A long-debated measure to stop doctors, hospitals and other health care providers from billing patients for charges not covered by their insurance will gain congressional approval as part of the sweeping government spending package.
The law will ban the manufacture and sale in California of personal care products that contain 24 toxics, including asbestos, formaldehyde and lead, and is expected to fill a gap in federal regulation as companies sell the new formulations nationwide.
Dozens of protesters were injured in recent protests, triggering efforts to limit or ban the use of rubber bullets and other projectiles.
The measure caps one of the most contentious health policy debates in recent memory, potentially altering how Californians get their medical care. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until the end of September to sign or veto it.
California could become the first state to develop its own line of generic drugs under a bill approved Monday by the legislature. The measure heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom for consideration.
House Democrats unveiled legislation that would effectively double what the federal government has spent on relief for the COVID-19 pandemic, but Republicans say they want to wait before even talking about another bill. Meanwhile, a key Republican senator called the GOP court case challenging the Affordable Care Act “flimsy.” Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call and Joanne Kenen of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more.
Congress passed legislation Wednesday reauthorizing the Older Americans Act, which provides for home-delivered and group meals. Although proposed funding increases are substantial, they still don’t keep up with the nation’s growing senior population.
As a national movement for better access to menstrual products gains steam, “period equity” activists in Colorado are finding the path to change isn’t straight. Although Denver last summer repealed sales taxes on menstrual products and the state now requires supplies to be provided in prisons, an effort to repeal the statewide sales tax on the products failed. So, activists assemble supply kits to donate to those who need them.
A Colorado lawmaker giving birth near the start of the state’s four-month legislative session highlighted the lack of comprehensive paid family leave. Yet a bill to add a statewide system that once seemed a sure thing is getting bogged down.
Even in a solidly blue state where voters were demanding relief from high health care costs, the idea of a government-run public option for health insurance faced a “steam train of opposition.”