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FERTILITY
Trump Administration's Fertility Executive Order: Reality Hits?
What: Health Affairs breaks down the tensions in the Trump administration's executive order on fertility treatments, which has fueled debates between people who want more children born and social conservatives opposed to IVF. Also? The potential cost.
Key Line: "Consistent with the President’s EO, OPM could increase access to fertility treatment by negotiating lower enrollee cost sharing for the fertility benefit. However, on the heels of an 11.2 percent overall premium increase between 2024 and 2025, OPM also will be mindful of the impact of such a benefit expansion on total program costs. The Trump Administration is currently reviewing recommendations submitted in response to the EO. It remains to be seen whether the administration will take advantage of this opportunity to improve access to fertility treatments for federal workers."
Source: Health Affairs
BIRTH CONTROL
Gen Z Women Prefer Social Media Over Docs for Birth Control Advice
What: Medscape does a round-up on Gen Z women trusting social media and fertility tracking apps when it comes to birth control versus health care professionals.
Key Line: "Earlier this year, researchers in the United Kingdom found that across a 5-year span, there was an uptick in women seeking an abortion who reported they did not use any contraception. The study was published in BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health. The UK researchers also found an increase in the number of women who reported using fertility awareness methods and a decrease in use of prescription contraception."
Source: Medscape
PREGNANCY + POSTPARTUM
Pregnant Women Lack Care in Abortion-Ban States
What: Researchers found that pregnant women in states with abortion bans are more likely to be uninsured and lack access to routine medical care. Those states have weaker Medicaid programs and less quality pregnancy care compared to states without abortion bans.
Key Line: "The researchers found that 258,362 pregnant women in the US lacked health coverage in 2022, 62% of whom lived in abortion-ban states. The three states where the largest share of pregnant women lacked coverage were Texas (21.0%), Arkansas (18.8%), and Florida (18.6%) – all of which are abortion-ban/restriction states."
Source: American Journal of Preventive Medicine
ABORTION ACCESS
Four States Push to Ease Abortion Pill Restrictions
What: Attorneys general from Massachusetts, New York, California, and New Jersey asked the FDA to loosen restrictions on the abortion pill, emphasizing its safety and effectiveness. The request is a counter to potential efforts to restrict access to the pill based on a questionable report promoted by anti-abortion activists.
Key Line: "The F.D.A. is required to respond to the petition within 180 days by granting or denying the request, or saying it needs more time. In its responses, the agency must document its position, which could be useful in lawsuits, including one that the four states could file if their petition is denied."
Source: New York Times
CARDIOVASCULAR
Women Don't Know They Have High Blood Pressure
What: A study from 2013 to 2023 found that more women in the United States are unaware they have high blood pressure, while knowledge of diabetes and high cholesterol levels stayed the same. By 2021 to 2023, 1 in 6 adults with high blood pressure and 3 in 10 with diabetes didn't know they had these conditions.
Key Line: "The proportion of women who were unaware they had hypertension increased significantly (11.3% [95% CI, 8.9%-13.8%] to 16.5% [95% CI, 14.2%-18.8%]; P = .001), a change not observed among men (Figure 2)."
Source: JAMA Cardiology
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