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Earlier this month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced plans to track two medications used in abortion, mifepristone and misoprostol, in drinking water, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from the District of Columbia, Georgia, and Rhode Island.
- District of Columbia: Earlier this month, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency planned to conduct a "state-of-the-art" study investigating pollutants in drinking water. Two of the emerging contaminants identified by the agency are mifepristone and misoprostol, two medications used in abortions. According to Nourbese Flint, president of All* Above All, EPA's study of mifepristone and misoprostol detracts from investigating toxins that harm pregnant people. "Our limited clean water resources should go toward measuring and addressing pollutants already linked to human harm and not toward a culture war campaign built around unsubstantiated claims about mifepristone," All* Above All said, adding that "protecting reproductive health must mean both access to comprehensive reproductive care and protection from the toxic exposures disproportionately affecting frontline and fenceline communities." The Guttmacher Institute has also previously highlighted claims about abortion medications polluting U.S. waterways and drinking water. All medications, including those sold over the counter, are found in trace amounts in wastewater, Guttmacher said. (Smith/Gardner, Inside Health Policy [subscription required], 9/14)
- Georgia: CDC has reported its first two measles deaths of 2026, though the agency did not say where they occurred. In a note on its measles dashboard, CDC said the death count is "subject to change" and that it will update its reporting "as additional information becomes available and relevant reviews are completed." In August and September, Pennsylvania reported a total of four measles-associated deaths. However, these deaths have so far not been counted by CDC after the agency and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. questioned the legitimacy of the first two reported deaths. According to a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, it's not clear which measles death CDC is including in its official count. Currently, CDC is working with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists to develop a standardized definition of measles deaths to use for its reporting. As of Sept. 17, CDC has confirmed 3,471 measles cases across 47 jurisdictions — 52% higher than the total number of cases reported in 2025. (Twenter, Becker's Clinical Leadership, 9/24; Sun, Washington Post, 9/29)
- Rhode Island: CVS Health' health insurance unit Aetna will bundle cancer treatments into a single clinical review as part of ongoing efforts to simplify its prior authorization processes. The prior authorization bundles will apply "across all cancer types" for health plan members enrolled in some of the company's Medicaid plans. According to Aetna, it plans to have a "full roll out" across all its businesses in 2027. "A cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming for patients and families, and the care team should be focused on their patient, not paperwork," said Katerina Guerraz, COO and president of Medicaid at Aetna. "By approving a broader set of treatments and related services upfront, we are removing barriers that can delay care. Oncologists have the flexibility to make care decisions as treatment plans evolve, and individuals can focus on what matters most: their health, recovery, and time with their loved ones." (Japsen, Forbes, 9/17)
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