Health

A new bill known as L.B. 1048 is before the Appropriations Committee in Nebraska. The bill would allocate $10 million in federal funds for a research team to study the health impact of the hazardous materials emergency at the site of a... Read More

A new bill from legislators in Hawaii, known as H.B. 1962, would fund a study to understand the feasibility of legalized casino gaming in Hawaii. Gambling is legal in 48 out of 50 states in the U.S., but remains illegal in... Read More

Survey findings published in Public Health Reports, the official journal of the U.S. Office of the Surgeon General, show the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly harsh for low-income and racial and ethnic minority communities.  To conduct the survey, researchers from the University... Read More

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration issued a public safety alert for the first time in six years after an investigation of Mexican drug cartel networks revealed the sales of fake pills were linked to overdose deaths.  Last year alone, the... Read More

During a presentation this week researchers from the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Network presented new findings about HIV remission involving stem cell transplants.  In 2015, the team of researchers completed an observational study examining 25 participants living... Read More

WASHINGTON — A report released by the Office of the Inspector General regarding the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s oversight of civil rights complaints provides 21 recommendations that the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights should take to try... Read More

WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship met Tuesday to discuss the role of immigrant physicians in the U.S. health care system. “Throughout the pandemic, immigrants in health care fields served on the front lines, and have... Read More

WASHINGTON — Trouble in the U.S. Senate for the Biden administration’s $1.7 trillion Build Back Better Act opened an opportunity Tuesday for a bill that seeks to protect disadvantaged communities from environmental hazards. As opposition to climate and social provisions... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday approved Robert Califf’s nomination to be the new head of the Food and Drug Administration. The 50-46 vote came just over 12 hours after the chamber cast a decidedly narrow vote to limit debate... Read More

WINDSOR, Ontario (AP) — The busiest U.S.-Canada border crossing was open Monday after protesters demonstrating against COVID-19 measures blocked it for nearly a week, but a larger protest in the capital, Ottawa, persisted as city residents seethed over authorities' inability... Read More

COLUMBIA, S.C. —  South Carolina doctors have the authority to prescribe “off-label” treatments for COVID-19 so long as their patients consent, the state’s attorney general said in a written opinion on Friday. Attorney General Alan Wilson issued the opinion at... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautioned again this week that it is too soon to stop wearing masks in a warning ignored by many states tired of limitations imposed by COVID-19. Meanwhile, an exodus of health... Read More

TORONTO (AP) — The truck blockade by Canadians protesting the country’s COVID-19 restrictions is tightening the screws on the auto industry, forcing Ford, Toyota and General Motors to shut down plants or otherwise curtail production on both sides of the... Read More

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently proposed payment policy changes for Medicare Advantage and Part D drug programs in 2030, and is now soliciting public input on a variety of payment updates.  CMS issued the Calendar Year 2023... Read More

A preprint study released this week from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Vaccine Research Center finds that although vaccine manufacturers like Moderna have been working to update a booster based on the omicron strain, the original COVID-19 vaccine may... Read More

A recent study published in JAMA Network Open from the U.S. Office on Women’s Health finds that social isolation and loneliness can increase the risk of heart disease by 8% and 5%, respectively, in older women in the U.S.  For women who... Read More

Next Tuesday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will hold a virtual advisory meeting to discuss vaccines and related biological products. The committee will meet to discuss a request to amend the emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA... Read More

Across the country, a number of community leaders have started hosting scream nights, unconventional gatherings where people convene and scream out all their pent-up pandemic emotions. Last Saturday, Duke Memorial United Methodist Church in North Carolina hosted a scream night... Read More

U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., recently introduced legislation to ensure that equipment is available to support breastfeeding for infants during natural disasters and other times of crisis. The Delivering Essentials to Mothers Amid Natural Disasters Act aims to... Read More

Members of the Senate Finance Committee introduced the Children’s Health Insurance Program School Behavioral Health Incentive Act this week in an effort to incentivize states to develop health services to address behavioral health needs in schools. The act, which was introduced by Sens.... Read More

On Tuesday, a report was released by the U.S. Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking, which was tasked under the National Defense Authorization Act to examine synthetic drug threats and develop a strategic approach to combat the illegal flow of sales across... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is allowing states to temporarily modify or waive certain Medicare and Medicaid requirements through the use of emergency waivers, but some of those may expire come April. “The emergency regulatory relief... Read More

WASHINGTON — Members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions met this week to discuss how the pandemic helped to remove some of the barriers to employment for those living with disabilities and how those gains can... Read More

WASHINGTON — The American Hospital Association, health care organizations and nearly 200 members of Congress sent letters to White House officials in January requesting an investigation of nurse staffing agencies based on claims they’ve been exploiting staffing shortages during the... Read More

WASHINGTON — The U.S. surgeon general repeated his call to action Tuesday to resolve a mental health crisis among American young people that has deepened during the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy told a Senate panel that more... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. needs a nimble, multipronged strategy and Cabinet-level leadership to counter its festering overdose epidemic, a bipartisan congressional commission advises. With vastly powerful synthetic drugs like fentanyl driving record overdose deaths, the scourge of opioids awaits... Read More

ARLINGTON, Va. — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin cannot enforce a ban on face mask mandates in the state’s schools until the outcome of several pending cases on the issue are resolved, a state circuit court judge ruled Friday. Judge Louise... Read More

BEIJING (AP) — The country where the coronavirus outbreak emerged two years ago launched a locked-down Winter Olympics on Friday, proudly projecting its might on the most global of stages even as some Western governments mounted a diplomatic boycott over the way... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added a burst of 467,000 jobs in January despite a wave of omicron inflections that sickened millions of workers, kept many consumers at home and left businesses from restaurants to manufacturers short-staffed. The Labor Department's... Read More

The nursing home industry lost at least 420,000 jobs since the pandemic began — a return to the size the workforce was in 2007. As of January, nursing homes are now required to report staffing turnover and weekend staffing levels to the Centers for... Read More