Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
D.C. Latest To Try To Preemptively Protect Women's Health Benefits In Case ACA Is Rolled Back
The Washington Post: D.C. Moves To Protect Women’s Health Coverage If Affordable Care Act Repealed
In anticipation of regulatory rollbacks and the possible repeal of the Affordable Care Act, the D.C. Council voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to block insurance providers in the District from charging additional fees for preventive women’s health services. The legislation requires insurance providers to offer contraception, breast cancer screening and counseling for sexually transmitted infections without raising co-pays or deductibles. These benefits are required by guidelines released with the Affordable Care Act but are not written into the text of the law and could be erased by federal action. (Chason, 12/5)
The Associated Press: ACLU Disputes Suggestion Of Wrongdoing In Abortion Case
The American Civil Liberties Union is pushing back against a claim by the Trump administration that ACLU attorneys acted improperly while helping an immigrant teenager held in federal custody obtain an abortion. The government last month accused the ACLU of misleading the Justice Department during the high-profile case. In papers filed with the Supreme Court, the Justice Department said ACLU attorneys did not alert government lawyers that the teen’s abortion would take place sooner than they expected. That, the administration says, deprived its lawyers of the chance to ask the Supreme Court to block the procedure, at least temporarily. The government suggested disciplinary action against ACLU attorneys might be appropriate. (Gresko, 12/5)
Los Angeles Times: Widespread Screening For Breast Cancer Didn't Do Much To Save Women's Lives, Study Finds
Breast cancer deaths have declined markedly in the Netherlands since a nationwide screening program began in 1989, but mammograms deserve little — if any — of the credit, a new study suggests. In fact, the main impact of inviting Dutch women between the ages of 50 and 74 to get a mammogram every other year has been a steady increase in cases of early-stage breast cancers. More than half of these cancers were harmless and would have gone totally unnoticed if women hadn't had mammograms in the first place, the study authors report. (Kaplan, 12/5)
