SCOTUS rejects abortion capsule problem — for now

The host

Julie Rovner KFF Well being Information @jrovner

Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Well being Information’ weekly well being coverage information podcast, “What the Well being?” A famous skilled on well being coverage points, Julie is the creator of the critically praised reference guide “Well being Care Politics and Coverage A to Z,” now in its third version.

A unanimous Supreme Courtroom turned again a problem to the FDA’s approval and guidelines for the abortion capsule mifepristone, discovering that the anti-abortion physician group that sued lacked standing to take action. However abortion foes produce other methods they intend to curtail availability of the capsule, which is often utilized in medicine abortions, which now make up almost two-thirds of abortions within the U.S.

In the meantime, the Biden administration is proposing laws that might bar credit score businesses from together with medical debt on particular person credit score studies. And former President Donald Trump, signaling that drug costs stay a potent marketing campaign challenge, makes an attempt to take credit score for the $35-a-month cap on insulin for Medicare beneficiaries — which was backed and signed into legislation by Biden.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Well being Information, Anna Edney of Bloomberg Information, Rachana Pradhan of KFF Well being Information, and Emmarie Huetteman of KFF Well being Information.

Panelists

Among the many takeaways from this week’s episode:

• All 9 Supreme Courtroom justices on June 13 rejected a problem to the abortion capsule mifepristone, ruling the plaintiffs didn’t have standing to sue. However that might not be the final phrase: The choice leaves open the likelihood that completely different plaintiffs — together with three states already a part of the case — might increase the same problem sooner or later, and that the courtroom might then vote to dam entry to the capsule.
• Because the presidential race heats up, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are angling for well being care voters. The Biden administration this week proposed eliminating all medical debt from People’ credit score scores, which might broaden on the earlier, voluntary transfer by the most important credit score businesses to erase from credit score studies medical payments beneath $500. In the meantime, Trump continues to courtroom vaccine skeptics and wrongly claimed credit score for Medicare’s $35 month-to-month cap on insulin — enacted beneath a legislation backed and signed by Biden.
• Issues are compounding on the pharmacy counter. Pharmacists and drugmakers are reporting the best numbers of drug shortages in additional than 20 years. And impartial pharmacists particularly say they’re struggling to maintain medication on the cabinets, pointing to a latest Biden administration coverage change that reduces prices for seniors — but in addition money movement for pharmacies.
• And the Southern Baptist Conference, the nation’s largest department of Protestantism, voted this week to limit using in vitro fertilization. As evidenced by latest flip-flopping stances on abortion, Republican candidates are feeling pressed to fulfill a variety of views inside even their very own get together.

Additionally this week, Rovner interviews KFF president and CEO Drew Altman about KFF’s new “Well being Coverage 101” primer. You possibly can be taught extra about it right here.

Plus, for “further credit score,” the panelists counsel well being coverage tales they learn this week that they assume you need to learn, too:

Julie Rovner: HuffPost’s “How America’s Psychological Well being Disaster Turned This Household’s Worst Nightmare,” by Jonathan Cohn.

Anna Edney: Stat Information’ “4 Tops Singer’s Lawsuit Says He Visited ER for Chest Ache, Ended Up in Straitjacket,” by Tara Bannow.

Rachana Pradhan: The New York Instances’ “Abortion Teams Say Tech Corporations Suppress Posts and Accounts,” by Emily Schmall and Sapna Maheshwari.

Emmarie Huetteman: CBS Information’ “As FDA Urges Crackdown on Fowl Flu in Uncooked Milk, Some States Say Their Fingers Are Tied,” by Alexander Tin.

Additionally talked about on this week’s podcast:

Credit

• Francis Ying Audio producer
• Emmarie Huetteman Editor

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