Thousands of HIV/AIDS patient advocates meeting in Washington, D.C. this week are confronting the possibility that Congress won't renew the government's flagship effort to fight the disease, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR.
Why it matters: PEPFAR has traditionally drawn bipartisan support. But this year, it's been caught up in abortion politics and charges that it's being used to fund a radical social agenda abroad.
States geographically near ones that banned abortion after Roe v. Wade was overturned saw sharp increases in the number of procedures performed, likely due to an influx of border-hopping patients, according to a new analysis from the Guttmacher Institute.
Why it matters: Patients are proving highly motivated to travel to get the care they need in the face of state bans, according to Guttmacher, a research organization that supports abortion rights. But for some, that involves overcoming logistical and financial challenges.
State inspectors who likely will help enforce the Biden administration's new nursing home staffing requirements are facing their own workforce shortages.
Why it matters: The Biden administration says its newly proposed staffing ratios could improve patient care, but the program's success may depend on a nursing home oversight apparatus that's already struggling to keep up with inspections.
Toxic smoke from Canada's historic wildfires is drifting across the U.S. — triggering air quality alerts throughout much of Colorado, Wyoming, Minnesota and Nebraska through Thursday.
The big picture: Canadian officials warn there's no immediate let-up in sight from the country's worst-ever wildfire season which has left an estimated 41 million acres razed and repeatedly choked North American cities with unhealthy smoke this summer, sending carbon emissions to record levels and posing a grave threat to people's health.
Mexico's Supreme Court on Wednesday decriminalized abortion nationwide, making the country the latest in Latin America to expand access.
The big picture: The ruling ends the yearslong effort by abortion and human rights advocates nationwide and in individual states to decriminalize or legalize abortion.
The Biden administration wants states to control and lower their health care spending through a new Medicare experiment that takes a page from Maryland's unique hospital payment system.
The big picture: The latest attempt at transforming how America pays for health care builds on states' work to improve care quality while managing health care costs for all payers, including Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers.
One-third of political appointees to the Department of Health and Human Services go work for the industry they oversaw immediately after departing their government job, according to a comprehensive new study examining health care's revolving door.
Why it matters: There's long been concern that the flow of government employees to private companies they regulate, and vice-versa, may influence regulatory decisions. The study, published in Health Affairs, is billed as the first major effort to quantify this employment migration in the heavily regulated sector.
A late summer COVID surge is prompting some school districts to reinstate safety measures, as they try to protect student and teacher health without risking further disruptions to learning.
Why it matters: Widespread school closings are a non-starter, and officials in red and blue states also insist broad mask mandates won't return. But, in a flashback to the dark days of the pandemic, some districts in consultation with local health officials have reinstated limited masking and other precautions as COVID cases and hospitalizations rise.
