 Health Care |
Health Care |
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Oz talks helm of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services |
Television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz was confirmed by the Senate to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in a party-line 53-45 vote Thursday. |
Oz wasn't seen as controversial as some of the White House's other health picks, but Democrats said they didn't believe he would push back against any GOP-proposed cuts to Medicaid. Still, he skated through his confirmation hearing, using the flair of a seasoned television host to avoid being pinned down on specifics. Oz dodged questions in his confirmation hearing about any proposed cuts to the program, but Republicans will need to make a choice about whether to cut Medicaid in order to pay for an extension of President Trump's tax cuts. Oz has a history of endorsing dubious and often controversial products and treatments, blurring the lines between celebrity pitchman and medical doctor. Critics said his show provided a platform for fringe claims not backed by evidence. The Trump nominee now takes the helm of an agency that is essentially the federal government's insurance provider. It has a budget of more than $1 trillion and sets payments rates for doctors, hospitals and insurers, while also overseeing Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program and the Affordable Care Act — programs that provide coverage for more than 150 million people. The massive amount of spending CMS oversees will likely make it a target for cuts to government spending. Thousands of people this week were laid off from the Department of Health and Human Services as part of a cost-cutting and reorganization effort led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but CMS was largely spared. In line with the "Make America Healthy Again" movement led by Kennedy, Oz has said he will focus on preventive care and chronic disease. He told lawmakers the U.S. should be "rethinking our outdated approach" to treating the symptoms of a disease rather than the underlying cause. |
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How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond: |
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A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order Thursday that stops the Trump administration from pulling back more than $11 billion in public health funding from state and local health departments. Judge Mary McElroy of the federal district court in Rhode Island granted a 14-day restraining order to a group of 23 states and the District of Columbia that filed a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services … |
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Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who will be one of the Democrats' top political targets in 2026, says she is "concerned" about language in the budget resolution that she fears could result in substantial cuts to Medicaid benefits. "I’m concerned about the instruction to the House Committee for $880 billion, it’s the Energy and Commerce Committee in the House, which has jurisdiction over Medicaid, because I don’t … |
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House Democrats on the Energy and Commerce committee are demanding a hearing with Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Robert F Kennedy Jr. about the massive layoffs happening at his agency. But so far, GOP leadership has committed to a staff-level briefing only, according to a spokesperson for Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.). Health subcommittee ranking member Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) in a statement … |
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Branch out with a different read: |
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Staff working on childhood lead exposure and cancer clusters fired from CDC |
Staff members who fought childhood lead exposure and those who worked on cancer clusters were among those fired from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a now former employee told The Hill. The entire permanent staff of the Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice was cut, according to one person who was among the approximately 200 fired from the division. This division works on issues such as asthma … |
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Local and state headlines on health care: |
- New York health department urges travelers to get MMR vaccine (Democrat & Chronicle)
- Kentucky health departments could lose $149 million in funding from DOGE cuts (Lex18)
- Washington sues over RFK Jr.'s canceled health funding (Washington State Standard)
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Health news we've flagged from other outlets: |
- Do adults need a measles booster? An epidemiologist explains who is immune (PBS News)
- FDA is looking for some laid-off employees to temporarily keep working (The Washington Post)
- HHS cuts leave future of mental health, substance use hotline uncertain (Stat)
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Most read stories on The Hill right now: |
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The White House on Thursday defended its decision to not include Russia, North Korea, Cuba or Belarus in the latest round of tariffs, which targeted … Read more |
| President Trump's approval rating slipped to its lowest point during his second White House term amid his handling of the economy and the recent Houthi … Read more |
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You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! |
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