Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: How Will The Supreme Court Rule On Preventive Care?; Real Reasons Behind Lower US Birth Rates
After 15 years, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has survived its share of challenges at the Supreme Court. On April 21, I attended the court’s first hearing in the latest of the series of ACA challenges, Kennedy v. Braidwood, which is focused on the ACA’s preventive services coverage requirement. I proudly represented 20 HIV advocacy organizations as amici in the case, urging the court to uphold the law, which requires payer coverage of items and services recommended with an A or B rating by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. (Richard Hughes IV, 4/29)
According to the National Partnership for Women & Families, paid parental leave improves maternal and infant health, including their physical health and well-being; women who receive paid leave have a lower chance of reporting intimate partner violence; and an increase in paid parental leave decreases rates of infant mortality. (Robin Epley, 4/29)
Lost amid the turmoil of DOGE’s federal workforce cuts was a mid-February executive order directing DOGE to repeal regulations that impede innovation, are overly burdensome, or not clearly authorized by statute. Now it appears that DOGE and the Trump administration are taking action on that order. The administration has even created a website, regulations.gov, where members of the public can suggest regulations to revoke. (David Howard, 4/29)
A lot has changed since I began practicing medicine over 30 years ago at a public hospital in San Francisco. Today, we have powerful electronic health systems, a staggering array of specialty referrals and stronger partnerships with advanced practice professionals, to name just a few advancements. (Dr. Mitchell Katz, 4/29)
About 37 million Americans suffer from kidney disease, and more than 800,000 live with kidney failure. At this advanced stage, patients either receive a kidney transplant or remain on dialysis — an expensive and often debilitating treatment — for the rest of their lives. Of the more than 90,000 Americans placed on the kidney transplant waitlist, only about 1 in 4 in 2024 received a kidney. (Steven Levitt and Ruby Rorty, 4/29)
Connecticut lawmakers recently advanced a bill to decriminalize small amounts of psilocybin, the psychoactive compound found in “magic mushrooms.” The bill, HB 7065, was celebrated by some as a forward-thinking, therapeutic step toward a more humane drug policy. And yet, I find myself asking: Why psilocybin? Why now? Why is this bill moving forward while cannabis justice — long overdue and already legally enacted in spirit — continues to stall? (Josiah Schlee, 4/29)
