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Health Care

Vox’s coverage of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare-for-all, emergency room fees, and everything else you need to know about the health care industry.

Future Perfect
The blithe cruelty of the GOP push for Medicaid work requirementsThe blithe cruelty of the GOP push for Medicaid work requirements
Future Perfect

Some more people might get jobs. What about those who don’t?

By Dylan Matthews
Abortion
North Dakota adopts one of the strictest abortion bans in the USNorth Dakota adopts one of the strictest abortion bans in the US
Abortion

The new law adds to Republicans’ messaging headache on abortion.

By Nicole Narea
Policy
White House warns 21 million Americans at risk of losing Medicaid under GOP proposalWhite House warns 21 million Americans at risk of losing Medicaid under GOP proposal
Policy

Democrats are preparing to fight House Republicans’ plan for Medicaid work requirements.

By Dylan Scott
Politics
The Supreme Court’s new abortion pill decision, explainedThe Supreme Court’s new abortion pill decision, explained
Politics

The justices hand down the first decision in the mifepristone litigation saga that is not completely unhinged.

By Ian Millhiser
Policy
Medicaid is popular. So why are Republicans still trying to cut it?Medicaid is popular. So why are Republicans still trying to cut it?
Policy

The flawed assumptions of the House GOP’s revived plan for work requirements.

By Dylan Scott
Politics
Biden’s long-awaited plan to give health care to Dreamers, explainedBiden’s long-awaited plan to give health care to Dreamers, explained
Politics

Almost half of the immigrants eligible for DACA are uninsured. Biden is trying to fix that.

By Nicole Narea
Policy
Republicans want to force doctors to mislead patients about reversing abortionsRepublicans want to force doctors to mislead patients about reversing abortions
Policy

The GOP’s backup plan to slow down medication abortion, explained.

By Dylan Scott
Politics
How Democrats plan to fight abortion pill restrictionsHow Democrats plan to fight abortion pill restrictions
Politics

Some Democrats are pushing for the FDA to ignore a court ruling suspending the agency’s approval of mifepristone.

By Nicole Narea
Policy
The ongoing, unnecessary Adderall shortage, explainedThe ongoing, unnecessary Adderall shortage, explained
Policy

Rising demand has collided with restricted supply — with consequences for millions of patients.

By Dylan Scott
Policy
Can we solve the EpiPen cost crisis?Can we solve the EpiPen cost crisis?
Policy

Some families are still spending thousands of dollars per year on lifesaving medication. Policymakers are finally doing something about it.

By Dylan Scott
Policy
What is Narcan? The opioid overdose spray, explained.What is Narcan? The opioid overdose spray, explained.
Policy

The FDA’s approval of the first over-the-counter nasal spray against opioid overdose is a good step. But much more needs to be done to fight the opioid crisis.

By Dylan Scott
Politics
The lawsuit that threatens everything from cancer screenings to birth control, explainedThe lawsuit that threatens everything from cancer screenings to birth control, explained
Politics

A notoriously partisan judge has launched a new attack on one of Obamacare’s key provisions.

By Ian Millhiser
Future Perfect
What would it mean to treat guns the way we treat cars?What would it mean to treat guns the way we treat cars?
Future Perfect

Guns kill more young Americans than cars now, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

By Muizz Akhtar
Politics
Thanks, Obama! The hilarious reason why a judge just blocked Wyoming’s abortion ban.Thanks, Obama! The hilarious reason why a judge just blocked Wyoming’s abortion ban.
Politics

Republicans just got a painful reminder that political stunts can backfire.

By Ian Millhiser
Politics
How the US can stop the spread of Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungusHow the US can stop the spread of Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungus
Politics

With potential vaccines still in development, prevention is key.

By Nicole Narea
Abortion
Wyoming banned the abortion pill. Some states are trying to go even further.Wyoming banned the abortion pill. Some states are trying to go even further.
Abortion

With abortion access already limited, some states are trying to impose extreme penalties for the procedure.

By Ellen Ioanes
Future Perfect
Why 70 percent of the world’s maternal deaths are in sub-Saharan AfricaWhy 70 percent of the world’s maternal deaths are in sub-Saharan Africa
Future Perfect

How do we ensure no person dies as a result of bringing life into this world?

By Rachel DuRose
Covid-19
The knowns — and known unknowns — of long Covid, explainedThe knowns — and known unknowns — of long Covid, explained
Covid-19

Long Covid isn’t as much of a mystery as it used to be.

By Dylan Scott
Politics
No one knows when it is legal to perform medically necessary abortions in TexasNo one knows when it is legal to perform medically necessary abortions in Texas
Politics

Doctors in red states across the country are too scared to perform legal abortions. A Texas lawsuit seeks to fix that in the biggest red state.

By Ian Millhiser
Policy
Biden’s budget goes all in on protecting Medicare. Just how much danger is it in?Biden’s budget goes all in on protecting Medicare. Just how much danger is it in?
Policy

Medicare is facing big challenges, but it’s not on the verge of bankruptcy.

By Dylan Scott
Policy
The campaign to make insulin less expensive just scored a major victoryThe campaign to make insulin less expensive just scored a major victory
Policy

The price of insulin has skyrocketed, but now one major drug company will limit patients’ costs.

By Dylan Scott
Policy
The pay gap between hospital CEOs and nurses is expanding even faster than we thoughtThe pay gap between hospital CEOs and nurses is expanding even faster than we thought
Policy

Some hospital CEOs quadrupled their salaries in a few years while nurses’ pay largely stayed stagnant.

By Dylan Scott
Science
Yes, the Ohio train wreck is an environmental disaster. No, it’s not Chernobyl.Yes, the Ohio train wreck is an environmental disaster. No, it’s not Chernobyl.
Science

How bad is the East Palestine derailment, really?

By Benji Jones
Politics
The radical proposal to let Medicare and Social Security lapse, explainedThe radical proposal to let Medicare and Social Security lapse, explained
Politics

Sen. Rick Scott wants every government program — even entitlements — to expire after 5 years unless Congress approves them again.

By Dylan Scott
Money
Why you know the names of tons of medicines you’ll never needWhy you know the names of tons of medicines you’ll never need
Money

Before you’d heard of Ozempic, constant TV ads made sure you knew the Ozempic song.

By Emily Stewart
Politics
Insulin is way too expensive. California has a solution: Make its own.Insulin is way too expensive. California has a solution: Make its own.
Politics

The drug’s cost crisis is spurring states to pursue a public version of an essential medication.

By Dylan Scott
Science
Can you get bird flu?Can you get bird flu?
Science

The H5N1 avian flu virus isn’t a major human threat today. Here’s what it’d take to become one.

By Keren Landman, MD and Benji Jones
Money
What an abortion hotline reveals about reproductive care after RoeWhat an abortion hotline reveals about reproductive care after Roe
Money

Linda Prine, a physician and co-founder of the Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline, describes the new realities for patients in states where the procedure is banned.

By Marin Cogan and Victoria Chamberlin
Politics
Believe it or not, we are not going to be sick foreverBelieve it or not, we are not going to be sick forever
Politics

This year’s weird, bad cold-and-flu-and-Covid season might have peaked.

By Dylan Scott
Politics
The coming legal showdown over abortion pillsThe coming legal showdown over abortion pills
Politics

We are only beginning to see the legal fallout from the Supreme Court eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion.

By Ian Millhiser
Politics
Dobbs didn’t end the anti-abortion movementDobbs didn’t end the anti-abortion movement
Politics

The end of Roe v. Wade was a decades-long goal. It’s not clear what’s next for the movement.

By Ellen Ioanes
Science
Were bivalent boosters worth it?Were bivalent boosters worth it?
Science

The biggest questions about the newest Covid-19 vaccines are still unanswered.

By Keren Landman, MD
Politics
When hospitals merge, patients sufferWhen hospitals merge, patients suffer
Politics

Study: UK patients died more often and were readmitted more frequently after hospital mergers.

By Dylan Scott
What “choice” means for millions of women post-Roe
Culture

Overnight, a generation of women born with the constitutionally protected right to an abortion saw it taken away. It has upended some of the biggest decisions of their lives.

By Marin Cogan
Politics
Kansas voters sided with abortion rights in August. Republicans don’t care.Kansas voters sided with abortion rights in August. Republicans don’t care.
Politics

Abortion rights won in a blowout in Kansas — but state Republicans are still pursuing more restrictions.

By Nicole Narea
Future Perfect
Congress’s bipartisan deal to spend billions more fighting HIV and malaria abroadCongress’s bipartisan deal to spend billions more fighting HIV and malaria abroad
Future Perfect

At the surface, Congress is a total mess. Below, it’s actually getting some big stuff done.

By Dylan Matthews
Politics
A worrisome trend in American hospitals is hurting poor patientsA worrisome trend in American hospitals is hurting poor patients
Politics

When public hospitals are taken over by private companies, people on Medicaid are left worse off.

By Dylan Scott
Politics
Virginia Democrats are fighting for a razor-thin edge on abortion rightsVirginia Democrats are fighting for a razor-thin edge on abortion rights
Politics

The future of abortion rights in the state could hinge on whether Democrat Aaron Rouse wins a special election to the state Senate.

By Nicole Narea
Health Care
The real reason 7,000 nurses in New York City have gone on strikeThe real reason 7,000 nurses in New York City have gone on strike
Health Care

The best way to prevent future health care work stoppages is to fix how we pay for health care.

By Dylan Scott
Politics
The new front in the right’s war on abortionThe new front in the right’s war on abortion
Politics

Abortion pills are at the heart of the fight over abortion access in a post-Roe world.

By Rachel Cohen Booth