined a group of civic activists and patients in Miami on Thursday to advocate for Congress to preserve the health insurance coverage gains made by an estimated 1.5 million Floridians under the Affordable Care Act. Standing before a tour bus covered in an image of a hospital emergency room and the words, “Save My Care,” Tom Masterson, a physician and urology resident at Jackson Memorial, said that uninsured patients continue to overwhelm Miami-Dade’s safety net healthcare system. (Chang, 3/2)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Could Obamacare Repeal Take Away Health Benefits For Georgia Seniors?
The ongoing battle in Washington over how and when to repeal the Affordable Care Act -- and perhaps more importantly what to replace it with -- has focused largely on the future of the law’s insurance exchanges and state Medicaid expansions. But what has been little talked about is how gutting the health care law could affect the more than 55 million Americans -- including 1.5 million Georgians -- with Medicare. (Williams, 3/2)

The Associated Press: VP Pence Pledges To ‘Lift Weight’ Of Obamacare
Vice President Mike Pence promised small business executives in Ohio on Thursday that the Trump administration will “lift the weight of Obamacare” off them and U.S. families with a better plan that puts the American people first. “The Obamacare nightmare is about to be over,” Pence said at Frame USA, a picture frame manufacturer in in suburban Cincinnati. “We’re going to replace Obamacare with something that works.” (Sewell, 3/2)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Pence In Cincy: 'Obamacare Nightmare' To End
Vowing the “Obamacare nightmare is about to be over,” Vice President Mike Pence visited a family-run framing business to push the Trump administration’s pledge to repeal and replace the health care law while ensuring the most vulnerable Americans are cared for. Accompanied by Secretary Tom Price of the Department of Health and Human Services, the vice president spoke with local small-business leaders at Frame USA, the Springdale online frame company that proudly proclaims that all its products are made in the United States. (Saker, 3/2)

The Washington Post: CMS Nominee Moves On A Party-Line Vote Toward Confirmation
A sharply divided Senate Finance Committee on Thursday morning recommended the confirmation of Seema Verma, a health-care consultant who has reshaped Medicaid in several states, to run the nation’s Medicare and Medicaid programs. On a vote of 13 to 12, with every Democrat in opposition, Verma’s nomination now moves to the full Senate, where the Republican majority has been moving swiftly to give its seal of approval to each of President Trump’s nominees who have come to a floor vote. (Goldstein, 3/2)

The Associated Press: Trump’s Nominee To Run Medicare And Medicaid Advances
Verma would head the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, an agency that oversees health insurance programs covering more than 130 million Americans. Known as CMS, it’s also responsible for administering the Obama-era health care law that Trump has vowed to repeal and replace. She’s a protégé of Vice President Mike Pence, after designing a Medicaid expansion along conservative lines for Indiana when he was governor. Her consulting business has about a dozen staffers, and if confirmed, she would run an agency with nearly 6,500 employees. (3/2)

Morning Consult: Senate Finance Committee Sends Trump’s CMS Nominee To Floor
If confirmed by the full Senate, Verma is expected to play an influential role in the GOP’s effort to reform both entitlement programs. During her confirmation hearing last month, Verma declined to weigh in on Republican proposals to cut Medicaid spending by changing the funding mechanism for states to block grants or per capita caps. (Reid, 3/2)

Reuters: Senate Committee Backs Trump Pick To Run Medicare, Medicaid
Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah said in a statement that addressing the challenges facing Medicare and Medicaid will require a strong partnership with the administration. Verma, he said, "will help facilitate that partnership and as we work to repeal and replace Obamacare, she will play a vital role in realigning the focus on patient-centered solutions." (Clarke, 3/2)

The Hill: Senate Panel Approves Pick For Medicaid And Medicare Chief 
Reforming Medicare and Medicaid has been a top priority for Republicans as they seek to bring down costs for the programs. Democrats opposing her nomination said she didn't answer their questions about what she would do with the programs. At her hearing last month, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) suggested Verma had "constraints" placed on her regarding how she could respond to sensitive questions. "I'm sorry that you have the constraints put on you so that you can't answer these questions forthrightly," Nelson said. (Hellmann, 3/2)

In other administration news —

Stat: Price’s New Chief Of Staff Comes From Health Care Lobbying Firm
A lobbyist with one of the nation’s largest health care practices was named chief of staff to Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price. Lance Leggitt, who oversaw health care lobbying at Baker Donelson for 11 years, now returns to HHS, where he worked during the George W. Bush administration. Leggitt also served as White House senior health policy adviser to Bush during his second term. (Kaplan, 3/2)

ProPublica: Despite Federal Law, Some Rural Hospitals Still Turn Away Women In Labor
Under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA, every U.S. hospital with an emergency room has a duty to treat patients who arrive in labor, caring for them at least until the delivery of the placenta after a baby is born. But 30 years after EMTALA was passed, hospitals — particularly those in rural areas without obstetrics units — are still turning away women in labor. (Lasson, 3/3)

The Washington Post: The Deadly Connection Between Prescription Painkillers And The Economy
About 15 years ago, death rates among middle-aged white Americans stopped falling and started to climb. It was an unprecedented reversal for a modern industrialized country, and we still don’t fully understand why it happened. The researchers who sounded the alarm — Princeton economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton — pointed to rising rates of suicide, drug overdose and alcoholism as possible clues. These so-called diseases of despair can’t fully explain why the death rate has stopped improving, but they do hint at an underlying cause: a growing sense of overall malaise about their lives. (Guo, 3/3)

Stat: Opioid Treatment Group Fronted By Newt Gingrich And Patrick Kennedy Keeps Its Funders Secret
It’s an irresistible pairing: Big-name Washington politicians Newt Gingrich and Patrick Kennedy have joined forces to help a new advocacy group push for wider use of medications to treat opioid addiction and expanded government funding. As paid advisers to Advocates for Opioid Recovery, Gingrich, the former Republican House speaker and a Trump confidant, and Kennedy, a former congressman and a scion of the family that defined liberal Democratic politics for decades, have generated a flurry of media attention. They have conducted joint interviews with outlets ranging from Fox News to The New Yorker. (Armstrong, 3/3)

NPR: More People Are Taking Opioids Despite Growing Fears
Prescribed narcotic painkillers continue to fuel a nationwide opioid epidemic—nearly half of fatal overdoses in the United States involve opioids prescribed by a doctor. But people don't seem to be avoiding the medications, despite the well-documented risks. In the latest NPR-Truven Health Analytics poll, over half of people surveyed, or 57 percent, said they had been prescribed a narcotic painkiller like Percocet, Vicodin or morphine at some point. That's an increase of 3 percent since we last asked the question in 2014 (54 percent), and of 7 percent since our 2011 poll (50 percent). (Boddy, 3/3)

And in other news —

New Hampshire Public Radio: N.H. Will See Fewer Federal Dollars Than Expected To Curb Drug Crisis
When President Barack Obama signed the “21st Century Cures Act” into law last year, New Hampshire officials anticipated getting $10 million over the next biennium. That number has dropped to $6 million. Tym Rurke, who chairs the Governor’s Commission on Drugs and Alcohol, says although the funding was supposed to be based on per capita overdose deaths – that wasn’t the case. (Sutherland, 3/2)

Georgia Health News: Amid Opioid Epidemic, Georgia Makes Overdose Antidote More Available
In December, Georgia became the 36th state to legalize over-the-counter sale of naloxone, which can save the life of someone who has overdosed on painkillers, heroin, or other opioid drugs. In the past, only someone with a doctor’s prescription could buy this medication at a pharmacy. Now anyone can buy it, with no prescription needed. (Griffith, 3/2)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Sununu Finds Himself In Cross-Border Fight With Massachusetts Officials On Opioid Crisis
Governor Chris Sununu is getting attention for his recent claims that the city of Lawrence, Mass., is the main source of fentanyl hitting New Hampshire. Critics accuse Sununu of pointing fingers – saying it’s not going to solve the state’s drug crisis. (Sutherland, 3/2)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Harvard Pilgrim Will Get A Closer Look After State Study On Addiction Treatment Claims
The New Hampshire Insurance Department released the findings of a study Thursday that takes a look at how insurance companies are handling drug and alcohol abuse treatment claims. The study, which examines the insurers Cigna, Anthem, and Harvard Pilgrim, was intended, in part, to determine if they were complying with federal parity law. Though Cigna and Anthem didn’t turn up too many red flags, the Insurance Department will be taking a closer look at Harvard Pilgrim. (McCarthy, 3/2)

The New York Times: Birth Defects Rise Twentyfold In Mothers With Zika, C.D.C. Says
American mothers infected with the Zika virus last year were 20 times as likely to give birth to babies with birth defects as mothers who gave birth two years before the epidemic, federal health officials said on Thursday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded last April that Zika infection caused severe birth defects, including the abnormally small heads of microcephaly, but it had not previously estimated how common such defects were. (McNeil, 3/2)

Miami Herald: Zika Virus: CDC Study Estimates 20-Fold Increase In Birth Defects
On the heels of a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that Zika has increased the rate of birth defects in the United States, Florida health officials on Thursday reported three more cases of the virus that were locally acquired in Miami-Dade — two infections dating to October 2016 and the first one of 2017. The two Zika cases from 2016 required confirmatory testing from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the health department said in a press release announcing the cases. The third case involved a person who had no symptoms but donated blood in January, leading to the discovery of a past infection. (Chang, 3/2)

The Washington Post: Rate Of Birth Defects In Zika Pregnancies 20 Times Higher Than In Pre-Zika Years, CDC Says
Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are trying to determine how common these birth defects, such as microcephaly, brain abnormalities, eye defects and central nervous system problems, were in the years before the Zika outbreak. Although a Zika infection during pregnancy is linked to a distinct pattern of birth defects, those abnormalities are not unique to Zika. Genetic factors and other viral infections may also cause these birth defects, although in many cases the causes are unknown, experts say. (Sun, 3/2)

Los Angeles Times: Pregnant Women With Zika Are 20 Times More Likely To Have A Baby With A Birth Defect, CDC Says
The upshot: For a pregnant woman outside of areas where mosquitoes are spreading the Zika virus, the risk of having (or losing) a baby with a defect such as microcephaly, neural tube defect, or brain or eye abnormality is pretty low, well under 1%. (Healy, 3/2)

NPR: Some Melanoma Survivors Are Still Getting Too Much Sun
People who have survived melanoma were more likely to protect themselves from sun exposure than those who hadn't experienced the disease, but a significant portion of them still reported getting a sunburn in the past year, among other behaviors that might increase the risk of a new cancer. The study, which appears Thursday in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, included 724 cancer survivors who had been diagnosed with melanoma, a potentially deadly form of skin cancer, between July 2004 and December 2007. (Hobson, 3/2)

In other public health news —

WBUR: Study: Exercise And Therapy Work Better Than Drugs To Lift Cancer-Related Fatigue
A new study in JAMA Oncology finds that exercise and psychological interventions are most effective at treating cancer-related fatigue — more effective than medication. Which doesn’t mean cancer patients should start marathon training; they can start with simple activities, like walking. (Rellosa, 3/2)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Exact Sciences Seeks To Expand Focus To Deadliest Cancer
Stock shares of Madison-based Exact Sciences Corp. rose Thursday, a day after the release of a study by the company and the Mayo Clinic that showed promise for the development of a blood-based lung cancer test... The research involved a study of nearly 400 patients, which demonstrated high accuracy for detecting lung cancer at all stages, the company and Mayo Clinic said in a statement. (Taschler, 3/2)

cleveland.com: CDC Releases Interactive Neighborhood-Level Health Data For 500 Cities, Including Cleveland
The 500 Cities project, a collaboration between CDC, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the CDC Foundation, is part of a nationwide effort to provide this health information for geographic areas smaller than counties. The effort began in 2015 and includes city and census tract-level estimates for 27 chronic health conditions, behaviors, risk factors and preventive service use for the largest 500 cities in the United States. (Zeltner, 3/2)

The New York Times: Obamacare Got Their Goat: An Illustrated Guide To Republicans’ Metaphors
It’s a goat on a bridge eating a flaming rug pulled from a collapsing sand castle! Yes, of course, I’m talking about the Affordable Care Act, which you may also know as Obamacare. Killing the health insurance law is a top priority of Republicans in the White House and Congress. As they try to achieve that, it has brought out some lively and figurative language. Many imagine the health law as a pioneer homestead. Others as a marauding farm animal. Still others direct their rhetoric to its complexity. Just this week, Kevin Brady, the House Ways and Means Committee chairman, described the G.O.P. challenge as akin to a Rubik’s Cube. (Margot Sanger-Katz, 3/3)

The Washington Post: Republicans Already Think Obamacare Repeal Is A Nightmare. It’s About To Get Worse.
President Trump’s hilariously candid revelation that “nobody knew that health care could be so complicated” may be remembered as the most succinct summary of the Republicans’ dilemma as they try to fulfill their endlessly repeated promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. And now that things are about to get specific, what had been a dangerous situation for them is about to turn into a nightmare. (Paul Waldman, 3/2)

Fortune: Lawmakers Are Taking Hilariously Extreme Measures To Hunt Down The GOP’s ‘Secret’ Obamacare Bill
Have you seen the House GOP's Obamacare replacement bill? Neither have most lawmakers! And they're resorting to some seriously creative tactics to find it. The House GOP has been keeping its draft Obamacare replacement plan under lock and key. Literally. Like, hidden away in a basement. (Sy Mukherjee, 3/2)

Concord (N.H.) Monitor: Positive Impact Of Medicaid Expansion Is Real
Unfortunately, instead of working across party lines as we have in New Hampshire to promote healthy communities and a stronger economy, many in Washington are focused on a partisan agenda of repealing the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion – an agenda that would pull us backward. There’s also been talk of turning the traditional Medicaid program into a block grant or instituting per capita caps – which is really just code for a massive cut to the federal support New Hampshire’s Medicaid program receives. These dangerous cuts would shift costs to states, forcing them to cut eligibility, services and provider payments. (Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., 3/3)

Los Angeles Times: Thanks To Trump And GOP, A California Single-Payer Healthcare System Is Now Possible
Could California have its own single-payer health insurance system providing coverage for all residents? A bill has been introduced in the state Legislature that would do just that — and its chances of success could be vastly improved by President Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress. Thanks, guys! First, a little history lesson. Stick with me because this is important. (David Lazarus, 3/3)

The Washington Post: Trump’s Health Insurance Proposal Would Start A Race To The Bottom
During his recent address to Congress, President Trump earned a standing ovation for once again declaring that, in place of Obamacare, Americans should have “the freedom to purchase health insurance across state lines. ”Here’s the dirty little secret: Obamacare already gives Americans this freedom. Dirtier still: When Republicans propose “across state lines” legislation, they’re really talking about reducing states’ sovereignty to make their own regulatory decisions. So much for states’ rights. (Catherine Rampbell, 3/2)

Health Affairs Blog: Invisible High-Risk Pools: How Congress Can Lower Premiums And Deal With Pre-Existing Conditions
As Congress and the Trump administration move forward with plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), they are looking for proven state-led reforms that maintain access for those with pre-existing conditions in the current exchange market while also lowering premiums for everyone buying insurance in the individual market. (Joel Allumbaugh, Tarren Bragdon and Josh Archambault, 3/2)

Modern Healthcare: Report Reveals Device Tax Killed 28,000 Jobs, And Could Kill 25,000 More
Devicemakers have long complained that their business has been negatively affected by an excise tax placed on their devices by the Affordable Care Act. A think tank has now crunched the numbers on how the tax affected U.S. jobs. (Adam Rubenfire, 3/2)

The New England Journal Of Medicine: Resisting The Suppression Of Science
All doctors encounter patients who express preferences for non–evidence-based therapies — organic food for coronary disease or detox cleanses for cancer, for example. Personally, I’ve never come up with an effective response. I offer facts, and then, sensing that I’m getting nowhere, I offer more facts. I blink rapidly to avoid rolling my eyes. Eventually, I resort to the “I statements” taught in medical school: “I understand that’s what you believe,” though my body language surely gives me away. Not surprisingly, I haven’t had much success in overcoming disbelief of science. And though many physicians may approach this challenge more skillfully one on one, as a scientific community, we often seem trapped in a similar dynamic. Whether it’s the science of vaccines, climate change, or gun control, we tend to endlessly emphasize the related evidence, and when that fails, exude a collective sense of disgust. (Lisa Rosenbaum, 3/1)

RealClear Health: Suboxone And Opioids: Creating A Problem To Solve A Problem?
The opioid epidemic, which has swept much of the country since the turn of the 21st century, has brought tragedy to millions, cost the country enormously, and spawned a huge new industry in opioid treatmeant.As former Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy said last year: “Substance use disorders represent one of the most pressing public health crises of our time.” (Andrew Yarrow, 3/3)

The New England Journal Of Medicine: A Citizen’s Pathway Gone Astray — Delaying Competition From Generic Drugs
Many medicines are making headlines these days not for their breathtaking ability to save lives, but for their soaring prices. Part of the problem occurs because pharmaceutical companies have become adept at converting regulatory pathways into vehicles for profit-boosting pricing strategies. Consider the citizen-petition process that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implemented in the 1970s to give the average citizen a way to voice concerns. A recent large-scale study we conducted using 12 years of FDA data reveals that the concerned citizen is frequently a drug company raising frivolous or questionable claims in a last-ditch effort to hold off competition. (Robin Feldman and Connie Wang, 3/1)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: My Autistic Sister Has A Voice That Needs To Be Heard
People are afraid to deal with what they do not understand. It is much easier for them to simply define Kendra as autistic and non-verbal. They use the labels to justify their ignorance and move on with their lives. They call her voiceless because they think the communication gap between her and them is too large. If only they would give her the chance to respond. (Kyra Ann Dawkins, 2/3)

Spectrum: Autism Rates In The United States Explained
The prevalence of autism in the United States has risen steadily since researchers first began tracking it in 2000. The rise in the rate has sparked fears of an autism ‘epidemic.’ But experts say the bulk of the increase stems from a growing awareness of autism and changes to the condition’s diagnostic criteria. Here’s how researchers track autism’s prevalence and explain its apparent rise. (Jessica Wright, 3/2)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: A Call For State Leadership On Disability Reform
Rooted in pre-Americans with Disabilities Act thinking, the nation’s core programs for individuals with disabilities, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) fail to reflect its aspirations: ensuring that those with impairments integrate into employment and society to the fullest extent their abilities allow. Why the failure? Partly because states view these programs as federal responsibilities and have avoided developing their own solutions... As Gov. Scott Walker and the Legislature consider employment policy reforms, developing state-led approaches to disability programs should top the list. (Richard Burkhauser, 3/2)

Sacramento Bee: Modernize California Laws Targeting People With HIV
When I met Pebbles, she was 15 and had been admitted to the emergency room with a pelvic infection. We diagnosed her on the spot with HIV. Pebbles had a life filled with trauma – she had spent most of her youth in foster care and in the juvenile justice system. When she was 17, her mother died. Despite her other problems, it was her HIV diagnosis that caused her the most shame and isolation. (Edward Machtinger, 2/28)

The New England Journal Of Medicine: Preventive Medicine For The Planet And Its Peoples
For many Americans, the effects of climate change seem distant: island nations will sink beneath rising seas, areas of the Middle East will become uninhabitable because of extreme heat. But though the worst effects will be felt by poorer people in poorer countries that are less resilient to droughts, floods, and heat, climate change already affects the health of vulnerable U.S. populations, and U.S. health professionals see these effects. (David J. Hunter, Howard Frumkin and Ashish Jha, 3/1)

Sacramento Bee: However Much Trump Spends On Arms, We Can’t Bomb Ebola
Before he became defense secretary, Gen. Jim Mattis once pleaded with Congress to invest more in State Department diplomacy.“If you don’t fund the State Department fully, then I need to buy more ammunition,” he explained. Alas, President Donald Trump took him literally but not seriously. The administration plans a $54 billion increase in military spending, financed in part by a 37 percent cut in the budgets of the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. (Nicholas Kristof, 3/2)