Today’s Headlines – January 10, 2012

Good morning! Here are your headlines for the morning:

The New York Times: 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).

Los Angeles Times: 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 …

The Associated Press/Washington Post: 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).

The Wall Street Journal: 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).

The Wall Street Journal’s Washington Wire: 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).

USA Today: 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).

The Associated Press/Washington Post: 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).