The New York Times: G.O.P. To Use Children’s Health Insurance As Lure For Averting Shutdown
With little hope of an immigration agreement this week, Republicans in Congress are looking to head off a government shutdown this weekend by pairing another stopgap spending measure with long-term funding for the popular Children’s Health Insurance Program, daring Democrats to vote no. (Kaplan and Pear, 1/16)

Politico: House Republicans Coalesce Behind Plan To Avert Shutdown
Speaker Paul Ryan unveiled a plan at a House GOP Conference meeting to fund the government through Feb. 16, and numerous rank-and-file members quickly endorsed it despite their frustration with another short-term patch. To further sweeten the pot, the Wisconsin Republican’s bill also includes a delay of several Obamacare taxes and a six-year extension of a popular health care program for children. (Bade, Ferris and Scholtes, 1/16)

The Associated Press: Conservatives Balk At GOP Plan To Avert Government Shutdown
House Republican leaders tried to win over wary conservatives with a promise to repeal unpopular taxes as part of the bill preventing a shutdown. They sweetened the plan with a two-year delay on implementation of unpopular taxes on medical devices and generous employer-subsidized health care plans. The taxes, also unpopular with many Democrats, are part of former President Barack Obama's marquee health law. The temporary funding bill would also include a long-delayed, six-year renewal of a popular health insurance program for children of low-income families. It would fund the government through Feb. 16. (1/17)

The Hill: GOP Leaders Pitch Children's Health Funding In Plan To Avert Shutdown 
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), the chief deputy whip, was full of confidence as he left the meeting of House Republicans in the Capitol’s basement. “I think we’re going to have a good vote and we can move this process forward,” said McHenry, who’s filling in as the GOP’s top vote-counter as Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) recovers from a surgery. (Wong, Sullivan and Zanona, 1/16)

Meanwhile —

The Hill: Lawmakers Weigh Measure To Fight High Drug Prices 
Lawmakers are considering adding a measure aimed at fighting high drug prices to an upcoming spending deal, in what would be a rare defeat for the powerful pharmaceutical industry. The measure, known as the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples Act, is intended to prevent branded drug companies from using tactics to delay competition from cheaper generic drugs. It is co-sponsored by a set of unusual bedfellows in both parties. (Sullivan, 1/17)

Politico: Administration To Shield Health Workers Who Refuse To Perform Abortions Or Treat Transgender Patients
The Trump administration is planning new protections for health workers who don't want to perform abortions, refuse to treat transgender patients based on their gender identity or provide other services for which they have moral objections. Under a proposed rule — which has been closely guarded at HHS and is now under review by the White House — the HHS office in charge of civil rights would be empowered to further shield these workers and punish organizations that don’t allow them to express their moral objections, according to sources on and off the Hill. (Diamond and Haberkorn, 1/16)

In other news about the administration —

The Hill: CDC Director To Miss Fourth Hearing Because Of Potential Ethics Issues 
The director of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has had to cancel another appearance before Congress because of ethics issues, a committee aide told The Hill. This is the fourth time that CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald has been unable to testify because of potential conflicts of interest. Fitzgerald was appointed to the position in July. (Hellmann, 1/16)

Bloomberg: Former Health Secretary Tom Price Gets A New Gig As Adviser 
After resigning amid scandal from his powerful post as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Tom Price has a new gig. Jackson Healthcare, a Georgia-based provider of health-care staffing and technology services, said on Tuesday that the former cabinet secretary and Georgia congressman had joined the company’s advisory board. (Levingston, 1/16)

The New York Times: Trump Has Perfect Cognitive Test Score, White House Physician Says
President Trump’s White House physician said Tuesday that the president received a perfect score on a cognitive test designed to screen for neurological impairment, which the military doctor said was evidence that Mr. Trump does not suffer from mental issues that prevent him from functioning in office. “I’ve found no reason whatsoever to think the president has any issues whatsoever with his thought processes,” Dr. Ronny L. Jackson, a rear admiral in the Navy and the White House physician, told reporters on Tuesday. (Shear and Altman, 1/16)

Los Angeles Times: White House Doctor Says Trump Scored Perfect Marks On Cognitive Test, Needs To Lose Weight
"There's no indication whatsoever that he has any cognitive issues," Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, the chief White House doctor, whose tenure treating presidents began with George W. Bush, told reporters during a lengthy White House briefing. "He's very sharp. He's very articulate when he speaks to me." "Absolutely, he's fit for duty," Jackson said. Jackson also said Trump should try to lose 10-15 pounds — he's at the borderline of obesity — and added that he's trying to encourage the president to start an exercise routine, perhaps with some help from First Lady Melania Trump. (Bierman, 1/16)

The Hill: WH Doctor: Trump In 'Excellent' Health, Mentally Fit For Office 
The exam tests for cognitive disorders, like Alzheimer's disease, that can occur in older patients. It asks people to identify animals, draw shapes and recall certain words. It is not a psychological evaluation. Trump scored a 30 out of 30, Jackson said, a score he said should put to rest questions about Trump’s mental fitness.  (Fabian and Kamisar, 1/16)

The Washington Post: Trump Did Exceedingly Well On A Cognitive Test, Top White House Doctor Says
Trump’s critics have recently questioned his mental fitness — an issue that gained attention in recent weeks over such things as the president’s belligerent tweets about North Korea. Trump further inflamed the debate earlier this month when he lashed out at his detractors on Twitter and claimed he is a “very stable genius” while touting his accomplishments. Jackson said Trump requested a cognitive exam to put the issue of his mental fitness to rest. (Johnson and Bernstein, 1/16)

NPR: Ronny Jackson: The White House Doctor Who Oversaw Trump's Physical
The presentation was both folksy and matter-of-fact, as Jackson described the president's eyesight, cognitive skills and heart function as excellent, despite Trump's lack of exercise and fondness for fast food. "It's called genetics," Jackson said. "Some people have just great genes. I told the president that if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years he might live to be 200 years old." (Horsley, 1/16)

Politico: The Media Poke And Prod At Trump’s Health
Plenty of important questions were posed Tuesday to Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, President Donald Trump’s personal physician, during his nearly hourlong briefing on Trump’s health. But the longer it went on, the more opportunity it gave reporters to exhaust every question they could think of — leading some on the right to paint the media as unwilling to accept that the president is in good health. Donald Trump Jr. weighed in on Twitter, saying, “Watching media trying to ask the Rear Admiral Jackson (The White House Dr) questions in ways that leaves an opening to attack @realDonaldTrump's health after an amazing report, cognitive & otherwise, is like watching Dumb & Dumber 1:1,000,000 ‘So you're saying there's a chance!’” (Schwartz, 1/16)

Bloomberg: Trump Passes Cognitive Screen And Is ‘Fit For Duty,’ Doctor Says 
Jackson said he’s recommended the president eat less fat and carbohydrates and that he exercise regularly. Jackson said he increased Trump’s dose of a medicine to control cholesterol, AstraZeneca PLC’s Crestor, and he said Trump takes daily aspirin, a multivitamin and hair-loss drug Propecia. (Pettypiece, 1/16)

Politico: Trump's 2018 Physical Exam Results
The following is a memo released by Dr. Ronny Jackson, physician to the president, on Tuesday: President Donald J. Trump has completed his first periodic physical examination as President of the United States. I performed and supervised the examination with appropriate specialty consultations and diagnostic testing. The exam was conducted January 12, 2018 at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. (1/16)

The Associated Press: Tax Break Helps UnitedHealth 4Q Earnings, 2018 Guidance Soar
UnitedHealth Group's earnings more than doubled in the final quarter of 2017, and the nation's largest insurer hiked its forecast well beyond expectations largely due to help from the federal tax overhaul. UnitedHealth said Tuesday that it added $1.2 billion in 2017 non-cash earnings, as its fourth-quarter and full-year corporate tax rates were cut. (Murphy, 1/16)

The Wall Street Journal: UnitedHealth Says Tax Overhaul To Boost 2018 Earnings
The health-care giant also beat analysts’ expectations on its fourth-quarter earnings, but investors are likely to focus even more closely on the first concrete preview of the tax law’s impact on the managed-care industry. UnitedHealth said the overhaul would likely boost its cash flow by about $1.7 billion this year. The company also said it thought benefits of the tax overhaul would be sustainable over time, though it refrained from offering details of its 2019 outlook. UnitedHealth raised its 2018 earnings outlook to between $11.65 and $11.95 per share, from $10 to $10.30 previously; the new net earnings projection amounts to a range of $11.48 billion to $11.78 billion. The company’s adjusted earnings guidance became $12.30 to $12.60 a share, compared with $10.55 to $10.85 previously. (Wilde Mathews, 1/16)

The Hill: UnitedHealth Expects $1.7B Windfall From Tax Law 
In a fourth quarter earnings call, Dave Wichmann told investors the company will “accelerate” investing the windfall in new technology and local community-based health-care initiatives. The legislation signed by President Trump last month slashed the corporate tax rate in an attempt to boost wages and add new jobs in the U.S. However, Wichmann did not mention that UnitedHealth would be using the additional cash for higher wages for its employees. (Weixel, 1/16)

The Star Tribune: UnitedHealth Group Doubles Its Profit, Surpasses $200B In Revenue 
The tax overhaul will result in UnitedHealth Group’s rate falling from about 37 percent to 24 percent, analysts say. The savings will allow for investments in everything from data analytics and digital health to the application of artificial intelligence in delivering health insurance benefits. “We concluded that our ambitions for better health and a better health system are best achieved through investment in ways that will make health care far more affordable and of far higher quality,” David Wichmann, the UnitedHealth Group chief executive, said during a conference call with investors. It’s too soon to detail the 2019 impact, Wichmann said. (Snowbeck, 1/16)

Modern Healthcare: UnitedHealth Revenue Cracks $200 Billion Mark 
The insurer also expanded its footprint globally through its proposed buyout of Santiago, Chile-based insurer BanMedica for $2.8 billion, "establishing a foundation for growth in South America for decades to come," Wichmann said. He also expressed support for the Trump administration's recent executive orders meant to expand the use of association health plans and short-term health plans. UnitedHealth already has experience offering association health plans. "We are supportive of these efforts to improve choice and frankly provide access to lower cost alternatives," Wichmann said, though he added that the plans "must be designed carefully in order to enhance coverage options and to ensure they don't destabilize other aspects of the health insurance market, like the small group market." (Livingston, 1/16)

Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Companies Mulling What To Do With GOP Tax Bill Benefits 
For-profit healthcare companies last week were buzzing about the savings they expect to reap from the Trump administration's sweeping tax overhaul, which reduced the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35%. Details were sparse on just how much they expect to save due to the lower tax rate—although the Express Scripts CEO said the pharmacy benefit manager would see a $850 million reduction in taxes thanks to the changes. The St. Louis-based PBM's 2016 net income totaled $3.4 billion. (Livingston, 1/16)

The Wall Street Journal: The Bad Bet That Insurers Can’t Shake
General Electric Co.’s looming $6.2 billion charge in its GE Capital unit is one of the biggest yet in a corner of the insurance industry that has reeled from pricing miscalculations made decades ago. About 7.3 million of the policies are in consumers’ hands, some with generous lifetime benefits. Although GE sold much of its financial-services operations after the 2008 financial crisis, it kept on its books responsibility for billions of dollars of coverage for long-term-care policies that had been sold by other insurers to consumers. Those policies—about 300,000 of them—promise to pay for nursing homes and other care for individuals. (Scism, 1/16)

PBS NewsHour: 1 Million Americans Pool Money In Religious ‘Ministries’ To Pay For Health Care
Between Nov. 1 and Dec. 15 of 2017, 8.8 million Americans signed up for insurance through the individual marketplace on Healthcare.gov, down from 9.2 million during last year’s enrollment period, when people had twice as much time to sign up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, health care sharing ministries have seen their numbers soar, according to an estimate from the Alliance for Health Care Sharing Ministries. (Santhanam, 1/16)

Roll Call: Anti-Abortion Groups Look For Wins In 2018
The challenge in clearing anti-abortion legislation lies in the slim Republican majority in the Senate. A measure to ban abortions after 20 weeks with some exceptions could easily pass the House. But with only 51 Republican senators, well short of the 60 necessary to stop a filibuster, enacting anti-abortion laws is an uphill climb. Nonetheless, the groups are pushing for a Senate vote on the 20-week ban later this month, around the 45th anniversary on Jan. 22 of the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide. (Raman, 1/17)

NPR: Opioid Crisis Blamed For Sharp Increase In Accidental Deaths In U.S.
Accidental deaths in the United States rose significantly in 2016, becoming the third-leading cause of fatalities for the first time in more than a century – a trend fueled by the steep rise in opioid overdoses, the National Safety Council reports. Accidents — defined by the council as unintentional, preventable injuries — claimed a record 161,374 lives in 2016, a 10 percent increase over 2015. They include motor vehicle crashes, falls, drowning, chocking and poisoning, a category that encompasses accidental overdoses. (Neuman, 1/17)

Stat: As Opioid Crisis Grows, States Opening Medicaid To Alternative Medicine
The quickest way to erase pain is to give patients an opioid. But a rise in prescriptions has fueled a national epidemic of fatal overdoses, with a large share of the deaths occurring in low-income communities. Under intense pressure to combat the problem, states across the country are expanding their Medicaid programs to cover alternative treatments such as acupuncture, massage, and yoga. The effort could increase non-opioid options for low-income patients suffering from pain. But it also opens states to criticism from skeptics who say taxpayers are being forced to fund unproven treatments based on political expediency instead of sound science. (Ross, 1/17)

In other opioid news —

Orlando Sentinel: VA Makes Opioid Prescribing Rates Public For First Time
The opioid prescription rates at the VA medical centers in Florida dropped by at least 25 percent between 2012 and 2017, according to a new interactive map posted online by the Department of Veterans Affairs. VA for the first time made the information public this month as part of its “efforts to be the most transparent agency in government,” according to its website. (Miller, 1/16)

Miami Herald: Florida’s Drug Policy Council Yet To See Action On Opioids
lorida’s Drug Policy Advisory Council is a hodgepodge of state government appointees, but they’re the closest Florida has to a coordinated response to the growing opioid epidemic. So the panel was mystified Thursday why its annual report outlining clear steps to fight the opioid crisis — including reviving the Office of Drug Control — hasn’t received more attention from Gov. Rick Scott and legislators. (Mower, 1/16)

The New York Times: The Parasite On The Playground
Millions of American children have been exposed to a parasite that could interfere with their breathing, liver function, eyesight and even intelligence. Yet few scientists have studied the infection in the United States, and most doctors are unaware of it. The parasites, roundworms of the genus Toxocara, live in the intestines of cats and dogs, especially strays. Microscopic eggs from Toxocara are shed in the animals’ feces, contaminating yards, playgrounds and sandboxes. (Beil, 1/16)

The New York Times: High-Fat Diet May Fuel Spread Of Prostate Cancer
Obesity is linked to prostate cancer, scientists know, but it’s not clear why. On Monday, researchers reported a surprising connection. When prostate cancers lose a particular gene, they become tiny fat factories, a team at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston reported in a paper published in Nature Genetics. (Kolata, 1/16)

The New York Times: Breast-Feeding Tied To Reduced Risk Of Diabetes
Breast-feeding may reduce a woman’s risk for Type 2 diabetes, a new study reports. Researchers followed 1,238 women, average age 24 at the start, for up to 30 years. Each delivered at least one baby, and none had diabetes before the study began. The scientists collected data on health and lifestyle at interviews and physical examinations conducted seven times over the course of the project. The study is in JAMA Internal Medicine. (Bakalar, 1/16)

The Washington Post: Companies Race To Gather A Newly Prized Currency: Our Body Measurements
The first step for a shopper buying a suit at the fast-growing menswear retailer Indochino is sharing his personal information: A salesperson armed with an iPad measures nearly everything on his body, from the distance between his belly button and rear to the circumference of his knees. The next step is getting a customized, made-to-measure suit delivered to his home within a few weeks. But his body data lives on: Company executives are hoping to build a “master data model” that would connect his measurements with his advertising, shopping and spending histories. (Harwell, 1/16)

NPR: Man Ruptures His Throat By Stifling A Big Sneeze, Prompting Doctors' Warning
Now, there is ample reason for you to cover your nose when you sneeze. It's flu season, after all, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has made it quite clear it doesn't want you spreading your germs with reckless abandon. But let's not go overboard here, people. (Dwyer, 1/16)

Kaiser Health News: If Poor Neighborhood = Poor Health, Relocation Is One Solution
When low-income Americans are concentrated in substandard homes in struggling or violent neighborhoods, it has tangible consequences for well-being. Research confirms that moving families into less segregated neighborhoods improves overall health, and some communities are giving families vouchers to relocate. Kaiser Health News correspondent Sarah Varney and PBS Newshour producer Jason Kane filed this story that begins in St. Louis. (Varney, 1/17)

The Washington Post: Calling Out Racists Is Actually Good For Your Health, According To Science. Here’s How To Do It.
Reports that an exasperated President Trump referred to Haiti, El Salvador and African nations as “shithole countries” during a meeting last week with lawmakers about immigration prompted widespread condemnation. In the days that followed, the leaders of many nations demanded that he apologize for the remarks. But what reportedly happened in that room in that moment was a high-stakes version of a dilemma faced by anyone who has heard a friend, a family member or even a stranger say something objectionable: remain silent or speak up in that moment? And if opting for the latter, how to do it? (Klein, 1/16)

San Jose Mercury News: 23andMe's Ancestry Results 'Most Confounding': New Report
Silicon Valley ancestry-testing firm 23andMe claims to have DNA from more than 2 million consumers, and its spit tests for insights into family history and health were top sellers on Amazon this past holiday season, but its ancestry test and those from three other companies produced drastically different results, a new report said. (Baron, 1/16)

Kaiser Health News: When Food Stamps Pass As Tickets To Better Health
Rebeca Gonzalez grew up eating artichokes from her grandmother’s farm in the central Mexican state of Tlaxcala. But for years after emigrating to the U.S., she did not feed them to her own kids because the spiky, fibrous vegetables were too expensive on this side of the border. When she prepared meals at her family’s home in Garden Grove, Calif., Gonzalez would also omit avocados, a staple of Mexican cuisine that is often costly here. (Perkes, 1/17)

Concord Monitor: Flu Is On The Rise In N.H.
Flu season is ramping up in New Hampshire, just as it is in most of the country, with a particularly severe strain adding to the number of hospitalizations and even fatalities. As of the end of 2017, five deaths in New Hampshire have been attributed to flu, which is on par with other seasons in which the dominant flu strain is a type known as H3N2, said Dr. Benjamin Chan, the state’s epidemiologist, on Tuesday. (Brooks, 1/17)

Tampa Bay Times: Pinellas Is At The Center Of A Rise In Florida Flu Outbreaks
Pinellas County has reported more than five outbreaks of flu this season, among the most of any county in the state so far, according to the Florida Department of Health. ...Adults ages 65 and older and children are the most at risk for severe complications from influenza-like illnesses. (Griffin, 1/16)

Dallas Morning News: In Midst Of Deadly Flu Season, Fort Worth's John Peter Smith Opens Extra Clinics 
Fort Worth's John Peter Smith Hospital has set up two new clinics to help combat this year's deadly flu outbreak. The hospital on Tuesday launched roving clinics intended to serve the homeless. That population is susceptible to the illness, particularly in crowded shelters. Last fall, the hospital established clinics in homeless shelters to help vaccinate against the flu, said Joel Hunt, who heads the hospital's street medicine program. Usually, those clinics stay open until people stop showing up, but this season called for a January relaunch. (Branham, 1/16)

Georgia Health News: ‘Horrific’ Elder Abuse Case Highlights Crackdown On Unlicensed Facilities
Georgia has seen more than 3,000 people charged with elder abuse crimes, perpetrated against the elderly or disabled people, since 2010, GBI Director Vernon Keenan said Tuesday at a news conference in Atlanta. Last year, 49 individuals were rescued from such “dungeons,’’ he added. (Miller, 1/16)

The Baltimore Sun: Study Shows Maryland Meets Goals Of Cutting Health Care Costs Without Achieving Changes In Care Delivery 
Maryland’s ambitious program to curb health care spending is meeting that main goal but not transforming how patients are treated. Those are the findings of a study published Tuesday of the state’s hospitals, which operate under a unique federally sanctioned system that U.S. regulators hope will be a national model of cutting costs and improving care. (Cohn, 1/16)

The Washington Post: Nurses At United Medical Center Say Babies Still Being Born There Despite Shutdown Of Obstetrics Unit By Regulators
Women continue to give birth at United Medical Center, the city’s troubled public hospital, even after regulators shut down the labor and delivery unit on Aug. 9 citing concerns about patient safety, an attorney representing nurses told the D.C. Council on Tuesday. Births are taking place in the emergency room, said Wala Blegay, a staff attorney at the D.C. Nurses Association, during a public roundtable Tuesday. Obstetrics nurses are no longer working at UMC, and that increases the risks for mothers and their babies, she said. (Chason, 1/16)

Texas Tribune: A Shrinking Number Of Rural Texas Hospitals Still Deliver Babies. Here's What That Means For Expecting Moms.
Texas’ rural hospitals have struggled just to stay open; federal Medicaid reimbursements don’t fully cover the costs of services they provide, and fewer doctors and specialists have opted to practice in small towns. ...Meanwhile, the low number of births in rural areas has made it difficult for hospitals to justify the costs of staff and equipment. (Evans, 1/17)

Houston Chronicle: Central Care Clinics Lose Grant Funding In Federal Court Ruling 
A Houston federal judge on Tuesday denied an injunction requested by Central Care clinics to block the loss of grant money critical to the continued operation of its six locations across the city. Patients "should not be alarmed" but should expect some changes, Central Care's lawyer Reginald McKamie said after the hearing. ... The city's oldest federally qualified health center sued in December to retain grant money from the Health Resources and Services Administration, a U.S. Health and Human Services agency known as HRSA. (George, 1/16)

New Hampshire Public: What Can N.H. Expect Once Vermont Legalizes Marijuana?
Vermont is poised to legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana beginning this summer. Police along New Hampshire’s western border, though, say they’re not concerned about the policy change. (Greene, 1/16)

Chicago Sun Times: In Battle Over Presence Health Subsidy, Backers Say Other Side Using NRA Tactics
Some aldermen oppose a $5.5 million subsidy to Presence Health, but Swedish Covenant Hospital got $4.6 million despite a similar anti-abortion stance.

Reuters: Drugmakers See A Pricing Blueprint In An $850,000 Gene Therapy
Global drugmakers are looking to a tiny biotech's $850,000 therapy for a rare type of blindness as a model for getting paid for highly expensive – and effective – new medicines. Spark Therapeutics Inc plans to launch its recently approved Luxturna treatment for an inherited genetic mutation that causes blindness in March. The drug is to be administered only once, by injection, and Spark plans to charge $425,000 per eye, an unprecedented price. (Humer, 1/12)

Stat: Nonprofit: Price For New Childhood Blindness Therapy Four Times Too High
The $850,000 list price for a new medicine that treats a genetic form of childhood blindness is about four times too high for the value the drug provides, a nonprofit that studies the cost-effectiveness of new drugs said Friday, though it added that the price of the drug is cost-effective for select patients and with certain assumptions. (Joseph, 1/12)

WBUR: New Cancer Treatments Top $500,000, Raise Daunting Questions About How To Pay
It’s one of the most effective cancer treatments so far. And one of the most expensive cancer drugs ever. That’s why cancer specialists are both excited about so-called CAR-T cell therapy -- and worried about what it portends for the affordability of cancer care. (Knox, 1/11)

Stat: Merck May Have Scored A Big Win In The Race To Treat A Type Of Lung Cancer
In a big boost for its immunotherapy franchise, Merck (MRK)  disclosed top-line results of a key lung cancer study that showed its Keytruda treatment delivered particularly promising results. And while complete findings of the late-stage trial will not be known until the spring, the news is already reworking the outlook for the intensely competitive horse race among drug makers battling to dominate lung cancer. So what did Merck say? (Silverman, 1/16)

FiercePharma: AbbVie, Pfizer Drive 2017 Pharma TV Ad Spending Above 2016's Tally
Think you saw a lot of TV ads for drugs in 2017? That's because you did. Pharma spending on national TV ads for 2017 climbed even higher than in 2016—by more than $330 million. The total tally was $3.45 billion, compared with $3.11 billion in 2016, according to data from real-time TV tracker iSpot.tv. AbbVie antiinflammatory Humira led the way with $341 million spent on 16 commercials across three of its different indications: arthritis, psoriasis, and Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. However, the drug fell short of topping its 2016 total of $344 million. Broken out by indication, AbbVie spent $179 million on arthritis, $114 million on Crohn's and colitis, and another $48 million on psoriasis Humira commercials. (Bulik, 1/12)

Stat: FDA Delays Rule On Off-Label Marketing
In a win for the pharmaceutical industry, the Food and Drug Administration has indefinitely delayed implementing a final rule that would give the agency greater leeway to police off-label marketing. This marks the second time in the past year the agency has delayed the rule, which was scheduled to go into effect in March, and follows alarm expressed by drug makers that the proposed rule would harm public health and chill “valuable scientific speech.” (Silverman, 1/12)

Stat: Colorado Lawmaker Pushes Pricing Transparency
The pharmaceutical industry may be fighting a first-in-the-nation law in Nevada to demand pricing transparency on diabetes drugs, but Colorado legislator Dylan Roberts is not deterred. Last week, he introduced a bill to similarly demand that drug makers report pricing histories, explain price hikes, disclose costs, and reveal the rebates paid to pharmacy benefit managers. And as in Nevada, he hopes the legislation will slow the cost of caring for diabetes. In Colorado, about $720 million, or 19 percent, of all diabetes care is spent on prescription drugs to control the disease, according to the bill. (Silverman, 1/16)

WOSU: After Failure Of Issue 2, Ohio Democrat Introduces Bill To Lower Drug Prices
A Democratic lawmaker is introducing a bill that would require drug companies to slash their prices. The legislation is similar to the measure voters overwhelmingly voted down on last year’s ballot. State Sen. Charleta Tavares of Columbus says there are some key differences between her bill and the ill-fated Drug Price Relief Act that might help its chances, though her party remains a small minority in the Ohio General Assembly. (Chow, 1/16)

Maryland Daily Record: Md. Lawmakers Unveil Prescription Drug Price Legislation
Looking to curtail high prescription drug prices, Maryland lawmakers announced legislation Tuesday that would require transparency for price increases, create a state commission to review drug prices and eliminate the so-called "gag rule" for pharmacy benefit managers. (Curtis, 1/16)

FiercePharma: Eli Lilly, Sporting A Lower Tax Rate, Scouts Smaller Deals In Immunology, Cancer
Eli Lilly has tended to stay away from megadeals, and a big influx of cash from U.S. tax reform won’t change that. Behemoth buys are the sorts of deals Darren Carroll, SVP of corporate business development, thinks will see the biggest boost as companies bring their overseas earnings home, and “those deals, frankly, we don’t believe are very helpful for shareholders on either side of the equation.” (Helfand, 1/11)

Stat: U.K. Doctor Groups Overseen By The Government Fail To Disclose Pharma Payments
In an embarrassment to the U.K.’s National Health Service, clinical commissioning groups in England accepted hundreds of payments from drug makers and other companies over the past two years that were not publicly disclosed, according to an analysis by BMJ, the medical journal. Clinical commissioning groups are organizations of local U.K. doctors who issue decisions about hospital care, medicines to be prescribed, and mental health services, among other things. And these groups are overseen by the NHS. (Silverman, 1/11)

Bloomberg: Pharma, Health-Care Stocks Seen As Hottest Egypt Picks For 2018
Health-care and pharmaceutical shares could prove the hottest choices for investors in Egypt’s stock market this year as the country expands its universal health program, according to Khaled Darwish, money manager at CI Capital Asset Management. Darwish, whose firm oversees more than 9 billion Egyptian pounds ($510 million), is also positive on companies winning contracts on large infrastructure projects and says consumer stocks are recovering from the shock of 2016’s currency devaluation. The fund he helps run delivered gains of almost 45 percent last year, the best performance among 25 local open-ended stock funds, according to figures compiled by the Egyptian Investment Management Association. (Pacheco and Elyan, 1/14)

Modern Healthcare: Rising Drug Prices Are The Root Cause Of Healthcare's Cost Problem
Healthcare has a cost problem. No one disputes that. But what many would dispute is the assertion that rapidly rising drug prices are the root cause of the problem. They are, as the latest data from the CMS and major hospital systems clearly show. The pharmaceutical industry's campaign to deflect attention from high drug prices was on display during the confirmation hearing for Alex Azar, the former Eli Lilly executive slated to become the next HHS secretary. (Merrill Goozner, 1/13)

Bloomberg: Valeant's 'Significant Seven' Aren't Quite Magnificent
Don't get too close -- you might scare them -- but Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. shares are up more than 50 percent over the past two months. That's not quite as impressive as it sounds, considering the company's 91 percent share-price drop from a 2015 peak and its $26 billion in debt. But management deserves credit for cutting some debt in 2017 and shifting other obligations into the 2020s. (Max Nisen, 1/10)

Forbes: Gilead, CVS And Two Other Stocks Down But Not Out
Starving in the midst of plenty, some stocks got roughed up in the fourth quarter even as the market rose. Four of these stocks — CVS, Gilead Sciences GILD +0.9%, Owens & Minor and Argan — are on my "casualty list." It’s a roster I compile quarterly, containing stocks that have been wounded and that I think will recover. This is the 55th casualty list I’ve published since mid-2000. The average one-year gain on recommendations from the first 55 lists has been 19%, compared to 9.9% for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. (John Dorfman, 1/15)

Bloomberg: A $300 Billion Reason To Keep Drugs Cheap In India
Global pharmaceutical companies have bemoaned for years India's capricious policies on prices and patents. Now the government needs billions of dollars for its "Make in India" program, why can't the industry get a fairer deal? When it comes to intellectual property, it's now understood -- and grudgingly accepted -- that India's use of compulsory licensing won't go away. Ever since New Delhi used this tool to force Bayer AG to allow a low-priced local copy of its expensive cancer treatment, there's been popular support for the idea of banning profiteering at the expense of lives. (Andy Mukherjee, 1/15)

Stat: Why Prescription Drugs In Canada Could Soon Become Less Safe
In a little-noticed announcement, Health Canada in October 2017 signaled its intention to raise the fees that drug makers will have to pay when they want to get a new medication on the market. These user fees currently fund about 50 percent of Health Canada’s operating budget for regulating prescription drugs. Health Canada wants to increase that to 90 percent. In addition, it will rebate 25 percent of that fee if it fails to review new drug applications within an established period of time. (Joel Lexchin, 1/12)

The Washington Post: Three Million More People Are Uninsured. Thanks, President Trump.
A year into the Trump administration’s sabotage of Obamacare, the results are emerging. According to the Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index, the uninsured rate rose in 2017 by 1.3 percentage points — the largest single-year hike since 2008, when Gallup began collecting the numbers — to 12.2 percent. That may not seem like much. In fact, it works out to about 3.2 million more people lacking health-care insurance. That is a lot of real-world pain and suffering. (1/16)

The Wall Street Journal: The Case For Medicaid Work Requirements
Saturation coverage of what the president did or did not say about immigrants and their homelands may have given the impression that nothing else of much significance is happening in Washington. But few things are more important to America’s financial health than entitlement reform, and last Thursday the Trump administration backed state work requirements for recipients of Medicaid, which covers more Americans than any other health-care program. (Jason L. Riley, 1/16)

Charlotte Observer: A Troubling New Rise In The Uninsured
In what might be the most predictable trend of the Trump era, the uninsured rate appears to be increasing. Because young people (along with African-Americans and Hispanics) saw the biggest declines in coverage, health care premiums will likely rise for most Americans faster than they otherwise would. The trend is bad for those who no longer have insurance – and for those who do. (1/16)

Los Angeles Times: Kentucky's New Obstacles To Medicaid Coverage Are Crueler Than You Could Imagine
One can say this about the hoops Kentucky will require low-income residents to jump through to become eligible for Medicaid: If you were deliberately trying to come up with ways to throw people off the program, you couldn't do better. It's been widely reported that the "waiver" of Medicaid rules approved for the state by federal officials last week includes a first-in-the-nation work requirement. But there's much more to it, none of it good if you are a Medicaid enrollee or someone who believes that the purpose of government healthcare programs is to provide people with healthcare. (Michael Hiltzik, 1/16)

The New York Times: Making Medicaid A Tool For Moral Education May Let Some Die
Apparently the plan to Make America Great Again will let some Americans die. Kentucky rushed last week to become the first of the nation’s 50 states to impose a work requirement on recipients of Medicaid. ... the plan is expected to reduce Medicaid spending by $2.4 billion over five years. Roughly half of the 350,000 able-bodied Medicaid beneficiaries in Kentucky currently do not meet the work requirements, by the government’s estimates, and could lose their benefits. Five years from now, the Bevin administration calculates, the change will have culled some 100,000 people from the rolls. (Eduardo Porter, 1/16)

Arizona Republic: Tax Reform Doesn't Threaten Social Security And Medicare
One of the Democratic talking points against the tax reform bill passed by Republicans is that it threatens Social Security and Medicare. Those making the claim never get around to explaining exactly how the tax bill threatens Social Security and Medicare. And there’s a reason for that. The effect of the tax bill on the challenges facing the two programs is negligible. (Robert Robb, 1/12)

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Northam Can Lead Bipartisan Reform To Make Health Care More Accessible
Gov. Ralph Northam already has made Medicaid expansion one of his top priorities. Republicans don’t like the idea. But their recent abandonment of divisive social causes such as abortion and anti-LGBT issues suggests they might be more receptive to compromise on Medicaid as well. (A. Barton Hinkle, 1/16)

Des Moines Register: Privatizing Iowa Medicaid Has Privatized Previously Public Information
Deny. Deny. Deny. That is the motto of for-profit insurers now entrusted to manage health care services for more than 500,000 Iowans on Medicaid. Refuse to cover the cost of an emergency room visit. Cut in-home services for disabled people. Fail to reimburse health providers. Unfortunately, a care denial is only the beginning of an Iowan's nightmare under privatized Medicaid, according to an investigation by Register reporter Jason Clayworth published Sunday. (1/16)

The New York Times: Still Not Convinced You Need A Flu Shot? First, It’s Not All About You
One of the biggest problems in trying to convince people that they need to immunize against things like the flu is that they don’t really feel the pressure. After all, for most people, the flu shot is an inconvenience, and they’re unlikely to get the flu in a given year. So why bother? Quite a few readers expressed this view after my article “Why It’s Still Worth Getting a Flu Shot” on Thursday. (Aaron E. Carroll, 1/15)

The New York Times: After A Debacle, How California Became A Role Model On Measles
In December 2014 something unusual happened at Disneyland. People came to visit Mickey Mouse, and some of them left with measles. At least 159 people contracted the disease during an outbreak lasting several months. This is more than the typical number in a whole year in the United States. The leading theory is that measles was introduced in Disneyland by a foreign tourist. That could happen anywhere. Medical experts generally agree that the fact that it took off was probably a result of California’s low vaccination rates, which in turn was a result of an inability to persuade a significant share of Californians that vaccines were important. (Emily Oster and Geoffrey Kocks, 1/6)

Boston Globe: Doctors Should Be Allowed To Help Patients Die
While the American public has long been supportive of aid-in-dying, physicians have historically provided perhaps the stiffest resistance, and I would say rightfully so. But data from Oregon suggest that aid-in-dying is not being abused and is actually helping raise the quality of end-of-life care for the 99 percent of people who die in those states without using this route. (Haider Warraich, 1/16)

San Francisco Chronicle: Why SF Should Open A Supervised Drug-Injection Facility
Now, San Francisco is debating an approach that, though not new, is still viewed by many as radical: the supervised injection facility, a place where people who inject drugs can drop in — with their own supply — and use. ...These facilities offer people who inject drugs safety, support and dignity, worthy goals in and of themselves. (Jacob Izenberg, 1/15)

Sacramento Bee: Ban Secret Settlements On Product Liability Lawsuits
A bill introduced by Assemblyman Mark Stone, Assembly Bill 889, would prevent lawsuits from being settled on the condition that information be kept confidential when it is about a defective product or an environmental condition that poses a danger to public health and safety. Such secrecy leads to deaths and serious injuries as the public and regulators are kept in the dark about unsafe products and toxic conditions. (Erwin Chemerinsky, 1/16)