Julie Rovner

Service dogs are a common sight at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, near Washington, D.C. But this special canine trains would-be healers how to pick the right dog for a wounded veteran.

The tax on an employer’s generous health plan — originally envisioned as a way to get patients to avoid unneeded care — has never been implemented. Now Congress is considering a bipartisan repeal.

The Biden plan released this week is an update of the Affordable Care Act with controversial differences. Among them: a “public option” that covers abortion, and subsidized premiums for more people.

The ACA is again being put to the test, after a lower court judge ruled the massive health law unconstitutional. The case might yet ricochet back to the Supreme Court ahead of the 2020 election.

A bipartisan group of senators has been working on a plan to protect patients from unexpected medical bills. Disagreements within the health care industry could thwart those efforts.

During the 1980s and early 1990s, Rep. John Dingell was instrumental in expanding the Medicaid program, reshaping Medicare and modernizing the Food and Drug Administration. He died Thursday night.

The president’s State of the Union address laid out a series of goals, including lowering prescription prices, pursuing an end to the HIV epidemic and increased research for childhood cancers.

Members of the new Democratic majority in the House vow to reverse restrictions that Republicans have imposed on abortions. But the efforts could lead to titanic fights that imperil other legislation.

Expect more aggressive regulatory action from the Trump administration while skirmishes continue in Congress and statehouses across the U.S. Many of these policies will ultimately land in court.