Presented by Children's Hospital Association — Texas has launched what appears to be the first legal test to see what happens when contradictory state abortion laws meet. {beacon} Health Care Health Care    The Big Story Texas sues out-of-state doctor for prescribing abortion pills The lawsuit appears to be the first legal test to see what happens when contradictory state abortion laws meet.    Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) is suing a New York doctor for prescribing and sending abortion medication to a Texas woman via telehealth, the first test of a blue state’s abortion shield laws.    The lawsuit alleges that New York doctor Margaret Daley Carpenter violated Texas law after she prescribed abortion medication to a 20-year-old Texan who later had an “adverse event” resulting in a medical abortion.    The Collins County woman was brought to the hospital more than a month after Carpenter allegedly prescribed her abortion medication due to heavy bleeding, according to the lawsuit.    It is unclear if the woman’s abortion was successful or what health consequences she might have suffered from it.  Abortion is almost completely banned in Texas, but residents can still access abortion medication via telehealth providers located out-of-state.    New York—along with a handful of other Democratic-led states—has shield laws to protect providers from out-of-state investigations and prosecutions if they prescribe and send abortion medication to people living in states with abortion restrictions.  But the laws have only been in existence for about a year and to date have never been tested in court.   Legal experts have said the true test will be whether New York’s courts recognize it, since this lawsuit is what the law was designed to protect against.   In response to Paxton’s lawsuit, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) pledged to protect providers from “unjust” attacks.    “Abortion is, and will continue to be, legal and protected in New York,” James said in a statement. “We will always protect our providers from unjust attempts to punish them from doing their jobs and we will never cower in the face of intimidation or threats.”    Meanwhile, leading anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America said it hoped other states will follow Texas’s lead.    “We thank Attorney General Ken Paxton for leading the charge to hold out-of-state abortion businesses accountable,” SBA Director of Legal Affairs Katie Daniel said in a statement. “We hope his example will embolden other pro-life leaders and begin the undoing of the mail-order abortion drug racket.”  Read more about the lawsuit here.  Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel and Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.   Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.  Essential Reads How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond:  Warren on RFK Jr. pick: ‘Say goodbye to your smile and say hello to polio’Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sounded the alarm over anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect’s Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). “Say goodbye to your smile and say hello to polio — that’s what’s on the horizon if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. becomes the Secretary of Health and Human Services,” Warren wrote Friday in a post on social platform …  Full Story  House Republicans launch investigation into CVS Caremark for potential antitrust violationsHouse Republicans want to know whether pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) CVS Caremark violated federal antitrust laws by threatening independent pharmacies to keep them from using money-saving tools outside the PBM’s network.  In a letter to CVS obtained by The Hill, House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) asked the company for documents and communications about pharmaceutical hubs, a type of digital pharmacy …  Full Story  UnitedHealth Group CEO: ‘We understand people’s frustrations’ with health The chief executive officer of UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, penned a Friday op-ed in The New York Times acknowledging the frustrations of patients with the insurance industry while defending the character of his employees. “We know the health system does not work as well as it should, and we understand people’s frustrations with it. No one would design a system like the one we have. And no one …  Full Story   In Other News Branch out with a different read from The Hill: Montana Supreme Court upholds lower court ruling that allows gender-affirming care for minors HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A Montana law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors will remain temporarily blocked, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, after justices unanimously agreed with a lower court judge who found the law likely violates the state’s constitutional right to privacy. The case against the Montana … Full Story   Around the Nation Local and state headlines on health care: Florida woman arrested after telling health insurer ‘you people are next’ (The Washington Post)  California ‘care courts’ are falling short (KFF Health News)  Medical interpreters picket for fair wages outside Portland hospital (Maine Morning Star) What We're Reading Health news we've flagged from other outlets: Six childhood scourges we’ve forgotten about because of vaccines (The New York Times)  U.S. obesity rate drops for the first time in a decade. Possibly with the help of anti-obesity drugs (ABC)  RFK Jr ally filed petition to revoke FDA approval for polio vaccine (The Washington Post)  What Others are Reading  Most read stories on The Hill right now: Trump calls for mystery drones to be shot down President-elect Trump on Friday evening called for authorities to shoot down the mysterious drones that have been seen in the skies of New Jersey and … Read more Senate Democrats livid with exiting Sinema, Manchin: ‘Pathetic’ Senate Democrats were livid after Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.), two longtime members of their caucus, voted Wednesday to … Read more What People Think Opinions related to health submitted to The Hill: How can we balance the public good of healthcare with our privatized system?  America’s system to fund and reimburse health care is broken   You're all caught up. See you next week!  Close Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here The latest in politics and policy. 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