Tonight: the preventive care panel RFK is messing around with, giving money to pregnant women helps babies, and more.
— Meghan McCarthy
THE TASK FORCE THAT MAKES YOUR MAMMOGRAM FREE HASN'T MET IN THREE MONTHS
RFK Jr. fired both vice chairs of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force last week, an independent panel that determines what preventive care health insurance must cover at no cost under the ACA. That includes everything from mammograms, breast and cervical cancer screenings, birth control, and depression screenings. The task force has not convened since March and has no meetings scheduled. Even worse, former members said the administration suppressed a completed recommendation endorsing at-home HPV self-testing as an alternative to the Pap smear.
THE U.S. JUST ADDED A PAID-LEAVE SCORE FOR NEW MOMS. IT'S AN F.
The Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health at George Washington University graded all 50 states on their maternal mental health infrastructure for the fourth consecutive year, adding a "parental support" domain in 2026 that immediately dragged the national grade to an F. Paid leave and childcare access were absent or inadequate in 31 states, which scored less than one star out of five; Maine led with 3.5 stars. One in five new mothers in the U.S. experiences a maternal mental health condition; untreated, these disorders have lasting effects on women's well-being, family stability, and child development.
IN THE WORLD'S LARGEST BREAST CANCER DATASET, ONE PATIENT IS NATIVE AMERICAN
The Cancer Genome Atlas is the world's largest breast cancer database with more than a thousand patients. But only one of them is Native American, which means today's targeted treatments were calibrated on data from other populations. A team at Notre Dame compared 17 Native American tumor samples to nearly 700 from white women and found differences at every level studied: which genes mutated, how tumors evaded immune defenses, how DNA was organized. Native American women have lower breast cancer incidence than white women but higher mortality rates — the researchers say these biological differences may help explain why.
TURNS OUT, GIVING PREGNANT WOMEN CASH WORKS
Flint, Michigan's Rx Kids program gave pregnant women $1,500 mid-pregnancy and $500 a month through the baby's first year, with no restrictions on how families spent it. The results showed a cut in NICU admissions by 29% and low birthweight rates dropped by over 4 percentage points. The study tracked about 4,500 births across similar Michigan cities. The program also reduced evictions, increased prenatal care visits, and drove a 32% drop in child maltreatment allegations. The results offer the most comprehensive real-world evidence yet that unconditional cash in the perinatal period outperforms most targeted interventions.
TRUMP'S HEALTH AGENDA DOESN’T DELIVER (YET) FOR ABORTION HATERS
Anti-abortion groups that helped elect Trump are now openly breaking with his administration, frustrated that MAHA pet projects like food dyes, dietary guidelines, and vaccine recommendations have crowded out moves to restrict mifepristone. The FDA recently approved a new mifepristone generic rather than rolling back access; the agency's top two officials, both targets of sustained anti-abortion pressure, departed in the past month. The White House's response to the movement so far is Moms.gov, a directory of crisis pregnancy centers.