Before Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio made headlines for passing extreme near-total abortion bans, Arkansas and North Dakota did the same years prior.

Advocacy groups immediately sued when Arkansas and North Dakota passed so-called heartbeat laws in 2013. By the end of the years-long legal battles, both states spent thousands of dollars defending these bans after losing in federal courts. Altogether, officials told ThinkProgress the states spe...

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The Democratic primary debate Wednesday night revealed two big things when it comes to health care.

First, most candidates on the stage were not interested in abolishing private health insurance in favor of a government-run plan, which is at the core of Medicare for All.

Second, none of the Democrats had a good answer on how to pass Medicare for All or any proposal that expands the role of government-run insurance, so long as Republicans maintain control of the Senate.

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The thinking behind President Donald Trump’s executive order on Monday is that more transparency around health care costs will benefit patients. That sounds sensible but, as various experts cautioned, the details matter.

The White House is tasking federal agencies with writing regulations that try to reveal a lot of information that isn’t readily available, like how much insurers pay hospitals for services and how much patients will pay out of pocket before being treated...

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