Health and Human Services

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Whistleblower: HHS Actions on Virus Were Dangerous

Complaint says staffers met evacuated Americans from China with no protective gear

(Newser) - Another whistleblower complaint is in the news, this time about the coronavirus. A high-ranking official in Health and Human Services says her superiors blew it when they sent HHS staffers to meet American evacuees being returned from China in late January and early February, reports the Washington Post . The staffers...

Detained Migrant Kids Say Staff Touched Their Genitals

Allegations made in 4.5K reports of abuse since October 2014

(Newser) - Rep. Ted Deutch described the government's 135 migrant shelters as "an unsafe environment" at a Tuesday congressional hearing on the Trump administration's policy of separating migrant families, and produced some alarming stats to back up the claim. The Florida Democrat shared records showing the Department of Health...

New Roadblocks on Abortion Put Out by Trump Administration

Taxpayer-funded family planning clinics now barred from making abortion referrals

(Newser) - The Trump administration on Friday set up new obstacles for women seeking abortions, barring taxpayer-funded family planning clinics from making abortion referrals. The new policy is certain to be challenged in court. The final rule released Friday by the Health and Human Services Department also would prohibit federally funded family...

Feds: Not Sure We Can Reunite Migrant Families

Health and Human Services claims it might actually harm the children

(Newser) - The Trump administration says it would require extraordinary effort to reunite what may be thousands of migrant children who have been separated from their parents and, even if it could, the children would likely be emotionally harmed. Health and Human Services Department officials said in court filings late Friday that...

Record-Breaking Drug OD Deaths in US Last Year

200 people died per day in US in 2017, per the DEA

(Newser) - Drug overdose deaths hit the highest level ever recorded in the US last year, with an estimated 200 people dying per day, according to a report by the DEA. Most of that was the result of a record number of opioid-related deaths. Preliminary figures show more than 72,000 people...

White House May Make Big Move on Defining Gender

'NYT' says proposal would do away with recognition of transgender status

(Newser) - The Trump administration may do away with the legal recognition of transgender people, reports the New York Times . Under a proposal in the works by the Department of Health and Human Services, a person's gender would be legally defined according to the genitals they had at birth. "Sex...

Report: HHS to 'Disentangle Taxpayers' From Abortions

Mandate would ban federally funded clinics from referrals, sharing space with abortion providers

(Newser) - An announcement expected Friday out of Health and Human Services has abortion rights advocates and doctors' groups steeled for a new battle on the family planning front. Per the AP and New York Times , White House officials and other sources say a Reagan-era ban is about to be rebooted: one...

Feds: We Just Lost Nearly 1,500 Children

Health and Human Services admits its mistake

(Newser) - Federal officials lost track of nearly 1,500 migrant children last year after a government agency placed the minors in the homes of adult sponsors in communities across the country, according to testimony before a Senate subcommittee Thursday, the AP reports. The Health and Human Services Department has a limited...

Report: HHS to Offer 'Conscience Protections' for Medical Staff

Official announcement expected Thursday on agency's new moral and 'religious liberty' rules

(Newser) - A planned Health and Human Services initiative would offer "conscience protections" for medical workers, and women's and LGBT rights advocates are teaming up with doctors' groups to push back against it before it's even announced. It appears a new civil rights division within the HHS would offer...

Trump's HHS Nominee Comes From Pharmaceutical Industry

But Alex Azar also previously served at the agency as deputy secretary

(Newser) - President Trump has picked a former top pharmaceutical and government executive to be his Health and Human Services secretary. If confirmed by the Senate, Alex Azar will oversee a $1 trillion department responsible for major health insurance programs, medical research, food and drug safety, and public health. The Azar nomination...

Report: Undocumented Teens Stopped From Having Abortions

ACLU takes up the case of one teen in Texas

(Newser) - The Trump administration has allegedly been preventing undocumented pregnant teenagers at federally funded shelters from getting abortions. One case will test the policy: The ACLU is suing on behalf of a pregnant 17-year-old, named only as Jane Doe, in a Brownsville, Texas, shelter. Politico takes an extensive look at the...

Health Secretary Resigns Over Travel Flap

Tom Price is out after taking expensive charter flights

(Newser) - President Trump's health secretary has resigned after his travel on costly charter flights triggered investigations and angered his boss, the AP reports. Tom Price's partial repayment and public regrets couldn't save his job. The Health and Human Services secretary became the first member of the president's...

HHS Secretary: I'll Reimburse Government for Charter Flights

Tom Price apologizes for costly travel

(Newser) - Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price is apologizing for taking costly charter flights on the taxpayer's dime and says he is cooperating with investigations into his travel. Price says he'll reimburse the government by writing a check Thursday to reimburse Treasury, and he's pledging not to...

HHS Head Too Busy to Fly Commercial, Says Rep

Democrats are calling for an investigation

(Newser) - Government officials "check every possible source for travel needs, including commercial, but commercial travel is not always feasible" for Tom Price, who has "an incredibly demanding schedule." That's how a spokesperson defended the Health and Human Services secretary Wednesday after a Politico report claimed Price used...

Reporter Says He Was 'Arrested for Asking Question'

Dan Heyman repeatedly asked HHS chief about pre-existing conditions

(Newser) - Everyone's got lots of questions about the American Health Care Act that passed the House last week, and Health and Human Services chief Tom Price seems like he'd be a good person to ask. Reporter Dan Heyman of Public News Service found out that wasn't the case...

Meals on Wheels Sees a Huge Surge in Donations

But federal budget's impact on program is unclear at this point

(Newser) - Fears that the Meals on Wheels program would be gutted under President Trump's first budget has translated into a significant boost in donations to the group. The national umbrella organization said it received $50,000 in online donations Thursday after Trump released his prelminary budget , reports Reuters . The typical...

GOP to Dems Skipping Cabinet Votes: 'Stop Acting Like Idiots'

Democrats want more information before votes for Mnuchin for Treasury, Price for HHS

(Newser) - Senate confirmation hearings for President Trump's Cabinet choices got heated Tuesday—or at least the ones that took place. Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee angered not only by Trump's recent travel ban , but also by his firing of acting AG Sally Yates , forced votes Tuesday to be...

Trump Health Pick 'Offended' by Questions About Stocks

Tom Price grilled by Franken, Warren

(Newser) - Donald Trump's choice for health secretary declared himself to be "offended" by Sen. Elizabeth Warren's questions about his investments during Wednesday's Senate Health Committee hearing. Warren was one of numerous Democrats who pressed Rep. Tom Price about his stock transactions in health care companies, the Washington ...

Dental Coverage Inflated ObamaCare Numbers

Enrollment numbers drop back under projected 7M as a result

(Newser) - The federal government happily announced in September that ObamaCare enrollments were above 7 million, meaning that a projection issued by the Congressional Budget Office last year had been met. Look now, however, and the figure is back below 7 million, reports Bloomberg . Why? To get to the higher figure, the...

100K Got ObamaCare on Day 1: White House

HHS secretary says website is running pretty smoothly

(Newser) - After last year's dismal debut HealthCare.gov is feeling much better now, and is busily connecting Americans with health care plans as the second sign-up period opened yesterday, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell said today. The site took in 100,000 new applications in its first 24...

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