Health

President Joe Biden will hold the second COVID-19 Summit on Thursday to galvanize new actions to address the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthen global health security. The event will bring together multiple countries, partners, nongovernmental organizations and private sector companies that... Read More

This week the nonprofit End Covid Now is holding a People’s COVID-19 Summit from May 9-12 to discuss the role of global vaccine equity in achieving herd immunity.  During a session on Tuesday a handful of policymakers discussed barriers to... Read More

The Health Resources and Services Administration hosted a telementoring and training session on Monday for the health workforce as part of its ongoing educational series.  During the event, participating members learned how to explain the Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes... Read More

The Department of Veterans Affairs will hold a hearing Thursday on innovative care delivery and how to improve infrastructure and operational efficiency.  “VA’s aging infrastructure not only causes many veterans to wait too long and travel too far for care,... Read More

U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, sent a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Tuesday, requesting better protections for infant health and to address the nationwide shortage of infant... Read More

A legal brief published on Tuesday by the law firm Ropes & Gray outlines the final rule for Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on April 29, 2022. CMS estimated the final rule will... Read More

A new bipartisan mental health package hit the House floor May 6, backed by Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr., D-N.J., and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and known as the Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act. The act would reauthorize several... Read More

WASHINGTON — Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., attended a press conference on Wednesday where she spoke about the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, which she introduced in the U.S. Senate on May 11.  “[Health care... Read More

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is preparing states to return to normal eligibility and enrollment operations after the public health emergency expires, with special attention on how the end of the PHE will impact those... Read More

A new initiative aimed at increasing the number of Black Americans registered as organ donors and combating disparities among transplant recipients was announced Thursday by a coalition that includes the four medical schools at the nation's historically Black colleges and... Read More

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is continuing to roll out the electronic health record modernization program, despite concerns from some members of Congress and reports which show unresolved patient safety issues.  “Implementing a new electronic health record... Read More

We’ve all felt the anxiety of bracing for an X-ray or sliding into a magnetic resonance imaging machine. We’ve all held our breath while a loved one undergoes a medical procedure. Every day, millions of Americans put their faith in... Read More

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs held a hearing Wednesday to discuss road projects for Native communities through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.  President Joe Biden signed the act into law in November 2021, with a total of $1.2... Read More

This week the World Health Organization held a media briefing to share findings from the 2022 WHO European Regional Obesity Report, which shows that Europe has the potential to reverse its obesity epidemic.  The findings published Tuesday show that 59% of... Read More

The World Health Organization’s Global Tuberculosis Program has informed medical practitioners and other healthcare providers of changes in the treatment of drug-resistant TB. The updates include trimming the six-month all-oral regimens, and an alternative nine-month all-oral regimen.  “This is major progress... Read More

Research published Monday in Health Affairs finds that the temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit during the COVID-19 pandemic reduced both food insecurity and children’s intake of added sugars in participating households. A temporary expansion of the Child Tax... Read More

The World Health Organization recently released a report on the global milk formula industry’s exploitative marketing practices that target new mothers with personalized social media content that’s difficult to spot as advertising.  The baby formula industry, valued at $55 billion, has been... Read More

The White House will hold a conference on hunger, nutrition and health in September, the first such gathering it has hosted in over 50 years. According to the Biden-Harris administration, the conference will coordinate strategies with the public and private sectors, anti-hunger... Read More

The U.S Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General released a report last Friday that shows Medicare Advantage organizations either had delayed or denied care to Medicare beneficiaries even though they met coverage rules.   The OIG conducted the nearly 60-page report by... Read More

WASHINGTON — A report released Tuesday from the American Enterprise Institute takes a look at the promise and pitfalls of working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, especially for women and minorities. “These testimonials unearth startling personal insights... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — A draft opinion suggests the U.S. Supreme Court could be poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide, according to a Politico report. A decision to overrule Roe would lead to abortion... Read More

Five thousand California nurses went on strike Monday over issues involving understaffing, patient safety and unfair contracts that fail to acknowledge their contributions.  The nurses are members of the Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement, a union at Stanford Health... Read More

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and in observance the departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development held an event on Tuesday for survivors of sexual harassment, assault and misconduct.  During the virtual event, panelists emphasized the... Read More

The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Policy held a hearing on Tuesday to discuss child care policy tools to combat bottlenecking and inflation, and why labor force participation for women in the United States is so... Read More

The Indian Health Service announced Monday $5 million in funding will support the work to eliminate HIV and hepatitis for Native Americans and Alaska Natives at risk for or living with HIV.  In the United States, Native Americans and Alaska Natives have... Read More

A report released Tuesday from the National Institute on Drug Abuse finds that tobacco smoking rates are decreasing in people with major depression and substance use disorder. The analysis, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, reviews data from about... Read More

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded approval on Monday for a COVID-19 antiviral treatment for children under 12 years of age. The approved drug, remdesivir, is sold under the brand name Veklury and delivered via injection. Developed by Gilead Sciences, the... Read More

Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., chair of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, sent a letter on Monday to Robert Califf, commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, requesting a timeline for FDA approval of COVID-19 vaccines for children under age... Read More

WASHINGTON — Members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions wanted to know why the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is requesting nearly double its annual budget while failing to meet many of the goals tied to... Read More

WASHINGTON — At a White House briefing Tuesday, Dr. Ashish Jha, the new White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, detailed how the U.S. plans to ramp up supplies of Paxlovid, an oral antiviral treatment which is used to prevent severe illness... Read More