LAS VEGAS — A Nevada judge has struck down the state’s limits on Medicaid coverage for abortion services, saying the restrictions violate equal rights protections. Clark County District Judge Erika Ballou said Tuesday from the bench that she planned to issue a written order at a later date directing the state Department of Health and … Read more
PHILADELPHIA — A lawsuit accusing the NFL’s disability plan of violating its duty to retired players by routinely denying valid injury claims can proceed to trial on most counts, a federal judge in Maryland has ruled. The lawsuit, filed last year, accuses officials who oversee the program of bad faith and flagrant violations of federal … Read more
MADISON, Wis. — Medicaid recipients in Wisconsin will have access to the first over-the-counter birth control pill starting Tuesday, allowing them to easily receive contraceptive medication with no out-of-pocket costs or doctor’s prescription, Gov. Tony Evers announced. Evers, a Democrat, promised in his State of the State speech in January that Opill would be available … Read more
NAIROBI, Kenya — Doctors at Kenya’s public hospitals began a nationwide strike Thursday, accusing the government of failing to implement a raft of promises from a collective bargaining agreement signed in 2017 after a 100-day strike that saw people dying from lack of care. The Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union said they went … Read more
JACKSON, Miss. — A new Mississippi law will allow earlier Medicaid coverage for pregnant women in an effort to improve health outcomes for mothers and babies in a poor state with the nation’s worst rate of infant mortality. The “presumptive eligility” legislation signed Tuesday by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves will become law July 1. It … Read more
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In Republican-led states across the U.S., conservative legislators are refusing to reevaluate abortion bans — even as doctors and patients insist the laws’ exceptions are dangerously unclear, resulting in denied treatment to some pregnant women in need. Instead, GOP leaders accuse abortion rights advocates of deliberately spreading misinformation and doctors of intentionally … Read more
Lou Gehrig’s disease took away Grace Armant’s ability to speak, but the 84-year-old still has plenty to say about her insurance. UnitedHealthcare has rejected several requests from her doctors for coverage of a machine Armant needs to breathe as she deals with the fatal illness. “They are no good,” Armant said, typing slowly into a … Read more
The popular weight-loss drug Wegovy, which has helped millions of Americans shed pounds, can now be used to reduce the risk of stroke, heart attacks and other serious cardiovascular problems in patients who are overweight or who have obesity, federal regulators said Friday. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a label change requested by … Read more
A federal appeals court is set to hear arguments on whether former President Barack Obama’s signature health care law must fully cover certain types of preventive care, including HIV prevention and some types of cancer screenings NEW ORLEANS — A federal appeals court was scheduled to hear arguments Monday on whether former President Barack Obama’s … Read more
JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi’s Republican-led House passed a bill Wednesday that would expand Medicaid benefits to hundreds of thousands more residents in one of the poorest states in the U.S. — a landmark shift after state leaders refused to consider the policy for years. The bill’s passage was greeted by applause in the House chamber … Read more
