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All adults, including pregnant women and new mothers, should be screened for depression as a routine part of health care, a government advisory group recommended Tuesday. Depression is a common public health problem, and screening simply involves health workers asking about certain symptoms even if patients don't mention them. (1/26)

The recommendation, expected to galvanize many more health providers to provide screening, comes in the wake of new evidence that maternal mental illness is more common than previously thought; that many cases of what has been called postpartum depression actually start during pregnancy; and that left untreated, these mood disorders can be detrimental to the well-being of children. (Belluck, 1/26)

Primary care doctors should screen all adults for depression, an expert panel recommended Tuesday. The task force for the first time said screening benefits specific groups, including older adults, pregnant women and new mothers. In the past, there wasn't strong enough evidence to weigh in on whether depression screening helps or hurts these groups. (Szabo, 1/26)

The panel evaluated research from recent years and concluded that depression continues to be an important enough disease that it needs to be incorporated as part of primary care for all adults. It gave depression screening its “B” rating, meaning that there is a high certainty of a moderate benefit to be derived from screening—or a moderate certainty that the benefit is “moderate to substantial.” (Burton, 1/26)

The task force, which assesses the harms and benefits of screening programs and makes recommendations accordingly, said that screening pregnant and postpartum women for depression would have a "moderate net benefit." At the same time, the panel acknowledged that, given the small risk that treatment with antidepressants could harm a developing fetus, pregnant women with depression should be offered a "range of treatment options," including cognitive behavioral therapy, which has been found effective in relieving depressive symptoms. (Healy, 1/26)

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says the benefits of treatment, even medication that may affect fetuses, far outweigh any potential risks.The harm associated with screening adults and treating them with cognitive behavioral therapy is "small to none," the task force said in its final statement, posted this week in JAMA. The statement also calls for mental health specialists, primary-care providers and health systems to work collaboratively to manage depressive disorders. (Rice, 1/26)

Pregnant women and new mothers need more attention when it comes to screening for depression, according to recommendations issued Tuesday by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. ... What's new this time is the special shout-out for pregnant women and new moms. They need special recognition, the task force says, because of evidence showing that they can be accurately diagnosed and successfully treated, and because untreated depression harms not only the mother, but her child as well. (Silberner, 1/26)

Nancy Byatt, medical director at the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project for Moms (MCPAP for Moms) and an assistant professor of psychiatry and obstetrics and gynecology at UMass Medical School, said the new recommendations “are an incredibly important step to have depression care become a routine part of obstetrical care.” She added: “Depression in pregnancy is twice as common as diabetes in pregnancy and obstetric providers always screen for diabetes and they have a clear treatment plan. The goal [here] is that women are screened for depression [during pregnancy and postpartum] and they are assessed and treated and this becomes a routine part of care just like diabetes.” (Zimmerman, 1/26)

A federal task force's recommendation that primary care doctors screen all adult patients for depression was surprising but a “very, very positive development," says Henry Chung, a psychiatrist who is chief medical officer at the Montefiore Health System's care management organization here. ... Montefiore has been linking depression screenings with primary care for the past three years through a federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services innovation grant to fund integration of behavioral health into its primary care services. (O'Donnell, 1/26)

One day after Texas authorities filed criminal charges against two antiabortion activists behind a series of undercover videos targeting Planned Parenthood, the pair’s lawyer said they plan to leave California for Houston to turn themselves in. Murphy Klasing, the Houston lawyer representing Daleiden and Merritt, would not say when, exactly, the activists plan to visit the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, which has issued warrants for their arrest. Both Daleiden and Merritt want to book travel plans swiftly, Klasing said. Once in Houston, he said, they will post bond and avoid jail time. (Paquette and Somashekhar, 1/26)

The imminent legal battle over anti-abortion activists’ efforts to infiltrate a Planned Parenthood facility in Houston is morphing into a dispute over First Amendment protections. (Ura, 1/26)

In a surprise move, Texas authorities leveled criminal charges against the antiabortion activists behind a series of undercover videos targeting Planned Parenthood, which sparked fiery debate last year nationwide and on Capitol Hill. ... Josh Schaffer, an attorney for Planned Parenthood in Houston, [explains] what it all means. (Paquette, 1/26)

Anti-abortion activist David Daleiden, one of the videographers indicted after infiltrating a Houston Planned Parenthood facility, apparently is charged with the very crime he tried to secretly catch Planned Parenthood committing. (Ura, 1/26)

Two anti-abortion campaigners who secretly filmed a Planned Parenthood official discussing fetal tissue procurement used fake driver's licenses to enter the group's offices in the Houston area, court papers released in Texas on Tuesday said. Documents filed in Harris County court showed California driver's licenses for the pair when they were making the video - Daleiden used an ID in the name of Robert David Sarkis and Merritt posed as Susan Sarah Tennenbaum. The court papers said the pair unlawfully used a fake government record "with the intent to defraud or harm others." They face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. (Herskovitz, 1/26)

The antiabortion group behind undercover videos that roiled Planned Parenthood Federation of America is facing multiple legal challenges over its own practices, complicating its campaign to portray the health organization as a lawbreaker. Issues the Irvine, Calif.-based group faces include a complaint to the Internal Revenue Service by a left-leaning legal watchdog organization, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and litigation by Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation. In addition, the California attorney general’s office has said it was reviewing whether the group broke any laws. (Armour and Frosch, 1/26)

A grand jury’s indictment on Monday of two abortion opponents who covertly recorded Planned Parenthood officials is the latest, most startling sign that a Republican campaign against the group has run into trouble. In a dozen states including Texas, where the grand jury in Houston examined Planned Parenthood at the request of Republican officials but ended up indicting the opponents, various investigations have concluded without finding any wrongdoing by affiliates of the group. Eight states have declined to investigate since videos began surfacing in June alleging that Planned Parenthood illegally sells tissue from aborted fetuses. (Calmes, 1/26)

A new study indicates that a favorable ruling for House Republicans in their ObamaCare lawsuit would cause a large disruption, but would not cripple the law. The study from the Urban Institute finds that if Republicans win in the case of House v. Burwell, cutting off certain payments to insurers under the health law, insurers would face a major adjustment and have to hike premiums, but government subsidies would increase to help make up the difference and the system would likely not face major negative consequences. (Sullivan, 1/27)

Millions of young adults healthy enough to think they don't need insurance face painful choices this year as the sign-up deadline approaches for President Barack Obama's health care law. Fines for being uninsured rise sharply in 2016 — averaging nearly $1,000 per household, according to an independent estimate. It's forcing those in their 20s and 30s to take a hard look and see if they can squeeze in coverage to avoid penalties. (1/26)

Ohioans who switched Obamacare plans this year will save an average of $648, according to a new federal report that seeks to emphasize the value of shopping for plans on healthcare.gov. The report by the Health and Human Services Department indicates that 49,462 Ohioans have switched plans during the open enrollment period and will save an average of $54 on their monthly premiums. (Ross, 1/26)

With less than a week until the open enrollment period closes, three of the four call centers serving Access Health CT clients were offline during peak hours Monday because of the weekend’s winter weather, according to a press release from the health care exchange. (Constable, 1/26)

Blue Cross and Blue Shield says it has reinstated health coverage for thousands of stranded customers who were dropped from the insurer’s rolls in a technology debacle that cut off coverage for residents with urgent medical needs and rippled throughout the state. But the state’s largest health insurer is not disclosing how many customers are still without health insurance, even as Blue Cross concedes that call volumes to the company’s help line remain far above normal. (Murawski, 1/26)

Republican lawmakers' plan to continue Medicaid expansion in New Hampshire includes work requirements for people receiving the insurance and proposes a way to pay for the state's share of the program without charging taxpayers. Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley will outline the proposal Wednesday alongside several advocacy groups in advance of a public hearing the next day. (1/27)

The Kansas Hospital Association has engineered the introduction of a Medicaid expansion bill modeled after a so-called consumer driven plan implemented last year in Indiana. The measure, introduced Tuesday in House and Senate committees, would provide coverage to approximately 150,000 low-income but non-disabled adults by making them eligible for KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program. Tom Bell, president and chief executive of KHA, said the proposal was written with input from Kansas lawmakers. (McLean, 1/26)

An assessment of Medicaid expansion, done by a Wake Forest law professor and a researcher, finds that its economic benefits and savings would about equal the extra expense when North Carolina would have to pay its maximum share of the cost. ... Mark A. Hall, director of Wake Forest law school’s health law and policy program, and research associate Edwin Shoaf compiled a summary of economists’ estimates of the costs and benefits of expansion. They found that secondary benefits – job creation and economic stimulus, reducing the cost to treat uninsured people, and reducing costs of other state programs – would offset the state’s 10 percent share of the total cost of expansion, when the state begins shouldering that portion. (Bonner, 1/26)

While tackling a $1.9 billion budget deficit, Louisiana’s new governor will also have to juggle bringing 350,000 low-income residents into the state’s health insurance program for the poor — and he’s determined to get it done fast. On Jan. 12, his second day in office, Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards signed an executive order to expand Medicaid. The order is a first step toward fulfilling a campaign promise and marks a turning point for a Southern state whose previous governor, Republican Bobby Jindal, staunchly opposed the 2010 federal health care law better known as Obamacare. (Evans, 1/26)

The Tennessee Hospital Association, a key supporter of Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's unsuccessful effort to expand Medicaid in the state, is planning a new push to pass the measure once this year's presidential election is over. The members of the hospital group had pledged to cover the entire $74 million state share of Haslam's Insure Tennessee proposal, which would have drawn down $2.8 billion in federal Medicaid funds over two years. (Schelzig, 1/26)

Donald Trump says he's ardently anti-abortion. But some of the most active anti-abortion groups are skeptical of his conversion and furiously lobbying for anyone but Trump. “He worries me a lot,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser of the Susan B. Anthony List, citing the billionaire’s comments that he might consider former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown as a running mate — or his sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, as a Supreme Court justice. Both Brown and Barry support abortion rights. “One has to question how deep it goes,” she said. (Haberkorn, 1/26)

A group of national and Iowa-based leaders of anti-abortion groups are urging voters to support “anyone but Trump." The 10 leaders, including Jenifer Bowen, executive director of Iowa Right to Life, and Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony List, wrote a letter to Iowa voters ahead of Monday’s caucuses, warning against Donald Trump, one of the leading candidates. (Sullivan, 1/26)

The Senate is expected to pass a bill Wednesday to cut funding of Planned Parenthood in Ohio, giving Gov. John Kasich the chance to sign it ahead of the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary. (Candisky and Siegal, 1/26)

It singled out his willingness to take a stand against his party on expanding Medicaid and voter identification initiatives. And on the national stage, the Globe pointed to his ability to work with Democrats when he was in Congress. (1/26)

Donald Trump stunned the health care world Monday night with his call for Medicare to negotiate drug prices — an idea that’s straight out of Hillary Clinton’s and Bernie Sanders playbooks, and one that other Republicans won’t touch. (Nather, 1/26)

Comments from Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump that Medicare could reap huge savings by negotiating with drug makers raise new risks for the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, whose shares have been pressured by criticism from Democrats. ... Democrats and other critics have hammered away at drug costs in recent months, raising investor concerns that future price cuts could hurt pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Biotech stocks tumbled last September after Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton tweeted her intent to tackle high prices. (Krauskopf, 1/26)

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said on Tuesday he has placed a hold on President Barack Obama's nominee to head the Food and Drug Administration, claiming he is too close to the pharmaceutical industry to be an impartial regulator. The move by the U.S. senator from Vermont comes one day after Democratic Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts also placed a hold on the nomination until the agency agrees to reform its process for approving opioid painkillers. (Heavey, 1/26)

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is formally blocking President Obama’s pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after announcing his opposition late last year. He [said] that he's placed a hold on Califf's nomination because "we need a leader at the FDA who is prepared to stand up to drug companies." (Carney, 1/26)

Federal officials are urging hospitals to improve care for minority and low-income Medicare patients so they don't wind up back in the hospital soon after they're discharged. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is issuing guidance to hospitals Tuesday on how to improve communication and care for these disadvantaged patients if they want to avoid penalties when these people have to be readmitted within 30 days of discharge. (O'Donnell, 1/26)

The CMS is pushing hospitals to establish more aggressive care plans and to team up with non-medical personnel such as social workers in a new guidance aimed at reducing readmissions for minority and low income Medicare enrollees. Minority and other vulnerable people with chronic conditions such as congestive heart failure are more likely to be readmitted within 30 days of discharge than their white counterparts, according to the CMS. (Dickson, 1/26)

President Obama received a briefing from top government health officials on the Zika virus Tuesday, and urged faster research to develop better diagnostic tests and vaccines to stop the spread of the virus, the White House announced. (Nather, 1/26)

President Barack Obama on Tuesday called for the rapid development of tests, vaccines and treatments to fight the mosquito-transmitted Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects and could spread to the United States in warmer months. U.S. health officials are stepping up efforts to study the link between Zika virus infections and birth defects, citing a recent study estimating the virus could reach regions where 60 percent of the U.S. population lives. (Steenhuysen and Rampton, 1/27)

The U.S. government is beginning research into a possible vaccine for the mosquito-borne Zika virus that is suspected of causing an unusual birth defect as it spreads in Latin America. Don’t expect protection anytime soon — vaccine development typically takes years. (Neergaard, 1/26)

The outbreak of Zika virus in Brazil and other countries has raised concern that the pathogen could start spreading widely in the United States, as well. But federal health officials and other infectious disease specialists say so far that seems unlikely. "Based on what we know right now, we don't think that widespread transmission in the United States is likely," says Dr. Beth Bell, director of National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Stein, 1/26)

Although no one has yet contracted the mosquito-borne Zika virus in South Florida, history shows a familiar pattern. The type of mosquito capable of carrying and spreading the disease, the Aedes aegypti mosquito, is not uncommon in South Florida. It’s the same mosquito that has transmitted the tropical diseases of yellow fever, dengue and chikungunya, pronounced chik-en-gun-ye and characterized by high fever. (Teproff, 1/26)

Fidelity Investments is already the U.S.’s No. 2 mutual fund company. Now, it wants to get bigger in the health insurance business. The financial services firm is introducing a shopping website for health insurance and other employee benefits called Fidelity Health Marketplace. Targeted at businesses with as many as 2,500 workers, the site, known as a private health exchange, complements Fidelity’s existing benefits products such as retirement accounts. (Tracer, 1/26)

Hundreds of U.S. health-care providers over the next three years will be scrutinized for their compliance with patient privacy regulations, as regulators respond to findings of widespread compliance gaps and launch a new round of industry audits. The audits by the Health and Human Services Department’s office of Civil Rights were slated to begin early this year, and are reported to eventually reach 350 providers such as doctors, pharmacies, and health insurance companies. (Polking, 1/26)

Health insurer Anthem Inc, which is in the process of buying smaller rival Cigna Corp (CI.N), reported a net profit that fell short of analysts' estimates, hampered by weakness in its Obamacare business. While the company's overall enrollment grew by 1.1 million during the year, it lost 118,000 members in its individual business, which sells plans under the Affordable Care Act. (1/27)

Johnson & Johnson, the world’s largest health-care company, beat fourth-quarter profit estimates, helped by blockbusters like arthritis treatment Remicade and psoriasis drug Stelara. The shares rose as much as 3.5 percent, the biggest intraday gain in five months, after J&J posted earnings of $1.44 a share, excluding some items, topping the $1.42 average of 20 analysts’ projections compiled by Bloomberg. J&J is relying on prescription medicines to boost growth and help mitigate a slowdown in the medical devices. The company said last week it plans to cut about 3,000 jobs from the medical-devices unit, which has been under pressure from cost-cutting by insurers and hospitals. (Koons, 1/26)

Royal Philips NV’s profit rose more than estimated on growth in medical equipment, helping Chief Executive Officer Frans van Houten bolster his case for exiting the lighting-gear business that is the foundation of the 125-year-old Dutch company. Van Houten predicted 2016 will bring further "modest" sales growth, with “low single digit” growth in the global healthcare market. He’s budgeting for medical equipment to grow into a $125 billion industry on increasing demand for technology that allows hospitals to analyze clinical data, and patients to monitor health and nutrition on smartphones. (Groningen, 1/26)

Strong orders for its healthcare business helped to boost shares in Philips (PHG.AS), the Dutch company which is seeking to focus on scanners and medical technology and shed its traditional lighting operations. Philips CEO Frans van Houten said he expected modest growth in sales and earnings in 2016, with improvements mostly coming in the second half of the year. (Sterling, 1/26)

Companies might add something new to their annual reports: a rating of their workers’ health. A group of employers, including International Business Machines Corp., PepsiCo Inc. and Johnson & Johnson, are weighing how to publicly report—and measure—the health of their workforce. Such ratings would give shareholders, corporate directors, managers and consumers insight into a company’s commitment to improving employee health, and whether such efforts are getting results. Chronic illness, tobacco use and obesity can drive up a company’s medical costs, but a growing body of research suggests they can also affect productivity and performance. (Silverman, 1/26)

With the Iowa presidential caucuses coming up on Feb. 1, lots of attention has focused on the argument between Democratic candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton over whether it's better to fix the Affordable Care Act or switch to a single-payer government program, and on the Republican candidates' repeated calls for repealing Obamacare. But in Iowa, many healthcare providers, patients, and public officials are more immediately concerned about [Gov. Terry] Branstad's Medicaid privatization effort, which he says will save money and improve care. They note that other states implemented their Medicaid managed care programs much more gradually, moving disabled people into MCOs only after the programs were well established. Now some Democrats are making it a political issue, with Hillary Clinton warning it could mean cuts in services. (Meyer, 1/26)

Kansas will bring its privatized Medicaid program before federal officials for reauthorization this year, but with new requirements to better serve rural populations, the state’s top health official said. Susan Mosier, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, spoke to the House Children and Seniors Committee on Tuesday about Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. In Kansas, three private managed care organizations administer Medicaid and CHIP through a waiver program known as KanCare. (Hart, 1/26)

Gov. Matt Bevin wants to spare the state’s Medicaid program from any immediate cuts and provide pay increases for social workers. He also plans to end within a year Kynect, the health-insurance exchange started by former Gov. Steve Beshear, and increase funding for centers that assist abused and neglected children, a project pushed by his wife, Glenna Bevin. Bevin highlighted those health issues in the $21 billion, two-year budget plan he unveiled to state lawmakers Tuesday. (Brammer, 1/26)

Despite cuts to most areas of state government, Gov. Matt Bevin is boosting funds for three key social service programs, proposing an infusion of money for abused or neglected children and vulnerable adults. Nor would Bevin cut Medicaid, the government health plan for low-income and disabled Kentuckians even though his administration plans to eliminate kynect, Kentucky's nationally recognized health exchange created by his predecessor, Gov. Steve Beshear. "We're not touching things that touch the people of Kentucky," he said. (Yetter, 1/26)

In the past five years, state budget dollars for public health departments have been cut, a federal fund for public health prevention has been exhausted and health departments face retroactive cuts to Medicaid reimbursements back to 2011. Now the income stream provided to health departments by Medicaid is likely to change dramatically under the state’s reform plan. (Hoban, 1/27)

Gov. Rick Snyder said Tuesday he will seek permission from the Obama administration to allow all young people in Flint the chance to receive publicly funded health care services for lead exposure amid the city's contaminated drinking water crisis. (Dolan and Spangler, 1/26)

Chief among the priorities national and local NAACP leaders listed Tuesday for the lead-tainted water crisis in Flint is the repeal of Michigan's emergency manager law, which they view as a contributor to the public health emergency. The "15-point priority plan," which the NAACP drew up with Flint residents, was the focus of a community meeting and was discussed at a closed-door, evening meeting with Gov. Rick Snyder, National NAACP President and Chief Executive Cornell Brooks and other officials. (Eggert and Karoub, 1/27)

Montana officials said they have averted a massive financial shortfall that could have possibly erupted into a political and budgetary headache over the state's health care system. Gov. Steve Bullock said Tuesday his budget officers originally projected a $12 million deficit last year for the Montana State Employee Health Plan. Instead, state officials squeezed out $2 million in savings — partly because of wider use of Montana's six state-run health clinics. (Calvan, 1/26)

New research from the state Health Department finds that chronic diseases are surprisingly expensive in Minnesota. Few would be surprised to hear that chronic conditions account for a large share of health spending. But for the first time, the state has been able to place a dollar figure on the cost of long-running health problems: nearly $23 billion. (Benson, 1/27)

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on Tuesday proposed ... legislation to help the state crack down on a growing epidemic of opiod addiction by changing the state’s gang laws to be more like federal racketeering statutes and by eventually requiring doctors and ­pharmacists to use the state’s ­prescription-monitoring database to ensure they are not over-prescribing narcotics. (Wiggins and Hicks, 1/26)

Parents of Kansas children who committed suicide urged the Senate Education Committee to support a bill that would require suicide prevention training for Kansas teachers and school staff. The bill — also known as the Jason Flatt Act — would require all licensed teachers and principals to complete two hours of suicide prevention training each year. Supporters of the bill note that suicide is the second-leading cause of death among young people, and one that’s often not talked about. (Kite, 1/26)

Women seeking abortions after diagnoses of fatal fetal anomalies can no longer have the procedure at a Cincinnati hospital. The last hospital in Greater Cincinnati to allow these abortions, The Christ Hospital in Mount Auburn, two months ago stopped permitting physicians to perform them, as part of a policy obtained by The Enquirer. (Balmert and Thompson, 1/26)

A state mandate that doctors who provide abortions must have admitting privileges at hospitals within 30 miles is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. In issuing the ruling, District Judge John deGravelles in Baton Rouge decided to keep in place his previous order blocking Louisiana officials from enforcing the mandate. DeGravelles has not yet ruled on the state's abortion law itself, though he heard arguments about it in June while first considering the injunction in connection with a lawsuit still pending in court. (1/26)

A measure to help Florida get rid of its backlog of thousands of untested rape kits passed its first Senate panel Monday. Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto (R-Fort Myers), the bill’s sponsor, calls the amount of untested rape kits nationwide and statewide, “an epidemic.” That final survey done by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement states there are about 13,000 untested rape kits across the state—9,400 of which should be tested. (Cordner, 1/26)

Georgia has failed to ensure that developmentally disabled people discharged from state hospitals receive adequate services to remain safe and avoid harm, federal attorneys say in a recent court filing. The attorneys said that of the approximately 503 people with developmental disabilities discharged from state-run hospitals since 2010, 79 have died. (Miller, 1/26)

An Ohio initiative seeks to boost access to mental health consultants in an effort to curb the number of children expelled or suspended from kindergarten, preschool and other early childhood education settings. Officials set aside $9.1 million for the initiative in the state's two-year budget, which will benefit 75 counties, according to the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. The funds allow for up to 64 mental health consultants who will work with teachers and at-risk students in programs such as Head Start, preschool and child care settings. Some consultants already are in classrooms. (Sanner, 1/26)

After two decades of dissatisfaction with low provider reimbursement rates, insufficient state oversight and a gap in treatment for low-income children, Sacramento County is seeking to change a historically underused state dental program. (Caoila, 1/26)

A Navy veteran scammed federal agencies out of more than $1.5 million by exaggerating his multiple sclerosis, claiming he needed a wheelchair to get around when he was actually playing golf, baseball and taking part in a grueling foot race, prosecutors said. (Kinnard, 1/26)

A deadly outbreak of salmonella food poisoning tied to Mexican-grown cucumbers has been linked to six deaths and nearly 900 illnesses since last summer, including 26 in Washington state, health officials reported Tuesday. Two additional deaths and 50 more illnesses tied to the Salmonella Poona outbreak have been reported since the last update in November, the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) said. That includes illnesses that began in January, raising new questions about an ongoing source of contamination. (Aleccia, 1/26)

The story of Maria Huaman has set off a score of comments online, criticizing everything from Jackson Memorial Hospital to the organ transplant process. Huaman died on Jan. 13 at West Kendall Baptist Hospital. According to Huaman's family, Maria was denied a transfer to Jackson for a lung transplant. Why she was denied comes from the family because the hospital has not spoken. (Hernandez, 1/26)

More than a dozen years ago, George Halvorson, the chief executive of Kaiser Permanente, pressed Judy Faulkner on her "number" — the sum that would entice her to either sell Epic Systems Corp. or take the company public. ... "She did not blink," [KP's Andrew] Wiesenthal said. "She said, 'There is no number. We are not going to have an IPO.'" It was one of the early signs that money is not what drives Faulkner, Epic's founder and chief executive. Another came last May when Faulkner — now a multibillionaire — pledged to give 99% of her family's wealth to a nonprofit foundation. (Boulton, 1/26)

One after the other, investigations of Planned Parenthood prompted by hidden-camera videos released last summer have found no evidence of wrongdoing. On Monday, a grand jury in Harris County, Tex., went a step further. Though it was convened to investigate Planned Parenthood, it indicted two members of the group that made the videos instead. ... Yet despite all the evidence, Texas’ Republican governor, Greg Abbott, said on Monday that the state attorney general’s office and the State Health and Human Services Commission would continue investigating Planned Parenthood. This is a purely political campaign of intimidation and persecution meant to destroy an organization whose mission to serve women’s health care needs the governor abhors. (1/27)

The indictment of anti-abortion activist David Daleiden is a stark reminder that the criminal law is a dangerous animal: Once it’s set free, there’s no telling who will be its target. Yet Daleiden is extremely unlikely to receive anything but symbolic jail time if convicted of the charge of making and using a false California driver’s license in the course of his undercover attempt to discredit Planned Parenthood clinics in Texas. And despite what his supporters might say, the indictment doesn’t pose a threat to First Amendment values or legitimate investigative journalism. (Noah Feldman, 1/26)

Last year anti-abortion activists released videotapes they said showed Planned Parenthood illegally profited from fetal tissue obtained by abortions. Though secretly recorded and heavily edited, conservative politicians embraced snippets of the recordings to justify renewed attacks on the health provider. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was among them. When he wanted an investigation into a local Planned Parenthood, Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson immediately got to work. (1/26)

Iowa is moving quickly to privatize Medicaid. I am deeply concerned for the more than 560,000 Iowans on Medicaid, including 120,000 coping with life-altering disabilities, whose quality of life and future depend upon accessible health care. You can see the numbers: businesses wanting a piece of the $4.2 billion Iowa Medicaid system; four out-of-state companies chosen to decide the future of Medicaid; nearly $500 million in added administrative costs. Well, behind all of these big numbers are real people. And today, tens of thousands of Iowans with disabilities are especially at risk because the current administration decided to outsource Medicaid. I believe we can and must do better. (Chet Culver, 1/26)

This year, the state Legislature will decide the future of expanding the state’s Medicaid program to able-bodied adults under Obamacare. Medicaid expansion – passed in 2014 by a Legislature more sympathetic to Obamacare and growing government – expires later this year, and some of our elected officials are seeking to make it permanent. In early 2013, when Obamacare proponents pursued adding able-bodied adults to the Medicaid program, they offered three reasons for adding thousands of individuals to a program that is already the largest in state government. All three premises have proven to be false. (Greg Moore, 1/27)

For many years, most Kansans have shared a belief that we are obligated to provide a basic level of care for the most vulnerable people in our communities. We have relied on a combination of services from our nonprofits and state and local governments. Some of us believe that our most productive pursuits occur when government partners with faith-based organizations to provide services. (Dennis McKinney, 1/26)

Democrats have tried to give Medicare this power since at least 2003, when Medicare Part D, which gives beneficiaries prescription drug benefits, passed. Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and President Barack Obama all agree with Trump that Medicare ought to have the authority to push back against drug companies that ask for really high prices. Republicans have opposed such policies, saying that lower prices would leave drugmakers with less money for research — and leave Americans with less innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. But Trump isn't like other Republicans. He talks a lot about how he isn't beholden to special interests because he is financing his own campaign. This isn't fully true — Trump does take outside donations alongside his own contribution — but voters like the rhetoric and the idea that he can't be bought. This Medicare proposal only builds on that narrative. (Sarah Kliff, 1/26)

Maryland is the only state testing an "all payer" model for Medicare insurance payments. This model pays hospitals a fixed amount for each patient, in contrast to standard fee-for-service payments for each test or doctor's visit. A recent report in the New England Journal of Medicine showed Maryland's experiment has resulted in a 26 percent drop in infections, surgical errors and other preventable conditions. The model's success is counter-intuitive and throws into question our belief that more medicine means better health. (Morgan, 1/26)

Scientists at an International AIDS Society conference recently announced a hopeful discovery: Early treatment reduces the rate of complication and death from HIV/AIDS by more than half compared with delayed treatment. But rather than capitalize on this discovery by expanding access to treatment, lawmakers across the country are moving to cut off the development of new medicines by imposing price controls on lifesaving drugs. (Zaldivar, 1/25)

A lot has been written about empowering patients. Unfortunately, effective tools for making that possible still aren't widely available.But that may soon change. Over the past 30 years, there has been a movement to develop educational materials that empowers patients to engage in shared decisionmaking with their physicians. (Merrill Goozner, 1/23)