The Biden administration’s decision to end the COVID-19 public health emergency in May will institute sweeping changes across the health care system that go far beyond many people having to pay more for COVID tests. Read more»

The CEO of Moderna defended the company’s decision to drastically increase the price of its COVID-19 vaccine later this year after being met with bipartisan condemnation from U.S. senators, who noted the government invested nearly $2 billion in development of the vaccine. Read more»

Many legal scholars doubt the notoriously anti-abortion judge at the center of the federal anti-abortion lawsuit has the legal authority to do what plaintiffs are asking for - forcing the FDA to essentially recall a drug that for two decades has maintained a record of efficacy and safety. Read more»

Arizonans with autism and post-traumatic stress disorder could add marijuana to their medical toolkit under a proposal that expands who can access the drug under the state's medical card program, qualifying for lower prices, shorter wait times and a larger purchase allowance. Read more»

The FBI is investigating scams by fake rehab groups that target the Indigenous community, offering substance-abuse recovery or mental-health services at pop-up facilities to rake in government money. Read more»

In an Amarillo courthouse last week, lawyers seeking to move abortion medication off the market focused less on the existential question of when life begins — and more on an attempt to resurrect a long-dormant law that would upend abortion access in the United States. Read more»

In response to a yearslong decline in the mental health of the nation’s children and teens, officials are using COVID-19 relief dollars and their own money to build support services to recognize the symptoms of mental illness and help students who are struggling. Read more»

The process for developing a post-2026 transportation plan for the Tucson region is starting to hit some bureaucratic snags and City Manager Mike Ortega is asking the City Council to weigh in on them. Plus more in local government meetings this week. Read more»

Los legisladores están impulsando un proyecto de ley para crear un plan estatal para la demencia y destinar hasta $500,000 para nuevos trabajos enfocados en la enfermedad de Alzheimer, un tipo común de demencia que está aumentando especialmente rápido en Arizona. Read more»

A 600-page report published Thursday encourages federal, state and local lawmakers to think “beyond traditional silos” and innovate ways to stem adverse effects of addiction and increasing drug overdose deaths among Americans. Read more»

Tucson's "Resilient Together" draft plan is buzz-word rich, takes 36 pages to get to the introduction and could have been dictated by Siri in 2021 or done by ChatGPT today. It's also a good start that may well prove the savvy of Regina Romero. Read more»

State legislators are pushing a bill to build a state dementia plan and put up to $500,000 toward new jobs focused on Alzheimer’s disease, a common type of dementia that is rising especially fast in Arizona. Read more»

U.S. drinking water standards will for the first time include limits on the presence of cancer-causing substances known as PFAS, according to new regulations that will be overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency. Read more»

Prior authorization was designed decades ago to prevent expensive tests or procedures that are not needed but now prevents patients from getting the vital care they need - now, the federal government has proposed changes that would speed up the pre-certification process. Read more»

The divided 118th Congress approved its first bill Friday, after lawmakers in both the House and Senate voted unanimously to send President Joe Biden legislation that would require declassification of intelligence on the origins of COVID-19. Read more»