Category: The Health Law

‘Conscience’ Bills Let Medical Providers Opt Out of Providing a Wide Range of Care

Opponents of the wave of state legislation say the measures place health providers’ preferences over patients’ rights.

In Wisconsin, Women’s Health Care Is Constricted by an 1849 Law. These Doctors Are Aghast.

From the front lines of Wisconsin’s abortion battle, obstetricians describe patients who cannot comprehend having to carry nonviable pregnancies. And only one pharmacist in town can be found who will fill prescriptions for abortion pills.

Everything Old Is New Again? The Latest Round of Health Policy Proposals Reprises Existing Ideas

House Republican legislation promises more health insurance options but fewer protections, even as the Biden administration seeks to rein in short-term plans, which were expanded in the Trump era.

A Mom Owed Nearly $102,000 for Hospital Care. Her State Attorney General Said to Pay Up.

As politicians bash privately run hospitals for their aggressive debt collection tactics, consumer advocates say one North Carolina family’s six-figure medical bill is an example of how state attorneys general and state-operated hospitals also can harm patients financially.

A Plan to Cut Montana’s Medicaid Waiting List Was Met With Bipartisan Cheers. Then a Veto.

Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s veto disappointed and bewildered those seeking to address low-income residents’ long wait for assisted living or in-home care.

As Nonprofit Hospitals Reap Big Tax Breaks, States Scrutinize Their Required Charity Spending

Nonprofit hospitals avoid paying taxes if they provide community benefits such as charity care. More states are examining that trade-off, scrutinizing the extent of hospitals’ spending on their communities.

Idaho Drops Panel Investigating Pregnancy-Related Deaths as US Maternal Mortality Surges

Amid a years-long rise in maternal mortality rates in the United States, Idaho lawmakers decided to disband a committee created to investigate pregnancy-related deaths.

Malpractice Lawsuits Over Denied Abortion Care May Be on the Horizon

Physicians and attorneys say it’s a question of when — not if — a pregnant person dies from lack of care in a state with an abortion ban, potentially setting the stage for a malpractice lawsuit that could pressure providers to reconsider delaying or denying care.

California Says New Cigarettes Appear to Violate State’s Flavored Tobacco Ban

The attorney general is warning two tobacco companies, R.J. Reynolds and ITG Brands LLC, that their reformulated cigarettes appear to violate the state’s ban on flavored tobacco products, based on marketing materials. R.J. Reynolds said Thursday that its cigarettes comply with the law.

Tension Builds in Transgender Policy Debate in Montana

Two transgender lawmakers are trying to lay the groundwork for LGBTQ-friendly policies in a conservative state, but tensions are running high as the legislative session nears its end.