Category: Health Industry

Four Ways Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Would Undermine Access to Obamacare

The combination of the House-passed spending and tax bill and the Trump administration’s regulatory action could change Affordable Care Act enrollment and the cost of insurance. The result, according to the Congressional Budget Office, is that millions of people may become uninsured.

As Federal Health Grants Shrink, Memory Cafes Help Dementia Patients and Their Caregivers

Memory cafes are small social gatherings for individuals with memory loss and their caregivers. The events are cheap to run and can offer measurable benefits. Memory loss experts say they may become an even more important tool in the face of federal cuts to health programs.

$20K Bonuses Among Latest Moves To Improve California’s Prison Mental Health System

After decades of unsuccessful efforts to improve California prison conditions, advocates and a federal judge are betting that bonuses and better work accommodations will attract and keep the mental health professionals needed to better treat prisoners.

In Axing mRNA Contract, Trump Delivers Another Blow to US Biosecurity, Former Officials Say

The Trump administration is eroding national pandemic flu defenses as it guts health agencies, cuts research and health budgets, and withdraws funding for bird flu vaccines, health security experts said.

Two Patients Faced Chemo. The One Who Survived Demanded a Test To See if It Was Safe.

Worried that President Donald Trump’s FDA might not act, a panel of cancer experts recommended that doctors consider testing before dosing patients with a commonly used but sometimes deadly cancer drug. It came too late for many patients.

Ballad Health’s Hospital Monopoly Underperformed. Then Tennessee Lowered the Bar.

Ballad Health, a state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in Tennessee and Virginia, can now be deemed a “clear and convincing” benefit to the public with performance that would earn a “D” on most grading scales, according to Tennessee state documents.

American Doctors Are Moving to Canada To Escape the Trump Administration

Canada has seen a surge of American doctors seeking to move north in the months since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.

Language Service Cutbacks Raise Fear of Medical Errors, Misdiagnoses, Deaths

Federal cuts are hurting community organizations in California that provide language assistance services to people who speak limited English. Despite President Trump’s executive order declaring English the national language, millions in the U.S. need help navigating the health system.

Call Centers Replaced Many Doctors’ Receptionists. Now, AI Is Coming for Call Centers.

Artificial intelligence products with lifelike voices are being marketed to schedule or cancel medical visits, refill prescriptions, and help triage patients. Soon, many patients might initiate contact with the health system by speaking not with a human but with AI.

Trump Won’t Force Medicaid to Cover GLP-1s for Obesity. A Few States Are Doing It Anyway.

Late last year, South Carolina Medicaid approved a class of medications known as GLP-1s to treat obesity, placing it among the few state programs covering these effective but expensive drugs. But access remains limited, even for patients covered by Medicaid, because of stringent prerequisites that must be satisfied before starting the drug.