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Kamala Harris isn’t planning to compromise when it comes to women’s reproductive freedom — even if she were to become president with a GOP-controlled congress. “I don’t think we should be making concessions when we are talking about a fundamental freedom to make decisions about your own body,” she told NBC News’ Hallie Jackson. Jackson’s initial question was asked in reference to the distinct possibility that Harris will be faced with a Republican-controlled Congress should she win the presidential election. (Kaloi, 10/22)

President Biden warned on Tuesday that if former President Donald J. Trump returned to office by winning next month’s election, he would enact policies that could deprive tens of millions of Americans of health insurance coverage and explode the price of prescription drugs. During a speech in Concord, N.H., Mr. Biden assailed Mr. Trump for repeatedly trying to repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act, and he mocked the former president for offering only ephemeral and unspecified “concepts of a plan” to replace it. (Baker, 10/22)

Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) during an event with Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday criticized GOP-led states' moves to curtail women's rights since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal abortion protections: "When women are facing situations where they can't get the care they need, where in places like Texas, for example, the attorney general is talking about suing, is suing, to get access to women's medical records … that's not sustainable for us as a country and it has to change." (Falconer, 10/21)

Republicans are kicking their defensive messaging on abortion into high gear, aiming to blunt Democrats’ attempts to paint them as extreme in the run-up to the election. In debates, GOP congressional candidates are taking a more aggressive approach when talking about the issue, accusing Democrats of misrepresenting their position. Republican campaigns are successfully pitching fact-checks to local media that pick apart the claims of Democratic campaigns, and candidates are going on air with ads to directly articulate their stances on abortion. (Brooks, 10/22)

Vice President Harris on Tuesday said decisions on gender-affirming care should be left to doctors and their patients in an interview with NBC News. The vice president said “we should follow the law” when NBC’s Hallie Jackson pressed her on whether she believes in access to gender-affirming care. ... “I believe that people, as the law states, even on this issue about federal law, that that is a decision that doctors will make in terms of what is medically necessary. I’m not going to put myself in a position of a doctor,” Harris said. (Gangitano, 10/22)

When Congress returns on Nov. 12 after the elections, lawmakers will have just over a month to fund the government. That deadline pressure creates an opportunity to potentially enact health care legislation. Regardless of what happens this year, next year will be huge for health care policy, in part because lawmakers need to address major expiring policies. (Wilkerson, 10/23)

After weathering the pandemic, purging their rolls and coping with inflationary pressures, state Medicaid offices see more upheaval on the horizon, including a presidential election that could bring enormous changes to the safety-net program. (Goldman, 10/23)

Every year the American Psychological Association takes a look at the leading causes of stress in the U.S., and publishes an annual report. This year the report shows all the usual suspects like money, health and family are still wearing people down, but one issue is dominating – politics. Seven out of 10 adults say the future of the nation is a significant source of stress in their lives and the issue crosses party lines: 80% of Republicans rated it a top stressor, so did 79% of Democrats and 73% of Independents. (Riddle, 10/22)