Three high-profile medical associations on Wednesday warned that emergency rooms cannot sustain the surge in kids seeking emergency psychiatric care without more local resources for youth mental health.
Why it matters: Emergency rooms weren't designed to be mental health providers, but limited mental health support for children outside of hospitals has led to understaffed ERs being overwhelmed by young patients with behavioral emergencies.
A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld portions of a ruling that limit access to the widely used abortion pill mifepristone.
Driving the news: The ruling by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in the high-stakes legal battle over the pill won't have immediate impacts on the availability of the medication.
The NFL is expanding use of the padded softshell caps that players have been wearing for the duration of preseason practices, as well as regular season contact practices, amid signs they're cutting down on concussions.
Why it matters: Player safety has been under increased scrutiny, and the Guardian Caps worn by offensive and defensive linemen, tight ends and linebackers resulted in 52% fewer concussions up to the second preseason game this year, compared to an average of the same period over the previous three preseasons.
One year after President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, the future of the law's signature drug pricing policy — Medicare negotiations — is up in the air.
Why it matters: A barrage of lawsuits from drugmakers and allied groups are seeking to overturn provisions enabling Medicare to negotiate drug prices, just as the Biden administration is preparing to announce the first set of drugs subject to the new policy. While the fate of Medicare negotiations is uncertain, the political terms the IRA set will be enshrined in future health policy debates, said experts across the political spectrum.
Planned Parenthood said Tuesday a Texas lawsuit seeking to force it to pay back millions in Medicaid could see it shutdown in the state.
Driving the news: Texas' now-suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the lawsuit under the federal False Claims Act last year, claiming Planned Parenthood defrauded the state's Medicaid program of about $10 million. The nonprofit says the claims are "meritless."
Why it matters: The reduction to fiscal year 2024 payments announced earlier this month was far larger than what Medicare had originally proposed, catching hospitals by surprise. And though Medicare already finalized the cuts, hospitals say the agency must reconsider its decision to avoid jeopardizing care for disadvantaged patients.
Why it matters: The findings are the latest to reveal how the worsening substance use crisis is weighing on people's lives, regardless of whether they're personally experiencing addiction.
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