STAT+: Ron DeSantis wants to import drugs from Canada. Biden’s FDA just blasted his plan
WASHINGTON — Florida governor and presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis has ballyhooed a high-profile plan to…
Category: states
Opinion: Why it’s so difficult to count the number of heat-related deaths
In late July, as parts of the southern U.S. approached 30 days of temperatures exceeding…
Opinion: Public pharma is the best solution to the ongoing problem of drug shortages
Drug shortages in the United States are at a record high. At least 14 essential…
Opinion: Former Sen. Max Baucus: Breakthrough Alzheimer’s drugs are out of reach for many in rural states like Montana
New treatments are delaying the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, giving people aging with memory decline…
Opinion: Many immigrants are ineligible for important U.S. maternal health initiatives
In the U.S., about 16% of Black birthing people are immigrants. But even as the federal…
STAT+: States increasingly look to regulate hospital facility fees
Unexpected “facility fees” charged by hospitals have become a growing source of rage for patients,…
Opinion: Right-wing politicians are stoking renewed moral panic about HIV
In May, just before Pride Month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released news…
Opinion: California should become the first state to offer a special minimum wage to health care workers
Lawmakers in California may finally offer a raise to the state’s woefully underpaid health care…
How abortion access changed in the first year after Roe v. Wade, in 7 charts
One year ago, the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in a landmark decision…
Opinion: Listen: Physicians have a moral and professional obligation to get into ‘good trouble’
Just days after the end of Roe v. Wade, Caitlin Bernard, an OB-GYN in Indiana,…
Opinion: Medicaid adult dental benefits are shamefully — and dangerously — inadequate in most states
In the middle of the night, you’re jolted awake by a throbbing pain in your…
Opinion: The court system is not ready for child custody disputes over gender-affirming care
The fight over how doctors should treat transgender children is threatening to tear apart an…
Opinion: Your health insurance may not be as good your state requires — and it’s perfectly legal
In 2017, the Massachusetts state Legislature passed a law to ensure ease of access to…
Opinion: Doctors think “advocate” is a dirty word. But it’s our ethical responsibility
Last Thursday, after 15 hours of deliberation, the Indiana State Licensing board ruled that our…
STAT+: Congress took on high drug prices in Medicare. Now Biden wants to take it to Medicaid
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration wants to help states control Medicaid prescription drug costs by…
Opinion: How Tennessee is creating new opportunities for doctors trained outside the U.S.
This legislative session, Gov. Bill Lee made history by signing a bill that makes Tennessee…
Opinion: One simple fix for the primary care shortage: assistant physicians
A recent study by the Association of American Medical Colleges projects a shortage of between 17,800…
R.J. Reynolds sues California to protect ‘crisp’ cigarettes from flavor ban
WASHINGTON – Tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds is suing the state of California in an effort…
STAT+: Maryland pushes first-of-its-kind bill to promote alternatives to animals in biomedical research
Amid a push to use fewer animals in medical research, Maryland is on the verge…
STAT+: HCA, Louisiana hospital system sue FTC over review of hospital deal
HCA Healthcare and LCMC Health each sued the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice…
In a town plagued by an environmental crisis, a local abortion debate consumes public attention
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Zoe Poplin cupped her hands around her 17-month-old’s head, as if her…
Supreme Court pauses new limits on abortion pill, pending further review next week
Access to the abortion pill mifepristone will remain unchanged until next Wednesday, after a U.S….
Next abortion battles may be among states with clashing laws
Abortion is banned in Idaho at all stages of pregnancy, but the governor on Wednesday…
As states ban gender-affirming care, Minnesota aims to be a refuge for trans youth
Across the U.S., lawmakers are pushing for restrictions on transgender youth’s right to gender-affirming care…
Arizona plans to dramatically increase hepatitis C testing and treatment in prisons
WASHINGTON — The Arizona Department of Corrections is promising a federal judge that it will…
STAT+: Would the federal government defer to states to regulate PBMs?
WASHINGTON — After years of struggling to regulate the drug middlemen that create pharmacy networks,…
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla maxed out campaign contributions to Dr. Oz ahead of midterm elections
WASHINGTON — Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla made the maximum possible campaign contribution to Mehmet Oz…
It’s easy to buy flavored vapes in California, even in cities with longtime bans
LOS ANGELES – California cities are supposed to be cracking down on sales of flavored…
South Dakota plans major ramp up of hepatitis C treatment in prison
WASHINGTON — The head of South Dakota prisons is pledging to dramatically overhaul how the…
Officials in Nebraska, South Dakota, Oklahoma begin to probe prisons’ hepatitis C treatment efforts
WASHINGTON — Members of Congress, state legislators, regulators, and legal advocates are calling on prisons…
STAT+: California wants to revoke a CVS mail-order license for illegally filling opioid and ADHD prescriptions
California authorities are seeking to revoke a license held by a CVS Health mail-order pharmacy…
Getting hepatitis C treatment opens new doors for the incarcerated
WARREN, Maine — For the prisoners who receive it, hepatitis C treatment is more than…
For families, grieving an incarcerated person’s death adds complexity to an already painful process
PLEASANTON, Texas — The only thing worse than caring for a sick loved one in…
Watch: With little more than a typewriter, an Idaho man overturns the entire state’s policy on hepatitis C treatment in prison
BOISE, Idaho — When he took on the state department of corrections, Phil Turney didn’t…
Despite federal disclosure rules, state prisons hide information on hepatitis C-related deaths
It’s virtually impossible to get information from states and correctional facilities about why people die…
Prisons say they can’t afford to cure everyone with hepatitis C. But some are figuring out a way
State prison systems say they can’t afford to cure everyone with hepatitis C. The drug,…
Legal and medical experts say denying hepatitis C care is cruel and unusual punishment, but the courts are still catching up
The final years of Carl Hoffer’s life were, in his words, “living hell.” His legs…
These 8 states are doing the worst job of treating hepatitis C in prisons
In 2022, whether an incarcerated person gets cured of hepatitis C is largely determined by…
Hundreds of incarcerated people are dying of hep C — even though we have a simple cure
FALLS CITY, Neb. — John Ritchie shouldn’t have died. He knew he had hepatitis C….
California bans flavored tobacco products, including vapes
WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, Californians overwhelmingly voted to ban all flavored tobacco products in the…
Opinion: Listen: Will opioid settlement money actually go to opioid prevention? Here’s hoping
As states begin to receive money from the multitude of lawsuits and settlements the opioid…
Opinion: Allocate opioid settlement dollars to real addiction-ending solutions
The crisis of opioid overdose deaths that sparked the multitude of lawsuits leading to a…
Opinion: How states can act to limit drug price increases, saving employers and workers billions
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 mandates that Medicare-covered drug sales will be protected from…
STAT+: Despite its threats, PhRMA is still supporting Democrats who voted for Medicare negotiation
Drugmakers’ powerhouse lobby did not exactly make good on its early August threat to hold…
STAT+: UnitedHealth signs a deal with Walmart for a new Medicare Advantage plan
UnitedHealth Group is poised to widen its lead in the Medicare Advantage market through a…
STAT+: How North Carolina hospitals justify thwarting Medicaid expansion
North Carolina hospitals just helped kill a major expansion of the state’s Medicaid program. Both…
STAT+: Medicare may eventually negotiate some drug prices, but Colorado still wants to import medicines from Canada
The Biden administration may have signed a law designed to lower prescription drug prices, but…
‘Window dressing’: Eli Lilly’s after-the-fact statement on Indiana’s abortion law sends a disingenuous message
Talk about a delayed reaction. For weeks, a coterie of consumers and businesses tried to…
Drugmaker Teva latest to settle opioid lawsuits nationally
Drugmaker Teva announced Tuesday that it has agreed to contribute more than $4.3 billion in…
‘Critically important work’: Adm. Rachel Levine on efforts to combat gender-based discrimination in health care
A day after the Department of Health and Human Services announced plans to strengthen protections…