The New York Times: Fear Spurs Support For Health Law As Republicans Work To Repeal It
President-elect Donald J. Trump and congressional Republicans appear to have accomplished a feat that President Obama, with all the power at his disposal, could not in the past seven years: They have galvanized outspoken support for the Affordable Care Act. People who benefit from the law are flooding Congress with testimonials. Angry consumers are confronting Republican lawmakers. And Democrats who saw the law as a political liability in recent elections have suddenly found their voice, proudly defending the law now that it is in trouble. (Pear, 1/17)

The Associated Press: Thousands Rally To Resist Republican Health Law Repeal Drive
Thousands of people showed up in freezing temperatures on Sunday in Michigan to hear Sen. Bernie Sanders denounce Republican efforts to repeal President Barack Obama's health care law, one of dozens of rallies Democrats staged across the country to highlight opposition. (Williams, 1/15)

The Washington Post: A Cross-Country Bus Tour Aims To Help Save The Endangered Affordable Care Act
Liberal groups are launching a two-month bus tour starting from Washington on Tuesday, an effort to muster public support for the Affordable Care Act even as Republicans begin to undo it. The “Save My Care” tour — which plans to travel to as many as 20 states, from Maine and New York to Arizona and Nevada — will be accompanied by a multistate digital and print advertising campaign in “the high six figures,” according to one of the organizers. The Alliance for Healthcare Security, a coalition of groups that include Doctors for America and the Service Employees International Union, is leading the effort. (Eilperin, 1/15)

The Wall Street Journal: Rallies Held Across The Country To Support Affordable Care Act
More than 6,000 people packed into a community-college parking lot here for a rally with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) designed to help protect the Affordable Care Act against Republican assault. ... The rally, one of more than 40 taking place across the country Sunday, showcases an important pillar of Democrats’ strategy as they fight to stave off a repeal of President Barack Obama’s signature health-care law. They hope to pressure Republicans to scale back their plans by generating displays of public support, including from those who might lose insurance. (Hackman, 1/16)

Detroit Free Press: Bernie Sanders Draws Thousands To Warren For Health Care Rally
"If you want to improve the Affordable Care Act, let's work together. But if you think you're simply going to throw millions off of health insurance, you've got another guess coming," Sanders said at the rally outside Macomb Community College. "You're going to have to worry about millions of people who are standing up, who are fighting back and who demand the day when health care will be a right of all people, not just a privilege." (Guillen, 1/15)

The Washington Post Fact Checker: Bernie Sanders’s Claim That ‘36,000 People Will Die Yearly’ If Obamacare Is Repealed
For context, more than 2.6 million people died in the United States in 2015, or nearly 7,200 per day. So Sanders is suggesting repeal of the law would increase the number of deaths by 1.4 percent. Sanders obtained the figure of 36,000 from a calculation by ThinkProgress, a left-leaning website, according to his aides. Essentially, ThinkProgress assumed that repeal will result in 29.8 million people losing their insurance and that one person will die for every 830 people who lose their insurance. That yields a number of 35,903. (Kessler, 1/14)

Denver Post: Diana DeGette, Dems Urge Supporters To Fight Repeal Of Obamacare
U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette and other Democratic state and federal lawmakers rallied Obamacare supporters Sunday, urging them to fight against repeal of the law and promising to protect it from Republicans bent on scrapping it. Repealing the law could strip health care from previously uninsured people who benefited from the 2014 launch of the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, DeGette said. Republicans in Congress are preparing to repeal the law but so far have presented no plan to replace it. (McGhee, 1/15)

Los Angeles Times: 'We Are Not Going Back': California Democrats Protest GOP Efforts To Dismantle Obamacare
Democratic leaders on Monday urged Californians to fight GOP efforts to dismantle Obamacare, saying lives and jobs were at stake. “We are not going back. Understand that,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said of Republican efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s healthcare overhaul law. “They want to go from affordable care to chaos. They want to make America sick again. We are not going to let that happen.” (Mehta, 1/16)

Los Angeles Times: Healthcare Advocates To Rally In L.A. To Protect Affordable Care Act
Hundreds of nurses, other healthcare workers and patients are expected to turn out at a noon rally to protest the national effort by Republican lawmakers to rescind the Affordable Care Act. Sen. Kamala Harris, a California Democrat who opposes the repeal, is scheduled to appear with healthcare activists outside Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center in Boyle Heights. Organizers of the rally, which includes Service Employees International Union and other labor groups, warn that a repeal of the law without a replacement will strip coverage from 5 million Californians and throw the healthcare system into chaos. (Zahniser, 1/15)

San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. Rally To Save Obamacare Draws Joan Baez, Political Leaders 
Almost 2,000 people, including such notables as recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Joan Baez, rallied Sunday afternoon in Civic Center Plaza behind the benefits of the Affordable Care Act. The demonstration was among several coordinated nationwide, from Los Angeles to Detroit, to fend off a Republican-led dismantling of the 2010 law, one of outgoing President Obama’s signature achievements. (Alexander, 1/15)

Richmond Times Dispatch: Democrats Rally In Richmond For Affordable Care Act 
Hawkins joined Democratic officials including Sen. Tim Kaine and Gov. Terry McAuliffe to rally for what is an uphill battle to preserve the 2010 federal health law that was a signature initiative of the Obama administration. The Division of Capitol Police estimated the rally at 600 to 700 people. GOP congressional leaders and Donald Trump, who will be sworn in as president on Friday, say they will repeal and replace the law. (Wilson, 1/15)

Chicago Sun Times: Illinois Democrats Denounce GOP Plan To Repeal Obamacare
Heavy hitters from the state’s Democratic Party gathered Sunday on the South Side to denounce Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare — adding to a rallying cry that echoed across the country on Sunday.“Welcome to the resistance!” Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., shouted to hundreds who had gathered at the headquarters of SEIU Healthcare Illinois, 2229 S. Halsted. Hundreds more endured frigid weather to watch the rally on a video screen set up in a nearby parking lot. (Dudek, 1/15)

Boston Globe: Thousands Protest Health Care Repeal At Faneuil Hall 
Thousands of people gathered outside Faneuil Hall on Sunday in protest of an effort by the president-elect and congressional Republicans to revoke President Obama’s signature health care law... Warren and other members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation joined Mayor Martin J. Walsh at the event, which drew a crowd estimated by city officials at more than 6,000. (Fox, 1/15)

WBUR: Mass. Politicians, Obamacare Supporters Rally At Faneuil Hall
Ahead of the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation are promising to fight both Congressional Republicans and Trump himself as they attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act. On Sunday, Walsh and almost the entire Massachusetts delegation participated in a rally at Faneuil Hall in support of President Obama's signature health care law as similar rallies throughout the country. (Khan, 1/15)

Seattle Times: With Outrage And Resolve, Seattle Rally Backs Saving, Improving Obamacare 
Demanding to maintain and even expand health care for all, hundreds rallied in Westlake Park on Sunday as part of a national call to defend and improve Obamacare. The event was one of many rallies around the country Sunday for health care organized by Sen. Bernie Sanders supporters and Our First Stand. President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on repealing the Affordable Care Act, and members of Congress already have taken steps toward repeal. (Mapes, 1/16)

The Oregonian: Thousands Rally In Portland Against Republican Efforts To Repeal Obamacare
Democratic members of Oregon's congressional delegation, local officials, activists and thousands of residents held a rally Sunday to oppose Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley were joined for the rally at a northeast Portland gymnasium by U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonamici, Kurt Schrader and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler. "We're taking the gloves off," Wyden said, warning Republicans that a "titanic battle of a lifetime" would ensue over the health care law's future. Wyden criticized Republican moves to repeal the law, which he characterized as "a Trojan horse" to give a tax break to the wealthy and put health care regulations in the hands of insurance companies. (Friedman, 1/15)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Hundreds In Milwaukee Rally For Obamacare
Hundreds of people, some with signs that said "Obamacare Saves Lives," packed a south side banquet hall Sunday to voice support for the Affordable Care Act. The rally, one of many held nationwide, comes just days after Congress took initial steps to repeal and replace the health care program. (Stephenson, 1/15)

The Washington Post: Cancer Survivor Who Once Opposed Federal Health Law Challenges Ryan On Its Repeal
The distance between health-policy ideology and life-or-death health care narrowed to a few feet at a nationally televised town hall meeting this week when a small-business man from Arizona stood up and faced House Speaker Paul D. Ryan. “Just like you, I was a Republican,” Jeff Jeans began. Standing on the stage, the Wisconsin congressman broke into a grin as Jeans said he had volunteered in two Republican presidential campaigns and opposed the Affordable Care Act so much that he'd told his wife he would close their business before complying with the health-care law. But that, he said, was before he was diagnosed with a “very curable cancer” and told that, if left untreated, he had perhaps six weeks to live. Only because of an early Affordable Care Act program that offered coverage to people with preexisting medical problems, Jeans said, “I am standing here today alive.” (Goldstein, 1/14)

The Associated Press: Early Win On Budget Pressures GOP To Deliver On Health Care
Republicans have won a gateway victory in Congress in their seven-year trek toward scuttling President Barack Obama's health care law. Now with Donald Trump a week from taking the presidential oath, achieving that goal is possible, but the pressure is on for them to deliver a final product. (1/14)

WBUR: GOP's Go-Slow 'Rescue Mission' Plan To Replace Obamacare 
As their first major act of the new Congress, Republicans rushed approval of a budget resolution this week that sets up a framework for repealing Obamacare, but what exactly to replace it with is still a puzzle Republicans are piecing together. And it could take a while. (Davis, 1/14)

Modern Healthcare: Obamacare Repeal Heads To Committees
Congress has approved the first step toward dismantling the Affordable Care Act. By a near party-line 227-198 vote, the House approved a budget Friday that prevents Democrats from using a Senate filibuster to derail a blueprint that would repeal and replace President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law. Nine Republicans joined all voting Democrats in opposing the budget. The Senate approved the measure Thursday. It does not need the president's signature. (1/13)

Wall Street Journal: Vice President-Elect Mike Pence Says Lawmakers Can Replace Health-Care Legislation By April
Vice President-elect Mike Pence said Sunday the incoming Trump administration would move to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with new health-care legislation by April. “The short answer is, yes, we can do it,” he said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.” “The president-elect made it very clear to leaders in the Congress this week that he wanted to do both at the same time.” (Timiraos, 1/15)

And in other news on Republicans' efforts to repeal the health law —

The Washington Post Fact Checker: GOP, Democrats Offer Dueling Talking Points About People Losing Their ‘Health Care’
Either tens of millions of people will lose their “health care” if Obamacare is repealed — or millions have already lost their health care. How is an intelligent voter supposed to understand this? Let’s explain what’s going on here. (Kessler, 1/17)

The Hill: GOP Makes Pitch For Replacing ObamaCare
Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) on Saturday pushed Republicans' case for repealing and replacing ObamaCare, while knocking Democrats' plan "to frighten Americans about this process." “How many of you have seen your health care costs increase? How many of those you know have lost their health care? In November, the American people said, ‘Enough.’ They asked us to stop the hurt," the lawmaker said in the weekly GOP address. (Vladimirov, 1/14)

Bloomberg: Senator Paul Drafting Health-Care Measure To Replace Obamacare 
Republican Senator Rand Paul said he’s drafting legislation for a health-care insurance plan that could replace Obamacare, including a provision to “legalize” the sale of inexpensive insurance policies that provide abbreviated coverage. “That means getting rid of the Obamacare mandates on what you can buy,” Paul said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. Obamacare, which Republicans are moving to repeal, requires insurers to cover a number of procedures -- such as preventive care and pregnancy -- that Paul said drives up the cost. (Weiss, 1/15)

Minnesota Public Radio: QA: Rep. Paulsen On The Future Of The Affordable Care Act 
The house voted along party lines this on Friday to approve the same senate budget blueprint that would allow the dismantling of the Affordable Care Act, despite concerns from some Republicans in Congress about the party's strategy to repeal the Affordable Care Act before actually having a replacement plan in place. Republican Representative Erik Paulsen, of the 3rd Congressional District, joined All Things Considered host Tom Crann to talk about the state of the Affordable Care Act, and and plans to replace it. (Crann, 1/16)

The Hill: Hispanic Dems Warn Latinos Will Be Hit Hard By ObamaCare Repeal 
Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) warn that repealing ObamaCare without an appropriate replacement would disproportionately hurt Latino families. "First and foremost we need to protect and defend healthcare for the American people," Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) told The Hill on Thursday. House Republicans on Friday passed a measure to begin dismantling the Affordable Cart Act (ACA) through a process known as budget reconciliation, which can bypass a Senate filibuster. (Bernal, 1/16)

Arizona Republic: Arizonans Face 'Obamacare' Angst As GOP Speeds Toward Repeal
The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives this week passed budget resolutions as initial steps toward repealing President Barack Obama's signature health-care law that extended coverage to more than a half million Arizonans. President-elect Donald Trump has called on Republican leaders to adopt an ambitious timeline to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. But details of any such replacement plan have not been publicly revealed, making Arizona health consumers increasingly anxious about when and how their coverage may be affected by any "Obamacare" replacement. (Alltucker, 1/13)

The Washington Post: Trump Vows ‘Insurance For Everybody’ In Obamacare Replacement Plan
President-elect Donald Trump said in a weekend interview that he is nearing completion of a plan to replace President Obama’s signature health-care law with the goal of “insurance for everybody,” while also vowing to force drug companies to negotiate directly with the government on prices in Medicare and Medicaid. (Costa and Goldstein, 1/15)

The New York Times: Trump Promises ‘Insurance For Everybody’ As Health Law Replacement
“We’re going to have insurance for everybody,” Mr. Trump said. “There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can’t pay for it, you don’t get it. That’s not going to happen with us.” In the interview, Mr. Trump provided no details about how his plan would work or what it would cost. He spoke in the same generalities that he used to describe his health care goals during the campaign — that it would be “great health care” that left people “beautifully covered.” (Shear, 1/15)

Modern Healthcare: Trump Says His ACA Replacement Includes 'Insurance For Everybody' 
Trump did not share specifics on how he would accomplish what sounds like universal healthcare and whether is concerned that the idea would put him at odds with members of his party. (1/16)

The Washington Post: Trump Spokesman Says Obamacare Replacement Will Harness Marketplace Competition
A spokesman for Donald Trump sought Monday to elaborate on the president-elect’s plans to replace the Affordable Care Act, vowing that the new administration would lower health-care costs by infusing more competition into the marketplace, including by allowing insurers to sell health plans across state lines. (Wagner, 1/16)

The Hill: Trump’s Healthcare Plan Will Offer ‘Insurance For Everybody’: Report 
Trump said he’ll push Congress to act fast on the repeal. “The Congress can’t get cold feet because the people will not let that happen,” Trump said. And his replacement plan is “very much formulated down to the final strokes.” “We haven’t put it in quite yet but we’re going to be doing it soon,” Trump said, adding that he’s waiting for Health and Human Services nominee Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) to be confirmed. (Master, 1/15)

San Jose Mercury News: Obamacare Repeal: Could Trump's 'Insurance For Everybody' Work?
The news left many California health care experts perplexed. “I’ve yet to see the unicorn Trump promised, and I doubt it exists, but I would be overjoyed to welcome it to America,” said Jill Horwitz, a law professor and health policy expert at UCLA. She defined the unicorn — according to what Trump has suggested he’d like to see — as universal coverage, low deductibles, insurance for those with pre-existing conditions, and no mandates, among other hints. (Seipel, 1/16)

Politico: Trump, Price And Hill GOP At Odds On Obamacare
Donald Trump and his pick to lead the Obamacare repeal effort, Rep. Tom Price, share a vision that the current health care system needs to be completely uprooted. But the two men have articulated wildly divergent visions for what comes next — and that's making it hard for Hill Republicans to figure out where to start on a coherent replacement plan once Obamacare is gone. (Everett and Haberkorn, 1/16)

In other news —

Stat: The Doctor Behind The President-Elect's Meeting With Hospital CEOs
When President-elect Donald Trump summoned a small group of national health care executives to his Florida home in December, the group included a less familiar name: Dr. Bruce Moskowitz, a primary care physician who is a prominent figure in Palm Beach. Moskowitz told STAT that he knows Trump through the Palm Beach community and that he helped put together the group that met with the president-elect, which included the heads of the Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Mayo Clinic, and Partners HealthCare. (Swetlitz, 1/16)

The New York Times: ‘Repeal And Replace’: Words Still Hanging Over G.O.P.’s Health Care Strategy
In March 2010, on the day before President Obama was to sign the Affordable Care Act into law, a group of senior Republican aides huddled in Senator Mitch McConnell’s Capitol suite to try to come up with a catchy slogan to use against it. Many conservatives were simply advocating a vow to repeal the new law, but Republican strategists worried that pressing for repeal without an alternative could backfire. So they batted around a few ideas before Josh Holmes, then a top communications adviser to Mr. McConnell, tossed out the nicely alliterative phrase “repeal and replace.” (Huse, 1/15)

The Wall Street Journal: Chief Senate Parliamentarian Will Play Crucial Role In Health Care Legislation
Late last year, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) told a group of senior GOP lawmakers that the person they needed to watch in the Senate in 2017 was Elizabeth. “Elizabeth Warren?” one lawmaker asked. “No,” Mr. Ryan replied, according to a lawmaker in the room, “Elizabeth, the Senate parliamentarian.” Elizabeth MacDonough, the sixth person and first woman to hold the title of chief Senate parliamentarian, will play a crucial role in determining what can be included in legislation enabling the Senate to roll back major parts of the Affordable Care Act with just a simple majority, rather than the 60 votes usually needed. (Peterson, 1/16)

And in other news —

Politico: Republicans Move To Spend Billions On Obamacare — Before They Kill It
On their way to killing Obamacare, Republicans are leaning toward funding up to $9 billion in health care subsidies this year to keep the program afloat — even though they sued the Obama administration to stop those exact payments. The move is the most significant sign yet that the GOP is serious about propping up Obamacare temporarily to provide a smooth transition to a yet-to-be disclosed Republican replacement. (Haberkorn, 1/13)

USA Today: Obamacare Repeal Threatens Public Health Funding To States
The funding for many state public health and prevention programs is in jeopardy along with insurance for 20 million people as Congress moves to repeal the Affordable Care Act. While the ACA requires insurers to cover mammograms, colonoscopies and other preventive care, a less prominent provision authorized a federal fund to prevent the soaring incidence of chronic diseases including diabetes and heart disease. It also funds education targeting college suicides, smoking and low-income new mothers. The ACA’s Prevention and Public Health Fund has survived about 60 votes in Congress, and it was tapped to help pay for the recently enacted 21st Century Cures Act, which funds pharmaceutical research and development and opioid treatment. (O'Donnell, 1/16)

The Wall Street Journal: Q&A: What The Republicans Are Doing With The Health Law
Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress have said one of their priorities is to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the 2010 health law that expanded insurance coverage to millions of Americans. Now, the Republicans are moving forward, and the outcome could bring big changes to the health system. Here are some questions and answers about the goals and complexity of their effort. (Peterson and Armour, 1/13)

Bloomberg: American Hospitals Are Disappearing -- And Repealing Obamacare Will Make It Worse 
All kinds of services are moving outside hospitals: hip and knee replacements, heart valve repairs, even child birth. Mt. Sinai Health System in New York City, which is closing an 856-bed hospital to reopen at the same site as a 70-bed facility, has a program that provides hospital-level care in patients’ homes for conditions such as congestive heart failure and cellulitis infections. ... The driving forces behind the change are the payers of hospital bills -- insurers and the government -- seeking to cut costly hospital admissions through a mix of reimbursement restrictions and incentives. The Medicare program for the elderly is the biggest payer for medical services in the country, but lowering the costs of the Medicaid program for the poor, which is jointly funded by the federal government and states, is also a major focus. (Lauerman, 1/13)

Kaiser Health News: Large Employer Health Plans Could Also See Some Impacts From Obamacare Overhaul
If you think that because you get health insurance through your job at a big company, you won’t be affected if Republicans overhaul Obamacare, think again.  Several of the law’s provisions apply to plans offered by large employers too (with some exceptions for plans that were in place before the law passed in March 2010). (Andrews, 1/17)

The Associated Press: IRS Letters Warn Millions About Health Insurance Penalty
If you haven't signed up for health insurance, you may soon be getting a not-too-subtle nudge from the taxman. The IRS is sending personalized letters to millions of taxpayers who might be uninsured, reminding them that they could be on the hook for hundreds of dollars in fines under the federal health care law if they don't sign up soon through HealthCare.gov. It's an unusual role for a revenue-collection agency. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 1/14)

Pioneer Press: Feds Deny Minnesota Request To Extend Health Insurance Open Enrollment
Most Minnesotans buying health insurance on the individual market will have to sign up for 2017 plans by Jan. 31, despite a plea from lawmakers and Gov. Mark Dayton. The idea for an extension came from Republican Rep. Greg Davids last October, and was embraced by Dayton as a “constructive solution.” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell denied Dayton’s request to extend open enrollment into February. In a letter to Dayton, Burwell said federal regulations fix that open enrollment period and don’t give flexibility for exceptions. (Montgomery, 1/13)

Pioneer Press: Dayton, Lawmakers Haggle Over Health-Insurance Relief
If both Republicans and Democrats agree that the state should pass $300 million in relief for Minnesotans struggling to pay their health insurance, why is it taking months to pass it? Part of the dispute reflects genuine disagreements about the best way to deliver 25 percent rebate checks to the roughly 120,000 Minnesotans facing soaring health insurance premiums on the individual market but not eligible for federal subsidies. Different options could get relief out faster or could let the state more closely direct the aid to the people who need it most. But a big part of it is a dispute over process. (Montgomery, 1/15)

Orlando Sentinel: Florida Blue Facing Glitches, Complaints In January Rush 
The year is off to a bumpy start for Florida Blue as some of its members have taken to social media to air their grievances with missing payment information, not receiving their insurance ID cards, and having long waits on the phone for customer service. The nonprofit insurance company is the only provider in Florida to offer Affordable Care Act coverage in every county. (Miller, 1/13)

The New York Times: Trump Health Secretary Pick’s Longtime Foes: Big Government And Insurance Companies
The assuredness that defined Mr. Price as a surgeon has carried into his political career. He has always listened politely to other viewpoints but never swerved from his policy mission to protect his former profession from what he views as heavy-handed government intrusion. Many who knew Mr. Price as a doctor here in Atlanta’s affluent northern suburbs praise his commitment to his patients. But his legislative record shows that over eight years in the Georgia Senate and 12 years in Congress, he has advocated at least as much for physician groups and health care companies — seeking to limit damages in malpractice cases, for instance, and voting against legislation that would have required the government to negotiate lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries. (Goodnough, 1/16)

Reuters: Trump Team Defends Health Pick Tom Price Over Ethics Charge
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's transition team defended his nominee for health and human services (HHS) secretary, Tom Price, from charges that he bought shares in a company days before introducing legislation that would have benefited the firm. A Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for Wednesday for Price, a Republican congressman from Georgia who, if confirmed, would be a lead agent in carrying out Trump's plans to overhaul President Barack Obama's signature health care law. (Holland, 1/17)

In other news on the Health and Human Services nominee —

Stat: 6 Questions For Rep. Tom Price, Trump's Nominee To Lead HHS
It’s called a “courtesy hearing,” but Rep. Tom Price, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of health and human services, can expect some of his Senate interrogators to get a little rough. Price, an orthopedic surgeon and six-term GOP congressman from Georgia, will appear before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to answer questions on Wednesday. It’s a courtesy hearing because a separate panel, the Senate Finance Committee, will actually vote on his nomination. (Kaplan, 1/17)

The Hill: HHS Nominee's Stock Buys Raise Ethical Questions: Report 
President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services purchased shares in a medical device manufacturer and then introduced legislation to benefit the company, according to a CNN report Monday. Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) last March bought between $1,001 and $15,000 worth of shares in Zimmer Biomet. Days later, he introduced the HIP Act to delay a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regulation that industry analysts said would have significantly hurt that company financially, according to CNN. (Wheeler, 1/16)

Kaiser Health News: Top Price Contributor Allegedly Leaned On Employees To Support PAC
President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet pick Tom Price counts among his top contributors a Georgia company and its CEO, who sent managers an email demanding donations “IMMEDIATELY” to a political action committee supportive of GOP candidates and causes, according to documents reviewed by Kaiser Health News. The PAC was operated by Georgia-based MiMedx, whose CEO Parker H. “Pete” Petit is among the top individual contributors to Price, a Georgia congressman and Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary. Federal campaign finance records show MiMedx, through its PAC, chief executive and his relatives, has contributed more than $40,000 to Price’s campaign and joint fundraising committees since 2014. (Taylor and Jewett, 1/16)

The Wall Street Journal: Donald Trump Looking Beyond Traditional Medical Experts For FDA Commissioner
President-elect Donald J. Trump is reaching beyond traditional medical experts in his search for a new Food and Drug Administration commissioner, scheduling meetings for the FDA job with two Silicon Valley investors backed by billionaire investor Peter Thiel. The two are James O’Neill, a managing director of the investment firm Mithril Capital Management, and Balaji S. Srinivasan, a venture capital board member who founded the genetic-counseling firm Counsyl Inc. (Burton, 1/13)

Bloomberg: Trump Is Considering Another Thiel Associate To Lead FDA 
President-elect Donald Trump is considering former biotechnology industry executive Balaji Srinivasan to lead the Food and Drug Administration, according to people familiar with the matter, putting another candidate in the running who is aligned with venture capitalist Peter Thiel. Srinivasan co-founded Counsyl Inc. and helped develop a pregnancy test to quickly detect Down syndrome and other severe, chromosome-related birth defects. That could put him at odds with Republicans, since such tests are used early in pregnancy to help couples make decisions about abortion. (Cortez and Edney, 1/13)

The Washington Post: Outgoing CDC Chief Talks About Agency’s Successes — And His Greatest Fear
Tom Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has been a central player and one of the most public figures in fighting infectious diseases in the United States. Appointed to his position in 2009 by President Obama, the 56-year-old New York native has led the Atlanta-based CDC longer than any director since the 1970s. His tenure has been tested by major disease outbreaks, including the 2009 global H1N1 swine flu pandemic and deadly respiratory virus known as MERS, the Ebola and Zika epidemics, and a growing domestic overdose crisis. (Sun, 1/16)

Meanwhile, public health experts weigh in on the world's Zika response —

The New York Times: How The Response To Zika Failed Millions
Almost a year ago, the World Health Organization declared the Zika epidemic a global health emergency, calling for an epic campaign against a virus that few had ever heard of. As it spread to almost every country in the Western Hemisphere, scientists and health officials at every level of government swung into action, trying to understand how the infection caused birth defects and how it could be stopped. The W.H.O. ended the emergency status in November, but the consequences of the outbreak will be with us for years to come. So maybe now is a good time to ask: How’d we do? (McNeil, 1/16)

The Wall Street Journal: UnitedHealth Is Poised To Pass Its Earnings Checkup
At a moment of uncertainty for health insurers, there appear to be few risks to UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s strong long-term performance. The country’s largest publicly traded health insurer by market value will report fourth-quarter results on Tuesday. Analyst consensus calls for sales of $47.4 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $2.07, according to FactSet. There shouldn’t be too much drama in the headline numbers. UnitedHealth has lagged behind the earnings consensus just one time since the fourth quarter of 2011. (Grant, 1/16)

The New York Times: The Other Kushner Brother’s Big Bet
Just days after the 2016 presidential election, a young venture capitalist called an emergency staff meeting.Prepare for a storm of publicity, he told one of the start-ups that he had helped found. There would be questions about his political affiliations and loyalties, he said. There would be questions about the survivability of the start-up, a health insurance company named Oscar Health. The world was about to change, he said. (Benner, 1/13)

Meanwhile, news from Massachusetts about health care price variations —

Boston Globe: Insurers Press Case For Fix To Hospital Cost Variations 
Massachusetts health insurers and employers say new regulations are needed to narrow the wide variation in prices charged by hospitals for the same services, arguing that the disparities here are bigger than in other parts of the country. In a new report, a consultant for the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans said market-based solutions haven’t been enough, and that temporary regulatory fixes, including payment rate caps, could help. The hospital industry objects to such an approach. (Dayal McCluskey, 1/16)

Kaiser Health News: GOP Vows To Defund Planned Parenthood. Reality Makes That Hard.
Just as Republicans are discovering that undoing the health law could be complicated, so, too, is separating the controversial reproductive health care provider from its federal funding. Efforts to hastily jettison Planned Parenthood from federal ledgers could actually jeopardize GOP efforts to repeal the health law. One problem is that Planned Parenthood gets its funding from several different government sources. According to the group’s most recent annual report, covering 2015, Planned Parenthood affiliates, got $553.7 million from federal, state, and local governments, accounting for almost half of total funding. (Rovner, 1/17)

Iowa Public Radio: Planned Parenthood Warns That Defunding Will Create Healthcare Vacuum 
The Republican-controlled Iowa statehouse aims to limit abortion access by cutting off public funding to Iowa’s 12 Planned Parenthood clinics, which serve a reported 26,000 patients. Lawmakers say they’ll fund sexual and reproductive healthcare services provided by organizations other than Planned Parenthood of the Heartland. But the healthcare organization said in a conference call this morning this will create a vacuum for critical services. (Boden, 1/13)

Stat: A 'Civil War' Over Painkillers Rips Apart The Medical Community
Two years after the United States saw a record 27,000 deaths involving prescription opioid medications and heroin, doctors and regulators are sharply restricting access to drugs like Oxycontin and Vicodin. But as the pendulum swings in the other direction, many patients who genuinely need drugs to manage their pain say they are being left behind. Doctors can’t agree on how to help them. (Tedeschi, 1/17)

The Washington Post: New State Rules Are Forcing Opioid Prescribers To Confront ‘Doctor Shopping’
Over the objections of many doctors and their powerful advocacy groups, states are moving to force physicians to check on patients’ narcotic purchasing habits, one of the more effective ways of curbing opioid abuse as the deadly drug epidemic continues. Eighteen states have adopted comprehensive mandates in the past four years requiring doctors who prescribe opioids and other controlled substances to check databases that show whether their patients are getting drugs elsewhere. (Bernstein, 1/14)

The Washington Post: Pa. Painkiller Prescriptions Drop After Creation Of Monitoring Program
Within months of launching a registry to prevent patients from receiving opioids and other potentially addictive prescription drugs from more than one doctor, Pennsylvania saw a substantial drop in the number of prescriptions for painkillers such as Vicodin, OxyContin and Percocet. (Vestal, 1/14)

And in other news on the crisis —

Boston Globe: A New Head Start Initiative Targets Children Of Opioid Addicts
In a grim indicator of the toll the opioid crisis is taking on children, a program is being launched in Massachusetts specifically to help newborns, infants, and toddlers with addicted parents. Health officials say they believe it’s the first such early-intervention program in the state to target these children, some of whom were born drug-addicted. The government-funded initiative will pay for weekly home visits to 36 low-income families in New Bedford, a South Coast community where the number of children born with opiates in their bloodstreams is four times the state average. (Pfeiffer, 1/15)

Columbus Dispatch: OxyContin, Other Narcotic Pain Pills Still Plentiful In Ohio 
Heroin and fentanyl grab the headlines, but narcotic painkillers still fill Ohio medicine cabinets. Drug-overdose deaths in Ohio continue to soar, with the 2016 toll expected to far exceed the record 3,050 in 2015. Increasingly, heroin and fentanyl are responsible for overdose deaths. (Johnson, 1/15)

Los Angeles Times: 'Concierge' Docs Offer 24/7 Access, Spa Treatments And More — For A Price
Every Saturday morning, dozens of cyclists and walkers gather in Redlands outside a restored Victorian to exercise with Dr. Steven Wilson. With its huge bike rack and organic vegetable garden out back, it’s not what you’d expect from your primary care doctor’s office. But this isn’t your typical practice. (Fulmer, 1/14)

In other news —

Sacramento Bee: Being Rude To Your Doctor Can Have Fatal Consequences, Medical Study Finds
Have something negative to say to your doctor? Keeping your mouth shut could keep you healthier, researchers at the University of Florida found. The study, published this month in the journal Pediatrics, observed five different teams of nurses and doctors treating a mannequin infant for conditions including severe respiratory distress and shock. (Caiola, 1/16)

The New York Times: A Rampage In Florida Shines A Light On Alaska
A deadly shooting rampage at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport this month has focused attention on the interconnection of public safety and mental illness and raised questions, especially here in Alaska, about one of the thorniest questions of psychology: how to tell if someone is delusional and dangerous, or merely delusional. (Johnson, 1/13)

Chicago Sun Times: City Bolsters Mental Health Training After Scathing DOJ Report 
Chicago is bolstering its response to emergencies involving people suffering from mental illness to address glaring deficiencies laid bare by the Justice Department. An eight-hour course developed in partnership with EMS System Hospitals will allow paramedics, 911 personnel, police officers and mental health providers to engage in live, “scenario-based” simulations at Fire Academy South, 1338 S. Clinton. (Spielman, 1/16)

Texas Tribune: Houston Police Chief Urges Better Mental Health Care For Officers
Houston Police Department Chief Art Acevedo said Saturday that the Legislature should increase funding for mental health for police officers, adding this is likely to be a tough issue to tackle ahead of a tight-fisted legislative session. (Samuels, 1/14)

Sacramento Bee: Steinberg Institue, Sutter Health Tackle Homelessness, Mental Illness 
Sutter Health will donate $1.5 million to the Steinberg Institute to advance mental health services and promote an understanding of mental illness throughout California, the institute announced Friday. The 2-year-old Steinberg Institute, founded by former state Senate leader and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, advocates for expanded services for the mentally ill, including health care and affordable housing. The Sutter donation is the largest in the institute’s history and will be used in part to bring mental health services to more communities, with an emphasis on children and adolescents, according to a statement released by the institute. (Caiola, 1/13)

Stat: Dangerous Superbug Appears To Be Spreading Stealthily In US Hospitals
A dangerous type of superbug has more tricks up its sleeves than we may be giving it credit for, a new study suggests. The researchers found that this class of bacteria, CREs — that’s short for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae — has more ways to evade antibiotics than have been currently identified, and that these bugs share their tricks readily across the families of bacteria that make up this grouping. Further, the authors suggest these bacteria may be spreading more stealthily than existing surveillance can detect. (Branswell, 1/16)

The Washington Post: The United States Already Has A Vaccine Safety Commission. And It Works Really Well, Experts Say.
This week, President-elect Donald Trump met with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a leading proponent of a scientifically discredited conspiracy theory that vaccines cause autism. Afterward, Kennedy said that he and Trump had discussed creating a commission on vaccines, which Kennedy would chair. The United States already has a commission on vaccines. A top U.S. public health official said Friday that it relies on an array of medical, scientific and community experts to set policy on vaccines, and does so in an open and deliberative process. (Sun, 1/13)

Stat: Loosened Blood Pressure Guidelines Stir Immediate Controversy
In the latest pendulum swing on what blood pressure older adults should aim for, two of the nation’s leading medical groups issued guidelines on Monday recommending that people 60 and older get their systolic blood pressure (the first number) below 150. That target is a departure from the 140 (or lower) that many physicians, particularly cardiologists, believe appropriate as a way to reduce the risk of stroke, heart attacks, and premature death due to hypertension. The difference reflects continuing debate within the medical community about the best balance of benefits and risks from treating hypertension. (Begley, 1/16)

The New York Times: Physician Aid In Dying Gains Acceptance In The U.S.
Historically, aid in dying has generated fierce resistance from the Catholic Church, from certain disability-rights activists, and from others who cite religious or moral objections. Even the terminology — aid in dying? assisted suicide? death with dignity? — creates controversy. But the concept has long drawn broad support in public opinion polls. (Span, 1/16)

Richmond Times Dispatch: U.S. Organ Transplants Rise For 4th Straight Year, Helped By Opioid Death Toll 
Organ transplants in the U.S. reached a record high in 2016 — an unexpected consequence of the national opioid epidemic’s rising death toll. The Richmond-based United Network for Organ Sharing — or UNOS — reported that 33,606 transplants took place last year, marking an 8.5 percent increase over 2015 and a 19.8 percent increase over 2012. (Demeria, 1/15)

Sacramento Bee: Brain Food That Can Help Ward Off Demention, Alzheimer's
UC Davis nutrition expert Liz Applegate wants us to think about exactly what we’re shoveling down our throats. Not just to lose weight but to protect our brains. "Brain food is real and it really does matter,” said Applegate, an author, professor and director of sports nutrition at UC Davis. She’s an advocate of the MIND diet, a combination of two long-studied diets that have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. (Buck, 1/16)

NPR: The Brain Scrambles Names Of People You Love
When Samantha Deffler was young, her mother would often call her by her siblings' names — even the dog's name. "Rebecca, Jesse, Molly, Tucker, Samantha," she says. A lot of people mix up children's names or friends' names, but Deffler is a cognitive scientist at Rollins College, in Winter Park, Fla., and she wanted to find out why it happens. So she did a survey of 1,700 men and women of different ages, and she found that naming mistakes are very common. Most everyone sometimes mixes up the names of family and friends. ... It's not related to a bad memory or to aging, but rather to how the brain categorizes names. (Trudeau, 1/16)

San Francisco Chronicle: Testing Wearable Sensors As ‘Check Engine’ Light For Health 
Wearable gadgets gave a Stanford University professor an early warning that he was getting sick before he ever felt any symptoms of Lyme disease. Geneticist Michael Snyder never had Lyme’s characteristic bull’s-eye rash. But a smartwatch and other sensors charted changes in Snyder’s heart rate and oxygen levels during a family vacation. Eventually a fever struck that led to his diagnosis. (Neergaard, 1/14)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Chin Up: Being Fit And Working Out – With Cancer
We knew that exercise and good nutrition can help cancer survivors avoid reoccurrence. But now we know that being strong and fit also puts us in a better position to endure chemotherapy. (Nickel, 1/15)

San Francisco Chronicle: Psychedelic Drugs Now Used In Human Studies 
After decades of political suppression, studies on psychedelics are now experiencing what top researchers have dubbed a renaissance. Here are four drugs that made recent breakthroughs in psychedelic science. (Short, 1/13)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Summit Health Confirms Tuberculosis Case, Advises Adults Who Visited NICU Get Tested 
A case of pulmonary tuberculosis in a Summit County resident has been confirmed by Summit County Public Health. Before being diagnosed, the person visited Akron Children's Hospital neonatal intensive care unit at Summa Akron City Hospital in mid-November through mid-December, according to the Health department said. So visitors to the NICU during that time should get a TB test at the end of February, to make sure they have not been infected. (Conn, 1/13)

Health News Florida: Florida Hospital, Walgreens Team Up On Walk-In Clinics
Walgreens is teaming up with Florida Hospital Tampa to put health clinics inside drug stores around the Tampa Bay area. The "Florida Hospital Express Care" clinics will provide services at 15 locations. The clinics are currently operating under Walgreens, and will transition to Florida Hospital management this summer. Mike Schultz, President & CEO Florida Hospital West Florida Division, said the clinics will help reduce the stress of people using the emergency room for minor illnesses and injuries. (Miller, 1/13)

The CT Mirror: A Health Center Tries A New Way To Deliver Care, Starting With Longer Appointments 
It’s part of the health center’s WeCare program, an initiative launched last year as a pilot program. It’s still in its infancy and small; as of December, 44 patients were receiving active case management. But in shifting how care is delivered, the program has implications for how the health center treats all of its patients – and it’s an example of what a major, ongoing change in health care delivery could look like, a shift that could, ultimately and in varying ways, affect all patients in Connecticut. It’s a mix of new technology and data analysis – identifying which patients need higher levels of support – and old-fashioned relationships, conversations and trust – both between the patient and clinician, and the various health care and social service providers who work with the patients. (Levin Becker, 1/17)

Los Angeles Times: Stolen Laptop May Have Had Data For Thousands Of Patients At Children's Hospital Los Angeles
A stolen laptop may have contained information about nearly 3,600 Children’s Hospital Los Angeles patients, spurring the hospital to warn families who might have been affected. The laptop, which belonged to a physician, was taken out of a locked car during an October burglary, according to the hospital. (Reyes, 1/16)

Citizen Times: WNC Whistleblower Sparked $18M Suit Over Contaminated IVs
Because of unclean manufacturing conditions at its Marion, (N.C.) facility, an international pharmaceutical company will pay more than $18 million to settle multiple lawsuits filed Thursday. Baxter Healthcare Corp. will pay about $430,000 to a Marion whistleblower, Chris Wall, who reported moldy air filters, as part of the overall sum. Wall's actions sparked a 2012 U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation that revealed "several mold species and other particulate matter" on air filters at the Marion plant, according to court documents. (Patrick, 1/13)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Rape Survivors Fight For Support At UC
Grace Cunningham experienced a life-altering trauma during her sophomore year at the University of Cincinnati. When she asked UC for help, she found little comfort in their efforts. Now she's leading a group of student activists, many of whom have survived sexual assault, to fight for more support. (Murphy, 1/17)

The Star Tribune: Food Stamp Use Rises Sharply Among Elderly Minnesotans 
The U.S. food-stamp program, created five decades ago to stave off hunger among impoverished families, is undergoing a remarkable resurgence among a generation of older Minnesotans. Squeezed by rising living costs and depleted retirement funds, people who are 65 and older now represent the fastest-growing segment of food stamp recipients in Minnesota. Their numbers have nearly doubled since the Great Recession ended in 2009, forcing the state to explore new ways to reach an often isolated population of seniors. (Serres, 1/14)

Los Angeles Times: Pasadena Heart Surgery Patients Warned Of Possible Infections
Pasadena’s Huntington Hospital has sent letters to all patients having open heart surgery in the last four years warning them that they may have been infected with a dangerous bacteria. The hospital is one of many across the country using a device that has been linked to dozens of infections in heart surgery patients, including some who died. (Petersen, 1/13)

The Baltimore Sun: Email Account With Patient Information At UM Doctors Group Hacked 
A doctor's practice plan affiliated with the University of Maryland School of Medicine has notified patients that somebody hacked the account of a physician assistant's email account that contained the personal information of patients. The orthopedics practice at The University of Maryland Faculty Physicians Inc. mailed letters to about 1,500 patients telling them about the incident, according to a news release. (McDaniels, 1/13)

KCUR: Emergency Blood Shortage Declared After Ice Storm Preparations Disrupt Donations 
There didn’t end up being much ice this weekend, but Winter Storm Jupiter still had a big impact on one Kansas City-area nonprofit. “It wasn’t as bad as anyone thought it was going to be, but the preparations were there,” Community Blood Center Executive Director David Graham says. “We had blood drives canceled in anticipation of travel being impacted.” All told, Graham estimates some 500 units of blood weren’t collected. (Moxley, 1/17)

California Healthline: Crucial California HIV Program In Disarray After Contract Switch
A change in contractors for a state-run AIDS program has resulted in enrollment delays and left some patients unable to get necessary medications and timely medical care, according to legislators and nonprofit organizations across California. The AIDS Drug Assistance Program, which helps more than 30,000 low-income HIV and AIDS patients pay for medications and insurance premiums, switched pharmacy and enrollment contractors in July. (Gorman, 1/13)

Bloomberg: Hey, Congress, Smart Health-Care Reform Takes Time 
After some nudging from President-elect Donald Trump, Republicans in Congress may have changed their minds about repealing Obamacare without first deciding what will replace it. Here's the next hard truth they'll need to absorb: Rushing that decision, on the bogus premise that the current law is collapsing, is almost as foolhardy as providing no replacement. Consider the amount of work and time that's involved. To begin, Republicans will have to answer the basic questions they have so far evaded -- mainly, are they serious about covering most of the 20 million or so Americans now insured under Obamacare? (1/13)

The Wall Street Journal: The First Votes For ObamaCare Repeal
The press is full of ObamaCare stories about disarray among Republicans, and there has been some of that, but maybe this untidiness is a normal part of governing. Congress ended the week by voting to start an orderly repeal and replace process, without much internal division. (1/15)

The Washington Post: Donald Trump May Have Just Destroyed The Republican Effort To Repeal Obamacare
When even the most committed Republicans came around to support Donald Trump in 2016, they made a kind of bet. It wouldn’t matter much that Trump had no apparent fealty to conservative ideology or that he was a complete ignoramus about policy, because he’d be leaving all that boring stuff to them. The Republican Congress would pass its agenda, he’d sign whatever they put in front of him, and they’d all live happily ever after. (Paul Waldman, 1/16)

The New York Times: The G.O.P.’s Health Care Death Spiral
Last week, President-elect Donald J. Trump called Obamacare “a complete and total disaster,” and pushed for a swift repeal of the Affordable Care Act and a replacement within weeks. But at the moment, there is no workable replacement. So what happens to the individual insurance market — whose problems did not start with the Affordable Care Act and will not be easily solved — when it is destabilized so dramatically? (J. B. Silvers, 1/17)

The Washington Post: Big Health-Care Issues Republicans Must Confront
Republicans’ scheme to repeal Obamacare and then, sometime later, get around to replacing it effectively died last week. On Sunday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who will be presenting his own plan, said flat out, “I believe that it’s incredibly important that we do replacement on the same day as we do repeal. We have had six years to complain. And we have complained. I have been one of those complaining about Obamacare. Replacement should be the same day.” He deserves credit for a level of honesty that has been generally absent among fellow Republicans. (Jennifer Rubin, 1/16)

The New York Times: The Biggest Changes Obamacare Made, And Those That May Disappear
It looks like the beginning of the end for Obamacare as we know it. After years of vowing to repeal the Affordable Care Act, as it is formally known, Republican lawmakers in both chambers of Congress have now passed a bill that will make it easier to gut the law. (Margot Sanger-Katz, 1/13)

The Health Care Blog: Pig In A Poke Health Reform
From a political perspective, House Speaker Paul Ryan’s trashing of ObamaCare (a.k.a. the Affordable Care Act or ACC) during CNN’s recent town hall meeting probably was quite effective. One would, of course, not expect a staunch political opponent of ObamaCare to render a “fair and balanced” picture of the program, to plagiarize a Fox News mantra. Not surprisingly, the Speaker dwelt solely on some serious shortcomings of ObamaCare that are by now well known among the cognoscenti. (Uwe Reinhardt, 1/16)

The Washington Post: Republicans Should Stamp Out The Fuse On Obamacare Before It’s Too Late
Republicans lit the fuse on Obamacare Friday, approving the first step of the “reconciliation” procedure they can use to gut much of the law over even unified Democratic objections. Many Republicans are nervous. They should be: Millions of people’s lives are on the line, and the GOP has just set the country down a perilous path without a clear map showing where it will end up. (1/14)

Boston Globe: Elizabeth Warren: The GOP’s Strategy For Obamacare? Repeal And Run.
For eight years, Republicans in Congress have complained about health care in America, heaping most of the blame on President Obama. Meanwhile, they’ve hung out on the sidelines making doomsday predictions and cheering every stumble, but refusing to lift a finger to actually improve our health care system. The number one priority for congressional Republicans is repealing the Affordable Care Act and breaking up our health care system while offering zero solutions. (Sen. Elizabeth Warren, 1/15)

USA Today: My Sister Died Without Obamacare
It isn’t every day I have reason to admit I wept on the office voicemail of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. But I just did, and you need to know why. In my defense, a brief synopsis: My oldest sister is dead (2013), from colon cancer. No Affordable Care Act/Obamacare, no screening. My youngest sister lives despite ovarian cancer. Her Obamacare meant screening, surgery, treatment. It’s a hard story to tell to a machine. It’s a hard story to tell you. But it matters, so I will try. (Kim Painter, 1/17)

Arizona Republic: 4 Ideas To Reform Obamacare For Good
After Barack Obama was elected, it was clear there would be a major push to change the nation's health care system. Hospital and health care executives across the country — including right here in Arizona — made suggestions for sensible reform that would improve care and provide greater access. As the former head of Maricopa County's public health-care system, I was one of several leaders sharing ideas, including that changes be incremental rather than a sweeping replacement of the whole system. One of our concerns was that legislation would lead to changes that were impractical or too expensive to sustain. (Betsey Bayless, 1/15)

Georgia Health News: May His Memory Be An Inspiration
The ACA is not perfect. But, contrary to partisan political rhetoric, our health care system is much better today than it was six years ago by any objective measure. I know about the many persistent challenges — affordability, high pharmaceutical costs, too few primary care providers, and too much attention to treatment and not enough to prevention. But I also see improved access and health in the newly insured and the overwhelming data from across the country showing the transformative — yes, transformative — gains being made. (Harry Heiman, 1/15)

Modern Healthcare: Blame Congress For The Coming ACA Repeal And Delay 'Death Spiral'
Despite repeated warnings from conservative realists, the Senate and House last week put in motion an Obamacare “repeal and delay” strategy that would destabilize the individual health insurance markets that provide coverage for over 11 million Americans. (Merrill Goozner, 1/14)

Louisville Courier-Journal: ACA Repeal Will Kill People
I am a physician who has cared for uninsured and underinsured patients for my entire 31 years of practice. In the past I have written editorials in support of the Affordable Care Act and with the likelihood of its repeal without a viable replacement I feel that I need to provide a voice for my patients who will be adversely affected by this change. (Barbara R. Casper, 1/13)

USA Today: I Voted For Trump, Not Against Planned Parenthood
I voted for Donald Trump because I wanted to see change in our country. One change I didn’t want to see was access to health care at Planned Parenthood blocked. But Republican congressional leaders have already promised to do just that, with a provision to stop reimbursements for the health care Planned Parenthood provides. (Melody Forbes, 1/17)

The New York Times: The Assault On Health And Safety Begins
Donald Trump has been consistent on one thing. He wants to weaken or end regulations on businesses and industries. As if on cue, House Republicans and a handful of Democrats recently passed three bills that would radically deregulate corporate America. (1/16)

Los Angeles Times: How To Fight Back When An Insurer Denies Your Healthcare Claim
Insurance companies are playing the odds, patient advocates say. They’re counting on people not having the stamina to challenge every denied claim, even when there’s a valid medical reason for a drug or treatment being covered.“It’s intimidating,” said Betsy Imholz, special projects director for Consumers Union. “It’s hard to understand the process and many people feel that the default answer from insurers is no.” (David Lazarus, 1/17)

The New York Times: The Stem-Cell Revolution Is Coming — Slowly
In 2001, President George W. Bush issued an executive order banning federal funding for new sources of stem cells developed from preimplantation human embryos. The action stalled research and discouraged scientists. Five years later, a Kyoto University scientist, Shinya Yamanaka, and his graduate student, Kazutoshi Takahashi, re-energized the field by devising a technique to “reprogram” any adult cell, such as a skin cell, and coax it back to its earliest “pluripotent” stage. From there it can become any type of cell, from a heart muscle cell to a neuron. ... I interviewed [Yamanaka] recently in San Francisco. (Wallace Ravven, 1/16)

The Des Moines Register: Crime Pays. So Does Medicaid.
Six years ago, the Iowa Department of Human Services was put on notice by the federal government that a West Des Moines company called Ultimate Nursing Services of Iowa appeared to be improperly billing Medicaid for a large portion of the home health care services it provided Iowans. ... but just a few weeks ago, federal officials announced that ... Ultimate Nursing Services continued to successfully bill Iowa’s Medicaid program for improper expenses (1/16)

Boston Globe: Committing To Mental Health 
The Boston Globe brought to light the desperate need to improve our behavioral health care system to better protect and effectively treat children and adults who have mental health or substance-use conditions. ... We call on ourselves, our policy makers, and our government leaders to rise together to the challenge of implementing comprehensive reforms. We need the community’s continued support for systemic reform, innovative treatment, and the reporting of recovery results in order to destigmatize mental illness and ensure timely access to prevention, treatment, and support services. (Paul Guzzi and Barry White, 1/16)

The New York Times: Young Victims Of The Opioid Epidemic
Opioid overdoses have claimed more than 300,000 lives in the last 15 years, including some 33,000 in 2015 alone. But those numbers do not tell the full horror of this epidemic, which has devastated the lives of countless children whose parents have succumbed to addiction to prescription painkillers and other opiates. In one terrible case last month, a Pennsylvania couple died of apparent overdoses, and their baby perished from starvation a few days later. (1/16)

The Washington Post: I’m A Doctor Who Wants To Treat Addiction, But The Rules Won’t Let Me
Mr. B undid his arm bandages and revealed two large, gaping wounds where he injected his heroin. He lay back in his hospital bed, looked up at the ceiling and said with a quivering voice, “I can’t inject into my veins anymore because they are all shot. I know I have a problem, Doctor. I’ve been trying to quit, but it’s so hard.” (Douglas Jacobs, 1/14)

The Columbus Dispatch: Organ Donors Save Lives
More than 119,000 people woke up this morning hoping that this will be the day they get a call saying that a heart, a liver, a lung or other organ donation has been found — and they will get a chance to live. Multiply that number by perhaps dozens of parents, spouses, children and friends of those who are waiting lists for an organ transplant, and the news that a record number of transplants took place last year in the United States is cause for hope and joy. (1/17)

WBUR: Why Trump's Ties To Anti-Vaccine Kennedy Infuriate Even The Nicest Doctors
As an infectious diseases specialist married to a pediatrician, I am going to propose, in most unhumble fashion, that I have the ideal perspective to assess the worthiness of vaccines. So when Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a notorious anti-vaccine crusader, announced this week that he was under consideration to head a government commission on vaccine safety and scientific integrity, and is planning to step away from his environmental job to take that post, I had several thoughts. (Paul Sax, 1/13)

Boston Globe: Baker’s Commendable Health Care Cautions 
On Thursday, Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts added his voice on that matter in a long letter to House majority leader Kevin McCarthy. Baker’s primary focus was protecting this state’s near-universal health care law, but his broader message was equally important. Part of that: Congress must be careful to do no harm as it maneuvers on Obamacare. (1/14)

Miami Herald: After Fort Lauderdale Airport Shooting, Here’s How To Find Help For PTSD
We were all horrified by the senseless shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport that resulted in death and injury to innocent citizens. For those of us who witnessed this on television and online, our reactions ranged from “not again” to “it could have been one of us or members of our family.” For the majority of South Floridians, the horror of this day will fade and we will go back to our normal routines. But for others, the trauma will last. Whether you were at the airport or watching it unfold on television or the internet, the images of violence may leave you feeling vulnerable. (Charles Nemeroff, 1/16)

The New York Times: The Robot That Performed My Kidney Transplant Declined To Be Interviewed
Ten years ago, I did not expect my brand new Twitter account to have much of an impact on my life. Yet it certainly has — affecting my career, my choice of where to live, my friendships, my adoption of pets, my intellectual lifestyle and even my emoji use. Now, Twitter has cost me a body organ. Yet my (voluntary!) loss is another Twitter user’s gain: I recently donated a kidney to a fellow journalist, Michelle Minkoff, who works at The Associated Press. (Tiff Fehr, 1/13)