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The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case in which hospitals are challenging the way their Medicare payments are set. The hospitals won the last round — in a decision written by Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
The details: Hospitals that treat a large number of low-income patients say Medicare should have solicited public comments before making an adjustment that affected their payments. Oral arguments haven't been scheduled yet.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Health care workers faced severe shortages of face masks, gowns and other protective equipment at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, and they're afraid it's happening again now.
Why it matters: Hospitals, nursing homes and physician clinics need this equipment to protect themselves and to avoid spreading infection. Supplies are already stretched thin, and will likely get thinner as the coronavirus and flu season converge in the fall.
Photo: Erik McGregor / Contributor
Planned Parenthood Votes, the political arm of the national reproductive rights group, is ramping up its general election efforts, launching five-figure digital ad campaigns across nine battleground states.
Why it matters: This is the group's biggest election cycle effort yet, part of a larger $45 million investment ahead of November's election, and provides a glimpse of how Democrats are trying to take down President Trump on women's health issues while boosting Joe Biden as the alternative.
Screenshot: America First Action
America First Action, a leading pro-Trump super PAC, will focus on Arizona, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in a $23 million anti-Biden summer ad campaign beginning next week.
Why it matters: The ad buy signals which swing states the groups sees as most vulnerable for President Trump. Arizona and Wisconsin were not included earlier this year in the core battleground strategy.