The New York Times: Senate Leaders Reach Deal To Raise Spending Over Two Years
Senate leaders struck a far-reaching bipartisan agreement on Wednesday that would add hundreds of billions of dollars to military and domestic programs over the next two years while raising the federal debt limit, moving to end the cycle of fiscal showdowns that have roiled the Capitol. The accord between Senators Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, and Chuck Schumer of New York, his Democratic counterpart, would raise strict caps on military and domestic spending that were imposed in 2011 as part of a deal with President Barack Obama that was once seen as a key triumph for Republicans in Congress. (Kaplan, 2/7)

The Associated Press: Budget Agreement Adds Money For Defense, Infrastructure
Key aspects of the proposed budget agreement that covers the current fiscal year and the next. ... Extends the Children's Health Insurance Plan for 10 years, up from six years under a previous agreement. Includes an additional $6 billion for fighting opioid addiction and boosting mental health services, $4 billion to improve health care for veterans, $20 billion for infrastructure improvements and $2 billion to support additional research at the National Institutes of Health. (2/7)

The Washington Post: Sweeping Budget Deal Would More Than $500 Billion In Federal Spending, End Months Of Partisan Wrangling
Some of the funding is reserved for programs favored by lawmakers of both parties: research conducted by the National Institutes of Health, for instance, as well as transportation and water infrastructure. Also included are extensions of tax breaks that could add billions of dollars more to the cost of the bill. The Children’s Health Insurance Program would be extended through 2028, and the federal fund for community health centers would see a two-year extension. The bill also abolishes the Independent Payment Advisory Board, a body established in the 2010 Affordable Care Act with the power to reduce the payments Medicare makes to health providers. (DeBonis and Werner, 2/7)

The Hill: Senate Deal Would Fund Children's Health Insurance, Community Health Centers
A stopgap funding measure passed by Congress earlier this month only funded CHIP for six years, but the spending deal announced Wednesday would tack on another four years of funding. (Hellmann, 2/7)

The Hill: Budget Deal Includes $6 Billion To Fight Opioid Abuse 
A bipartisan Senate budget deal includes $6 billion for opioid addiction and mental health, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said. Advocates have been calling for more funding to combat the increasing deaths from opioid overdoses, which are now killing more Americans than car accidents. (Roubein, 2/7)

Stat: NIH And Opioid Response Get Boost In Senate Budget Deal
The increase in NIH funding continues a trend of substantial budget increases for the agency over the last several years. In a budget request submitted last May, the White House proposed a 17 percent reduction in the 2018 NIH budget, and indicated support for a cap on the portion of agency grants that can be used toward research institutions’ infrastructure costs. Congress instead ignored the White House request, and raised planned spending on the NIH to $36.1 billion dollars. (Facher, 2/7)

Kaiser Health News: Bipartisan Senate Budget Deal Boosts Health Programs
Not in the deal, for which the path to the president’s desk remains unclear, is any bipartisan legislation aimed at shoring up the Affordable Care Act’s individual health insurance marketplaces. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) promised Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) a vote on health legislation in exchange for her vote for the GOP tax bill in December. So far, that vote has not materialized. (Rovner and Luthra, 2/7)

The Hill: Senate Dems Push For Expansion Of ObamaCare Subsidies In Deal
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) is pushing for major changes to an agreement on an ObamaCare fix, including an expansion of subsidies under the health-care law. Murray, who is leading negotiations for Senate Democrats on the issue, wants to increase the ObamaCare tax credits that help people afford coverage, according to a Senate Democratic aide. That would be a significant expansion of ObamaCare that could help make premiums more affordable for many people. (Sullivan, 2/7)

Stat: Senate Budget Deal Puts Drug Makers On The Hook For More Costs
The budget deal announced in the Senate on Wednesday contained a provision surprising to drug companies and Medicare beneficiaries alike: a sooner-than-expected change to the program’s “donut hole” coverage gap. The provision included in the budget plan would mean a sizable hit to the pharmaceutical industry. It would move from 2020 to 2019 a requirement that drug makers pick up a larger portion of costs for their medicines for Part D beneficiaries who reach the so-called “donut hole” — a gap in Medicare coverage where beneficiaries often have to pay eye-watering drug prices out of pocket up to a certain dollar amount. (Facher and Silverman, 2/7)

Politico Pro: Pharma, Home Health Wind Up Losers In Senate Budget Deal
The Senate’s two-year budget deal is a virtual wish list for many health care interests, delivering billions of dollars for doctors and physical therapists, among others. But a few notable players got left behind.The pharmaceutical industry would be forced to pay 75 percent of the cost of drugs for seniors in Medicare’s coverage gap a year early. (Pittman, 2/8)

Modern Healthcare: Congress' New Spending Bill Includes Provision To Slow Down MIPS
Congress is seeking to slow federal efforts to hold providers accountable for saving Medicare money under the Merit-based Incentive Payment System. While MIPS rewards or penalizes providers based on their performance, including reducing Medicare costs, the healthcare industry has claimed it was moving too fast and didn't give them time to learn the program's provisions. This year, cost-cutting will account for 10% of a provider's MIPS score. That would jump to 30% next year. But buried deep in the continuing resolution which passed the House 245-182 Tuesday, was language that proposed giving the CMS the choice to keep cost-cutting at 10% of their MIPS score through 2021. (Dickson, 2/7)

Modern Healthcare: Senate Reaches Spending Deal That Includes Opioid Funding, CHIP Extension
The Senate kept provisions that House Democrats didn't like including the cut to the Affordable Care Act's Prevention and Public Health Fund in order to pay for the package. Other proposed savings include a revision of the physician fee schedule, a policy that extends hospital stays before a Medicare beneficiary is transferred to hospice, and a policy to block "artificial inflation" of star ratings of various Medicare Advantage plans in the case of insurers' consolidation. (Luthi, 2/7)

The Wall Street Journal: Congressional Leaders Say They Agree On Budget Deal
“This bill is the product of extensive negotiations among congressional leaders and the White House,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said on the Senate floor Wednesday in announcing the pact. “No one would suggest it is perfect, but we worked hard to find common ground.” “After months of legislative logjams, this budget deal is a genuine breakthrough,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said on the Senate floor. (Peterson and Hughes, 2/7)

Reuters: Congressional Leaders Forge Budget Deal That Adds To Deficit
The proposal will likely require the support of some Democrats if it is to pass the House. Some liberal Democrats opposed it because it does not include an agreement to protect from deportation hundreds of thousands of "Dreamers," young people brought illegally to the United States as children. In voicing her opposition, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi set the record for the longest continuous speech in House history, an eight-hour effort that included reading letters from Dreamers pleading to be allowed to stay in the United States. (Cowan and Becker, 2/7)

The Hill: Puerto Rico Rep.: Budget Deal Will Fully Fund Puerto Rico Medicaid For Two Years
Puerto Rico's representative in Congress said Wednesday that island's public health-care costs will be covered for two years as part of a proposed two-year budget deal announced in the Senate. Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón (R-P.R.) said in a statement on Facebook the proposal would inject $4.9 billion into Puerto Rico's health-care system, covering 100 percent of Medicaid costs during that period. (Bernal, 2/7)

PBS NewsHour: More Than 25 Million Americans Use Community Health Centers. Now They’re Caught Up In Congress’ Funding Fight
Six miles north, in Washington, D.C., Congress has been unable to agree on how to fund Neighborhood Health and the more than 10,400 other community clinics across the country. Combined, they provide health care services for more than 25 million people — one out of every 12 Americans — who have little to no insurance. It’s a population that since 2001 has risen 151 percent. (Santhanam, 2/7)

The Associated Press: AP Count: Nearly 11.8M Enroll For Obama Health Law In 2018
Call it the political equivalent of a death-defying escape: former President Barack Obama's health care law pulled in nearly 11.8 million customers for 2018, despite the Republican campaign to erase it from the books. An Associated Press count found that nationwide enrollment was about 3 percent lower than last year. California, with more than 1.5 million sign-ups, was the last state to report, announcing its numbers on Wednesday. (Alonso-Zaldivar and Vineys, 2/7)

The Hill: ObamaCare Enrollment Drops 3.7 Percent For 2018, Health Group Says 
ObamaCare saw a 3.7 percent drop in enrollment in 2018 compared to the year before, according to new numbers released Wednesday from a health-care group that says the relatively minor decline demonstrates “remarkable stability.” The national total of consumers who selected ObamaCare plans during this year’s open enrollment period was 11.8 million, compared to 12.2 million who signed up for plans in 2017. (Hellmann, 2/7)

Bloomberg: Obamacare Sign-Ups Barely Fell Despite Trump Trashing It 
That’s a far smaller drop than some health-policy watchers had foreseen, after the Trump administration halved the enrollment season and cut marketing and enrollment-assistance efforts. Trump himself declared the law “dead.” (Tracer and Tozzi, 2/7)

Politico Pro: Obamacare Enrollment Varied Dramatically By State
“Open enrollment this year began, as we all know, in an environment of confusion and uncertainty. Yet despite all that, enrollment in all the marketplaces across the nation was remarkably stable,” said Trish Riley, executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy, on a call with reporters Wednesday morning. (Demko and Colliver, 2/7)

Los Angeles Times: Despite Trump Attacks, Obamacare Sign-Ups Hold Steady, New Numbers Show
The new enrollment numbers — which include totals from California and other states that operate their own marketplaces, as well as states that rely on the federal HealthCare.gov marketplace — offer the most detailed picture to date of the insurance markets. And they suggest surprising strength in many markets across the country, with consumers steadily signing up for health plans even as Trump and his Republican congressional allies derided the markets as crumbling and unaffordable. "This shows that consumers really want and need coverage," said Trish Riley, executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy, which compiled the nationwide enrollment tally. (Levey, 2/7)

The Washington Post: ACA’s State-Run Insurance Exchanges Fare Better Than The Law’s Federal Marketplace
States that run their own Affordable Care Act insurance marketplaces significantly outperformed the rest of the country in attracting consumers to sign up for health plans for 2018, according to enrollment tallies released on Wednesday. Overall enrollment stayed essentially level from the year before in the 11 states plus the District of Columbia with state-based marketplaces, while sign-ups in states that rely on the ACA’s federal exchange fell, on average, by more than 5 percent. Five states with hybrid systems did best of all, according to a report compiled by the National Academy for State Health Policy. (Goldstein, 2/7)

Kaiser Health News: Despite Changes That Undermined ACA Enrollment, Marketplaces ‘Remarkably Stable’
Despite their upbeat tone about this year’s enrollment, directors of several state marketplaces warned that 2019 looks grim. “Just the removal of the [individual mandate penalty in Congress’ recently enacted tax overhaul] will mean premiums go up 15 percent to 30 percent or more depending on the state,” said Lee. (Appleby, 2/7)

The Hill: Trump Admin Says It's 'Committed' To Federal Family Planning Program Amid Delays 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) officials are assuring family planning providers set to run out of federal funding this spring that there will be no gaps in services, even as the administration runs months behind in the grant process. Valerie Huber, the acting assistant secretary for population affairs, the HHS office that oversees the Title X program, said in a notice to providers Tuesday that the Trump administration remains committed to the people who rely on the program. (Hellmann, 2/6)

CQ: HHS Touts Family Planning Program In Wake Of Turmoil
“We recognize that we have not met this estimated deadline. However, the Title X Program is important to this Administration,” wrote Manning's replacement Valerie Huber, acting deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Population Affairs in a letter to grantees. “We are committed to the women and men who depend upon Title X services and efforts are already underway to ensure that there will be no gaps in service while the funding announcement is finalized. ” (Raman, 2/7)

The Hill: Abortion Fights Loom In States 
Both sides of the abortion rights debate are preparing for a busy year of fights over when and how abortions may be performed in states across the country — and both sides are developing a long-term strategy that could involve a new challenge to Roe v. Wade. While it is still early in the year, several measures seeking to limit abortion rights have already advanced in Republican-dominated states. (Wilson, 2/7)

The Hill: Planned Parenthood Begins Search To Replace Cecile Richards 
Planned Parenthood is kicking off its search to replace departing President Cecile Richards, the organization's board of directors announced Wednesday. Former Planned Parenthood board member Anna Quindlen was elected to lead the group's search committee for a new president. The committee also includes members of Planned Parenthood's board and CEOs from affiliates in Ohio, Florida and Minnesota. (Hellmann, 2/7)

In other women's health news —

The Associated Press: US Says Abortion Gag Rule Cost Only 4 Organizations Funding
The Trump administration said Wednesday that only four international organizations and a dozen of their local partners have refused to accept new rules for spending U.S. assistance that ban health care funds from being used to promote or perform abortions overseas. The International Planned Parenthood Federation is among those that declined. The administration said that out of 733 organizations whose funding came up for renewal under the new restrictions, 729 had agreed to the rules and had their grants approved as of the end of the last budget year in September. (Lee, 2/7)

Arizona Republic: Why Do Women Get Abortions? Arizona Lawmakers Want To Know More
Women seeking abortions in Arizona might soon be asked to give their doctors a more detailed reason for why they want to end their pregnancy. ... Under a bill proposed by Republican state lawmakers, physicians would have to report an answer to the 'Why?' to the state Department of Health Services after they perform an abortion. (Gardiner, 2/7)

Reuters: Exclusive: States Need U.S. Help To Protect Drug-Affected Infants-GAO
The federal government needs to take more steps to help states protect infants born affected by drugs such as opioids, the U.S. Government Accountability Office says in a new report released Wednesday. State agencies remain confused about a federal law requiring them to report drug-affected infants to child protective services - not to punish mothers but to help families and ensure the child’s safety, the GAO says. Thirty-eight states said more guidance would be “extremely to very helpful,” according to the report. (Wilson, 2/7)

NPR: Opioid Law Enforcement, Not Treatment, Is Trump's Priority
More than three months after President Trump declared the nation's opioid crisis a public health emergency, activists and healthcare providers say they're still waiting for some other action. The Trump administration quietly renewed the declaration recently. But it's given no signs it's developing a comprehensive strategy to address an epidemic that claims more than 115 lives every day. The President now says to combat opioids he's focused on enforcement, not treatment. (Allen, 2/7)

Media outlets report on news on the epidemic out of Maryland, Louisiana, Florida, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, New Hampshire and Ohio —

The Associated Press: County Sues 14 Opioid Drug Companies For Addiction Increase
A Maryland county has filed a lawsuit against 14 opioid manufacturers and distributors. The Washington Post reports the Montgomery County lawsuit filed Tuesday accuses the companies of deceptive marketing and failure to report suspicious sales, leading to “unprecedented” opioid addiction in the county. The lawsuit says prescription opioid overdose deaths increased from 27 in 2010 to 117 in 2016. (2/8)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: A Metairie Treatment Center Is Suing Walmart, Other Drug Sellers As Opioid Addiction Surges
Addiction Recovery Resources, a Metairie-based addiction treatment program, has filed a lawsuit against Walmart, Walgreens and 23 other drug makers and distributors it accuses of practices that worsened opioid abuse nationwide. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday (Feb. 6) in Orleans Parish Civil District Court, seeks damages related to "unreimbursed treatment costs and other employee losses related to the out-of-control opiate epidemic," said attorney Lawrence Centola of Martzell, Bickford and Centola in New Orleans. (Clark, 2/7)

Orlando Sentinel: Osceola Joins National Opioid Legal Action Against Drug Companies
Osceola County has signed on to a national legal movement aimed at holding more than two dozen major drugmakers and distributors responsible for America’s opioid crisis. The first Florida county to file a lawsuit against the companies, Osceola is seeking unspecified damages to pay for rising Medicaid, foster-care and law-enforcement costs associated with the epidemic. (Gillespie, 2/7)

The Washington Post: Experts Call For More Resources In Fighting Opioid Epidemic
An average of 19 people a week overdosed on opioids in Richmond last year, and government agencies and other entities have responded to the crisis in a variety of ways, from dispensing overdose reversal drugs to arresting addicts. Academic and law-enforcement experts discussed the problem and possible solutions Tuesday in a panel discussion titled “The Opioid Epidemic: Impact on Communities” at Virginia Commonwealth University. (Belletti, 2/7)

Georgia Health News: Georgia Senate Approves Bills On Opioid Epidemic, Health Council
Sen. Renee Unterman, a Buford Republican, made the remarks after the Senate unanimously approved a bill that would establish a Georgia director of substance abuse, addiction and related disorders and create a commission to address the crisis of addiction and substance abuse. The bill, though, did not have funding attached to it. (Miller, 2/7)

WBUR: Alabama Targets OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma In Opioid Suit
Alabama filed a lawsuit in federal court on Tuesday against OxyContin producer Purdue Pharma LP claiming the drug company is fueling the opioid epidemic by deceptively marketing prescription painkillers. The state alleges that Purdue failed to accurately portray the risks and benefits of opioids, which enabled doctors to widely prescribe them in the treatment of pain. (Raphelson, 2/7)

The Washington Post: Judge Suggests Drug-Addicted Woman Get Sterilized Before Sentencing, And She Does
In her 34 years, Summer Thyme Creel has passed a lot of bad checks, taken a lot of drugs and borne a lot of children (seven). After her sentencing today in federal court in Oklahoma, her involvement with checks and drugs will stop at least temporarily, but she will never have another baby. That’s because the judge in her case suggested, in writing, that Creel consider getting herself sterilized before the sentencing, and Creel proceeded to do just that. (Jackman, 2/8)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Manchester's Now Driving People To Substance Abuse Treatment Through...An App
Manchester’s Safe Station Program is exploring a novel way to transport people to local substance abuse providers -- by using the ride-sharing app Lyft. Safe Stations allows anyone to walk into a city firehouse and be taken to an addiction treatment provider, no questions asked. (Sutherland, 2/7)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Cost Of Methadone Skyrockets Leaving Local Treatment Center To Scramble For Funding
Hundreds of Cleveland-area patients being treated with methadone for drug addiction are seeing the cost of their daily dosage skyrocket from $1 to more than $14. Community Action Against Addiction (CAAA), one of two nonprofit suppliers of the drug in the region, told cleveland.com on this week that the abrupt price hike is the result of a loss of funding. (Cain, 2/7)

The New York Times: How To Know When A Child’s Flu Turns Serious
The standard prescription for flu is to stay home and rest, drink plenty of fluids, and keep pain and fever under control with over-the-counter drugs like acetaminophen. But this flu season has been a particularly scary one for parents. At least 53 children across the country have died from flu-related illness, and parents need to know how to tell if a child takes a turn for the worse — and if it’s time to rush to the hospital. (Rabin, 2/7)

Dallas Morning News: Flu Season Could Cost D-FW Businesses Nearly $265 Million In Lost Productivity 
The aggressive flu strain that’s circulating this year could potentially lead to $264.9 million in lost productivity in the Dallas-Arlington-Fort Worth area by the time flu season ends, according to an estimate by Chicago-based employment consulting firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas.  The firm uses state-level wage and flu reporting data to gauge the business impact. In fact, it recently upped its national number by 64 percent, estimating that the overall loss in productivity for U.S. businesses could now top $15.4 billion by spring. (Rice, 2/7)

Tampa Bay Times: Report: Tampa Bay Among Nation’s Top Regions For Flu Outbreaks
Tampa Bay is one of the top flu hot spots in the country right now, according to an analysis by the website, DoctorsReport.com. The area made it onto two lists highlighting the regions with the most severe outbreaks for flu and influenza. (Griffin, 2/7)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Flu Cases Prompt Hospitals To Restrict Visiting
Temporary restrictions on children allowed to visit Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Froedtert, St. Joseph’s and Community Memorial hospitals will take effect Thursday, the hospitals announced. At Children's Hospital locations in the Milwaukee area and the Fox Valley, no one age 12 and younger will be allowed in any inpatient care area, but the restriction does not include clinic appointments, according to a news release. (Garza, 2/7)

Los Angeles Times: How Your Brain May Have Shielded You From Depression After The 2016 Election If You Didn't Like The Result
For some people the election of Donald Trump was a glorious moment of triumph. For others, it was a debilitating moment of trauma. But for a team of researchers at UCLA, it was the perfect opportunity to test how the brain responds to political distress. "A lot of research on stress in the brain looks at events that occur on an individual level," said Sarah Tashjian, a graduate student in psychology at UCLA who led the work. "We wanted to see if we could extrapolate that to a larger event like a shift in the political climate" (Netburn, 2/8)

Stat: In Startup, George Church Bets Cryptocurrency Will Boost DNA Sequencing
Agenomics startup co-founded by genetics pioneer George Church of Harvard emerged from stealth mode on Wednesday, proclaiming that blockchain, the technology that underlies transactions of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, will help people understand their genome, find cures for (unspecified) diseases, and, unlike most existing genomics companies, guarantee that individuals will retain permanent ownership of their DNA data. Nebula Genomics will do all of this, and more, through the hottest technologies since fire: Blockchain will insure private untraceable transactions between individuals selling their genomic data and companies buying it, and a cryptocurrency called Nebula tokens will make the whole thing go round. (Begley and Garde, 2/7)

The Washington Post: Robin Williams's Suicide Was Followed By A Sharp Rise In 'Copycat' Deaths
“Hanged.” The front page of the New York Daily News said it all in one word on Aug. 13, 2014. Above the capital letters, which filled nearly a third of the page, was a photo of comedian Robin Williams with a somber expression, dead at age 63. The headline, unfortunately, contravened the most basic recommendations of the World Health Organization and suicide prevention experts for how the media should cover suicide, including “toning down” accounts, to avoid inspiring similar deaths. News of Williams's death appears to be associated with a nearly 10 percent rise in the number of suicides in the United States in the five months that followed, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS ONE. (Nutt, 2/7)

Los Angeles Times: Snooping Around In Hospital Pipes, Scientists Find DNA That Fuels The Spread Of Superbugs
The pipes carrying away the effluvia of very sick people are bound to be nasty, dirty places. But just how unwholesome they are is made clear in a new report showing that the pipes beneath a hospital intensive care unit are a throbbing, seething hookup zone for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. (Healy, 2/6)

The Baltimore Sun: Hispanic Women More Likely To Die After Breast Cancer Diagnosis 
Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among Hispanic women, in part because many are not knowledgeable about the U.S. health care system or fluent in English. While they are less likely to get breast cancer than other ethnic groups, Hispanic women who are diagnosed are 20 percent more likely than white women to die from the disease. They are more likely to learn they have breast cancer at later stages of the disease, when tumors are larger. (McDaniels, 2/8)

Kaiser Health News: Changing The Way We Look At Dementia
In November, six people with Alzheimer’s disease and related types of cognitive impairment stood before an audience of 100 in North Haven, Conn. One by one, they talked about what it was like to live with dementia in deeply personal terms. Before the presentation, audience members were asked to write down five words they associated with dementia. Afterward, they were asked to do the same, this time reflecting on what they’d learned. (Graham, 2/8)

Stat: Doctors At The Olympics Work For Years To Get To The Games
As Team USA preps for the Winter Olympics festivities to kick off this weekend, it’s not only the 243 athletes who are getting ready for action — it’s also a crew of medical volunteers who undergo a grueling selection process of their own. The official U.S. Olympic Committee’s Sports Medicine Division recruits a crew of volunteer doctors — as well as orthopedists, chiropractors, nurses, sports therapists, massage therapists, and more — every two years. Those selected will work with Olympic teams during training and practices and ultimately at the games themselves — some caring for one team exclusively; others moving around as the need arises. And they do it all uncompensated. (Samuel, 2/8)

Meanwhile —

The New York Times: Norovirus Cases At Olympics More Than Double, Moving Beyond Security Staff
The number of confirmed cases of norovirus at the Winter Games has risen to 86 from 32 in just two days as Olympic officials struggle to track the source of the outbreak on the eve of the opening ceremony. Hong Jeong-ik from South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday that the new cases included staff members of the Pyeongchang Olympics Organizing Committee, venue personnel and even cafeteria workers — a sign that the highly contagious virus had spread beyond the security personnel who were the first to test positive. (Qin, 2/8)

The Washington Post: An Oregon Hospital Refused A New Liver To An Undocumented Woman. Then It Found Its Heart.
Hospital officials in Oregon have ended a policy that prevented an undocumented woman from getting a liver transplant because of her immigration status after outcry, according to local news reports. Silvia Lesama-Santos, 46, a mother of four who has lived in the country for at least 30 years, was denied the transplant in a letter Tuesday from transplant program at the Oregon Health and Science University, a public school dedicated to health-related sciences. (Rosenberg, 2/7)

The Oregonian: OHSU Apologizes For 'Archaic' Policy, Reverses Course After Denying Undocumented Woman Liver Transplant 
Hours after learning that an undocumented women who has lived in Portland for 30 years had been denied a liver transplant because of her immigration status, Oregon Health & Science University officials terminated the policy that caused the denial and apologized. Silvia Lesama-Santos, 46, a stay-at-home mother of four children ranging in age from 4 to 21, received a letter from OHSU on Tuesday. Though Lesama-Santos is insured through her husband, the letter stated that she "must have lawful presence." (Acker, 2/7)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Bill Offers Tax Break To N.H. Companies Trying To Grow Human Organs
New Hampshire lawmakers are considering a bill that would give targeted tax breaks to businesses that focus on generating human organs. The measure comes after the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute, a Manchester-based non-profit entity led by noted inventor Dean Kamen, was chosen by the U.S. Department of Defense for an $80 million grant focused on manufacturing tissues and organs. (Bookman, 2/7)

Boston Globe: Lowell Psychiatric Hospital With A History Of Citations Will Close
Arbour Health System, the state’s largest psychiatric hospital company, plans to permanently close Lowell Treatment Center, a hospital with a history of citations for providing poor care. This is the second Arbour hospital that has been shut down in six months. (Kowalczyk, 2/7)

Minnesota Public Radio: Health Dept.: No Unusual Changes In Rates Of Cancer In East Metro From 3M Chemicals
Two state agencies are at odds over whether 3M's dumping of chemicals in the east Twin Cities metro area harmed the health of residents. The Minnesota Department of Health released an analysis Wednesday claiming that data doesn't show unusual changes in rates of specific conditions — some cancers and birth defects. (Cox, 2/7)

Kansas City Star: Kansas Nursing Home Drug Sedation Spotlighted In Human Rights Watch Report
The report compiled by Human Rights Watch notes Kansas’ status as one of the states with the highest percentage of nursing home residents on the drugs, which are not approved to treat dementia and can have dangerous side effects. (Marso and Ryan, 2/7)

Boston Globe: Sanofi Genzyme Lays Off 130 At Allston Landing Plant
Sanofi Genzyme’s manufacturing facility at Allston Landing in Boston is laying off 130 employees this week to reduce costs and “simplify our operations,” the company said Wednesday. ...Koss would not say how many workers remain at the facility but said Sanofi has about 5,000 employees in Massachusetts — in Allston, Cambridge, Framingham, Northborough, Waltham, and Westborough. (Saltzman, 2/7)

The Associated Press: Report Says Oversight Lacking At Violent NY Psych Hospital
A newspaper is reporting that a New York psychiatric hospital for inmates operated without legally required oversight while two inmate deaths, 40 assaults and 25 sex offenses triggered police responses between 2012 and 2016. The Journal News reports that there were 210 criminal incidents at the Central New York Psychiatric Center in rural Marcy, New York during that time. (2/7)

The Star Tribune: First Days In Child Care Are Riskiest For Babies, Minn. Records Show 
Two grave incidents in Minnesota day cares — the 2016 hanging of an infant who barely survived, and the alleged recent shaking of a baby who died — reflect a troubling but little-known trend: A child's first month in care often can be the most dangerous. Although day-care deaths are rare in Minnesota — and have declined in the past decade — state records show a pattern of tragedies occurring during an infant's first weeks at a new provider. (Olson, 2/7)

WBUR: Florida Bill Seeks To Stop Arrests Of Injured Immigrant Workers
A new bill under consideration by Florida lawmakers would stop insurance companies from dodging workers compensation payouts by aiding in the arrest and deportation of unauthorized immigrants who are injured on the job. Legislators and advocates have been pushing for the measure since last summer, when ProPublica and NPR documented more than 130 cases in which immigrants who had suffered legitimate workplace injuries were flagged to law enforcement agencies by their employers' insurers. (Grabell and Berkes, 2/7)

San Francisco Chronicle: UCSF Gets $500 Million Gift To Help Build New Hospital By 2030
UCSF will use a $500 million donation from a longtime benefactor to build a new hospital at its medical campus in Parnassus Heights — the first new hospital construction on the site in 35 years. The commitment from San Francisco’s Helen Diller Family Foundation, to be announced Thursday, brings the foundation’s total giving to UCSF to $1.15 billion. (Ho, 2/7)

Arizona Republic: Arizona Bill Would Give Unlimited Free Pads, Tampons To Female Inmates
The Arizona Legislature is considering a bill that would provide incarcerated women with an unlimited supply of feminine hygiene products, including tampons, pads, cups and sponges. Currently, incarcerated women get 12 free pads each month. (White, 2/7)

Los Angeles Times: Portantino Introduces Bill To Require Suicide Prevention Hotline Numbers Be Provided In Schools
State Sen. Anthony J. Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) introduced legislation this week that would require all public, charter and private schools to print a suicide prevention hotline number on the back of their students' identification cards. The measure, SB 972, would be for seventh through 12th grades and all higher education institutions. Adolescent suicide and self-inflicted injury are a serious social and public health concern, Portantino said. (Kellam, 2/7)

Miami Herald: Foster Kids Lived In Cars At Tampa Wawa Parking Lot
A Tampa television station’s monthlong investigation of foster care in Florida’s Hillsborough County has reported as many as a dozen hard-to-place foster teens were forced to spend their days confined to cars in the Tampa parking lot while their caseworkers tried to find them beds to sleep in at night. The site was chosen because of its easy access to free Wi-Fi and bathroom facilities. (Cohen, 2/7)

Cincinnati Enquirer: African-Americans Left Behind In "Green Rush'' For Legal Weed Profits
Ohio's fledgling medical marijuana industry promises vast riches for investors fortunate enough to land one of the state's coveted marijuana business licenses. But income inequality and a legacy of racism tied to marijuana prohibition has stunted participation among African-Americans and other racial minorities in Ohio's new "green rush.'' (Tucker, 2/7)

Boston Globe: More Ebola, And Worse, Without A Strong CDC
The CDC is dramatically scaling back its epidemic prevention programs in 39 of 49 countries, The Wall Street Journal reported, and expects to focus health care efforts in 2019 on just 10 “priority countries.” That list does not include Congo, site of the new Ebola outbreak, or Haiti, where cholera rages unabated, or China, where researchers worry that cases of bird flu could trigger a wider pandemic. (2/8)

New England Journal of Medicine: Can Work Be Required In The Medicaid Program?
On January 11, 2018, a new policy encouraging states to develop work requirements in their Medicaid programs was issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). ...The question is whether CMS has the authority to make such a shift, which will allow states to create barriers to enrollment for eligible Medicaid beneficiaries. Federal agencies possess authority given to them by Congress to execute laws within a range of reasonable policy options, but they must follow the law. (Nicole Huberfeld, 2/7)

The Wall Street Journal: The Health-Care Conspiracy Of Silence
Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and J.P. Morgan have announced a nonprofit initiative to address excessive spending on health care, starting with their own million or so employees. They can expect many suggestions. Here’s one: The three CEOs— Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett and Jamie Dimon, whom I’ll call “BB&D”—could do a huge service by describing the depth and nature of the cost problem, something politicians have long failed to do. (Clark Havighurst, 2/7)

Axios: Don't Overhype The New Health Care Venture
Even if Jeff Bezos, Jamie Dimon and Warren Buffett come up with ways to lower their own corporate health care costs, it’s highly unlikely their new health care venture will move the needle on overall health spending or other dimensions of the health cost problem. The odds: Bezos, Buffett and Dimon are big names — big as they come — but the history of health care is littered with business titans who have declared war on health care costs. Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase may be able to get their own costs down, but that doesn't mean they can do it for anyone else. (Drew Altman, 2/8)

Los Angeles Times: Why Do Poor Americans Eat So Unhealthfully? Because Junk Food Is The Only Indulgence They Can Afford
The verdict is in: Food deserts don't drive nutritional disparities in the United States the way we thought. Over the past decade, study after study has shown that differences in access to healthy food can't fully explain why wealthy Americans consume a healthier diet than poor Americans. If food deserts aren't to blame, then what is? (Priya Fielding-Singh, 2/7)

USA Today: Teen Suicides Are On The Rise, But We Know How To Fight Back
Suicide is a growing public health crisis. The Centers for Disease Control reported recently that suicide rates for teenage girls in the United States have hit a 40-year high. ...These statistics should serve both as a shock to our collective being and an urgent call for national action. We simply cannot offer heartfelt condolences and then go about our normal daily activities anymore. Just as the opioid crisis has spurred a call to action at the local, state and national levels, the suicide crisis requires an immediate and comprehensive response. (Kelly Posner, 2/7)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Missouri Needs To Help Its Physicians Prevent Mothers From Dying
Missouri is playing catch-up with the rest of the country. A United Health Foundation study measured the national average maternal mortality rate at 19.9 deaths per 100,000 live births. Missouri lags behind, ranked 42nd out of 50 states with 28.5 deaths per 100,000. St. Louis County had a maternal mortality rate of 22.1 and St. Louis city had a whopping rate of 51.1. (Anirudh Prabu and Ishann Shah, 2/7)

San Antonio Press-Express: Texas Needs To Step Up On Prenatal Care
When Texans are getting ready to have a baby, they may wonder about car seat options, if their baby will grow up to play soccer, what they can do to ensure their child will succeed in school, and many other questions big and small. But recent reports on two separate yet intertwined subjects show that pregnancy is also a prelude to tragedy for many Texas families and — because of our state’s inadequate maternal health policies — a time when many children’s long-term health and development is likely compromised. (Adriana Kohler, 2/7)