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Maryland is the first state to tap into a 15-year-old fund connected to the Affordable Care Act, to help solve a more recent problem: helping pay the expenses of patients who travel to Maryland for an abortion. The law passed this spring, and went into effect on July 1. (Maucione, 7/17)

Days after the Donald J. Trump administration announced that undocumented immigrants will no longer have access to certain federal benefits, including funding that supports care at community health centers, Gov. Ned Lamont encouraged all residents to continue seeking medical treatment at Connecticut’s health centers. (Carlesso, Munde and Phaneuf, 7/16)

A new study has shed light on a shocking radiation-related health risk in Missouri. According to the research led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, children who lived near Coldwater Creek— a tributary of the Missouri River north of St. Louis— during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s faced an elevated risk of cancer due to pollution from nuclear waste associated with the development of the first atomic bomb. (Morava, 7/16)

Â鶹ŮÓÅ Health News: Los Angeles Weighs A Disaster Registry. Disability Advocates Warn Against False Assurances

In the wake of January’s deadly wildfires, Los Angeles County leaders are weighing a disaster registry intended to help disabled and senior residents get connected to emergency responders to bring them to safety during disasters. County supervisors approved a feasibility study this spring for such a voluntary database. Supporters applauded the effort to give more notice and assistance to the more than 1 million county residents with some type of disability, such as cognitive impairment or limited mobility. (Green, 7/17)

The Massachusetts assisted-living facility where a fatal fire killed nine people was caring for dozens of aging residents reliant on wheelchairs and oxygen tanks, but it lacked the safety measures and most of the staffing requirements that are commonplace in nursing homes. As an assisted-living center, Gabriel House in Fall River, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Boston, offered a type of housing for older residents that has expanded nationally in recent decades. But advocates argue that the absence of any federal regulations and spotty state rules mean the sector is largely left to police itself. (Casey and Smith, 7/17)

A new medical school in Bentonville, Arkansas, has officially welcomed its first class of students. The Alice L. Walton School of Medicine was founded by Walmart heir and philanthropist Alice Walton in 2021. The school aims to reimagine medical education by leaning on whole health principles. The curriculum includes an emphasis on art, the humanities and bringing empathy back into medicine. (Gliadkovskaya, 7/16)