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This week, Florida’s six-week abortion ban went into effect, reshaping the nation’s abortion landscape once again. This leaves North Carolina and Virginia as the only states in the South where abortion is widely available. Clinics in these states were already overwhelmed with patients from across the region.
Meanwhile, in a wide-ranging interview with Time magazine, former President Donald Trump said he took credit for appointing Supreme Court justices who overturned the U.S. Supreme Court. Roe vs. WadeHowever, he steadfastly refused to say what he would do on the abortion issue if he returned to office.
This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Sarah Carlin Smith of The Pink Sheets, Alice Miranda Olstein of Politico, and Rachana Pradhan of KFF Health News.
Here are our takeaways from this week’s episode.
- Florida’s new six-week abortion ban is a big deal for the entire South, as the state has become an abortion haven for patients while other states have cut off access to abortion procedures. Some clinics in North Carolina and southern Virginia are considering expanding their waiting and recovery rooms to accommodate patients who must come in for treatment. But it also means traveling patients may have to wait longer for local patients, including many who rely on clinics for services other than abortion.
- Nevertheless, the passage of a bill to repeal Arizona’s near-total abortion ban leaves patients and health care providers in the state with many questions, including whether the ban will temporarily go into effect anyway. leaving uncertainty. Additionally, Arizona voters and Florida voters will have the opportunity to consider whether the process is available in their state in November.
- The FDA’s decision that lab-developed tests must undergo the same regulatory oversight as medical devices is a high-profile example of problems that have arisen as tests have become more widespread and have avoided federal review. The move comes amid growing concerns. (See: Theranos.) There is a good chance there will be litigation over whether the FDA has the authority to make these changes without Congressional action.
- The Biden administration also quietly decided to shelve a possible ban on menthol cigarettes. The issue heightened tensions over the link between health and criminal justice, but ultimately ran into election-year headwinds when the administration decided to set the issue aside rather than risk alienating black voters. It seems like it has.
- In drug news, the Federal Trade Commission challenges patents it considers “junk” patents that make it difficult to bring generic drugs to market, and another court ruling challenges the pharmaceutical industry’s fight against Medicare drug negotiations. It’s bad news for.
Plus, as an “additional credit,” our panelists will suggest health policy articles they read this week that they think you should read, too.
Julie Rovner: ProPublica’s “Cigna doctor says she was pressured by her boss to review patient cases too quickly. Cigna threatened to fire her,” by Patrick Rucker, Capitol Hill Forum, David Arm Strong, ProPublica.
Alice Miranda Olstein: “Dozens of deaths highlight the risks of injecting people in police custody with sedatives” by Ryan J. Foley, Carla K. Johnson and Shelby Lamb, Associated Press.
Sarah Carlin Smith: The Atlantic’s “America’s Infectious Disease Barometer Is Off” by Katherine J. Wu
Rachana Pradhan: “Millions of American Children Now Become Caregivers: ‘The Hardest Part Is I’m Only 17,'” by Claire Ansbury of The Wall Street Journal.
Also mentioned in this week’s podcast:
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