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Democrats are pressuring Republicans to extend billions of dollars in federal tax credits that have dramatically lowered premiums and contributed to record-low rates of uninsured Americans. Itās a chance to talk about a winning issue ā and maybe regain support from working-class voters.
Immigrants living in the U.S. without legal status are generally ineligible for federally funded health care programs. Democratsā funding proposal would restore access to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act marketplace for legal immigrants who will lose access once certain provisions of the Republicansā tax and spending law take effect.
The evidence is unequivocal: Vaccines do not cause autism. Yet adding autism to the list of conditions covered by a federal payout program, as health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seems inclined to do, could threaten its financial viability. Such a move also would suggest that the science is unsettled, that vaccines may be riskier than diseases, which is a fallacy.
Community health centers are key to delivering care in underserved communities around the country, but their services could be disrupted or scaled back after governments did not renew their funding.
The foreshadowed federal shutdown came after Congress failed to pass required spending bills, with Democrats demanding Republicans renew the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies in exchange for their votes. While a shutdown does not affect Medicare and Medicaid, it could eventually hinder activities from every corner of the Department of Health and Human Services. Meanwhile, as Democrats and Republicans point fingers, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pursues policies and personnel that would undermine vaccines. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News join Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health Newsā Julie Rovner to discuss the news. Also this week, Rovner interviews Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health Newsā Cara Anthony, who wrote a recent āBill of the Monthā feature about an out-of-network eye surgery that left one kindergartnerās family with a big bill.
As a warming climate intensifies storms, Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News has identified more than 170 U.S. hospitals at risk of significant and potentially dangerous flooding. Climate experts warn that the Trump administrationās cuts leave the nation less prepared.
Congressional Democrats and Republicans are at an impasse in negotiations. Which side will blink first?
The health care sector has accounted for nearly half of this yearās U.S. job growth. But economists say immigration crackdowns and Medicaid cuts could create a drag on the sector just as more workers are needed to support a growing population of older Americans.
Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Under a new law, many Americans will have to meet a work requirement to obtain and keep their Medicaid coverage. But due to an exemption, millions living in areas of high unemployment could be spared.
States are taking aim at chemicals and additives in foods as Republicans and Democrats alike embrace at least one aspect of the Trump administrationās āMake America Healthy Againā push. Itās a shift for Republicans, who had vilified past Democratic efforts to impose government will on what people eat and drink.
Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Hereās a collection of their appearances.
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In a rambling news conference that shocked public health experts, President Donald Trump ā without scientific evidence ā blamed the over-the-counter drug acetaminophen, and too many childhood vaccines, for the increase in autism diagnoses in the U.S. That came days after a key immunization advisory panel, newly reconstituted with vaccine doubters, changed several long-standing recommendations. Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official Demetre Daskalakis joins Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health Newsā Julie Rovner to discuss those stories. Meanwhile, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join Rovner with the rest of the news, including a threat by the Trump administration to fire rather than furlough federal workers if Congress fails to fund the government beyond the Oct. 1 start of the new fiscal year.
Even if people qualify for financial help with their hospital bills, the care they receive may not be covered.
Some states are enacting medical debt laws as the Trump administration pulls back federal protections. Elsewhere, industry opposition has derailed legislation.
The decisions by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices matter, because insurers and federal programs rely on them, but they are not binding. States can follow the recommendations, or not.
Doctors say acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol, is safe to take during pregnancy. Other over-the-counter pain relievers such as aspirin and ibuprofen arenāt recommended because they can harm fetal development. Untreated fever in pregnancy can pose maternal and fetal health risks.
Despite billions of tax dollars and two decades of effort invested in improving health care data sharing, Americansā medical records often remain siloed, leading to duplicate testing, increased costs, and wasted time for patients and doctors.
The White Houseās autism announcement exaggerates links to Tylenol, misleads on vaccines, and sets back the field by ignoring decades of research, scientists say.
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