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The OHSU Center for Health & Healing Building 2 in the South Waterfront neighborhood in Portland, Oregon, on July 25, 2020. | SHUTTERSTOCK

Oregon lawmakers further ease proton therapy coverage despite lingering debate

Bill tweaks law prohibiting insurers from denying high-cost cancer treatment

May 18, 2023
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The contraceptive drug norgestrel, sold as Opill, was FDA approved decades ago for prescription-only use. If the FDA approves over the counter sales, it would be the first time a birth control pill would be available without a prescription. | LUND REPORT ILLUSTRATION/FDA/JOINT MEETING OF THE NDAC AND THE ORUDAC

Health experts urge FDA to approve over-the-counter birth control in unanimous vote

An FDA advisory committee was convinced that Opill is safe and effective to take over the counter — if the FDA follows suit, it would be the first birth control available without a prescription

May 18, 2023

A large white building with a tall tower and staircase

The Washington State Capitol in Olympia. | SHUTTERSTOCK

Inslee signs drug policy overhaul into law in Washington state

Passed during a one-day special session on Tuesday, the package includes tougher penalties for illegal drug possession, along with millions for treatment programs

May 18, 2023

Rapid COVID-19 test. | SHUTTERSTOCK

A COVID test Medicare scam may be a trial run for further fraud

Medicare loses as much as $90 billion a year to fraudulent claims

May 18, 2023

A woman in a doctor's white coat speaks on a courthouse steps.

Dr. Christina Francis, an OB-GYN from Fort Wayne, Indiana, and chair of the board of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, speaks in front of the 5th Circuit courthouse in New Orleans on May 17, 2023, following arguments on a case challenging FDA approval of the abortion pill. | GREG LAROSE/LOUISIANA ILLUMINATOR

Three-judge panel in U.S. appeals court hears arguments in abortion pill case

The ruling in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will likely be put on hold as the case moves up to the U.S. Supreme Court

May 18, 2023

Tents in downtown Portland on March 14, 2022. | SHUTTERSTOCK

State lawmakers eye forced treatment to address overlap in homelessness and mental illness

A pair of bills in Oregon would have expanded the criteria for involuntary commitment, though they failed to move forward this session. In California, similar bills are garnering more support.

May 18, 2023