* Bills aimed at reducing the rising cost of insulin have been introduced in several states, including in Washington, where a bill proposed by state senator Karen Keiser mirrors ones passed in Colorado (the first state to cap insulin costs) and Illinois, with a $100 per month cap on out-of-pocket expenses. In Virginia, lawmakers may consider a $30 monthly cap. The bills in Colorado and Illinois are limited and only apply to patients with certain insurance plans.

* A judge has blocked New York State from enforcing an executive order banning flavored vaping products, ruling that the state's Public Health and Health Planning Council overstepped its authority when it banned e-cigarettes and e-liquids in flavors other than tobacco or menthol. Eight states issued emergency rules in 2019 temporarily banning flavored e-cigarettes. They subsequently faced legal challenges. The rules are currently in effect only in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Washington.

* A bill to ban abortion introduced in the Ohio legislature places women with ectopic pregnancies "at risk for catastrophic hemorrhage and death," according to Chris Zahn, vice president of practice activities at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The bill, if passed into law, would require physicians to "reimplant an ectopic pregnancy" into a woman's uterus-a procedure that is not physiologically possible, according to medical experts-or face charges of "abortion murder."

* Health care workers in New Jersey are now required to get an annual flu shot. The bill mandating vaccination, adopted by the state's legislature and approved by Governor Phil Murphy in December 2019, applies to hospitals, nursing homes, and all other licensed health care agencies. Workers who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons are exempt from the requirement.

* A cross-sectional study using 2001-2017 data from 3,109 counties within 49 states and the District of Columbia found that Medicaid expansion was associated with reductions in total opioid overdose deaths, particularly deaths involving heroin and synthetic opioids other than methadone, but also with increases in methadone-related mortality.