• John Kapoor, the founder of the Insys Therapeutics Inc., has received a sentence of five and a half years for participating in a scheme to bribe doctors to prescribe Subsys — the drugmaker’s addictive, under-the-tongue fentanyl product — and deceive insurers into covering the drug. Kapoor is now the highest-ranking employee of a pharmaceutical company to be ordered to serve jail time in an opioid case, and a lawyer for Kapoor said she will appeal the decision, which many believe sets a precedent for how the judicial system will treat drugmakers that used the opioid epidemic as an opportunity to make a profit. (Reuters)

• A college student in Texas is being isolated at home because he meets the criteria for coronavirus testing, and health officials are working to confirm whether his illness is the second case of coronavirus in the United States. The student attends Texas A&M University and recently visited Wuhan, China, and while the university said the risk to other students is low at this time, Texas’ health officer said health officials are investigating other residents in the state for signs of coronavirus. (The New York Times)

• The Health and Human Services Department failed to renew the “public health emergency” declaration concerning the opioid epidemic when it expired last week, a lapse that lasted for nine days. An HHS spokesperson said the “clerical error” has been fixed. (Politico)

Indian Health Service Faces Civil Suit Over Alleged Sexual Abuse
Christopher Weaver and Dan Frosch, The Wall Street Journal

Alleged victims seek compensation from the U.S. government for failing to protect them from pediatrician Stanley Patrick Weber.

Bloomberg On Health Care: Translating His Mayoral Record To The National Stage
Shefali Luthra, Kaiser Health News

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has spent more than $200 million arguing that he should be the Democratic nominee for president, blanketing the airwaves with advertisements.

Thousands of Housing Vouchers for Homeless Veterans Go Unused
Ben Kesling, The Wall Street Journal

Rising rents across the country and hiring difficulties at the Department of Veterans Affairs have left unused thousands of housing vouchers designated for homeless veterans.

‘Not just about that baby’: Inside a refuge for pregnant women in crisis
Kimberly Leonard, Washington Examiner

Kathleen Wilson swept crumbs off the floor of the soft yellow-painted lobby and returned toys to the playroom at the end of the day.

Administration to give Senate briefing on coronavirus
Nathaniel Weixel, The Hill

Senators are set to hear from top federal health officials Friday regarding the outbreak of the new coronavirus originating in China. The administration’s briefing will be jointly hosted by the Senate Health and Foreign Relations committees, the panels said in a joint statement on Thursday.

Scientists Leave Federal Jobs Under President Trump 
Annie Gowen et al., The Washington Post

Dozens of government computers sit in a nondescript building here, able to connect to a data model that could help farmers manage the impact of a changing climate on their crops. But no one in this federal agency would know how to access the model, or, if they did, what to do with the data.

House candidate asks FEC to let her use campaign funds for health insurance
Rebecca Klar, The Hill

Nabilah Islam, a progressive Democrat running for a House seat in Georgia, is asking the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) to let her use campaign funds to purchase health insurance. 

DeVos compares abortion rights debate to slavery
Betsy DeVos, Politico

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos compared the abortion rights debate to the battle to eliminate slavery during remarks at a Colorado Christian University event in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night.

Quit smoking and you may add a decade to your life, but don’t vape, says Surgeon General
Jayne O’Donnell, USA TODAY

Stopping smoking at any age could add a decade to your life, but don’t bother quitting with e-cigarettes — there’s not enough evidence it works, the Surgeon General says.

‘What choice do I have?’ Lock-down strands millions in China’s Wuhan
David Stanway and Martin Pollard, Reuters

A trickle of passengers at the train station in the Chinese city of Wuhan put on a brave face on Friday as they arrived in the epicenter of a coronavirus outbreak that has killed 26 people, infected hundreds and raised fears of a pandemic.

U.S. Futures, Stocks Rise as Virus Fears on Hold: Markets Wrap
Constantine Courcoulas, Bloomberg

U.S. index futures edged higher while stocks jumped in Europe as investors digested the latest corporate news and economic data, setting aside for now fears over a deadly virus spreading from China. Oil fell for a fourth day.

CMS will consolidate its eight consumer-facing tools
Maria Castellucci, Modern Healthcare

The CMS announced Thursday that the eight online tools designed for Medicare beneficiaries and their caregivers to make healthcare choices will be combined later this year.

China Building 1,000-Bed Hospital Over the Weekend to Treat Coronavirus
Ben Blanchard, Reuters

The Chinese city of Wuhan is rapidly building a new 1,000-bed hospital to treat victims of a new coronavirus, mobilizing machinery to get it ready by early next week, state media said.

Precautions are in place. Now U.S. hospitals and states ready for more cases of novel virus from China
Shraddha Chakradhar and Andrew Joseph, Stat News

It seemed like it was only a matter of time. Even before the first U.S. case of a novel coronavirus that’s broken out in China was confirmed Tuesday, American health officials and hospitals were braced to respond. 

Four Chicago hospitals to merge
Stephanie Goldberg, Modern Healthcare

Four financially struggling hospitals have agreed to merge in hopes of transforming care for Chicago residents on the South Side.

Drugmakers Rush to Develop Vaccines Against China Virus
Peter Loftus and Betsy McKay, The Wall Street Journal

Several drugmakers are racing to develop vaccines that could protect against the new respiratory virus originating in China, as fears mount it could spread more widely.

Want to know how contentious drug pricing is in Washington? Check the receipts
Nicholas Florko, Stat News

Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and the 31 other major drug makers that belong to the trade group PhRMA together spent more than $120 million lobbying Congress in 2019, according to recently released federal disclosures.

Missouri Doctor Indicted in Alleged Fentanyl Fraud Scheme
The Associated Press

A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted a southwest Missouri physician accused of receiving tens of thousands of dollars in kickbacks for prescribing fentanyl spray to hundreds of patients in a $2.4 million medical fraud scheme.

Healthcare venture investment in 2020: Quantum computing gets a closer look
Nathan Eddy, HealthcareITNews

Artificial intelligence will also continue to be a big focus, as it becomes more clear which startups are succeeding in their initial target sectors. VCs are also eyeing genomics analytics tools, as well as other more practical technologies.

A Message from Better Medicare Alliance:

With a 94% satisfaction rate among beneficiaries, Medicare Advantage is delivering the lower costs, high quality, and improved outcomes that Americans deserve. Don’t take our word for it – check out Better Medicare Alliance’s new interactive “Your State, Your Stories” map to read firsthand MA beneficiary testimonials in all 50 states! Visit MedicareMyWay.com to see what seniors in your state have to say.

Time to Abolish the Surprise Medical Bill Loophole
Isaiah Cochran, Morning Consult

After years of trying to rein in excess profits in health care, the United States is finally on the cusp of providing nationwide relief to people struggling with high-cost surprise medical bills.

Smoking Cessation: A Report of the Surgeon General
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Collectively, the changes cited in this report provide new opportunities and challenges for understanding and promoting smoking cessation in the United States. However, the evidence-based clinical-, health system-, and population-based tobacco prevention, control, and cessation strategies that are outlined in this report are a necessary but insufficient means to end the tobacco epidemic.