The New York Times: In Private, Republican Lawmakers Agonize Over Health Law Repeal
Congressional Republicans, meeting behind closed doors this week in Philadelphia, expressed grave concerns about dismantling the Affordable Care Act on the urgent timetable demanded by President Trump, fretting that, among other things, they could wreck insurance markets and be saddled with a politically disastrous “Trumpcare.” An audio recording of a session at their annual retreat, obtained by The New York Times, shows Republicans in disarray, far from agreement on health policy, and still searching for something to replace former President Barack Obama’s health care law. (Pear and Kaplan, 1/27)

The Washington Post: Behind Closed Doors, Republican Lawmakers Fret About How To Repeal Obamacare
The recording reveals a GOP that appears to be filled with doubts about how to make good on a long-standing promise to get rid of Obamacare without explicit guidance from President Trump or his administration. The thorny issues with which lawmakers grapple on the tape — including who may end up either losing coverage or paying more under a revamped system — highlight the financial and political challenges that flow from upending the current law. (DeBonis, 1/27)

The Associated Press: Republican Lawmakers Worry If ‘Trumpcare’ Doesn’t Deliver
Republican lawmakers are fearful about the potential political fallout if their eventual replacement of President Barack Obama’s health law doesn’t deliver, and they didn’t hold back at their recent policy conference. “We’d better be sure that we’re prepared to live with the market we’ve created,” Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., was quoted as saying in Saturday’s Washington Post, one of the media organizations that obtained an audio recording of a private session at last week’s GOP strategy retreat in Philadelphia. (1/28)

The Hill: GOP Lawmakers Voice Concerns Over ObamaCare Repeal: Report 
Among the more dire concerns of Republicans is how the party will repeal the law without taking health insurance coverage away from about 20 million Americans covered under the law. “We’re telling those people that we’re not going to pull the rug out from under them, and if we do this too fast, we are in fact going to pull the rug out from under them,” said Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.), according to the Post. (Greenwood, 1/27)

The Associated Press: Woman Impersonated Lawmaker's Wife, Sneaked Into GOP Retreat
The audio was leaked to several news outlets and first reported by The Washington Post. It reveals lawmakers airing concerns about the practical difficulties and political risks of repealing and replacing President Barack Obama's health care law, among other things. (Werner, 1/28)

The Hill: McConnell Wants To Finish Work On ObamaCare Quickly 
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Friday said he wants Congress to wrap up work on replacing ObamaCare soon so lawmakers can move on to President Trump’s other big priority: tax reform. McConnell told The Hill in an interview that he doesn’t want the debate over replacing the landmark healthcare reform law to drag on for months, expressing the same sense of urgency as Trump, who has called for Congress to move “very quickly.” (Bolton, 1/27)

The Hill: House To Begin Looking At ObamaCare Replacement Bills 
The ObamaCare battle will heat up in the coming week with a string of hearings and the end of the enrollment period. The Trump administration set off anger among ObamaCare supporters on Thursday by cancelling the remaining outreach ads encouraging people to enroll. The final deadline is on Tuesday, after which a clearer picture of how enrollment did, and whether the lack of ads made a difference, should emerge. (Hellmann, 1/30)

Politico Pro: Divided GOP Starts Assembling Slivers Of An Obamacare Replacement 
Congressional Republicans still deeply divided on how to replace Obamacare will try to buy themselves some time this week by debating a set of narrow bills addressing specific parts of the health system and holding public sessions to rail against what they view as the law’s failings. Republicans will start with one of the most controversial issues in the debate over Obamacare: how to cover people with pre-existing conditions. They'll also address tightening Medicaid eligibility rules — including to restrict lottery winners from participating in the entitlement — and changing some Obamacare rules before the law is repealed. At best, these elements would constitute important slivers of a complete repeal and replace plan. (Haberkorn, 1/30)

Politico Pro: Ryan Sets End-Of-Year Deadline For Obamacare Replacement 
House Speaker Paul Ryan wants to give Republicans until the end of the year to pass an Obamacare replacement package — a move that could create serious timing issues as the GOP figures out what to include in the legislation. Ryan, during a POLITICO Playbook interview Friday afternoon, said there would likely be a built-in delay before the replacement policies take effect, meaning the GOP's concept of an overhauled health system may not begin to materialize until well into 2018. (Cancryn, 1/27)

Morning Consult: After Retreat, GOP Decided Little On Health Plan
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees health care issues, said they have “a good idea” of where they’re going, but said there were a number of moving pieces. For example, one bill under consideration will address the “death spiral” in the individual market, while Walden is working on his own bill for next week that would affirm Republicans’ commitment to covering people with pre-existing conditions. Walden did not provide details, but said it would be a broad commitment, in contrast to a proposal this week from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) that would give people with pre-existing conditions a two-year window for enrollment. (McIntire, 1/26)

McClatchy: Conservatives Warn GOP Is Losing Momentum On Obamacare Repeal 
Congress was poised to start major work this week on dismantling the Affordable Care Act, but conservatives are already fuming over lost momentum that they fear could doom the repeal effort. Lawmakers missed a non-binding deadline to deliver details of a repeal plan Friday and left a GOP retreat without reaching consensus on a replacement package that an increasing number of Republicans want to see agreed before the 2010 law is taken apart. (Clark, 1/30)

In other news on GOP's repeal efforts —

Forbes: As GOP Backs Off ACA Repeal, Obama's Medicare Reforms Remain
Four Republican Senators last week introduced what they call a “comprehensive replacement plan for Obamacare” that gained attention because it gives states three options, including allowing states to keep the ACA intact. States could keep Obamacare and its individual mandates, tax credits and Medicaid expansions or switch to a different kind of insurance expansion they say is “market-based” or go with no coverage expansion “without any federal assistance.” But the Republican Senators’ “Patient Freedom Act of 2017” doesn’t do away with popular Medicare reforms and senior benefits under Obama’s ACA to Medicare health insurance program for elderly Americans. (Japsen, 1/29)

CQ Roll Call: Trump States Hit Hardest If Obamacare Cost-Sharing Help Ends
Republicans in Congress are weighing whether to fund a controversial health program aimed at reducing out-of-pocket costs. It's a part of the 2010 health overhaul they've long opposed -- but the constituents with the most to lose overwhelmingly live in the parts of the country that President Donald Trump won in last year's election. An analysis of the Americans at risk is part of the pitch insurers are making on the Hill as they pressure newly empowered Republicans to keep so-called cost-sharing reductions, which help insurers reduce copays and deductibles for about 6.3 million low-income Americans in the individual insurance market. (Mershon and Williams, 1/27)

CQ Roll Call: Obamacare Suffers 1,000 Cuts At The Hands Of Appropriators
Republicans’ drive to deliver a death blow to President Barack Obama’s health care law overshadows a quieter assault that’s gone on for years, using annual government funding bills. It’s not as glamorous or high decibel as the news conferences and floor debates surrounding the repeal of the law, but it certainly has proven controversial. What’s more, the law’s supporters see this GOP tactic as partly responsible for many of the failures in the law that Republicans now say they must fix. (Mejdrich, 1/30)

Tampa Bay Times: Castor Meeting Calm Despite Call For Protest
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, who organized the event, is one of the health care law's strongest proponents. In 2009, she organized a town hall meeting that was interrupted by shouting and shoving when opponents bused hundreds of people in to protest Obamacare. But at the Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library on Friday, most of the crowd of 75 or so who showed up were there for one-on-one meetings with Castor or her staff members to discuss problems with federal agencies. (March, 1/27)

The Washington Post: Trump Administration Backtracks Part Way On ACA Enrollment Outreach
The Trump administration on Friday partly retracted a directive it had issued less than 24 hours earlier to halt all advertising and other outreach activities aimed at encouraging consumers to buy health plans for 2017 during the final days of enrollment under the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces. According to two sources familiar with the reversal, administration officials were startled by a backlash that built swiftly on social media among proponents of the health-care law, which President Trump is seeking to dismantle. The officials conferred overnight, the sources said, and by Friday morning had modified the directive. (Goldstein, 1/27)

Politico: Reversing Course, Trump Administration Will Continue Obamacare Outreach
Officials also said they were unable to pull back some HealthCare.gov radio and TV advertising that had been purchased by the Obama administration. HHS was able to cancel about $4 million to $5 million in ads, a spokesman said. "Once an assessment was made, we pulled back the most expensive and least efficient part of this massive ad campaign which was set to run over the weekend," said an HHS spokesman. "Those costs savings will be returned to the U.S. Treasury.” (Pradhan and Demko, 1/27)

Los Angeles Times: Trump's Actions On Obamacare Threaten To Undermine Insurance Markets
The Trump administration’s decision to pull television ads urging Americans to sign up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act is stoking fears that the White House is trying to sabotage the nation’s insurance markets in an effort to hobble the program, jeopardizing coverage for millions. The move, which comes just days ahead of a critical enrollment deadline for Obamacare health plans, follows Trump’s executive order last weekend in which he suggested his administration wouldn’t implement rules crucial to sustaining viable markets. (Levey, 1/27)

The Associated Press: AP-NORC Poll: Broad Worries About Potential Health Care Loss
Though "Obamacare" still divides Americans, a majority worry that many will lose coverage if the 2010 law is repealed in the nation's long-running political standoff over health care. A new poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 56 percent of U.S. adults are "extremely" or "very" concerned that many will lose health insurance if the health overhaul is repealed. That includes more than 8 in 10 Democrats, nearly half of independents, and more than 1 in 5 Republicans. Another 45 percent of Republicans say they're "somewhat" concerned. (Alonso-Zaldivar and Swanson, 1/27)

McClatchy: Most Americans Don't Want Obama's Signature Health Care Law Repealed, Poll Finds 
Most American voters are satisfied with the quality and cost of their health care and say the Affordable Care Act should be fixed but not repealed, according to a new national poll. The Quinnipiac University Poll carries caution for Republicans who have long promised to dismantle the law: Voters say by 84 to 13 percent that Congress should not repeal the 2010 law known as Obamacare until there is a replacement plan in place. (Clark, 1/27)

The New York Times: For Some, The Affordable Care Act Is A Lifesaver. For Others, A Burden.
After President Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress vowed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, millions of Americans have been left wondering about the future of their health care. We asked readers to tell us how they would be affected if the law were repealed. These are some of their stories. (Patel and Haque, 1/29)

The Washington Post: Obamacare Was A Boon For Many Restaurant Workers. Now What, They Wonder?
At the start of the new year, Tom Holland changed his health insurance. He signed up for a plan through the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare. He had little choice: His previous insurance didn’t cover many of the services he needed, including a biopsy scheduled for Jan. 9. The former owner of the Juice Joint Cafe in downtown Washington had already canceled the biopsy once after learning “it would cost a grand to get that done,” he says. He knew he shouldn’t let the procedure slide any longer. The lump in his neck had not gotten any smaller since he first discovered it last spring. (Carman, 1/27)

NPR: Repeal Of Obamacare Could Threaten Provisions That Protect Seniors
Republican lawmakers meeting in Philadelphia this week say they want their replacement of Obamacare to be done by spring. There is no consensus on a plan yet, but several Republicans in Congress have already circulated proposals that could reduce or eliminate features of the federal health law that have benefited older Americans. (Jaffe, 1/28)

Sacramento Bee: Obamacare Repeal Will Affect Millions In California 
A repeal of the Affordable Care Act without some form of replacement insurance would have profound effects in California, particularly in counties with a high proportion of impoverished residents. President Donald Trump and Congress have taken steps to repeal the ACA, often called Obamacare. Lawmakers supporting repeal, mostly Republicans, have promised to replace Obamacare with another form of broad-based coverage but have not yet rallied around an alternative. (Reese, 1/27)

San Francisco Chronicle: Parents’ Status Puts Some Children’s Health Care In Jeopardy
Now, however, the ability of Edwin [Bernal] and 164,000 poor children in California without authorization to see a doctor for regular medical care hangs in the balance: Several experts predict they could be among the first to lose health coverage if the Trump administration carries out its promise to end much of Obamacare, leaving California to try to make up the difference. (Aguilera, 1/29)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: If You Have Cancer Or Diabetes, President Trump's 'Across-State-Lines' Healthcare Proposal Might Concern You
What happens if insurance becomes more state-based, as before? And what happens if Congress follows through on President Donald Trump's wish to let insurers sell policies across state lines so they create more competition -- and so consumers have more choice? The idea of selling across state lines is ripe, and appears likely to be part of the post-Obamacare universe. It scares healthcare advocates. It excites free-market champions. Let's dive in. (Koff, 1/27)

Arizona Republic: Arizona's Ducey Cites 'Obamacare' Harm In Seeking Repeal, But Law’s Positives Complicate Issue
Gov. Doug Ducey described Arizona as "ground zero" for damage caused by former President Barack Obama's health-care overhaul known as Obamacare. Citing factors such as the Affordable Care Act's spiraling premiums and narrow options for Arizona residents who directly purchase their health insurance, Ducey joined a chorus of conservatives across the country calling to repeal and replace parts of the health law passed in 2010. But the act seems to have had a positive impact in Arizona on several fronts, offering reminders close to home of how complicated any repeal may be. (Hansen and Alltucker, 1/27)

WBUR: Hospitals Worry Repeal Of Obamacare Would Jeopardize Innovations In Care
Much has been written about the 20 million people who gained health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, and what could happen to these patients if the ACA is repealed without a replacement. But some people don't realize that hospitals nationwide could take a big financial hit on several fronts, too. (Gourlay, 1/27)

Columbus Dispatch: Obamacare Repeal Uncertainties Worry Central Ohio Hospitals
As President Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress work to dismantle and replace the Affordable Care Act, hospital officials nationwide are watching to see how that will affect their work to provide health care and what a replacement will mean to their bottom line. Dr. Sheldon Retchin, CEO of Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center, said the act's repeal would negatively affect the "safety net" for hospitals that care for the most vulnerable populations. (Viviano and Lane, 1/30)

The Wall Street Journal: Some Rare Good News For Small Businesses Paying Employee Health Costs
Small businesses can once again use pretax funds to reimburse workers for health-care costs, especially premiums for individual and family coverage. In a little noticed move, Congress late last year reauthorized Health Reimbursement Arrangements for businesses with fewer than 50 employees. As a result, these firms won’t risk large penalties on payments they provide to workers who purchase their own health insurance. Many of these firms don’t offer group-health plans, and this law enables them still to offer a health-care benefit. (Saunders, 1/27)

The Associated Press: Health Care Signup Deadline Approaches On Jan. 31
The future of the Affordable Care Act is unclear, stirring up financial and medical concerns for many consumers. It leaves some to wonder, What now? Experts say the best thing to do is to focus on the here and now — including the Jan. 31 deadline to sign up. (Skidmore Sell, 1/27)

The New York Times: Sign Up For Health Care Coverage? ‘Absolutely,’ Experts Say
The final deadline for enrolling in health insurance for 2017 under the Affordable Care Act is on Tuesday. But with so much turmoil and uncertainty surrounding the law’s future, should consumers bother to shop for coverage Yes, say policy experts and consumer advocates. Health plans — and subsidies to help low-income consumers pay for premiums — are in place for this year. Healthcare.gov and the state-based insurance marketplaces are open for business, for consumers who do not have job-based coverage and are seeking individual policies. (Carrns, 1/27)

And media outlets report on open enrollment in the states —

Nashville Tennessean: Three Surprises From Open Enrollment
The fourth open enrollment period for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act is wrapping up this week, and it has certainly been an eventful one. The Tennessee insurance market was reshaped as carriers pulled out of the exchanges and offered new products, and the election of Donald Trump as president has put the entire healthcare industry into a state of uncertainty. (Tolbert, 1/29)

KCUR: As Obamcare Enrollment Deadline Looms, People Frustrated By High Cost Of Plans
Tuesday is this year's open enrollment deadline for buying health coverage through the insurance marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act. According to local health insurance brokers, the Trump administration's push to repeal or replace the ACA, has not impacted the number of people calling to sign up for Obamacare health coverage. However, people are expressing anger about the cost of plans. (Wood, 1/30)

WBUR: As Enrollment Deadline Approaches, Missourians Sign Up For Coverage Under ACA 
Open enrollment for health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act ends Tuesday. People across the country continue to sign up despite President Trump's calls to repeal and replace the health care law. (Burbank, 1/27)

Minnesota Public Radio: MN Officials Push Health Coverage Sign-Ups As Deadline Nears 
State officials are making a final pitch for Minnesotans to sign up for health insurance before open enrollment is scheduled to close on Tuesday. They're banking on $312 million in funds from the state to entice people who've delayed in signing up for insurance plans because of the cost. Gov. Mark Dayton signed a bill this week that offers a 25 percent discount on health insurance premiums for plans purchased through MNsure or the individual market in 2017. (Collins, 1/27)

Pioneer Press: Minnesotans Get Extra Week To Purchase Health Insurance. New Deadline: Feb. 8 
Prompting this special enrollment period was the Legislature’s Jan. 26 passage of 25 percent premium relief for around 120,000 Minnesotans who buy individual market insurance but earn too much to get federal subsidies. “Given how close enactment of the premium relief bill was to the deadline for open enrollment, we believe Minnesotans needed more time to benefit from this important opportunity to lower their monthly health insurance bill by 25 percent,” MNsure CEO Allison O’Toole said in a statement. State officials fear many Minnesotans had been putting off buying insurance because of the high costs, and hope the 25 percent discounts will change their minds and bring people back into the market. On Friday, the state launched an outreach program to tell Minnesotans about the discounts in the hopes of securing sign-ups by the old Jan. 31 deadline. (Montgomery, 1/28)

The Associated Press: Senate Panel To Vote On Trump's Pick For Health Secretary
Republicans have scheduled a Tuesday vote by the Senate Finance Committee on President Donald Trump's nominee for health secretary. Trump's pick is GOP Rep. Tom Price of Georgia, and the Republican-run committee is expected to back Price along party lines. In his new post, Price will help lead the GOP drive to scrap President Barack Obama's health care law and enact still-uncertain Republican plans to replace it. (1/29)

The New York Times: Trump’s Pick For Health Secretary Under Scrutiny For Investments
Representative Tom Price of Georgia, President Trump’s choice for secretary of Health and Human Services, has been assailed by Democrats in recent weeks over his investment in health care companies at the same time that he pushed legislation that could have benefited those businesses. ... As Mr. Price awaits a confirmation vote, which could come next week, here is what we know about his investments, and whether his activities could have broken any laws or ethics rules. (Thomas, 1/27)

Stat: Top Academics Lash Out At Trump's 'Un-American' Immigration Ban
Over 4,000 academics, including 25 Nobel laureates, have signed a petition denouncing an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that bars people from seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the US. Under the order, signed Friday, nationals of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen are prohibited from entering the US for at least 90 days, regardless of whether they have green cards or visas. (Garde, 1/28)

Stat: Immigration Ban Will 'Have An Impact On Research,' Exec Says
President Trump’s temporary ban on immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries could hamper bioscience research, according to Hakim Djaballah, a biotech consultant in New York. Djaballah, who works in the fields of aging, infectious disease, and oncology, is on the board of the Pasteur Institute of Iran, and he’s concerned that mounting tensions between the US and countries affected by the 90-day ban — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen — might impede scientific progress. (Keshavan, 1/30)

Stat: Hillary Clinton Shows Support For Immigrant Cancer Researchers
During a week when President Trump’s efforts to ban immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim nations touched off alarms among scientists worldwide, his former rival was sending a very different message. Hillary Clinton spent Wednesday evening at a star-studded fundraiser supporting the cancer research of two top scientists at Columbia University — both of whom happen to be immigrants. One of the event’s beneficiaries was Dr. Azra Raza, who last summer wrote an opinion piece for STAT under the headline: “I’m an immigrant and a Muslim. And I’m here to cure cancer.” Raza, who researches early-stage leukemia, grew up in Pakistan. She said Clinton repeatedly thanked her for her work. (Robbins, 1/29)

Boston Globe: Boston Area Academics Facing Bans On Entering US 
President Trump’s order closing the nation’s borders to people from seven predominantly Muslim countries echoed across Boston’s academic institutions and research laboratories Saturday, blocking some scholars from entering the country and leaving scores more in limbo. The directive, which also halts refugees worldwide from entering the United States for 120 days, prompted leaders at schools such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Northeastern University to offer support to students and academics whose lives might be upended by the order. (Crimaldi, Allen and Sacchetti, 1/28)

Boston Globe: Baker Says Trump Order Puts State’s Education, Health Care Institutions At Risk 
Governor Charlie Baker said Sunday that President Trump’s immigration order puts at risk the ability of Massachusetts’s education, health care, and business sectors to do their jobs. “Massachusetts is a global community. We all benefit from the shared experiences of our partners from around the world,” Baker said in a written statement. “Our education, health care, business and public sector institutions rely on these relationships to deliver on their missions every single day.” (Belman, 1/29)

The New York Times: Trump’s First Week: Misfires, Crossed Wires, And A Satisfied Smile
If other new occupants of the White House wanted to be judged by their first 100 days in office, President Trump seems intent to be judged by his first 100 hours. No president in modern times, if ever, has started with such a flurry of initiatives on so many fronts in such short order. The action-oriented approach reflected a businessman’s idea of how government should work: Issue orders and get it done. But while the rapid-fire succession of directives on health care, trade, abortion, the environment, immigration, national security, housing and other areas cheered Americans who want Mr. Trump to shake up Washington, it also revealed a sometimes unruly process that may or may not achieve the goals he has outlined. (Savage, Baker and Haberman, 1/27)

Meanwhile, experts weigh in on the president's mental health —

Stat: 'Crazy Like A Fox': Mental Health Experts Try To Get Inside Trump's Mind
STAT interviewed 10 psychiatrists and psychologists — some supporters of Trump, some not — about the president’s behavior and what it might say about his personality and mental health. All are respected in their field and close observers of Trump. They based their views on his books, public statements, appearances, and tweets, but emphasized that they have no firsthand knowledge of Trump. As a result, they can’t rule out that the president’s actions are part of an intentional political strategy, and not a reflection of particular mental states. After all, his confrontational style and egotism — adorning buildings around the globe with his name — served him well in business and brought him to the White House. (Begley, 1/30)

The New York Times: Anti-Abortion Marchers Draw Inspiration From An Unlikely Source
Droves of men, women and children opposing abortion swarmed the National Mall on Friday in a demonstration that served not only as a rallying cry for their movement, but as a peaceful act of support for the new president they have embraced as their improbable champion. The crowd gathered just a few blocks from where hundreds of thousands of women marched last weekend to protest President Trump — a striking and symbolic juxtaposition for a country cleaved by its most recent election. (Peters and Alcindor, 1/27)

The Associated Press: Pence Helps Bring New Energy To Anti-Abortion Rally In DC
The anti-abortion movement has political momentum on its side, and Vice President Mike Pence lent his newly minted star power to Friday's rally, promising the triumphant crowd that more victories await. "We've come to a historic moment in the cause for life," said Pence. "Life is winning in America." Pence and White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway pledged that President Donald Trump would keep his promises to end taxpayer-funded abortion and to choose a Supreme Court justice in the mold of the late Antonin Scalia, a conservative Catholic who opposed abortion. (1/29)

The Washington Post: Black Activists Look To Trump, GOP As Allies In The Fight Against Abortion
Donald Trump’s harsh comments about women, Hispanics and Muslims was not the reason that Catherine Davis declined to support him for president. It was her uncertainty about exactly where the Republican businessman stood on the issue that Davis, a 64-year-old African American, says is the most important one facing the black community: abortion. “If we don’t have life, then all the other issues pale,” Davis said. “Education doesn’t matter, criminal justice reform doesn’t matter, if you cannot make it out of the womb.” (Williams, 1/28)

Boston Globe: Anti-Abortion Marchers Cheer GOP Takeover 
[Susan] Denningham joined tens of thousands on the National Mall on Friday for the 44th annual March for Life, the largest annual demonstration of antiabortion activists. This year’s event marked a turning point for attendees who say they feel more hopeful about their cause with the election of Donald Trump, who has promised an antiabortion agenda and who may have multiple Supreme Court picks. (Pager, 1/27)

KCUR: Kansas City Abortion Rights Opponents Feel Optimistic About New Administration 
Abortion rights opponents marked the 44th annual demonstration they call the March for Life yesterday in both Washington, and Kansas City.  Yesterday’s rally in downtown Kansas City drew about 100 people, which was substantial increase from last year. Kansas City author Jack Cashill says the event benefited from the much larger women’s marches last weekend. (Morris, 1/27)

Texas Tribune: Anti-Abortion Rally Draws Large Crowd To Texas Capitol 
Amid Texas' battle to remove Planned Parenthood from Medicaid, thousands of Texans participated in this year's March for Life. Marchers made their way to Capitol grounds Saturday morning carrying signs calling for the defunding of Planned Parenthood and for overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion across the country 44 years ago this week. Heather Gardner, a member of Coalition for Life and one of the march’s organizers, said at least 4,000 people marched. (Alfaro, 1/28)

Meanwhile, in Texas —

Reuters: U.S. Judge Blocks Texas Regulations For Fetal Tissue Remains
A federal judge in Texas on Friday halted state regulations that would require abortion providers to dispose of aborted fetal tissue through burial or cremation, saying the rules imposed "undue burdens on a woman's right to seek a previability abortion." U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks issued an injunction that will stay in effect until the court can render "a meaningful decision on the merits" of the case, online court documents showed. (Herskovitz, 1/27)

Houston Chronicle: Judge Extends Injunction Blocking Texas Fetal Remains Burial Rule 
A federal judge on Friday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the state of Texas from implementing a controversial new rule targeting abortion by requiring the burial or cremation of fetal remains, calling the regulation a possible "pretext for restricting abortion access" with the potential "to deliver a major, if not fatal, blow to health care providers performing abortions." The sharply critical 24-page ruling from U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks extends his previous injunction against the state and orders the parties to move forward with a trial challenging the new rule mandating the cremation or burial of the remains from an abortion, miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy. The rule was to go into effect in December. (Zelinski, 1/27)

Texas Tribune: Texas Fetal Remains Burial Rule Blocked By Federal Court 
U.S. District Court Judge Sam Sparks ruled Texas cannot require health providers to bury or cremate fetuses, delivering another blow to state leaders in the reproductive rights debate. On Friday afternoon, Sparks wrote in his ruling that Texas Department of State Health Services’ fetal remains burial rule’s vagueness, undue burden and potential for irreparable harm were factors in his decision. He also wrote that the state had proposed the new rule “before the ink on the Supreme Court's opinion in Whole Woman's Health was dry.” (Evans, 1/27)

The New York Times: Troops Who Cleaned Up Radioactive Islands Can’t Get Medical Care
When Tim Snider arrived on Enewetak Atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to clean up the fallout from dozens of nuclear tests on the ring of coral islands, Army officers immediately ordered him to put on a respirator and a bright yellow suit designed to guard against plutonium poisoning. A military film crew snapped photos and shot movies of Mr. Snider, a 20-year-old Air Force radiation technician, in the crisp new safety gear. Then he was ordered to give all the gear back. He spent the rest of his four-month stint on the islands wearing only cutoff shorts and a floppy sun hat. (Philipps, 1/28)

CQ Roll Call: VA Exempts Health Professionals And More From Hiring Freeze
The acting secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs moved Friday to exempt health care professionals and others from President Donald Trump's federal hiring freeze, following pleas from members of Congress. Acting Secretary Robert D. Snyder, Trump's interim pick to lead the agency while nominee David Shulkin awaits Senate confirmation, issued guidance that stated certain employees would be exempt from a federal hiring freeze announced Monday. (Mejdrich, 1/27)

And in other veterans' health care news —

The [Vineland, N.J.] Daily Journal: Ribbon-Cutting For New Site Of Vineland Veterans Outpatient Clinic
Military veterans and advocates for better and more local health care services are celebrating the opening of a relocated and significantly expanded U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient care clinic in downtown Vineland. On Friday afternoon, veterans and veteran organizations leaders gathered with elected officials and Veteran Affairs staff at the new Cumberland County Community Based Outpatient Clinic at 79 W. Landis Avenue. (Smith, 1/27)

Austin American-Statesman: Richard Overton’s Family Raises $117,000 For WWII Vet’s 24/7 Health Care
Richard Overton, who at 110 is the nation’s oldest World War II veteran, will be able to live in the comfort of his own home with proper care because of a GoFundMe campaign that exploded online and exceeded donation goals. In the last month, more than $117,000 has been raised for Overton. The campaign was started to raise money for around-the-clock home care for the veteran, who has lived in east Austin for about the last 70 years. (Stone, 1/27)

Modern Healthcare: Aetna's Antitrust Defeat May Signal The End Of Health Insurance Mega-Mergers 
The consolidation among the biggest health insurance players that seemed so inevitable not long ago may fizzle into a series of smaller deals aimed at growing market share in Medicare and Medicaid plans. Aetna's $37 billion play for Humana, announced 19 months ago, appeared to be on its deathbed last week. A federal judge issued an order blocking the transaction, agreeing with the U.S. Justice Department's arguments that allowing it to happen would harm consumers in the Medicare Advantage and individual insurance markets. (Livingston, 1/28)

Reuters: Health Insurer Anthem Could Rise 30 Percent On Earnings Potential: Barron's
Anthem Inc shares could rise by 30 percent as the U.S. health insurer is undervalued and has the most room for improvement in profit margins and earnings among its peers, Barron's reported. The company also has the lowest price-to-earnings ratio among its peers including UnitedHealth Group Inc and Aetna, Barron's said, adding that the stock trades at just 13 times the projected 2017 earnings, a discount to its four big rivals. (Kumar, 1/29)

Modern Healthcare: The Next Frontier In Quality Care Measurement: How Patients Feel 
Physicians, policymakers and payers in healthcare are increasingly asking patients for their input. This information is viewed as vital for clinicians, payers and health systems as the industry transitions from fee-for-service to value-based payment. By shaping clinical decisions and helping gauge the benefit of medical care, the patient's perception of health before and after treatment is critical not only for maximizing the quality of care but also for assessing its value, many in the industry say. But the science and technical infrastructure to capture this information and incorporate it into payment programs fall short of the eagerness and optimism for using them. At this frontier of quality measurement, important questions remain over how these metrics can be implemented, what burden they'll impose on physicians and patients, and how they'll be used to determine payment. (Whitman, 1/28)

The CT Mirror: New Strain On Nursing Homes: Keep Patients Out Of Hospitals
The wide swing in nursing home patients’ re-hospitalization rates has a lot to do with the condition patients are in when they are discharged from inpatient stays, as well as the planning that goes into the transition to other care. The federal government has been penalizing hospitals since 2012 for high rates of patients returning within 30 days of discharge. But now, nursing homes (or skilled nursing facilities) also are being held accountable for hospital readmissions. The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has started publicly reporting the rates at which nursing home patients return to the hospital – for any reason — within a month of admission. (Chedekel, 1/29)

ProPublica: The Breakthrough: Uncovering Danger At The Pharmacy Counter 
Every time you pick up a prescription at the drugstore, you’re handed a set of instructions showing what the drug is for, how to use it, and its possible side effects. But millions of people across the country take more than one medication at a time, and some of those drugs can interact in dangerous, even deadly ways. (Ornstein and Weber, 1/27)

Stat: Mandatory Flu Vaccine Policies Are Called Into Question
It’s an edict that comes out every autumn in many hospitals: If health care workers don’t get a flu shot, they will face consequences. Some make vaccinations a condition of employment. Others require unvaccinated staff to wear surgical masks near patients for weeks during flu season. But a new study is calling into question the scientific evidence underpinning these increasingly common hospital policies — and could fuel challenges to the contentious orders. (Branswell, 1/27)

The Washington Post: When Drinkers Suffer Liver Disease, Should Getting A Transplant Be So Hard?
It began as a gentle way to unwind, a reward after a long day at work.Jackie Brafford, a registered nurse, would arrive home, kick off her shoes and pour herself a glass of chardonnay as she prepared dinner for herself and Steven, her husband of 40 years. After the pair ate at their home in Mineral, Va., Jackie would settle on the couch with a book, glancing at the evening news while idly scratching Crystal, the family’s chow, between the eyes. Often that first glass of wine would turn into a second, and then another. (Fleming, 1/29)

Kaiser Health News: Trying To Solve The Alzheimer’s Puzzle
Despite a 99 percent failure rate and another major setback last month, Alzheimer’s researchers are plowing ahead with hundreds of experiments — and a boost in federal money — to try to a crack a deadly disease that has flummoxed them for decades. A law passed by Congress in December and signed by President Obama sets aside $3 billion over 10 years to fund research of brain diseases and precision medicine, a shot in the arm for Alzheimer’s research. The law, called the 21st Century Cures Act, also includes prize money to encourage Alzheimer’s experiments. (Bailey, 1/30)

NPR: A Tiny Submarine Cruises Inside The Stomach To Deliver Drugs
A tiny self-propelled drug-delivery device might someday make taking antibiotics safer and more efficient. Think of it as a tiny submarine scooting around inside your stomach, fueled by the acid there. (Sofia, 1/29)

The Washington Post: Mold-Contaminated Mouth Rinse Found At NIH, Spokeswoman Says
Particles found in a sucrose solution prepared in the National Institutes of Health's pharmacy were determined to be “environmental mold,” a spokeswoman said Friday. The four-year-old sugar and water solution, used to evaluate patients' response to sweet tastes, were quarantined after a nurse discovered the particles in the mouth rinse Dec. 12, as it was readied for use in a study. The solution was not given to anyone and no one was harmed, according to NIH. (Bernstein, 1/27)

The Star Tribune: Push Continues For Fewer Antibiotics In Livestock Industry 
New federal regulations mark the first serious attempt in at least 20 years to tackle what many have called the systematic overuse of antibiotics in healthy farm animals. Yet the rules that went into effect Jan. 1 — and have been in the works for several years — do not come without controversy. Livestock associations have said the new rules that pertain to veterinarians will increase paperwork and costs. Conversely, some consumer groups say the regulations don’t go far enough. (Meersman, 1/30)

The Washington Post: For Years Doctors Wrongly Diagnosed These Strange Episodes As Panic Attacks
Rachel Schneider was 13 years old when it happened the first time. She and a few other children had been singing prayers at her Hebrew school when suddenly Schneider felt that something inside her head had gone wrong and that she wasn’t there. Her father brought the terrified girl to an emergency room, where doctors dismissed the episode as a panic attack. They said that Schneider was fine. (Arcement, 1/29)

The Star Tribune: Botox Is Booming Among Millennials — Some As Young As 18 
Like [Jordan] Bailey, more young women — some without a wrinkle in sight — are spending their savings to capture their youth. It’s a phenomenon usually associated with the Kardashian capital of California, but thanks to social media and the quest for the perfect selfie, the trend is widespread — even in Minnesota. (Blanchette, 1/28)

The Associated Press: Beyond 'Just Say No': Schools Teach About Opioid Dangers
Schools are going beyond "Just Say No" as they teach students as young as kindergartners about the dangers of opioids in the hope that they don't later become part of the growing crisis. Some states have begun requiring instruction about prescription drugs and heroin, and districts are updating their anti-drug teachings to move toward interactive and engaging science-based lessons they hope will save lives. (1/27)

The Washington Post: Awash In Overdoses, Seattle Creates Safe Sites For Addicts To Inject Illegal Drugs
Officials in Seattle on Friday approved the nation’s first “safe-injection” sites for users of heroin and other illegal drugs, calling the move a drastic but necessary response to an epidemic of addiction that is claiming tens of thousands of lives each year. The sites — which offer addicts clean needles, medical supervision and quick access to drugs that reverse the effects of an overdose — have long been popular in Europe. Now, with the U.S. death toll rising, the idea is gaining traction in a number of American cities, including Boston, New York City and Ithaca, N.Y. (Zezima, 1/27)

The Washington Post: This Maryland Prosecutor Got The Phone Call Every Addict’s Relative Dreads
Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Wes Adams grew up with an alcoholic father and has spent two years as lead prosecutor of a county hit hard by Maryland’s opioid epidemic. For a decade, he and his wife did what they could to support her brother, Nick Hileman, whose dependence on prescription painkillers had grown into an addiction to heroin. So when Adams got an unexpected phone call from Hileman’s wife on the morning of Jan. 11, he was pretty sure he knew what he was about to hear. (Hicks, 1/29)

Kaiser Health News: Getting Patients Hooked On An Opioid Overdose Antidote, Then Raising The Price
First came Martin Shkreli, the brash young pharmaceutical entrepreneur who raised the price for an AIDS treatment by 5,000 percent. Then, Heather Bresch, the CEO of Mylan, who oversaw the price hike for its signature Epi-Pen to more than $600 for a twin-pack, though its active ingredient costs pennies by comparison. Now a small Virginia company called Kaleo is joining their ranks. It makes an injector device that is suddenly in demand because of the nation’s epidemic use of opioids, a class of drugs that includes heavy painkillers and heroin. (Luthra, 1/30)

The New York Times: After Mastectomies, An Unexpected Blow: Numb New Breasts
After learning she had a high genetic risk for breast cancer, Dane’e McCree, like a growing number of women, decided to have her breasts removed. Her doctor assured her that reconstructive surgery would spare her nipples and leave her with natural-looking breasts. It did. But while Ms. McCree’s rebuilt chest may resemble natural breasts, it is now completely numb. Her nipples lack any feeling. She cannot sense the slightest touch of her breasts, perceive warmth or cold, feel an itch if she has a rash or pain if she bangs into a door. And no one warned her. (Rabin, 1/29)

The New York Times: Depression And Anxiety Tied To Cancer Deaths
Psychological distress may increase your chances of dying from cancer. Researchers interviewed 163,363 adults in England and Scotland using well-validated questionnaires on general and mental health. They followed the population in 16 studies conducted between 1994 and 2008. (Bakalar, 1/27)

WBUR: ‘It’s Not An Even Playing Field’: How Financial Instability Takes A Toll On Cancer Patients
In research published in 2016, [Kira] Bona looked at data from 575 kids treated for leukemia at leading U.S. cancer centers. She found that even though the kids received the same standard of medical care, the children living in high-poverty areas were more likely to suffer an early relapse compared to kids in low-poverty areas. Specifically, among kids who relapsed, 92 percent of the relapses in high-poverty areas were early relapse — defined as less than 36 months in complete remission — compared to 48 percent in low-poverty areas. (Zimmerman, 1/30)

WBUR: What If We Really Knew Where To Get The Best Cancer Care: The Prostate As Case Study
[Neil] Martin describes the pros and cons of two treatment options: surgery to remove the prostate, or radiation to kill cancer cells in the gland. ... [Ron] Dombrowski is not told, for example, that some doctors do a better job of preserving bladder control for their patients. He doesn't know how much difference there is between doctors. And he doesn't know if the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center delivers better care, overall, than other cancer centers across the country. (Bebinger, 1/30)

California Healthline: Preserving Fertility When It Is Threatened By Life-Saving Medicine
Angela Thomas thought her breast cancer diagnosis and the double mastectomy that followed were the most traumatic things she would ever experience. Then, when the 32-year-old actress sought fertility treatment so she could have a baby after the cancer care was finished, her insurance company refused to pay. (Gorman, 1/30)

The News Journal: Scope Of Medical Data Breaches Unknown In Delaware
A growing crime, medical record-pilfering represents the next frontier of identity theft. As the modern medical workforce increasingly shares information electronically, hackers can use ransomware to hijack hospital records by encrypting patient data, and then demand payment to have it returned. Employee negligence, insecure mobile devices and use of public cloud services all threaten the security of highly sensitive information.In 2015 alone, more than 100 million health care records were compromised nationwide –– more than one-third of all computer security breaches that year. (Fishman, 1/27)

Arizona Republic: Arizona May Ban Teens From Tanning Beds
Arizona could ban teens under age 18 from tanning beds if some state lawmakers and physicians get their way. Currently, parents can sign permission slips for minor children to use tanning beds. House Bill 2194, called the Skin Cancer Preventative Act of 2017, would require photo ID to prove a customer is age 18 or older. (Beard Rau, 1/27)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: To Get To Patients Faster, Ambulances Roam Camden
Cooper Hospital officials announced last week that they had improved ambulance-response times since Gov. Christie signed a law allowing Cooper University Health Care to begin providing paramedic and ambulance services. Though the action led to a legal battle with Marlton-based Virtua Health System, which deemed the law unconstitutional, Cooper officials say their results — faster response times and a reduced reliance on mutual aid from other communities — speak for themselves. (Steele, 1/29)

San Francisco Chronicle: SF Archdiocese Ordered To Pay $3 Million In Health Care Costs 
City officials have ordered the San Francisco Roman Catholic Archdiocese to pay nearly $3 million in health care costs for more than 1,000 employees after finding that it failed to make years of payments required by a pioneering local health care law. San Francisco has also assessed the archdiocese $113,000 in penalties. (Egelko, 1/29)

The Montgomery Advertiser: Restoration Center: San Antonio's Answer To Mental Health
The plan was simple: instead of arresting the mentally ill for crimes, treat them for their illness. Keep them out of the jails and emergency rooms and instead provide them with a one-stop shop where they can be treated with psychiatric care, counseling and rehabilitation. The plan in this Texas city was to help them heal. This happened in 2008 when the Roberto L. Jimenez M.D. Restoration Center opened. Since that time, close to 50,000 people have been treated, saving the law enforcement more than 100,000 manpower hours that can now be spent on the streets, and saving taxpayers more than $50 million. (Klass, 1/27)

Boston Globe: Partners Set To Acquire Mass. Eye And Ear 
After nearly two centuries of independence, Massachusetts Eye and Ear has agreed to be acquired by Partners HealthCare, its leaders acknowledging that thriving as a specialty hospital has become nearly impossible in a market dominated by larger rivals. Mass. Eye and Ear — the last independently run hospital of its kind in the country — already has close ties to Partners, and the proposed combination disclosed on Friday isn’t expected to lead to big changes for its 2,200 employees or its patients right away. (Dayal McCluskey, 1/27)

The Associated Press: California Gets Closer To Requiring Cancer Warning Label On Roundup Weed Killer
California can require Monsanto to label its popular weed killer Roundup as a possible cancer threat even though the chemical giant insists it poses no risk to people, a judge tentatively ruled Friday. California would be the first state to order such labeling if it carries out the proposal. (1/27)

Denver Post: Denver Health Picks Pennsylvania Hospital Leader As Lone CEO Finalist
Denver Health and Hospital Authority has selected a Pennsylvania hospital leader as the sole finalist for its vacant CEO position, meaning she will ascend to the safety-net hospital’s top spot in two weeks. Robin Wittenstein currently serves as the chief population health officer for Penn State Health, a network of more than a dozen academic and clinical hospitals in central Pennsylvania. Denver Health’s board of directors approved her hiring in a vote Thursday night, according to a news release. (Ingold, 1/27)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Child Protection System Has Opportunity In Crisis, Says Outgoing Director
The outgoing Director of the Division of Children, Youth and Families says public scrutiny of her agency’s shortcomings could provide opportunities to improve the state’s child safety network. Lorraine Bartlett worked at DCYF for 28 years, with the last three as director. In those three years, Bartlett says the state's drug crisis upped the pressure on an already strained child protection system. (Rodolico, 1/27)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Will A Simple Cardboard Box Save Missouri's Vulnerable Babies? The Bootheel Will Soon Find Out
But there’s debate whether the “boxinettes” will reduce sudden infant deaths or introduce new dangers to areas such as St. Louis, where infants die at an alarmingly high rate. The boxes are gaining popularity among health policy leaders. Just last week, public health officials in New Jersey announced a universal program to distribute the boxes to all new mothers in the state. Finland has been giving out the boxes to new mothers since the late 1930s, and their prevalence in the Nordic country has been tied to its extremely low infant-mortality rate. The colorfully decorated boxes are filled with clothes and other baby care items, with a bottom lined with a thin pad. (Cambra, 1/29)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: GE Healthcare To Transfer Jobs To Wisconsin
GE Healthcare confirmed Friday that it will shut down a plant in Laurel, Md., and shift an unspecified number of jobs to Wisconsin. The transfer of jobs will take place over the next 12 to 24 months, according to GE Healthcare spokesman Benjamin Fox. The jobs to be transferred will be split between the company's offices in the Milwaukee County Research Park in Wauwatosa and the firm's offices in Madison, Fox said. (Barrett, 1/27)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: New Orleans Patient 'Recruiter' Accused Of Medicare Kickback Scheme
A 34-year-old New Orleans woman is accused of participating in a Medicare kickback scheme run through a local home-health company, according to U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite's office. Saquena Griffin, also known as "Queenie" was formally charged Friday (Jan. 27) with receiving about $44,132 in kickbacks to bring Medicare beneficiaries to Comprehensive Nursing and Home Health Service, court records show. (McKnight, 1/27)

Richmond Times Dispatch: Parents Of Children With Mental Illness: Spend McAuliffe's Proposed $4.5 Million On Programs, Not Consultants 
Kedrock, a clinical social worker, and others specifically question Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s $4.5 million budget proposal for a study and redesign of the structure of the behavioral health system that would be contracted out to consultants. The proposal was one of many intended to improve mental health services in Virginia. (Kleiner, 1/29)

Seattle Times: Gonzaga Changes Health-Insurance Policy For Pregnant Women After Complaints 
Gonzaga University has changed its health-insurance policy after a nonprofit law firm alleged the school was illegally denying maternity care to dependents of employees. The Washington, D.C.-based National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) filed complaints against Gonzaga and three other institutions that receive federal funding in June 2013, claiming they violated the Affordable Care Act by refusing to provide prenatal care to some women. The law firm said Thursday that each institution has changed its policy in response to the complaints. (Sokol, 1/29)

CQ Roll Call: Battle Over Nutrition Program Will Again Frame Farm Bill
Texas Republican K. Michael Conaway has taken on tough assignments during his nearly 12 years in the House, including a stint as chairman of the ethics panel. It’s a job colleagues from both parties gladly avoid. Now as returning House Agriculture chairman, Conaway will take on another tough task in the 115th Congress: Moving a multiyear, multibillion-dollar farm bill through a contentious chamber that in 2013 rejected a committee-passed farm bill largely because of a battle between Republicans and Democrats over the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. (Ferguson, 1/30)

The New York Times: Obamacare Sabotage
The Trump administration doesn’t have a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, but it’s already trying to sabotage the law. It has canceled advertisements meant to encourage people to pick insurance policies on HealthCare.gov ahead of the Jan. 31 sign-up deadline. (Vikas Bajaj, 1/27)

The Washington Post: In Leaked Audio, Republicans Destroy Their Own Public Talking Points On Obamacare
The Post’s Mike DeBonis has obtained leaked audio of Republicans at a closed-door session airing serious anxieties about the GOP’s strategy to repeal and replace Obamacare. What’s remarkable is how decisively their specific comments in private undercut the party’s public, carefully-crafted talking points about the battle to come. Now, to be clear, these private comments reveal Republicans actually wrestling with the policy challenges that repeal (and replace) will create, which is a good thing as far as it goes. However, in so doing, they basically admit in various ways that Republicans will be responsible for the mess that repealing the law — which would probably be done on a delay while Republicans come up with a replacement — is expected to make. (Greg Sargent, 1/27)

Los Angeles Times: A Health Insurance CEO Explains How Republican Actions Could Sabotage Obamacare
Molina Healthcare, a Long Beach-based health insurer known traditionally as a Medicaid provider, is also one of the more important insurers in the Affordable Care Act marketplace, covering roughly 600,000 ACA enrollees in nine states. So when its chief executive warns that Republican dithering over repealing and replacing Obamacare has the potential to damage the marketplace, it’s time to sit up and listen. “We don’t know what Congress will do, and certainly President Trump is anything but predictable,” J. Mario Molina, the chairman and CEO of the company founded by his father in 1980, told me Friday. He said his staff is already working on health plan offerings for 2018 — rate applications generally are due around April 1 — but the company hasn’t yet committed to participating in the ACA for next year. (Michael Hiltzik, 1/27)

Morning Consult: Dropping the Individual Mandate Alone Will Not Collapse Obamacare
Both Rep. Tom Price’s (R-Ga.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) health plans have age-based premium tax credits, high-risk pools, and a guaranteed renewability provision. Guaranteed renewability gives consumers a strong incentive to stay in a risk pool since if they do not keep coverage within a reasonable grace period, they risk being re-rated for a higher premium. Republican replace plans represent a new three-legged stool with simultaneous implementation. Initial estimates from the Center for Health and Economy show the Republican leadership plans could achieve similar coverage to ACA with lower costs and no individual mandate. This meets Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s criteria for supporting replacement legislation, so it will be interesting to see if he finds new criteria. (Stephen Parente, 1/30)

RealClear Health: A High-Low Approach For A New Kind Of Health Care
Can the Affordable Care Act’s goal of widespread coverage be met while making the health care system more affordable? Specifically, can a workable policy be crafted to (a) offer universal health care coverage for serious illnesses for everyone in the country; (b) initiate universal wellness screenings for lower-income households that receive such coverage; and (c) inject market-based pricing that will cut federal and private health care costs — all without resorting to mandates or a single payer system? (Mark Mackie and Steven Kuzmich, 1/30)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: A Vague Executive Order Could Accelerate Obamacare's Death Spiral
The first executive order that President Donald Trump signed after taking office Jan. 20 gave federal agencies broad powers to change, delay or waive provisions of the Affordable Care Act that regulators deem too costly or burdensome. The vague order was short on specifics. At first, it seemed like a gimmick aimed only at fulfilling Trump’s campaign pledge to start repealing Obamacare on his first day in office. But in its vagueness lies a major problem. (1/29)

Health Affairs Blog: Exchange Stabilization Bills Represent New GOP Approach To ACA
The strategy that Congress and the Trump administration will pursue to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act continues to evolve. In early January, the favored strategy seemed to be to repeal as much as possible of the ACA through legislation, but to delay the repeal of key provisions, such as the premium tax credits and marketplaces, for two or more years and then begin work on a replacement. In mid-January, this seemed to be giving way to an approach, apparently favored by the Trump administration, under which replacement legislation would be adopted more or less simultaneously with repeal, although it was not clear how this could take place without cooperation from Democrats, which seemed unlikely. (Timothy Jost, 1/28)

Kansas City Star: A Fix For Our Broken Health Care System Needs Time To Work
With deductibles in the lowest-priced Obamacare plans averaging $6,000, many Americans can’t afford to use their insurance at all. Providers are exiting the marketplaces, leaving only one insurer to choose from in more than 1,000 counties across the country. Soon, many people could be left with no options at all. More than 25 million Americans have no health insurance coverage even though the law mandates it. With Obamacare imploding before our very eyes, keeping a plan built on a faulty premise and faulty promises is simply not an option. And the longer we wait to replace it, the worse it will get. (Lynn Jenkins, Roger Marshall and Kevin Yoder, 1/27)

Chicago Tribune: The Leap Beyond Obamacare: There's A Lot To Like In The Proposed Patient Freedom Act
Two decades ago, a Democratic president and a Republican Congress debated and eventually agreed on a way to, as Bill Clinton had urged, "end welfare as we know it." One key to reform: cede more power to states to design innovative programs to help the poor find work. (1/29)

The Des Moines Register: ACA Protections Are Vital To Iowans Fighting Cancer
Cancer patients have cause for great concern when considering the implications of Congress’ plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act. As oncologists in Iowa, I have had an up-close and personal view of how the Affordable Care Act works to help people suffering from cancer in our state. Aspects of this law are as vital for people living with cancer as any new drug or scientific discovery. (Joseph J. Merchant and Shobha Chitneni, 1/29)

The New York Times: A Republican Plan For Medicare Gets A Revival
Republicans think subsidies based on bids is an excellent way to reform Medicare, but they don’t laud the Affordable Care Act for adopting the same approach. When it comes to the A.C.A., of course, Democrats supported this mechanism, but they’ve opposed it when it comes to Medicare reform. Obamacare’s creation of the insurance exchanges and subsidies to expand coverage was a move leftward, supported by Democrats and opposed by Republicans. Anything that relies more heavily on private Medicare options would be a move rightward, and it would probably be opposed by Democrats and supported by Republicans. Such is Washington. (Aaron E. Carroll and Austin Frakt, 1/30)

Modern Healthcare: Trump's Choice Of Mick Mulvaney Signals Trouble For Medicare
Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to leave Medicare alone. But in choosing Rep. Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina to head the Office of Management and Budget, he is signaling a huge fight lies ahead over the future of the program. (Merrill Goozner, 1/28)

Bloomberg: Trump's Crusade On Drug Pricing Puts Both Parties On The Spot 
Donald Trump has a chance to rally his core supporters as well as left-wing Democrats, wrapping himself in the populist flag to take on the politically powerful drug industry. He is vowing to keep a campaign pledge to push legislation allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, a practice currently prohibited by law. Proponents say this would reduce drug prices and Medicare costs for the federal government. Medicare pays for about 29 percent of prescription drugs in the U.S. and would have considerable leverage. (Albert R. Hunt, 1/27)

KevinMD: The Cancer Moonshot Should Not Occur On Class Lines
Cancer. The ominous word instantaneously triggers fear and anxiety. According to the American Cancer Society, cancer is the second most common cause of death in the United States, accounting for one in four deaths. Despite the attention cancer has garnered, an inequality exists. Patients without Internet access may not learn about possible therapeutic interventions. As we proceed with the “Moonshot” to better control cancer, we must assure that all patients reap its benefits. (Rachel Mintz, 1/29)

Louisville Courier-Journal: Bevin Vs. Beshear: It's About Power
Gov. Matt Bevin tore into Attorney General Andy Beshear this week claiming, wrongly, that Beshear was backing away from his promise to defend Kentucky’s recently passed anti-abortion ultrasound law. Bevin’s false attack, though, wasn’t about the AG's constitutional obligations or protecting the unborn. It was about 2019. Mark this date on your calendar: Nov. 5, 2019. That’s when the governor and attorney general will be on the ballot for re-election. (1/27)

Lincoln Journal-Star: Being Pro-Life Is More Than Being Pro-Birth
Thanks to the Women’s March on Washington, which predictably devolved into a pro-abortion rally, and in the wake of this week’s annual March for Life, the debate over “abortion rights” in the U.S. is beginning anew. (Cynthia M. Allen, 1/30)

The Washington Post: D.C. Is Disregarding The Sanctity Of Life. Congress Must Act.
The D.C. Council last year made a serious error when it passed the Death With Dignity Act, legalizing physician-assisted suicide in the District. Now it is Congress’s duty and constitutional obligation to ensure the act does not stand. Those who argue that the D.C. Council, in its capacity as the local government, has spoken for the citizens of the District ignore a central and crucial fact: The awesome responsibility of acting as the state for the citizens of the District lies not in the hands of a local government, but with Congress. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17 of the Constitution vests Congress with exclusive legislative jurisdiction. (Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and Jim DeMint, 1/27)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Connecting Healthcare
It’s estimated that as much as a third of expenditures in healthcare are waste, and we spend nearly 20% of GDP on healthcare. This is a huge bullseye for efficiency gains that computers and the internet have brought to nearly every other industry. But our status quo is in the early technology adopted—it’s in the pagers, fax machines, dumb clients, and servers cooled in the basement. It’s in the habits of entrenched providers picked up decades earlier in medical school before the adoption of technology-enabled healthcare. This is the canvas innovation has to work with. The new technology is out there, but our industry has an adoption problem. (Niko Skievaski, 1/27)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: A Call For State Leadership On Disability Reform
Rooted in pre-Americans with Disabilities Act thinking, the nation’s core programs for individuals with disabilities, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) fail to reflect its aspirations: ensuring that those with impairments integrate into employment and society to the fullest extent their abilities allow. Why the failure? Partly because states view these programs as federal responsibilities and have avoided developing their own solutions. (Richard V. Burkhauser, 1/28)

The Kansas City Star: Murder Highlights Mental Health Needs In Kansas
In December, Brandon Brown’s story reached its sad climax in a Kansas courtroom, where he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The Star introduced you to Brown in June 2015. Brown, then 30 years old, had been in and out of treatment for mental illness for most of his adult life. He eventually landed in a nursing home in Kiowa County near the Oklahoma border. (1/29)

Lexington Herald Leader: Shamed, Disrespected, Injured Vets Offered Little But Drugs
My husband, Steven, is a retired Navy SEAL who during his 20-year career engaged in over 250 combat operations. He was awarded the Silver Star and three Bronze Stars, among other honors. He retired about two and a half years ago and was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder and a myriad of physical ailments. Most of what I’ve read about PTSD in veterans lumps TBI with PTSD, but TBI should perhaps stand alone in treatment and support. (Sabrina Brown, 1/27)

The Health Care Blog: Data For Improving Healthcare Vs Data For Exasperating Healthcare Workers
The phrase “healthcare data” either strikes fear and loathing, or provides understanding and resolve in the minds of administration, clinicians, and nurses everywhere. Which emotion it brings out depends on how the data will be used. Data employed as a weapon for purposes of accountability generates fear. Data used as a teaching instrument for learning inspires trust and confidence. (Tom Burton, 1/29)