| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Brenda Fitzgerald resigned Wednesday, one day after reports that she traded tobacco stocks while heading the agency. "This morning Secretary [Alex] Azar accepted Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald's resignation as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement. "Dr. Fitzgerald owns certain complex financial interests that have imposed a broad recusal limiting her ability to complete all of her duties as the CDC Director. Due to the nature of these financial interests, Dr. Fitzgerald could not divest from them in a definitive time period." "After advising Secretary Azar of both the status of the financial interests and the scope of her recusal, Dr. Fitzgerald tendered, and the Secretary accepted, her resignation," the statement said. "The Secretary thanks Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald for her service and wishes her the best in all her endeavors." Politico reported Tuesday that Fitzgerald bought a share in Japan Tobacco one month into her leadership of the agency, which is responsible for reducing tobacco use among Americans. Read more here. Trump health chief faces early test on enforcing ObamaCare President Trump's new health secretary, Alex Azar, is facing an early test of his willingness to enforce the Affordable Care Act. The governor of Idaho moved last week to allow insurers in the state to sell plans that do not meet several ObamaCare requirements, including ones that deal with pre-existing conditions. Democrats and other observers call that a clear violation of federal law. They say the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has an obligation to step in and stop the plans from being sold. But such a move from the Trump administration would be politically tricky, as it would mean overruling a Republican governor to enforce ObamaCare's rules. "Hundreds of years of American law would say that states can't ignore federal law," said Sam Berger, a former Obama administration health official now at the liberal Center for American Progress, stressing that HHS has a duty to enforce the law. "I would be surprised if the HHS secretary in his first few days violated his oath of office," he added. Azar was sworn into office on Monday. HHS indicated in a statement that it would conduct a review of Idaho's move. "While we have not conducted a formal review of Idaho's new guidelines, the state's approach does need to be evaluated," an HHS spokesperson said. "HHS is committed to fulfilling its obligations under the law and will continue to work with states to provide flexibility where possible." Read more here. Trump makes no calls for ObamaCare repeal in State of the Union President Trump made no mention of repealing or replacing ObamaCare during his first State of the Union address on Tuesday, cementing how far the issue has fallen off of the GOP's agenda. Republicans on Capitol Hill have largely moved away from gutting former President Obama's signature health-care law, and Trump wasn't expected to speak about repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in his speech Tuesday. Trump touted the repeal of the ACA's individual mandate in the GOP tax bill, saying "we repealed the core of disastrous ObamaCare." However, the bill only gutted the fee for going uninsured, leaving other parts of the law in place, including the Medicaid expansion, insurance exchanges and consumer protections. Read more here. Trump urges Congress to pass 'Right to Try' experimental drug bill President Trump is calling on Congress to pass a bill aimed at allowing terminally ill patients to request access to experimental drugs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn't yet approved. "We also believe that patients with terminal conditions, terminal illness, should have access to experimental treatment immediately that could potentially save their lives," Trump said in his State of the Union address Tuesday. "People who are terminally ill should not have to go from country to country to seek a cure. I want to give them a chance right here at home," he continued. "It's time for Congress to give these wonderful, incredible Americans the 'right to try.'" Read more here. Dems want watchdog to probe Trump's opioid strategy A group of Senate Democrats is pressing a congressional watchdog to investigate President Trump's efforts to combat the opioid epidemic. Led by Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), they are asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review actions taken by the Trump administration to reduce the number of opioid deaths, as well as any steps taken to minimize the effect of opioids on communities. In October, Trump announced he was declaring the opioid epidemic a national public health emergency. The declaration only lasted for 90 days however, and was extended on Jan. 19, days before it was set to expire. However, Democrats say the administration has done little since. A public health emergency doesn't free up any federal funding, and the administration has not allocated additional resources. Read more here. What we're reading Anthem promises more 2018 growth and long-term drug savings (Reuters) AP Fact Check: Trump on Obama's health care law (Associated Press) State by state Virginia House panel adopts work rule for Medicaid (Richmond Times-Dispatch) New Mexico looks toward Medicaid buy-in coverage (Associated Press) | 
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