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The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a request from Democratic state officials and the House of Representatives to quickly consider whether to hear an appeal of a decision with the potential to wipe out the entire Affordable Care Act. The move means the court will almost certainly not hear the case in its current term, which ends in June. Democrats consider health care a winning issue, and they wanted the court to act quickly to keep the fate of the Affordable Care Act in the public eye during the presidential election. In the meantime, the law remains almost entirely intact but faces an uncertain future. (Liptak, 1/21)

The House and states including New York and California want the Supreme Court to hear their appeal of a Dec. 18 ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the law's "individual mandate" that required people to obtain health insurance ran afoul of the Constitution. The petitions asked the Supreme Court to hear the case quickly and issue a definitive ruling by the end of June. (1/21)

In an effort to get the justices to review the lower court's decision, Donald Verrilli, a lawyer for the Democratic-led House, said in a filing earlier this month that the law is a "fixture of the American health-care system" and urged the justices in legal briefs to review the "remarkable" lower court decision that "threatens profound destabilization of the health care system." "The present case represents yet another effort by litigants who disagree with the policy judgments embodied in the ACA to use the courts, rather than the democratic process, to undo the work of the people's elected representatives," the filing stated. (de Vogue, Cole and Bradner, 1/21)

President Trump’s solicitor general, Noel Francisco, replied that the 5th Circuit decision simply preserved the status quo until a lower court could look more closely at which parts of the law should survive. He said it would be premature for the high court to intervene. “The Fifth Circuit’s decision itself does not warrant immediate review because it did not definitively resolve any question of practical consequence,” Francisco wrote. (Barnes, 1/21)

The law continues to remain in effect during the litigation, which began after a GOP-controlled Congress reduced the penalty under the insurance mandate to $0. The GOP-led states argued the elimination of the tax rendered the mandate unconstitutional. The appeals court has ordered a federal judge in Texas to reconsider what parts of the sprawling health law can remain in place, but the Democratic-led states and House were seeking to have the Supreme Court go ahead and rule that the entire law remains valid. (Kendall and Armour, 1/21)

The outcome means Trump will face less pressure to articulate an Obamacare replacement plan during the campaign. Republicans failed to agree on an Obamacare replacement when they had complete control of the federal government in the first two years of Trump's presidency, and they haven’t come up with a new plan since then. A health care proposal developed by Trump's Medicare chief Seema Verma was nixed last summer over her colleagues' concerns it would have actually strengthened Obamacare rather than replace it. The lawsuit's lingering threat to Obamacare exposes Trump to attacks that he is still trying to gut the law's popular protections for people with preexisting conditions. (Luthi, 1/21)

House Democrats campaigned in 2018 on their support for those protections, which guarantee that people cannot be denied or charged more for health insurance because of a prior illness. The health care debate in the Democratic presidential primary has so far focused on the differences between establishing a single-payer plan or a public option, but all of the Democratic candidates support a continuation of the pre-existing condition protections and the rest of the 2010 law. (McIntire, 1/21)

Tuesday's brief Supreme Court order does not indicate whether the court intends to hear the case, after the normal time for the opposing sides to submit their legal briefs, or allow it to continue working its way through the lower court appeals.(Williams, 1/21)

"By declining to take up this case in an expedited manner, the Supreme Court leaves in place the cloud of uncertainty that hangs over the Affordable Care Act. That uncertainty has already spread across the healthcare system," said Margaret Murray, CEO of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans, which represents safety-net health plans. "Plans will postpone investment and innovation in the individual market, dampening competition. Consumers will be left to wonder about the fate of important consumer protections against discrimination on the basis of pre-existing conditions, lifetime coverage caps and rescissions of coverage." (Livingston, 1/21)

The fast-track request was a long shot, given the Supreme Court’s calendar and its already-packed docket. The court has accepted cases involving abortion, guns, LGBT discrimination, the DACA deferred-deportation program and subpoenas for President Donald Trump’s financial information. All are scheduled to be decided by late June. (Stohr, 1/21)

Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar said Tuesday that “there’s really not a need” for the Trump administration to put forward an ObamaCare replacement plan at the moment. Azar was asked where the administration’s replacement for the health law is in an interview on the "Kevin Wall Radio Show." He replied that there is not a need for one until the Supreme Court issues a final ruling on a GOP-backed lawsuit seeking to overturn the law. “There's really not a need for a replacement of the Affordable Care Act unless and until there's a final Supreme Court decision,” Azar said, adding that would be “some time away.” The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to expedite the case, meaning it will not be decided until after the 2020 election. (Sullivan, 1/21)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday let residents of Flint, Michigan pursue a civil rights lawsuit against the city and government officials that accused them of knowingly allowing the city's water supply to become contaminated with lead. The justices turned away two appeals by the city and the state and local officials of a lower court ruling that allowed the lawsuit to move forward. (Chung, 1/21)

The defendants "created the Flint Water environmental disaster and then intentionally attempted to cover-up their grievous decision. Their actions shock our conscience," Judge Richard A. Griffin wrote in an opinion. (Neidig, 1/21)

Flint residents who were exposed to contaminated water argued city and state officials violated their constitutional right to bodily integrity. In a filing with the Supreme Court, they said they seek to hold accountable government officials who "personally caused, extended, and exacerbated Flint's water crisis." (Quinn, 1/21)

Lawyers for the city asked the justices to step in and block the lawsuit, claiming their clients had immunity from such suits. In an unsigned Tuesday order, the court declined to do so, allowing the lawsuit to continue. A federal appeals court previously ruled in favor of the residents. "Knowing the Flint River water was unsafe for public use, distributing it without taking steps to counter its problems, and assuring the public in the meantime that it was safe is conduct that would alert a reasonable person to the likelihood of personal liability," the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals held. (De Vogue and Cole, 1/21)

Attorney Michael Pitt, co-lead counsel on the class action lawsuit, which includes thousands of Flint residents suing for damages from the 2014 incident, welcomed the decision as a major victory. He said, "It's time for the people of Flint to start feeling like they are going to get their day in court," Michigan Radio reporter Steve Carmody reported. "This just moves the entire process closer to that day." (Romo, 1/21)

An attorney representing a Flint woman and her child say the case is closer to coming to trial after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intercede in it. Paul Geske, a Chicago-based attorney with McGuire Law, said the federal lawsuit filed by Shari Guertin and her minor child is still in the discovery phase in U.S. District Court “in preparation ultimately for a more-than-likely trial.” (Fonger, 1/21)

Anti-abortion activists gather this week in Washington for their annual March for Life, eager to cheer on a continuing wave of federal and state abortion restrictions. However, many activists on both sides of the debate already are looking ahead to March 4, when the U.S. Supreme Court hears its first major abortion case since the addition of two justices appointed by President Donald Trump. (Crary, 1/21)

Groups pushing for the advancement of abortion rights and those looking to limit the procedure have an ambitious agenda starting this week, foreshadowing a year that could be critical for advocates on both sides of the debate. In two months, the Supreme Court will hear its first major abortion case since 2016, and both sides are revving up for a major presidential election. States are also eyeing a number of new reproductive health bills as their legislatures come back into session. (Raman, 1/22)

But as another case about abortion heads to a significantly more conservative Supreme Court this year, reproductive rights advocates and health care providers say they are preparing for a world in which the landmark 1973 decision is either significantly weakened or overturned. “We’re at a moment where the threat is imminent for the country,” Alexis McGill Johnson, acting director and CEO of Planned Parenthood, tells TIME. “It’s already real for many women who don’t have access” to safe abortions. In March, the Supreme Court will hear June Medical Services v. Gee, which challenges a Louisiana law requiring doctors who provide abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of where they perform the procedure. (Abrams, 1/22)

Kaiser Health News: With Fate Of Roe V. Wade Unsure, Abortion Fight Shifts To New Territory | 

Jan. 22 marks the 47th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that legalized abortion nationwide. Those on both sides of the furious debate say this could be the year when everything changes. In March, the Supreme Court will hear its first abortion case since Justice Brett Kavanaugh replaced Anthony Kennedy, who had been the swing vote on abortion cases. A decision is expected by summer. (Rovner, 1/17)

President Trump wants Roe v. Wade overturned, while many of the candidates vying for the Democratic nomination would seek to codify abortion rights into law. “I believe that abortion rights are human rights,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), one such candidate. Unlike the candidates, however, the American public is not absolutist — and is even somewhat confused — on aspects of the issue, according to a poll released Wednesday. (Cha and Cuskin, 1/22)

Planned Parenthood on Tuesday endorsed a Democratic challenger to Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, saying Collins “turned her back” on women and citing her vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court as well as other judicial nominees who oppose abortion. Sara Gideon, speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, welcomed the endorsement from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. “There’s never been a more important time to stand up for reproductive rights,” she said, in the face of "systematic attacks on reproductive rights across the country. (Sharp, 1/21)

Planned Parenthood Action Fund has endorsed the Democrat challenging Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) in her closely watched reelection race. Planned Parenthood’s endorsement of Sara Gideon, Speaker of Maine’s House of Representatives, could be a setback for Collins, who is one of the few Republicans in Congress who supports abortion rights. Collins had been supported by Planned Parenthood in the past. But the organization said Collins has “abandoned” women with her vote last year to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of sexual misconduct. (Hellmann, 1/21)

The Ohio Department of Health doesn’t track whether abortions are performed using telemedicine, which would involve a doctor prescribing medicine to induce an abortion, and assisting the patient through telecommunications technology. But people on both sides of the abortion debate don’t think many – if any – Ohio abortions are performed by telemedicine. The process allows patients to see their doctor through a secure computer connection. (Hancock, 1/21)

The number of abortions performed in Illinois has increased about 7%, with about 3,000 more terminated pregnancies reported in 2018 compared with the previous year, according to the latest data from the Illinois Department of Public Health. The annual Illinois abortion report released last week shows 42,441 pregnancies were terminated statewide in 2018, up from 39,329 in 2017. The increase mostly came from Illinois residents, with approximately 4,000 more in-state women having abortions in 2018 than in 2017. Data for 2019 is not expected to be released for about a year. (Lourgos, 1/22)

Facing growing pressure to contain a deadly viral outbreak that has spread halfway around the world, China’s ruling Communist Party raced on Tuesday to confront the disease, slapping restrictions on the city where it started and warning that anyone who hides infections will be “forever nailed to history’s pillar of shame.” The response by the Chinese leadership, which has come under intensifying criticism that it has been slow to acknowledge the severity of the outbreak, came as fatalities from the disease tripled to at least nine. (Hernandez, 1/21)

The death toll from a new flu-like coronavirus in China rose to nine on Wednesday with 440 confirmed cases, Chinese health officials said as authorities stepped up efforts to control the outbreak by discouraging public gatherings in Hubei province. (Cadell and Stanway, 1/22)

Nine people have died in China from the coronavirus, which causes pneumonia, Li Bin, vice minister of the National Health Commission, said Wednesday, with 440 confirmed cases as of the end of Tuesday. Authorities said they are still trying to understand the virus. But “right now, the main transmission route of the virus is the respiratory tract,” said Mr. Li. (Deng, 1/22)

Every year, Chinese travelers embark on the world’s biggest annual human migration for the Lunar New Year, a weeklong holiday. That begins on Friday, when the country says farewell to the Year of the Pig and welcomes the Year of the Rat. Dr. Li said the huge tide of travel during the holiday could worsen the spread of the virus and make it more difficult to contain. Already, though, the new virus has spread from Wuhan, a city of 11 million, across many parts of China — and abroad, including to the United States — aided by China’s vast rail network and growing numbers of international travelers. (Buckley, 1/22)

Under the best of circumstances, the Spring Festival in China is a logistical exercise of mind-blowing proportions: hundreds of millions of people traveling via planes, trains, buses and taxis to return to their hometowns to ring in the new lunar year with their families. It’s the biggest human migration on the planet. And that’s without mentioning the bursting bags of gifts, clothing, food and liquor that travel with them. (Fifield, 1/20)

In the city's center, the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market sits empty, its rows of stalls shuttered. Police and security officers in face masks stand guard outside, prohibiting anyone from filming or entering a cordoned off area. The market has always been a popular spot at this time of the year, packed with shoppers stocking up on fish and seafood for Lunar New Year feasts with family and friends. But this year, Chinese authorities and scientists say wild animals sold at this market are the likely source of the new strain of coronavirus, which is in the same family of viruses as the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).(Culver, Xiong and Gan, 1/22)

Traffic police began conducting random checks on vehicles traveling in and out of the city to ensure they were not transporting live birds or wild animals. Some airlines and travel agencies began offering refunds to people traveling out of Wuhan or people with the virus, and some hotels have allowed people to cancel their reservations without penalty. At least two airlines flying to Wuhan have stocked their planes with masks. Wuhan’s three major hospitals have 800 beds, but authorities said they would add 1,200 beds to deal with the rising number of pneumonia cases. They also said they would foot the hospital bills for those infected. (Fifield, Sun and Bernstein, 1/21)

China is taking more strict measures in hospitals to protect healthcare workers in the new coronavirus outbreak, and will increase training for healthcare workers nationwide, officials from the country's health commission said on Wednesday. (1/21)

Taiwan’s first reported case of a patient infected by a deadly coronavirus spreading across Asia turns a spotlight on Beijing’s attempts to exclude the self-governing island from the World Health Organization, which Taiwanese officials say hinders an effective global response to public-health crises. China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, has in recent years squeezed the island’s ability to participate in international affairs, including by blocking its representatives from United Nations agencies overseeing global health and aviation. (Cheng and Wong, 1/22)

The World Health Organization is holding an Emergency Committee meeting in Geneva to determine whether to declare the outbreak a global health crisis. Previous emergencies have been declared for the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Congo and the Zika virus in the Americas in 2016. (1/22)

North Korea had stopped receiving foreign tourists as of Wednesday as a precaution against the virus, according to China-based tour operator Young Pioneer Tours. The vast majority of foreign tourists to North Korea come from China, a rare source of foreign currency for the isolated country that is not subject to international sanctions. (Chang, 1/21)

After volatility Tuesday, financial markets showed signs of calming Wednesday as China’s National Health Commission detailed actions to contain the disease. Asian stocks recovered some of Tuesday’s sell-off, while haven assets steadied following previous gains. (Bloomberg News, 1/21)

A man in his 30s in Washington State is infected with the Wuhan coronavirus, the first confirmed case in the United States of a mysterious respiratory infection that has killed at least six people and sickened hundreds more in Asia, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Tuesday. (Rabin, 1/21)

The man, identified as a Snohomish County resident is in his 30s, was in good condition and wasn't considered a threat to medical staff or the public, health officials said. U.S. officials stressed that they believe the virus' overall risk to the American public remained low. “This is not a moment of high anxiety,” Gov. Jay Inslee said. (Johnson and Stobbe, 1/21)

Washington state health officials said the man, a resident of Snohomish County, Wash., returned Wednesday from a trip to the region where he was visiting relatives in Wuhan, where the outbreak began. Shortly after arriving at Seattle’s international airport, he began feeling ill and reached out to his health-care provider on Sunday. Local, state and federal officials quickly collected samples and sent them to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for testing. His case was confirmed Monday as the coronavirus that has sickened close to 300 people in China and others in Thailand, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. (Sun and Bernstein, 1/21)

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Washington State say the agency is preparing for more U.S. cases of the coronavirus to emerge, and the CDC raised its travel alert for Wuhan to a level 2, calling for enhanced precautions. (Steenhuysen and Whitcomb, 1/21)

Amid growing concerns about the spread of a new coronavirus, officials announced Tuesday that Chicago’s O’Hare and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson will join the list of U.S. airports where passengers arriving from Wuhan, China, will be screened for the virus. (Aratani and Sun, 1/21)

As federal authorities confirmed Tuesday the first case on U.S. soil of a deadly new virus that arose in the so-called “Chicago of China,” city and state officials are preparing to do their part in preventing a potential epidemic that one local expert says the country is completely unprepared to handle. The virus — part of the coronavirus family, which includes severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS — broke out in the central Chinese city of Wuhan last month. Since then, the virus — which can cause coughing, fever, breathing difficulty and pneumonia — has infected 440 people and killed nine, according to Chinese officials. (Ballesteros, Charles and Esposito, 1/21)

The CDC began screening at the end of last week at three airports that receive the majority of travelers from Wuhan: San Francisco International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. More than 1,200 passengers have been screened, but none have been referred to a hospital, said Dr. Messonnier. (McKay and Deng, 1/21)

Dr. Martin Cetron, director of the CDC’s center of quarantine and global migration, said that as cases in China started to increase rapidly over the weekend, CDC alerted the departments of Homeland Security and Transportation that all flights from Wuhan to the United States should be funneled through the five airports, where arriving passengers will have their temperatures taken for sign of illness. “This idea of funneling means redirecting, reissuing tickets so all the arriving passengers from Wuhan would come into the airports that we can surge this capacity at,” Cetron said, adding other international airports are distributing information for passengers in English and Mandarin. (Branswell, 1/21)

“Leave no doubt: Entry screening is just one part of a multilayered system,” said Dr. Martin Cetron, the head of the CDC’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine. “Individuals are empowered to make good decisions if they’re informed.” Outside experts cautioned that the increased airport screenings will be expensive, and that it will take some time to get answers to basic questions like what animal was the source of this virus and what makes some people more susceptible to infection than others. “Basic epidemiology questions remain unanswered,” said Rebecca Katz, the director of the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University. “The CDC is the best of the best, and we should have faith in their leadership.” (Baumgaertner, 1/21)

Airports and airlines are taking steps to protect staff and passengers amid heightened concern over the outbreak of a new virus originating from the Chinese city of Wuhan. At least nine people have died and hundreds more have been infected, including the first confirmed case in the U.S. The level of alarm is rising as the coronavirus spreads. China said it will conduct nationwide screening and improve monitoring of transportation links for the Lunar New Year holidays, which start at the end of this week. That complicates efforts to contain the virus as hundreds of millions of people travel during the period, the biggest annual migration of humans on the planet. People found to have symptoms such as fever at travel checkpoints are being stopped from boarding planes and trains. (Davies, Gross and Park 1/21)

Passengers flying in from Wuhan, whether on direct or indirect flights, will only be allowed to land at one of those five US airports doing health screenings, which include a temperature check and observation for symptoms such as a cough and trouble breathing. (Cripps, 1/22)

The CDC is raising the travel health notice from level 1 to level 2, warning older patients with underlying health conditions that they may be at increased risk for severe disease. (McNamara, 1/21) 

U.S. hospitals should prepare "financially and operationally" to contend with a potentially deadly outbreak of the Wuhan virus that has already killed six people and sickened hundreds more in China, a major accounting firm said Tuesday. Although the respiratory virus is in its early stages, it has already left a mounting human and economic toll, wrote Matt Wolf, who leads RSM's healthcare valuation consulting group. (Bannow, 1/21)

The World Health Organization on Wednesday will consider whether to declare an emergency declaration over the new virus. HHS Secretary Alex Azar is also expected to soon decide whether to declare a public health emergency in the United States. (Diamond, 1/21)

Trump was asked about the new coronavirus in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, one day after the Centers for Disease Control confirmed the first U.S. case of the virus in Washington state. Trump said he was “not at all” concerned about the possibility of a pandemic.“We have it totally under control,” Trump told CNBC. “It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control.”“It’s going to be fine,” the president continued. (Chalfant, 1/22)

Symptoms of infection include a high fever, difficulty breathing and lung lesions. Milder cases may resemble the flu or a bad cold, making detection very difficult. The incubation period — the time from exposure to the onset of symptoms — is believed to be about two weeks. Little is known about who is most at risk. Some of the nine patients who have died also suffered other illnesses. (Zraick, 1/21)

Health officials around the world are keeping a close watch on an outbreak of a new virus in China. In response, governments are stepping up surveillance of airline passengers arriving from the affected area to try to prevent the virus from spreading. Here's what you should know about the illnesses. (1/21)

The World Health Organization on Tuesday raised the possibility that the new virus spreading in parts of China may be transmitting in an ongoing, sustained manner between people — which, if confirmed, would make it significantly more difficult to stop. The agency’s Western Pacific Regional office, which covers China and neighboring countries, said on Twitter that new information “suggests there may now be sustained human-to-human transmission.” (Branswell, 1/21)

Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that can cause a range of symptoms including a runny nose, cough, sore throat and fever. Some are mild, such as the common cold, while others are more likely to lead to pneumonia. They're usually spread through direct contact with an infected person. The coronavirus gets its name from the crown-like spikes on its surface, according to the CDC. (Corona is Latin for crown.) Including the newly identified form of the virus, there are a total of seven coronaviruses that can infect humans, the CDC says. Other well-known coronaviruses include SARS and MERS. (Edwards, 1/21)

Public health officials around the world are on alert because the new infection is caused by a coronavirus, from the same family that caused outbreaks of SARS and MERS, killing hundreds of people in dozens of countries. The W.H.O. has already advised governments to be prepared for the disease, to be vigilant and ready to test anyone with symptoms like cough and fever who has traveled to affected regions. Air travel is expected to surge as the Lunar New Year approaches this weekend. (Grady, 1/22)

U.S. officials are weighing the benefits and risks of proposed experiments that might make a dangerous pathogen even worse — but the details of that review, and the exact nature of the experiments, aren't being released to the public. Later this week, officials are to hold a meeting in Bethesda, Md., to debate how much information to openly share about this kind of controversial work and how much to reveal about the reasoning behind decisions to pursue or forgo it. (Greenfieldboyce, 1/21)

In mid-2018, the startup Akili Interactive Labs asked the Food and Drug Administration to let it do something that’s never been done before: market a video game that physicians would prescribe to kids with ADHD. A year and a half later, that green light has yet to materialize. It’s unclear whether that’s a sign of trouble — the company wouldn’t say whether the agency has asked it to make changes or run a new study — or simply a reflection of the complexity of evaluating a medical product without precedent. (Robbins, 1/21)

Nationwide, more than 1,620 schoolchildren in 38 states have been placed in harm’s way since 2015 by bus drivers arrested or cited for allegedly driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs — a situation that despite its dangers goes largely untracked by government officials, a Stateline investigation has found. (Bergal, 1/22)

How does your neighborhood rank in terms of opportunity for your child to grow into a healthy, well-educated and employable adult? If you live in one of the thousands of neighborhoods examined in the Child Opportunity Index 2.0, where two-thirds of all American children live, then you can look for yourself. The index, funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has amassed a treasure trove of information that can tell parents -- and policymakers -- how their neighborhood could impact their child's development. (LaMotte, 1/22)

After a single application, a total of seven chemicals commonly found in sunscreens can be absorbed into the bloodstream at levels that exceed safety thresholds, according to studies by the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, an arm of the US Food and Drug Administration. "What is most alarming about these findings is that chemicals are absorbing into the body in significant amounts and the ingredients have not been fully tested for safety," said David Andrews, a senior scientist for the Environmental Working Group, or EWG, a consumer organization which advocates for sunscreen safety. (LaMotte, 1/21)

As the flu season gears up to be a tough one for children, parents may wonder why they are limited in where they can take their kids to get a flu shot. Pharmacies throughout the state offer flu shots, but only to older children, teens, and adults. That’s because under the Illinois Pharmacy Practice Act, pharmacists can only give the flu shot to children age 10 and older. Pharmacists say there is no health or medical reason for preventing them from vaccinating young children, although several other states also have age restrictions. But Anita Chandra-Puri, a national spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics and a pediatrician at Northwestern Medicine, said primary care physicians are better equipped at providing the vaccine to children. (Jimenez, 1/17)

The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention recently announced that if people take antiretroviral drugs as prescribed, the amount of HIV in their blood can become undetectable. If it stays undetectable, they have little risk of passing the virus to a partner through sex, and can live long, healthy lives. This past June, the American Medical Association called for the total repeal of HIV criminalization. That sparked action for reforms in Washington, Missouri, Georgia, Indiana, Tennessee and Florida. (Pfleger, 1/22)

The family tragedy often unfolds something like this — Cousin Lily, who’s 88, falls at home in August and enters the hospital with a broken hip. By Thanksgiving, Lily is gone; dead following complications. People sometimes don’t realize that Lily could still be living and that older people, in general, can increase their odds of avoiding a hip fracture with some targeted exercise and changes to their homes. That knowledge becomes even more crucial in light of a 30 percent national increase in the rate of falls among older people during a nine-year period ending in 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Goldsmith, 1/22)

Sperm donations from dead men is "ethically permissible," say doctors seeking to tackle the shortage of living donors in the UK. A study published in the Journal of Medical Ethics Monday proposed that men should be able to "register their desire to donate their sperm after death for use by strangers. "Such a procedure would be similar to organ donation, authors Dr. Nathan Hodson of the University of Leicester and Dr. Joshua Parker of Manchester's Wythenshawe Hospital wrote in the study. (Kolirin, 1/22)

Forty to 85 percent of Hmong people have experienced some kind of mental health issue compared to 20 to 26 percent of the general population, according to research published in 2010 by the Wilder Foundation. Trauma from war and migration, and stress from adapting to a new culture contribute to the high rate. (Bui, 1/22)

In a new interview with Variety, Taylor Swift reveals a sad personal development for her family. The pop star's mom, Andrea Swift, has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. Andrea Swift was already undergoing treatment for cancer, her famous daughter revealed a few years ago. Now, Swift is limiting her tour for her latest album, "Lover," primarily because of her concern for her mom. (O'Kane, 1/21)

Ozzy Osbourne has revealed that he is battling a form of Parkinson's disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. The rock icon, known as the "Prince of Darkness," shared his diagnosis for the first time with Good Morning America on Tuesday. Osbourne said everything changed after he suffered a "bad fall" last February. The fall required him to have surgery on his neck, which led to nerve damage and his Parkinson's disease diagnosis. Symptoms generally develop slowly over years, and there is no cure, according to the Parkinson's Foundation. (McNamara, 1/21)

A fight is coming to California over whether to list one of the world's most common over-the-counter drugs as a carcinogen, echoing recent high-profile battles over things like alcohol and coffee. The drug is acetaminophen, known outside the U.S. as paracetamol and used to treat pain and fevers. It is the basis for more than 600 prescription and over-the-counter medications for adults and children, found in well-known brands like Tylenol, Excedrin, Sudafed, Robitussin and Theraflu. (Beam, 1/21)

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has temporarily stopped production of Excedrin, its popular over-the-counter migraine medication. The company ceased nationwide production and distribution of its Excedrin Extra Strength and Excedrin Migraine products because of "inconsistencies in how we transfer and weigh ingredients," a GSK spokesperson told ABC Syracuse affiliate WSYR. (Schumaker, 1/21)

The company does not believe that the product poses a safety risk to consumers but has voluntarily implemented the measure as a precaution, it said. "We are working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, but at this point in time cannot confirm a definite date as to when supply will resume," it said. "Other Excedrin products are available along with other pain-relieving drugs, but dosages may differ. Consumers should consult their pharmacist for the most suitable alternative product." (Karimi, 1/22)

Amid rising concern over a lack of antibiotics, a new analysis finds most drug makers are failing to expand their pipelines to sufficiently combat resistance, although more companies are sharing surveillance data on where resistance is occurring and are no longer overselling the medicines. Overall, the number of antibiotics being developed has increased only marginally in the past two years and just nine of these medicines are considered novel, most of which are being pursued by small and medium-sized companies with fewer resources than global drug makers. And while more clinical-stage antibiotics are supported by plans to ensure better access, most efforts remain patchy. (Silverman, 1/21)

Pharmaceutical giants are hunting for ways to tap into the data from your smart watch, your sleep tracker, and your genetic tests. Drug makers see that information — part of what’s known as real-world evidence — as a powerful tool to help them hunt for new drug targets and design more efficient clinical trials. And they’re racing to outbid one another for the most desirable data. (Thielking, 1/21)

The World Economic Forum’s billionaire audience in Davos took a break from the problem of climate change to listen to the story of a company developing a hallucinogenic drug. The fascination lay not in recreation, but for its potential as a treatment for addiction to opioids that have killed hundreds of thousands in the U.S. Modeled on an extract from the root of an African shrub and already used medically in a few countries, the experimental therapy is to soon be tested by Atai Life Sciences AG, a company studying other natural products, such as magic mushrooms to treat depression. (Henning, 1/22)

Facing the worst budgetary crisis since the early days of his decade-long tenure, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Tuesday unveiled plans to seek billions of dollars in savings from what he described as the primary culprit: runaway Medicaid spending. The state’s enormous Medicaid bill is a result of both its size — with more than six million New Yorkers enrolled — and generous array of benefits, resulting in an inexorable rise in cost. (McKinley and Ferre-Sadurni, 1/21)

The governor called for the creation of a Medicaid Redesign Team, similar to a panel he formed in 2011, to identify $2.5 billion in savings in the program before the current fiscal year ends on March 31. The governor is proposing a tax cut for small businesses that will eventually total $39 million, and is resisting calls from unions and progressive groups to raise income taxes. The state revised its revenue projections upward by $2 billion in the budget proposal, citing stronger-than-expected income-tax receipts. (Vielkind, 1/21)

The Trump administration is poised to kick off a major partisan feud over Medicaid in 2020, as officials are reportedly planning to soon introduce a way for states to block grant Medicaid money. The guidance, which The Wall Street Journal said could be released as early as this month, will test the Trump administration’s ability to allow states the flexibility to make drastic changes to Medicaid. Imposing block grants in Medicaid has long been a major conservative goal, and with time running down in President Trump’s first term the administration is facing pressure to come up with health care victories, even though some argue the policy may not be legal without congressional approval. (Weixel, 1/22)

Multibillion-dollar Medicaid contracts awarded by Gov. John Bel Edwards' administration have been scrapped by Louisiana's chief procurement officer, who determined the health department mishandled the bid process for deals to provide health services to 1.5 million people. Louisiana's state procurement officer Paula Tregre said the health department failed to follow state law or its own evaluation and bid guidelines in determining which private companies should receive contracts to manage care for most of Louisiana's Medicaid patients. (Deslatte, 1/21)

Many healthcare antitrust experts are disappointed that the federal government's new proposed guidelines on vertical mergers give little detail on how the government will analyze deals between firms at different levels in the supply chain, such as hospitals and physician groups. While the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Justice Department highlighted potential competition risks from vertical mergers in the long-anticipated guidelines, the first update since 1984, some elected officials and antitrust attorneys say the release still doesn't give enough information to step up oversight of physician practice acquisitions by hospitals, insurers and private-equity firms. (Meyer, 1/21)

Medicare will cover acupuncture services for beneficiaries with chronic low back pain, the CMS said on Tuesday. People enrolled in Medicare will be able to receive up to 12 acupuncture treatments during a 90-day period if they have non-specific lower back pain that lasts 12 weeks or more, but not if it's not associated with surgery or pregnancy. They will be eligible for eight more sessions if their symptoms improve, but Medicare won't cover more than 20 sessions each year. (Brady, 1/21)

Sue Desmond-Hellmann has some experience when it comes to health care. She began her career as an oncologist in San Francisco, and later worked in Kampala, Uganda, treating patients with AIDS-related cancer. She later was appointed president of Genentech, before serving as chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco. For the past 5 1/2 years, she has served as CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. At age 62, she will step down from that post at the end of this month. (Stat Staff, 1/21)

To fix some crowding in her teeth, Taylor Weakley, an environmental scientist in Denver, ordered teeth aligners two years ago from SmileDirectClub, a start-up she had seen advertised on social media. At $1,850, the products were cheaper than braces, and she did not have to visit an orthodontist to get them. (Griffith and Eavis, 1/21)

Eventually, the Dugans, of Linwood, N.J., placed their son, now 16, in residential treatment in Utah. He was there for a year-and-a-half, though the Dugans’ insurance company, United Behavioral Health, started denying their claims in September 2018. The family paid the $12,000-a-month price tag out-of-pocket, using up their savings and taking out a second mortgage. The Dugans had to bring their son home in late December, not because he was ready, but because of the cost, Joe said. (Bond, 1/22)

DoctorLogic, a fast-growing Plano website creation and marketing firm, will put a new $7 million investment to work by developing new features for its product suite and hiring additional employees. The company has created more than 10 million webpages to date and works with 330 medical practices, said DoctorLogic founder and CEO Stuart Lloyd. Austin-based Unbundled Capital led the new funding round. (DiFurio, 1/21)

Intermountain Healthcare committed to fund at least half of a $500 million project that will bolster children-oriented programs and facilities, spurring a $50 million donation, the integrated not-for-profit health system announced Tuesday. Salt Lake City-based Intermountain aims to build a second Primary Children's Hospital campus in Lehi, Utah; expand telemedicine and digital services; increase the number of pediatric emergency clinicians in rural areas; grow Primary Children's Hospital and its services in Salt Lake; and add behavioral health services. (Kacik, 1/21)

Two starkly different portraits of the 21-year-old Connecticut woman and her parents emerged during opening statements in the Pelletiers’ lawsuit against Children’s and several of its providers, who treated Justina when she was 14. Her yearlong odyssey at Children’s in 2013 ignited a firestorm about whether medical professionals should override parental rights when there is a dispute over treatment of a complex illness. (Lazar, 1/21)

Justina Pelletier held her mother’s hand and watched lawyers give two different versions of her teenage years during the opening statements of her family's lawsuit against Boston Children’s Hospital. Pelletier, now 21, and her parents allege her care team at Boston Children's committed malpractice and violated her civil rights when she was placed in state custody and put into a psychiatric unit. (Chen, 1/21)

South Florida insurance companies and large hospital chains recorded healthy profits and acquired rival companies in an attempt to grow bigger in 2018, a new analysis found, accelerating a race to gain leverage in healthcare pricing negotiations. But consumer advocates warn that whatever savings the healthcare monoliths find are unlikely to be passed down to patients. (Conarck, 1/21)

Amid swirling rumors that a deal with New Orleans-based LCMC Health could be close, the board that governs East Jefferson General Hospital is set to meet Wednesday and at least one new member of the Parish Council plans to attend. Nothing on the board's public agenda indicates that the 10-member body will discuss an agreement to sell or lease the financially troubled parish-owned hospital. The board does have a closed session on the agenda, but any decisions it makes in private would have to be redone during the open part of the meeting. (Roberts, 1/21)

The Charlotte City Council approved a plan Tuesday from Novant Health for a new hospital in Ballantyne, allowing the $154 million project to move forward. The council unanimously agreed to rezone the site for the development on 40 acres at Providence Road West and Johnston Road. The 161,000-square-foot facility will have 36 acute care beds, two operating rooms and a dedicated C-section operating room, Novant said Tuesday. The state approved the proposal last year. (Chemtob, 1/21)

A newly formed organization backed by Colorado hospitals, business leaders and Republican elected officials is encouraging doctors and other medical professionals to join the fight against a proposed public health insurance option and harness the trust people have in those professions. The new tactic comes on the heels of a pricey ad campaign — costing at least $150,000 and counting — launched last month to persuade Coloradans to contact their state lawmakers and speak out against the public option plan. (Paul, 1/21)

Roxanne White was in a “very desperate and very broken place” when she first came to Thunderbird Treatment Center in 2002.White, who is Nez Perce, Yakama, A’aninin (Gros Ventre) and Nooksack, was grappling with addiction and a history of trauma she had not yet confronted. Thunderbird was the first place White heard a story that paralleled her own, told by women attending one of the center’s open Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. (Brownstone, 1/21)

Before being arrested by the FBI last week, three alleged members of a white supremacist group were plotting deadly attacks at Monday’s gun rights rally in Richmond, including shooting “unsuspecting civilians and police officers” in hopes of igniting what one called a “full-blown civil war,” authorities said in court filings. (Duggan, 1/21)

More than one out of three times that a Los Angeles police officer used force in recent months involved a person experiencing homelessness, according to a new LAPD report. During the third quarter of 2019, officers used force on homeless people 217 times, a 26% increase from the same period in 2018 when that number was 172. (Miller, 1/21)

Last summer, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti declared that the city was launching a new system to clean up the trash and filth around homeless encampments, calling it “an even more nimble, flexible, targeted and sensitive approach.” But the Comprehensive Cleaning and Rapid Engagement system — known as CARE — quickly spurred concerns at City Hall. Just months after Garcetti and other officials heralded its rollout, some council members lamented that streets looked worse than before. Council President Nury Martinez said that L.A. must lead with compassion, but “we also have to restore order in our streets.” (Reyes, 1/21)

The class is part of Open Door Abuse Awareness and Prevention (ODAAP), a nonprofit that Peterson started in 2014 to break the cycle of domestic violence and sexual assault by equipping students with tools to manage their emotions, an understanding of what healthy relationships look like, and someone they can talk to about these issues. ODAAP is currently working with six schools in the Philadelphia area: Conwell Egan Catholic High School, Imhotep Institute Charter High School, Wissahickon High School, Truman High School, Penn Wood and Delaware Valley University. (Ao, 1/21)

The discredited practice of conversion therapy for LGBTQ children is now banned in Utah, making it the 19th state and one of the most conservative to prohibit it. Supporters navigated a winding path to passage and some dissent remains, but barring it in Utah could give a boost to similar efforts in other right-leaning states, said Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights. (Whitehurst, 1/22)

Rapper Yo Gotti is calling on Mississippi's Republican governor to address the "humanitarian crisis" unfolding in prisons across the state. His plea comes a day after two inmates were beaten to death inside the state penitentiary in Parchman. The Memphis-born rapper, whose real name is Mario Mims, took out a full-page ad in the Clarion-Ledger newspaper on Wednesday. The open letter, co-written with Team Roc, urges Governor Tate Reeves to declare a state of emergency and "put the full weight of your office and authority to protect [inmates'] basic human rights." (Kendall, 1/22)

In a broader effort to push for Medicaid expansion in Missouri, United Church of Christ congregations and the Deaconess Foundation on Saturday announced they’d paid pennies on the dollar for $12.9 million in medical debt that they are giving away. More than 11,000 families from across dozens of ZIP codes in St. Louis and St. Louis County will receive yellow envelopes in the mail this week notifying them that lingering medical bills have been paid. The average reimbursement is $1,166. (Bogan, 1/20)

A powerful trade association representing the chemical industry is testing the air in seven Georgia locations to measure ethylene oxide, a toxic gas used for sterilizing medical supplies.“These sites were selected to get a broad range of data on background levels of [ethylene oxide] across differing environments,” said Tom Flanagin, a spokesperson for the American Chemistry Council, who confirmed the testing in an email to Georgia Health News. Background levels of a chemical are levels measured when there are no specific, identifiable sources likely to influence the data, said Barry Ryan, a professor of chemistry and environmental health at Emory University in Atlanta. (Miller, 1/21)

The mayors of Tennessee's four biggest cities are pressing Gov. Bill Lee and lawmakers to release tens of millions of dollars in child care spending before it disappears. Since 2015, the state's Department of Human Services has failed to distribute more than $214 million in federal funding intended to help low-income working families pay for childcare. (Wadhwani, 1/21)

Foam used by firefighters containing chemicals that don't break down in the environment could largely be used only in emergencies under legislation Wisconsin lawmakers approved Tuesday. The bill would restrict the use of the foam to extinguish fires to prevent the chemicals they contain known as PFAS from contaminating water and soil. Democrats called the measure too narrow because it doesn't deal with other aspects of PFAS contamination. (Beck, 1/21)

Then a friend told him about the local nonprofit Concordance Academy of Leadership. Hill applied for the program while he was still incarcerated. Last May, he was accepted into the program that supports reentry into society after prison. Recently, the academy received $1 million to advance its mission of reducing recidivism in Missouri and Illinois with a holistic approach to reentry into society. Beth Kerley, the academy’s senior vice president and director of marketing, communications and development, said not only is the organization hoping to heal the participants, but the community is reaping the benefits as well. (Henderson, 1/22)

The Concord Coalition to End Homelessness’ emergency winter shelter, which opened in the 2018/19 season, allows 40 adults in need a place to sleep at night away from the cold. The shelter is a “low-barrier” shelter, meaning even those with active addictions and felony convictions can sleep there during cold winter months. Volunteers are critical to shelter operations. They help to check guests in, stay overnight, clean and take care of laundry and other organizational tasks. (Willingham, 1/21)

The cold-related death toll is at nearing two dozen this season in Cook County. Clayton L. Wynne, 96, was pronounced dead in the 7000 block of Birch Street in southwest suburban Bridgeview just before 2 p.m. Monday, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. It is the 22nd cold-related death. (Behm, 1/21)

The federal Fair Housing Act protects people with disabilities from being denied having their emotional support animals live with them. That protections apply to pet deposits and additional rent.But some renters in Rolla have been going online to have their pets certified as ESAs in order to escape the fees. (Ahl, 1/22)

Vaping would be subject to the same indoor prohibitions as cigarette smoking under a measure an Iowa Senate panel advanced Tuesday. The measure, which is similar to bans on vaping in public places approved in several other states, met with opposition from representatives of the vaping industry. (Richardson, 1/21)

Kaiser Health News: Listen: How Vaping Regulations Are Playing Out In The States

KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber joined Wisconsin Public Radio’s Rob Ferrett on “Central Time” to discuss what’s happening on vaping in the states amid concerns about a vaping lung illness. Weber has written about how Wisconsin health officials were among the first to pinpoint the rise in lung illness cases. She has also reported on how the crackdown on vaping has politicized vapers around the nation who are fighting bans on vaping products. (1/21)

Seven weeks after recreational marijuana sales started in Michigan, First Quality Medz in River Rouge has become the first shop in metro Detroit to begin selling legal weed. The state first allowed recreational sales on Dec. 1 with four shops — three in Ann Arbor and one in Morenci — licensed and open for sales. (Gray, 1/21)

Chinese pharmaceutical stocks skyrocketed Monday as China reported more than 100 new cases of pneumonia caused by a new strain of coronavirus. A major stock index in China that mainly tracks healthcare and IT companies closed at its highest level in three years. The ChiNext Price Index jumped 2.6% to its highest finish since January 2017. (He, 1/20)

Investors are piling into shares of some health-product companies they believe could benefit from the new coronavirus in China. Some mainland pharmaceutical companies which said they’ve developed kits for detecting the virus saw their stocks jump by the daily limit Tuesday in China as worries build about the ailment’s spread. Japanese firms in the protection-gear, air cleaning-equipment and emergency-transport sectors rose more than 10% while Malaysian rubber-glove producers climbed at least 5%. (1/21)

China’s biggest-ever round of drug price cuts saw global drugmakers losing most of the nationwide contracts to local rivals, as Beijing aggressively pushes to contain health care costs by an average of 53% decline in latest bulk purchase. (1/16)

At the same time that more doctors were prescribing stimulants, a new analysis finds that 1 in 18 U.S. physicians received some form of payment from drug companies that were marketing these medicines, notably ADHD pills often prescribed for children. And the researchers suggested the financial ties may have partly contributed to the rise in prescriptions. Between 2013 and 2018, nearly 592,000 payments totaling more than $20 million were made to physicians who prescribed stimulants, according to the analysis in JAMA Pediatrics, which reviewed a database run by the U.S. government. Overall, about 55,000 pediatricians, psychiatrists, and family doctors received food, travel expenses, consulting and speaking fees, or other payments. (Silverman, 1/21)

Sometimes, the approval of a new generic drug offers more hype than hope for patients' wallets, as people with multiple sclerosis know all too well. New research shows just how little the introduction of a generic version of Copaxone — one of the most popular MS drugs — did to lower their medicine costs. MS is an autoimmune disease that gradually damages the central nervous system, disrupting communication between the brain and the rest of the body. (Lupkin, 1/20)

Amazon has filed to trademark “Amazon Pharmacy” in Canada, the U.K. and Australia, signaling a potential move into selling prescription drugs outside of the U.S. According to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office website, Amazon filed for the patent on Jan. 9, 2020. The status is listed as pre-formalized. The trademark also lists other areas that Amazon Pharmacy could move into including surgical, medical dental instruments and pharmaceutical as well as medical and veterinary preparations. (Farr, 1/21)

Senate Democratic leaders on Tuesday unveiled their health care reform agenda for the legislative session that begins next month, saying they would aim to cap the price of insulin, limit the cost of other prescription drugs and extend certain types of insurance coverage to people aged 26. (Carlesso, 1/21)

A venture capitalist made some waves early in the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference when he announced his new company’s mission is to make medicines less expensive. After all, two of his previous investments have fueled drug makers using genetics to treat cancer — the kind of approach that has produced remarkable outcomes but also driven up the price of drugs. Alexis Borisy, known for co-founding Foundation Medicine and Blueprint Medicines and wearing felt fedoras, seeks to bring down prices at his new company, called EQRx. (Feuerstein and Herper, 1/17)

A Republican member of the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday expressed support for allowing Medicare to directly negotiate the price of prescription medicines, a noteworthy break from GOP orthodoxy from a Trump administration appointee. The remarks from Christine Wilson, a business executive who President Trump appointed to the FTC in 2018, come as Washington remains split on how to tackle high drug prices and whether to allow Medicare to negotiate directly. (Facher, 1/16)

Chris Collins, a former Republican lawmaker and longtime ally of President Trump, was sentenced Friday to 26 months in prison, according to local reporters, months after pleading guilty to insider trading for illegal dealings surrounding an Australian biotech company. Collins, who leaked confidential information about a failed drug trial to his son and other associates, resigned his seat in Congress in October after entering a guilty plea. His sentencing caps a three-year saga that also implicated his family, at least four fellow congressmen, and Trump’s onetime health secretary. All have been dogged by allegations that they acted unethically, and in some cases illegally, when they purchased or sold shares of Innate Immunotherapeutics. (Garde and Facher, 1/17)

Colorado legislators may write the laws that govern the state's health-care system, but they’re not immune from the economic forces that have driven up its costs — a reality that Representative Dominique Jackson, a Democrat from Aurora, got a harsh reminder of last year. “Toward the end of last session, I logged in to my mail-order pharmacy to reorder some prescriptions,” Jackson said during a press conference at State Capitol on Tuesday, January 21. (Woodruff, 1/21)

High prescription drug prices have been a volatile political issue in America for many years. Today’s Democratic presidential candidates all have bemoaned what they perceive to be excessively high drug prices, and aver that they prevent many Americans from being able to access the drugs they need. At the same time, the cost involved with research and development, medical trials and obtaining Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to bring a drug to market typically exceeds $1 billion, and drugs that go through the same gauntlet but prove to be either unsafe or ineffective invariably cost a similar amount. (Eric Schlecht, 1/18)

With the Senate impeachment trial kicking off and partisan tensions running high on several fronts, Americans might be forgiven for thinking that Congress has lost the ability to find common ground. But lately, and despite the proverbial odds, there is a new bipartisan consensus forming on an issue of incredible importance to millions of Americans: prescription drug pricing. Specifically, reforming the U.S. patent system to end abusive practices that are directly contributing to high drug prices. Across the country, Americans are struggling under the weight of skyrocketing prescription drug costs. It is no secret that affording medicines and treatments is an incredible burden for too many families. On average, Americans are paying considerably more than citizens of other high-income countries for the same exact prescription drugs. (Matthew Lane, 1/17)

Today’s Food and Drug Administration moves much faster than it used to. That may not always be a good thing. A review of drug approvals by the agency from researchers at Harvard Medical School released Tuesday found that the FDA is approving drugs more rapidly with weaker evidence than it did in the past. That can be beneficial when it leads to needed medicines getting to market quickly, and I believe that’s the agency’s intent. As the study’s authors highlight, however, this emphasis on speed and flexibility could be eroding standards. It may be time for a gut check. (Max Nisen, 1/16)

Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives took a vital step to lower prescription drug costs by passing the Lower Drug Costs Now Act. This bipartisan bill offers real relief to the millions of Americans who struggle to afford their needed medications. The bill would allow Medicare to use its buying power to negotiate lower drug prices, create an out-of-pocket cap for seniors in Medicare Part D, and crack down on excessive drug price increases. (Joanne Corte Grossi, 1/17)

The latest Republican legal assault on the Affordable Care Act has gone through a strange inversion as it passes through the courts: Democrats are eager for it to be decided, and Republicans want to delay it indefinitely, lest they actually succeed in having the ACA struck down. (Paul Waldman, 1/21)

I am medium-brown-skinned — neither rich dark chocolate nor creamy cafe au lait. I am a B cup and have, for a black girl, a barely there butt. I have flat feet and oily skin. And like so many American women of reproductive age, I’ve had an abortion. I, and I alone, made the decision to terminate a pregnancy more than a decade ago so that I could be the best mother I could be to the two children I already had. (Ylonda Gault, 1/22)

Hundreds of thousands of Americans will gather in Washington Friday for the 47th annual March for Life. Those who march come together to stand against abortion, the most significant human-rights abuse of the modern era. This cause unites people across party, color and faith. Yet many politicians throughout the U.S. are surprisingly out of step with what a majority of Americans—and in many cases a majority of Democrats—believe about abortion. (Carl Anderson, 1/21)

As we mark the 47th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision on Jan. 22, we are facing a critically important juncture in the fight to protect sexual and reproductive health and rights. As we look back on the escalation of attacks on abortion rights in 2019, we recognize that the promise of Roe v. Wade has never been fully realized by all. Unabated neglect of the health and rights of marginalized communities has continued to place access to reproductive health care out of reach for many. Looking ahead, we must diligently work to ensure the right to abortion. (Dayle Steinberg, 1/20)

Most state legislatures convened this month�����Ի�, as states react to the abortion policies passed in 2019, more bills expanding or eliminating protections for abortion will likely be filed across the country. The most extreme will be bills likely patterned after New York’s Reproductive Health Act, abolishing legal protections for virtually all viable unborn children — children who could be safely delivered and placed with adoptive families instead of aborted by mothers who reject them. (Teresa S. Collett, 1/21)

Because making poor people work for health care isn’t going to make health care any more affordable for people who are already getting insurance from their employers. There’s no reason, then, for people who are struggling with the high costs of employer-subsidized health insurance to make people on Medicaid their enemies. Jarvis DeBerry, 1/21)

When my wife and I wrote about my old schoolmates who had died from “deaths of despair,” the reaction was sometimes ugly. “They killed themselves,” scoffed Jonathan from St. Louis, Mo., in the reader comments. “It was self-inflicted.” Ajax in Georgia was even harsher: “Natural selection weeding out those less fit for survival.” (Nicholas Kristof, 1/18)

Sometimes the wheels grind slowly in the halls of power, but L.A. County supervisors approved a plan Tuesday afternoon to waste no time preparing a bid to buy St. Vincent Medical Center and turn it into a homeless services center. Supervisor Hilda Solis, citing the county’s growing crisis — on the same day the latest homeless count was set to begin — introduced a motion calling on the county to enter the bidding process once the hospital clears bankruptcy court proceedings. And the groundwork was already being laid by Sachi Hamai, the county’s chief executive officer. (Steve Lopez, 1/21)

Who thought it possible? After months of blasting California Democratic officials for their failure to address the state’s “disgusting” homelessness crisis, President Trump seems to have had a sudden change of heart. He’s now reportedly looking to cooperate with an unlikely bedfellow — Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) — to strike a deal that would send federal dollars and workers to support the city’s efforts to clean up the streets. (Bill Whalen, 1/20)

Last week, news outlets reported Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert Wilkie sent a letter to Rep. Mark Takano (D. Calif.), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, with an update on the department’s response to staffer Andrea Goldstein’s allegation of being sexually assaulted at the D.C. VA Medical Center. Wilkie wrote that the matter has been closed with no charges filed. The letter stated that “VA is a safe place for all Veterans to enter and receive care and services” and further called Ms. Goldstein’s claims “unsubstantiated.” (Kayla Williams, 1/21)

The Agriculture Department last year released results of a comprehensive study of school nutrition programs to gauge the impact of new, strict standards implemented in 2010 by the Obama administration. The news was all good. The nutritional quality of school-provided breakfasts and lunches had improved significantly, schools that had the healthiest meals had the greatest rates of student participation and — contrary to worries about more students dumping and not eating the food — “plate waste” was about the same as before the law went into effect. (1/21)

Black women’s hair has always been political. States across the country are finally passing legislation to prevent employers from discriminating against black women who wear natural hairstyles. Black beauty queens around the world are wearing their unprocessed curls on the competition stage. Ayanna Pressley, the first black woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts, proudly wore Senegalese twists as she took the oath of office. Pressley and millions of women around the world continue to show the diversity and breadth of black beauty, setting examples for many young black girls. (Nana Efua Mumford, 1/21)

As other areas in medicine move rapidly forward with findings in their fields — for instance, targeted cancer therapies are extending the lives of oncology patients — psychiatry lags decades behind in providing new answers. The options we give a patient today are largely the same ones we offered a patient 30 years ago. (Donna Jackson Nakazawa, 1/21)