Moderna is dialing back its plans for new vaccines, shelving several key projects as it grapples with a sharp slowdown in COVID shot sales.
Why it matters: The company came to the world's rescue during the pandemic, but the pharmaceutical industry is still a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business.
A North Dakota judge on Thursday struck down the state's abortion ban — one of the strictest in the U.S. — ruling that residents "have a fundamental right to choose abortion" before the fetus is viable.
The big picture: The judge's order will make abortion legal in the Republican-led state, where no clinics provide the procedure. The ruling is expected to be appealed.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized the Hearing Aid Feature, its first over-the-counter hearing aid software device that is intended to be used with the Apple AirPods Pro.
Why it matters: A hearing aid that's built into a relatively inexpensive and easily accessible product that many people already own could help far more people get the hearing help they need.
Improved safety practices led 200,000 more patients to survive hospitalization in 2023 and 2024 than they would have four years earlier, per a new analysis on patient safety from the American Hospital Association and Vizient.
Why it matters: The analysis indicates not only a rebound but an improvement in hospital safety after the pandemic, when federal data previously showed a decline.
The Food and Drug Administration cited AbbVie for making misleading claims about a migraine pill in TV ads featuring tennis legend Serena Williams and ordered the company to come up with a plan for discontinuing the ads or halting distribution of the drug.
Why it matters: While the FDA has the authority to police advertising, it doesn't regularly issue warnings like the one for AbbVie's Ubrelvy, which was posted on the agency's website on Wednesday.
Patients could be spared huge, unexpected bills for ambulance rides under a new plan aimed at closing a gap in the surprise billing law.
Why it matters:Many Americans avoid calling 911 when they're having a medical crisis because of cost concerns. Others get stuck with massive unanticipated bills that are a major driver of medical debt in the U.S.
Former President Trump again vowed during Tuesday's debate to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, but he offered no details on a new health care plan that he has been promising since the 2016 election.
The big picture: A second term would give Trump the opportunity to implement a replacement for the ACA, but his longstanding promise of a new policy in the works has so far remained undelivered.
Abortion predictably loomed large over Tuesday's presidential debate, with Vice President Kamala Harris asserting that former President Trump would sign a national abortion ban and Trump taking a leave-it-to-the-states posture.
The big picture: Trump continued to waffle on abortion, at one point appearing to contradict GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance's recent claim that the former president would veto a national ban.
A class-action complaint claims Aetna violated federal non-discrimination law by denying coverage of certain gender-affirming surgeries.
Why it matters: The lawsuit filed Tuesday cites civil rights protections in the Affordable Care Act that are currently being challenged by conservative-led states.
Half of U.S. counties don't have a hospital that provides obstetric care and more than a third lack a single obstetric clinician, according to a new report by March of Dimes.
Why it matters: Access to care is getting worse even as America's maternal mortality rate is more than double that of some other high-income countries, and the infant mortality rate recently rose for the first time in two decades.
Over and over at last night's presidential debate, Kamala Harris set traps surgically designed to provoke, rattle and enrage Donald Trump.
And over and over, Trump stepped right into them.
Why it matters: With just eight weeks until the election, Harris delivered for Democrats on the biggest possible stage — the type of national stage that ended President Biden's political career less than three months ago.
Apple is giving its Apple Watch a tool to detect sleep apnea and its AirPods the ability to both test and treat hearing loss, the company announced this week.
Why it matters: With the new features, Apple is enabling its popular, readily obtainable devices to identify conditions that are widespread but often undetected.
Former President Trump doubled down on taking credit for overturning Roe v. Wade during Tuesday's presidential debate, while also claiming he wouldn't sign a national abortion ban.
The big picture: Trump has flip-flopped on his abortionstance while Vice President Kamala Harris has made it a defining issue in her campaign.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.),who's long been skeptical of changing the rules that require 60 votes for legislation to pass the Senate, is willing to carve out an exception for abortion rights, he told us.
Why it matters: This is a huge win for Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who now appears to have the votes to pass abortion rights legislation — if Democrats can hold the majority.
