At least 88 new measles cases confirmed in South Carolina, bringing total to 646: Health officials

(NEW YORK) — Two bills having to do with abortion are making their way through the Wyoming legislature.

The first bill, HB0126, dubbed the Human Heartbeat Act, prohibits abortion if cardiac activity is detected in the fetus, which is around six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they’re pregnant.

If cardiac activity is detected, an abortion can only be performed in the case of a medical emergency, meaning if the life of the mother is in danger or if continuing the pregnancy would cause serious or irreversible impairment of a major bodily function, according to the bill, which does not include exceptions for women impregnated as a result of rape or incest.

Any person who intentionally or knowingly violates the act will be charged with a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both, according to the bill.

“What this bill attempts to do is to provide a line in the sand,” Republican Speaker of the House Rep. Chip Neiman said at a Wyoming House Labor, Health & Social Services Committee meeting on Monday. “This gives the unborn child the right to be protected and the privilege of being carried to term after a fetal heartbeat is detected.”

The bill also asserts that “substantial medical evidence” shows that a fetus can experience pain by 15 weeks of gestation.

“The science conclusively establishes that a human fetus does not have the capacity to experience pain until after at least 24–25 weeks,” according to the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ACOG).

The other bill, HB 117 or “Stop harm-empower women with informed notices,” requires medical professionals to give pregnant women written notices before performing an abortion.

The notice would include a description of the proposed abortion method, if there are medical risks associated with the method, alternatives such as adoption and parenting, and the medical risks associated with carrying the fetus to term

Patients who feel they’ve been coerced into receiving an abortion would be allowed to sue any providers for not less than $25,000.

The bill also includes text about the abortion drug mifepristone, including putting in the written notice that mifepristone alone is not always effective in ending a pregnancy. The written notice must also include that pregnant women should consult a health care provider if, after taking mifepristone, they regret their decision “to determine if there are options available to assist her in continuing her pregnancy.”

ACOG states that medication abortion “reversal” is not supported by science and that so-called reversal procedures are “unproven and unethical.”

Earlier this week, the Wyoming House Labor, Health & Social Services Committee recommended that both bills be passed. The bills will now go to the Wyoming State House for debate, amendment and voting.

Currently, abortion is allowed in Wyoming until fetal viability, which occurs at around 25 weeks of gestation, according to ACOG, defined as a fetus’ chances of surviving outside of the womb.  

Only physicians are allowed to provide abortions in Wyoming, and they are required to submit a report to the Wyoming Department of Health within 20 days of any abortion procedure, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that focuses on sexual and reproductive health.

In 2023, Wyoming passed two abortion bans. However, the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled in January that the bans were unconstitutional, violating a “health care freedom” amendment to the state constitution that was passed in 2012 that states in part that “each competent adult shall have the right to make his or her own health care decisions,” and that “the parent, guardian or legal representative of any other natural person shall have the right to make health care decisions for that person.”

During his State of the State address earlier this month, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon suggested that voters should decide on the issue.

“There’s another arduous task that I bring before you, which is the issue of abortion,” he said. “Protecting life is the most serious responsibility entrusted to government. The question of abortion deserves careful deliberation and I urge this legislature to take up this issue earnestly and put forward a genuine solution to the voters of Wyoming that provides a clear, irrefutable, durable, and morally sound resolution to this fraught issue.”

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(NEW YORK) — When Jessica Chamberlain went to sign up for health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for 2026, she not prepared for the sticker shock.

Last year, Chamberlain was paying $59.67 in monthly premiums. This year, she would be paying nearly $100.

The 43-year-old mother of two from Illinois said she was floored to see her monthly premiums were nearly doubling.

“I can’t afford that as a single mom with two kids,” she told ABC News.

After carefully weighing her options, Chamberlain decide to forego health insurance and is currently uninsured.

“What do I sacrifice [to pay for health insurance]? I’m diabetic,” she said. “What do I have to sacrifice to keep my medications and my health afloat?

Chamberlain is not alone. Nearly one in 10 people enrolled in the ACA Marketplace last year dropped their coverage in 2026, according to a new KFF survey published Thursday.

The findings come amid rising health care costs and the end of the enhanced premium tax credits. The tax credits helped lower the cost of monthly premiums for about 22 million Americans covered under the ACA and expired at the end of 2025, with no plans by Congress to extend them.

The survey built upon a previous KFF poll conducted in 2025 among Marketplace enrollees. Surveyors re-interviewed more than 1,100 adults between Feb. 2 and March 2, 2026.

Of the respondents, 69% said they re-enrolled in Marketplace coverage with 39% selecting the same plan and 29% switching plans.

More than half, or 51%, of returning ACA enrollees said their health care costs are “a lot higher” this year compared to last year. Of this group, four in 10 specifically said their premiums are “a lot higher.” Additionally, 80% said all health care costs — including premiums, deductibles, co-pays or coinsurance — are higher.

Meanwhile, 9% of Marketplace enrollees dropped their ACA coverage and are currently uninsured.

When asked why they decided to drop or change their coverage, most respondents said costs were the driving factor.

One of the respondents, Holly Weir, a 26-year-old from Ohio, told ABC News she was paying $30 in monthly premiums last year under a plan run by UnitedHealthcare. This year, her plan went to $177 in monthly premiums.

“I didn’t do anything to pick a new health care plan. I got the bill in the mail and I was like, ‘[Expletive]!'” Weir said. “I didn’t pay too much attention until I got the bill the next month and I was like ‘Oh my God, this isn’t from me going to see a medical provider.'”

Weir decided to cancel her insurance and has applied for Medicaid coverage. She is currently waiting to see if she will be approved.

Weir said she is a thyroid cancer survivor, and she has to see an oncologist every two months or so, in addition to taking regular medication.

“Once that runs out, I’ll get a lot more scared,” she said. “Of course, I’m not going to be stupid and leave it so long. If it does come to it, I’ll pay [for the insurance]. The idea that I would have to spend that each month is frustrating. I’m already not doing amazingly financially.”

The survey found that even those who re-enrolled in the ACA Marketplace may need to rework their household budgets.

More than half, or 55%, said they need to cut spending on food or other basic household expenses to afford their health care costs.

Among those with chronic health conditions, 62% of those who reenrolled in the ACA Marketplace said they will be cutting back on food and other basics.

The survey found that 22% of respondents did not re-enroll in the ACA Marketplace and got coverage through an employer, Medicare, Medicaid or another health plan outside the Marketplace.

Chamberlain, who also responded to the survey, said her kids qualify to be on state-run Medicaid. However, she said she doesn’t qualify because she makes too much in her current role working in probation.

She is hoping she can find another insurance plan to help cover health care costs.

“This is destroying people who have pre-existing conditions,” she said. “It is affecting people, especially single moms. We’re just trying to live.”

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(NEW YORK) — An emergency rule from the Florida Department of Health went into effect on Sunday that could restrict tens of thousands of people from accessing HIV medication.

The state issued cuts to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), a federal-state partnership that provides free FDA-approved HIV medication for low-income, uninsured or underinsured people.

Under the emergency rule, eligibility for ADAP was lowered to include those at or below 130% of the federal poverty level, which equals about $20,345 per year for a one-person household, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Previous eligibility was at or below 400% of the poverty level, which equals about $62,600 per year for a one-person household, according to HHS.

Additionally, the emergency rule limits insurance coverage of Biktarvy, a once-daily pill to treat HIV and used by about 60% of those enrolled in ADAP.

HIV advocates estimate that as many as 16,000 of the 30,000 Floridians enrolled in ADAP could be at risk of restricted access.

“These cuts will impact communities throughout the state, will threaten the lives of people with HIV and will lead to spikes in new HIV diagnoses and a rise in health care costs as people with HIV develop serious infections requiring hospitalization,” said Dr. Anna K. Person, chair of the HIV Medicine Association, a community of health care professionals that works toward advancing the response of the HIV epidemic, in a statement.

“HIV treatment disruptions of this magnitude will result in a public health disaster. Florida must follow due process and work with health care professionals, people with HIV and the state legislature to address any funding challenges,” the statement continued.

The new emergency rule is only in effect for 90 days and cannot be renewed unless a rule is proposed to implement the changes through formal administrative rulemaking.

Health officials have cited the “rising health care insurance premiums nationwide” and lack of federal funding as reason for the cuts. Officials said the adjustments will prevent a shortfall of more than $120 million for the state.

The Florida Department of Health did not immediately return ABC News’ request for comment.

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