News

Kaiser Health News Podcast, “What the Health?”, is a worthy follow. Episode 62 covers the Texas lawsuit the could undue the protections Americans have under the Affordable Care Act.

Among the takeaways from the podcast:

• The case being argued in federal court in Texas is putting pressure on GOP candidates in the midterm elections because Democrats are arguing that Republicans’ arguments will destroy the ACA’s protections for people with preexisting conditions.
• Ten Republican senators say a bill they are pushing will help people with preexisting health problems if the federal court in Texas strikes down the ACA. But while the bill requires insurers to sell coverage to these people, it does not require the companies to cover treatment for those medical conditions.
• A bill sent to California Gov. Jerry Brown would require state colleges to stock drugs for medical abortions at their health centers to make them more accessible to students. The effort points up how even after these drugs became available, their use has been widely curtailed by abortion opponents.
• The Trump administration finally made grant awards to family planning groups that provide services under the federal family planning program. But the grants were for only seven months rather than the usual three years. Some reproductive health advocates argue that a short time frame was designed to give the administration time to finalize regulations aimed at evicting Planned Parenthood from the program.

Listen here.