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Good morning! Here are your headlines for the morning:

: Recession Holds Down Health Spending
National health spending rose a slight 3.9 percent in 2010, as Americans delayed hospital care, doctor’s visits and prescription drug purchases for the second year in a row, the Obama administration reported Monday (Pear, 1/9).

: U.S. Healthcare Spending Rises 3.9% In 2010
But analysts said spending was likely to pick up as the economy improved and the healthcare law passed under President Obama begins to expand coverage to millions of people now uninsured (McGinley, 1/9).

For more headlines …

: Annual Growth In US Health Care Spending At Historic Lows; Experts Debate If Relief Will Last
The answers will be vital for Medicare’s sustainability, as well as for workplace coverage. U.S. health care spending grew by 3.9 percent in 2010, reaching $2.6 trillion, according to the report by the Health and Human Services department (1/10).

: Weak Economy Curbs Health Spending
The growth of health-care spending was near a historic low at 3.9% in 2010 as the weak economy prompted people to cut back on medical care, according to data released by federal analysts (Radnofsky, 1/10).

: Obama Links Candidates And Lawmakers In Speech To Supporters
Mr. Obama, in an aggressive campaign speech, linked Republicans in Congress and those running in the presidential election, saying both would dismantle Medicare, rollback environmental regulations, lower the minimum wage and crack down on labor union organizing (Lee, 1/9).

: Daley Departure Indicates Shift In Strategy
Jacob Lew, director of the Office of Management and Budget, will replace Daley later this month after he completes work on the 2013 budget. … The shake-up represents a 180-degree turn from what Obama needed a year ago, after Republicans had won control of the House of Representatives and made gains in the Senate. Then, he was under pressure to work with GOP leaders and with the business community, so he capitalized on Daley’s ties to both. Now, in the wake of failed budget negotiations that nearly led to a government default last summer, Obama has largely given up on compromise (Madhani and Wolf, 1/10).

: Opening Statements Set In Texas Lawsuit Seeking $1 Billion From J&J Over Anti-Psychotic Drug
Texas prosecutors want jurors to award the state $1 billion in a lawsuit that accuses Johnson & Johnson of overstating the safety of an anti-psychotic drug and influencing its use in the state’s Medicaid program. The company, facing similar claims in other states, is promising to vigorously defend itself when both sides lay out their cases during opening statements Tuesday (1/10).