The near-total abortion ban set to take effect in the coming months was crafted before Arizona was a state — and generations of lawmakers have worked to keep it alive ever since.
The big picture: The pre-statehood ban was the law of the land in Arizona until the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe decision made it illegal to enforce.
A pioneering tobacco ban aimed at creating Britain's "first smoke-free generation" cleared a key hurdle in Parliament on Tuesday over objections it would fuel a black market and snuff out personal choice.
Why it matters: The plan effectively makes it illegal to ever sell tobacco or vapes to anyone who turns 15 this year or younger. New Zealand approved a similar ban, but it was repealed by a new government there in February.
Pharmacists at CVS stores are moving to join a new union as part of a growing backlash to what they say are unsafe work conditions.
Why it matters: The new unionization effort comes months after pharmacy workers at major retailers staged walkouts — dubbed "pharmageddon" — in response to understaffing and growing workplace demands that they warn are putting patients' health at risk.
During the first congressional hearing on the Change Healthcare hack Tuesday, lawmakers appeared to zero in on the risks of massive consolidation in health care.
Why it matters: There was some bipartisan agreement among lawmakers that the bulking up of health care giants like Change parent company UnitedHealth Group has left the system and patients worse off.
UnitedHealth Group said it could suffer a blow of up to $1.6 billion this year from the far-reaching cyberattack on its payment processing subsidiary, but the health insurer managed to exceed expectations with first quarter earnings.
Why it matters: Ransomware attackers seized control of critical systems at the company's Change Healthcare business earlier this year, hurting patients' access to prescriptions and throttling payments to care providers.
A federal appeals court on Tuesday blocked a West Virginia law banning transgender girls from playing on sports teams that align with their gender identity.
The big picture: The 2-1 ruling bythe 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the ban also violates Title IX, the landmark 1972 legislation that bars sex-based discrimination in education.
There was an "abrupt increase" in young adults opting for vasectomies and tubal ligations after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, according a study in JAMA Health Forum.
What they found: The University of Pittsburgh-led study found a particular jump in tubal ligations among women ages 18 to 30.
Prescribing of biosimilars for AbbVie's blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira surged just over a week following a change in drug coverage by CVS Health.
Why it matters: It marked one of the first major efforts to push biosimilar adoption, Evercore ISI analyst Elizabeth Anderson told Axios.
Physician assistants have won the first round in an unusual push to rebrand themselves as physician associates. And doctors aren't amused.
Why it matters: The title change reflects PAs' growing prominence in the health care system amid a nationwide physician shortage, and dovetails with other efforts to increase PAs' autonomy.
