The big picture: The National Right to Life Committee has drafted legislation that would make it a crime to advertise information online about methods to end a pregnancy, Politico reports.
Driving the news: The Texas Medical Association said in a letter on Wednesday that it had received complaints that some hospitals were blocking physicians from providing care to patients with pregnancy complications, such as ectopic pregnancies, according to the Dallas Morning News.
White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said Friday that the BA.5 subvariant is the "most contagious, certainly the most immune evasive variant we've seen" in an interview with NBC's Andrea Mitchell.
Driving the news: "If you were infected earlier this year, you're still at very high risk of reinfection, it means if you have not been vaccinated recently, you have a very high risk of having a breakthrough," Jha said Friday.
The House on Friday passed a bill to protect people who travel out-of-state to access abortion care in a 223-205 vote, following last month's Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
Driving the news: House lawmakers also passed a bill that codifies abortion protections that used to be guaranteed by Roe into federal law. That law had already passed the House in 2021 but failed in the Senate.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday that it has ordered an additional 2.5 million doses of monkeypox vaccines to respond to the escalating outbreak.
Driving the news: "Our strategy is to secure additional doses for the near-term while also making sure we have a steady supply in the weeks and months to come," HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O’Connell said in a statement.
UnitedHealthcare starting next year will stop charging a co-pay to its fully-insured members for several critical medicines including insulin, the company announced during an earnings call Friday.
Why it matters: Out-of-pocket costs have led many patients to ration live-saving drugs and become sicker as a result.
Insulin also been a flashpoint in the debate over drug price reform in Congress in recent years.
Details: The initiative to offer the point-of-sale discount is supported by UnitedHealthcare's pharmacy benefit manager Optum Rx.
It includes critical medicines on the company's preferred drug list including insulin, epinephrine for severe allergic reactions and albuterol for acute asthma attacks.
What they're saying: "While this is an important step for vulnerable people’s health, the larger and longer-term cost containment of drugs depends upon manufacturers restraining and lowering the list prices of their products – which is the fundamental driver of costs," UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty said.
A new three-digit national suicide prevention and mental health hotline — 988 — debuts Saturday, but it's not clear whether the service will be ready for prime time in many parts of the country.
Why it matters: America is struggling with a mental health crisis and it'll be easier to call or text for help with a 911-style hotline.
Economic growth in China slowed sharply last quarter — with the economy expanding 0.4% from a year ago, the government said — as the country’s "zero COVID" policy spurred lockdowns in major cities that lasted for much of the three-month period.
Why it matters: Aggressive efforts to stamp out COVID-19 infections brought factory production and consumer spending to a crawl in the world’s second-biggest economy.
