AP: Access To Abortion Pill In Limbo After Competing Rulings
Access to the most commonly used method of abortion in the U.S. plunged into uncertainty Friday following conflicting court rulings over the legality of the abortion medication mifepristone that has been widely available for more than 20 years. For now, the drug the Food and Drug Administration approved in 2000 appeared to remain at least immediately available in the wake of two separate rulings that were issued in quick succession by federal judges in Texas and Washington. (Weber, Perrone and Whitehurst, 4/8)

The 19th: Federal Judges Issue Conflicting Rulings On Medication Abortion Pill Mifepristone
Federal judges have issued contradicting orders about whether mifepristone — one of two drugs used to induce a medication abortion — can be legally distributed. A judge in Texas ruled Friday in a much watched case, saying that the federal government’s approval of the drug must be blocked; his decision, he wrote, takes effect in one week, giving the Department of Justice time to appeal the decision. But another federal judge, in Washington state, found the opposite in a separate case concerning the drug’s approval. That judge, who also ruled Friday, held that a nationwide injunction blocking mifepristone’s distribution would be “inappropriate.” (Luthra, 4/7)

AP: What Does 1870s Comstock Act Have To Do With Abortion Pills? 
A 19th century “anti-vice” law is at the center of a new court ruling that threatens access to the leading abortion drug in the U.S. Dormant for a half-century, the Comstock Act has been revived by anti-abortion groups and conservative states seeking to block the mailing of mifepristone, the pill used in more than half of U.S. abortions. (Perrone, 4/8)

Axios: Ruling Echoes Anti-Abortion Rhetoric
A federal judge's 67-page decision to roll back FDA approval of mifepristone repeatedly borrowed terms from antiabortion advocates, such as "chemical abortion," rather than the generally accepted terms used by the medical community. (Reed, 4/10)

What does that mean for pregnant people right now? —

The Washington Post: Can I Still Get A Medication Abortion?
Access to the two-drug regimen will likely vary across the country. In states where abortion is legal, clinics could limit their offerings to surgical abortions, which require far more time and resources than pills. But many providers say they will continue to offer medication abortions — using only misoprostol if need be. Others say they have been stockpiling mifepristone while it is still FDA-approved, and will continue using that supply of the drug. (Kitchener, Marimow, McGinley, Roubein and Sellers, 4/7)

San Francisco Chronicle: Medication Abortions Will Be More Painful Without Mifepristone
By suspending a drug used in medicated abortions Friday, a conservative federal judge in Texas did more than make it harder for people to obtain abortions. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk also made it more painful. And that may be the point, abortion rights advocates say. (Garofoli, 4/7)

PBS NewsHour: Analysis: 4 Questions Answered About The Courts And The Abortion Pill Mifepristone
Dueling, back-to-back rulings by federal judges about access to the drug mifepristone, which is used in most abortions in the United States, have raised questions about the future of reproductive health care in the country. (Serino, 4/9)

KHN: Journalists Explain Impact Of Texas Judge’s ACA Decision And Cuts In Federal Food Benefits 
KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed the aftermath of a federal judge’s decision in Texas that blocks the Affordable Care Act’s provision on preventive care benefits on Slate’s “What Next” on April 5. (4/8)

The history behind the rulings —

The Washington Post: Texas Judge Delivers On The Hopes Of His Antiabortion World 
When Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk was a young father, his wife captured much of their daily life on a parenting blog that highlighted the family’s strong antiabortion beliefs. One photo showed one of their children, a toddler, in a T-shirt that read “I survived Roe v. Wade.” “As you might guess, Matt LOVES this shirt,” Kacsmaryk’s wife wrote in January 2009, referring to her husband. “I put it on her today not even realizing that today is the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.” (Kitchener, 4/8)

CNN: Meet The Judge Who Ruled Medication Abortion Must Remain Available In Some States
US District Judge Thomas Owen Rice of the Eastern District of Washington, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, ordered the federal government to keep the drug available in 17 states plus the District of Columbia. ... here’s what you need to know about Rice. (Kashiwagi, 4/8)

The Washington Post: The Abortion Pill’s 1992 Supreme Court Battle And The Woman Who Started It
The plane from London had landed at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Leona Benten was weeping on the tarmac when U.S. customs officials seized the abortion pills she wanted to use to end her pregnancy, which were banned in America. Benten, a social worker and activist from Berkeley, Calif., was 6½ weeks pregnant and 29 years old when she volunteered in the summer of 1992 to be the test case in the legal fight challenging the Food and Drug Administration’s ban on importing RU-486, the French-made abortion pill that later became known as mifepristone. Lawrence Lader, an influential abortion rights leader who organized the trip for Benten, had notified U.S. customs officials in advance of what was happening. Then, federal officials confronted her and confiscated her pills on July 1, 1992. (Bella, 4/8)

The Hill: Biden Slams Texas Abortion Pill Ruling As ‘Political, Ideological’ Attack
President Biden slammed the ruling by a federal judge in Texas rejecting the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of an abortion pill as a “political, ideological” attack. Biden said in a statement on Friday that the court has substituted its judgment for that of the FDA, which he called the “expert agency” on approving drugs. He said mifepristone, the pill, has been available for more than 22 years and safely and effectively used by millions of women in the United States and throughout the world. “If this ruling were to stand, then there will be virtually no prescription, approved by the FDA, that would be safe from these kinds of political, ideological attacks,” he said. (Gans, 4/8)

NBC News: House Democrats To Introduce Bill To Shore Up Abortion Pill Access After Texas Ruling
Reps. Pat Ryan of New York and Lizzie Fletcher of Texas will introduce the Protecting Reproductive Freedom Act on Monday during a pro forma session of the House, seeking to reaffirm the Food and Drug Administration’s final approval authority on medication abortion and continue to allow providers to prescribe the abortion pill via telehealth, which was widely expanded during the coronavirus pandemic. (Vitali, 4/10)

Can the government "ignore" the ruling? —

The Hill: Biden’s Health Chief Says ‘Everything Is On The Table’ To Fight Abortion Pill Ruling
President Biden’s health chief said “everything is on the table” to fight the Texas abortion pill ruling last week that blocked the prescribing and distribution of mifepristone, including ignoring the ruling as some Democrats have suggested. (Sforza, 4/9)

USA Today: AOC Says Biden White House Should Ignore Abortion Pill Ruling. Can That Happen?
New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called on President Joe Biden’s administration to ignore a ruling from a federal judge in Texas that suspended the approval of a common abortion pill, mifepristone. “The executive branch has an enforcement discretion,” Ocasio-Cortez said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” also calling the ruling “a mockery of our democracy and a mockery of our law.” (Tran, 4/9)

The Hill: House Republican Suggests Defunding FDA If Texas Abortion Pill Ruling Not Followed 
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) warned that Republicans should consider defunding the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) if the Biden administration does not adhere to a ruling from a federal judge last week that blocked the long-standing approval of an abortion medication. ... “It’s very dangerous when you have the administration, the Biden administration, coming out and saying they may not uphold a ruling,” Gonzales said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “The House Republicans have the power of the purse. And if the administration wants to not live up to this ruling, then we’re going to have a problem… it may come to a point where House Republicans on the appropriation side have to defund FDA programs that don’t make sense.” (Neukam, 4/9)

The New York Times: Abortion Ruling Could Undermine The F.D.A.’s Drug-Approval Authority 
A federal judge’s ruling to revoke the Food and Drug Administration’s longstanding approval of the abortion pill mifepristone poses threats to the U.S. government’s regulatory authority that could go far beyond one drug, legal experts say. The decision by a Texas judge appears to be the first time a court has moved toward ordering removal of an approved drug from the market over the objection of the F.D.A. (Jewett and Belluck, 4/10)

Axios: FDA's Power Tested By Dueling Abortion Pill Rulings
Last week’s dueling court rulings on abortion pills are refocusing attention on what legal powers the Food and Drug Administration has over prohibited drugs — and when it can disregard a prohibition. If a Texas federal judge's ruling stands, and the abortion drug mifepristone no longer has FDA approval, then manufacturing, selling and distributing it will be outlawed. But some legal experts say the agency has discretion to chart a path forward and keep some semblance of the status quo. (Bettelheim and Gonzalez, 4/10)

The Hill: Texas Abortion Pill Ruling Could Impact Other FDA-Approved Drugs, Vaccinations: HHS Secretary 
“When you turn upside down the entire FDA approval process, you’re not talking about just mifepristone,” Xavier Becerra said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “You’re talking about every kind of drug. You’re talking about our vaccines. You’re talking about insulin. You’re talking about the new Alzheimer’s drugs that may come on.” (Neukam, 4/9)

AP: Iowa Won't Pay For Rape Victims' Abortions Or Contraceptives
The Iowa Attorney General’s Office has paused its practice of paying for emergency contraception — and in rare cases, abortions — for victims of sexual assault, a move that drew criticism from some victim advocates. Federal regulations and state law require Iowa to pay many of the expenses for sexual assault victims who seek medical help, such as the costs of forensic exams and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. Under the previous attorney general, Democrat Tom Miller, Iowa’s victim compensation fund also paid for Plan B, the so-called morning after pill, as well as other treatments to prevent pregnancy. (4/9)

AP: Abortion Pill Plan Clears Kansas Legislature; Veto Expected 
Abortion opponents pushed a bill through the Kansas Legislature early Friday to require providers to tell patients that a medication abortion can be “reversed” once it’s started — a measure that could face a state court challenge if its supporters can overcome the governor’s expected veto. Republican lawmakers pursued the bill even though experts dispute abortion opponents’ claims about medication abortions. Democrats argue the measure defies a decisive statewide vote in August affirming abortion rights. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a similar measure in 2019. (Hanna, 4/7)

AP: California To Keep Paying Walgreens Despite Abortion Dispute 
California’s Medicaid program will continue to pay Walgreens about $1.5 billion each year despite Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom declaring last month the state was done doing business with the pharmacy giant after it indicated it would not sell abortion pills by mail in some states. “California won’t be doing business with @Walgreens -- or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women’s lives at risk. We’re done,” Newsom tweeted March 6. (4/7)

Stateline: First State Law To Criminalize Abortion ‘Trafficking’ May Inspire Others
“Abortion opponents are testing the waters around abortion bans with this Idaho law, because state lawmakers realize they’re facing a real uphill climb in courts because of the federal right to travel,” said Elizabeth Nash, principal policy associate at the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights. “Other states will be watching closely to see how this plays out.” Idaho’s travel ban is based on wording in a model abortion law proposed by the National Right to Life Committee for lawmakers to introduce in their states. (Vestal, 4/7)

The Washington Post: Two Friends Were Denied Care After Florida Banned Abortion. One Almost Died.
Anya Cook did not want to push. But sitting on the toilet, legs splayed wide, she knew she didn’t have a choice. She was about to deliver her baby alone in the bathroom of a hair salon. On this Thursday afternoon in mid-December, about five months before her due date, she knew the baby would not be born alive. (Kitchener, 4/10)

KHN: Abortion Clinics In Conservative-Led States Face Increasing Legal Threats
Thirty years ago, Blue Mountain Clinic Director Willa Craig stood in front of the sagging roof and broken windows of an abortion clinic that an arsonist had burned down early that morning in Missoula, Montana. “This morning, Missoula, Montana, learned that there is no place in America that is safe from hateful, misguided groups,” she told the crowd of reporters and onlookers. (Bolton, 4/10)

AP: Report: Florida Officials Cut Key Data From Vaccine Study 
An analysis that was the basis of a highly criticized recommendation from Florida’s surgeon general cautioning young men against getting the COVID-19 vaccine omitted information that showed catching the virus could increase the risk of a cardiac-related death much more than getting the mRNA shot, according to drafts of the analysis obtained by the Tampa Bay Times. The nonbinding recommendation made by Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo last fall ran counter to the advice provided by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ladapo, a Harvard-trained medical doctor who was appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2021 to head the Florida Department of Health, has drawn intense scrutiny over his shared resistance with the Republican governor to COVID-19 mandates for vaccines and masks and other health policies endorsed by the federal government. (4/8)

Also —

Axios: COVID-19 Played A Role In U.S.'s Increasing Maternal Morality Rate
The U.S. maternal mortality rate increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, disproportionately impacting Black women, with far higher odds of severe complications among pregnant patients with COVID infection at delivery, a new analysis published in JAMA Network Open found. (Dreher and Gonzalez, 4/10)

More on the spread of covid —

AP: China Health Officials Lash Out At WHO, Defend Virus Search
Chinese health officials defended their search for the source of the COVID-19 virus and lashed out Saturday at the World Health Organization after its leader said Beijing should have shared genetic information earlier. The WHO comments were “offensive and disrespectful,” said the director of the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shen Hongbing. He accused the WHO of “attempting to smear China” and said it should avoid helping others “politicize COVID-19.” (McDonald, 4/8)

CNN: Covid-19: Americans Hold Mixed Views On Getting Back To 'Normal,' New Polling Shows
Three years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Americans’ views of the disease’s impact have stagnated into a complex set of mixed feelings, recent polling suggests, with few believing that the pandemic has ended but most also saying that their lives had returned mostly – if not entirely – to normal. (Edwards-Levy, 4/9)

Los Angeles Times: David Crosby Died After Contracting COVID-19, Graham Nash Says
Rock singer David Crosby died in January after contracting COVID-19, his longtime musical collaborator and friend Graham Nash said in a new interview. Speaking on an episode of the “Kyle Meredith With...” podcast released Friday, Nash said his former Crosby, Stills and Nash bandmate, who died Jan. 19 at age 81, had fallen ill while on his latest tour. (Rottenberg, 4/8)

USA Today: Woman Brought To Tears Tasting Coffee After Battle With Long COVID
Jennifer Henderson lifted a cup of coffee to her nose and sniffed. After struggling to smell and taste for two years, she burst into tears. "I can smell it," she said, her voice cracking and tears welling up in her eyes. The moment was captured on video after doctors injected medicine into nerves in her neck. (Martin, 4/7)

NPR: Strep Circulates While Antibiotic Shortage Continues In The U.S.
Downing a spoonful of bubblegum pink amoxicillin is a regular part of being a kid, but a nationwide shortage of the antibiotic is making a particularly bad season of strep throat tougher. That hit home for Caitlin Rivers recently when both of her kids had strep. (Lupkin, 4/10)

In other pharmaceutical news —

Stat: FDA: Some Philips Respirators May Not Deliver The Right Treatment
On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration issued a Class I recall for certain Philips CPAP and BiPAP respirators that were refurbished in an earlier recall, the latest in a string of troubles for the medical device giant. The machines were incorrectly programmed with the wrong serial numbers, leaving some users without the right prescription settings and running the risk that the machines “fail to deliver any therapy at all.” (Trang, 4/8)

AP: US States Consider Ban On Cosmetics With 'Forever Chemicals'
A growing number of state legislatures are considering bans on cosmetics and other consumer products that contain a group of synthetic, potentially harmful chemicals known as PFAS. In Vermont, the state Senate gave final approval this week to legislation that would prohibit manufacturers and suppliers from selling or distributing any cosmetics or menstrual products in the state that have perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, as well as a number of other chemicals. (Rathke, 4/7)

NBC News: Recalled Eyedrops Causing Blindness: What To Know About Drug-Resistant Bacteria
The deadly bacteria linked to recalled eyedrops causing infection and blindness had never been seen in the U.S. until 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It has since infected dozens or people and killed three. Even though the contaminated bottles have been removed from stores and health care facilities, the CDC expects more cases to be identified. (Edwards, 4/9)

Also —

The Wall Street Journal: Beyond Asthma: Designing Inhaled Drugs To Fight More Diseases 
Treatments for asthma have long been delivered through the airways. Now researchers are developing inhalable therapies to target a wider range of ailments from cancer to diabetes. Constantly exposed to the outside world as we breathe, the lungs are a first line of defense against infection. They also provide a direct pathway to the circulatory system as they send oxygen to the blood. Researchers hope that delivering medicines directly to the lungs can exploit those characteristics and make drugs that are more efficient and effective than oral or injectable drugs—and maybe easier to take. (Mosbergen, 4/9)

Stat: A Data Point For Cancer Patients To Consider: 'Time Toxicity'
When Jeannette Cleland learned earlier this year that she could get chemotherapy at home, after dropping a particularly toxic medication, it seemed like good news. But then Cleland, a 44-year-old Minneapolis event planner who has stage 4 pancreatic cancer, did the math. She added up the time involved: waiting for a nurse to arrive to draw her blood; waiting for a courier to pick up her blood; waiting for another courier to drop off the chemotherapy drugs; waiting for a nurse to arrive to connect her to the infusion pump and later for another nurse to return to disconnect her. (Huff, 4/10)

The Boston Globe: This Boston Startup Is Chipping Away At Animal Testing
It’s no secret that most drugs tested on animals prove to be unsafe or ineffective in people. As many as 9 out of 10 experimental medicines fail in clinical trials, a statistic that has many animal welfare activists and scientists alike wondering if there’s a better way. “The failure rates, compared to any other industry, are just crazy,” said Jim Corbett, chief executive of the Boston startup Emulate Bio, which might have a solution to the problem. (Cross, 4/9)

Stat: This Biotech Could One Day Make Human Eggs From Scratch. But First, They’re Trying To Rethink IVF
Christian Kramme grew up in a big family, the youngest of seven kids raised in California’s Santa Clarita Valley. By the time he moved across the country to do a PhD in George Church’s lab at Harvard, his siblings were already trying to start families of their own. And some of them were struggling. So when Church, the legendary geneticist and cell engineer, asked Kramme what he wanted to work on, he decided to swing big; he wanted to make eggs. Human eggs. From scratch. (Molteni, 4/8)

In updates on the Theranos case —

AP: Ex-Theranos Executive Headed To Prison After Losing Appeal
Former Theranos executive Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani will be heading to prison later this month after an appeals court rejected his bid to remain free while he contests his conviction for carrying out a blood-testing hoax with his former boss and lover, Elizabeth Holmes. After the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision refusing Balwani’s request, U.S District Judge Edward Davila on Friday ordered him to start his nearly 13-year prison sentence on April 20. ... The April 20 reporting date means Balwani will be heading to prison a week before Holmes, Theranos’ founder and CEO, is scheduled to begin a more than 11-year prison sentence after being convicted on four counts of fraud and conspiracy last year. (Liedtke, 4/7)

CBS News: Doctor Shortages Distress Rural America, Where Few Residency Programs Exist
Anger, devastation, and concern for her patients washed over Bridget Martinez as she learned that her residency training program in rural northeastern Nevada would be shuttered. The doctor in training remembered telling one of her patients that, come July of this year, she would no longer be her physician. Martinez had been treating the patient for months at a local health care center for a variety of physical and psychiatric health issues. (Orozco and Rodriguez, 4/10)

Crain's Detroit Business: 40% Of Michigan Hospital Nurses Want To Quit: Survey
While Michigan hospitals had problems retaining nurses even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation grew much worse in the first two years of the public health crisis. That’s according to newly published survey data showing that from just prior to the pandemic to March 2022, the rate at which nurses planned to leave the profession rose sharply across Michigan. (Sanchez, 4/7)

Stat: 5 Tech Startups Trying To Solve Health Care's Staffing Crisis To Watch
Three years after the pandemic upended the health care workforce, hospital staffing is still a top concern for hospital administrators. Hospitals and nursing homes are competing for nurses after strikes across the country showed an empowered cadre of nurses fed up with high provider-to-patient ratios and stagnant wages. Meanwhile, health systems are navigating a dramatically altered workforce, as many nurses left behind full-time hospital roles for short-term contract and remote positions. (Castillo, 4/10)

In related news about staffing —

Modern Healthcare: Recent Layoffs Raise Questions On Industry's Job Outlook
Employment in the healthcare sector was up 3.8% year-over-year in the first quarter, according to preliminary data released Friday by the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics. In ambulatory care, employment increased 3.8%, and the number of people working in home health jumped 4.8%. Employment at  hospitals increased by 3.3%, according to the data, which may be revised in the coming months. (Hudson, 4/7)

Modern Healthcare: Pear Therapeutics Files Chapter 11, Lays Off 170 Employees
Pear Therapeutics filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday and said it has eliminated most of its workforce. The filing, in bankruptcy court in Delaware, comes just three weeks after the digital therapeutics company, said it was exploring strategic alternatives and might need to restructure or fold if it did not find a financial lifeline. (Turner, 4/7)

Stat: UnitedHealth Acquires Another New York Physician Group
UnitedHealth Group has acquired Crystal Run Healthcare, a prominent physician group in New York. The deal for Crystal Run, a network of almost 400 doctors, nurse practitioners, and other clinicians, closed in late February. There was no fanfare. Neither company issued a press release. The deal only came to light from an email obtained by the Mid-Hudson News. (Herman, 4/10)

In other health care industry news —

Becker's Hospital Review: 'Health System' Is Out; Here's What Comes Next
Hospitals evolved into health systems over the last several years with multiple care sites and expanded focus on health and wellness. Millions of dollars were spent in rebranding and strategy to become "health systems." Now, the term is becoming obsolete. Health systems are so much more than care providers, with ancillary businesses such as retail pharmacy, venture capital investing, telehealth, hospital-at-home, and more. The best new term to describe evolving health systems hasn't been universally defined, but a few organizations have begun internally rebranding. (Dyrda, 4/7)

Bay Area News Group: Is Santa Clara County Planning A Big Hospital Purchase?
With difficult economic pressures and increased caseloads straining its ability to care for patients in the post-COVID era, Santa Clara County is considering expanding its healthcare system by purchasing another area hospital. (Greschler, 4/7)

Wyoming Public Radio: Faced With Challenges, Wyoming’s Rural Hospitals Remain Resilient To Serve Patients
Dr. Chuck Franklin is a physician at Weston County Health Services in Newcastle. He made his way between several patients in the ER on a weekday afternoon. “We've got a couple ER patients right now, a little two-year-old with a broken leg and then a lady with newly diagnosed diabetes, and severely low potassium,” he said typing in his notes on the hospital's electronic medical records system. Franklin knows some patients personally in this small community of just under 3,400 people. (Cook, 4/7)

Detroit Free Press: Fungal Infection Outbreak Affects 90+ Workers At Escanaba Paper Mill
More than 90 employees at an Upper Peninsula paper mill are believed infected with a fungus found in soil and decaying wood, with about a dozen requiring hospitalization. Investigation of a blastomycosis outbreak at the Billerud paper mill in Escanaba is ongoing, and involves local, state and federal health and occupational safety officials. With nearly 900 employees, the Billerud mill is the largest manufacturing employer and economic driver north of Midland in the state, according to the Michigan Economic Development Corp. (Matheny, 4/8)

In other health news from across the U.S. —

AP: US Judge Issues Order In Arizona Prison Health Care Case
A U.S. District Court judge has made permanent an order that aims to improve the way Arizona delivers health care to incarcerated people in state-run prisons. The injunction issued Friday by Judge Roslyn Silver is the latest effort to ensure Arizona prisons meet constitutional standards. She initially ruled last year that Arizona had been violating the rights of incarcerated people by providing them with inadequate medical and mental health care, saying the state knew about the problem for years but refused to correct its failures. (4/8)

North Carolina Health News: Bill Would Make It Easier To Call For Help When There's An Overdose
Mary O’Donnell knows the pain of having a loved one die in such a situation. She’s been fighting for years to get overdose numbers down. In 2017, O’Donnell’s 17-year-old son, Sean, had been drinking with some friends at a quarry near his Chatham County home. His friends, afraid of being caught for underaged drinking, left him behind when he passed out near the quarry’s edge. At some point, Sean — alone and impaired — fell into the quarry and drowned. (Hoban, 4/10)

AP: Nebraska Church Raises $520K To Erase Medical Bills
A Nebraska church has raised more than $520,000 to pay off the medical bills of residents in its neighborhood, ending the 14-month-campaign on Easter Sunday. An estimated 10,000 people contributed to the First-Plymouth Congregational Church effort, The Lincoln Journal Star reports. (4/9)

In Medicaid news —

The New York Times: Will North Carolina Be The ‘Beginning Of The End’ Of The Medicaid Expansion Fight? 
Thirteen years after the adoption of the Affordable Care Act under President Barack Obama, Republicans are abandoning their opposition to Medicaid expansion. Lingering reservations about the welfare state and the cost of expansion are giving way to arguments about Medicaid as an engine for economic growth and a lifeline for struggling hospitals. (Stolberg, 4/9)

KHN: Special Medicaid Funds Help Most States, But Prompt Oversight Concerns 
The extra federal money comes through an obscure, complicated mechanism called “directed payments” — available only for states that hire health insurers to deliver services for Medicaid. It’s not Medicaid expansion, which Georgia Republican leaders have rejected. Instead, the state Department of Community Health is using an under-the-radar Medicaid funding opportunity that has been rapidly taken up by more than 35 states — including most of the states that have expanded the government insurance program. (Miller, 4/10)

On LGBTQ+ health care —

San Francisco Chronicle: Why The DEA Is About To Make Trans Gender-Affirming Care Harder To Get
Because of the prescription medication he takes, Jack’s name and Social Security number are in a federal Drug Enforcement Agency database. He had to get blood work done before his prescription can be sent to pharmacists, the results of which go on his file. He can only get 30 days of his medication at a time, and every three months he needs to meet with a medical practitioner. To then receive his medication, he had to sign a form saying he won’t sell it — under penalty of law. (Bishari, 4/8)

Chicago Tribune: LGBTQ Community And Its Supporters Grapple With State’s New Ban On Gender-Affirming Care For Minors
Nikki Lynch said she’s disappointed that Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a ban on gender-affirming care for minors but isn’t surprised, since the Republican-heavy legislature likely would have overturned a veto anyway. Lynch, 65, of Schererville, is a transgender woman who grew up in western Pennsylvania without the support groups and resources available online and through social media. (Lavalley, 4/7)

Science: From Bad To Worse: How Avian Flu Must Change To Trigger A Human Pandemic 
The victims are varied, from thousands of sea lions off the coast of Peru to mink farmed for fur in Spain to grizzly bears in Montana and harbor seals in Maine. For months, the avian influenza virus that has been decimating birds across the world has also sickened and killed a menagerie of mammals, raising fears it might evolve to spread more efficiently between these animals, and ultimately between people. For that nightmare to unfold, however, the virus, a subtype known as H5N1, would have to undergo a major transformation, changing from a pathogen efficient at infecting cells in the guts of birds and spreading through feces-contaminated water into one adept at infecting human lung tissue and spreading through the air. So far, that has not happened. None of the few people who have caught the virus currently wiping out birds, called clade 2.3.4.4b, seems to have passed it on to other people. (Kupferschmidt, 4/6)

CIDRAP: Wyoming Reports High-Path Avian Flu In Cat 
The Wyoming State Veterinary Lab (WSVL) said it has diagnosed highly pathogenic avian influenza in a barn cat, the state's first detection of the virus in a domestic cat. In a brief statement on its website, the WSVL said the cat is located near Thermopolis, in the central part of the state. It said that the cat probably contracted the virus from eating meat from wild waterfowl. In recent months, the lab has also detected the virus in other carnivores, including mountain lions and a red fox. (Schnirring, 4/7)

In other health and wellness news —

The Atlantic: A Radical Change To The Flu Vaccine May Be Coming
In March 2020, Yamagata’s trail went cold. The pathogen, one of the four main groups of flu viruses targeted by seasonal vaccines, had spent the first part of the year flitting across the Northern Hemisphere, as it typically did. As the seasons turned, scientists were preparing, as they typically did, for the virus to make its annual trek across the equator and seed new outbreaks in the globe’s southern half. That migration never came to pass. ... (Wu, 4/7)

Fox News: Asthma And Eczema Could Increase Risk Of Osteoarthritis, Study Finds
People who have asthma or eczema could be at a higher risk of developing osteoarthritis, a new study from Stanford University has found. Additionally, researchers postulate that existing allergy medications could block an allergic pathway to help slow the progression of the degenerative joint disease. (Sudhakar, 4/7)

NBC News: Gay Youths Are More Than Twice As Likely To Have Sleep Trouble, Study Finds
Gay, lesbian and bisexual youths are at far greater risk of sleep problems than their straight counterparts, according to a new study published in the journal LGBT Health. Researchers analyzed data on more than 8,500 young people ages 10 to 14, a critical time for mental and physical development. They found that 35.1% of those who identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual reported trouble falling or staying asleep in the previous two weeks, compared to 13.5% of straight-identifying adolescents. (Avery, 4/9)

The Atlantic: An Abortion-Pill Ruling Signals Pro-Lifers’ Next Push 
As the next chapter of the abortion wars has begun, attention has centered on abortion pills. Simply because they’re used in a majority of abortion procedures, they have become a new fixation for the anti-abortion-rights movement—which has championed drug-trafficking laws, pill-specific bans, and lawsuits in an attempt to block the use of this medication. (Mary Ziegler, 4/9)

The Atlantic: Why I Worry That The Abortion-Pill Ruling May Backfire
Pro-life activists across the country are celebrating the decision by a federal district-court judge in Texas to force mifepristone, a drug used in self-induced abortions, off the market. (Patrick T. Brown, 4/8)

The Boston Globe: How Texas’ Abortion Law Harmed My Health In Massachusetts
Just after arriving in Texas in December, I noticed I was bleeding — a clear sign of a pregnancy at risk. My obstetrician couldn’t offer me medical guidance while I was out of state, and I had a decision to make: Seek care in Texas or return home to Massachusetts. Ultimately, I chose to stay in Texas, a decision I later came to regret. (Alexis Bernstein, 4/8)

The New York Times: The Abortion Pill Ruling Is Bad Law, And The Biden Administration Should Fight It
The Friday-night ruling by Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk purporting to stay the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone for use in early abortions is a travesty — for women’s health care, principles of democracy, notions of judicial impartiality and the rule of law. (Kate Shaw, 4/9)

Los Angeles Times: Trying To Restrict Medication Abortion Nationwide Shows Antiabortion Extremists Aren't Done Yet
On Friday, federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk handed down a decision further restricting abortion access nationwide by suspending the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, the most common and safe pill used for medication abortion. (Amy Hagstrom Miller, 4/7)

The New York Times: I Worked At The F.D.A. The Abortion Pill Decision Is Dangerous
A federal judge in Texas has taken a shocking and irresponsible action:invalidating the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, a medication used safely by hundreds of thousands of women each year to help terminate pregnancies as part of a two-pill regimen. (Joshua M. Sharfstein, 4/10)

Chicago Tribune: Excess Deaths In The US Are Rising At A Shocking Rate
The current COVID-19 situation in the U.S. is both good and bad. The good news is that COVID-19 deaths are at the lowest levels of the three-year pandemic. Given current trends, projections indicate roughly 100,000 COVID-19 deaths for 2023 — less than half of any of the three previous years. (Cory Franklin And Robert Weinstein, 4/10)

The Baltimore Sun: Staying Vital Longer: Johns Hopkins Takes On Human Aging 
The rapid rise in the number of adults over age 65 foretells an inevitable and rapid rise in cases of chronic diseases — including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease — all contributing to poor health, frailty, disability, loss of independence and early mortality for an increasing number of the world’s population. (Jeremy Walston, 4/10)

Stat: Genetic Testing Is Crucial For Children With Developmental Delays
At 10 months old, my daughter Gabrielle had missed key milestones for gross motor, fine motor, social and communication skills. Following two seizures, Gabrielle had an MRI that showed brain abnormalities. When I was given the MRI results, I crumpled to the ground. Over the next year, Gabrielle was diagnosed with epilepsy, global developmental delays, and autism spectrum disorder. While our diagnostic journey may have ended there, my husband and I, both physicians, wondered whether there was something deeper behind Gabrielle’s diagnoses. (Deborah Ondrasik, 4/10)