Republicans Try To Find ‘Positive Vision’ On Health Care As ‘Repeal And Replace’ Battle Cry Becomes Outdated

The Hill: GOP Seeks Health Care Reboot After 2018 Losses 
Republicans are looking for a new message and platform to replace their longtime call to repeal and replace ObamaCare, after efforts failed in the last Congress and left them empty-handed in the 2018 midterm elections. Republican strategists concede that Democrats dominated the health care debate heading into Election Day, helping them pick up 40 seats in the House. (Bolton, 1/9)

The Washington Post: The White House Says The Border Wall Would Keep Opioids Out Of The U.S. It Wouldn’t.
When President Trump makes his case tonight that there really is a border crisis, he’ll probably mention the opioid epidemic ravaging the United States, which killed thousands of Americans last year. Trump and his surrogates often cite the drug crisis as a reason the border wall with Mexico is needed. There is a “massive influx of drugs that come across the southern border,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Sunday during an interview on Fox News. “Ninety percent of the heroin that comes into this country comes across through the southern border and 300 Americans are killed from that every single month,” she told Fox’s Chris Wallace. (Itkowitz, 1/8)

The Associated Press: Trump Officials Seek Dismissal Of Separated Families' Suit
The federal government is urging a judge to throw out a lawsuit seeking monetary damages on behalf of children who were separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. Department of Justice attorneys said in a brief filed Tuesday that Supreme Court precedent bars such a lawsuit for damages on challenges to government policy. They also argue Trump administration officials named in the case are shielded by qualified immunity, among other things. (1/8)

The Hill: Democrats Seek Early Victories On Drug Prices
Newly empowered House Democrats plan to move first on smaller, bipartisan legislation to lower drug prices, hoping to notch some early victories before moving on to more sweeping measures. Democrats have targeted a number of measures that are smaller in scope but have support from some Senate Republicans, according to Democratic sources. They hope taking a strategic approach and passing those measures will build momentum as they prepare to tackle more controversial proposals further down the road, like allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices. (Sullivan, 1/9)

The Hill: Dem Chairman Requests CBO Report On Design Of Single-Payer Bill
House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) on Tuesday requested information from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) about single-payer health care proposals, a step forward in consideration of the idea. In a letter to the CBO, Yarmuth requested a report on the “design and policy considerations lawmakers would face in developing single-payer health system proposals.” (Sullivan, 1/8)

The Hill: Democrats Demand Answers On Trump Short-Term Insurance Plans
House and Senate Democrats want answers about the Trump administration’s decision to expand the availability of short-term insurance plans that are not required to meet ObamaCare requirements. The letter sent Tuesday is the third time Democratic health care leaders have written to the administration about the short-term plan proposal, but the first time since Democrats took control of the House. (Weixel, 1/8)

The New York Times: Background Check Bill Marks Gun Control As A Priority For House Democrats
Emboldened House Democrats, seeking a politically charged debate on gun control, unveiled legislation on Tuesday to expand background checks to nearly all firearms purchases, a move timed to mark the eighth anniversary of the mass shooting in Arizona that nearly killed former Representative Gabrielle Giffords. By introducing the measure less than one week after taking control of the House, Democrats are signaling that it is a top priority. A vote could come within the first 100 days of the new Congress. (Stolberg, 1/8)

The New York Times: Police Collect DNA From Nursing Home Workers After Sexual Assault Of Patient
The police collected the DNA of male employees of a private nursing home in Arizona on Tuesday as they continued to investigate allegations that a woman in a vegetative state there who gave birth to a child last month had been sexually assaulted, the nursing home’s parent company said. The move represented an escalation in the case, just one day after the longtime chief executive of the company resigned. The police in Phoenix announced Friday that they had opened the investigation into the alleged assault. (Stevens, Rueb and Kramer, 1/9)

Reuters: Factbox: Impact On U.S. Government Widens On 18th Day Of Shutdown
A shutdown of about a quarter of the U.S. government reached its 18th day on Tuesday, with lawmakers and the White House divided over Republican President Donald Trump's demand for money for a border wall ahead of his prime-time address to push the project. The shutdown, which began on Dec. 22, is the 19th since the mid-1970s, although most have been brief. This one now ranks as the second-longest, with Trump saying it could continue for months or years, even as he said he hoped it was resolved within days. (1/8)

The New York Times: De Blasio Unveils Health Care Plan For Undocumented And Low-Income New Yorkers
New York City will spend at least $100 million to ensure that undocumented immigrants and others who cannot qualify for insurance can receive medical treatment, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Tuesday, seeking to insert a city policy into two contentious national debates. The mayor has styled himself, in his 2017 re-election campaign and during his second term, as a progressive leader on issues like education and health care, and as a bulwark against the policies of President Trump, particularly on immigration. (Goodman, 1/8)

The Associated Press: Washington Governor, NY Mayor Push Expanded Health Coverage
Washington's governor and New York City's mayor unveiled major initiatives to expand health insurance coverage Tuesday, the latest moves by key Democratic leaders to address Trump administration health policies they say are keeping people from getting the care they need. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a likely presidential candidate, proposed a publicly run health insurance option for state residents who are not covered by private employers and buying insurance off the marketplace created under former President Barack Obama's health care law. "We need to write another chapter of health care reform," said Inslee, who provided no details on how the program would be funded. (1/8)