The New York Times: In The Democratic Debate, Hillary Clinton And Bernie Sanders Clash On Immigration
Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders clashed vividly over immigration reform, health care and Cuba during a contentious debate Wednesday. ... [Sanders] also showed he could throw a punch, such as when Mrs. Clinton questioned the cost of his Medicare-for-all plan, saying, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” “What Secretary Clinton is saying is that the United States should continue to be the only major country on earth that doesn’t guarantee health care to all of our people,” Mr. Sanders said, drawing a stern look from his opponent. “I do believe in universal coverage,” she fired back. “Remember, I fought for it 25 years ago.” (Healy and Chozick, 3/9)

Modern Healthcare: Sanders Says High Premiums, Deductibles Diminish Impact Of ACA
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders challenged rival Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on her oft-repeated statement that the Affordable Care Act provided 90% of Americans with health insurance, saying “not really” because of “outrageously high” deductibles and premiums. He said in a primary debate Wednesday night that the American people are “prepared to stand up to the insurance companies and the drug companies.” ... Health policy hasn't been a big issue so far in the primaries. About a quarter of Super Tuesday voters listed healthcare as the top issue for the country. About 19% of Democratic primary voters in Michigan chose healthcare as the most important issue for them. ... Those who said healthcare was their top issue split fairly evenly among the candidates, with 49% voting for Sanders and 48% for Clinton. (Muchmore, 3/9)

Los Angeles Times: Tough Debate Questions, Especially For Clinton, After Her Surprise Loss To Sanders In Michigan
Hillary Clinton's embattled status as the Democratic presidential front-runner, dented Tuesday by a surprise defeat in Michigan, faced new challenges Wednesday during a debate with Bernie Sanders that often delved into the vulnerabilities that have complicated her path to the nomination. ... Sanders, too, came in for tough questioning, particularly about a videotaped interview from 1985 in which he pointed out Fidel Castro's work to improve Cuban society, including education and healthcare. “Cuba is, of course, an authoritarian, undemocratic country, and I hope very much as soon as possible it becomes a democratic country,” he said. “But on the other hand, it would be wrong not to state that in Cuba they have made some good advances in healthcare.” (Megerian and Memoli, 3/9)

The Washington Post: Democratic Debate: Clinton Criticizes Sanders’s Plans As Being Too Far Left
Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton used Wednesday’s Democratic presidential debate to launch sharp attacks on her rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, criticizing him as too far left at some points. ... Clinton also criticized Sanders for being too negative about recent Democratic presidents. “Sen. Sanders is always criticizing the two recent Democratic presidents, President Clinton and Persident Obama. And that’s fine. But I wish he would criticize – and join me in criticizing – President George W. Bush,” said Clinton, who is married to another former president, Bill Clinton. She meant that Sanders was wrong to seek to replace “Obamacare” – President Obama’s signature health-care law – with a “single-payer” health-care system. (Fahrenthold, 3/9)

The Washington Post's Fact Checker: Fact-Checking The Eighth Democratic Debate
Not every statement could be easily fact-checked, but here are 12 suspicious or interesting claims [from the debate]. ... “It is a record on achievement for veterans … working to achieve the most significant veterans’ health care bill in decades," [Sanders said]. Sanders touts his record as chairman of Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, but he has faced criticism from veterans groups for not paying attention to the health care delays as soon as they were revealed publicly in 2014. But many veteran groups still criticize Sanders for not reacting to the scandal quickly enough. They still point to Sanders’s comments in May 2014: “The point I want to make is that when you are dealing with 200,000 people, if you did better than any other health institution in the world, there would be thousands of people every single day who would say ‘I don’t like what I’m getting.’ And we have to put that all of that in the context of the size of the VA.” (Kessler and Ye Hee Lee, 3/10)

The New York Times: Christians Flock To Groups That Help Members Pay Medical Bills
When Chris Doyle learned that his health insurance deductible would climb to $10,000 last year, he and his wife, both evangelical Christians, “spent a couple weeks just praying,” he said. Then they opted out of insurance altogether, joining something called a health care sharing ministry, which requires members to help cover one another’s major medical costs as they come up. While such nonprofit ministries have been around for decades, interest in them has grown since the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010, largely because the law exempts members from the requirement to have health insurance or pay a yearly fine. (Goodnough, 3/10)

Fox News: Failed ObamaCare Co-Ops Have Not Repaid $1.2B In Federal Loans, Docs Say
The dozen failed ObamaCare cooperatives have not repaid any of the $1.2 billion in federal loans they received and still owe more than a $1 billion in additional liabilities, according to recent financial statements to be cited Thursday at a congressional hearing. (Edson, 3/10)

The Pioneer Press: MNsure Struggling To Send Out 1095-A Tax Forms As Deadline Nears
About 18,000 people who had MNsure plans at any time during 2015 have yet to receive their 1095-A forms, which are necessary to verify whether someone received any federal tax subsidies for their health plans. Some or all of the forms that have gone out have been missing a necessary line, forcing people to visit MNsure.org to look up the information online before filing their taxes. (Montgomery, 3/9)

Minnesota Public Radio: MNsure Still Struggling To Get Tax Forms Sent
Staff members for Minnesota's health insurance exchange told the agency's board Wednesday that they are still struggling to finish the overdue tax documents that thousands of clients should have received more than a month ago. (Zdechlik, 3/9)

Kaiser Health News: FAQ: What Are The Penalties For Not Getting Insurance?
If you’re uninsured, you may have questions about possible penalties for not having coverage. The fine may be bigger than you expect. Here are the details. (Andrews, 3/10)

Salt Lake Tribune: Long Fight Over: Small-Scale Medicaid Expansion Wins Final Approval
Ending years of fighting, the Senate gave final approval Tuesday to a compromise bill expanding Medicaid coverage to 16,000 of the poorest Utahns — while Democrats complained that it is "less than crumbs" compared to what the state should be giving. It passed HB437 on a 19-8 vote, and is on its way to Gov. Gary Herbert for his expected signature. (Davidson, 3/8)

Deseret News: Utah Democrats Upset Over Medicaid, Vow To Continue To Push For Full Expansion
A bill that would expand Medicaid to every Utahn who needs it died Wednesday, without the votes to pass, according to its sponsor. "It's not anger, it's frustration that we're voicing," said Sen. Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake City. Davis' bill, SB77, aimed to expand Medicaid to more than 105,000 uninsured Utahns. "We could have done more," he said. Alternatively, lawmakers Tuesday voted to finalize a plan that takes care of the poorest of the poor and imposes new taxes to help cover the costs. (Leonard, 3/9)

New Hampshire Public Radio: N.H. Medicaid Expansion Overwhelmingly Passes Republican-Backed House
The House voted 216 to 145 to reauthorize Medicaid expansion for another two years. The bill now heads to the Senate. But that was after much debate on the floor Wednesday – more than two hours of it. This issue crossed party lines with the Republicans who supported the bill stressing to their colleagues on the right that this bill does not use state dollars but rather saves it. As the bill is written, the state's insurance premium tax as well as hospitals and insurance companies have agreed to pick up the tab the federal government will no longer be paying in 2017. (Sutherland, 3/10)

The Concord Monitor: House Passes Medicaid Expansion, Voter Residency Requirements
The Republican-led House overwhelmingly approved a bill Wednesday to extend the state’s Medicaid expansion program, which provides subsidized health insurance to more than 48,000 low-income residents. The vote, 216-145, was a big victory for program supporters. The House has long been viewed as the bill’s biggest hurdle, and debate divided the chamber’s Republican members, who are split on the program’s merits. (Morris, 3/9)

KPAX (Missoula, Mt.)/MTN: Medicaid Expansion Sign-Ups Surging Past Expectations
The number of low-income Montanans signing up for expanded Medicaid health coverage is surging past initial predictions, a legislative report shows. The report says as of this month, 36,320 people have signed up for the new government-funded coverage – already more than the Bullock administration estimated would sign up through mid-2017. Rep. Art Wittich (R-Bozeman) -- an opponent of Medicaid expansion -- said Wednesday that no one should be surprised that “people will over-utilize free stuff.” ... But Heather O’Laughlin, co-director of the Montana Budget and Policy Center, a supporter of the expansion, said the brisk clip of sign-ups for coverage is something to celebrate. (Dennison, 3/9)

The Wall Street Journal: CVS To Spend $50 Million On Antismoking Program Aimed At Youths
CVS Health Corp. plans to spend $50 million over the next five years on a youth antismoking campaign as it aims to position itself as a serious competitor in the health-care industry. It is unusual for a corporation to attack an industry as CVS plans to do by warning youth of the harms of smoking. Historically, the only companies to fund antitobacco initiatives have been pharmaceutical companies that sell smoking cessation products like Pfizer Inc., according to the Campaign For Tobacco-Free Kids, a leading antitobacco group. (Mickle, 3/10)

The Associated Press: California Lawmakers Near Vote On Raising Smoking Age To 21
California's Senate is poised to vote on a sweeping package of anti-smoking measures_including raising the smoking age to 21— as lawmakers try to crack down on tobacco use and the health problems that flow from it. If the Senate approves Thursday and Gov. Jerry Brown signs off, California would become the second state to move the age to buy cigarettes from 18 to 21, and electronic cigarettes would face the same restrictions as tobacco products. (3/10)

The New York Times: First Uterus Transplant In U.S. Has Failed
The first uterus transplant in the United States has failed, and the organ was surgically removed on Tuesday, officials at the Cleveland Clinic said on Wednesday. The recipient, a 26-year-old woman, suddenly developed a serious complication on Tuesday, according to Eileen Sheil, a spokeswoman for the clinic. She did not specify the nature of the problem but said the uterus was being analyzed by pathologists to determine what went wrong. (Grady, 3/9)

The Cleveland Plain Dealer: Nation's First Uterus Transplant, Performed At The Cleveland Clinic, Fails
A woman who received the nation's first uterus transplant last month at the Cleveland Clinic has had a "sudden complication" and had to have the donated organ removed, the hospital reported today. (Zeltner, 3/9)

The Associated Press: Cleveland Clinic Says First Uterus Transplant In U.S. Fails
The nation's first uterus transplant has failed, the Cleveland Clinic announced Wednesday, saying doctors had removed the organ. A 26-year-old woman received the transplant on Feb. 24 and seemed to be doing well, even appearing briefly at a news conference on Monday with her surgeons. (3/9)

In other donation news, research finds that a new method might help cut wait times and increase the success rate of kidney transplants —

The New York Times: New Procedure Allows Kidney Transplants From Any Donor
In the anguishing wait for a new kidney, tens of thousands of patients on waiting lists may never find a match because their immune systems will reject almost any transplanted organ. Now, in a large national study that experts are calling revolutionary, researchers have found a way to get them the desperately needed procedure. In the new study, published Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine, doctors successfully altered patients’ immune systems to allow them to accept kidneys from incompatible donors. Significantly more of those patients were still alive after eight years than patients who had remained on waiting lists or received a kidney transplanted from a deceased donor. (Kolata, 3/9)

The Associated Press: Study Backs Kidney Transplant Method For Hardest-To-Match
Nearly 1 in 3 patients who needs a kidney transplant is especially hard to match, and new research suggests a painstaking treatment to help those patients tolerate an incompatible organ is worth considering. More hospitals have begun offering so-called desensitization therapy to help high-risk patients who have a willing but non-matching living donor receive an organ their bodies otherwise would reject. Some specialty centers have reported success but it wasn't clear how well the approach would work when used widely. (Neergaard, 3/10)

Los Angeles Times: Doctors Group Calls On Pediatricians To Address Child Poverty
For pediatricians, a routine visit is a chance to chat with parents about their child's vaccinations, sleep patterns, nutrition and TV time. But new guidelines say that with nearly half of American children living in poverty or close to that line, pediatricians need to broach another health-related matter with mom or dad: Are you having trouble making ends meet? "The early detection and management of poverty-related disorders is an important, emerging component of the pediatric scope of practice," says a policy statement issued this week by the American Academy of Pediatrics. "Pediatricians can apply interventions in practice to help address the toxic effects of poverty on children and families." (Healy, 3/9)

PBS NewsHour: Pediatric Guidelines Now Urge Holistic Health And Wellbeing Checks
New guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics released Wednesday recommend that, during routine checkups, physicians also screen children for signs of poverty. The move is part of a larger effort to improve mental health and physical development in adolescents. Hari Sreenivasan talks to Dr. Renee Jenkins, former president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, for more. (3/9)

The Associated Press: Florida Legislature Approves Controversial Abortion Restrictions
Florida legislators on Wednesday approved abortion restrictions that include requirements for physicians similar to a Texas law currently under review by the Supreme Court and prohibited state funding for routine care at abortion clinics. The measure imposes regulations that could force clinics to close, provider Planned Parenthood said. Supporters argue it aims to protect women's health, while opponents called it an attack on groups assisting women in terminating pregnancies. (3/9)

The Tampa Bay Times: State Senate Passes Abortion Bill Created In Planned Parenthood Controvery's Wake
The Florida Senate has passed a bill that would block abortion clinics from receiving state money for services like cancer screenings and require their doctors to have privileges at a nearby hospital. HB 1411, which passed the chamber 25-15, now heads back to the House for final passage, required after the Senate removed langu (Auslen, 3/9)

The Associated Press: Indiana Poised To Ban Abortions Due To Fetal Defects
Indiana is poised to become the second state to ban abortions sought because a fetus has a genetic abnormality such as Down syndrome under a measure headed to Gov. Mike Pence for approval. Lawmakers on Wednesday approved the measure banning such abortions over the objections of many female legislators, including Republicans who say the bill goes too far and wasn't vetted enough before receiving approval in the House. In a statement, a Pence spokeswoman said the conservative Republican is "a strong supporter of the right to life" and said he will "give this legislation thoughtful consideration once it reaches his desk." (3/9)

The Associated Press: South Carolina On Cusp Of Having Tougher Abortion Law
South Carolina is on the cusp of passing a bill prohibiting nearly all abortions past 19 weeks of pregnancy, making it the latest of 15 states to pass restrictive bans whose constitutionality has yet to be ruled on by the U.S. Supreme Court. A compromise approved Tuesday by the Senate allows exceptions to the ban only if the mother's life is in jeopardy or the fetus can't survive outside the womb. That was crucial for passage in the Senate, where Democrats had blocked the legislation for years. The measure's limited definition of "fetal anomaly" means it would be illegal to abort a fetus with a severe disability if the child could live. (3/9)

The Associated Press: West Virginia: Governor Vetoes Curb On An Abortion Method
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin on Wednesday vetoed a ban on a second-trimester abortion practice. The bill would ban dilation and evacuation method abortions unless the doctor has caused the death of the fetus. It would not ban the method in cases of medical emergency. The governor, a Democrat, cited concerns about constitutionality and patient safety. (3/9)

Meanwhile, Tennessee's Senate passes a bill that allows women to get birth control from a pharmacist —

USA Today/The Tennessean: Tenn. Senate OKs Allowing Druggists To Prescribe The Pill
The Tennessee state Senate approved a bill Wednesday to provide easier access to birth control by allowing women 18 or older to obtain contraceptives directly from pharmacists. Women seeking birth control in Tennessee and most other states have to obtain a prescription from a physician. But if state Senate Bill 1677 becomes law, a woman could obtain a prescription by going directly to a pharmacist who meets provisions outlined in a a bill sponsored by Sen. Steve Dickerson, a Nashville Republican. (Ebert, 3/9)

In other women's health news, Planned Parenthood in Kansas is still receiving Medicaid funds two months after the state defunded it, and Missouri cuts off money to the organization —

The Associated Press: Planned Parenthood Still Gets Medicaid Funds Despite Threats
Kansas hasn't cut off Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood even though Republican Gov. Sam Brownback declared two months ago that his administration would quickly end the funding, one of the organization's top officials said Wednesday. Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri President Laura McQuade told The Associated Press that services are still being provided to Medicaid participants — and state reimbursements are being made — at five clinics in Kansas and the Kansas City, Missouri, area. She said her group expected to have been notified by now by state health officials that the clinics were no longer considered Medicaid providers. (3/9)

The Associated Press: Missouri House Cuts Funding For MU, Planned Parenthood
The Missouri House is sticking with a plan to cut about $7.6 million from the University of Missouri system budget, and on Tuesday lawmakers voted to cut an additional $1 million from the Columbia campus. Lawmakers also amended the $27.3 billion state budget proposal to prevent state money from going to Planned Parenthood for services such as vaccinations and medical examinations. Missouri already prohibits state money from funding abortions. (3/9)

Al.com: Medicaid Would Get $15 Million More In Budget, Still Short Of Request
The Alabama Medicaid Agency would get an additional $15 million under a General Fund budget approved by a committee today, still well short of what the agency requested. Medicaid Commissioner Stephanie Azar told the House Ways and Means General Fund Committee that the increase in the agency's General Fund appropriation, to $700 million, would not be enough to sustain its transformation to managed care. That means the state would lose up to $747 million in federal funds to help with the transformation under a five-year project, Azar said. (Cason, 3/9)

Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser: House Committee Approves $1.8 Billion General Fund
[T]he increases in the General Fund, passed on a voice vote Wednesday, are short of what Medicaid needs to function and don’t address structural issues with funding state services. ... The new revenue led to a $15 million increase for the Alabama Medicaid Agency, bringing its General Fund allocation from $685 million to $700 million. Medicaid says it needs $100 million to maintain services and implement regional care organizations (RCOs), which would move Medicaid to a managed care model and aim to slow cost growth in the program. (Lyman, 3/9)

Charleston (S.C.) Post Courier: Provision To Cut Medicaid Behavioral Health Providers
The South Carolina Medicaid agency is attempting to further rein in spending after the state overspent nearly $60 million last fiscal year on low-income patients with behavioral health problems, including thousands of children with attention deficit disorder. The excess spending was a result of fraudulent claims filed by Medicaid providers, according to the state agency. (Asberry, 3/9)

Des Moines Register: Medicaid Management Firms' Clinics Defended
“Wellness centers” owned by the companies managing Iowa’s Medicaid program won’t necessarily pose a problem, the state’s human-services director said Wednesday. “I don’t think we should jump out of pocket and say it’s a bad idea,” Charles Palmer said. ... The subject was raised Wednesday by Kim Spading, a University of Iowa pharmacist who serves on the state Human Services Council. Spading alluded to concerns that clinics run by the managed-care companies would have a conflict of interests, because they would be providing services and paying the bills. (Leys, 3/9)

The Associated Press: Lawmakers Approve Subscription-Like Doctor Plans
Legislation aimed at protecting a growing health care model where patients pay their doctors a periodic fee in return for agreed-upon primary care services is moving toward becoming law. The Virginia Senate narrowly approved the measure Wednesday despite strong opposition from the health insurance industry. Supporters of direct primary care agreements say they act like a subscription, providing an affordable and predictable way for the uninsured or people with high deductible insurance to cover their primary health care costs. Advocates say passing a law codifying the practice would prevent doctors from facing illegitimate but costly lawsuits from insurance companies. (3/9)

Georgia Health News: Bill Aims To Erase Errors In Insurers’ Medical Directories
Open enrollment can bring a big decision for consumers: Which health coverage plan do I choose? And much of that decision is based on whether the consumer’s favorite doctor or hospital is part of a plan’s network. But if the available listings of health plan providers are not accurate, consumers could end up making bad choices — not actually getting what they think they signed up for. A bill working its way through the Georgia Legislature would require health insurers to maintain accurate directories of medical providers. (Miller, 3/9)

And in Florida, the latest on approval for multi-state nursing licenses, the Surgeon General confirmation battle and a nursing home's operations transferring to the state —

News Service Of Florida: Multi-State Nurse Licensing Ready For Approval
The Senate is poised to give final approval to a bill that could lead to Florida nurses receiving multi-state licenses --- and allowing nurses from other parts of the country to work in Florida. The House voted 111-1 last week to approve the bill (HB 1061), sponsored by state Rep. Cary Pigman, R-Avon Park. Only Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, voted against the measure. (3/9)

Tampa Bay Times: Dr. John Armstrong Will Not Be Confirmed As Surgeon General
It looks as though Dr. John Armstrong will no longer be the surgeon general after Friday. Sen. Oscar Braynon, D-Miami Gardens, confirmed that he and President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, spoke this morning and that Gardiner will not bring the embattled surgeon general to the floor for a confirmation vote by the full Senate. Without that vote, Armstrong will lose his job. (Auslen, 3/9)

The Orlando Sentinel: Lake Baldwin VA Nursing Home Handed Over To Fla.
The vacant nursing home on the campus of Lake Baldwin VA is another step closer to fulfilling its purpose now that it's officially in the hands of the state. On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. John Mica ceremonially presented signed legislation that transfers the operation of the 120-bed nursing home from the federal VA to Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs. (Miller, 3/9)

WBUR: Ballot Initiative Seeks To Limit Cost Ranges For Medical Care At Mass. Hospitals
In Massachusetts, it can cost you or your insurance company two or three times more to deliver a baby at one of the big Boston teaching hospitals than at small- or medium-size facilities outside the city. Is this a problem? Should the state try to fix it? That’s what you may have to decide when you vote in the fall. (Bebinger, 3/9)

Kaiser Health News: N.H., Calif. Seek To Help Consumers Get Details On Health Care Prices
Two states are making inroads into revealing some of the biggest secrets of health care by publishing price information to help consumers comparison shop for doctors, dentists and prescription drugs. New Hampshire, which already had the nation’s most advanced website allowing people to compare the cost of specific medical procedures, last week added prices for 16 dental procedures and 65 prescription drugs. ... California on Wednesday released an expanded version of its quality report cards on 154 large physician groups. Those cards, which already assess clinical quality and patient experiences, take a different tack than New Hampshire. (Rau, 3/10)

Los Angeles Times: Are You Pre-Diabetic? 46% Of California Adults Are, UCLA Study Finds
For decades, more and more Californians have put on weight and fallen sick with diabetes, prompting warnings that the disease was spiraling out of control. Now experts have data showing just how bleak the situation is. Researchers from UCLA determined that 55% of California adults have either diabetes or pre-diabetes, a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be considered diabetic, according to a study published Thursday. (Karlamangla, 3/10)

The Connecticut Mirror: For Help With Opioid Addiction, CT Offers One Number To Call
In an effort to better connect people with help for opioid addiction, the state has made available a single phone number residents can call to be connected with a local substance abuse walk-in assessment center. (Levin Becker, 3/9)

The Boston Globe: Troubled Nursing Home’s Plan Is Rejected By State
A Wilmington nursing home’s plan to correct widespread problems discovered in the wake of a patient’s death is unacceptable, state regulators said Wednesday. (Lazar, 3/10)

The Charlotte Observer: Veterans Get First Glimpse Of New Charlotte VA Health Care Center
The new Charlotte VA Health Care Center won’t open until April. But veterans and other visitors got a sneak peek Wednesday during an open house at the nearly completed building off Tyvola Road west of Interstate 77. “It’s a beautiful facility,” said Frank Gettys, 72, a Vietnam War veteran. “I’m from Gastonia, and it’s convenient for me. … It’s all brand new. There’s nothing not to like.” (Garloch, 3/10)

The Associated Press: Long A Niche, Street Medicine For Homeless Heads Mainstream
They're house calls without the house. Far from the sterile confines of a doctor's office or hospital, Brett Feldman looks for homeless people where they're most likely to be found — in wooded encampments, under bridges, along riverbanks, at soup kitchens — and treats them for ailments ranging from diabetes to trench foot, mental illness to substance abuse. (Rubinkam, 3/10)

The Charlotte Observer: Unvaccinated Children Sent Home For 21 Days After Chickenpox Outbreak In Union Co.
Five-year-old Katie Hedrick doesn’t have chickenpox. But five other elementary students in Union County do. And because Katie hasn’t been vaccinated against the childhood illness, she is one of 15 children who have been ordered by the county health director to stay out of school, in quarantine, for 21 days. (Garloch, 3/10)

The Houston Chronicle: Study Shows Inducing Labor At 37 To 38 Weeks May Be Safer Than Thought
Hospitals increasingly insist that low-risk pregnancies reach 39 weeks before doctors deliver the child, but babies born after elective induction of labor in the previous two weeks fare no worse, according to a new Houston study. (Ackerman, 3/9)

The Orlando Sentinel: Zika Update: First Sexually Transmitted Case Confirmed In Florida
Polk County reported the first confirmed sexually-transmitted case of Zika in Florida, the state health department said on Wednesday. The news comes a day after the World Health Organization said that sexual transmission of Zika is more common than previously thought. According to reports, United states is investigating more than a dozen possible such cases. (Miller, 3/9)

The Orlando Sentinel: Orlando Health Unveils Name Of Its New Proton Therapy Center
Orlando Health unveiled the name of its new Proton Therapy Center on Tuesday, with a gift from the Williams Family Foundation. The Marjorie and Leonard Williams Center for Proton Therapy is expected to open in April and is the first in Central Florida and third in the state. (Miller, 3/8)

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: 4 New, Nonfatal Cases Of Deadly Bacterial Infection Reported
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services on Wednesday reported four new cases of the bacterial strain Elizabethkingia anophelisthat is linked to more than a dozen deaths in Wisconsin. The new cases bring the total number of people infected to 48. No deaths were reported among the new cases. Indeed, the number of deaths has been revised downward from 18 to 15. (Fauber, 3/9)

The New York Times: How to Reduce Medicare Drug Costs
Prescription drug spending in Medicare has been rising fast, but it is not completely clear what policies are driving the increases. The Obama administration hopes to find ways to control costs by testing different approaches to paying for the drugs. The experiments would apply to a class of drugs covered under Medicare Part B that are administered in doctors’ offices and hospitals to treat cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions. The government and the program’s beneficiaries spent nearly $21 billion on these medicines in 2013, 29 percent more than in 2007, according to a Government Accountability Office report published in November. A big part of the reason spending has shot up is that drug prices have been going up faster than inflation or overall medical costs. (3/10)

The New York Times' Upshot: Medicare Tries An Experiment To Fight Perverse Incentives
Suppose you’re an eye doctor and you’re treating a patient with macular degeneration, a disease that can cause blindness. You have the choice of giving one of two drugs — one that costs $2,000 per treatment and another, very similar one, which costs $50 per treatment. Do you think it would influence your decision if you were paid $117 more if you chose the more expensive drug? (Margot Sanger-Katz, 3/9)

The New England Journal Of Medicine: Finding Value In Unexpected Places — Fixing The Medicare Physician Fee Schedule
“Moving from volume to value” is health care reform’s latest mantra. Policymakers hope to replace fee-for-service systems with value-based approaches that reward improved outcomes achieved at lower cost. Ground zero in these efforts is the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS). What payment reformers often fail to recognize is that the specific MPFS payment rates have important implications for Medicare and its beneficiaries. The relative payment levels for the thousands of service codes and the absence of payment for other activities powerfully influence how physicians spend their time — and their tendency to perform unneeded tests and procedures. The mix of services that physicians provide under a particular fee schedule can affect value at least as much as any improvements derived from rewarding physicians on the basis of quality measures — the approach Congress took in the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015. (Robert A. Berenson and John D. Goodson, 3/9)

Forbes: Bipartisan Agreement To Destroy Medicare As We Know It, But Not Quickly Enough
Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services announced it had beat its target of tying 30% of Medicare Part A and B payments to “quality of care rather than quantity of services.” That goal was initially set for the end of 2016, but was actually achieved in January. Initially, this was a goal set only by administrative fiat, in January 2015. However, it soon picked up bipartisan legislative support in the so-called “doc fix” bill of April 2015. The Administration has a goal of tying 90% of payments to “quality” by 2018 and it now looks like this is a realistic target. (Graham, 3/10)

Vox: Obamacare Didn’t Pave The Way For Donald Trump. The GOP’s Response To It Did.
There are two ways to look at Obamacare. One is that it was more or less American politics working as it's supposed to ... But there's another popular narrative of Obamacare — that it was a hijacking of American politics in order to pass radical, unconstitutional legislation that forever transformed the country. (Ezra Klein, 3/9)

Forbes: Federal Health Insurer Network Ratings Are Bizarre, Inconsistent
What good is health insurance if the medical providers in network are unavailable? This is the problem posed by the contemporary American insistence on retaining consumerism and competition in much of our healthcare system. It’s easy to communicate and regulate price. Cost sharing arrangements can be extremely complex but at least use of standardized vocabulary such as copay, deductible and coinsurance can regularize communications about the order in which insureds and insurers pay for medical expenses. (Seth Chandler, 3/10)

The New England Journal Of Medicine: Partnerships, Not Parachutists, For Zika Research
When the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the recently reported clusters of microcephaly and other neurologic disorders represent a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), she called for increased research into their cause, including the question of whether the Zika virus is the source of the problem.1 The declaration provides an opportunity to step up the pace of research in order to find the answer to some important questions more quickly. It could not only facilitate the accumulation of knowledge about the relationship between the Zika virus and microcephaly, but also accelerate the study of newer technologies for mosquito control, which could have far-reaching effects on global health security beyond controlling Zika infections. (David L. Heymann, Joanne Liu and Louis Lillywhite, 3/9)

Huffington Post: This Anti-Obamacare Governor Is Proving How Hard Repeal Really Is
Kentucky has turned into the place where Obamacare repeal rhetoric meets Obamacare repeal reality. Reality is winning. Gov. Matt Bevin (R) made his name in Bluegrass State politics as a tea party outsider, and throwing out the Affordable Care Act was one of his most common refrains. He used it first during his unsuccessful primary challenge against Sen. Mitch McConnell, now majority leader, in 2014, and then in his winning bid for the top position in the state last year. (Jeffrey Young, 3/9)

The Des Moines Register: Overwhelming Public Support For Medicaid Expansion Plan
Polling consistently has shown strong public support for allowing a federal expansion of Medicaid for low-income Kansans. But if the expansion is budget-neutral, as a plan developed by the Kansas Hospital Association seeks to be, support is even greater. (Phillip Brownlee, 3/9)

The Des Moines Register: Assisted Suicide Bill Raises Hard Questions
Having read several articles promoting doctor-assisted suicide in Iowa, an old Polish saying comes to mind, namely: “When you are unsure about the road ahead, ask the old man who is walking back from there.” In 1997, Oregon enacted its Death with Dignity Act, which permits doctors to prescribe a lethal medication at the request of terminally ill patients. In considering what Iowans can learn from Oregon’s experience, several unanswered questions remain: How has doctor-assisted suicide affected Oregon’s culture? (The Rev. Msgr. Frank E. Boganno, 3/9)

The Columbus Dispatch: E-Cigarette Safety Rules Are Overdue
Exploding hoverboards may have gotten all the attention lately, but electronic cigarettes also have been showing a disturbing tendency to spontaneously combust, injuring a growing number of people whose devices have blown up in their faces or pockets. (3/10)

Health Affairs Blog: Fight The Urge To Criminalize Opioid Addiction Behaviors
It’s well known that the U.S. is in the midst of a prescription opioid overdose and abuse epidemic. Adverse outcomes from prescription opioid abuse have dramatically escalated over the past decade and a half, with fatal prescription opioid overdoses roughly quadrupling and emergency department visits involving prescription drugs (mostly opioids) more than doubling. Outrageous statistics—such as that opioids were involved in almost 29,000 drug overdose deaths in 2014, or that 46 people die from a prescription opioid overdose every day—have less “shock” value now than they did several years ago. Moreover, the opioid crisis has become personal: many (including presidential candidates) have experienced a close friend or family member struggle with addiction. (Rebecca Haffajee, 3/9)

The Baltimore Sun: A Safe Place To Inject Drugs
Lawmakers are considering a bill in the General Assembly that only a few years ago would have been thought a dangerously radical proposal: legalizing the creation of so-called "safe injection facilities" where people addicted to heroin and other opioids can consume the drugs under the supervision of medically trained staff without subjecting themselves to criminal penalties ... This isn't something Maryland should rush into, but neither should it be dismissed out of hand. (3/9)