The Washington Post: Affordable Care Act’s Third Enrollment Season Draws To A Quiet Close
The third open-enrollment season for health plans under the Affordable Care Act moved into its final hours Sunday night with little fanfare from Obama administration officials who had been urging consumers to buy insurance. It was unclear whether the close of the three-month enrollment window drew any stampede of last-minute shoppers on HealthCare.gov, as was the case during the first two sign-up years. In each of those, federal health officials trumpeted a late surge of people choosing health plans as evidence of Americans' eagerness for coverage. (Goldstein, 1/31)

NPR: Feds Hopeful Hispanics Will Respond As Open Enrollment Comes To A Close
The Obama administration has increased its outreach this year to Hispanics, running special ads and targeting cities like Houston, Miami and Dallas with big Hispanic populations. Across the country, 20.9 percent of Hispanics are uninsured in the U.S., compared to 12.7 percent of blacks and 9.1 percent of whites, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. There are lots of reasons why. Hispanics are more likely to work in jobs that don't offer health benefits. Many are ineligible for the Affordable Care Act, or just don't know about the options available. (Feibel, 1/30)

Kaiser Health News: A Last Minute Reprieve For Some Consumers On California Exchange
Covered California, the state’s insurance exchange, announced Friday that it was extending its enrollment deadline until Feb. 6 for people who had officially begun the process of signing up by Sunday. Exchange officials said they extended the Sunday deadline to accommodate a surge in enrollment in the previous week involving “tens of thousands” of consumers. As of Jan. 27, the exchange reported that more than 329,000 new consumers had signed up for coverage during the third annual enrollment period, which is within the estimate of the exchange’s estimate of 295,000 to 450,000 new enrollees. (Terhune and Feder Ostrov, 2/1)

The Associated Press: Marylander Residents Get Extra Week To Enroll In Health Plan
The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange has extended its deadline for residents to enroll for health insurance because of the record-breaking snowstorm. Carolyn Quattrocki, executive director of the exchange, said in a news release Friday that the deadline for enrolling in a health benefits plan was extended from Sunday to11:59 p.m. Feb. 5. (1/29)

Kaiser Health News: Short-Term Health Plans: The Pros And Cons
Open enrollment for 2016 ends Sunday for those who buy health plans from the private market or health insurance exchanges. But if you don’t act by the deadline, are you completely out of luck? Not necessarily. (Bazar, 2/1)

The New York Times: Tax Scams Are Targeting Uninsured, I.R.S. Warns
The Internal Revenue Service is warning consumers about tax scams involving the Affordable Care Act and penalties imposed under the law on people who go without health insurance. In some cases, the agency said, unscrupulous tax preparers tell clients to pay the penalties directly to them, and they keep the money. Most people do not owe the payment at all. “However,” the I.R.S. said, “if you owe a payment, remember that it should be made only with your tax return or in response to a letter from the I.R.S. The payment should never be made directly to an individual or return preparer.” (Pear, 1/31)

The Wall Street Journal: Millions Eligible For Medicaid Go Without It
Among the 30 million people still without health insurance despite gains made under the 2010 health law, there is one surprising and poorly understood group: as many as six million people who are eligible to get near-free care through Medicaid but don’t sign up. The Obama administration was closing out the latest sign-up period for coverage under the health law on Sunday, already heralding a late rush of applicants for private coverage. From here, making a bigger dent in the uninsured rate will likely hinge on Medicaid sign-ups, an area that has gotten little formal attention. (Radnofsky, 1/31)

Kaiser Health News: Governor Seeks New Concessions From CMS To Maintain Arkansas' Medicaid Expansion
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is set to meet Monday with federal officials in Washington to negotiate the future of the state’s Medicaid expansion program, which leading Republicans say could be killed if it’s not changed. No state has seen its uninsured rate fall faster since the implementation of the federal health law than Arkansas, where it has fallen more than half, to 9.1 percent, from 2013 to 2015. Most of the credit goes to the state’s decision to expand eligibility for Medicaid, which has provided coverage for around 250,000 low-income Arkansans who make up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level — about $16,000 for an individual and $33,000 for a family of four. (Ramsey, 2/1)

Indianapolis Star: Hospitals Boosted By Medicaid Expansion
As Indiana enters its second year of expanded Medicaid coverage created by the Affordable Care Act, hospitals around the state report it has helped patients gain needed coverage. But it’s helping hospitals, too. The amount of unpaid bills Reid Health can’t collect from patients has dropped about 40 percent. The Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, which runs the hospital that has had the largest amount of uncompensated care costs in the state, has seen the share of patients without insurance drop from about 35 percent to 25 percent at Eskenazi Health. That translates into about a $15 million boost for the hospital’s bottom line. (Groppe, 2/1)

The Columbus Dispatch: Charity Care Shrinking At Central Ohio’s Nonprofit Hospitals
Central Ohio’s nonprofit hospitals receive hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks each year. But the traditional justification for those exemptions is fading rapidly. For decades, caring for the poor without expectation of payment served as the primary basis for tax breaks provided to hospitals. But Ohio's Medicaid expansion has shaken that foundation, reducing the charity-care burden by nearly half in just two years, a “Dispatch” analysis found. (Suthlery, 1/31)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: John Bel Edwards Delays Hiring For Louisiana Medicaid Expansion
Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards withdrew a key Medicaid expansion item from a legislative committee agenda Friday morning (Jan. 29), hours after the Louisiana House announced its committee members would be mostly Republicans. ... "We didn't need the approval today to continue to do what we have to do," said Edwards, reiterating the Medicaid expansion is still on track in Louisiana. The Edwards administration was planning to ask the Legislature's joint budget committee to let it hire 248 employees at the Department of Health and Hospitals to handle Medicaid expansion. ... About 75 percent of the cost of paying for the new staff would be paid by the federal government. (O'Donoghue, 1/29)

The Associated Press: Medicaid Lawsuit, Tax Credit Hearings Ahead For Alaska Lawmakers
The focus on Medicaid will shift this week from the Capitol to a courtroom during an ongoing fight over expanded coverage in Alaska. ... Legislators plan to meet this week on bills aimed at curbing and containing costs within Medicaid. Meanwhile, on Thursday, a judge in Anchorage plans to hear arguments in a lawsuit challenging Walker's authority to expand Medicaid without legislative approval. (Bohrer, 1/31)

Sioux Falls (S.D,) Argus Leader: Daugaard: Medicaid Talks A 'Win' Before Expansion
Native American health may benefit from a debate over Obamacare in South Dakota. It's not a one-to-one connection from the nation's health care reform to the unfolding crisis on reservations, but the two have become linked in the South Dakota Legislature. Lawmakers are currently considering a plan from Gov. Dennis Daugaard to expand the federal Medicaid program to about 50,000 adults without insurance. ... Tribal representatives and spokeswomen from the state's largest hospital systems say no matter what the Legislature decides, they'll likely move forward with implementing tele-health services and other contracted health care options on South Dakota’s Indian reservations. (Ferguson, 1/30)

The New York Times: Hillary Clinton Criticizes Bernie Sanders And Ted Cruz On Healthcare
Making her final push before the Iowa caucuses, Hillary Clinton staked out her position as the lone defender of the Affordable Care Act on Saturday night, warning that her Democratic rival, Senator Bernie Sanders, would scrap it and start over and that Republicans would hand healthcare back to insurers and drug-makers. While she tends to lump Republicans with Donald J. Trump these days, Mrs. Clinton made clear that she is also paying attention to Senator Ted Cruz. (Rappeport, 1/30)

The New York Times: Hillary Clinton Says Bernie Sanders’s Health Plan Will ‘Never, Ever Come to Pass’
Hillary Clinton said on Friday that Bernie Sanders’s proposal for a single-payer health care system would thrust the nation into “a terrible, terrible national debate” and would “never, ever come to pass.” “People can’t wait,” Mrs. Clinton said at a rally here on Friday, evoking a sense of urgency and echoing an argument from her most recent campaign ads. “People with health emergencies can’t wait for us to have some theoretical debate about some better idea that will never, ever come to pass.” (Chozick, 1/29)

The Associated Press: In Final Iowa Blitz, An Outraged Clinton Channels Sanders
Seeking victory in Iowa, Hillary Clinton has begun channeling the economic indignation of her rival Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose unapologetically liberal campaign has tightened the race ahead of Monday's caucuses and given him a lead in the New Hampshire contest that follows. Making her closing argument to Iowa caucus-goers, Clinton now cloaks her detailed policy plans in Sanders' outraged rhetoric. Pharmaceutical pricing "burns" her up. Companies that take advantage of the tax loopholes get her "pretty riled up." And she promises to "rail away" at any industry that flouts the law. (Lerer and Thomas, 1/31)

The Wall Street Journal: Bernie Sanders Defends Liberal Ambitions Amid Rival’s Attacks
Sen. Bernie Sanders directly responded Saturday to critics who say his expansive plans are unrealistic, comparing his drive to take on Wall Street and income inequality to American movements to win equality for African-Americans, women, gay people and those with disabilities. “Some people say, ‘Well this is an ambitious agenda, it can’t happen,’” Mr. Sanders told a rally in Manchester, Iowa, two days before Iowans cast the first votes in the race for the presidency. “Really? Really? Why not? Why can’t it happen? Because we don’t have the courage to stand up to the insurance companies and the drug companies and Wall Street and corporate America and the corporate media? Is that why it can’t happen? I don’t believe that.” (Meckler, 1/31)

STAT: How Drug Price And Single Payer Define The Democratic Battle For Iowa
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both devote a good chunk of their stump speeches to the problem of rising prescription drug prices — but their solutions are vastly different. For Clinton, the answer is to treat drug costs as the next big challenge to be tackled with policy tweaks that build on the successes of the Affordable Care Act. For Sanders, drug costs are the reason for a complete overhaul that transitions to a whole new system: single-payer health care. (Scott, 2/1)

On the Republican side, Ted Cruz goes after Donald Trump's health care plan, saying it is merely a continuation of the Affordable Care Act —

The Wall Street Journal: Trump, Cruz Trade Barbs
The two leading Republican presidential candidates traded personal criticisms during Sunday’s talk shows, a day before Iowa holds its first-in-the-nation nominating contest. ... Mr. Cruz also criticized Mr. Trump, saying his health-care policies amounted to a continuation of the Democratic-backed Affordable Care Act. “If Donald Trump is elected president, the federal government will be in charge of every one of our health care,” he said. On ABC later Sunday morning, Mr. Trump responded: “Ted Cruz is a total liar.” Mr. Trump said that he opposes the Affordable Care Act and the idea of a single-payer health-care system, but that he also believes the government should help poor people who can’t buy health insurance. (Tracy, 1/31)

The Huffington Post: Donald Trump Promises He'll 'Work Something Out' On Health Care
Republican front-runner Donald Trump is going to "work something out" on health care after he dismantles Obamacare, he said Sunday. He didn't say what exactly that "something" will be -- but the real estate mogul said he's going to have it under control. (Foley, 1/31)

The Washington Post: Iowan Asks Ted Cruz What Will Happen If He Repeals Obamacare
His voice quavering with emotion, Mike Valde told Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) about his brother-in-law: He was a barber who couldn’t afford health care until the Affordable Care Act, and after getting coverage he went to the doctor for the first time in years, and was diagnosed with multiple tumors. He died soon after. “Mark never had health care until Obamacare,” Valde told Cruz in a middle school cafeteria here. “What are you going to replace it with?” (Zezima, 1/30)

And The New York Times makes its endorsements —

Fox News: New York Times Endorses Clinton, Kasich
The board said [John] Kasich, also endorsed by the liberal-leaning Boston Globe, was “not moderate” but said he was “capable of compromise” and acknowledged his efforts to expand ObamaCare in Ohio through expanded Medicaid. (1/30)

CBS News: These Candidates Just Got Endorsed By The New York Times
The paper praised [John] Kasich's position on a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigration, as well as his $13 billion expansion of Medicaid in Ohio. (Flores, 1/30)

USA Today: WHO To Hold Emergency Meeting Monday On Zika Virus
The World Health Organization will hold an emergency meeting Monday to find ways to battle the Zika virus, which is linked to birth defects and "spreading explosively" through the Americas. The WHO could classify the Zika outbreak now in 25 countries and territories as a "public health emergency of international concern," deserving of a coordinated global response. (Szabo, 1/31)

The New York Times: Vaccine for Zika Virus May Be Years Away, Disease Experts Warn
As public health officials warn that the Zika virus is swiftly spreading across the Americas, the search is on to develop a vaccine to halt the disease, which could infect as many as four million people by the end of the year and has been linked to severe birth defects. But even as a host of companies have announced plans to develop a vaccine, disease experts say it could be years — maybe as long as a decade — before an effective product makes its way to the public. Not only are scientists still learning about the virus, which until recently was viewed as relatively benign, but any vaccine must go through rigorous testing to ensure that it is safe and effective. (Thomas, 1/29)

NPR: Puerto Rico Health Official 'Very Concerned' About Zika's Spread
Officials have said an outbreak in the U.S. is unlikely, and might be contained in the more tropical regions. So far Puerto Rico has been the most affected, with 19 confirmed cases. Dr. Brenda Rivera-García, the territorial epidemiologist with the Department of Health in Puerto Rico, joined NPR's Michel Martin to talk about how the virus is affecting the island. (1/30)

NPR: Zika Virus Reignites Abortion Debate In Brazil
Increased incidents of microcephaly in infants has spurred guidance to women that boils down to: Don't get pregnant. But women in Brazil have few options. (Garcia-Navarro, 1/30)

NPR: Church Doctrine Complicates Situation For Pregnant Women In Zika-Affected Areas
Some governments responded to the Zika epidemic by asking women to delay getting pregnant. Missionary doctor David Vanderpool says the reality for women in Zika-affected areas is far more complex. (Martin, 1/30)

The Miami Herald: Zika: How To Protect Yourself From The Mosquito-Born Virus
As the mosquito-borne Zika virus tears through Latin America and the Caribbean, health officials in the United States say it’s only a matter of time before someone is affected here. But Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Thursday that “outbreaks of Zika in the continental U.S. will likely be limited.” (Teproff and Chrissos, 1/29)

Politico: Biden’s Cancer Bid Exposes Rift Among Researchers
Joe Biden’s proposal for a cancer moon shot has struck a deep nerve in the research community, where cutting-edge scientists blame an entrenched medical establishment for hoarding the data needed to make breakthroughs. The tension boiled over this month when Jeffrey Drazen, editor of the New England Journal, and co-author Dan Longo, wrote in an op-ed that while sharing was all well and good, it had to be done collaboratively, not by “data parasites” who stole or misused work that might have taken bench scientists decades to assemble. The editorial did not mention Biden’s initiative, but many commenters noted its relevance. (Allen, 1/31)

The New York Times: Flint Weighs Scope of Harm to Children Caused by Lead in Water
Of all the concerns raised by the contamination of Flint’s water supply, and the failure of the state and federal governments to promptly address the crisis after it began nearly two years ago, none are more chilling than the possibility that children in this tattered city may have suffered irreversible damage to their developing brains and nervous systemsfrom exposure to lead. New concerns surfaced Friday when officials said that recent tests of unfiltered tap water in Flint had found levels of lead in some samples higher than what filters distributed to residents were designed to remove. (Goodnough, 1/30)

The Associated Press: Helping Childhood Cancer Survivors Become Healthy Adults
Young people who have survived cancer as children often face special challenges as they mature into adults. Their needs are a special interest of Jean M. Tersak, director of the cancer survivorship program at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. There she leads pediatric hematology/oncology research to bring about cancer cures. At the same time, she sees the need for helping survivors wade through the demands of transitioning from having a pediatrician who is familiar with their cancer treatment to having a family doctor who may not understand their risk of health problems, caused by their cancer as well as their cancer treatment. (1/29)

NPR: A Diet High In Fiber May Help Protect Against Breast Cancer
If the advice to eat more fiber seems easy to ignore, you're not alone. Most Americans don't get the 25 to 38 grams a day that recommended, depending on age and gender. But if you're skimping on fiber, the health stakes are high, especially if you're a teenage girl. A study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics concludes that eating lots of fiber-rich foods during high school years may significantly reduce a woman's risk of developing breast cancer. (Aubrey, 2/1)

The Texas Tribune: Texas GOP V. Planned Parenthood: A Scorecard
Almost six months ago, undercover videos surfaced purporting to show officials with Planned Parenthood in Texas discussing illegal acts. Texas Republicans pounced, opening up multiple battlefronts against the embattled women’s health organization. (Ura, 1/31)

The Houston Chronicle: Planned Parenthood Just A Small Part Of Medicaid
If Texas officials succeed in kicking Planned Parenthood out of the state Medicaid program, the biggest impact will be felt by low-income women seeking birth control alternatives to the pill, such as condoms and Depo-Provera injections, according to an analysis of newly released state data. ... But the data also shows the women's health organization delivered only about 1 percent or fewer of other key Medicaid procedures such as the pill and tests for pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, suggesting state officials may be right that those services can be obtained elsewhere. Moreover, the data indicates that removing Planned Parenthood from Medicaid would be far less damaging than the 2013 removal of the organization from the state Women's Health Program, which significantly affected access to family planning services. (Rosenthal and Ketterer, 1/31)

The Associated Press: More Abortion Restrictions Advancing In Florida Legislature
Anti-abortion forces in the Florida Legislature are advancing a handful of bills they say are aimed at protecting the health of women, but that opponents say aim to deny access to abortions. If the measures pass, legal challenges are likely. A measure passed in Florida and signed by Gov. Rick Scott last year, requiring a 24-hour waiting period before obtaining an abortion, hasn't yet taken effect because of a challenge in state courts. (March, 1/31)

USA Today/The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal: Planned Parenthood In Louisville Halts Abortions
Planned Parenthood temporarily has stopped offering abortion services at its new clinic in Louisville while it addresses objections the state raised Thursday about its license application for the facility. But in a letter Friday to Kentucky officials, Planned Parenthood claimed the organization had the state's approval when it began offering abortion services Jan. 21 at the downtown clinic. (Yetter, 1/29)

Los Angeles Times: Revamping The Tax On Healthcare Plans Proves Tougher Than Gov. Brown Thought
Three weeks ago, Gov. Jerry Brown confidently predicted that the vexing question of how to extend a tax on healthcare plans in order to fund state medical coverage for the poor was well on its way to being solved. "We need the [managed care organization] tax now — this month," Brown said. "We’re going to get it. We’ve got to get it." But as January has come to a close, his administration has yet to nail down an overhaul that can win support from the insurers, much less secure the Republican votes necessary to pass the Legislature. (Mason, 2/1)

The Boston Globe: State Challenge To Gilead Would Hinge On Untested Legal Theory
If Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey makes good on her threat to sue Gilead Sciences Inc. for overcharging for its hepatitis C drugs, her case probably will rely on an untested legal theory that could be applied widely to other specialty pharmaceuticals. (Weisman, 2/1)

The Associated Press: Budget Fight Leaves Illinois Stuck With Overdue Bills
As Illinois politicians continue to squabble over a budget that should have taken effect July 1, hundreds of state contractors have been left with little more than I.O.U.s, according to more than 500 pages of documents — just since Nov. 1 — released to The Associated Press under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. From a $28.44 late-notice water and sewer bill at the 1848 Mt. Pulaski Courthouse — which had neither when Abraham Lincoln practiced law there — to $4.8 million that Illinois owes Michigan for a health partnership, vendors have flooded the Capitol with disconnect warnings, credit-hold notices, desperate pleas and even a frowny face stamp in an effort to get paid. The state owes $2 million to Ashley's Quality Care in Chicago, which provides in-home care workers to keep seniors out of nursing homes, according to chief accountant Michael Robinson. (1/31)

The Associated Press: HMSA's New Rule For Imaging Exams Frustrates Physicans
The Hawaii Medical Service Association is imposing a new pre-authorization requirement that doctors say is delaying critical imaging tests and resulting in harmful consequences for patients. The state's largest health insurer, with 720,000 members, is now requiring physicians to go through a third party on the mainland to approve diagnostic imaging exams including MRI scans and computerized tomography, or CT, scans, and certain cardiac-related procedures in an effort to reduce unnecessary costs. The new rules started on Dec. 1. (1/31)

The Associated Press: $16M Given To Florida Groups For Cancer Research
Organizations across the state are getting money for cancer research and tobacco-related diseases. The Florida Department of Health announced Thursday that over $16 million in research funding was awarded to 17 different projects. These funds will support researchers in their efforts to improve prevention, diagnosis, treatment and develop cures for cancer and tobacco-related diseases. (1/29)

The Orlando Sentinel: South Florida Undergoes Boom In Medical Education
South Florida's medical schools are rapidly expanding and upgrading, in hopes of turning the region into a major hub for health care. The University of Miami announced Thursday it has received a $50 million donation to build a new state-of-the-art building to house its medical program. Nova Southeastern University just named a dean for its soon-to-open second medical school, while Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University have been adding more residency programs to train young doctors. (Travis, 1/31)

The Associated Press: Lawmakers Consider 3rd Crisis Center In Southern Idaho
Jimmy Moss, an Idaho Falls resident suffering from a traumatic brain injury, was facing homelessness when his family brought him to the recently opened crisis center in eastern Idaho last year. "I was really bitter," Moss, 38, said. "I was fed up with life. I didn't want to come in, but I was agitated. I didn't know where it was coming from — from the medication or the brain injury." (Haake, 1/31)

The Daily Chronicle: Student's Death Shows Need For Mental Health Services
Quintonio LeGrier was an amiable young man, one of his high school math teacher’s favorite students. He was an inspiration, a determined person who motivated others to be better. At least, that was how friends and relatives described the 19-year-old Northern Illinois University sophomore at his funeral Jan. 9. But fellow students’ accounts and police records hint that the avid chess enthusiast and playground basketball player, who spent most of his childhood in foster care, might have been among the growing population of people who suffer from mental illness. (Gillespie, 1/31)

The Columbus Dispatch: Many Older Adults Can't Afford To See A Dentist And Suffer The Consequences Of Poor Oral Health
Every day, 10,000 Americans turn 65, but many seniors don't have a good reason to smile. Access to dental care is the No. 1 unmet health need for low-income adults in Ohio, said David Maywhoor, director of Universal Health Care Action Network Ohio’s program to increase access to dental care. (Pyle, 1/31)

The Pioneer Press: Salmonella Outbreak In Minnesota Linked To Meal Replacement Shake
An outbreak of salmonella infections in Minnesota and six other states has been linked to Garden of Life Raw Meal Organic Shake & Meal Replacement powder, the Minnesota Department of Health said Friday. Two people in Minnesota — a child and an adult in his 30s — were sickened by the outbreak strain of salmonella, according to a news release issued by the MDH. One of them ate the company’s chocolate shake while the other ate its vanilla shake, the news release said. Both have since recovered. (Woltman, 1/29)

The Houston Chronicle: Child Care Providers Taught To Give Medications
On any day, thousands of Connecticut children need to be given medication while in child care centers, but many providers don’t know how to properly administer the medications, studies show. To change that equation, the Yale School of Nursing developed a curriculum and has trained 75 nurse consultants to teach child-care providers how to correctly give medication to children in their daily care. More than 200 providers have been trained statewide. (RosnerConn, 1/30)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Dover May Ban Vaping In Non-Smoking Areas
Electronic cigarettes could soon be banned in all places where regular cigarettes are already prohibited in a New Hampshire city. Foster's Daily Democrat reports the Dover City Council has moved an ordinance along to a public hearing that would ban e-cigarettes in all locations that current tobacco products are already prohibited from. (1/29)

The Wall Street Journal: ObamaCare’s Wallet-Buster Health Plans
Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, where I work, has analyzed all publicly available information for health-insurance premiums from healthcare.gov and state insurance departments. It then calculated the weighted averages for all health-insurance plans available on the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges. The weighted average gives a more accurate view of overall premium increases, because it takes into account each insurance plan’s market share. The findings: Nationally, premiums for individual health plans increased on average between 2015 and 2016 by 14.9%. (Nathan Nascimento, 1/31)

Forbes: Obamacare Pummels Blue Cross Blue Shield Of NC. What Can We Learn From This?
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC is expecting to lose more than $400 million on its first two years of Obamacare business. According to this morning’s News and Observer, “The dramatic deterioration in Blue Cross’ ACA business is causing increasing alarm among agents and public health officials.” In response to its bleak experience with the Obamacare exchange, the company has decided to eliminate sales commissions for agents, terminate advertising of Obamacare policies, and stop accepting applications on-line through a web link that provides insurance price quotes–all moves calculated to limited Obamacare enrollment. What can we learn from North Carolina’s experience? (Chris Conover, 1/30)

The Washington Times: Why Health Insurance Premiums Are Rising
We shouldn’t be surprised that health insurance premiums continue to rise at record rates — by 15-20 percent for many employers and their employees in 2016 alone. Between private insurance, Medicare and Medicaid, the number of insured Americans has grown dramatically to nearly 90 percent of the population. While more people than ever before are seeking health care services since the passage of Obamacare the supply of physicians, hospitals and outpatient treatment facilities has not kept pace. (Ed Michael Reggie and Claudia Campbell, 1/28)

The Hill: Sustaining The Marketplace For A Healthier America
As the third Affordable Care Act (ACA) open enrollment season draws to a close, more than 11 million Americans have signed up for coverage and are enjoying the peace of mind that comes with having health insurance. For that reason, I am proud to have supported the law, but only with continued improvement can we help secure its future success. We now have a system in place where everyone, including those with pre-existing medical conditions, can gain access to coverage. This is transformative given that prior to the ACA, millions of Americans were uninsured. As of last year, the rate of uninsured reached its lowest in decades – roughly 10 percent according to the National Center for Health Statistics. (Tom Daschle, 1/29)

The Wall Street Journal: For Hospital Chains, Competition Is a Bitter Pill
When the 124-bed StoneSprings Hospital Center opened in December, it became the first new hospital in Loudoun County, Va., in more than a century. That’s more remarkable than it might at first seem: In the past two decades, Loudoun County, which abuts the Potomac River and includes growing Washington suburbs, has tripled in population. Yet not a single new hospital had opened. Why? One big reason is that StoneSprings had to fight through years of regulatory reviews and court challenges before laying the first brick. (Eric Boehm, 1/29)

The New York Times: Hillary Clinton For The Democratic Nomination
Hillary Clinton would be the first woman nominated by a major party. ... The Times editorial board has endorsed her three times for federal office — twice for Senate and once in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary — and is doing so again with confidence and enthusiasm. ... Mrs. Clinton’s main opponent, Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described Democratic Socialist, has proved to be more formidable than most people, including Mrs. Clinton, anticipated. ... In the end, though, Mr. Sanders does not have the breadth of experience or policy ideas that Mrs. Clinton offers. His boldest proposals — to break up the banks and to start all over on health care reform with a Medicare-for-all system — have earned him support among alienated middle-class voters and young people. But his plans for achieving them aren’t realistic, while Mrs. Clinton has very good, and achievable, proposals in both areas. (1/30)

The New York Times: A Chance To Reset The Republican Race
Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, though a distinct underdog, is the only plausible choice for Republicans tired of the extremism and inexperience on display in this race. And Mr. Kasich is no moderate. As governor, he’s gone after public-sector unions, fought to limit abortion rights and opposed same-sex marriage. Still, as a veteran of partisan fights and bipartisan deals during nearly two decades in the House, he has been capable of compromise and believes in the ability of government to improve lives. ... While Republicans in Congress tried more than 60 times to kill Obamacare, Mr. Kasich did an end-run around Ohio’s Republican Legislature to secure a $13 billion Medicaid expansion to cover more people in his state. (1/30)

The Huffington Post: An Iowa Voter Forced Ted Cruz To Confront The Human Toll Of Repealing Obamacare
Republicans have spent nearly six years promising to repeal Obamacare and, for most of that time, they have refused to acknowledge what that would mean for the millions who would lose their health insurance. On Saturday afternoon in Iowa, for at least a few minutes, one Republican couldn't get away with it. (Jonathan Cohn, 1/30)

Topeka (Kan.) Capital-Journal: Sandy Praeger's Thoughts On Medicaid Expansion
The arguments we hear today against Medicaid expansion are not new. In 1998, Republican Bill Graves was governor and I was chair of the Senate health committee. States had a similar opportunity from the federal government to expand health coverage for Kansans under the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Like today, opponents said we should not expand an already burdensome program. However, unlike today, the opportunity was not simply refused, but discussed openly. (Sandy Praeger, 1/31)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Across Louisiana, Hard-Working Families Can't Afford Life's Basics
Louisiana's high poverty rate is well documented, but what we don't see as clearly is how many people live just above that threshold and struggle to make ends meet on their meager paychecks. Doctors who treat patients without health insurance see it. The kind-hearted people who volunteer at food pantries see it. But there has been little concrete information on the number of Louisianians whose income doesn't cover their most basic expenses. ... Long term, there is a need for more affordable housing, better childcare and broader health care coverage. The Medicaid expansion that Gov. John Bel Edwards approved his first day in office could make a huge difference for the families in the ALICE report. (1/31)

The Washington Post: The Miracle AIDS Drug That People Refuse To Take
When the FDA approved a drug to reduce the risk of HIV infections in July 2012, gay men rejoiced. If taken daily, Truvada works like a vaccine against HIV, effectively halting its spread. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hailed it as an “important new tool” in the fight against the disease. Slate described it as “a miracle drug.” President Obama imagined an “AIDS-free generation.” It hasn’t worked out that way. (Richard Morgan, 1/29)

Minnesota Public Radio: A Kid, A Stolen Cellphone, And Invisible Faces Of Mental Illness
It’s a monumentally sad story published in today’s Pioneer Press. He’s Dejuan Quashon Montgomery, and he’s probably heading back to prison soon because he stole a 9-year-old girl’s cellphone while she was standing on a street corner earlier this month talking to her father. You might see it as a crime story. I see it as a health story. The cops, in releasing a photo after the incident, called the thief “despicable.” (Bob Collins, 1/29)