The New York Times: Supreme Court Appears Sharply Divided As It Hears Texas Abortion Case
The Supreme Court appeared splintered on Wednesday during arguments in a major abortion case that could affect the lives of millions of American women. The court’s four liberal justices were adamant that restrictions imposed by a Texas law on the state’s abortion providers served no medical purpose and could not pass constitutional muster. But two of the more conservative justices said there was little evidence that abortion clinics in Texas had closed or would close because of the law. (Liptak, 3/2)

The Wall Street Journal: Some Supreme Court Justices Cite Lack Of Detail In Key Abortion Case
As passions ran high on the court’s ideological wings, Justice Kennedy asked probing questions of both sides, pressing abortion-rights advocates on whether they had tangible evidence to support claims that the state was imposing real burdens on women seeking abortion. Later in the session, he may have tipped his hand after Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller argued that courts shouldn’t second-guess the legislature’s judgment regarding patient safety, and should only consider whether the regulations deprived women of the ability “to make the ultimate decision to elect the procedure.” Justice Kennedy appeared concerned that would give the state carte blanche to restrict abortions in a way that violates the earlier precedent. “Doesn’t that show that the undue-burden test is weighted against what the state’s interest is?” he said. (Bravin and Kendall, 3/2)

Houston Chronicle: Supreme Court Hears Challenge To Texas Abortion Law
As thousands of activists on both sides of the abortion issue rallied outside the courthouse, the justices took turns probing state lawyers defending the law known as House Bill 2 and the abortion providers who challenged it as unconstitutional shortly after its approval in the summer of 2013. U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, representing the federal government, also argued against the law's contested regulations, which require abortion doctors to obtain admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and abortion facilities to comply with the expensive standards of hospital-style surgical centers. (Rosenthal, 3/2)

The Washington Post: Supreme Court Hears Arguments On Texas Abortion-Clinics Case
If Kennedy joins the liberals to make a five-member majority, it will have national implications, cutting off what abortion opponents had seen as a promising way to make abortion more rare. Abortion rights backers say more than 200 restrictions have been passed by states in the past five years. If Kennedy sides with the three remaining conservatives, that will not be enough by itself to secure the court’s endorsement of the two issues at stake: requiring admitting privileges at a nearby hospital for doctors who perform abortions and requiring clinics to maintain hospital-like standards. (Barnes, 3/2)

USA Today: Supreme Court Closely Divided On Abortion Case
It seemed possible that Justice Anthony Kennedy, who likely holds the deciding vote, would seek to have the case returned to Texas for additional fact-finding, delaying any decision until next year at the earliest. That could include whether the law's restrictions were responsible for shuttering up to 20 clinics and whether the few that remain open can handle the statewide demand for abortions. If the case is not sent back but is decided on its merits, it seemed more likely that Kennedy would join the liberals in ruling that the law places an undue burden on abortion access without serving a legitimate medical purpose. Such a sweeping decision, which likely would be issued in late June, could impact states with similar laws. (Wolf, 3/2)

Reuters: Key Justice Kennedy Wavers As Supreme Court Confronts Abortion
Kennedy at one point suggested sending the case back to a lower court to get further evidence on the law's impact, including an assessment of the ability of existing Texas clinics to meet the demand for abortions. If there is evidence new clinics that meet the state's regulations have increased capacity to perform abortions, it would show the law has provided a "beneficial effect," Kennedy said. (Hurley, 3/2)

The Dallas Morning News: Texas Abortion Case Appears To Sharply Divide Supreme Court
[Kennedy] appeared concerned that one effect of the 2013 law is that it has lowered the number of abortions resulting from women taking pills and increased the number of more invasive surgical abortions, which he said “may not be medically wise.” (Steele, 3/2)

Texas Tribune: Supreme Court Hears Arguments On Abortion Restrictions
Stephanie Toti of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing the abortion providers, pointed out that 11 clinics closed the day the admitting privileges requirement went into effect, bringing the number of clinics down to about 20. Eight clinics closed in anticipation of the law going into effect, she said. But conservative justices appeared skeptical as to whether abortion providers had provided enough evidence to blame the restrictions for those closures. Justice Samuel Alito was the most critical, questioning whether the clinics had closed due to other factors. (Ura, 3/2)

The Associated Press: Deeply Split Supreme Court Wrestles With Abortion Case
Texas says it is trying to protect women's health in rules that require doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and force clinics to meet hospital-like standards for outpatient surgery. The rules would cut the number of abortion clinics in the state by three-fourths, abortion providers say. The three women justices and Justice Stephen Breyer repeatedly questioned why Texas needed to enact the 2013 law. "But what is the legitimate interest in protecting their health? What evidence is there that under the prior law, the prior law was not sufficiently protective of the women's health?" Ruth Bader Ginsburg asked Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller. (Sherman, 3/2)

CNN: Liberal Supreme Court Justices Critical Of Texas Abortion Law
Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller faced a sustained attack from the three female justices on the bench joined by Justice Stephen Breyer, who questioned him about the impact the law would have on poor women living far from the remaining clinics, the medical necessity of the law and the generally low risk of the abortion procedure. (de Vogue, 3/2)

Los Angeles Times: Supreme Court's Female Justices Lead Attack On Texas Law That Would Shut Abortion Clinics
The three female Supreme Court justices led an attack Wednesday on a Texas law that would shut down about three-fourths of the state’s abortion clinics. Though supporters of the law say the state’s strict medical regulations were intended to promote health and safety, Justice Sonia Sotomayor argued that they would hurt women. Texas lawmakers, she said, were “only targeting abortion.” ... Justices Sotomayor and Elena Kagan said Texas does not similarly regulate other medical procedures that are more risky, including dental surgery and colonoscopies. Doctors can perform those procedures safely in a doctor's office, without the need for a fully equipped surgical center, they said. “We know that liposuction is 30 times more dangerous [than an early-stage abortion], yet doesn’t have the same kind of requirements” in Texas, Kagan said. (Savage, 3/2)

The Washington Post: The Forgotten History Of Justice Ginsburg’s Criticism Of Roe v. Wade
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the Supreme Court’s most ardent protector of abortion rights, outspoken enough about their importance to become an icon to young feminists and a source of outrage among her detractors. With her valedictory on the court undetermined but within sight, Ginsburg, 82, may have only one more chance to leave a mark on reproductive rights. It comes in the most consequential abortion case during her time on the court. ... With her leadership on the issue pivotal, it is difficult to remember that 23 years ago Ginsburg was considered suspect on the issue. Some women’s groups questioned President Bill Clinton’s choice of Ginsburg for the Supreme Court because she had criticized the legal foundations of the court’s landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade. (Barnes, 3/2)

While the justices heard the case, emotions ran high outside the courthouse -

Reuters: Emotions Run High Outside Courthouse For Abortion Showdown
Emotions over abortion simmered on the sidewalks outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, with hundreds of activists on both sides of the issue staging dueling rallies and anti-abortion lawmakers joining the fray. "If you support life, let me hear you scream," South Carolina Republican U.S. Senator Tim Scott told anti-abortion demonstrators, eliciting yells and applause. "We are talking about 10 fingers and 10 toes and one precious heart. We are here for the right reasons." (Dunham, 3/2)

The Washington Post: Hundreds Of Activists Rally Outside Supreme Court For Key Abortion Case
Even before the oral arguments began Wednesday inside the U.S. Supreme Court, crowds of abortion rights supporters and opponents from across the country gathered outside for what is considered the most significant abortion case to reach the high court in decades. The signs on display outside the court showed the divided feelings. “Life counts,” one read. Another said, “I am a pro-life feminist,” and another read, “My body, my choice.” Yet another read, “There’s nothing pro-life about anti-choice.” Another: “Menopausal women nostalgic for choice.” And there were divisions by color. Both sides were making speeches and at times drowned each other out. (Vargas, 3/2)

The Associated Press points out that another decision expected soon might provide insight into the justices' thinking on the Texas abortion case -

The Associated Press: Justices Soon Could Hint At Outcome In Texas Abortion Case
For a clue on how the Supreme Court may decide a major abortion case it heard Wednesday, look to its impending decision in a fight over abortion clinics in Louisiana. The justices may not decide the high-profile case about regulation of abortion clinics in Texas until late June. But an order could come any day in the Louisiana case. The clinics are asking the high court to block enforcement of a 2014 law that requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. The clinics say the law could leave the state with just one clinic in New Orleans, down from four. The cases are at different stages in the legal process, but they involve similar laws and actions by the same New Orleans-based federal appeals court. (Sherman, 3/3)

Politico: Trump Releases Plan For Replacing Obamacare
Donald Trump unveiled a batch of health care policy proposals Wednesday after facing criticism for failing to provide a credible plan for replacing Obamacare. On the eve of the next GOP debate, the front-running real estate mogul advanced several ideas that align with many conservative proposals to replace the health care law. He calls for Medicaid to be transformed into a state block grant program and for the tax exemption on employer-based health insurance plans to be extended to individuals who purchase coverage on their own — both longstanding GOP ideas. Trump would also allow prescription drugs to be imported and for full transparency of health care pricing, although he offered few details about how that — or any of the proposals — might work. (Demko, 3/2)

Reuters: Republican Trump Releases Healthcare Proposals
The plan also calls for the sale of health insurance plans across state lines, full deduction of health insurance premiums from income tax and adds: "We must also make sure that no one slips through the cracks simply because they cannot afford insurance." (Walsh, 3/3)

Bloomberg: Trump's Health-Care Plan Includes Obamacare Repeal, Drug Re-Importation
The seven-point plan posted on the Republican presidential front-runner's website Wednesday includes a repeal of Obamacare and six ideas for a replacement: allowing insurers to sell plans across state lines; permitting tax deductions for individual health-care plans; tax-free health savings accounts that can become part of an estate; "price transparency" from health-care providers; and sending Medicaid funds as grants to states. (Kapur, 3/2)

STAT: Trump Would Allow Importing Drugs To Lower Health Care Costs
Donald Trump released a health care plan late Wednesday that includes common Republican ideas for replacing Obamacare but departs from conventional GOP policies in one major way: it would allow the reimportation of cheaper drugs from overseas. It’s the second time that Trump, now the clear front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, has embraced an idea to bring down drug costs that’s associated more with Democrats like Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders than with the party he’s trying to lead. (Nather, 3/2)

Fox News: Trump Unveils Seven-Point Healthcare Reform Plan
Nearly one week after Sen. Marco Rubio skewered businessman Donald Trump on his healthcare reform plan, the Republican frontrunner Wednesday released his seven-point plan to repeal Obamacare and implement his own policy. (3/3)

ABC News: Donald Trump Releases Healthcare Reform Plan
Donald Trump finally laid out his healthcare reform plan Wednesday, explaining how he plans to repeal and replace Obamacare -- a campaign talking point of his for several months that’s been vague on specifics. The seven-point health care reform plan was released one day after winning seven GOP primaries, and a day ahead of the Republican debate in Detroit. (Caplan, 3/2)

CNN: Donald Trump Releases Health Care Reform Plan
Donald Trump on Wednesday laid out for the first time how he will reform the U.S. health care system after repeatedly pledging to "repeal and replace Obamacare with something much better." (Diamond, 3/2)

The New York Times: Obama Heads To Wisconsin To Promote Successes Of Affordable Care Act
On Thursday, President Obama will visit Wisconsin, the only state that used the Affordable Care Act to expand its Medicaid program while declining the hundreds of millions of dollars the federal government offered to pay for that expansion. Mr. Obama’s trip is intended to be a reward for Milwaukee, which won a nationwide competition called Healthy Communities by enrolling an estimated 38,376 people in private health insurance under the health care law. That was an estimated 75 percent of previously uninsured residents who were eligible, a rate higher than that of any other city. (Harris, 3/3)

The Associated Press: Obama Will Cite Health Insurance Gains In Visit To Milwaukee
President Barack Obama will visit Milwaukee Thursday to highlight how his signature health insurance overhaul has helped millions of Americans gain coverage. The number of uninsured has dropped from about 44.8 million in 2013, the year before the health care law's big coverage expansion, to about 28.8 million, according to the latest estimates. Meanwhile, critics argue that the law's mandates have increased coverage costs unnecessarily. (3/2)

CQ Healthbeat: CMS Mulls Changes To Risk Adjustment Program For Insurers
The Obama administration is mulling future changes to risk management programs for insurers participating in the insurance exchanges created by the 2010 health law. The issue represents one of the loose ends for the administration after making most of its last major stamps on the exchanges, considered one of President Obama’s key domestic achievements. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Monday unveiled a final rule on the operations of the government health insurance marketplaces for 2017. About 12.7 million people are expected to be covered this year by insurance plans purchased through the exchanges, according to CMS. Through the so-called benefit and payment parameters rule for next year, CMS sought to get insurers to give their customers more notice when a doctor or other provider of care leaves their preferred networks and to offer guidance on standardizing cost structures. (Young, 3/2)

Bloomberg: Startup Oscar Posts $105 Million Obamacare Loss in 2015
Startup Oscar Health Insurance Corp. lost $105.2 million in its New York and New Jersey businesses last year, a sign that insurers of all sizes are struggling in the new markets created by President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul. The losses, $92.4 million in New York and $12.8 million in New Jersey, were disclosed by Oscar in filings with state regulators. Chief Executive Officer Mario Schlosser said some of Oscar’s losses stem from the cost of starting a new health insurer. Others are tied to the same problems befalling bigger health plans: costlier customers and a shortfall in a key government program. (Tracer, 3/2)

In other health law news —

Modern Healthcare: State Medicaid Agencies Seek Permanent Repeal Of The ACA Insurance Tax
State Medicaid agencies say Congress' decision to suspend the Affordable Care Act's tax on health insurers for one year is a good first step, but they are pushing for its permanent repeal. While most private health insurance plans have had to pay the tax themselves, states that contract with Medicaid managed-care plans have had to cover the premium tax to ensure that the health plans receive actuarially sound rates. Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia contract with Medicaid managed-care plans. (Dickson, 3/2)

Arkansas Online: Governor Says Vote Buoys His Medicaid Plan
Key Medicaid expansion supporters in the Arkansas Legislature beat their opponents in Republican primaries. That will make it easier to persuade lawmakers to support Arkansas Works, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Wednesday. "Arkansas Works was on the ballot in the context of those who believe in providing common sense practical solutions to Arkansas ... standing up to those that are single issue or misconstrue the vote and misrepresent the vote," the governor told about 250 people attending a Political Animals Club luncheon in Little Rock. But legislative leaders agreed that the primary results shouldn't be taken as a voter mandate to continue the Medicaid expansion, in which the state is using federal funds to buy private health insurance for low-income Arkansans. (Fanney and Wickline, 3/3)

Modern Healthcare: Super Tuesday Results Boost Arkansas' Medicaid Expansion Hopes
Supporters of Arkansas' pioneering Medicaid expansion program are relieved that most of Tuesday's Republican state legislative primary contests resulted in victories for pro-expansion candidates. Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who wants to preserve but modify his Democratic predecessor's expansion program, backed candidates in eight GOP primary races and saw six of those candidates win. (Meyer, 3/2)

KTUU (Anchorage, Alaska): Legislature Plans To Appeal Medicaid Expansion Decision To Supreme Court
Moments after Gov. Bill Walker learned on Tuesday that Superior Court Judge Frank Pfiffner sided with him and dismissed a lawsuit challenging the governor's authority to expand access to Medicaid without legislative approval, Walker told KTUU, "I hope it's the end of it. I hope we can get on with all we need to be doing at this point rather than suing one another." The optimism was short-lived, as a lawmaker who played a central role in the lawsuit said in a Wednesday afternoon interview that the Legislature will file an appeal with the Alaska Supreme Court. (Baird, 3/2)

The Associated Press: Senate Rejects Adding $600M To Anti-Heroin Legislation
The Senate Wednesday rejected a Democratic effort to add $600 million to a bipartisan bill targeting heroin and opioid abuse. Supporters of the immediate funding won a majority of the Senate votes. But the 48-47 tally fell short of the 60 votes required for an attempt by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., to add the money. Republicans opposed to the proposal said there’s plenty of previously approved money in the pipeline and that additional funding can wait until this year’s round of regular spending bills. (Taylor, 3/2)

The Hill: Senate GOP Blocks Emergency Funding For Opioid Epidemic
Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic push to add $600 million in emergency funding to an otherwise bipartisan opioid abuse bill Wednesday. Senators voted 48-47 on a procedural hurdle to an amendment from Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), with 60 votes needed to move forward. (Carney, 3/2)

The Huffington Post: Senate Republicans Block $600 Million In Emergency Funding To Fight Heroin, Opioid Epidemic
Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked $600 million in emergency funding intended to improve the monitoring of prescription drugs and help law enforcement combat heroin abuse. (Barron-Lopez, 3/2)

In other news from Capitol Hill, researchers offer testimony at the House special investigation committee's inaugural hearing on fetal tissue —

The Wall Street Journal: House Panel Revives Debate Over Fetal-Tissue Limits
Republican lawmakers leading a special House panel probing the use of aborted fetal tissue in medical research used an inaugural hearing Wednesday to raise questions about the morality and necessity of the practice and renew a debate about placing restrictions on it. Some medical and research scholars who testified at the hearing urged new curbs, saying aborted fetal tissue isn’t necessary now that other types of cells are available. Others told lawmakers fetal tissue may hold vital clues to aid spinal injuries, multiple sclerosis, and Alzheimer’s disease, and possibly the Zika virus, which has been linked to the birth defect of babies born with abnormally small heads. (Armour, 3/2)

The Associated Press: Democrats Object As House GOP Holds Hearing On Fetal Tissue
House Democrats suggested on Wednesday that a special House panel investigating Planned Parenthood could be complicit in future assaults or even murders of abortion providers at the Republican-led committee's first hearing on the ethics of fetal tissue research. The investigative panel was created last year following conservative furor over secretly recorded videos showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing how they sometimes supply fetal tissue for medical research. In February, the panel subpoenaed documents from groups that GOP lawmakers said were withholding information. Those include abortion providers and a company that supplies fetal tissue from abortion clinics to researchers. (3/2)

CQ Healthbeat: Hospitals Argue Against Anthem Purchase Of Cigna
The American Hospital Association is renewing its opposition to Anthem Inc.’s acquisition of Cigna Corp., arguing the transaction would further hurt competition by increasing the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association’s market power in the health insurance industry. (Camseddine, 3/2)

The Seattle Times: Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Submits Formal Bid To Acquire Group Health
Officials with California’s Kaiser Foundation Health Plan have formally applied to acquire Seattle’s Group Health Cooperative, the next step in the controversial proposal, Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said Wednesday. The application launches a review of the proposed deal, which would make the Northwest co-op part of Kaiser Permanente’s 10.1 million members in eight states and Washington, D.C. (Aleccia, 3/2)

The Washington Post: Going On Offense Vs. Down Syndrome
The dogging question for any athlete is whether their competitive values mean anything in the real world. Here it was for Debbie and Frank Antonelli. What were all the sweat-soaked shirts and the worn-soled sneakers for when their infant son was on oxygen, facing a lifetime of impairments from slowed motor skills to cognitive deficits? It was a random error in cell division, the pediatric specialist said. Down syndrome was an accident, a faulty extra copy of a single chromosome. “All the rest of them are yours,” he said. They had counted with an unthinking confidence on having healthy kids, maybe even a team roster’s worth. She played basketball at North Carolina State before becoming a sportscaster, and he hit .400 for the Columbia University baseball team before making a career in elite sports management, and they hoped to add some quality little strivers to the general population. Their first child was an easy birth, and they were so confident of their second that she played nine holes of golf the day he was born. Then he came out scrunched up with the cord around his neck, and holes in his heart. (Jenkins, 3/2)

Los Angeles Times: Google To Throw Software Engineering Into The Zika Virus Fight
Google is now involved in the fight against the Zika virus. The tech giant announced Thursday that it is giving UNICEF a $1-million grant to raise awareness about Zika transmission, and is also dedicating software engineering and data science resources to help process information about the virus’ outbreaks. Its support for UNICEF will include developing a platform that processes data from different sources, such as weather and travel patterns; visualizing potential outbreaks; and making Zika virus information more accessible through its search feature in 16 languages. (Lien, 3/3)

NPR: GOP Congressmen Question The Need For $2 Billion To Fight Zika Virus
Republican representatives continue to question the need for about $2 billion in emergency funding requested by the Obama administration to respond to the Zika virus. Congressmen including Dr. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, asked in a hearing of an Energy and Commerce subcommittee Wednesday whether funds earmarked for combating the Ebola virus couldn't be transferred to the fight against Zika virus. But federal health officials said there's only $9 million left of the original $238 million in funding the National Institutes of Health received for Ebola virus research. (Bichell, 3/2)

The Associated Press: Mississippi Senate: No State Money For Planned Parenthood
Mississippi senators voted Wednesday to prevent the state Medicaid program from spending any money with Planned Parenthood, even if it's only a few hundred dollars a year. Senate Medicaid Committee Chairman Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, said in response to questions that Mississippi has spent less than $1,000 with Planned Parenthood each of the past five years. (Amy, 3/2)

The Associated Press: House Passes Bill Targeting Planned Parenthood
The Arizona House on Wednesday passed a bill that would make it easier to cut off abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood from public funding through the state's Medicaid program. The bill allows the state to cut off funding and revoke licenses for providers that fail to segregate taxpayer money from funds used to provide abortions, including overhead. They also could lose funding if they violated medical-waste rules, submitted a claim for procedures associated with an abortion or failed to report the sexual assault of a child to police. (Christie, 3/2)

Iowa Public Radio: Medicaid Oversight Bill Passes Senate With Bipartisan Support
A bill supporters say makes it harder for managed care companies to prioritize profits over the healthcare of Medicaid recipients passed the Iowa Senate Wednesday. Every Senate Democrat and six Republicans voted for the legislation. (Boden, 3/2)

Des Moines Register: Medicaid Oversight Bill Passes Iowa Senate After Emotional Debate
Senate File 2213 is aimed at strengthening Gov. Terry Branstad's plans for managed care of the state-federal Medicaid program, which serves 560,000 low-income and disabled people at a cost of about $4.2 billion annually. The bill passed 32-16, with six Republicans joining Democrats in support. The measure now heads to the Iowa House, where it faces an uncertain future. (Petroski, 3/2)

Sioux City (Iowa) Journal: Senate Approves Expanded Medicaid Oversight
Included in the 48-page bill were provisions to enhance the role and responsibilities of the Health Policy Oversight Committee, execute a comprehensive review of program integrity, and create a special fund to finance system improvements and support for recipients. ... House GOP leaders have not expressed interest in expanding lawmakers’ oversight beyond their current role, and Branstad has questioned adding requirements on MCOs as Iowa moves from a fee-for-service model to a system he says will encourage better health outcomes and reward providers for improvements. (Boshart, 3/2)

The Associated Press: Oklahoma House Passes Bill Cutting 111,000 From Medicaid
Facing a $1.3 billion hole in next year's budget, the Oklahoma House on Wednesday passed legislation that would cut 111,000 Oklahoma residents with dependents from Medicaid and potentially save up to $130 million in state-appropriated health care funds. But implementation of the measure is dependent on the federal government's approval of a waiver that would permit the state to exclude adults younger than 65 who are not pregnant, deaf, blind or disabled from the program, said Jo Kilgore, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, the state's Medicaid provider. (Talley, 3/2)

KTUL (Tulsa, Okla.): Proposed Medicaid Cuts Could Leave Thousands Without Health Care
The author of House Bill 2665, State Representative Doug Cox said it's a way to help fix the state's budget problems. "As you know, we have a $1.3 billion shortfall this year," said Cox. ... "I felt like this was the least vulnerable population, because, by definition, since they are able-bodied adults, they can work," said Cox. Susan Savage, CEO for Morton Comprehensive Health Center, said for many people benefiting from Medicaid, work isn't the problem. "These are working men and women," said Savage. "I would feel better about the decision if their employers offered health care, but they don't. Many companies don't now in Oklahoma." (Norris, 3/2)

Georgia Health News: Appeals Rejected: State Agency Upholds Medicaid Contract Award
A state agency has rejected the protests of three losing bidders over the state’s selection of vendors for a multibillion-dollar Medicaid and PeachCare contract. Unsuccessful bidders AmeriChoice (a unit of UnitedHealthcare), Humana and AmeriHealth Caritas had appealed a September decision by the Department of Administrative Services (DOAS) to award the contract to four other bidders. (Miller, 3/2)

The Kansas Health Institute News Service: Disability Advocates Seek Another Delay On Medicaid Waiver Integration
A dozen disability advocacy groups lined up Wednesday to voice their concerns about a Medicaid waiver integration proposal during a two-hour hearing before a special legislative subcommittee. Four members of the House Health and Human Services Committee heard from people representing Kansans with an array of disabilities, all of whom want the state to slow the integration process and provide more information about the plan. (Marso, 3/2)

The Washington Post: Doctor-Assisted Suicide Bill Unlikely To Pass Md. Senate Panel, Sponsor Says
A bill that would allow terminally ill adults in Maryland to take their own lives appears likely to fail in committee for the second straight year, its lead sponsor said Wednesday. With a vote expected Thursday, none of the four lawmakers whose support is needed to move the Death With Dignity Act to the full state Senate appears ready to commit to the measure, Sen. Ronald N. Young (D-Frederick) said. (Hernández and Wiggins, 3/2)

The Associated Press: Mississippi House Votes To Expand Vaccination Exemptions
The Mississippi House voted 65-54 Wednesday to loosen the process for getting medical exemptions to some of the strictest childhood vaccination requirements in the nation. It is not clear whether the proposal will survive in the Senate, however. All states allow a process to get a medical exemption to avoid some or all vaccinations that are required to attend school. (Pettus, 3/3)

Bloomberg: New York Hospitals Must Restructure Finances, Comptroller Says
New York’s public hospital system, the largest in the U.S., projects it will end the fiscal year with its lowest cash level in at least 15 years, and it’s “imperative” that city officials come up with a plan to stabilize it, according to the state comptroller’s office. The Health and Hospitals Corp., which serves 1.4 million patients annually, projects a closing cash balance of $104 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, enough to meet obligations for six days. The estimate was included in a report on New York City’s finance issued by the state comptroller’s office Monday. (Braun, 3/1)

Tribune News Services: Michigan Restricted Flint From Switching Water In Loan Deal
The state of Michigan restricted Flint from switching water sources last April without approval from Gov. Rick Snyder's administration under the terms of a $7 million loan needed to help transition the city from state management, according to a document released Wednesday. By the time the loan agreement was in place, cries about Flint's water quality were growing louder, though it had not yet been discovered that the improperly treated Flint River water had caused lead to leach from aging pipes and put children at risk. Flint's state-appointed emergency manager said at the time that switching back to the water source would cost the city more than $1 million a month and that "water from Detroit is no safer than Flint water." (3/2)

The Detroit Free Press: Gov. Snyder Retains Outside Attorneys Over Flint Water
Gov. Rick Snyder has hired two outside attorneys in connection with the Flint drinking water crisis, including a criminal defense attorney retained to serve as "investigatory counsel," a Snyder spokesman confirmed Thursday. Eugene Driker, a civil defense attorney, and Brian Lennon, a criminal defense attorney, were each awarded a contract worth $249,000 through Dec. 31, after which those contracts can be extended, Snyder spokesman Ari Adler told the Free Press. (Egan, 2/3)

The Associated Press: VA Watchdog Releases Report On Florida Facilities
Reports documenting scheduling problems and wait-time manipulation at the Department of Veterans Affairs are being made public, as the agency’s internal watchdog bows to pressure from members of Congress and others to improve transparency. The VA’s Office of Inspector General released 11 reports Monday outlining problems at VA hospitals and clinics in Florida. The reports are the first of 77 investigations to be made public over the next few months. (3/2)

Health News Florida: 'Direct Primary Care,' 'Balance Billing' Get House Support
With the support of doctors and small businesses, the Florida House has unanimously passed a bill that would clear the way for "direct primary care” agreements. The agreements involve monthly payments that patients or their employers make to doctors to cover routine primary-care services, which would cut out the role of insurers. (Miller, 3/2)

Kaiser Health News: Boston's Heroin Users Will Soon Get A Safer Place To Be High
A Boston nonprofit plans to soon test a new way of addressing the city’s heroin epidemic. The idea is simple: Starting in March, along a stretch of road that has come to be called Boston’s “Methadone Mile,” the program will open a room with a nurse, some soft chairs and basic life-saving equipment — a place where heroin users can ride out their high, under medical supervision. ... With state statistics indicating that roughly four Massachusetts residents die every day from an overdose, the need for some sort of new approach seems more urgent than ever, [Dr. Jessie Gaeta, chief medical officer at the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, which initiated the project] said. Still, her organization plans only a limited version of the “safe place” other countries offer. In Boston, patients will not be allowed to take drugs in the room. (Bebinger, 3/3)

The Associated Press: Hundreds Of Flu Cases Confirmed In Delaware
Public health officials say there have been more than 90 new confirmed cases of the flu in Delaware in a week, and the numbers could go higher. The Delaware Division of Public Health said in a news release Wednesday there were 92 new cases confirmed by lab tests for the week ending Feb. 27. Officials say that is more than double the new cases reported the week before. (3/2)

WBUR: Midwives Handle 16 Percent Of Mass. Births, And There’s A Wide Range Among Hospitals
Lauren Frick is waiting for the “crampy feeling” in her lower back that signaled the beginning of labor with her first two children. Her third child is due March 23. Frick plans to deliver at the Cambridge Birth Center, where 100 percent of babies arrive with the assistance of midwives. The 34-year-old biological engineer will have chosen a midwife instead of an MD as her primary provider for all three births. Doctors, Frick says, seem to focus on what can go wrong, not on childbirth as a normal, natural process. (Bebinger, 3/3)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Major Ambulance Firm To End Operations In Pa.
An ambulance company that provides services to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Main Line Health, and Crozer-Keystone Health System plans to close up shop June 30. The company, Falck USA, an arm of a Danish company that operates in the Philadelphia region as LifeStar Response, blamed low reimbursement rates. (Brubaker, 3/2)

NPR: Baltimore's Leana Wen: A Doctor For The City
It's only March, but Baltimore City Health Commissioner Leana Wen already has an embarrassingly full calendar. She's put together the city's plan for dealing with the Zika virus, launched a campaign against soda and other sugary beverages and overseen an investigation into why so many people in the city are overdosing on fentanyl. Trained in emergency medicine, Wen, 33, says running the health department in Baltimore is the fastest-paced job she's had. (Hsu, 3/2)

The New York Times: Texas’ Dangerous Abortion Law At The Supreme Court
States like Texas pass laws strictly regulating abortion clinics for one reason: to make it hard, if not impossible, for women to obtain a safe and legal abortion. But the Supreme Court justices often act as though political reality does not penetrate the court’s thick walls. So it was a relief when, during oral arguments on Wednesday, the four liberal justices took turns tearing apart the claim by Texas lawmakers that their 2013 law — which has already shut down about half the roughly 40 clinics in the state — is about nothing more than protecting women’s health. (3/2)

Bloomberg: Texas Abortion Case Comes Down To 'Undue Burdens'
What’s an undue burden? That question was at the heart of Wednesday’s oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court in the Texas abortion case of Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt. In particular, the conversation focused on whether the court needs to do a cost-benefit comparison to determine an undue burden -- and if it does, what statistical evidence is needed to do it properly. (Noah Feldman, 3/2)

The Wall Street Journal: Abortion Has A Market Problem
The U.S. Supreme Court heard a case Wednesday that could determine the fate of many health regulations on abortion facilities. Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt originated in Texas, where the legislature passed a law in 2013 that, among other things, required abortion clinics to meet the same standards as ambulatory surgical centers and required abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals to handle any complications that might arise. (Chuck Donovan, 3/2)

Bloomberg: American Women Will Write Abortion Law
With the Supreme Court set to hear arguments in a landmark abortion case Wednesday, the familiar machinery is creaking into gear: protesters outside the court, talking heads on cable TV, and oral arguments carefully aimed at the court’s perceived swing voter, Justice Anthony Kennedy. Amid the noise, it’s important not to lose sight of what, or more accurately who, the fuss is all about. (3/2)

Los Angeles Times: Post-Scalia Supreme Court To Rule On The Most Important Abortion Case In Two Decades
Whole Woman's Health vs. Hellerstedt is a challenge by a group of abortion clinics to a 2013 Texas law that requires doctors providing abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and directs abortion clinics to meet the safety standards of ambulatory surgical centers. These mandates, though they may at first sound reasonable, will in fact dramatically reduce the ability of Texas women to obtain abortions, and for no sound medical reason. The court should make it clear that this law — like hundreds of others enacted around the country — is an antiabortion measure that has been cynically passed off as a protection for women. (3/2)

The New England Journal Of Medicine: Protecting And Expanding Access To Birth Control
Since it became legal in the United States a half-century ago, birth control has provided enormous benefits to women and their families — indeed, it has been nothing short of revolutionary for women and society. When women have access to birth control, they can better plan and space their pregnancies, which improves health outcomes and enhances their lives and those of their families. Birth control has dramatically improved the ability of all women to participate actively and with dignity in the U.S. economy. And researchers have attributed the historic 40-year low in the teen pregnancy rate to the increase in access, especially to highly effective methods of birth control.1 Now, political attacks against women’s health care are threatening access to critical services that allow women to choose and readily obtain the birth control methods that are best for them. It is essential that we protect and continue to expand access to all forms of birth control. (Cecile Richards, 3/3)

The New York Times: What The Election Means For Reproductive Rights
The day after Justice Antonin Scalia’s death, Senator Ted Cruz released a campaign ad warning, “We’re just one Supreme Court justice away from losing” on abortion, among other issues. The ad showed Donald Trump, in a 1999 interview, saying he is “very pro-choice.” Mr. Trump, who says he is now “staunchly pro-life,” hasn’t talked much about abortion at his rallies, preferring to focus on building a wall and banning Muslims from the country. But the vacancy on the court is a reminder that the next president will have great influence over the future of reproductive rights. (3/3)

The New York Times' Upshot: Debate Prep: Fact-Checking The G.O.P. Candidates On Health Care
The Republican debates have included very little discussion of health care policy. But the issue has roared back into the conversation, and is likely to come back again at the Detroit debate on Thursday. The Republican field is united in wishing to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the 2010 law known as Obamacare. But the remaining candidates have not developed detailed proposals about what would come next, though they have less comprehensive ideas that they speak about on the stump. Here’s our look at a few favorite talking points and how well they match up with the evidence. All quotations come from last week’s debate in Houston. (Margot Sanger-Katz, 3/3)

STAT: What Hospitals Could Learn From Starbucks
If you are at all like us, the odds are good that you have a loyalty card to buy coffee, groceries, or hardware, or plug in your frequent flyer number when booking flights. Health care organizations haven’t adopted such customer loyalty programs, but they should. (Laurence F. McMahon Jr, Renuka Tipirneni and Vineet Chopra, 3/2)

The New England Journal Of Medicine: Uber’s Message For Health Care
Unreliable service, inconvenience, uncomfortable surroundings, and high prices make customers unhappy, and given the opportunity, they will go elsewhere. Uber, Silicon Valley’s response to the shortcomings of urban taxi and limousine services, has managed to upend an established industry by offering an appealing alternative. Uber’s technology-enabled incursion into a highly regulated market suggests that if consumers gain enough from a new solution, it can overcome powerfully entrenched economic and political interests. Is U.S. health care ripe for disruption by a medical Uber? (Allan S. Detsky and Alan M Garber, 3/3)

Forbes: Silo-Busting Telemedicine Is Too Being Siloed
When we say healthcare operates in silos, we mean a patient’s cardiologist, psychiatrist and general practitioner have no idea what each other are doing ... “Connected care” is supposed to break down these silos. Is telehealth doing it? Probably not. (John Graham, 3/2)

Health Affairs Blog: Health Care Consumerism: Can The Tail Wag The Dog?
In September 2012, The Los Angeles Times ran a story suggesting that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would usher in a new age of health care consumerism powered by on-line tools, cost calculators, and armies of engaged consumers. In the intervening years, what has been repeatedly pronounced is that we want consumers to “have skin in the game” and for them to “buy value” by considering both price and quality when purchasing health care services. (Amanda Frost, David Newman and Lynn Quincy, 3/2)

The New York Times: Bring Back The Autopsy
I recently attended an autopsy at the hospital where I work, in a room in the basement adjoining the morgue. The corpse, a newborn baby, was lying peacefully, as if napping, on a steel table with rusted wheels. He had succumbed to hypoxia, low oxygen levels in the blood, a few minutes after a full-term delivery. Did he have a heart defect? Had the umbilical cord been compressed? Had he breathed meconium, the first stool, into his lungs? The purpose of the autopsy was to find out. (Sandeep Jauhar, 3/3)

The Baltimore Sun: Drug-Resistant Bacteria A Growing Threat
I introduced a bill with Sen. Paul Pinsky earlier this month to fight back, starting right here in Maryland. Our bill (SB 607) takes aim at one of the main drivers behind the spread of drug-resistant bacteria in humans: overuse of antibiotics on livestock that are not even sick. (Shirley Nathan-Pulliam, 3/2)

The New York Times' Upshot: Fighting Drug Addiction With Drugs Works, but Only if Doctors Sign On
Almost one million American physicians can write a prescription for an opioid painkiller like Vicodin and OxyContin — one pathway to opioid addiction. But, because of regulatory hurdles and other factors, fewer than 32,000 doctors are permitted to prescribe buprenorphine, a medication to treat such addiction. That’s a statistic worth thinking about since opioid painkillers and heroin contributed to the deaths of nearly 30,000 Americans in 2014, triple the number in 2000. Perhaps many of these lives could have been saved with buprenorphine. The Obama administration intends to increase access to it — and its proposed budget would commit hundreds of millions of dollars to do so — but it won’t be easy. (Austin Frakt, 3/2)

The Richmond Times-Dispatch: Virginia Is Making Progress On Health Care
Virginia’s hospitals briefly waged a scorched-earth campaign against regulatory reform before state lawmakers cried foul. The video they circulated, a histrionic and misleading campaign-style broadside, signified their increasing desperation. (3/2)