While much has been made about the COVID-19 public health emergency, there's another less-discussed emergency declaration that Republicans could target in the next Congress, bringing changes for employer-sponsored health plans, COBRA and flexible spending accounts.
Why it matters: The vote might happen once Republicans take control of the House next year, though President Biden would likely veto it.
Caitlin Bernard, the OB-GYN who provided an abortion on a 10-year-old girl from Ohio who was raped, dropped her lawsuit Thursday against Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita.
Driving the news: Court filings show Bernard voluntarily dismissed the suit, which was intended to stop the attorney general from investigating her, just over a month after it was filed.
If Congress wants to see a more effective and modernized Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it needs to give it more authority, CDC director Rochelle Walensky said at the Milken Institute Future of Health Summit on Wednesday.
Why it matters: Her call for more support from Congress comes as the Biden administration has continued to push for additional COVID funds that have, thus far, been batted down by Republicans and some Democrats for much of the year.
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized updated COVID-19 shots from Pfizer and Moderna that target the omicron variant for children as young as six months.
Driving the news: FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said in a statement that it was important to get young children vaccinated ahead of the holidays, "where more time will be spent indoors."
Hospitals in some non-Medicaid expansion states are pitching expansion as a way to help solve the rural health crisis. But the industry is hardly speaking with one voice.
Driving the news: Facilities with fewer commercially insured patients that treat a large number of uninsured people see expansion as a potential lifeline in tough economic times.
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