CA Bill Protects Reproductive Health, TX Judge Denies Preventive Care Law
California is preparing to protect abortion data and reproductive health from law enforcement agencies, and a judge in Texas has ruled against the ACA’s mandatory provision of preventive care.
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By - State laws and court rulings are diverging as some state governments work to protect citizens’ health and others seek to eliminate safeguards.
Last month, the California State Legislature passed bill AB 1242, preventing law enforcement officers from executing search warrants on California-based companies if their search intends to advance an anti-abortion investigation.
Meanwhile, a Fort Worth US District Court Judge has ruled against the Department of Health and Human Services, siding with the defendants in a case in which an employer refused to pay for HIV PrEP for employees.
California Bill Primed to Protect Reproductive Care Data
A bill recently passed by the California State Legislature will protect abortion data and prevent out-of-state law enforcement from executing search warrants to advance anti-abortion cases. In a press release accompanying the bill, the state’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, had this to say: “California will not stand idly by as anti-choice states across the nation take radical action to criminalize reproductive rights. Abortion is fully legal in California, and we'll fight to protect all who access reproductive healthcare in our state.” If the law is passed, it could serve as a model for other pro-choice states that want to discourage inter-state abortion investigations. READ MORE.
US Judge Finds HIV Prevention Impedes Religious Freedom
A Fort Worth District Court judge found that mandated preventive care for HIV impeded a provider’s religious freedom. The federal government will likely appeal the decision, but it could lead to more denials of HIV PrEP by employer-sponsored health care plans. Presiding Judge, Reed O’Connor, has consistently ruled against the Affordable Care Act and has successfully argued on behalf of religious liberty in the past. READ MORE.
FDA Finds 35% of Drug Samples to be Non-compliant
The number of non-compliant drug samples doubled from 2020 to 2021 after the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research found that quality defects or other problems affected 35% of the tested drug samples. Most of the new defects spawned from COVID-19-related drugs and sanitizers. Additionally, almost half of non-compliant manufacturers neglected to issue field alert reports to the FDA, suggesting that internal quality control measures were lacking. READ MORE.
CDC Issues Long COVID Surveillance Grant
With the help of a $9 million CDC grant, researchers from Indiana University and the Regenstrief Institute will develop a population-based surveillance system to determine the prevalence, trends, and outcomes of long COVID. The groups will utilize state EHR networks and existing surveillance structures to create accurate models of long COVID effects.
“We believe that the data will help us identify the most affected groups and geographic regions with higher disease burden, discern where health disparities exist, and highlight potential barriers to care,” said Brian Dixon, PhD, professor of epidemiology at IU’s Fairbanks School of Public Health. READ MORE.
Physician Advocacy Groups Demand Medicare Payment Reform
The American Medical Association (AMA) is calling on CMS to reverse its proposed cuts to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The $1.53 decrease in the Fee Schedule could contribute to greater consolidation of physician practices, and advocacy groups claim that the proposed cuts will make it difficult to provide access to care for all patients. CMS has yet to review stakeholder feedback and release a final rule concerning fee cuts. READ MORE.
