SCOTUS Rejects Abortion Pill Challenge — For Now 

The Host

A unanimous Supreme Courtroom turned again a problem to the FDA’s approval and guidelines for the abortion tablet 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 tablet, which is usually 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 companies from together with medical debt on particular person credit score stories. And former President Donald Trump, signaling that drug costs stay a potent marketing campaign problem, makes an attempt to take credit score for the $35-a-month cap on insulin for Medicare beneficiaries — which was backed and signed into regulation 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.

Among the many takeaways from this week’s episode:

• All 9 Supreme Courtroom justices on June 13 rejected a problem to the abortion tablet 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 — may elevate the same problem sooner or later, and that the court docket may then vote to dam entry to the tablet.
• 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 increase on the earlier, voluntary transfer by the key credit score companies to erase from credit score stories medical payments underneath $500. In the meantime, Trump continues to court docket vaccine skeptics and wrongly claimed credit score for Medicare’s $35 month-to-month cap on insulin — enacted underneath a regulation backed and signed by Biden.
• Issues are compounding on the pharmacy counter. Pharmacists and drugmakers are reporting the very best numbers of drug shortages in additional than 20 years. And impartial pharmacists specifically say they’re struggling to maintain medication on the cabinets, pointing to a current Biden administration coverage change that reduces prices for seniors — but additionally money circulate 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 current flip-flopping stances on abortion, Republican candidates are feeling pressed to fulfill a variety of views inside even their very own occasion.

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

Plus, for “additional credit score,” the panelists recommend well being coverage tales they learn this week that they suppose 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 Chicken Flu in Uncooked Milk, Some States Say Their Fingers Are Tied,” by Alexander Tin.

Additionally talked about on this week’s podcast:

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