virginia

Two dozen states, from Florida to Washington, have passed laws that allow hospital systems to merge into monopolies, disregarding FTC warnings that such mergers can become difficult to control and may decrease quality of care.

The Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in cases involving coverage of gender-affirming care by North Carolina’s state employee health plan and the coverage of gender-affirming surgery by West Virginia Medicaid.

CVS had for years granted the woman a religious accommodation that allowed her to opt out of prescribing or providing abortion-inducing drugs and certain contraceptives without incident.

Nowhere has HCA added trauma centers more aggressively or the fight over trauma center growth been more acrimonious than in Florida. It may offer a preview of what’s to come in Virginia and elsewhere.

Dr. Joel Smithers was convicted in May of more than 800 federal counts of illegal drug distribution. He was facing life in prison and a $200 million fine. The court ordered him to pay $86,000.

The Republican-controlled Virginia General Assembly gave final approval Wednesday evening to a state budget expanding Medicaid coverage to the state's…