If a federal court agrees with the Department of Justice's argument that the Affordable Care Act's rules around pre-existing medical conditions are no longer constitutional, then the Republican states pursuing the lawsuit only want those rules lifted in their states, Inside Health Policy reports.
The bottom line: Legal scholars across the political spectrum have slammed DOJ's position to stop defending the ACA, and the new filing from the plaintiffs "appears to be an effort to prevent further litigation and protest," according to Inside Health Policy.
An analysis by the publication Science has "found widespread after-the-fact payments or research support" from pharmaceutical companies to expert officials who advised the Food and Drug Administration to approve those companies' drugs.
Why it matters: Conflicts of interest are common in the health care industry, especially between companies that make drugs and doctors who prescribe them. But this new analysis indicates people who sit on official government panels, and who are supposed to evaluate drugs impartially, are getting rewarded later from the drug companies they helped.
President Trump has narrowed his short list of judges to fill the vacancy Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy will be creating this year upon his retirement, to three contenders, per NBC.
Who they are: Judges Brett Kavanaugh, Raymond Kethledge, and Amy Coney Barrett. Here's what you need to know about their backgrounds:
