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The U.S. has two executions scheduled this week—if both go ahead, it will bring the number of inmates put to death across the country in 2024 to 25. If both are put to death, it would mean the U.S. has carried out the highest number of executions in a year since 2018. That's despite the public's waning support for capital punishment and a rise in the number of Americans who believe the death penalty is being administered unfairly. (Rahman, 12/17)

Riverton Medical District started construction on a new community-led hospital on Dec. 12. The locally-based nonprofit spent the last six and a half years getting the project off the ground. Once complete, the two-story, 71,000-square-foot facility will have an Emergency Department, 24/7 surgery and 13 in-patient beds. Two of those beds will be for labor and delivery. Corte McGuffey is the nonprofit’s board chair and said their mission is to “ restore” hospital services to Riverton and the surrounding communities. (Habermann, 12/16)

Rhode Islanders whose personal information was exposed in a major cyberattack on the state’s public benefits system have filed class-action lawsuits against the system’s New York-based vendor. The lawsuits were filed Sunday against Deloitte Consulting in US District Court in Rhode Island and in the Southern District of New York, just days after Governor Daniel J. McKee announced that the data breach of the RIBridges benefits system had put at risk the personal data of hundreds of thousands of people. (Milkovits and Machado, 12/16)

In the coming weeks, 23,000 residents will see part or all of their medical debt cancelled, Connecticut officials announced on Monday morning at the state Capitol. The measure will erase $30 million in medical debt, providing relief for thousands at a time when the frustration over health care costs has dominated the national conversation. (Golvala, 12/16)

Los Angeles County announced its $2 billion Medical Debt Relief Program aimed at helping low-income residents settle past-due bills. "The launch of this program is a critical step forward in ensuring that those receiving critical medical services do not find themselves experiencing financial harm associated with not being able to afford care," said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Director of LA County Department of Public Health. (Rodriguez, 12/16)

San Francisco has asked state officials for $144 million to create 175 more beds for people experiencing mental illness and addiction. The Department of Public Health submitted an application to the state this month in hopes of securing a portion of the $6.4 billion mental health bond passed by California voters in March. (Angst, 12/16)

A Southern California doctor accused of bilking Medicare out of millions by billing for unnecessary hospice services has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, federal prosecutors said. Dr. Victor Contreras, 69, of Santa Paula was charged with falsifying medical claims for hospice care between July 2016 and February 2019 — billing the federal insurance program nearly $4 million during that time, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. (Mendez, 12/16)