Overnight Health Care: Maternal deaths rising in US | Judge rules against Trump officials for ending teen pregnancy funds | Rep. Ann McLane Kuster on her sibling's struggle with opioids

View in your browser     Welcome to Thursday's Overnight Health Care. Congress is laser-focused on the opioid epidemic, welcome news for advocates on the issue. But that's also pushing other issues, like the dismal maternal mortality rate, on the backburner. Keep reading...   Two bipartisan bills stuck in committee for about a year could make a difference in helping the U.S. understand, and eventually solve, its maternal mortality crisis. The bills, sponsored by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) in the House and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) in the Senate, would support state-level efforts to form review committees that specifically track and investigate pregnancy-related deaths, and then look for ways to prevent future deaths from occurring. Despite having no organized opposition from members of Congress or outside groups, the bill hasn't had a hearing, moved out of committee or been scheduled for a vote. It has 107 co-sponsors in the House, including 23 Republicans.   What happens next? There's some talk the bill might be added through a manager's amendment to the opioids package the Senate health committee will vote on next week. It's not clear if the House will take the same approach, however. Asked for a timeline on Herrera Beutler's bill in the House, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) said: "I know it's an issue, and we're just so focused on opioids right now." Read more here.   A federal judge ruled against the Trump administration Thursday in a case focused on the early termination of Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program grants. Last summer, the administration notified 81 organizations that their five-year grants through the program would end in 2018, rather than in 2020, prompting multiple lawsuits. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson ruled in one of those cases Thursday, ordering the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to accept and process applications of four grantees as if they had not been terminated.   What it means: From Sean Sherman, the attorney who represented the four groups: "We hope that the courts presiding over the 3 other cases that have been filed will follow this decision, and that other grantees will rely on it to challenge HHS's termination of their grants. At this point, however, there is no direct impact on grantees other than our four clients. Read more here.     The fourth of The Hill's Close to Home series on opioids, presented by Partnership for Safe Medicines, talked to Rep. Ann McLane Kuster (D-N.H.) about her brother's struggle with an opioid addiction. In 2015, Kuster co-founded the House Bipartisan Heroin Task Force. A year later, her brother developed an opioid addiction.  Seeking a national response to opioid abuse was far different than caring for a sibling with an addiction. Kuster and her three siblings took turns traveling across the country to care for him. They tried to figure out what to do, but, at times, it felt like there wasn't a right answer. Key quote: "You deal with trust issues in the family. We didn't know whether to trust him. I can remember so many phone calls just wanting to believe what he was saying, and then the evidence [of opioid misuse] would prove otherwise," Kuster said in an interview.  The challenge: Lawmakers have heard story after story of patients becoming addicted to painkillers after surgery. How to prevent that from happening has become a key question in their response to the opioid epidemic.  Read more here.     More on opioids... HHS released the second year of opioid grants for states. The $485 million was awarded to 50 states and four U.S. territories, as well as the Palau and Micronesia. "These funds will help support evidence-based efforts at the state level to prevent misuse of opioids in the first place, expand access to effective treatment options for people in need, and support recovery for those who have prevailed," HHS secretary Alex Azar said in a statement. The grants were created in 2016.   All 24 Democrats on the Energy & Commerce Committee are demanding HHS reinstate Obama-era Medicaid guidance aimed at protecting Planned Parenthood. HHS rescinded this guidance in January, arguing that it was part of the Obama administration's effort to favor abortion rights. Democrats: "Limiting access to qualified family planning providers solely for ideological reasons separate from their ability to provide care harms patients and restricts women from making their own health care decisions." Read the letter here.   Meanwhile over in the Senate, a first. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) took advantage of a new Senate rule to bring her infant daughter to the chamber's floor with her when she cast a vote. Why was this such a big deal? Until Wednesday, the Senate didn't allow any children onto the floor. Congress's upper chamber is notorious for strict rules from decorum to attire. Senators on Wednesday voted by unanimous consent to change those rules. Some GOP senators though had raised concerns about the change. Any senator can now bring a child younger than one to the floor during votes. Duckworth on Thursday jokingly asked about the chamber's policy on "duckling onesies" before bringing her newborn daughter to the floor.   What we're reading GOP will tout individual mandate repeal, but it could backfire (Axios) How an opioid deadlier than heroin became off limits for researchers (Bloomberg) NIH abruptly changes course on industry opioids partnership after ethics flags raised (Stat)   State by state Michigan Senate OKs Medicaid work requirement (Detroit News) Rick Scott's Medicaid numbers come under fire in Florida (Tampa Bay Times) Feds again deny Oklahoma's attempt to use Medicaid funds to train doctors (NPR Oklahoma) Two charged with forging signatures on Medicaid expansion ballot petition (Deseret News)     Send tips and comments to Jessie Hellmann, jhellmann@thehill.com; Peter Sullivan, psullivan@thehill.com; Rachel Roubein, rroubein@thehill.com; and Nathaniel Weixel, nweixel@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @thehill, @jessiehellmann, @PeterSullivan4, @rachel_roubein, and @NateWeixel.         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Healthcare Newsletters     Forward Healthcare Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.