October 15th, 2021
The Out-of-Pocket Health News Digest
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Below you will find briefs about recent health policy news stories. Our hope is for students to have an information outlet at their fingertips to keep up-to-date with the most pressing news stories in health policy.
This compilation is produced by the HPSA Education Committee: Brynna Thigpen, Christopher Whitlock, Easheta Shah, Hannah Lane, Hassan Kourani, Jourdan Clements, and Lizzy Peppercorn
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Federal Appeals Court Reinstates Texas Abortion Law
by Christopher Whitlock
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In the latest development regarding the highly controversial Texas abortion law, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the law on Friday, October 8th following a brief suspension administered by a federal court two days earlier.
Senate Bill 8, also known as the Texas Heartbeat Act, took effect on 9/1/21 and prohibits abortions after the fetus has a heartbeat detectable by a medical professional, which usually happens after approximately 6 weeks into a pregnancy. This occurs before most women even realize they are pregnant, and this bill makes no exceptions for cases of rape or incest. The law was designed to be enforced by private citizens who may file lawsuits against abortion providers and any third party who helps someone receive an abortion after fetal cardiac activity is detected. This unconventional strategy of shifting enforcement responsibility from the state to private citizens has helped the law evade legal challenges to this point. Since the state is not technically enforcing the law, it is difficult for abortion providers to identify defendants when seeking judicial review.
Even though Texas already had some of the strictest abortion regulations in the country before the passage of SB8, more than 54,000 abortions were performed there in 2020. It is difficult to quantify the effect of the law because it prevents disclosure of abortion statistics until early next year, but the almost complete abortion ban over the last five weeks has had a dramatic impact on the state. Planned Parenthood reported the number of patients seen in Texas clinics declined by 80% within two weeks of the law taking effect. Texas abortion clinics have had to turn away hundreds of patients, many of whom are resorting to clinics in nearby states.
Before the bill was suspended earlier last week, other courts had previously decided not to block the law. Most notably, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 earlier this year in favor of permitting the law to take effect without ruling on the law’s constitutionality.
Moving forward, the Biden administration has again requested the courts to suspend the Texas abortion law. The Justice Department filed this request on Monday, October 12th and continues to argue against the law’s constitutionality. Litigation is ongoing between the Biden administration and the state of Texas to determine the immediate future of the law, which may ultimately be decided by a second trip to the Supreme Court.
Sources: AP News, Kaiser Health News, NPR, The Texas Tribune, Texas State Bill 8
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Supreme Court Commission Releases Initial Research Results on Court Reform
by Hannah Lane
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In April of 2021, President Joe Biden issued an executive order that formed a commission on the Supreme Court. The commission is made up of 36 legal scholars, lawyers, and formal federal judges and was tasked with performing research on the arguments for and against court reform. Topics include the court's role in the Constitutional system, the length of service and the turnover of justices, the membership and size of the court, and the court's case selection, rules, and practices. In order to ensure that the commission's work is comprehensive, research will comprise of public hearings, input from experts, etc.
Yesterday, the commission released their initial findings. On the hot-button issue of expanding the number of justices, the group was divided. The group reported that cort expansion could "undermine, rather than enhance, the Supreme Court's legitimacy and its role in the constitutional system, and there are significant reasons to be skeptical that expansion would serve democratic values." The group did, however, give various scenarios on how increasing the size of the court would work like doing it gradually over time versus all at once.
However, when the issue of term limits was discussed, the commission seemed more open to the idea. They were quoted saying that, "[term limits] may help strike a more appropriate balance" between judicial independence and long-term responsiveness to the people. Additionally, the commission felt that term limits would advance the commitment to checks and balances and popular sovereignty while enhancing the court's legitimacy to the public.
The commission also spent time drafting a code of ethics for the court making the Supreme Court more inline with lower courts and demonstrating a dedication to "ethical culture". Some other topics the commission explored were fixing the nomination process, the "shadow docket", and court packing.
While the commission released its initial assessment, it did not make any recommendations. It cites that the President is ultimately in charge of deciding what to do with the commission's findings. It will give its final report to President Biden by mid-November.
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FDA Endorses Moderna Booster For Emergency Use
by Easheta Shah
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The Biden Administration has urged a timely rollout for booster shots for all Americans who are vaccinated as early as 6 months after their last dose. Members of the FDA’s vaccine expert panel and the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) met less than a month after the authorization of Pfizer-BioNTech’s booster vaccine approval to discuss Moderna’s new booster shot for use. Moderna’s application seeks authorization for its 50 microgram booster among individuals 18 years and older, making this next dose less likely to induce side effects as compared to the first two 100 microgram doses in its series.
During their meeting yesterday, the advisory committee discussed the waning immunity of initial vaccine doses and the diluted booster, the nominal risk for myocarditis in young men 18 to 25 from vaccines, and the potential impacts of boosters among different age groups. Due to the pressure to authorize third doses for the presidential administration’s booster campaign and the increasing burden of COVID-19’s newest strains, many of the concerns about issues that were far enough into the future were tabled for later discussion. In the meantime, the VRBPAC turned to Israeli data in their experience in widespread booster dose rollout. Though they mainly administered the Pfizer-BioNTech booster dose, their data supported use of boosters as an effective mode of protection for individuals over the age of 60.
In a unanimous vote, the committee supported the emergency use authorization of Moderna’s booster vaccine for individuals 65 years of age and older and individuals 18 to 64 years of age at high risk for exposure and complications after infection. This decision mirrors Pfizer’s authorization in September, and further discussion on earlier concerns must be addressed as the campaign to vaccinate continues.
Sources: STAT News, NYTimes
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Bill Clinton: Former U.S. President Bill Clinton was hospitalized Tuesday evening. It has been reported that it is due to a non-COVID related infection. He is doing better and in good spirits (AP).
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Indigenous Peoples' Day: This past Monday was Indigenous Peoples' Day, the first time a U.S. President has recognized the holiday. People gathered all over the country to honor the history and protest climate change and the use of fossil fuels. Learn about the history of the holiday here (NPR).
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COVID: The U.S. donated 17 million doses of the Johnson and Johnson COVID vaccine to the African Union this week. Under half of African countries have received COVID vaccines and have vaccinated 2% of their populations (NPR).
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Nursing: Despite extreme burnout of health care workers during the pandemic, nursing school applications are on the rise. Over the last year, enrollment in nursing programs has increased by 5.6% (AP).
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