�Թϲ�����

After repeatedly declining assistance from international health officials, Chinese authorities agreed on Tuesday to permit teams of experts coordinated by the World Health Organization to visit China to help contain the growing coronavirus outbreak. The news arrived as federal health officials announced expanded screening measures for passengers from China at 20 ports of entry to the United States. (Rabin, 1/28)

"The discussions focused on continued collaboration on containment measures in Wuhan, public health measures in other cities and provinces, conducting further studies on the severity and transmissibility of the virus, continuing to share data, and for China to share biological material with WHO," the WHO said. This would contribute to developing vaccines and treatments. (1/28)

China said on Wednesday that 132 people had died from the virus, which is believed to have originated in the central city of Wuhan and is spreading across the country. The previous count, on Tuesday, was 106. The number of confirmed cases increased to 5,974 on Wednesday, up from 4,515 on Tuesday, according to the National Health Commission. (1/28)

Most of the World Health Organization's (WHO) criteria for declaring a global emergency have been met, but it is awaiting clear evidence of a sustained spread of the new coronavirus outside China before doing so, some experts and diplomats said. The U.N. agency is seeking to balance the need to ensure China continues to share information about the virus while also giving sound scientific advice to the international community on the risks, according to several public health experts and a Western diplomat who tracks the WHO's work. (1/29)

In Beijing, Dr. Tedros, as he is known, expressed confidence in China’s approach to controlling the epidemic at a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and called for people to remain calm, according to a readout by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Dr. Tedros offered similar praise in a meeting later in the day with Chinese President Xi Jinping, state media reported. (Yang, 1/28)

Countries, cities and businesses across the globe issued new travel warnings on Tuesday, vastly expanding a cordon intended to control the flow of people to and from China, where the authorities are struggling to contain the outbreak of the new coronavirus. In the most drastic measure to limit travel, the Hong Kong authorities reduced by half the number of flights and shut down rail service to mainland China, and they also limited visas — moves that could inspire other governments to follow suit. (Mozur, 1/28)

From the outside, China’s Communist Party appears powerful and effective. It has tightened its control over Chinese politics and culture, the economy and everyday life, projecting the image of a gradually unifying society. The coronavirus outbreak has blown up that facade. Staff members at prestigious Union Hospital in Wuhan, the city at the center of the outbreak, have joined others around China in begging online for medical supplies. (Yuan, 1/28)

China has ordered an unprecedented quarantine of more than 50 million people. It has closed schools and shut down live animal markets. Airports across the globe are screening passengers coming from the world’s most populous country. But three weeks after the new coronavirus emerged as a health crisis, experts can’t yet say whether these efforts will succeed at containing an infection that now threatens at least 15 countries. (Sun and Bernstein, 1/28)

British Airways said it had canceled all flights to and from mainland China, the first global airline to do so, as a dangerous new coronavirus roiled Asia and spread steadily beyond. The U.K. had followed the U.S. in advising against nonessential travel to China, as had New Zealand. British Airways, a unit of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA, said flights to Hong Kong will continue. (Yang, 1/29)

Cai Xu has been outside once in seven days. Twice, if you count taking out the trash. Any other year around this time, the 31-year-old manager at an internet company would be 900 miles south in the countryside, playing mahjong with his extended family for the Lunar New Year holiday. Instead, he is sequestered in his Beijing apartment, unable to do much except try—unsuccessfully, so far—to notch a new personal high score in Arena of Valor, a mobile combat game. (Dou, 1/29)

The outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus in central China has infected thousands and spread overseas, raising the specter of a potential global epidemic as authorities desperately try to contain it. Since the first case was identified in early December in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, more than 5,900 people have fallen sick and at least 132 people have died in mainland China. In addition, there are dozens of confirmed cases in 17 locations outside of mainland China, including at least five in the United States. (Hollingsworth, 1/28)

Toyota Motor Corp. is halting operations in China until Feb. 9, joining a growing list of global companies that have cut back on business activities in China. “Given the various factors including the guidelines by the local and region governments and parts supply situation, as of Jan. 29, we have decided to halt operations in our plants in China until Feb. 9,” said Maki Niimi, a spokesman for the Japanese automaker. “We will monitor the situation and make further decisions on operations from Feb. 10.” (Sutherland, 1/28)

Past performance, money managers warn us in countless marketing documents, is no guarantee of future results. Yet when a threat emerges to the value of investment portfolios, Wall Street’s market pundits rush to find an analogous past event. So as the number of patients with the coronavirus swiftly grew into the thousands over the past week in China, analysts’ time machines landed back in 2003. That was the year that severe acute respiratory syndrome spread from China to the rest of the world, eventually infecting about 8,100 people and causing 774 fatalities. The cold takeaway for Wall Street? That turned out to be a great year for stocks. Despite some turbulence caused by SARS, the S&P 500 rallied 26% and the MSCI China Index surged 81% that year. (Regan, 1/29)

Southeast Asian equity markets, already suffering from foreign outflows, are now at the brink of witnessing bear markets for some of its members as the coronavirus-induced sell-off continues. The risk aversion caused by the deadly virus has pushed the main equity benchmarks of Thailand and Malaysia to within 3% of what would mark a 20% fall from their peaks. The main Philippine gauge entered into a correction after its president cracked down on some of the nation’s biggest businesses. (Vishnoi and Mookerjee, 1/29)

The United Arab Emirates reported the first cases of the novel coronavirus in the Middle East on Wednesday. The disease was diagnosed in a four-member Chinese family that had arrived from Wuhan city, state-run WAM news agency reported, citing the Ministry of Health and Prevention. (Elbahrawy, 1/29)

Russian President Vladimir Putin is calling senior officials to a meeting Wednesday to discuss “what is being done to prevent the spread of coronavirus” in the country, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Putin will hold talks with Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko and the head of the Rospotrebnadzor public health watchdog, Anna Popova, on actions taken by ministries and state agencies, Peskov said. “The government is working very actively” on preventative measures, he said. (Arkhipov and Kravchenko, 1/29)

The case of a 10-year-old boy who was diagnosed with the Wuhan coronavirus even though he showed no symptoms is raising concern that people may be spreading the virus undetected by the front-line screening methods implemented to contain the epidemic. The boy was part of a family who visited relatives in the central Chinese city over the New Year. While his parents and grandparents fell ill and were treated after they returned to their hometown, the 10-year-old appeared healthy and was only diagnosed with the virus after his parents insisted he too was tested, his doctors said, adding that he “was shedding virus without symptoms.” (Gale, 1/29)

At a news conference Tuesday, top U.S. health officials reiterated that the disease — while serious — is not currently a threat to ordinary Americans. "At this point, Americans should not worry for their own safety," said Alex Azar, health and human services secretary, at the press briefing Tuesday. While risk to most Americans remains low, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, noted that "risk is dependent on exposure" and that health care workers or others who know they have been in contact with a person exposed to the virus should take precautions. (Harris, 1/28)

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said he wouldn’t hesitate to declare a national health emergency if needed, but underscored that there are just five confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S. so far. “This is potentially a very serious health threat, but at this point Americans should not worry for their safety,” Mr. Azar said at a news conference with officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other agencies. (Burton, 1/28)

Some congressional Republicans, including Sen. Rick Scott (Fla.) and Rep. Vern Buchanan (Fla.) have called for a public health emergency declaration in order to free up additional federal funding. Azar noted that there are still only five confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States, with no person-to-person transmission. That means that every person with a confirmed case has traveled to Wuhan, China, where the outbreak originated. (Weixel, 1/28)

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) is calling for the Trump administration to implement a “targeted travel ban” to stop the spread of a coronavirus from China. In a letter to members of President Trump’s Cabinet Tuesday, Cotton said it may be too late for China to contain the virus within its borders, and called for a ban on all commercial flights between the U.S. and China. (Weixel, 1/28)

Azar described China’s response as “completely different” than the obfuscation that accompanied the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, which sickened more than 8,000 people in 29 countries and resulted in 774 deaths. Still, he encouraged Chinese officials to be more open about the status of the growing outbreak. “We are urging China: More cooperation and transparency are the most important steps you can take toward a more effective response,” Azar said. (Baumgaertner, 1/28)

“All options for dealing with infectious disease spread have to be on the table, including travel restrictions,” Azar said. “But diseases are not terribly good at respecting borders, so we would have to assess carefully whether the evidence recommends any steps beyond the thoroughly tested methods I just described.” (Facher, 1/28)

U.S. health officials offered a reality check Tuesday about the scary new virus from China: They're expanding screenings of international travelers and taking other precautions but for now, they insist the risk to Americans is very low. “At this point Americans should not worry for their own safety,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters Tuesday. (Neergaard and Alonso-Zaldivar, 1/28)

The U.S. government is considering several options to combat the emergence of the coronavirus, including a ban on flights to and from China, though no decision has been made, a person familiar with the deliberations said on Tuesday night. Several agencies are coordinating on the government’s response as fatalities from the respiratory illness grow and cases spread far beyond China’s borders, including to the U.S. (Levin, 1/28)

The White House is not ruling out suspending flights between the U.S. and China because of the coronavirus outbreak, three sources confirmed to ABC News. A person familiar with the deliberation said the U.S. has not elected to take action yet, but that the "incredibly volatile" situation is being closely monitored. Another source said that during a conference call on Tuesday the White House did not take the possibility of suspending flights off the table. (Kaji, 1/28)

A flight carrying government employees evacuated from the U.S. Consulate in the Chinese city of Wuhan amid a coronavirus outbreak will land at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County instead of Ontario International Airport, officials announced Tuesday night. Curt Hagman, chairman of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, said in a video news release that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told local officials that the flight will be diverted to the base “for the logistics that they have.” (Cosgrove and Wigglesworth, 1/28)

A California-bound flight chartered by the US State Department left the China city at the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak on Wednesday morning local time, a department spokesman said. About 240 Americans could be on the flight from Wuhan Tianhe International Airport. It will stop to refuel in Anchorage, Alaska, before arriving early Wednesday at a military base near Riverside, California -- instead of a nearby civilian airport in Ontario, California, as first planned. (Vera, 1/28)

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services said officials conducted screenings on 201 passengers. Before the flight arrived in Alaska, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had said there were about 210 US citizens aboard the flight. It is not clear why the passenger counts from the state and federal agency differ. The passengers also will go through a series of screenings after they land in California. (Karimi, 1/29)

Passengers erupted into cheers once they were all cleared, officials said. Authorities had said earlier that anyone who got sick en route to Alaska could be separated from the group in Anchorage and flown onward independently. (Finnegan and Nathanson, 1/29)

United Airlines Holdings Inc said on Tuesday it was suspending some flights between the United States and Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai between Feb. 1 and Feb. 8 due to a "significant decline in demand" as the new coronavirus spreads. "We will continue to monitor the situation as it develops and will adjust our schedule as needed," United said in a statement. (Rucinski, 1/29)

Kaiser Health News: Response To Nation’s 1st Coronavirus Case Draws On Lessons From Measles Outbreak

When the first U.S. case of a new coronavirus spreading throughout China was confirmed last week in Washington state, public health workers were well prepared to respond, building on lessons learned during the outbreak of measles that sickened 87 people in the state in 2019. As of Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had confirmed five cases of infection from the new coronavirus in the U.S., including two in California, one in Illinois and one in Arizona. (Stone, 1/28)

The outbreak of a novel coronavirus in China and its spread to more than a dozen countries has presented health experts with a rapidly evolving and complex challenge. That means there are a lot of unknowns. (Branswell and Joseph, 1/28)

Four top U.S. health officials — all veterans of previous public health threats and new disease outbreaks — gave a joint news conference Tuesday to discuss the Wuhan coronavirus that has killed over 100 and sickened thousands. The virus is mostly concentrated in one Chinese province but has been detected in more than a dozen other countries, including the U.S. The four officials — HHS Secretary Alex Azar; CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield; Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; and Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases — stressed that the situation is fluid but outlined what is known and still unknown about the virus. Here’s a recap of their main points. (Kenen, 1/28)

In the early days of January, as cases of a strange, pneumonia-like illness were reported in China, researchers at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland readied themselves to hunt for a vaccine to prevent the new disease. They had clues that a coronavirus, similar to ones that caused the SARS outbreak in 2003 and MERS in 2012, was the culprit. Dr. Barney Graham, deputy director of the Vaccine Research Center at the N.I.H, urged government scientists in China to share the genetic makeup of the virus so his team could begin its race to develop a vaccine. (Sheikh and Thomas, 1/28)

Government and academic experts in the U.S. have developed a vaccine against African swine fever that’s proved 100% effective, according to the American Society for Microbiology. Both high and low doses of the vaccine, developed from a genetically modified prior strain of the virus, were effective in pigs when they were challenged 28 days after inoculation, the report said. (Chandler, 1/28)

The chief scientific officer at Johnson & Johnson said the company began work two weeks ago on a vaccine to battle the deadly coronavirus outbreak centered in China.“At the moment we think we can make a vaccine and bring it to humans in the next eight to 12 months,” said Paul Stoffels in an interview with The Inquirer. “It might be faster. We have to get to the point we know where it works in animals first.” (Wood, 1/28)

A team of scientists in Australia said on Wednesday they have successfully developed a lab-grown version of coronavirus, the first to be recreated outside of China, in a breakthrough that could help combat the global spread of the illness. The researchers at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne said they would share the sample, which was grown from an infected patient, with the World Health Organization and laboratories around the world. (1/29)

An expert at China's National Health Commission (NHC) said on Tuesday one week is sufficient for a recovery from mild coronavirus symptoms. The remarks were made by Li Xingwang at a press conference in Beijing, where he also said mild coronavirus symptoms do not present as pneumonia, but just slight fever. (1/28)

Dr. Paul Sax remembers SARS all too well, and the similarities with the new coronavirus that has now killed more than 130 people are obvious: Both are coronaviruses first found in China. Both seem to have originated in bats. Both cause severe lung infections and worldwide alarm. But Sax, the clinical director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women's Hospital, says this outbreak also strikes him as very different. (Goldberg, 1/29)

As the number of coronavirus cases rises in the United States and health officials keep an eye out for possible cases popping up in New England, here’s what you need to know about the outbreak: (Finucane, 1/28)

More than 100 people in the United States are being monitored for the coronavirus, and 2,000 in China have been sickened by the new virus, which causes respiratory illness in people. But as officials learn about the virus, some odd internet searches and myths have popped up. Here’s a rundown of some of the strange — and incorrect — things that have been circulating about the virus, and some verified ways to protect yourself. (Ramakrishnan, 1/28)

If previous outbreaks of coronavirus are any indication, the Wuhan strain that is now spreading may eventually be traced back to bats. Dr. Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, who has been working in China for 15 years studying diseases that jump from animals to people, said, “We don’t know the source yet, but there’s pretty strong evidence that this is a bat origin coronavirus.” He said, “It’s probably going to be the Chinese horseshoe bat,” a common species that weighs up to an ounce. If he’s right, this strain will join many other viruses that bats carry. SARS and MERS epidemics were caused by bat coronaviruses, as was a highly destructive viral epidemic in pigs. (Gorman, 1/28)

The federal government is monitoring more than 100 people for the novel coronavirus that has thrown China into crisis. These are patients from 26 states who suffered respiratory symptoms after traveling to China and whose state health departments sent samples for testing to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Was Massachusetts one of those states? State officials won’t say. (Freyer, 1/28)

Behind the passcode-protected doors of the Biocontainment Unit on the eighth floor of Johns Hopkins Hospital, the hallway and rooms are empty except for three nurses holding protective gear they just removed according to a strict protocol. Medical staff has been training here nonstop since the unit was created in response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak and are ready to care for seriously ill patients from the coronavirus. (Cohn and Bowie, 1/29)

With Connecticut one of 23 states where federal health officials have tested travelers from China for the coronavirus, the state’s U.S. senators on Tuesday asked the Trump administration to provide updates and detailed information on its response to the outbreak. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, along with 28 Democratic colleagues in the Senate, sent a letter Tuesday to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar asking him to keep Congress updated with the latest information regarding the severity of the disease. (Radelat, 1/28)

Students from universities in the Washington area who are studying abroad in China have been told to return home amid the coronavirus outbreak that has left more than 100 people dead and thousands infected. American University students were told Tuesday to leave Beijing and return to their campus in Northwest Washington “as soon as possible,” said Jennifer Fei, a junior and international studies major who was studying in the Chinese capital. (Lumpkin, 1/28)

A third person evaluated for possible infection with a new coronavirus tested negative, meaning there’s no evidence the disease has reached Colorado, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The three people who were tested had developed flu-like symptoms after traveling to China, where the new virus is spreading. (Wingerter, 1/28)

A Chinese exchange student at William Penn Charter School who fell ill does not have coronavirus, a respiratory illness that broke out in China earlier this month, but a new potential case is being investigated in Philadelphia, the city’s Department of Public Health announced Tuesday. The new case reported to the city Tuesday relates to an individual who began experiencing respiratory virus symptoms after being in China and sought treatment in Philadelphia. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that anyone who experiences flu-like symptoms — a fever, cough, difficulty breathing — after traveling to China be tested for coronavirus. The city health department could not say whether the individual was a local resident or a visitor, or give the individual’s age. (Gantz, 1/28)

A student at The White Mountain School in Bethlehem, N.H., who recently traveled to China is one of two people being tested for coronavirus in New Hampshire, officials said. Littleton Regional Healthcare posted a statement on Facebook that said the student returned to the United States on Jan. 6 and came to the hospital with “mild flu-like symptoms” on Jan. 23. (Sweeney, 1/28)

The new coronavirus that has sickened more than 6,000 people worldwide and killed more than 130 is causing major upheaval across China, the epicenter of the illness. It’s also alarming Bay Area residents who — at least for now — are at very low risk of illness, but are stocking up on face masks and asking health care providers for advice on protecting themselves and loved ones. (Allday, 1/28)

How worried should you be about the coronavirus? Ohio officials are investigating two possible cases at Miami University, while the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls the disease -- from the same family as MERS and SARS -- an “emerging, rapidly evolving situation.” (Bamforth, 1/28)

Miami International Airport is screening travelers for potential cases of novel coronavirus under the direction of federal health officials as the epidemic spreads rapidly across China. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quarantine station at MIA added additional screening for the virus starting Monday. The station is one of 20 at ports and land border crossings across the country. (Conarck and Dolven, 1/28)

Two Miami University students, who recently traveled to China, were tested for the coronavirus, Ohio health officials confirmed Tuesday morning. The two students are in isolation at their off-campus home, said Melanie Amato, press secretary for Ohio Department of Health. (Washington, 1/28)

Though state officials have yet to detect a case of the novel coronavirus in Minnesota, one Minneapolis family is being affected by it. Last week, Yulin Yin traveled to Wuhan, China, where the outbreak began. (Williams, 1/28)

Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has announced a plan to prevent, contain and treat infectious diseases as a new viral illness spreads in China. The Massachusetts senator on Tuesday unveiled a plan that includes fully funding the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's pandemic prevention and response programs. (Weissert, 1/28)

Experts note that public health funding has been lagging for years, putting the U.S. at risk for an epidemic. "Diseases like Ebola virus, Zika virus and most recently, coronavirus demonstrate the real threat that outbreaks pose to our health and security," Warren's campaign wrote in her plan. "The United States can be a leader in combatting these problems. But to do so, we must invest at home to ensure our public health agencies, hospitals, and health care providers are ready to jump into action when outbreaks strike." (Hellmann, 1/28)

After years away from live animal hosts, the bacterium got used to its cushy lab-dish life and lost its barnyard edge. Enough of its tough old self remained to trigger a body’s immune defenses, but not enough to make a healthy person sick. Perfect for a microbial training drill. Word spread. Scientists made pilgrimages to France, to take home some defused bovine tuberculosis of their own — and what began as an udder-swab in 1902 ended up yielding one of the world’s most widely used vaccines, now given to some 100 million infants globally each year. (Boodman, 1/28)

Americans combat more than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections each year—a battle Gunnar Esiason, son of former NFL quarterback “Boomer” Esiason, knows all too well. Esiason lives with cystic fibrosis, a life-threatening genetic disease that affects the lungs and cells that produce mucus, puts him at an increased risk for bacterial infections, and makes him especially vulnerable to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. “I very much attribute my survival thus far to antibiotics,” he says. (Stateline, 1/28)

How much muscle you have now could indicate how healthy your heart will be later, according to an interesting new study of muscle mass and cardiovascular disease. The study finds that, for men at least, entering middle age with plenty of muscle lowers the subsequent risk of developing heart disease by as much as 81 percent, compared to the risks for other men. (Reynolds, 1/29)

Short-term exposure to air pollution is linked to a higher risk of sudden heart problems, especially among older people, according to a study published Monday. The study, published in the journal The Lancet, indicates that even low levels of air pollution can increase the likelihood of cardiac arrest. Study researchers at The University of Sydney say there is an "urgent need to reassess" international guidelines on air quality. (Crespo, 1/28)

Kaiser Health News: When Aid-In-Dying Is Legal, But The Medicine Is Out Of Reach

he call came the last week of September, when Neil Mahoney could still stagger from his bed to the porch of his mobile home to let out his boisterous yellow Lab, Ryder. Rodney Diffendaffer, a clinical pharmacist in Longmont, 45 miles away, had left a message. Your prescription is ready, it said. (Aleccia, 1/29)

NFL concussions were up slightly in 2019, and the league is redoubling efforts in the Super Bowl to ensure anyone who sustains a head injury during the game gets the appropriate care. During a player health and safety tour of Hard Rock Stadium Tuesday, the NFL’s chief medical officer said there will be an additional unaffiliated neurotrama consultant (UNC) on the field Sunday, adding a layer of redundancy for the league’s biggest game. (Beasley and McPherson, 1/28)

Gregory Ginsberg, a Penn Medicine doctor, is exploring a new frontier in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. He’s co-leading a clinical trial at Penn that is testing whether killing cells on the inner surface of the duodenum — the first part of the small intestine immediately past the stomach — can lead to better control of blood sugar in people with diabetes. (Burling, 1/28)

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy is proposing changes to state law that would improve police hiring standards and oversight after some villages hired police officers that were sex offenders or had been convicted of domestic violence. The proposed legislation, introduced Monday, is intended to deter communities from appointing unqualified people as VPOs and to deter people with certain convictions from applying for the jobs, Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Megan Peters said. (Hopkins, 1/29)

Alongside the surging popularity of bike shares and fitness cycling in California comes a sobering statistic: From 2016 through 2018, more cyclists died in traffic accidents across the state than during any three-year period in the past 25 years. Traffic accidents killed 455 cyclists in California from 2016 through 2018, according to new data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (Reese, 1/28)

Charles M. Lieber, the chair of Harvard’s department of chemistry and chemical biology, was charged on Tuesday with making false statements about money he had received from a Chinese government-run program, part of a broad-ranging F.B.I. effort to root out theft of biomedical research from American laboratories. Dr. Lieber, a leader in the field of nanoscale electronics, was one of three Boston-area scientists accused on Tuesday of working on behalf of China. His case involves work with the Thousand Talents Program, a state-run program that seeks to draw talent educated in other countries. (Barry, 1/28)

Lieber was arrested early Tuesday at his office at the Ivy League university, officials said. He remained in federal custody after a brief court appearance Tuesday, pending a detention hearing scheduled for Thursday. A message seeking comment was left Tuesday with his attorney. Authorities also announced charges against a researcher at Boston University, who is accused of lying about her ties to the Chinese military. (Durkin Richer, 1/28)

The case stretches back to 2011, when a professor at a leading Chinese university e-mailed a contract to Lieber. He told Lieber he had been recommended for a global recruitment program, part of the communist government’s “Thousand Talents Plan” to lure high-level scientific talent and, in some cases, reward them for stealing proprietary information, federal investigators said. (Alanez and Anderson, 1/28)

As part of the Thousand Talents program, Wuhan University of Technology gave Mr. Lieber more than $1.5 million to set up a research lab in China, according to the complaint. The school also agreed to pay him a $50,000 monthly salary and offered about $150,000 in annual living expenses for “significant periods” from 2012 to 2017, it said. In exchange, Mr. Lieber was required to work for WUT at least nine months a year by “declaring international cooperation projects, cultivating young teachers and Ph.D. students, organizing international conference[s], applying for patents and publishing articles in the name of” the Chinese school, the complaint said. (Viswanatha and O'Keeffe, 1/28)

For a large part of the time frame in question, Lieber was also the principal investigator on at least six U.S. Defense Department research grants, with a cumulative value of more than $8 million, according to the affidavit. It also says he was the principal investigator on more than $10 million in grants funded by the National Institutes of Health. (Chappell, 1/28)

Lieber additionally made false statements to the National Institutes of Health about his involvement in the recruitment plan and his affiliation with the Chinese university. He was in federal custody as of Tuesday afternoon, a senior federal law enforcement official told NBC News. (Winter and Arkin, 1/28)

“National Institutes of Health spends up to $39 million funding medical research in the United States. Those programs required Dr. Lieber to disclose if he was working with, including receving funding from, any foreign power. When questioned, Lieber hid his involvement with the Chinese entities, including specifically disavowing any connection to China’s Thousand Talents Plan,” Lelling said. (1/28)

In a statement, Harvard called the charges "extremely serious." "Harvard is cooperating with federal authorities, including the National Institutes of Health, and is conducting its own review of the alleged misconduct," the university said in a statement. "Professor Lieber has been placed on indefinite administrative leave." (Stracqualursi and Jones, 1/28)

Lieber is a decorated researcher. His research group at Harvard has received more than $15 million in grant funding from the NIH and the DoD, according to the complaint. In 2017, he was honored with the NIH’s Director’s Pioneer Award for his work on a mesh electronic system that could integrate with the central nervous system. That same year, he was named a University professor at Harvard, one of just 25 academics to be honored with the institution’s highest rank. (Robbins, 1/28)

Two Chinese researchers were charged with being agents of a foreign government. They were Yanqing Ye, a Boston University robotics researcher who prosecutors said lied about being in the Chinese army, and Zaosong Zheng, a cancer researcher at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center who was arrested last month allegedly trying to smuggle research samples out of the country. Prosecutors said Ye is a lieutenant in the Chinese People's Liberation Army, which she did not disclose when she obtained a visa to enter the United States. She is accused of passing information on research conducted at Boston University to China's government. (1/28)

In a separate case, the Department of Justice said Yanqing Ye, a lieutenant in the People’s Liberation Army had gained a non-immigrant visa to conduct studies at Boston University. According to court documents, Ye was conducting research in the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering at the Center of Polymer Studies at Boston University. Authorities say on Ye’s visa application she misrepresented her foreign military service to gain entry to the U.S. (Bombard, 1/28)

“China’s communist government’s goal simply put is to replace the United States as a superpower,” Joseph R. Bonavolonta, the FBI’s special agent in charge of the Boston Field Division, said at a press conference. “China is also using what we call nontraditional collectors such as researchers, hackers and front companies.” (Lawrence, Dolmetsch, and Nayak, 1/28)

The Food and Drug Administration has warned the maker of Purell hand sanitizers to stop claiming its products can prevent people from catching the flu, Ebola virus, the MRSA superbug and norovirus. In a notice dated Jan. 17, the F.D.A. told Purell’s maker, Gojo Industries, that its unsubstantiated claims that Purell could reduce the potential for infection or prevent illnesses violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The agency said it was reclassifying Purell as an unapproved drug, rather than an over-the-counter product. (Kaplan, 1/28)

The letter came as the United States is bracing for one of its worst flu seasons in decades and worldwide concerns grow amid a coronavirus outbreak that has killed at least 100 people in China, where the outbreak originated. The warning targets the ways Gojo Industries, Purell’s parent company, marketed its popular line of alcohol-based gels, foams and sprays in social media materials, blog posts and frequently asked questions on the product and corporate website. Some of the statements that drew the FDA’s ire outlined in the warning appear to have been removed from Gojo and Purell sites since the FDA sent its letter on Jan. 17. (Bellware, 1/28)

“These statements, made in the context of the Frequently Asked Questions section, clearly indicates your suggestion that Purell Healthcare Advanced Hand Sanitizers are intended for reducing or preventing disease from the Ebola virus, norovirus, and influenza. As such, the statements are evidence of your products’ intended uses. However, FDA is currently not aware of any adequate and well-controlled studies demonstrating that killing or decreasing the number of bacteria or viruses on the skin by a certain magnitude produces a corresponding clinical reduction in infection or disease caused by such bacteria or virus,” the government letter says in part. (McDonnell and Mackinnon, 1/29)

Gojo took immediate action to rectify the situation after getting the FDA warning, the company said in a statement on its website. "It is important to emphasize that the FDA letter was not related to the safety or quality of our products, or our manufacturing processes. Our products can and should continue to be used as part of good hand hygiene practice, to reduce germs," a Gojo spokesperson wrote to CBS MoneyWatch. (Gibson, 1/28)

Because Purell Advanced Hand Sanitizers have unempirical claims and active drug ingredients, including ethyl alcohol, the FDA labels the formula “unapproved new drugs” in violation of section 505(a) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. (Elder, 1/28)

Top Trump administration health officials are inviting states to convert part of Medicaid into a block grant — a longtime conservative goal Congress rejected more than two years ago. A letter to every state Medicaid director, to be dispatched Thursday, will offer the possibility of trading away an entitlement program that expands and contracts depending on how many poor people need the government health coverage. In exchange, for able-bodied adults in the program, states could apply to receive a fixed federal payment and freedom from many of the program’s rules, according to several individuals familiar with the plans. (Goldstein, 1/28)

Multiple proposals to expand Medicaid for low-income Kansas adults age 19-64 have emerged for consideration in the 2020 legislative session. How could selected components in some proposals, such as premiums or alternate income limits, affect enrollment and costs? This issue brief delves into the details and updates previous Kansas Health Institute estimates of the effect of expansion on KanCare. (Bruffett and Steiner, 1/28)

Iowa lawmakers questioned Medicaid officials Tuesday about the finances and performance of the state’s health insurance system for low-income and disabled Iowans. Medicaid issues have been controversial at the Iowa Capitol since the state hired private insurance companies in 2016 to manage the government-funded system. (Sostaric, 1/28)

Lawmakers were right: People ineligible for Medicaid in Mississippi have been receiving the health care benefit anyway. But they aren’t adults scamming the system. They’re children with disabilities, whose middle-class parents relied on the public health insurance loophole to afford expensive monthly medical treatments.Because of a recent crackdown on Medicaid eligibility, many families who had been receiving the Disabled Child Living at Home waiver have been denied the benefits when they’ve tried to renew them. (Wolfe, 1/27)

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP is the unnamed company that surfaced in criminal charging documents filed earlier this week in a probe of illegal kickbacks from drugmakers, according to people familiar with the matter. Purdue Pharma, which faces U.S. Justice Department probes and sprawling litigation over allegations that it played a central role in the deadly U.S. opioid epidemic, faces new scrutiny in connection with a case Vermont federal prosecutors unveiled on Monday against a San Francisco electronic health records vendor. (Spector and Hals, 1/29)

In a statement Monday, Christina Nolan, the U.S. attorney for Vermont, called the conduct of the health-records company, Practice Fusion, “abhorrent.” “During the height of the opioid crisis, the company took a million-dollar kickback to allow an opioid company to inject itself in the sacred doctor-patient relationship so that it could peddle even more of its highly addictive and dangerous opioids,” Nolan said. “The companies illegally conspired to allow the drug company to have its thumb on the scale at precisely the moment a doctor was making incredibly intimate, personal, and important decisions about a patient’s medical care, including the need for pain medication and prescription amounts.” (Joseph, 1/28)

San Francisco electronic health records company Practice Fusion has agreed to pay $145 million to resolve charges that it took kickbacks from an opioid maker that used the company’s software to prod doctors to prescribe more opioid painkillers to patients, according to the Department of Justice. The department said the settlement, which followed from civil and criminal investigations, is the first criminal action against an electronic health vendor. (Ho, 1/28)

An electronic health records company is paying the largest criminal fine in Vermont’s history, stemming from allegations it illegally took a kickback from an unnamed pharmaceutical company in an effort to sell more of its “extended release opioid” medications. ... Nolan’s office found Practice Fusion and the drug company had conspired to target people who were “opioid naive” — those who had never been prescribed an opioid — and to encourage doctors to move patients using the immediate release drugs to the extended release drugs. (Dawson, 1/27)

The Trump administration has resolved an internal dispute over how to handle new variants of fentanyl that it believes can beef up the fight against the deadly synthetic painkiller without hindering research to ease the opioid crisis, according to a draft agreement seen by Reuters. The administration had hoped the deal, a copy of which was turned over to the Senate in the fall, would pave the way for Congress to pass their draft legislation into law, but so far it has failed to do so. (Lynch, 1/28)

Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday that Democrats are more focused on impeaching President Trump than getting fentanyl off the streets. Lesko spoke to reporters as President Trump’s lawyers began their final day of opening arguments, saying she wants to “get back to doing the business of America.” (Coleman, 1/28)

In Granite City, renters can be kicked out after calling for help for someone overdosing on drugs because of the city’s crime-free housing ordinance. Even if no one is arrested or charged with a crime, the drug use breaks Granite City’s rules for renters. (Cortes, 1/29)

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) wants the House to move on legislation banning balance billing as soon as mid-February, he told reporters Tuesday. So far, the House Energy & Commerce and Ways & Means committees have been at odds over the best approach to address payment for bills a patient receives from an out-of-network provider at an in-network facility. (Cohrs, 1/28)

CommonSpirit Health consolidated its group purchasing organization service provider, selecting Premier to help integrate the 137-hospital system's supply chain, the organizations announced Tuesday. Before the not-for-profit health systems merged, Dignity Health primarily used Premier and Catholic Health Initiatives used HealthTrust. But the large institutions used various services from both companies, executives noted. (Kacik, 1/28)

HCA Healthcare either surpassed or came in at the high end of its 2019 guidance on some of its key metrics: revenues, non-GAAP earnings and capital spending, prompting praise from analysts on its Tuesday earnings call. "They delivered once again," said Frank Morgan, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets. (Bannow, 1/28)

Blue Cross of Illinois parent Health Care Service Corp. is cutting about 400 employees as it positions itself for growth in a rapidly changing industry. The layoffs, announced internally today, include middle management positions—mostly employees with senior manager and director titles, HCSC spokesman Greg Thompson told Crain's. (Goldberg, 1/28)

Rutherford Health Plc has called on the frozen fund of Neil Woodford to honor part of a promised investment as the disgraced stock picker’s clients learn the extent of their losses. The Hereford-based chain of cancer centers is seeking 7.5 million pounds ($9.8 million) via a share sale to the LF Income Equity Fund, the company said in a statement Tuesday. Proceeds raised from the issue will be used for additional working capital. (Waite, 1/28)

Twenty Democratic state attorneys general on Tuesday joined a multistate amicus brief in a challenge to abortion restrictions in Missouri. “Nearly 50 years ago, the courts ruled that women across the country have the right to control their own bodies, but nearly every day since, anti-choice legislators have tried to impose their personal beliefs on the wills of millions of women nationwide,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. (Budryk, 1/28)

Thousands of nurses and other employees at a Seattle hospital system began a three-day strike over staffing levels, wages and other issues Tuesday, forcing administrators to close two emergency departments and spend millions to bring in replacement workers from around the country. The picketers took to the sidewalks in front of Swedish Medical Center campuses wearing clear plastic ponchos against a heavy morning rain and carrying purple signs that read “Patients Before Profits” and “United For Our Patients.” (1/28)

A Kentucky river city once rich in tobacco was grappling with growing concerns about the health risks of electronic cigarettes. The former governor had already banned e-cigarettes in some state buildings, and lawmakers had prohibited selling them to anyone younger than 18. So, in May 2017, city leaders in Henderson decided to add vaping to a more than decade-old ban on smoking in local government buildings and other public places. (Dunlop, 1/29)

Lawmakers heard reaction on Tuesday to a recent report from the Office of Child Advocate that found widespread use of restraints and seclusion on children in behavioral health facilities in New Hampshire. The report released earlier this month found that restraints and seclusion, while declining overall, remain widespread in New Hampshire, with more than 20,000 incidents reported between 2014 and 2018. (Moon, 1/28)

The sale of East Jefferson General Hospital to LCMC Health could close as soon as late summer, an official said Tuesday. A summer close is contingent upon the deal clearing several hurdles in rapid succession: It must be approved by the Parish Council, the state's Bond Commission, the Louisiana Attorney General's Office and the voters of the east bank of Jefferson Parish. (Roberts, 1/28)

Medically assisted suicide failed by a single vote in the Maryland General Assembly last year. Now, advocates who want to make it legal for doctors to prescribe a lethal dose of medication to terminally ill patients seeking to end their lives are launching another push to get the legislation approved, hoping that growing public acceptance of aid-in-dying laws will win over at least one more lawmaker. (Wiggins, 1/28)

Proposed cuts would affect money to keep doctors from leaving rural Georgia; testing kits to stem the spread of hepatitis C; and a new staff position to handle complaints about problem doctors more quickly. Reductions would also include a slice of the funding for the state’s poison control center, and part of the money that funds county health departments. (Hart, 1/28)

Health care administrators traveled from the nation’s capital to the state capital this week as part of a listening tour on how the federal government could help North Carolina address some of its thornier maternal health issues. They got plenty of feedback from the dozens of North Carolina caregivers, patients, administrators and health care advocates gathered at the state Division of Public Health offices on Monday. (Blythe, 1/29)

The American Lung Association has given both Missouri and Kansas failing grades for their efforts to get people to stop using tobacco products. The association is worried about the growing popularity of vaping. (Gutierrez, 1/29)

Georgia gets failing grades for reducing cigarette smoking and for preventing young people from picking up the deadly habit in a report released Wednesday. The “State of Tobacco Control” report by the American Lung Association gives Georgia F’s for state tobacco prevention programs, access to services to quit smoking and the state’s level of taxation for cigarettes. (Oliviero, 1/29)

Like every day for the past week, Justina Pelletier’s family rolled her into court Monday morning in a wheelchair. Her nails had a fresh coat of lavender polish, and a fuzzy gray blanket lay over her legs. Now 21 years old, Pelletier took the stand in the malpractice suit she and her family are bringing against Boston Children’s Hospital and the doctors who treated her there. (Chen, 1/28)

Two west-central Illinois nursing homes were among those fined by the Illinois Department of Public Health after one resident was injured and another died, according to the department’s quarterly report released Tuesday. Aperion Care Jacksonville, a 113-bed skilled care facility at 1021 N. Church St., was fined $25,000 for failure to provide supervision and implement intervention for a resident to prevent multiple falls, according to the state. (Bauer, 1/29)

The University of Texas will require all incoming students to show proof of a measles vaccination starting in fall 2020, according to University Health Services. The new requirement, first reported by The Daily Texan, comes after a case of the measles was reported in Travis County in December — the first such case since 1999. (Korte, 1/28)

Roughly 100 of Missouri’s 7,019 untested rape kits have been sent out of state to a private forensic lab for testing. The state completed a full inventory of those untested kits last fall. Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office is now moving forward with testing the kits to help prosecute rapists and provide justice for victims. (Driscoll, 1/28)

The bargaining team for roughly 17,000 patient care technical workers reached a tentative contract agreement with the University of California, ending one of the institution’s longest-running contract disputes, according to a news release issued Tuesday by Local 3299 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. (Anderson, 1/28)

Public health officials are investigating two cases of Legionnaires’ disease possibly contracted at a senior home in southwest suburban Plainfield. Officials with the Will County Health Department say they haven’t found an outside source for the two cases of the disease found at Lakewood Nursing Home & Rehab, 14716 S. Eastern Ave., the health department said in a statement released Monday. (Struett, 1/28)

The Huron County Board of Commissioners approved long-awaited funding for a future Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly wellness center in Bad Axe. The commissioners had put off appropriating $750,000 in funding for the center for the past few meetings because the original plan was for all the funding to come from the Older Citizens Fund, which did not have enough money in it. (Creenan, 1/29)

Illegal marijuana vape pens in California were found to be tainted with potentially dangerous additives, state officials said Monday. A random sampling of more than 10,000 seized devices from unlicensed cannabis retailers in Los Angeles last month found the products contained undisclosed additives and significantly lower amounts of THC than indicated on the label, according to California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control. (Klar, 1/28)

Flanked by his service dog, Army veteran Stephen Mandile urged lawmakers Tuesday to expand medical marijuana access through a bill that he crafted to protect other disabled veterans from suffering as he has. Mandile, who was injured in Iraq in 2005, was prescribed opioids for pain and became addicted, leading him to withdraw from his family and nearly take his own life. (Martin, 1/28)

In 2015, Kim Kardashian promoted a morning-sickness pill to her millions of followers on social media, boosting sales by 21% over just a few months, a high-profile example of how so-called influencers can hold sway over the public at large. But given that there are countless influencers lurking on social media — some of whom are celebrities, others are lesser-known cheerleaders — the Food and Drug Administration plans to study the extent to which these paid endorsements affect consumers who take prescription medicines. (Silverman, 1/28)

The majority of Americans have health insurance that includes coverage for prescription drugs. But unfortunately that doesn't ensure that they can afford the specific drugs their doctors prescribe for them. In fact, many Americans report that their insurance plans sometimes don't cover a drug they need — and nearly half the people whom this happens to say they simply don't fill the prescription. That's according to a poll released this month on income inequality from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (Neighmond, 1/27)

Presidential candidates can’t stop talking about insulin. At a campaign stop here on Sunday, Sen. Amy Klobuchar retold the now-familiar story of Alec Smith, whose highly publicized death from insulin rationing in 2017 sparked nationwide outrage. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who has vowed to lower the drug’s price on her first day in office, lambasted Eli Lilly, one of just three U.S. insulin manufacturers, at an Iowa rally the day before. And since July, when Sen. Bernie Sanders joined a highly publicized “insulin caravan” seeking cheaper prices in Canada, he has flooded this state with television ads that picture him brandishing an insulin vial in outrage. Even in a primary dominated by broader health care issues, insulin has emerged as particularly alluring campaign fodder for Democrats. (Facher, 1/28)

President Donald Trump has one big option to make good on his promise to slash drug prices: Tie the cost of U.S. drugs to the lower prices paid overseas. There’s only one problem. It’s too late for him to make a dent in what people pay for their prescription drugs before the election. (Karlin-Smith and Cancryn, 1/24)

Novartis reported strong sales of new drugs including gene therapy Zolgensma, a sign the company’s focus on cutting-edge medicines is starting to pay off. The Swiss pharmaceutical company on Wednesday said revenue from continuing operations rose 8% to $12.4 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, while core operating income, a measure watched closely by analysts, increased 11% to $3.46 billion. Net income fell 7% to $1.1 billion on a one-time tax charge. (Roland, 1/29)

When Global Blood Therapeutics won approval for its new sickle cell disease drug Oxbryta last year, execs predicted a “paradigm shift” in the way patients are treated. Now, the company is running into a common hurdle in today's U.S. launch paradigm—pushback from cost watchdog ICER. In a draft report, ICER concluded that sickle cell disease drugs from GBT, Novartis and Emmaus Medical are too expensive to meet traditional cost-effectiveness measures. To fall within one measure of cost-effectiveness—below $150,000 per quality-adjusted life year—the companies would have to dramatically cut their prices, ICER said. (Sagonowsky, 1/27)

The Food and Drug Administration released a slew of gene therapy policies Tuesday aimed at encouraging drug makers to bring more of the medicines to market and perhaps forcing them to lower their prices. The FDA has approved just four gene therapies since 2017, and each has carried a sky-high price tag. The FDA’s most recent approval, AveXis’ Zolgensma, costs $2.1 million, the most expensive drug in history. (Florko, 1/28)

FDA may have to double staff reviewing gene therapies in the next five years to deal with a flood of new applications, a senior official said today as the agency issued final policy guidances on gene therapy manufacturing and clinical development. The agency has received more than 900 investigational new drug applications for gene therapy, said Peter Marks, director of FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. (Allen, 1/28)

In some towns, it is getting harder to pick up your blood-pressure pills with that gallon of milk and rotisserie chicken. Hundreds of regional grocery stores in cities from Minneapolis to Seattle are closing or selling pharmacy counters, which have been struggling as consumers make fewer trips to fill prescriptions and big drugstore chains tighten their grip on the U.S. market. (Terlep and Kang, 1/26)

Biotech earnings season kicks off Thursday with fourth-quarter reports from Alexion Pharma (ALXN), Amgen (AMGN), Biogen (BIIB), and Vertex Pharma (VRTX). That’s a full day — and meaningful because all four companies will be providing investors with their financial outlooks for 2020. “Unsettled” might be the best way to describe sentiment at the start of the year. The gathering of the biotech tribe for the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare confab came and went without any significant deal-making or buyouts. Global markets are being roiled by the coronavirus outbreak in China. The biotech sector’s most closely followed stock index is down 4%. (Feuerstein, 1/28)

The number of class-action lawsuits claiming securities fraud committed by life sciences companies climbed to a new high last year, continuing a trend in which drug and device makers remain attractive targets for investors, according to a new analysis. A total of 97 such lawsuits were filed against life sciences companies in 2019, a nearly 13% rise from the 88 lawsuits filed the year before. Looked at another way, almost 1 out of 4 of all securities fraud class action lawsuits were filed against these companies, a 3.7% increase from 2018, when only 1 out of 5 such actions were filed against drug and device makers. (Silverman, 1/28)

Lowering health costs emerged as a major part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2020 agenda earlier this month when he unveiled plans to get state government in the business of selling prescription drugs. California would be the first state to create its own drug label, which would contract with existing manufacturers to produce lower-cost drugs. Newsom said he’s already in negotiations related to the plan. (Bollag, 1/27)

While Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will target fixing the roads during her State of the State address Wednesday, at least one pocketbook issue — tackling the spiraling costs of prescription drugs — will be on the agenda as well. “We want to show that we're taking this seriously — we know that the increase in prescription drug costs has just been skyrocketing. It's a bigger part of our budget,” she said. “And it’s costing people in ways that are really impacting their ability to just make their rent payment or take care of their kids.” (Gray, 1/29)

People will be able to pick up prescriptions at certain pharmacies in Michigan that are not staffed by an on-site pharmacist under legislation signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The measure enacted last week allows for "remote" pharmacies, which proponents support as a way to expand access to pharmacy services and improve health outcomes in rural and underserved areas. Pharmacists at "parent" pharmacies will be able to use a real-time audio and video link to review a prescription before it is dispensed by pharmacy technicians. (1/28)

An Oklahoma state senator is working to lower prescription drug prices for state employees through a newly filed bill. Sen. Paul Scott has filed Senate Bill 1901, which would replace the state’s third-party Pharmacy Benefit Managers with a direct-to-pharmacy payment system. Scott says the move could save the state millions and help lower prescription drug prices for state employees. (1/27)

The latest effort to rein in sky-high drug prices was unveiled Monday by Sen. Troy Singleton, D-7 of Delran, and calls for the creation of a drug affordability board with the authority to recommend caps on the price of certain prescription drugs it finds are excessive. A second bill would require the state Department of Treasury to seek to enter into bulk purchasing arrangements for the most-frequently needed drugs of state employees and Medicaid recipients. (Levinsky, 1/27)

The week before the craziness known as J.P. Morgan 2020 began, more than 300 biotech and biopharma leaders signed onto the “New Commitment to Patients” published by STAT, promising to put patients first when it comes to treatment access and pricing comprised. Aside from the sad irony that such a commitment needed to be stated at all, the open letter was a sign that at least some in the industry recognize that more public accountability on pricing is urgently needed. (Craig Martin, 1/29)

Soaring prescription drug prices are putting financial pressure on families across the country. In response, state legislators are increasingly considering limits on the annual price increase of prescription drugs. But rather than making drugs more affordable, these policies risk reducing consumer access to cheaper, generic alternatives. In an effort to slow the ongoing rise of prescription drug prices, lawmakers in Maryland created the country’s first state prescription drug affordability board in May of 2019. Among other powers, the board will be able to review and cap the price of generic prescription drugs if they increase by 200 percent or more for patients covered by public state insurance plans. The law also extends to any prescription drug whose price would create vague “affordability challenges” for the state health care system or its patients. (Oliver McPherson-Smith and Steve Pociask, 1/22)

Money talks in Washington, D.C., and no sector of the economy speaks more loudly than the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. Its flow of cash has fostered an epidemic of medication overload. Over the past five years, pharma has spent about $1.2 billion lobbying federal lawmakers, far more than any other industry. The industry has massive influence over public policy, much of it devoted in recent months to hindering legislative efforts to lower drug prices. (Shannon Brownlee and Judith Garber, 1/28)

On Dec. 12, the U.S. House of Representative took a vital step to lower prescription drug costs and passed 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. (Anna Doroghazi, 1/29)

The U.S. Congress has spent untold time and resources impeaching President Donald Trump, an issue that would otherwise be resolved in the upcoming November election. Meanwhile, research published by the American Heart Association (AHA) last fall showed that one in eight adults with common heart diseases and stroke skip taking medications, delay filling prescriptions and take lower does than prescribed because of concerns about cost. That’s 2.2 million people nationwide. (Patricia Barnes, 1/28)

This ad depicts a true story. It begins: A young man walks around his car, which is up on a jack. He says in voice-over: “I got some Oxy after I hurt my neck. First I took them to feel better. Then I kept taking them. I didn’t know they’d be this addictive. I didn’t know how far I’d go to get more.” Here’s how far he’d go: He lies down under the car. Then he kicks out the jack. You see the car fall, hear a crunch. “Joe S. from Maine broke his back to get more prescription opioids,” the screen says. And then a voice-over: “Opioid dependence can happen after just five days. Know the truth, spread the truth.” (Tina Rosenberg, 1/28)

Today, New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray announced the City is sending nine mental health experts to Puerto Rico to provide crisis counseling, emotional support, connections to mental health services, and help with coping with stressful events. This is in addition to the staff already on the ground, which includes health professionals, building inspectors, engineers, and emergency managers to support the cities with the worst damage. Governor Cuomo also pledged to send extra mental health experts to Puerto Rico as part of the State’s emergency response. But we need consistent support from the federal government. (Oxiris Barbot, 1/28)

The Trump administration lawyers trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act may have undermined a central argument of their case, thanks to an admission in their very own court papers. The filings were part of a lawsuit, now called Texas v. U.S., that started with 20 Republican state officials and claims that a fatal constitutional flaw in Obamacare requires invalidating the entire program. ... But in the brief laying out the case for taking things slow, Trump’s Justice Department lawyers made a curious statement: They said the Affordable Care Act’s supposedly unconstitutional provision has no practical impact. That raises the question of why courts should even hear the lawsuit. (Jonathan Cohn, 1/27)

Biologist Benjamin Mayne certainly generated a lot of media attention with his research showing that the natural human lifespan is 38 years. If he’s right, then the implications are huge — for starters, we would have to rethink our entire health care system. That system is based on the (perhaps unrealistic) assumption that deaths not attributable to accident or violence are due to disease, and that all diseases can be conquered with enough medical research.What if, instead, we’re programmed to die before we’re even old enough for a midlife crisis? (Faye Flam, 1/27)

Take this quiz to see whether you make the kinds of mistakes that can cost poor families food or health insurance. (Emily Badger and Margot Sanger-Katz, 1/28)

Ironically, the theme for this year’s march was “Pro-Life is Pro-Woman.” And yet, here we had a keynote address from a man who has cheated on his wives. A man who has exhibited predatory behavior. A man who has tried to silence women with money, and who uses sexist terms against female journalists who dare speak the truth about him. A man who has no qualms about separating born children from their parents at the border. And somehow the crowd chanted “four more years” as he exited the stage. As a pro-life feminist, I carried a different sign. It read: “Women have abortions because of the sexual ethics of men like Trump.” (Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa, 1/29)

No doubt some local politicians in Virginia who supported resolutions proclaiming their jurisdictions as “gun sanctuaries” thought of their votes as a harmless sop to gun owners riled up at the prospect of tougher state gun laws. What’s the harm in a little pandering, after all?The harm, it turns out, is the risk of turning their counties and cities into firearms free-for-alls where fanatical or confused gun sellers, owners and buyers — and maybe local police and prosecutors, too — decide that state laws are optional. And if state gun laws are optional, then so are other state laws. (1/28)

Massachusetts has been a clear leader when it comes to health care coverage, and as a result, outpaces other states in health care outcomes. But it has taken a village of health care policymakers, economists, practitioners, community leaders, and legislators to create an insurance coverage system that not only works, but that also rises above partisan acrimony. (Pakinam Amer, 1/28)

In Wuhan, hospital corridors are filled with patients who spend days and nights awaiting the chance to see a doctor capable of diagnosing and arranging treatment for the new coronavirus. In some cases, the lines stretch out the hospital doors, forcing new arrivals to either go elsewhere — potentially spreading the virus further — or remain amid a concentrated group of people who might already have it. The overworked doctors are beginning to fray and melt down, if increasingly common eyewitness videos circulating on Chinese social media are to be believed. Sometimes it takes a crisis to highlight what’s wrong with a medical system. (Adam Minter, 1/28)

The novel coronavirus now epidemic in China has features that may make it very difficult to control. If public-health authorities don’t interrupt the spread soon, the virus could infect many thousands more around the globe, disrupt air travel, overwhelm health-care systems, and, worst of all, claim more lives. The good news: There’s still an opening to prevent a grim outcome. China failed to contain the virus early. More cases in the U.S. are inevitable. Experience with the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic suggests that emergency measures such as school closures and border screening—in place at 20 U.S. airports—can at most buy time. Several traits of the virus make border surveillance less effective. (Luciana Borio and Scott Gottlieb, 1/28)

For the third time this century, a new strain of coronavirus, a family of pathogens that cause respiratory illness in birds and mammals, has jumped species and infected humans. Having broken out in the city of Wuhan, the virus, likely spread through coughing and sneezing, has now sickened more than 4,500 people and killed at least 106 in China. (Spencer Bokat-Lindell, 1/28)

Already the outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan, China, has drawn the inevitable comparisons to historical plagues: the mysterious ailments that scourged the Roman empire and may have contributed to its collapse; the Spanish flu epidemic, which killed millions in the wake of World War I; and even the Black Death, which is estimated to have taken between a third and two-thirds of Europe’s population. Like those diseases, coronavirus seems to be extremely contagious and quickly spread. And in that, unlike its predecessors, it will have a great deal of assistance from modern technology. (Megan McArdle, 1/28)

Americans are watching with alarm as a new coronavirus spreads in China and cases pop up in the United States. They are barraged with information about what kinds of masks are best to prevent viral spread. Students are handing out masks in Seattle. Masks have run out in Brazos County, Tex. Hang on. I’ve worked as an emergency room physician. And as a New York Times correspondent in China, I covered the SARS outbreak in 2002 and 2003 during which a novel coronavirus first detected in Guangdong sickened more than 8,000 people and killed more than 800. My two children attended elementary school in Beijing throughout the outbreak. (Elisabeth Rosenthal, 1/28)