The Associated Press: Obama Summons Americans To Compromise And Change
Addressing a hostile Republican-led Congress and a country plunged in a tumultuous, at times angry presidential campaign, Obama used his final State of the Union address to summon an affirmative vision of his administration and for the future. ... Obama defended his health measure Tuesday night, claiming that millions have gained coverage "and our businesses have created jobs every single month since it became law." Delivering the GOP response, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley reiterated the party's pledge to "end a disastrous health care program, and replace it with reforms." (1/13)

The Washington Post: Obama Urges Nation Not To Fear Future
Obama gave passing mention to a handful of policy priorities — including promoting trade, curbing prescription-drug abuse, reforming the criminal-justice system and curing cancer — but he devoted more of the speech to talking to the nation rather than the House and Senate members before him. (Mufson and Eilperin, 1/13)

The New York Times: In State Of The Union Address, Obama Confronts Americans’ Fears
President Obama on Tuesday set forth an ambitious vision for America’s future but conceded his own failure to heal the political divisions holding back progress, calling it a lasting disappointment of his tenure. “It’s one of the few regrets of my presidency, that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better,” Mr. Obama said, adding that “a president with the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt might have better bridged the divide.” (Davis and Shear, 1/12)

STAT: Biden Unveils Road Map For His 'Moonshot' Against Cancer
Vice President Joe Biden pledged on Tuesday night to work to increase resources for cancer research and improve coordination across the research community as part of his cancer “moonshot” that President Obama endorsed in his State of the Union address. (Scott, 1/12)

USA Today: Vice President Biden Will Head Pursuit Of Cancer Cure
President Obama announced during his State of the Union Address that he’s putting Vice President Biden in charge of carrying out the “moonshot” to cure cancer that Biden called for following his son’s death. "Last month, [Biden] worked with this Congress to give scientists at the National Institutes of Health the strongest resources they’ve had in over a decade," Obama said. "Tonight, I’m announcing a new national effort to get it done. And because he’s gone to the mat for all of us, on so many issues over the past forty years, I’m putting Joe in charge of Mission Control. For the loved ones we’ve all lost, for the family we can still save, let’s make America the country that cures cancer once and for all." (Gaudiano, 1/12)

The Associated Press: Highlights Of President's State Of The Union Address
Obama's final State of the Union speech offered little in the way of new policy initiatives, but plenty of upbeat talk about prospects for a strong future. ... On health, he likened the administration's push against cancer to a new "moon shot." "Let's make America the country that cures cancer once and for all," he said. (1/12)

The Washington Post: Cancer ‘Moonshot’ Will Actually Be A Collection Of Smaller Initiatives
President Obama called Tuesday for a stepped-up war on cancer, but with hundreds, even thousands, of types of cancer and an ever-increasing number of specialized therapies for them, experts say there is no true “moonshot” approach to tackling the nation’s second-leading cause of death. “A single approach to cancer...ain’t going to happen,” said Jose Baselga, president of the American Association for Cancer Research and chief medical officer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. “Cancer, we’ve learned, is far more complex than we’ve ever imagined. Every single tumor is different.” Yet top cancer specialists agree on several big ideas that might push the boundaries of research and therapy for the 1.7 million people diagnosed each year. (Bernstein, 1/12)

Meanwhile, oncologists are frustrated with the pathway toward choosing the right cancer treatment —

Modern Healthcare: Tools To Consider Effective Cancer Treatment Are Too Many, Too Rigid: Oncologists
On a typical day, oncologist Dr. Linda Bosserman spends hours poring over lists meant to guide clinicians toward the optimal course of treatment. These "clinical pathways" are based on the cancer's stage and location in the body, and patient-specific factors, like comorbidities. Then, after she and the patient have chosen a plan, Bosserman says she spends hours explaining to payers how and why the choice was made. (Rice, 1/12)

Reuters: Obama Nominee To Lead FDA Wins Backing From Senate Committee
President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Robert Califf, won backing from a Senate committee on Tuesday as its members shrugged off criticism from consumer watchdogs that he is too closely linked with the pharmaceutical industry to lead the agency impartially. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted to confirm Califf as FDA Commissioner, a position that has been open since Dr. Margaret Hamburg stepped down last February. The nomination must now be approved by the full Senate. He is widely expected to be confirmed. (Clarke, 1/12)

The Hill: Sanders Votes Against Obama's FDA Nominee
Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) voted Tuesday against President Obama’s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), citing concerns over his ties to the pharmaceutical industry. A Republican-led Senate panel advanced Dr. Robert Califf’s nomination to the full floor for final approval, despite Sanders’ opposition. (Devaney, 1/12)

The Associated Press: Senate Panel Approves Dr. Robert Califf As FDA Commissioner
Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she will hold up a vote on the Senate floor until she has reassurances from the agency that it will write rules for labeling genetically modified salmon. The Alaska Republican has said the engineered salmon approved by the FDA last year could be harmful to her state's wild salmon industry. Califf is now the No. 2 official at the agency, which regulates consumer products from medications to seafood to e-cigarettes. (Jalonick, 1/12)

In other news from Capitol Hill, Republicans are launching an overreach probe and a committee report looks at infections tied to medical scopes —

The Associated Press: House GOP In Election-Year Probe Of Presidential 'Overreach'
House Republicans said Tuesday that they will launch an election-year study of what they say has been executive overreach by President Barack Obama and other recent presidents. ... The House GOP is pursuing a federal lawsuit accusing the president of unconstitutionally spending money that Congress has not approved for his health care overhaul. (Fram, 1/12)

The Seattle Times: Infections Tied To Medical Scopes Higher Than Previously Thought
The toll of potentially deadly infections tied to contaminated medical scopes is far higher than federal investigators previously estimated, according to a U.S. Senate committee report being released early Wednesday. In less than three years, between 2012 and spring 2015, at least 25 incidents of antibiotic-resistant infections linked to specialized duodenoscopes sickened at least 250 people worldwide, most at U.S. hospitals. (Aleccia, 1/13)

The New York Times: Obama, In Nebraska And Louisiana, Aims To Kick Off Discussions On Future
While President Barack Obama's speeches and engagements in both states will cover a variety of subjects, Nebraska and Louisiana are fitting places for him to press for a continuing expansion of his health care law. To date, 30 states and the District of Columbia have expanded their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act. But the refusal of many states with large uninsured populations to accept the money and offer health care to millions more has been a source of frustration for the president. With new legislative sessions about to begin across the country, Republican governors in two holdout states — Matt Mead of Wyoming and Dennis Daugaard of South Dakota — are trying to persuade their legislatures to expand the program. (Harris and Goodnough, 1/13)

U.S. News & World Report: Obamacare’s Success Hinges On States
Within 24 hours, Obamacare lost one convert and gained another. On Monday, newly sworn-in Republican Gov. Matt Bevin of Kentucky said the commonwealth would be chucking its exchange. ... That same day, in Louisiana, Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards announced during his inaugural address that Tuesday he would be accepting federal funding for expanding Medicaid. ... The developments illustrate the important role states play in carrying out the major tenets of Obamacare. (Leonard, 1/12)

The New York Times: Louisiana’s New Governor Signs An Order To Expand Medicaid
On Tuesday, his second day in office, Gov. John Bel Edwards signed an executive order expanding Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act, fulfilling a campaign promise that will expand health coverage to hundreds of thousands of people in one of the nation’s poorest states. The action by Mr. Edwards, a Democrat, under President Obama’s health care law was expected to be one of the most significant and immediate results of his election in November, when he defeated Senator David Vitter, a Republican whose campaign was tainted by a prostitution scandal. (Fausset and Goodnough, 1/12)

The Associated Press: New Louisiana Governor Starting Medicaid Expansion Plan
Surrounded by Medicaid expansion supporters at a news conference, Edwards signed an executive order calling for the state Department of Health and Hospitals to make the administrative changes needed to begin offering the health insurance coverage to the working poor. It was his first executive order as governor. "This is the right thing to do. This is not even a close call," Edwards said. Edwards' order came two days ahead of President Barack Obama's public appearance in Baton Rouge, where he'll champion his federal health care overhaul that allows for the Medicaid expansion. (Deslatte, 1/12)

Sioux Falls Argus Leader: State Of The State: Teacher Pay, Medicaid, More
Gov. Dennis Daugaard in his State of the State address Tuesday called on legislators to raise taxes for teacher pay and expand Medicaid to tens of thousands of low-income South Dakotans. ... Daugaard lobbied legislators again to expand Medicaid in the state if the feds agree to expand and improve care options for the state's American Indians through Indian Health Service (IHS) providers. He said the state will likely hear from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services this month to confirm whether his plan is viable. (Ferguson, 1/12)

Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Daugaard Takes Different Approach On Medicaid
And while he backed the state's congressional delegates in opposing the federal health care law, Daugaard said South Dakota lawmakers should support it based on the positive impact it could have on tens of thousands of needy people in the state. "It is our responsibility to understand the federal programs as they exist and to make the best decisions for our state," Daugaard said. "This deal makes sense for South Dakota. It is a good deal." And again the governor told the Legislature that he wouldn't move forward on the deal without their support as well as that of the Tribes unless the plan proved budget neutral. (Ferguson, 1/12)

The Kansas Health Institute News Service: Brownback Reasserts Opposition To Medicaid Expansion In State Of State Speech
Kansas Republican Gov. Sam Brownback didn’t specifically mention Medicaid expansion in his State of the State speech Tuesday night to a joint session of the Legislature. Still, he made it clear that he remains opposed to expanding eligibility to cover more than 150,000 low-income adults, many of whom are uninsured. Seeming to acknowledge that the closure of Mercy Hospital in the southeast Kansas community of Independence had increased interest in expansion, Brownback said “Obamacare” was the main reason for the hospital's financial struggles and those of other rural providers. (McLean, 1/12)

Kansas City Star: Brownback Heralds Conservative Policies, Lashes Out At Obama In State Of The State Address
On health care, Brownback said he was asking Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer, a doctor, to put together a working group to address the problems of rural health care. In praising the state’s Medicaid program called KanCare — he has opposed Medicaid expansion in the state — Brownback blamed federal health care law for increased health care costs, especially in rural areas. Others have linked the struggle of rural hospitals in Kansas with the lack of Medicaid expansion. “KanCare is working,” he said. “Obamacare is failing.” (Eveld, 1/12)

Brownback also announced new efforts to cut state funding to Planned Parenthood -

Wichita (Kan.) Eagle: State Of State Address: Governor Focuses On Schools, Refugees, Abortion
Brownback, a staunch opponent of abortion, noted that “every year since I became governor, we have enacted pro-life legislation.” Saying “the time has come to finish the job,” he said he was directing Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Susan Mosier to “ensure that not a single dollar of taxpayer money goes to Planned Parenthood.” ... Lobbyist Elise Higgins said the Medicaid funding Planned Parenthood receives in Kansas goes to “cover things like birth control, STD testing and treatment, cervical cancer screenings and breast exams.” She added that attempts to prevent the women’s health provider from receiving Medicaid funds in other states have been struck down in court. (Lefler and Lowry, 1/12)

The Associated Press: Kansas Cutting Off Medicaid Funds For Planned Parenthood
Kansas will prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving any funds through its Medicaid program, Gov. Sam Brownback announced Tuesday in a State of the State address that encouraged state legislators to enshrine such a policy into law. Brownback used his speech to outline a broad legislative agenda on multiple issues and announced his action against Planned Parenthood near the end. (Hanna, 1/12)

CNN: Bernie Sanders Refutes Clinton Attacks On Guns, Health Care
Bernie Sanders said the Hillary Clinton campaign's escalating attacks on him are unequivocally wrong, pushing back on the increased scrutiny of his record. Sanders, speaking to CNN's Dana Bash after exiting Tuesday night's State of the Union address, said Clinton's jabs at his record on guns and health care were more motivated by fear of his strength as a candidate. (Schleifer, 1/12)

NBC News: Chelsea Clinton Takes Aim At Sanders Over Health Policy
Stumping for her mother for the first time in 2016 on Tuesday, Chelsea Clinton directly criticized Bernie Sanders on health care policy, echoing Hillary Clinton's recent attacks on the Vermont senator. Asked about mounting enthusiasm for Sanders among young people, the daughter of the Democratic presidential frontrunner urged younger voters to focus on the "specifics" of Sanders' policy proposals. (Brewster and Dann, 1/12)

CBS News: Chelsea Clinton Goes On The Attack After Bernie Sanders
With polls showing the Democratic race tightening in the crucial leadoff states of Iowa and New Hampshire, Chelsea Clinton on Tuesday took aim at Bernie Sanders -- her mother's chief rival for the nomination -- saying that Sanders would "dismantle" the health care system as we know it. (Alemany, 1/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Anthem Says It Enrolled More Members Than Expected In 2015
Health insurer Anthem Inc. offered 2016 earnings guidance roughly in line with analyst expectations and said it enrolled more members than it expected last year. The company said in its filing that it enrolled a slightly more-than-expected number of customers in 2015. Anthem said 2015 enrollment is expected to be about 38.6 million members, above the 38.3 million to 38.5 million range it predicted in October. (Beilfuss, 1/12)

Reuters: Anthem Targets $3B In Drug Cost Savings With Express Scripts
Anthem Inc. could save $3 billion annually on drug costs from a re-pricing provision in its current contract with pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts Holding Co., the health insurer's chief executive officer said Tuesday. Anthem said it is working to renegotiate the contract this year to avoid overpaying for pharmaceuticals based on current market conditions. It first announced that it was going to rework the contract about two years ago, but it has not previously disclosed an estimate on the cost savings from the move. (Humer and Kelly, 1/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Anthem’s Rising Tide Lifts Health Insurer Boats
With a strong forecast for 2016 results, Anthem helped ease investor angst around health insurance stocks. Anthem said Tuesday during a presentation at the J.P. Morgan healthcare conference that it expects adjusted earnings per share of “greater than” $10.80 in 2016, before any costs associated with its acquisition of Cigna. That floor, which would mark more than a 6% increase over last year’s expected earnings, was close enough to the analyst consensus of $10.87 to lift its stock. (Grant, 1/12)

Reuters: Aetna CEO Sees Humana Deal On Track To Close This Year
Aetna Inc Chief Executive Mark Bertolini said on Tuesday that he still expects the company's $37 billion acquisition of rival Humana Inc to close this year. The deal is being reviewed by the U.S. Department of Justice, which has been seeking documents about Aetna's and Humana's business as it assesses how the deal, and a pending $47 billion combination of Anthem Inc and Cigna Corp, could affect consumers. (Humer, 1/12)

Reuters: Aetna CEO Says He Is Not Giving Up On Public Insurance Exchanges
The chief executive of Aetna Inc. on Tuesday said the health insurer is not about to withdraw from the public health exchange market, even after losing money on the business last year. "We believe it is incredibly important, in the business we're in, that we insure all Americans," Chief Executive Mark Bertolini said. "We believe we have an obligation to stick it out and work with it until we know that it won't work. And I believe it is too early to give up on this process." (Kelly, 1/12)

The Huffington Post: The Heroin Epidemic Has Gotten So Bad That It Made The Second Paragraph Of The State Of The Union Address
Before he even uttered the required words "the State of our Union is strong," President Barack Obama in his address Tuesday night made reference to the unfolding opioid crisis. (Grim, 1/12)

The Associated Press: FDA Panel Favors Approval For Drug-Oozing Addiction Implant
Federal health advisers recommended approval Tuesday for an experimental implant designed to treat patients recovering from heroin and painkiller addiction. Despite shortcomings in company studies, a majority of Food and Drug Administration advisers said the implant offers important benefits not currently available. The drug-oozing device is intended to be a safer, more reliable approach to controlling cravings and withdrawal symptoms. (Perrone, 1/12)

In other news, N.J. Gov. Chris Christie an increase in reimbursement rates for mental health and drug treatment facilities while Stateline examines efforts by states to break the cycle of addiction among prison inmates —

The Associated Press: Christie Plans Drug Treatment Rate Increases, New Facility
Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday announced plans to turn a recently closed prison into a drug treatment facility for inmates and said the state will invest $100 million to raise reimbursement rates for drug and mental health facilities, something that providers have long sought to help address the state's opioid epidemic. Christie, who has made drug treatment a priority in New Jersey and as part of his Republican presidential campaign, used his State of the State address to unveil the changes. (Cornfield, 1/13)

Stateline: Helping Drug-Addicted Inmates Break The Cycle
A week before 22-year-old Joe White was slated for release from the Barnstable County Correctional Facility, 26 law enforcement officials and social workers huddled around a table to discuss his prospects on the outside. For substance abusers like White, they aren’t good. In the first two weeks after a drug user is released from jail, the risk of a fatal overdose is much higher than at any other time in his addiction. After months or years in confinement, theoretically without access to illicit drugs, an addict’s tolerance for drugs is low but his craving to get high can be as strong as ever. (Vestal, 1/13)

North Carolina Health News: Health Officials Scramble To Meet Legislative Deadlines
After years of computer glitches, poor data and budgets running in the red, North Carolina’s Medicaid program appears to be well in the black for this year, while computer systems seem to be providing timely data for officials to make projections and decisions. Just in time for everything to change. Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services updated lawmakers Tuesday on the state of Medicaid, the program that provides health care for about 1.8 million low-income children and their parents, pregnant women and people with disabilities. (Hoban, 1/13)

The Associated Press: Medicaid Overhaul Chief Says Work On Track To Meet Deadlines
With North Carolina's path to overhauling Medicaid finalized last fall, the race is on for state health officials to meet a tight schedule so a new managed-care system can take effect by 2018 or 2019. The head of the new Division of Health Benefits, which is tasked with carrying out the overhaul, told a legislative oversight committee Tuesday that her office is on track to meet deadlines in March and June. (Robertson, 1/12)

WRAL (Raleigh, N.C.): State Moves Ahead On Medicaid Changes For More Home Services
North Carolina's Medicaid chief told state lawmakers Tuesday his agency is ready to move ahead on waiver requests for better, more flexible services for traumatic brain injury patients and children with severe emotional disturbances. Department of Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Dave Richard told the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services that the two 1915-c waivers, as they're known, would allow the state Medicaid program to expand home- and community-based services to both groups. (Leslie, 1/12)

And in Medicaid news from Iowa —

The Des Moines Register: Will Iowa's Poor Face Kansan Fate Of Medicaid Claims?
Two of the corporations Iowa has picked to manage its Medicaid program face new accusations of trying to pad their profits by systematically denying payments to medical providers serving poor and disabled people in Kansas. Similar allegations of denied payments and unjust delays hounded both companies for years in other states. The companies — UnitedHealthcare and Amerigroup — have each paid tens of thousands of dollars to settle similar problems in other states, a Des Moines Register Investigation has found. (Clayworth, 1/10)

The Connecticut Mirror: CT To Study Other States To Target Health Costs, Market Changes
Massachusetts created a health policy commission that sets a cap for annual health care cost increases and reports which providers exceed it. Rhode Island’s insurance department has pushed insurers to increase funding for primary care and sought to limit hospital payment rates, while the state’s governor initiated an effort to develop a health care spending cap for the state. Maryland has for years set rates for hospitals, and now gives them a set budget to care for their patients .... Could Connecticut embrace a similar model to try to contain health care costs that are widely seen as unsustainable? Consultants hired by the state will be studying that and other questions in the coming months, with an eye toward recommending specific options to legislators by Dec. 1. (Levin Becker, 1/12)

The Columbus Dispatch: Health Costs Jump 11.5% For Columbus City Employees
Health-care costs for Columbus city employees have increased 11.5 percent this year, the largest yearly increase in insurance costs shared by workers and taxpayers in nearly a decade. (Sullivan, 1/13)

For individuals, planning for covering the cost of long-term care is important —

Kiplinger's Personal Finance: Tactics To Make Long-Term-Care Coverage Affordable
No matter how carefully you plan for retirement, if you don't have long-term-care insurance, a catastrophic illness could wipe out your savings. The average private room in a nursing home costs $250 per day -- or $91,250 per year -- according to Genworth's 2015 Cost of Care study. The median cost of assisted living is now $43,200 a year, and the cost of hiring a home-care worker is $20 per hour, or more than $41,000 per year for a 40-hour week. (The average length of care is about three years.) Medicare provides little coverage for long-term care, and Medicaid kicks in only after you've spent almost all of your money. (Lankford, 1/13)

The Kansas Health Institute News Service: Efficiency Report Recommends Single Health Insurance Plan For State Employees
A tentative plan to save Kansas government more than $2 billion over five years relies heavily on proposed changes to the state employee health plan and Medicaid. The report, written by the New York-based consulting firm of Alvarez and Marsal under a $2.6 million contract with the state, includes 105 recommendations for “achieving major cost savings.” (McLean, 1/12)

The Associated Press: Missouri Senators Review Bill To Ban Fetal-Tissue Donations
Fetal-tissue donation would be banned in Missouri and the state health department would need to annually inspect abortion clinics under Republican-sponsored legislation that was reviewed Tuesday in a Senate committee. It's among several abortion-related laws and bills that Missouri lawmakers are looking at, including oversight of abortion clinics during a House committee that also took place Tuesday. (Ballentine, 1/12)

The Associated Press: Lawyers Urge Judge To Require Timely Competency Services
Lawyers for mentally ill criminal defendants want a federal judge to force Washington officials to provide timely mental health services, opposing a delay sought by the state. The judge ruled last year that the state is violating the constitutional rights of its most vulnerable residents by forcing them to wait in jails for weeks or months before receiving competency evaluations or treatment to restore their ability to assist in their defense during trial. (Bellisle, 1/13)

Heartland Health Monitor: A Growing Gap Between Wyandotte And Johnson Counties: Primary Care Physicans
A male in Wyandotte County can expect to live about seven fewer years than a male in Johnson County. A female in Wyandotte County can expect to live nearly six fewer years than her Johnson County counterpart. About 21 percent of Wyandotte County residents consider themselves to be in poor or fair health; fewer than one in 12 in Johnson County do so. Those are just a few of the many health disparities that sometimes make the side-by-side Kansas counties seem like different countries. (Smith, 1/12)

The Miami Herald: Miami Psychiatrist Indicted For Alleged Fraud Of Numerous Public Programs
A Miami psychiatrist who became a national symbol of over-prescribing was indicted this week by a federal grand jury for allegedly running a racket that defrauded numerous public programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Social Security Administration and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. (Chang, 1/10)

The Miami Herald: South Florida Hospitals Challenge State Approval Of New Jackson Health Facility In Doral
Five South Florida hospitals have challenged a decision by state healthcare regulators to approve a new, 100-bed hospital in Doral to be built and operated by Miami-Dade’s public hospital network, Jackson Health System. The five hospitals — Kendall Regional Medical Center, Nicklaus Children’s, Coral Gables Hospital, Hialeah Hospital and Palmetto General — requested administrative hearings to appeal the Agency for Health Care Administration’s decision to approve Jackson Health’s application under the state’s certificate of need program. (Chang, 1/12)

The Denver Post: Denver Health Lost Top Doctors, Including Medicine And Surgery Chiefs
Denver Health Medical Center has shed top officials and doctors, including its chiefs of medicine and surgery, under the leadership of a new chief executive. The former city hospital, known for providing excellent care to the indigent and trauma care for all, also is undertaking a big investment in a new computer system while staff positions have been cut elsewhere. (Olinger, 1/10)

The Des Moines Register: UnityPoint Scraps Charge For Doctor Visit That Didn't Happen
Nurse Cathi Grinaldi got quick action this week from a top official at UnityPoint Health, who told her to disregard a bill she received for a doctor’s appointment that never happened. Grinaldi contacted the Reader’s Watchdog and several other officials this month saying she believed she was the victim of “upcoding” by the local health care system. (Rood, 1/10)

Medium: Inspiring A New Generation To Defy The Bounds Of Innovation: A Moonshot To Cure Cancer.
Tonight, the President tasked me with leading a new, national mission to get this done. It’s personal for me. But it’s also personal for nearly every American, and millions of people around the world. We all know someone who has had cancer, or is fighting to beat it. They’re our family, friends, and co-workers. (Vice President Joe Biden, 1/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Obamacare’s $1,200 Pay Cut
Liberals insist the stagnation of real incomes in the Obama era can be solved with more redistribution, while the Donald Trump right focuses on immigrants and trade. Maybe the better explanation is this era’s onslaught of lousy economic policies, starting with ObamaCare. Among the law’s few popular features, even among Republicans, is the mandate to cover adult children through age 26 on the insurance plans of their parents. This benediction is sold as a gratuity, but somebody must ultimately pay, and new research suggests the hidden costs—in the form of lower take-home pay—are far higher than advertised. (1/12)

Forbes: Consumerism In Health Care Can't Work. (Except For All The Places It Already Does.)
Consumerism in health care just can’t work. It can’t work because seriously ill patients are under incredible stress and can’t shop around for the best care. It can’t work because information on quality and cost isn’t easily accessible. It can’t work because health care spending is heavily concentrated – just 5 percent of the patients account for 50 percent of the cost. What’s the point in having a $6,000 deductible when you need a $500,000 surgery? (Paul Howard, 1/13)

Modern Healthcare: Skin In The Game Gets Personal For Doctors
Many healthcare providers and consumer advocates—and even some health insurance executives—say the skin-in-the-game model has been taken too far in the U.S. and is getting in the way of patients receiving appropriate care. Now physicians are finding themselves being held financially accountable for their medical choices, and they don't much like the skin-in-the-game model or metaphor. Employed hospitalists at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center in Springfield, Ore., have joined the American Federation of Teachers union partly in response to the hospital's use of financial incentives to get them to achieve performance targets such as reducing length of stay and improving patient satisfaction scores, the New York Times reports. (Harris Meyer, 1/12)

Vox: Kentucky’s New Republican Governor Is Entrenching Obamacare While Pretending To Dismantle It
Kentucky's new Republican governor, Matt Bevin, plans to dismantle his state's Obamacare marketplace, Kynect. On the surface, this looks like a Tea Party conservative governor taking a stand against the law he campaigned against in 2015. Except Bevin's actions don't really show that at all. (Sarah Kliff, 1/12)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: John Bel Edwards Begins By Acknowledging The Poor
Edwards linked that poverty to the struggle women in this state have getting a decent pay check. And he linked that poverty to the struggle that young people have paying the cost of skyrocketing tuition at our public universities. And, indirectly, he linked poverty in the state to his predecessor's refusal to accept the Medicaid expansion made possible by the passage of the Affordable Care Act. He vowed to accept the expansion immediately so our residents won't be going without while our taxes help pay for Medicaid expansion in 30 other states. (Jarvis DeBerry, 1/12)

The Washington Post: Here’s The Real Deal On The Latest Big Clinton-Sanders Dust-Up
While Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders started their presidential campaigns with an unspoken mutual non-aggression pact, it was inevitable that as the voting approached and the sense of urgency grew, they would start criticizing each other more and more. But an attack Clinton has now launched on Sanders’ support of single-payer health care is both odd and important, so I’m going to try to sort it out — both the substance and the politics. (Paul Waldman, 1/12)

The New York Times: Where Police Violence Encounters Mental Illness
Nearly 20 years ago, I was a social worker in a county jail where I first began to understand just how frequently the police deal with people with mental illnesses. Run-ins with the police were a regular occurrence for many of my clients, with officers often knowing them by name. They were overwhelmingly poor, and poor people with mental illnesses are also likely to experience homelessness and substance abuse — issues that place them at increased risk of police contact and incarceration. (Matthew Epperson, 1/13)

The Baltimore Sun: Curbing Sugary Drinks In Baltimore
Last summer, San Francisco became the first city in the nation to require businesses that sell sugary drinks to post this disclaimer: "WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay." City leaders also banned ads for sugary drinks on public property and prohibited the use of city funds to buy such beverages. (1/12)