Episode #39 Deep Dive – The New War on Reproductive Health Care
A deep dive into this week's episode of Paging America
››› Senate HELP Committee hearing on “chemical abortion dangers”
Yesterday, Jan. 14, the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee, led by Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, held a hearing deceptively titled “Protecting Women: Exposing the Dangers of Chemical Abortion Drugs.” The HELP Committee’s announcement of the hearing describes mifepristone as “a dangerous chemical abortion drug” despite decades of safe use.
Here’s how Ms. Magazine characterized the performative hearing:
Rather than offering new evidence or legitimate oversight, the hearing played out exactly as reproductive health experts warned: a partisan exercise in recycling debunked claims, elevating junk science and laying the groundwork for further restrictions on the most commonly used abortion medication in the United States.
The ongoing efforts attacking mifepristone – used in over 60% of all abortions – continue to be based on a self-published position paper from a far-right organization that has been thoroughly discredited for its many flaws.
Prior to the hearing, Washington Senator Patty Murray issued a statement saying, “We all know this hearing is not about the actual science or the facts—and it’s certainly not about what is best for women’s health. This hearing is really about the fact that Trump and his anti-abortion allies want to ban abortion nationwide and medication abortion is the most common method of abortion in the U.S.”
››› Nevada public option now operational
In 2025, Nevada secured federal approval for its Battle Born State Plans, a state-level public option for health insurance that began operations on January 1st. The deadline to sign up for insurance for 2026 is today (January 15) and, as of January 6th, about 20% of Nevadans who actively selected a health plan through the state’s marketplace, Nevada Health Link, picked a new public option. With the expiration of the enhanced ACA tax credits and average premiums in Nevada jumping 26% this year, timing could not be better for Nevadans.
The Committee was actively involved in promoting the passage of the legislation that created the Battle Born State Plans program.
››› House passes a 3-year extension of the enhanced ACA health care subsidies
Last week, the House voted to extend the ACA enhanced tax credits that expired at the end of 2025 for three years. A surprising 17 Republicans joined Democrats in passing the measure which now heads to the Senate. POLITICO called the defections “a stunning rebuke to Speaker Mike Johnson and President Donald Trump.”
One Republican Senator, MAGA-aligned Bernie Moreno of Ohio, isn’t giving up on a health care plan that can win 35 Senate Republicans and a majority of Democrats.However, a vote in the Senate has been postponed until the end of the month:
The bipartisan Senate group working on a compromise deal to revive the lapsed Affordable Care Act subsidies won’t have legislative text ready until the last week of January, according to one of the lead negotiators — a dip in the cautious optimism some lawmakers have projected in recent days that a framework could come out as soon as this week.
The nonpartisan CBO estimates that, if it becomes law, it would “increase the number of people with health insurance by 0.1 million in 2026, 3.0 million in 2027, 4.0 million in 2028, and 1.1 million in 2029, relative to current law.”
However, Trump has said publicly that he may veto any legislation extending the subsidies that are passed by Congress.
Trump also told House Republicans that they need to be “flexible” on Hyde Amendment exclusions in their efforts to make health care more affordable. “You have to be a little flexible” on the Hyde Amendment, he told House Republicans as they gathered in Washington for a caucus retreat to open the midterm election year. “You gotta be a little flexible. You got to work something.” The comment has enraged anti-abortion groups.
››› Federal judge rules that HHS can hand over data to ICE for immigration enforcement
At the very end of 2025, a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration can resume sharing location data about undocumented immigrants receiving public health insurance benefits with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, starting this month:
The decision marks a significant setback for California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 21 of his Democratic counterparts, who sued in July to prevent the Trump administration from using Medicaid data obtained from the Department of Health and Human Services to target immigrants.
A spokesperson for the California Department of Justice said after the ruling that people signed up for the state’s health care program with the understanding that their personal information would be used for that purpose alone.
“The Trump Administration’s effort to use Medicaid data for immigration enforcement is a violation of their trust and will lead to fewer people seeking vital healthcare,” they said in a statement.
Although undocumented immigrants are not eligible to enroll in federal Medicaid programs, a number of blue states —California, Illinois, Colorado, New York, Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, as well as Washington, D.C. — allow some people to receive state-funded benefits through their Medicaid implementation programs regardless of immigration status.
››› RFK Jr. appoints anti-vaxxers to ACIP
RFK Jr. has appointed two anti-vaxx OB/GYNs to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), Kimberly Biss and Adam Urato:
In a December 2022 podcast interview, Biss said “prior to covid I was not an anti-vaxxer, but I am now because I’ve gone down the rabbit hole, and I would love to be able someday to meet Robert F. Kennedy Jr.” [...]
In [a May 2023 panel] discussion, she said her two grown children, in their 20s, received all their childhood shots, including for HPV, and that she and her husband routinely received flu shots.
“My grandchildren will not get any shots if I can help it,” she said. “The vaccine industry is disgusting.” [...]
During a December 2023 podcast interview, [Urato] said he asks people to imagine a chemical manufacturing plant and a prenatal clinic outside the gates of the plant. The vaccines and drugs are “coming fresh out of the chemical manufacturing facility” and “then they’re going into the prenatal clinic, and then they’re being injected into the pregnant women,” he said. [...]
“This is a huge problem for us just with over-intervention in medicine, too much testing, too many drugs, too many vaccines,” Urato said [in a June interview], later comparing vaccine makers to cigarette manufacturers.
Biss has also said that coronavirus vaccination may lead to a “huge spike in cancer” in children.
Their appointments bring the number of voting ACIP members, all appointed by Kennedy, to 12.
››› Trump administration’s abrupt reversal on cutting funding for mental health and addiction programs
On Tuesday, HHS sent out funding termination notices to around 2,800 mental health and addiction programs nationwide, effectively terminating almost $2 billion of their funding. Following a flurry of lobbying efforts and a letter to RFK Jr., with signatures from 100 House members, the funding was restored a day later with no explanation from the Trump administration.
The only explanation given for the termination of funding, done using a form letter from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), was that they services no longer aligned with the agency’s priorities of supporting “innovative programs and interventions that address the rising rates of mental illness and substance abuse conditions, overdose, and suicide.” The initial decision to cut the funding came at a time when nationwide fatalities from overdoses of opioids and stimulants have been dropping steadily since 2023.
Links for a deeper dive on Episode #39
Senate HELP Committee press release: Chair Cassidy Leads Pro-Life Republicans Seeking Answers on FDA Approving Dangerous Chemical Abortion Drug
Ms. Magazine: Junk In, Junk Out: The Senate HELP Hearing Confirmed What We Already Knew About the War on Medication Abortion
Senator Patty Murray press release: Senator Murray Slams Republicans for Sham HELP Committee Hearing to Discredit Medication Abortion: “We All Know This Hearing is Not About Safety—It’s About Banning Abortion Nationwide”
Nevada Current: With health insurance premiums rising, Nevada’s new public option is proving popular
STAT: House passes ACA subsidy extension as bipartisan negotiations heat up in Senate
POLITICO: The GOP’s Obamacare defectors were more numerous than expected
AXIOS: Inside the Senate’s last-gasp effort to solve the health care crisis
POLITICO: Senators punt release of health package to end of January
The CBO’s scoring of the bipartisan plan to extend ACA premium subsidies is HERE
Reuters (via MSN): Trump says he may veto extension of Obamacare subsidies
AP: Trump tells Republicans to be ‘flexible’ on abortion restrictions to get a health care deal
POLITICO: Trump admin can share immigrants’ Medicaid data with ICE, judge rules
The Washington Post: New RFK Jr. pick for vaccine panel: ‘I was not anti-vaccine. I am now.’
The New York Times: H.H.S. Reverses Decision to Cut $2 Billion for Mental Health and Addiction Services
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: In 24 hours, Feds cancel, then reinstate $2 billion in mental health grants
The New York Times: Louisiana Indicts Another Out-of-State Doctor Over Abortion Pills
The Hill: Louisiana seeks extradition of California doctor accused of mailing abortion pills
Virginia Mercury: Virginia House Democrats advance four constitutional amendments on opening day of 2026 session