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Liberal states move beyond Obamacare. Democrats in liberal states are aiming to go beyond Obamacare with new healthcare legislation, trying to circumvent Congress in order to test out possibilities for a future overhaul of federal programs. These state plans share the same objectives as Democratic proposals in Congress — to boost the number of people with health insurance or to make insurance more affordable to patients — but they differ in one important way: They don’t face the obstacle of a GOP-controlled Senate. “Realistically, the gridlock in Congress is going to be there for the next two years, so to move the ball in a substantial way, states are going to have to take a strong leadership role,” said Tom Kise, spokesman for United States of Care, a research and advocacy organization. At the top of the Democrats’ agenda is a state-run “public option.” Legislators in Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, and Washington state are all pursuing forms of a state-operated insurance plan, which is meant to spur competition against private insurance to lower prices. The lessons that state lawmakers learn in the course of framing, passing, and implementing public option legislation could later prove valuable to legislators in other states or in Washington, D.C.

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Supreme Court allows Trump administration to enforce military’s transgender ban. The Trump administration can begin enforcing its policy restricting many transgender people from serving in the military while legal challenges proceed through the lower courts, the Supreme Court has ruled. In an opinion released Tuesday morning, the court voted 5-4 to grant Justice Department requests to put on hold lower court orders that blocked the Trump administration from enforcing the transgender military ban nationwide. The court split along ideological lines, with justices appointed by Democratic presidents voting to deny the Trump administration’s application to halt the lower court ruling. President Trump announced on Twitter in July 2017 that transgender troops would not be permitted to serve in the military in any capacity, and subsequently issued an order barring most transgender people from military service. The policy was swiftly challenged by transgender troops and LGBT rights organizations, which have been successful in the lower courts. The legal challenges are currently proceeding before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

AHIP adds new members, CareFirst re-joins. CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, the largest health insurance company in the Mid-Atlantic region, has rejoined America’s Health Insurance Plans alongside six new members after leaving in 2017, the group announced Tuesday. AHIP represents health insurers, and the newest members include Bright Health; Inland Empire Health Plan; National Guardian Life; First Medical Health Plan; Central States Health and Life Company of Omaha, which offers Medicare Supplement plans; and Fidelity, which offers health savings accounts. “These new members represent the breadth, depth and variety of health care choices that Americans need to protect their health and financial security,” Matt Eyles, president and CEO of AHIP, said in a statement. “We look forward to working with them to make coverage and care more affordable and accessible for everyone we serve.”

Planned Parenthood reports performing more abortions, 332,757, in latest year. The number of abortions by Planned Parenthood increased by 11,373 over the course of a year, according to the organization’s 2017-2108 annual report released this weekend. The report shows that Planned Parenthood conducted 332,757 abortions for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2018, an increase from 321,384 during the previous fiscal year. Abortions make up 3.4 percent of the services Planned Parenthood performs, an increase from 3 percent the previous year. More than half of its clinics, or 357 out of roughly 600, provide medication abortions, which women can use up to roughly 10 weeks into a pregnancy. Testing for sexually transmitted diseases comprises the largest share of Planned Parenthood services, at 48.7 percent, and next is contraception at 27.1 percent. An additional 6.3 percent of medical services performed are cancer screenings and prevention, a drop from 7 percent during the previous fiscal year. In all, Planned Parenthood saw 2.4 million patients across the U.S. The report indicates that government funds, some of which come from grants known as Title X, account for $563.8 million in revenue, an increase of roughly $20 million from the previous fiscal year. Private contributions grew to $630.8 million, compared with $532.7 million the previous fiscal year.

New York lawmakers expected to pass bill loosening late-term abortion laws. New York state legislatures are expected to pass a bill today that would allow women to have an abortion up to 24 weeks into a pregnancy, for any reason, and then allows abortion after that point to protect a pregnant woman’s life or health, or if the fetus wouldn’t survive outside the womb. Under current law, abortions are only permitted after 24 weeks if a woman’s pregnancy is life-threatening. The legislation, known as the Reproductive Health Act, was blocked when Republicans controlled the state Senate, but Democrats now outnumber them and are expected to back the bill, which also codifies abortion under state law. The bill has the backing of Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Planned Parenthood celebrates expanding abortion on Roe v. Wade anniversary. Planned Parenthood on Tuesday praised efforts at the state level to increase abortion access in New York, California, Rhode Island, Missouri, and New Mexico, whether through loosening abortion restrictions, adding funding, or undoing laws passed before Roe v. Wade, a ruling that occurred 46 years ago today. According to Planned Parenthood, states introduced a record number of legislation aimed at improving sex education and abortion or contraception access last year, enacting 80 laws in 29 states and D.C. Still, the organization stressed that it remained concerned because of the Supreme Court’s conservative makeup and efforts by the Trump administration to cut off federal funding to its centers. “The threat to safe, legal abortion in this country is not hypothetical – there are 15 cases one step away from the Supreme Court, meaning we face a situation where one in three women of reproductive age could be living in states where abortion is criminalized and outlawed,” Dr. Leana Wen, Planned Parenthood president, said in a statement.

Pro-Obamacare group releases healthcare agenda for new Congress. Protect Our Care, an organization that worked to defend Obamacare through its repeal efforts, has released a list of priorities for the new Congress that includes allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, extending federal funding for Medicaid expansion, ending surprise medical bills, and allowing more people to receive Obamacare subsidies. Other priorities are aimed at fighting back against a federal judge’s decision ruling the law unconstitutional and blocking actions by the Trump administration and states. The group wants to end the sale of short-term plans, which are less expensive for certain Obamacare customers but cover fewer healthcare services, and to increase funding and advertising for open enrollment to where it was before Obamacare.

Type 1 diabetes is becoming more expensive to treat. The average price of insulin for Type 1 diabetes, paid for by patients and employer health insurance, rose from $2,864 per patient in 2012 to $5,705 in 2016, according to a Health Care Cost Institute report out today. The surge is attributed to the higher price of insulin, which dumped from 13 cents per unit to 25 cents per unit over the five-year period, translating to an increase from $7.80 a day in 2012 to $15 a day in 2016 for someone using an average amount of insulin. The report is based on an analysis of health insurance claims from 13,800 to 16,200 people with type 1 diabetes who use employer-sponsored health insurance. “We are frequently told that high drug prices are justifiable in order to promote innovative new cures, but the cost of insulin – a longstanding therapy that 1.25 million Americans with type 1 diabetes rely on to live – has nearly doubled in the last five years, despite very little change in the underlying product,” Niall Brennan, CEO of HCCI, said in a statement.

American Cancer Society Action Network has a new president. Lisa Lacasse will take over as the advocacy organization’s president beginning Feb. 1. She previously was deputy president and senior vice president, and has been with the organization for a decade. She has previously worked in health policy for the governor of Maine, worked on the executive team of the University of Maryland Medical System, and was chief financial officer at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Research Center.

Prescription drug sales boosts Johnson & Johnson. The company reported in its fourth quarter earnings report Tuesday that its prescription drugs sales jumped 5.3 percent to $10.19 billion, bolstered in particular by international sales. Pharmaceuticals, which include drugs to treat cancer and arthritis, represent half of the company’s revenue. Johnson & Johnson’s consumer health business remained flat and sales for its medical device business dropped by 4.4 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Washington declares public health emergency over measles outbreak. Clark County officials in Vancouver, Wash., have declared a public health emergency over a measles outbreak in the area, which is close to Portland. At least 21 people, nearly all of whom are children, have been infected. All but three were unvaccinated, and reports say that seven more cases are suspected.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: It’s ‘immoral’ to have billionaires when some don’t have healthcare. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said Monday it’s “immoral” to allow billionaires to exist in a society where others do not have access to healthcare. “I do think a system that allows billionaires to exist when there are parts of Alabama where people are still getting ringworm because they don’t have access to public health is wrong,” Ocasio-Cortez told a reporter Monday at a forum in New York honoring Martin Luther King Jr. “I don’t think that necessarily means that all billionaires are immoral,” she added. “It is not to say that someone like Bill Gates, for example, or Warren Buffett are immoral people.”

RUNDOWN

STAT News A spot of good news in an Ebola crisis: Vaccine supplies are expected to last

Politico Democrats’ plan to neuter Medicare for All irks liberals

FierceHealthcare Health systems begin offering waivers for care to furloughed federal workers

Washington Post America’s original tobacco state considers raising the smoking and vaping age to 21

The Associated Press Pelosi ‘playing chess on 3 boards’ with health care