😅 Is Oregon a stress case?

Under Federal Investigation for Abortion Coverage

Oregon and 12 other states now face a federal investigation for requiring health insurance companies to cover abortions. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights will evaluate whether insurers are being pushed to provide the coverage “contrary to conscience.” [Oregon Capital Chronicle]

• A federal law called the Weldon Amendment exempts health care providers from providing abortions if they don’t believe in them. The Biden administration held that the law didn’t apply to insurance companies or employers providing insurance. The Trump administration has a different perspective. [Associated Press]
• A Project 2025 provision: The Heritage Foundation’s controversial Project 2025 (which offered a blueprint for a conservative presidency) suggested withholding Medicaid funding for states that violated the Weldon Amendment. Before his reelection, Trump disavowed the plan. [Oregon Capitol Chronicle]

Frustrating abortion opponents: The number of abortions in the U.S. stayed the same between 2024 and 2025, and hasn’t declined since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022 — according to a report released Tuesday. [NPR]

• The impact of telehealth: The Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit research group that supports access to abortions, found that there’s an increasing number of abortions via telemedicine. That’s possible, because abortion medication can be delivered via the mail. Not surprisingly, anti-abortion groups in states with abortion bans are challenging that access in the federal courts. [NPR]
• Prepping for abortion restrictions: Though supplies have not (yet) been restricted, Oregon prepped for this administration's policies by stockpiling three years’ worth of mifepristone, which is an abortion pill. The state purchased the medication in November 2024, and it doesn’t expire till 2028. [Oregonian]

Mail-in ballot changes: At a hearing this week, the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court appeared skeptical of laws allowing mail-in ballots to arrive after Election Day. The court is expected to rule in late June on a Mississippi case that could impact how we vote in Oregon, Ballots here are counted if they're postmarked by Election Day — even if they arrive later. [Oregonian]

• Local reaction: A spokesperson for the Oregon Secretary of State’s office said that a rule change wouldn’t require a lot of adjustments for elections officials, but would impact voters — particularly in rural areas, where mail delivery might be slower and ballot drop boxes are farther apart. [Oregonian]

Decline in flu vaccines: This season, 30.7% of Oregonians got the flu vaccine — 10,000 fewer than last year. That rate is roughly a third lower than the national average, and consistent with Oregon’s past record of vaccine skepticism. [Oregon Journalism Project]

• Possible reasons: Immigration enforcement agents may have scared people away from vaccine clinics. And the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has provided inaccurate information on vaccine safety. [Oregon Journalism Project]

Stress cases? Oregon ranked 8th highest in the nation for stress levels, according to a new study by the personal finance site WalletHub. One never knows how accurate these sorts of rankings are, but they compiled a whole lot of data like average number of hours worked, personal bankruptcy rate, and share of adults getting adequate sleep. [KOIN]

• The source of stress: Oregon ranked 2nd for family-related stress and 11th for money-related. We were 39th for work-related stress. [KOIN]