Reuters: U.S. Declares Coronavirus A Public Health Emergency
The Trump administration on Friday declared a public health emergency over the coronavirus outbreak and said it would bar entry to the United States starting on Sunday of foreign nationals who have traveled to China. U.S. citizens who have traveled to China's Hubei Province within the last 14 days will be subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told a media briefing at the White House on Friday. (2/1)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Imposes Entry Restrictions Over Coronavirus
At the same time, Mr. Azar sought to minimize fears about the virus spreading further in the U.S. “I hope that people will see that their government is taking responsible steps to protect them,” he said at a White House briefing. “The risk is low…but our job is to keep that risk low.” There are seven confirmed cases in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, while 191 other people are being checked for possible infection, HHS officials said. The number of people infected in China approached 12,000 as the death toll from the pneumonia-causing virus rose to 259 as of late Friday, according to China’s National Health Commission. (Leary and Abbott, 1/31)

The Washington Post: State Department Tells Citizens ‘Do Not Travel’ To China; World Health Organization Declares Coronavirus Outbreak A Global Health Emergency
The State Department heightened its travel advisory for China on Thursday, urging citizens not to travel there due to the rapid spread of coronavirus. The announcement came hours after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a “public health emergency,” setting in motion a plan for global coordination to stem the spread of the virus, which originated last month in Wuhan, China. (Denyer, Sun, Berger, Taylor and Iati, 1/30)

NPR: Trump Declares Coronavirus A Public Health Emergency And Restricts Travel From China
In their Friday remarks, federal health officials pointed to the fast global spread of the virus as justification for the move. The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency on Thursday. U.S. officials also tried to explain their reasoning for an intense focus on this outbreak, which so far has not led to any deaths in the U.S., though it has led to more than 250 in China. (Aubrey, 1/31)

Politico: White House Seeks To Calm U.S. Fears Over Wuhan Coronavirus
White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien on Sunday sought to quell fears over the Wuhan coronavirus, saying the outbreak poses “low risk” now in the United States. “Right now there's no reason for Americans to panic. This is something that is a low risk, we think in the U.S,” O’Brien said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” (Cammarata, 2/2)

The Hill: National Security Adviser: No Reason For Americans To Panic Over Coronavirus
“There's no reason for Americans to panic,” O’Brien said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “This is something that is a low risk, we think, in the U.S. But President Trump, from the day he took office, made protecting Americans and keeping them safe, whether it's from terrorists or criminal organizations or from viruses like the new novel coronavirus is top priority. So we're taking steps to keep Americans safe and the government is functioning in that direction.” (Klar, 2/2)

The New York Times: Trump Defends Closing Borders To Travelers To Fight Coronavirus
President Trump defended a decision that would bar foreign nationals who had recently visited China from entering the United States as his administration continued to assess the growing threat of a coronavirus outbreak. Sitting with the Fox News personality Sean Hannity, Mr. Trump used a roughly nine-minute interview taped on Saturday evening at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Florida, and broadcast on Sunday as an opportunity to condense his usual rally-speak into Super Bowl pregame chatter. The topics included the virus, his impeachment and quick-paced insults of his potential 2020 rivals. (Rogers, 2/2)

The Associated Press: DHS: New Screening To Begin Amid Coronavirus Concerns
As the U.S. steps up its response to the coronavirus outbreak, the Department of Homeland Security is warning airline passengers that their flights may wind up rerouted if officials discover mid-flight that someone onboard has been in China in the last 14 days. And Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said a “handful” of flights will be heading to China to bring Americans back home from Hubei Province, which is at the heart of the outbreak. (2/2)

The Hill: TSA Tells Airlines To Ask Passengers If They've Been To China
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has told airlines to ask passengers on international flights if they’ve been to mainland China in the past two weeks.The TSA issued the directive Saturday to go into effect Sunday at 5 p.m. ET in light of the new coronavirus spreading to 14,000 cases in more than 20 countries and territories, CNN reported. U.S. citizens who have traveled to China in the past 14 days will be allowed to enter the country in one of seven airports: Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle-Tacoma, Chicago O’Hare, Atlanta and John F. Kennedy International airports, TSA administrator David Pekoske said in an email sent Saturday to employees. (Coleman, 2/2)

The Washington Post: More Than 11,800 People In China Have Been Diagnosed With Coronavirus, The Country’s Health Experts Confirm; U.S. To Deny Entry To Foreign Nationals Who Recently Visited China And Quarantine Returning Americans
Following a quarantine order issued Friday, which government officials said was last used in the 1960s, evacuees held at a base in California will have their movements tightly controlled for 14 days after they left China because health experts are still uncertain about how readily the virus spreads. (Mahtani, Sun, Berger, Taylor and Iati, 1/31)

NPR: Coronavirus: CDC Puts Americans Who Left Wuhan Into 'Unprecedented' 14-Day Quarantine
"This is the first time in over 50 years that CDC has issued a quarantine order," said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC. "While we understand this action may seem drastic, our goal today, tomorrow and always continues to be the safety of the American public." (Chappell, 1/31)

The New York Times: ‘Scared And Panicked’: Travelers Rush To Avoid Virus Quarantine
Amid canceled flights, tightening global travel restrictions and looming plans to quarantine Americans returning from China, the tension at a handful of airports still receiving flights from the country mounted on Sunday as travelers described a scramble for the few remaining tickets out of China and federal officials readied military bases to house hundreds of people potentially exposed to the deadly coronavirus. “It feels like trying to leave Paris in 1940 or something — there’s a bit of panic settling in,” said Jeffrey Phillips, 41, who was unsure when his wife, Sue, would be able to return to the United States after a trip to visit her family in China. (Lin, Fuller and Fausset, 2/1)

ABC News: Life Inside The American Coronavirus Quarantine For A Professional Football Player
It's day five for 195 Americans inside the quarantine zone at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California. Jarred Evans may be stuck, but he's hardly taking it easy. "No days off," says Evans, 27. The professional football player has good reason to stay in shape: after playing quarterback for the Wuhan Berserkers for two years, Evans is due to report to another pro team in Switzerland by Feb. 17. (Sandell and Maravilla, 2/2)

Reuters: China Says Coronavirus Death Toll Rises To 361, Confirmed Cases 17,205
The total number of deaths from a coronavirus epidemic in China rose to 361 as of Sunday, up 57 from the previous day, the National Health Commission said. It said 56 of the new deaths were in Hubei province, and one in the municipality of Chongqing. (2/3)

Stat: To Fight Coronavirus Spread, U.S. May Expand 'Social Distancing' Measures
Canceling large public gatherings. Asking students to stay home from school. Closing down borders. Many places around the world have already implemented such drastic steps in response to the new coronavirus outbreak that originated in China and has spread to at least 27 territories outside mainland China. If the U.S., which has 11 cases so far, begins to see sustained human-to-human transmission, health officials may also have to rapidly step up their own use of “social distancing” measures to prevent further spread. (Chakradhar, 2/3)

Reuters: Biden Slams Trump For Cutting Health Programs Before Coronavirus Outbreak
Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden on Friday criticized President Donald Trump for reducing U.S. oversight of global health issues before the coronavirus outbreak in China, which has spread rapidly to several countries including the United States. "We have, right now, a crisis with the coronavirus," said Biden, who is in Iowa campaigning before the Midwestern farm state holds Democrats' first nominating contest on Monday. (Hunnicutt, 2/1)

CNN: Coronavirus Travel Restrictions In US: Chinese Official Says It's An Overreaction
On Monday, a spokeswoman for China's Foreign Ministry accused the US government of inappropriately reacting to the outbreak. "Even American media and experts doubted the government's decision, saying that the US government's restrictions on China are precisely what the WHO rejects, that the US is turning from overconfidence to fear and overreaction, and that banning the entry of foreigners who traveled to China in the past 14 days is suspected to be violating civil rights instead of reducing risks of virus spreading," Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.(Maxouris, 2/3)

Bloomberg: China Blasts U.S. For ‘Overreaction’ To Virus, Spreading Fear
Beijing’s harsh words bring the tensions between the two countries back into focus, after they spent the last two years engaged in a trade war that undermined growth in the world’s two biggest economies. China’s death toll has climbed to 361 and its confirmed cases now top 17,000, fueling skepticism about the government’s ability to constrain it. (Leigh and Li, 2/3)

The Hill: Defense Secretary Approves Request For Housing Assistance To Contain Coronavirus
Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper approved a request from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Saturday to provide housing assistance for about 1,000 overseas travelers upon arrival from China that may have to be quarantined for exposure to the coronavirus. The Department of Defense (DOD) will provide housing, while all other aspects of the quarantine like medical care, monitoring and transportation will be handled by HHS. "Under the request, DOD will only provide housing support, while HHS will be responsible for all care, transportation, and security of the evacuees" a spokesperson for the DOD said in a statement obtained by The Hill via email. (Moreno, 2/1)

California Healthline: Public Health Officials Offer Scant Details On U.S. Coronavirus Patients
Disclosure this week of an eighth case in the United States of a new viral infection emerging from China — in addition to the first confirmed case of the virus passing from person to person in this country — is fueling public concerns about how easily the deadly virus can spread. It is also raising pointed questions about why authorities aren’t disclosing more information about the risk of exposure. (Barry-Jester and Almendrala, 1/31)

WBUR: U.S. Hospitals Unprepared For A Quickly Spreading Coronavirus
If the coronavirus spreads more widely, can U.S. hospitals handle such a surge in illness? Probably not — meaning public health officials would have to accurately identify who is most severely ill. (Neighmond, 2/2)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: UPS Airlifting Masks, Protective Equipment To China
UPS is airlifting supplies of respirator masks and protective gear to China for healthcare workers amid the coronavirus outbreak. The Sandy Springs-based shipping giant is transporting more than 2 million respirator masks, 11,000 protective coveralls and 280,000 pairs of nitrile gloves to Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (Yamanouchi, 1/31)

The New York Times: Wuhan Coronavirus Looks Increasingly Like A Pandemic, Experts Say
The Wuhan coronavirus spreading from China is now likely to become a pandemic that circles the globe, according to many of the world’s leading infectious disease experts. The prospect is daunting. A pandemic — an ongoing epidemic on two or more continents — may well have global consequences, despite the extraordinary travel restrictions and quarantines now imposed by China and other countries, including the United States. Scientists do not yet know how lethal the new coronavirus is, however, so there is uncertainty about how much damage a pandemic might cause. (McNeil, 2/2)

Stat: Top WHO Official Says It's Not Too Late To Stop Coronavirus Outbreak
There is still reason to believe the growing coronavirus outbreak in China can be contained, a top World Health Organization official said Saturday, pointing to some evidence that the disease may not be spreading as rapidly as is feared. He also downplayed reports that people infected with the virus may be contagious before they show symptoms — a feature that, if true, would make it much harder to control. “Until [containment] is impossible, we should keep trying,” Dr. Mike Ryan, head of the WHO’s Emergencies Program, said in an interview with STAT. The WHO declared the outbreak a global health emergency on Thursday. (Branswell, 2/1)

The New York Times: SARS Stung The Global Economy. The Coronavirus Is A Greater Menace.
In 2002, when a lethal, pneumonialike virus known as SARS emerged in China, the country’s factories were mostly churning out low-cost goods like T-shirts and sneakers for customers around the world. Seventeen years later, another deadly virus is spreading rapidly through the world’s most populous country. But China has evolved into a principal element of the global economy, making the epidemic a substantially more potent threat to fortunes. International companies that rely on Chinese factories to make their products and depend on Chinese consumers for sales are already warning of costly problems. (Goodman, 2/3)

The Washington Post: China’s Reopened Stock Markets Plunge As Coronavirus Outbreak Set To Become Pandemic
Coronavirus cases continue to surge in China while new infections are being reported around the world. Stock markets in China, reopening after the Lunar New Year holiday, recorded their sharpest falls in more than four years on Monday, reflecting increasing concern about the damage the outbreak is inflicting on the local economy. (Denyer, 2/3)

The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Kills Its First Victim Outside China As Toll Grows
The newly identified coronavirus claimed its first life outside China, as the number of U.S. cases ticked up to eight and the Pentagon said it was setting up quarantine centers for travelers who screened positive for the illness. A 44-year-old man in the Philippines from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak began in December, died on Saturday, the Philippine Department of Health said on Sunday. The man was one of two confirmed cases in the Philippines, the other being his 38-year-old female companion. (Yang, Solomon and Lubold, 2/2)

The Hill: First Coronavirus Death Reported Outside China
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has reportedly temporarily banned travelers from China and its autonomous regions from entering the country. The U.S., Japan, Singapore and Australia have taken similar measures as the virus spreads. Delta Airlines and American Airlines last week announced they would suspend all flights between the U.S. and China starting in February.(Wise, 2/2)

ABC News: Global Death Toll From New Coronavirus Outbreak Rises To 362
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Monday announced additional border closures, severing all but three links between the semi-autonomous Chinese city and mainland China. The Hong Kong International Airp[ort, the Shenzhen Bay border and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge remain open. (Winsor, 2/3)

The New York Times: As New Coronavirus Spread, China’s Old Habits Delayed Fight
A mysterious illness had stricken seven patients at a hospital, and a doctor tried to warn his medical school classmates. “Quarantined in the emergency department,” the doctor, Li Wenliang, wrote in an online chat group on Dec. 30, referring to patients. “So frightening,” one recipient replied, before asking about the epidemic that began in China in 2002 and ultimately killed nearly 800 people. “Is SARS coming again?” (Buckley and Myers, 2/1)

The Washington Post: Early Missteps And State Secrecy In China Probably Allowed The Coronavirus To Spread Farther And Faster
It was almost the Lunar New Year and Pan Chuntao was feeling festive. He knew there were reports of a virus in his city, Wuhan. But local officials urged calmness. There was no evidence it was transmitted person to person, they said. They had not reported a new case in days. On Jan. 16, the 76-year-old left his two-bedroom apartment to attend a government-organized fair. “We told him not to go because we saw some rumors on WeChat of doctors getting infected,” said Pan’s son-in-law, Zhang Siqiang. “But he insisted on going. He said, ‘The government says it’s not a problem, there are no cases anymore.’ ” (Shih, Rauhala and Sun, 2/1)

The Associated Press: Built In 10 Days, China's Virus Hospital Takes 1st Patients
The first patients arrived Monday at a 1,000-bed hospital built in 10 days as part of China's sweeping efforts to fight a new virus that is causing global alarm. Huoshenshan Hospital and a second 1,500-bed facility due to open this week were built by construction crews who are working around the clock in Wuhan, the central city where the outbreak was first detected in December. Some 50 million people are barred from leaving Wuhan and surrounding cities. (McDonald, 2/2)

The Wall Street Journal: New Coronavirus Hospital Is Completed As Cases, Deaths Keep Climbing
The hospital, built in 10 days, is one of two going up to treat virus patients in the stricken central Chinese city of Wuhan. A video on the website of state-controlled news agency Xinhua, which reported the completion, showed a crowd of construction workers—all wearing face masks—applauding during the inauguration ceremony. Roughly 1,400 military medical workers will staff the 1,000-bed Huoshenshan (“Fire God Mountain”) hospital, Xinhua said. (Li, 2/3)

NBC News: China's Coronavirus Hospital Built In 10 Days Opens Its Doors, State Media Says
It’s not the first time China has had to build a specialized medical facility on a tight deadline. During the SARS epidemic in 2003, a hospital in Beijing was constructed in just a week. Wuhan has been on lockdown for nearly two weeks with millions of its inhabitants barred from leaving the city. The Chinese government has not yet signaled when the lockdown could be lifted. (Talmazan, 2/3)

The New York Times: Coronavirus Pummels Wuhan, A City Short Of Supplies And Overwhelmed
Weak with fever, An Jianhua waited in line for seven hours outside the hospital in the cold, hoping to get tested for the new coronavirus, which doctors suspected she had contracted. Ms. An, 67, needed an official diagnosis from a hospital to qualify for treatment, but the one she and her son raced to last week had no space, even to test her. The next hospital they were referred to here in Wuhan, the city of 11 million people at the center of the outbreak, was full, too, they said. They finally got an intravenous drip for Ms. An’s fever, but that was all. (Qin, 2/2)

The Wall Street Journal: Avian Influenza In China Adds To Economic Concerns Amid Coronavirus Spread
Chinese authorities announced Saturday a recurrence of avian influenza in chickens in central China, adding fresh economic concerns for a country reeling from an outbreak of coronavirus that has sickened nearly 12,000 people since it emerged in December. In a sign of the pressure already on China, Australia and Vietnam joined the U.S. and others in distancing their citizens from the country over the coronavirus, while Apple Inc. shut its stores on the Chinese mainland and Beijing pledged more support for embattled businesses. (Mendell and Cheng, 2/1)

Bloomberg: Coronavirus Latest News: China Fatalities Up, Travel Restrictions
Chinese officials are evaluating whether the target for economic growth this year should be softened, according to people familiar with the matter. The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak rose past 360 and total confirmed cases reached almost 17,400.Global efforts to contain the spread escalated after the Philippines reported the first fatality outside China and the U.S. confirmed more infections. Trading resumed in China after the Lunar New Year holidays, with stocks plunging the most since 2015 as they caught up with declines elsewhere. U.S. equity futures rallied. (Bloomberg News, 2/2)

Bloomberg: Coronavirus Forces World’s Largest Work-From-Home Experiment
While factories, shops, hotels and restaurants are warning about plunging foot traffic that is transforming city centers into ghost towns, behind the closed doors of apartments and suburban homes, thousands of businesses are trying to figure out how to stay operational in a virtual world. “It’s a good opportunity for us to test working from home at scale,” said Alvin Foo, managing director of Reprise Digital, a Shanghai ad agency with 400 people that’s part of Interpublic Group. “Obviously, not easy for a creative ad agency that brainstorms a lot in person.” It’s going to mean a lot of video chats and phone calls, he said. (Banjo, Yap, Murphy and Chan, 2/2)

The Associated Press: Medical Professionals Battle Virus Misinformation Online
Dr. Rose Marie Leslie, a family physician at the University of Minnesota, is fighting misleading and false information around a virus outbreak with the very tool used to spread much of it: social media. Leslie turned to TikTok, a platform popular with teens, to share her videos offering facts about the respiratory virus originating in China, which has so far sickened nearly 10,000 people. As of Friday, the videos had raked in more than 3 million views. (Dupuy, 1/31)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Fears Prompt Hoaxes And Misinformation
Residents of an off-campus housing complex near USC got a scare Monday night in the form of an email. The message from the manager of the Lorenzo apartments stated that a tenant had contracted the new strain of coronavirus that’s caused 304 deaths in China. A unit on the seventh floor of the building was cordoned off with caution tape, and someone was loaded into an ambulance outside, said Frank Zhu, 20, a USC sophomore who lives at the complex. (Wigglesworth, 2/2)

The Washington Post: Kimchi, Cow Poop And Other Spurious Coronavirus Remedies
The new coronavirus has killed more than 300 people in China and infected thousands more. As the virus spreads and with no cure in sight, some people are looking to alternative remedies to protect them from infection or cure themselves if they’ve already contracted it. Here are some of the theories floating around. Some of these have been proposed by medical doctors, and some of them are just common sense. Others, not so much. As the ads say: If your symptoms persist or get worse, see your physician. (Fifield, 2/2)

The Hill: Social Media Struggles To Counter Coronavirus Misinformation
The world's top social media platforms are trying to push users toward fact-driven and reputable sources as sensationalist misinformation about the deadly coronavirus spreads online. But wild conspiracy theories and misleading advice about the coronavirus, which has infected almost 10,000 people in China so far, are continuing to spread largely unabated on platforms like Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and other networks with billions of users overall.And U.S. lawmakers, many of whom are working to publicize trustworthy information about the little-understood health epidemic, say they want the platforms to do more to stave off the wave of misinformation. (Birnbaum and Rodrigo, 2/1)

The Washington Post: Get A Grippe, America. The Flu Is A Much Bigger Threat Than Coronavirus, For Now.
The rapidly spreading virus has closed schools in Knoxville, Tenn., cut blood donations to dangerous levels in Cleveland and prompted limits on hospital visitors in Wilson, N.C. More ominously, it has infected as many as 26 million people in the United States in just four months, killing up to 25,000 so far. In other words, a difficult but not extraordinary flu season in the United States, the kind most people shrug off each winter or handle with rest, fluids and pain relievers if they contract the illness. But this year, a new coronavirus from China has focused attention on diseases that can sweep through an entire population, rattling the public despite the current magnitude of the threat. (Bernstein, 2/1)

NPR: No, You Won't Catch The New Coronavirus Via Packages Or Mail From China
In an era of online shopping and global shipping, some NPR listeners have written to us with this question: Am I at risk of catching the new coronavirus from a package I receive from China? Almost certainly no, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Aubrey, 2/3)

The Wall Street Journal: Experts Race To Figure Out How Contagious The Coronavirus Is
Public-health experts around the world have been crunching numbers about the advance of China’s dangerous new coronavirus to estimate how far and fast it could spread. Studies published in recent days say the new virus appears to be more contagious than seasonal flu and on par with the similar pathogen behind an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in 2002 and 2003. The new virus’ mortality rate, however, is far below that of SARS. (Deng and Page, 2/2)

Bloomberg: Coronavirus May Transmit Along Fecal-Oral Route, Xinhua Reports
The coronavirus that’s infected more than 14,000 people in two dozen countries may be transmitted through the digestive tract, Chinese state media reported. Virus genetic material was discovered in patient stool and rectal swabs, Xinhua said Sunday. The finding was made by scientists from the Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University and the Wuhan Institute of Virology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences after noting that some patients infected with the 2019-nCoV virus had diarrhea early in the disease, instead of a fever, which is more common, the report said. (Gale, 2/2)

Reuters: Gilead Working With China To Test Ebola Drug As New Coronavirus Treatment
Gilead Sciences Inc said on Friday it provided its experimental Ebola therapy for use in a small number of patients with the coronavirus that has killed over 200 so far in China and is working with the country's authorities to set up a study. The announcement comes a day after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus epidemic a public health emergency of international concern. (2/1)

The Wall Street Journal: Gilead Sciences Offers Experimental Drug For Coronavirus Treatments, Testing
Health authorities have been searching for a treatment for China coronavirus infections, which lack an approved drug or vaccine. Several drugmakers have said they are trying to develop a vaccine, which could prevent but not treat infections. Researchers had been hoping to study whether Gilead’s remdesivir and other antivirals could work as treatments. (Walker, 1/31)

Bloomberg: Can Coronavirus Be Treated? Gilead Drug To Undergo Human Trials
Drugmakers such as GlaxoSmithKline Plc. as well as Chinese authorities are racing to crash develop vaccines and therapies to combat the new virus that’s more contagious than SARS and could cost the global economy four times more than the $40 billion sapped by the 2003 SARS outbreak. The decision to hold human trials for remdesivir shows it’s among the most promising therapies against the virus that so far has no specific treatments or vaccines. (2/3)

CNN: US Coronavirus: There Are Now 11 Confirmed Cases
Health officials Sunday announced three more cases of the coronavirus in California, bringing the state's total to six and the country's total to 11 cases. Late Sunday, a San Benito County official said a man who had recently traveled back from Wuhan, China, and his wife were confirmed to have the virus and isolating themselves in their home. The man arrived at San Francisco International Airport on January 24 and was screened and found to be healthy and asymptomatic, Dr. Martin Fenstersheib, interim health officer for the county, said in a news conference. The next day, the man developed symptoms including a cough and low-grade fever, Fenstersheib said. A few days later, his wife began showing symptoms as well. (Maxouris, 2/3)

Los Angeles Times: Three New Coronavirus Patients Confirmed In Northern California, Bringing Total To Six Statewide
Health officials in Northern California announced Sunday that three more people have been infected with the new strain of coronavirus, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the nation to 11, with more than half of those in the state. In San Benito County, health officials said that the two patients there were a married couple and that the husband had recently returned from Wuhan, China — the epicenter of the outbreak that has killed more than 350 people in the country. (Elmahrek and Hamilton, 2/2)

KQED: 11th U.S. Case Of Coronavirus Confirmed In Northern California
Officials have confirmed that a central California couple has been sickened with a new virus after the husband traveled to the Chinese city at the center of the outbreak, bringing the number of U.S. cases to 11. The couple, both 57 years old, have not left their home since the husband returned from China, according to a Sunday announcement from San Benito County Health and Human Services. This included a case of person-to-person transmission, officials said. (2/2)

KQED: S.F. Lunar New Year Attendees Only Mildly Concerned About Coronavirus
After the first case of novel coronavirus in the Bay Area was reported on Friday, some Lunar New Year celebrations in the region were canceled or postponed. But not San Francisco's second annual Ocean Avenue celebration, which took place on Saturday. We spoke with some of its attendees to see how they felt about the global outbreak of the virus. (Chang, 2/2)

The Wall Street Journal: New York City Investigating Three Possible Cases Of Coronavirus
New York City officials are awaiting test results on three suspected cases of coronavirus and preparing for the possibility of quarantining visitors traveling from China and arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Health officials said Saturday they were investigating the first possible case of the deadly virus in the city. (West, 2/2)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Coronavirus Overshadows A Rough Ohio Flu Season Hitting A Peak
Though the novel coronavirus from China has dominated January health headlines, the Cincinnati region and the nation are sniffling, sneezing and coughing their way through a bruising season of influenza. Not as serious as two years ago, when the United States endured an epidemic, the flu appears to be reaching its seasonal peak at slightly higher levels than the five-year average. In Ohio and Kentucky, the flu is listed as “widespread,” the broadest geographic measure of the illness. (Saker, 1/31)

Kansas City Star: Kansas Patient Tests Negative For Coronavirus, Officials Say
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment says a person in Lawrence who was being tested for the novel coronavirus is not infected with it. The state health department made the announcement Saturday, days after it had reported that he was being investigated for possible exposure to the virus. (Schwers, 2/1)

The Washington Post: Dulles Is Among Airports At Which All China Flights Will Arrive, DHS Says
Virginia’s Dulles International Airport was named by the federal government Sunday as one of the 11 airports through which all flights from China and passengers who have been in China recently will be routed. The measure is part of what the Department of Homeland Security said is a plan to protect Americans against the coronavirus that originated in China. (Weil, 2/3)

The Associated Press: Coronavirus Preparation Underway At Maryland’s Johns Hopkins
Behind the passcode-protected doors of the Biocontainment Unit on the eighth floor of Johns Hopkins Hospital, the hallway and rooms are empty except for three nurses holding protective gear they just removed according to a strict protocol. Medical staff has been training here nonstop since the unit was created in response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak and are ready to care for seriously ill patients from the coronavirus. (Cohn and Bowie, 2/1)

Boston Globe: Massachusetts Reports First Confirmed Case Of Coronavirus
Massachusetts health officials Saturday announced the state’s first confirmed case of the new coronavirus, in a Boston resident who had recently returned from Wuhan City, the epicenter of the respiratory illness raging across China and spreading to other countries. Health officials said the patient, a man in his 20s, is a student at the University of Massachusetts Boston who landed at Logan International Airport on Tuesday, the day before active screening for coronavirus started at the airport. (Freyer, 2/1)

WBUR: Boston Man Has Coronavirus, Mass. Health Officials Confirm
The first case of the coronavirus in Mass. has been confirmed by state health officials. The patient, a man in his 20s, recently returned to Boston from Wuhan, China, according to state health officials. (Wertheim, 2/1)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Trump, Georgia Companies Respond To Growing Coronavirus Outbreak
Sandy Springs-based UPS is airlifting supplies of respirator masks and protective gear to China for use by health-care workers. The shipping giant said its UPS Foundation is working with two Georgia nonprofits — MAP International and MedShare — and providing free transport of the equipment. (Oliviero, 1/31)

San Francisco Chronicle: Travis Air Force Base In Fairfield To House About 250 Coronavirus Evacuees
Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield is one of four military bases chosen to house travelers returning from overseas and being monitored for the new coronavirus that has sickened 11 Americans and more than 17,000 in China, where it originated. The base’s main lodging facility will house about 250 travelers through February if needed, said Capt. Amanda Farr, a spokeswoman for the base. (Serrano, 2/2)

NBC News: School Tip Lines Were Meant To Stop Shootings, But Uncovered A Teen Suicide Crisis
Across the country, as officials look for ways to prevent school shootings, states have started tip lines like SafeOregon — websites, apps and phone numbers that let students anonymously report concerns about classmates. But in many places, reports of students self-harming or feeling suicidal have far outpaced the number of threats against schools, according to annual reports compiled by state agencies, forcing communities to confront a different kind of crisis. Since SafeOregon launched in January 2017, it has received 540 reports of a suicidal student, compared to 278 reports of a threatened attack on a school. Pennsylvania’s Safe2SayPA took in 2,529 reports related to self-harm and 2,184 related to suicidal thoughts in its first six months last year, while threats against schools accounted for 607 reports. Nevada’s SafeVoice tip line, launched in 2018, collected 371 suicide threats, 350 reports of self-harm and 248 threats to a school in its first year. In Wyoming, suicide threats were the most common report to the Safe2Tell tip line in 2019, with 239 instances submitted, compared to 45 reports of planned school attacks. (Kingkade, 2/1)

Stat: Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Aims To Build A Model For Tackling Rare Diseases
The 30 recipients, all focused on advancing research in a rare disease, will each receive $450,000 from the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, along with those additional resources, over two years. In a phone interview with STAT, Chan, a pediatrician, said that her own experiences in the clinic have shaped her views about the importance of elevating the perspective of patients. She described feeling stuck and embarrassed when families would come in with a child with a rare condition that she couldn’t even identify using the usual means — until she started asking the families to lead the way. (Robbins, 2/3)

ProPublica: Dating Apps Can Be Dangerous. Congress Is Investigating.
A House subcommittee chair announced on Thursday a broad investigation of the safety of online dating apps in the wake of “extremely troubling reports.” Among those cited in letters sent by the subcommittee to dating app companies is a lengthy recent investigation by Columbia Journalism Investigations and ProPublica. Launched by Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, the inquiry will focus on the use of dating sites among underage users, the sale or dissemination of users’ personal information and the presence of registered sex offenders on free dating sites. (Cousins, 1/31)

The New York Times: Doctors On TikTok Try To Go Viral
For decades, sex education in the classroom could be pretty cringey. For some adolescents, it meant a pitch for abstinence; others watched their teachers put condoms on bananas and attempt sketches of fallopian tubes that looked more like modern art. On TikTok, sex ed is being flipped on its head. Teenagers who load the app might find guidance set to the pulsing beat of “Sex Talk” by Megan Thee Stallion. (Goldberg, 1/31)

The Wall Street Journal: Booze Ads On Social Media Stir Controversy
Health concerns are sparking restrictions on advertising alcohol on billboards and television, but on social media—which transcends national borders—lax age controls and the use of influencers make booze marketing hard to police. While regulators from New York City to Ireland to Ethiopia have cracked down on outdoor and broadcast ads for beer, wine and spirits in the past year, only a handful have targeted online ads. (Chaudhuri, 2/2)

CBS News: Frontotemporal Dementia: Devastating, Prevalent And Little Understood
This is a story about the cruelest disease you have never heard of. It's called frontotemporal dementia, or FTD. And given the devastating toll it takes on its victims and their families, it ought to be much better known than it is. FTD is the number one form of dementia in Americans under the age of 60. What causes it is unclear, but it attacks the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, which control personality and speech, and it's always fatal. It is not Alzheimer's disease, which degrades the part of the brain responsible for memory. (Whitaker, 2/2)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Eye Health Care: How Nurses Should Take Care Of Their Eyes
Eye health is one more nursing irony. The work involves so much “seeing,” from reading charts and digital data to interpreting health-related emotions on patients’ faces. But the work also tends to challenge healthy vision, with the prominence of fluorescent lights and too much screen time, along with diets that aren’t always eye health-friendly. (Kennedy, 2/1)

Georgia Health News: Child’s Hip Problems Highlight A Little-Known Issue  
While most people are aware of Down syndrome, many are not aware of its potential effects on a child’s hips. At the time of Sarah’s first dislocation, her own parents didn’t realize the connection, even though they had been dealing with health problems the syndrome can create.. (Kanne, 2/1)

Daily Herald: For The Deaf, Technology Can Make Health Care Access Worse
Hospitals nationwide have begun using video remote interpreting, or VRI technology, to fulfill the “reasonable accommodation” portion of the American with Disabilities Act. But with small screens, unreliable Wi-Fi connections and devices that are hard to move around beds, many deaf individuals say that technology has made trying to seek and communicate about medical help worse, not better. (Dodson, 2/2)

CNN: Eating A Low-Protein, Low-Sulfur Diet May Prolong Your Life
New research shows limiting protein-rich foods that naturally contain high levels of sulfur amino acids, such as meats, dairy, nuts and soy, may reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease. If future research bears that out, it may be another stepping stone to better health and longer life. Drinking green tea, rather than black, may help you live longer, new study suggests. "For decades it has been understood that diets restricting sulfur amino acids were beneficial for longevity in animals," said John Richie, a professor of public health sciences at Penn State College of Medicine in a statement. (LaMotte, 2/3)

The New York Times: Would Your Wages Rise Under ‘Medicare For All’?
Hidden in the larger debate over “Medicare for all” is a fundamental economic question: Who pays for work-based health insurance? For the 157 million Americans who get health insurance through their work — or through the job of a spouse or parent — the answer may seem obvious, evident right on pay stubs. Employers pay most of it, and workers pay some. Last year, work-based coverage per person cost $7,188, with employees directly contributing 18 percent on average. Family coverage cost $20,576, of which employees paid 30 percent. (Frakt, 2/3)

The Wall Street Journal: Health-Care Stocks Won’t Feel The Bern For Long
Politics pose a significant risk to U.S. health-care stocks. Investors should look past it. Sen. Bernie Sanders has gained ground in the Democratic presidential race and is now tied with former Vice President Joe Biden among the party’s primary voters nationally, according to a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.  Sen. Elizabeth Warren is in third place. Sen. Sanders has proposed a dramatic overhaul of the U.S. health-care system known as Medicare for All. He could possibly gather more steam with a strong showing in Monday’s Iowa caucus. (Grant, 2/2)

The Hill: Poll: Narrow Majority Favors 'Medicare For All'
A narrow majority of Americans favors a national “Medicare for All” health plan, according to a new poll, but even more like a public option. The poll, released Thursday by the Kaiser Family Foundation, found that 56 percent of respondents said they want Medicare for All, while 68 percent said they favored a public option that competes alongside private insurance. (Weixel, 1/30)

Reuters: Where Democratic Presidential Candidates Stand On 'Medicare For All'
Perhaps no issue has divided the field of Democratic 2020 presidential hopefuls more than "Medicare for All." Liberal candidates favor the sweeping proposal, which would replace private health insurance with a single government-run plan. Moderate candidates have embraced less drastic measures they say would achieve broader healthcare coverage while allowing individuals to choose their plan. Here is where the top eight contenders stand on Medicare for All. (2/1)

Modern Healthcare: Hospital, Insurance Execs Prefer Moderate Dems In Early Campaign Giving
The Iowa caucuses serve as the official kickoff of the presidential primary season. Based on early donations flowing into candidates' coffers, hospital and insurance executives favor moderate Democratic hopefuls who oppose single-payer healthcare reform. A Modern Healthcare review of publicly available federal campaign finance records of more than 60 healthcare industry chief executives showed that the majority have not yet given to a presidential candidate. (Cohrs, 1/31)

ABC News: How We Vote: Navigating The Iowa Caucuses As A Voter With Disabilities
As a local advocate for Americans living with disabilities, Emmanuel Smith does not mince words when it comes to the upcoming caucus."I think it's important for people to understand it's not eight people in a one-room schoolhouse and cornfield somewhere. These are packed, packed, packed gymnasiums, government buildings, really anywhere that we can find to pack people in. And it's two hours of that and it's loud and it's frustrating and people are confused," Smith, who has brittle bone disease, suffers from chronic pain and uses a wheelchair, told ABC News. (Parks, Sergi and Scanlan, 1/31)

WBUR: As Caucus Day Nears, Iowa Voters Guided By Big Health Care Changes
Health care has consistently polled as the No. 1 issue voters care about in Iowa. With Monday's caucuses less than 72 hours away, decision time is rapidly approaching for voters like Hurst who are not just weighing which candidate to back, but what health care should look like in the future. (Greene, Jones, Westerman and Glenn, 1/31)

The Hill: Democrats Face Uphill Battle Against Trump's Medicaid Overhaul
Democrats are vowing to fight the Trump administration's new plan to let states turn some of their Medicaid funds into a block grant, but blocking the overhaul will be a challenge. The program — branded as the “Healthy Adult Opportunity” — will allow states to ask permission for a waiver to end their traditional, open-ended Medicaid program and put hard caps on how much money states and the federal government will spend on the poor and disabled. States would be allowed to impose work requirements, cut provider payments and require cost sharing and premiums without additional permission from the federal government. (Weixel, 2/2)

Health News Florida: Medicaid Block Grant Proposal Likely Has Little Impact In Florida
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced the plan, called the Healthy Adult Opportunity, on Thursday. It’s an optional program that would allow states to receive part of their Medicaid funding in one lump sum. Unlike the current system where the federal contribution increases as a state’s health care costs go up, funding under the block grants would be capped. (Ochoa, 1/31)

North Carolina Health News: Federal Proposal Could Change The Face Of Medicaid In North Carolina
State leaders may follow their current positions when it comes to the proposed block grants. The office of Republican state Senate leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) declined to comment, pointing to the complicated aspects of the block grant proposal. The office of State House Speaker Tim Moore did not respond to a phone call and email Thursday seeking comment. But the block grant proposal, being called Healthy Adult Opportunity, could find some support in North Carolina, one of the 14 states that have so far resisted expanding Medicaid to low-income adults. A standoff between Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, and Republican state lawmakers over Medicaid expansion has left the state without a budget, after Cooper vetoed a proposed budget in June because it didn’t have a path to expansion. (Ovaska and Engel-Smith, 1/31)

And in other Medicaid news —

Modern Healthcare: Medicaid Expansion Linked To Employment Rate Growth In Michigan
Medicaid expansion enrollees in Michigan increased their rate of employment or student status at a significantly higher rate than the rest of the state's population in 2017, the latest evidence on the benefits of expansion under the Affordable Care Act. The percentage of expansion enrollees who had jobs or were enrolled in school rose six percentage points in one year, while the rate for other state residents remained flat, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open. (Meyer, 1/31)

Roll Call: HHS Cheers Overdose Drop But Urges States To Cap Medicaid
The White House announced the first decline in overdose deaths since the earliest days of the opioid crisis and attributed it to administration actions, even as officials simultaneously said they would let states cap funding for Medicaid, a common way for patients to get treatment. A 4 percent dip in the number of overdose deaths from 2017 to 2018 could indicate that the crest of the opioid crisis has passed, said White House senior aide Kellyanne Conway, who called the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data a “turning point.” (Kopp and Siddons, 1/31)

St. Louis Public Radio: Hospital Association Says Expanding Medicaid Would Keep Rural Missouri Hospitals Open
When Pinnacle Regional Hospital in Boonville closed recently, it became the seventh rural hospital to shut its doors in Missouri since 2010.In that same time frame, Illinois had two rural hospitals go out of business. The National Rural Hospital Association blames the difference on lack of Medicaid expansion. The association reports there are nine factors that can lead to a rural hospital shutting down, and being in a state, like Missouri, that hasn't expanded Medicaid is number one. (Ahl, 2/2)

The Associated Press: FDA Approves First Treatment For Kids With Peanut Allergy
The first treatment for peanut allergies is about to hit the market, a big step toward better care for all kinds of food allergies -- but still a long way from a cure. Friday’s approval by the Food and Drug Administration promises to bring some relief to families who’ve lived in fear of an accidental bite of peanuts at birthday parties and play dates, school cafeterias and restaurants. Named Palforzia, it was developed by Aimmune Therapeutics. (Neergaard, 1/31)

The Washington Post: Peanut Allergy Drug Palforzia Is The First To Be FDA Approved
The therapy, Palforzia, isn’t a cure and comes with significant risks of triggering the very reactions it is supposed to quell. But for families and children who have re-engineered their routines to minimize potential exposures — changing how and whether they travel, eat out, socialize and feel safe in their daily lives — it could offer an important layer of protection and relief. Palforzia is seen as an important test case for a new generation of therapies expected to transform how food allergies are treated. Doctors who have had few tools other than counseling their patients to assiduously avoid peanuts expect that other drugs will follow — additional drugs for the peanut allergy, as well as egg and tree nut allergies. Aimmune Therapeutics, which makes Palforzia, has several other food allergy treatments in its pipeline. (Johnson, 1/31)

The Wall Street Journal: FDA Approves First Drug For Peanut Allergy
To build up their resistance, children ages 4 to 17 years who are prescribed the new therapy start with escalating doses of Palforzia mixed with apple sauce or other food each day, and after reaching a certain dose continue on that dose indefinitely. Aimmune said the list price for Palforzia will be $890 a month, or about $10,680 a year. Roth Capital Research analyst Zegbeh Jallah estimates the drug could generate annual sales of $1 billion by 2026. (Loftus, 1/31)

CNN: FDA Approves First Drug To Treat Peanut Allergies In Children
More than 2.5% of all American children are allergic to peanuts, according to The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. It's one of the most common food allergies in the country. For those allergic, exposure to peanuts can result in symptoms like cramping, indigestion, hives, swelling and even fainting or dizziness. (Asmelash, Christensen and Kounang, 2/3)

Stat: Commercial Success Of First Peanut Allergy Treatment Is Not Assured 
Children and teenagers with severe, sometimes life-threatening peanut allergies can reduce their risk from accidental exposure with a new treatment approved Friday by the Food and Drug Administration. But administering the new treatment, called Palforzia and made by Aimmune Therapeutics (AIMT), is cumbersome and carries its own safety risks, which may deter families and allergists from using it. Palforzia’s approval was widely expected given the endorsement last September from an FDA advisory panel. The success of the product’s commercial launch is more uncertain but will be closely followed throughout 2020. (Feuerstein, 2/3)

In other pharmaceutical news —

Stat: Employers Shoulder Plenty Of Drug Costs, But Haven’t Lobbied Much To Lower Them — Until Now
The new group called EmployersRx, a joint project of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, the Pacific Business Group on Health, the ERISA Industry Committee, and the Silicon Valley Employers Forum, is hoping to push lawmakers to start thinking about drug pricing policies that will affect the broadest number of Americans, not just changes to federal programs.And it’s going further than you’d expect: it’s “intrigued by” the progressive package of reforms being pushed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in part because the current version would give employers the chance to buy drugs at prices that Medicare had negotiated. The group hasn’t formally endorsed the bill, but its coy position on it is a startling departure from the rest of the business community, which has blasted the bill as socialist and bad for business. (Florko, 2/3) 

Politico: Trump’s Ag Dept. Seeks To Cut Programs Without Knowing How Many People Get Hurt
In a rare bipartisan move last June, Republicans and Democrats teamed up to scuttle an Agriculture Department proposal that would have shuttered job training centers for at-risk youth across the country — an idea that blindsided lawmakers and seemed to lack much explanation or underlying data. Rep. Dan Newhouse blasted Secretary Sonny Perdue’s plan, which he said would close some of the highest-performing facilities in the popular program, contrary to USDA’s claims. “It appears the administration’s rollout of this proposal was done carelessly — and without the data or the statistics to point to any rhyme or reason as to how the decisions were made,” the Washington Republican said at a committee hearing. (McCrimmon, 2/3)

In other news from the administration —

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Strengthens Efforts Against Human Trafficking, Amid Criticism From Victims’ Advocates
President Trump on Friday signed an executive order aimed at combating human trafficking and online exploitation, the White House said. The order establishes a new position on the White House Domestic Policy Council focused on combating human trafficking. That official will coordinate with the National Security Council and the office of Ivanka Trump, a senior White House adviser and the president’s daughter. The White House doesn’t yet have a candidate for the job, a senior administration official said. (Ballhaus, 1/31)

Kaiser Health News: As VA Tests Keto Diet To Help Diabetic Patients, Skeptics Raise Red Flags
A partnership between the Department of Veterans Affairs and Silicon Valley startup Virta Health Corp. is focusing attention on the company’s claim that it provides treatment “clinically-proven to safely and sustainably reverse type 2 diabetes” without medication or surgery. The assertion is at the heart of an ongoing debate about the keto diet’s effect on diabetes. Some diabetes experts are skeptical of Virta’s promise and are expressing concerns that the company’s partnership with the federal government is giving the diet too much credence. (Craven, 2/3)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Proposes Rules To Rein In ACA Subsidies
The federal government on Friday proposed changes to standards governing ACA-compliant health plans sold on the exchanges in 2021, several of which aim to ensure the CMS doesn't provide subsidies to ineligible people. The CMS asked for feedback on whether it should end automatic re-enrollment for low-income exchange enrollees who receive $0 premium plans with tax credits. The agency requested comment on whether it should discontinue or reduce those enrollees' advanced premium tax credits for the next year unless they actively update their application during open enrollment. (Livingston, 1/31)

In other health insurance and cost news —

The Associated Press: Trump Administration Rejects California’s Health Care Tax
The Trump administration says it will not allow California to collect a key health care tax on managed care organizations, a decision that could cost the state nearly $2 billion a year for low-income benefits. The news does not immediately affect California’s budget because the state did not plan to receive that money this year or the budget year that begins July 1. But it could cost California $1.2 billion in the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2021, California Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer said. That number increases to $1.9 billion after that. (Beam, 1/31)

Modern Healthcare: Home Health Companies Drop Merger Amid FTC Probe
The Federal Trade Commission closed its investigation into the proposed merger of home health companies Aveanna Healthcare and Maxim Healthcare Services after the organizations abandoned the deal, the FTC announced late Thursday. Atlanta-based Aveanna aimed to acquire the home health division of Columbia, Maryland-based Maxim for a reported $1.25 billion. Regulators said they had concerns about the deal's anticompetitive effects regarding nursing services in multiple markets across the country. (Kacik, 1/31)

In other home health care news —

Kaiser Health News: Why Home Health Care Is Suddenly Harder To Come By For Medicare Patients
The decision came out of the blue. “Your husband isn’t going to get any better, so we can’t continue services,” an occupational therapist told Deloise “Del” Holloway in early November. “Medicare isn’t going to pay for it.” The therapist handed Del a notice explaining why the home health agency she represented was terminating care within 48 hours. “All teaching complete,” it concluded. “No further hands on skilled care. Wife states she knows how to perform exercises.” (Graham, 2/3)

The Associated Press: Planned Parenthood To Resume Abortions At Kentucky Clinic
A Planned Parenthood clinic in Louisville is resuming abortions later this year after the procedure was halted in 2016. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky announced on Friday that its Louisville center received a provisional license from Kentucky officials, making it the second abortion provider in Kentucky. The group says the license allows for a full range of reproductive care, including abortions, beginning in March. (1/31)

The Hill: Planned Parenthood Clinic In Kentucky Resuming Abortions After Halt
“Kentucky has gone from one abortion provider to two, which is a significant win for reproductive health care in the state,” said Chris Charbonneau, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky. “All people in Kentucky deserve to make their own pregnancy decisions and to have access to safe and legal abortion.” Former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R), a fierce opponent of abortion access, issued an order to halt the procedure at the Louisville center in 2016, leading to a protracted court battle. Bevin was unseated in November by Democrat Andy Beshear, who supports abortion access. (Axelrod, 2/1)

The Hill: Utah Panel Approves Bill Requiring Fetal Remains To Be Buried Or Cremated
A state Senate panel in Utah has approved a bill requiring the fetal remains of an abortion or miscarriage to be buried or cremated, advancing the legislation to the full chamber. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee voted 4-2 along partisan lines to push the bill forward, The Salt Lake City Tribune reported. The measure would provide requirements for health care providers, while allowing mothers to choose which of the options they would prefer. (Gstalter, 2/1)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Controversy Over Georgia Mental Health Budget As Needs Grow
Much of state government is facing cuts. But Behavioral Health — Georgia’s agency for people with mental illness, disabilities such as Down syndrome and autism, and addiction problems — has vaulted to prominence as legislative hearings detailed the possible impact on some of the state’s most vulnerable people. The department is under federal supervision after it settled a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice alleging inadequate treatment in the state’s mental health system, dangerous conditions and violence among patients. (Hart, 2/1)

NBC News: California's Rising Rents, Severe Housing Shortage Fuel Homelessness
The sleeping couple is among 151,000 people living on the streets in California, and as the number climbs each year, many wonder how the state's housing crisis got so bad. Part of the answer lies in what happened last week when lawmakers failed to pass legislation that promised to ease the housing shortage by creating more density near jobs and transit routes. But opponents said Senate Bill 50 did not do enough to protect low-income residents from gentrification and complained it would take zoning power away from local jurisdictions. Its author, Sen. Scott Weiner, D-San Francisco, said the bill would have been a first step in creating housing. (Lozano, 2/2)

San Francisco Chronicle: Disciplinary Charges Against Santa Rosa Doctor Who Exempted Kids From Vaccines
A state medical official has filed disciplinary charges against a Santa Rosa physician who exempted three healthy youngsters from vaccination, part of a surge of medical exemptions after California repealed parents’ authority to keep their children from being vaccinated because of personal beliefs. The accusations of gross negligence or incompetence could lead to the suspension or revocation of Dr. Ron Kennedy’s license to practice medicine, which he has held since 1975. (Egelko, 2/2)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Return Of Carfentanil Deaths In Cuyahoga County Has Officials Wary Of ‘Fourth Wave’ Of Opioid Epidemic
One year after Cuyahoga County saw a dramatic decrease in deaths from a powerful fentanyl analogue that is used as an animal sedative, a resurgence of the dangerous drug has officials concerned it could become a deadly “fourth wave” of the opioid epidemic. Cuyahoga County deaths attributed to carfentanil dropped from 191 in 2017 to just 24 in 2018, according to statistics from the medical examiner’s office. (MacDonald, 2/1)

Texas Tribune: How Many Doses Of Lethal Injection Drugs Does Texas Have?
Since 1977, lethal injection has been the method for executing Texas criminals sentenced to death. But the drugs used in executions have changed over the years, as the state has struggled to get a hold of enough life-ending doses. Texas, along with other states that hold executions, has been engaged in a battle for years to keep an adequate inventory of execution drugs. Currently, the state uses only pentobarbital, a sedative it has purchased from compounding pharmacies kept secret from the public. (McCullough, 1/31)

The Oregonian: Push To Ban All Flavored Nicotine Vaping Products In Oregon Moves To Legislature
Monnes Anderson’s bill would bar the sale of all “flavored inhalant delivery system products,” meaning any nicotine vape liquid that tastes like anything except tobacco. Violators would be fined up to $5,000 per violation. The ban wouldn’t include cannabis vapes or products approved by federal regulators for helping people stop smoking. The proposal -- and one in the House that would ban internet, mail and telephone sales of vape products in Oregon -- are part of a concerted local, state and federal effort to target the explosion of teenage vaping. (Zarkhin, 2/2)

The Associated Press: Mississippi Inmate Tries To Hang Self In Cell, Attorney Says
An inmate tried to hang himself at a troubled Mississippi prison and was taken down by a state trooper, an attorney said in court papers filed Saturday. Casey L. Austin is one of the attorneys representing inmates in a federal lawsuit against Mississippi over conditions in the state's prisons. The lawsuit over prison conditions is funded by Team Roc, a philanthropic group connected to entertainment mogul Jay-Z's company, Roc Nation. (2/1)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Sexual Assault Kit Legislation May Falter Because Of GOP Divisions
With overwhelming support, the Senate in October approved Senate Bill 200, which is meant to prevent backlogs of processing sexual assault kits. It would put in place rules for who is responsible for submitting the kits to the State Crime Laboratory and the timelines they must follow. But the measure has stalled in the Assembly because Rep. Joe Sanfelippo, the New Berlin Republican who leads the Assembly Health Committee, has declined to hold a hearing on the measure. (Marley, 1/31)

North Carolina Health News: Data Show High Levels Of PFAS Pollution In Cape Fear
A water sample taken in September from the Deep River as it flowed into a Sanford sewage treatment plant uncovered “staggering” concentrations of forever chemicals, newly released documents from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality reveal. The sample contained perfluorooctanesulfonic acid — or PFOS — measuring 1,000 parts per trillion. That is more than 14 times greater than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s health advisory of 70 parts per trillion for drinking water. The data coming out of Sanford is just one example of the high levels of potentially carcinogenic chemicals that a new monitoring program has detected in rivers and streams throughout the Cape Fear River basin, from Reidsville to Wilmington. (Barnes, 2/3)

Boston Globe: Correctional Officer At Norfolk County Jail Fired After Inmate Overdoses
A guard at the Norfolk County House of Correction in Dedham was fired Wednesday after two inmates suffered non-fatal overdoses last weekend, according to a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office. Kara Nyman, the spokeswoman, provided details of the overdoses and subsequent firing in a brief statement. (Andersen and Ellement, 1/31)

Dallas Morning News: Baylor’s Health Plan Worked For Employees, And American Airlines And Others Want In On The Action
Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest nonprofit hospital system in Texas, has managed to keep down health insurance costs for its employees for the past seven years. During that time, the average premium for single coverage increased 28% nationwide, over four times more than at Baylor. And Baylor said it saved $400 million compared with the price of buying a standard plan for employees over the period.The Dallas company attributes much of this success to its accountable care organization, known as the Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance. Baylor’s ACO is an integrated network of doctors, nurses, social workers and the like that coordinates care and tries to improve outcomes for patients. (Schnurman, 2/2)

Huffington Post: The Trump Administration Is Coming For Medicaid Again
This new financing option is a variation on what’s known as a “block grant,” which would end the federal government’s open-ended promise to finance Medicaid coverage for whoever needs it, however much it costs. Republicans have historically promoted block grants as a way to limit or reduce Medicaid spending, and many experts believe such proposals would lead to cuts in enrollment or benefits that would harm beneficiaries. That potential has stirred up opposition and helps explain why Medicaid block grants have never gotten the support they needed to get through Congress. (Jonathan Cohn, 1/30)

Los Angeles Times: Trump Offers The Wrong Fix For Medicaid's Shortcomings
Giving states more flexibility to innovate in pursuit of Medicaid’s mission is undeniably a good thing, which is why the Medicaid statute gives the administration that authority. The challenge, though, is making sure the innovation improves the quality, accessibility and efficiency of the care that poor Americans receive. Otherwise, states will have a powerful incentive to save money simply by providing less care and leaving more people uninsured. So far, the Trump administration hasn’t met that challenge. (1/31)

The Hill: Medicaid Block Grants Would Gut Law And Cut Care
Yesterday, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a new policy that tries to undo the Medicaid program as it has existed for 55 years. HHS attempts to convert Medicaid to a block grant program, a Holy Grail for many conservatives. But any block grant system would be illegal, and if implemented, would leave many without necessary medical care. (Nicole Huberfeld, 1/31)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: After The 2017 Deficit-Busting Tax Cut, Administration Weighs Medicare Cuts
President Donald Trump last month opened the possibility of cutting Medicare and other entitlement programs, which would break a promise he made during the 2016 campaign. All indications are that the administration wants to justify such cuts as necessary to offset a federal budget deficit that is nearing the $1 trillion mark, its highest level in almost a decade. That deficit, according to nonpartisan government experts, is largely the result of the massive tax cut, primarily benefiting the rich, that Trump and Republicans rammed through in 2017. You remember, the one that was supposed to “pay for itself” in historic economic growth rates that never materialized. (2/2)

Stat: More Americans Have Insurance, But Not The Health Care They Need
The signing of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 ushered in the largest expansion in the number of Americans covered by health insurance since the implementation of Medicare and Medicaid more than 50 years ago. The ACA provided health new coverage to 19 million previously uninsured working-age people, allowing many of them to afford the care they need. In spite of that expansion of insurance coverage, though, Americans’ ability to afford care is no better now than it was two decades ago.In a study we published last week in JAMA Internal Medicine, we and several colleagues showed that Americans actually have more unmet health care needs today than they had two decades ago. (Laura Hawks and Danny McCormick, 2/3)

The Washington Post: You’d Think Trump Would Stop Threatening Insurance Coverage By Now. Think Again.
Notwithstanding the progress under Obamacare, the United States still does not provide health insurance to all of its population. About 27.5 million people, or 8.5 percent of the population, lacked coverage throughout 2018, according to the most recent Census Bureau report published in September. The country has moved in the wrong direction since President Trump took office: The 2018 uninsured numbers were up over 2017. (2/2)

Des Moines Register: If GOP Wants To Preserve Obamacare Protections, Stop Trying To Destroy The Law
Some Iowa lawmakers want to prohibit health insurance companies from denying coverage to Iowans with pre-existing medical problems. Legislation being considered includes Senate Study Bill 3033, introduced by Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale. It would go into effect only if the Affordable Care Act is deemed unconstitutional. It’s worth pausing to appreciate the irony of this. A GOP lawmaker is seeking to remedy potential damage if a lawsuit brought by GOP-led states and backed by a GOP president is successful in dismantling protections put in place by Obamacare. Perhaps this is a sign Republicans are starting to understand the value of the ACA. It took only a decade. (1/31)

The Hill: Public Worker Health And Safety Hinges On Protecting Our Rights
A bill making it easier to join a union is coming up for a vote in the U.S. House, and passing it is a matter of life or death. Just ask registered nurses. Every day, we go to work in an immoral health care industry that values profits over people. Our corporate hospital employers assign us far too many patients to safely care for at once, increasing the chance of harmful patient outcomes and nurse distress. The hospitals often barely stock our supply closets using cost-cutting methods lifted from the auto industry, without regard to the fact that our patients are human beings, not cars. (Bonnie Castillo, 2/2)

Boston Globe: Baker’s Detailed Prescription For Health Care
The omnibus legislation filed by Governor Charlie Baker, a former health care CEO, aims to use government’s regulatory hammer to get health care facilities to increase their spending on primary care and behavioral health care by 30 percent over the next three years. Currently, such expenditures account for less than 15 percent of total health care dollars. (2/3)

The Wall Street Journal: Thanks To Congress, America Is Prepared For The Coronavirus
The world watches with concern as the virus originating in Wuhan affects more nations. While it’s still too soon to know if this coronavirus strain will become a pandemic, Americans should take some comfort: Thanks to the bipartisan foresight of Congress and lessons learned in the past five years, the U.S. is in better shape today than at any other time in recent memory to confront a major public-health crisis. (Tom Cole, 1/31)

USA Today: Americans Stranded In Wuhan, China: Coronavirus Has City On Lockdown
There are about 1,000 U.S. citizens in Wuhan, and Washington evacuated 195 Americans last week, but the process has been confusing.I first heard about the flight from the WeChat group, and I was told that Americans who do not work with the U.S. Consulate had to pay $1,000 per seat. Sadly, my wife and I were not able to get on this flight, not only because she is not an American citizen and is still recovering from her surgery, but also because they would not allow my son to board the flight. My son does not have any paperwork showing he is a U.S. citizen because of the city's lockdown. I won't leave Wuhan without my family or get evacuated to America without them because of some minor paperwork, and $3,000 is a lot to ask one family to pay to leave. (Justin Steece, 1/31)

The Washington Post: Fighting Coronavirus With Travel Bans Is A Mistake
Despite China’s aggressive measures to try to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus, which first emerged in Wuhan (located in Hubei Province), the epidemic has continued to grow. Reported cases have surpassed those of the 2003 SARS epidemic, which was also caused by a coronavirus. Nearly 20 countries have reported cases, some of which resulted from local transmission. U.S. health officials recently announced a ban on U.S. entry of foreign nationals who visited China in the last 14 days and implemented a 14-day quarantine of Americans returning from Hubei Province. The move came one month after Chinese health authorities first announced an outbreak of viral pneumonia now recognized to be caused by the new coronavirus. Russia and several European countries have taken similar steps. (Jennifer B. Nuzzo, 2/2)

USA Today: Military Has Failed Its Troops On Mental Health Research And Treatment
First the Pentagon said no U.S. troops were injured in Iran's missile strike last month on an Iraqi air base hosting Americans. Then it rose to 11 with brain injuries, then 34, then 50, and by Thursday the number was up to 64. That's upsetting, as was President Donald Trump's recent comment that "it's not very serious." This is consistent with a decades long tradition of downplaying the significance of traumatic brain injury. Senior government leadership and the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs have failed utterly in caring for the mental health of war fighters. (Stephen N. Xenakis, 2/1)

Stat: Cash From Cannabis Companies Creates Conflicted Researchers
Imagine that scientists charged with doing research on tobacco’s health implications were funded by tobacco companies. (In fact, the tobacco industry used this tactic for decades to cast doubt on the adverse health effects of smoking.) But today it would be an outrageous conflict of interest — research on addictive drugs shouldn’t be paid for by people who stand to profit from selling them. Yet this is exactly what is happening with cannabis. (Shaun Koo, 2/3)

The New York Times: Who’s Afraid Of Gwyneth Paltrow And Goop?
When Netflix announced the trailer for Gwyneth Paltrow’s “The Goop Lab” in early January, the media and #medtwitter made dire predictions for both the streaming service and for humanity itself. The show would surely promote “dangerous pseudoscience,” peddle “snake oil,” and be “undeniably awful for society.” Longtime Paltrow critic and health law researcher Timothy Caulfield was among the many opiners who warned on Twitter of the “spread of health misinformation” and the “erosion of #criticalthinking.” Other relevant hashtags included #PostModernDarkAge and #saynotogoop. (Elisa Albert and Jennifer Block, 2/3)

The New York Times: There’s No Right Way To Mourn
When Kobe Bryant died on Jan. 26, there was an outpouring of grief for the legendary N.B.A. champion. Sports fans placed bouquets of flowers at his high school and held a vigil outside the Staples Center. Shaquille O’Neal, his friend, rival and former Lakers teammate, cried on TV while giving an emotional tribute. Much of this grieving also took place on social media. His widow, Vanessa Bryant, wrote a powerful tribute on Instagram that was “liked” by more than nine million people. So did Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul. Grief is no longer private these days, which lets us mourn together. But doing so also allows people to publicly shame how others deal with loss. (Sian Beilock, 2/1)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Homelessness For Many Is More Than Finding Place To Live
Being an adult without a place to recover from hospitalization, dealing with a complex Medicaid system, and uncertainty for the future is daunting. Many of our clients have lost their way and simply need a helping hand in bridging back to independence and healthier living. Health means more than physical recovery it also includes emotional, psychological and social well-being. (Laurie Derks Nelson, 2/1)