What We're Reading: Number of Uninsured Children Soars; Heart Failure Deaths Rise; Alabama Abortion Ban Halted

Number of Children Without Health Insurance Now Tops 4 Million, Report Says

The number of uninsured children in the United States rose by more than 400,000 between 2016 and 2018 and now stands at over 4 million, according to a report from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. The increase means that a majority of the coverage gains made through the Affordable Care Act have disappeared, largely because of policies promoted by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress, according to the report. In addition, children in states that did not expand Medicaid are nearly twice as likely to be uninsured as those in states that did expand Medicaid.

Deaths From Heart Failure Soared More Than 20% Between 2011 and 2017

Mortality from heart failure rose 20.7% between 2011 and 2017 and is likely to keep climbing sharply, The Wall Street Journal reported. The findings, published in JAMA Cardiology, cited the rapid aging of the population, along with high rates of obesity and diabetes in all ages. While most deaths from heart failure occur in older Americans, they are rising in adults under 65, too, the study said.

Federal Judge Blocks Alabama Abortion Ban From Taking Effect

US District Judge Myron Thompson issued a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking Alabama from enforcing a near-total abortion ban, ruling after abortion providers sued to block the law from taking effect in November. The injunction was expected and will remain in place until Thompson decides the full case, The Associated Press reported. Alabama and other conservative states have attempted to enact new restrictions in the hopes of getting Supreme Court justices to reconsider Roe v Wade; in an accompanying opinion, ruling the judge wrote that the ban contravenes “clear Supreme Court precedent.”