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As Congress' year ends, Rep. Kevin Kiley cites 'failure of leadership on both sides' on health care
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley sharply criticized Republican and Democratic House leaders Friday as Congress ended its 2025 session.
The California Republican was stymied in his effort to move a plan that would have continued enhanced health care subsidies for Affordable Care Act marketplace consumers beyond the December 31 expiration ...Read more
Inside the FDA's vaccine uproar
Six days after a senior FDA official sent a sweeping internal email claiming that COVID vaccines had caused the deaths of “at least 10 children,” 12 former FDA commissioners released an extraordinary warning in the Dec. 3 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
They wrote that the claims and policy changes in the memo from Vinay ...Read more
Cut vaccine mandates? SC lawmakers take cue from Trump administration in 2026
COLUMBIA, S.C. — As South Carolina faces climbing measles cases, a lawmaker wants to ban all vaccine mandates for children under two-years-old.
The bill is one of several proposed policies for 2026 that reflect the priorities of President Donald Trump and his administration.
Some vaccines, including measles, are mandatory for children ...Read more
New Trump administration proposals could further reduce gender-affirming care for minors in Illinois
CHICAGO — In a move that could further reduce gender-affirming care for minors in Illinois, the federal government is proposing rules that would strip Medicare and Medicaid funding from hospitals that provide such services.
The administration of President Donald Trump has been threatening since early this year to block federal funding for ...Read more
GOP won't allow vote on Obamacare premium relief as credits near end. Now what?
WASHINGTON — With no hope of preventing Obamacare health insurance premium costs from soaring in two weeks, Democrats and a few Republicans turned to ways to stop the increases when Congress returns in January.
But getting any such action next month, or as long as Republicans control Congress, appears difficult.
The Republican-led House ...Read more
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia faces threat as Trump administration proposes rules to stop gender-affirming care for minors
PHILADELPHIA — President Donald Trump’s administration proposed a sweeping set of rules Thursday designed to prevent hospitals from providing gender-affirming care to minors, a move that could have consequential implications for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
CHOP runs one of the nation’s largest clinics providing medical care ...Read more
Trump administration, Congress move to cut off transgender care for children
The Trump administration and House Republicans advanced measures this week to end gender-affirming care for transgender children and some young adults, drawing outrage and resistance from LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, families with transgender kids, medical providers and some of California's liberal leaders.
The latest efforts — which seek ...Read more
Trump targets hospitals to restrict transgender kids' care
Hospitals that offer gender-affirming care to minors will be forced to forgo federal insurance funding under a rule proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, part of an effort by the Trump administration to curtail the practice.
The Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday it will roll out a cross-agency plan to ...Read more
Worried about health insurance costs? There may be cheaper options -- but with trade-offs
For the millions of Americans who buy Affordable Care Act insurance, there’s still time left to enroll for 2026. But premium increases and the expiration of enhanced tax subsidies have led to larger-than-expected costs.
Concerned shoppers, wondering if there’s anything they can do, are consulting insurance brokers or talking to ...Read more
Florida vaccine debate: explaining chickenpox, Hep B, Hib and pneumococcus shots
MIAMI – Florida’s surgeon general wants to do away with all state vaccine mandates. But the first step in his plan targets four specific vaccines.
Earlier this month, the Department of Health had a meeting during which officials unveiled a proposal to drop the requirement for the chickenpox; the Hepatitis B; the Haemophilus influenzae type ...Read more
Vaccine panel's hepatitis B vote signals further turbulence for immunization policy, public trust
When Su Wang was in medical school, she donated blood. That’s when she learned she was infected with hepatitis B, a virus that attacks the liver and can lead to cancer and death decades later.
“I was 18, healthy, in college,” she said. “And suddenly I had a chronic illness I didn’t even know about.”
Born in Florida in 1975, Wang ...Read more
Obamacare subsidies are set to expire. Dems call Idaho 'ground zero' for crisis
If federal subsidies for marketplace health insurance plans expire at the end of the year, Idahoans on the most “vulnerable fringes” will feel the effects first, Idaho state Rep. Ilana Rubel, a Boise Democrat, said Tuesday.
But it won’t be long until the loss of those subsidies, which keep insurance premiums low for people on Affordable ...Read more
After the LA fires, heart attacks and strange blood test results spiked
LOS ANGELES — In the first 90 days after the Palisades and Eaton fires erupted in January, the caseload at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s emergency room looked different from the norm.
There were 46% more visits for heart attacks than typically occurred during the same time period over the previous seven years. Visits for respiratory ...Read more
Virginia medical leaders sign letter denouncing CDC hepatitis B stance
Four of the top medical leaders in Virginia have signed a letter opposing a vote last week by a Centers for Disease Control committee to end the agency’s recommendation for universal hepatitis B vaccines for all newborns at birth.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices now recommends “individual-based decision making” for ...Read more
House Republicans join Democrats to force vote on ACA subsidies
WASHINGTON — An effort to force a vote on Democrats’ proposal to extend expiring tax subsidies for three years reached the required signatures, after four Republicans signed on to the discharge petition Wednesday morning.
The discharge petition triggers a vote on a clean three-year extension of the enhanced subsidies under the Affordable ...Read more
4 GOP moderates join Democrats to force Obamacare tax credit vote
A handful of moderate Republican lawmakers Wednesday joined congressional Democrats to force a vote on extending Affordable Care Act tax credits that could avert skyrocketing insurance premiums for more than 20 million Americans, even as GOP leaders bulldozed ahead with a doomed plan of their own that would allow the aid to expire.
Four GOP ...Read more
GOP sticks to health plan that doesn't extend Obamacare credits
Congressional Republicans bulldozed ahead Wednesday with a doomed health bill that wouldn’t extend Affordable Care Act tax credits that could avert skyrocketing insurance premiums for more than 20 million Americans on Jan. 1.
House Speaker Mike Johnson rejected efforts by some Republican moderates to win a vote on an amendment that would call...Read more
Reiner family tragedy sheds light on pain of families grappling with addiction
LOS ANGELES — When Greg heard about the deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner, and the alleged involvement of their son Nick, the news struck a painfully familiar chord.
It wasn't the violence that resonated, but rather the heartache and desperation that comes with loving a family member who suffers from an illness that the best efforts and ...Read more
Don’t get caught by the Medicare tax torpedo: A retirement expert’s tips to steer clear
When retirees map out income in retirement, most think about their tax bracket, investment returns and required minimum distributions (RMDs).
What often gets overlooked is how Medicare premiums can rise dramatically if income crosses certain thresholds — a penalty known as the income-related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA).
For higher-...Read more
Environmental Nutrition: Debunking dietary deceptions: Do eggs raise your cholesterol?
For years, even decades, common wisdom was that if you wanted to eat a heart-healthy diet, you should avoid eating eggs, which are high in cholesterol. Actually, egg whites were given a pass, because the yolks contain all the cholesterol. The rationale was that dietary cholesterol would raise levels of cholesterol in the blood, especially LDL (�...Read more
Popular Stories
- Worried about health insurance costs? There may be cheaper options -- but with trade-offs
- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia faces threat as Trump administration proposes rules to stop gender-affirming care for minors
- Reiner family tragedy sheds light on pain of families grappling with addiction
- Trump targets hospitals to restrict transgender kids' care
- GOP won't allow vote on Obamacare premium relief as credits near end. Now what?








