Health and Human Services

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White House Lashes Insurers Jacking Up Prices
 White House Lashes 
 Insurers Jacking Up Prices 
HEALTH CARE REFORM?

White House Lashes Insurers Jacking Up Prices

Steep premium increases target individuals who buy policies

(Newser) - The White House has begun to call out health insurance companies attempting to drastically raise premiums for Americans who buy policies individually. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will hold a press conference today on the premium hikes, including the 39% increase in California she lambasted last week. A new report also...

Study Finds Sharp Drop in Child Abuse

Public awareness campaigns credited with helping abuse drop 26% since '93

(Newser) - Cases of child abuse and neglect have fallen sharply since the early '90s, according a huge federal study. A total of 553,000 children suffered physical, emotional, or sexual abuse in 2005-6, the study found, down 26% from the 743,200 abuse victims in 1993. Cases of sexual abuse were...

New Mammogram Advice Not US Policy: Sebelius

'These recommendations are not ours,' HHS Secretary asserts

(Newser) - The recommendation from the US Preventative Services Task Force that women in their 40s should not get mammograms is not government policy, said the secretary of Health and Human Services. Kathleen Sebelius tried to tamp down some of the controversy that has followed the panel’s decision, asserting that government...

Vaccine Scarier Than Swine Flu: Poll
 Vaccine Scarier 
 Than Swine Flu: Poll 
H1N1 OUTBREAK

Vaccine Scarier Than Swine Flu: Poll

Concern high and building, but 60+% don't plan to get a shot

(Newser) - Americans are spooked by the growing threat of swine flu but even warier of the vaccine. Half of respondents in a recent Washington Post poll are a “great deal” or “somewhat” worried they or a family member will catch H1N1, up from 39% in August. But more than...

Sebelius Schools Reporter on How to Sneeze

(Newser) - NBC's Chuck Todd got a lesson in how to sneeze properly today when he let one fly during a briefing with health secretary Kathleen Sebelius. After Todd sneezed, Sebelius stopped the press conference to razz him about not sneezing into his sleeve, reports MediaBistro. "What's up with that? she...

Pfizer Pays Record $2.3B Fine for False Marketing

(Newser) - Pfizer will shell out $2.3 billion—a record for a health care fraud settlement—over deceptive marketing of its drugs, the Los Angeles Times reports. Pfizer and one of its subsidiaries marketed four drugs based on off-label uses specifically prohibited by the FDA. The settlement with the Justice Department...

Elmo Takes On Swine Flu
 Elmo Takes On Swine Flu 

Elmo Takes On Swine Flu

Feds, Sesame Street produce spots on hygiene

(Newser) - The fuzzy residents of Sesame Street are teaming up with the federal government to school kids on the dangers of swine flu and how to prevent it, the Washington Post reports. Elmo and human pal Gordon have taped PSAs that instruct children to be sure to wash their hands and...

US May Lift Ban on HIV-Positive Travelers

CDC wants to end 'stigma,' but 22-year-old rule has some support

(Newser) - The CDC is considering ending the rule forbidding HIV-positive foreigners from entering the US, MSNBC reports. Congress voted last year to dump 1987 restrictions on entry to those with the condition, but the exclusion policy will remain in place until the department of health and human services lifts it. “...

Obama: Brace for Swine Flu Outbreak

Calls for 'vigilance,' not 'panic'

(Newser) - President Obama called for “rigorous” planning by state and local officials in anticipation of a possible swine flu outbreak this fall, CNN reports. “We want to make sure we aren't promoting panic, but we are promoting vigilance and preparation,” Obama—on a video link from the G8...

Sebelius: Never Mind Biden; It's OK to Travel
 Sebelius: Never 
 Mind Biden; 
 It's OK to Travel 
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP

Sebelius: Never Mind Biden; It's OK to Travel

Newest cabinet member seeks to allay swine flu fears

(Newser) - President Obama’s new Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius made the talk show rounds today, insisting that people should continue traveling, despite remarks to the contrary by Joe Biden. “Traveling and being in close places is certainly something we encourage people to continue to do,” she...

Swine Flu Emergency Is a Cover-Up: Pro-Life Groups

Obama trying to push Sebelius nom through

(Newser) - Is the swine flu emergency just an Obama administration plot? Anti-abortion groups think so, noting that confirmation hearings begin today for would-be Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “Some people think that declaring a state of emergency about the flu was a political thing to push the Sebelius nomination through,”...

Testy McCain Grills Sebelius on Health Care Tax Credit

'Reform would be my mission' says nominee

(Newser) - Kathleen Sebelius got a chilly bout of questioning from John McCain during a Senate committee hearing, Ezra Klein writes for the American Prospect. His manner tense and confrontational, the Arizona senator asked Sebelius if she supported replacing the tax incentive for employer-based care with a $5000 tax credit—an idea...

Pro-Choice Obama Exploits Sebelius' Catholicism
Pro-Choice Obama Exploits Sebelius' Catholicism
OPINION

Pro-Choice Obama Exploits Sebelius' Catholicism

(Newser) - President Obama is enacting a ghastly brace of pro-choice policies, including weakening "conscience protections" for doctors and adopting the “most radical possible option” on stem cell research, Michael Gerson writes for the Washington Post. And enlisting a Catholic—HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius—to help implement his agenda “...

Sebelius Mum on HHS Post
 Sebelius Mum on HHS Post 

Sebelius Mum on HHS Post

Kansas gov says she's had no meetings on joining the Obama Cabinet

(Newser) - Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, mentioned as a top candidate for health secretary, said today she has not talked with President Barack Obama about joining his Cabinet. "There really isn't anything to tell. I haven't had any meetings about the position," Sebelius, 60, said in an interview with the...

Sebelius Is Obama's Top Pick for Health Secretary

(Newser) - President Obama has decided to pick Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be his health secretary, the New York Times reports. The Democratic governor is now being vetted, and Obama hopes to make the announcement next week when he turns his attention from the economy to health care. One of Sebelius'...

Obama Mulling Kansas Gov for Health Post

Sebelius rises among names to replace Daschle: official

(Newser) - Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius was very near the top of President Barack Obama's list of candidates to head the Health and Human Services Department, a senior administration official said today. No decision has been made, but the former Kansas insurance commissioner was rising as a candidate to replace Tom Daschle,...

What's the Fallout from Daschle's Withdrawal?
What's the Fallout from Daschle's Withdrawal?
ANALYSIS

What's the Fallout from Daschle's Withdrawal?

Major issues in the wake of Daschle's withdrawal

(Newser) - Tom Daschle gave up his nomination for Health and Human Services Secretary, raising a host of questions, Matthew Cooper writes at Talking Points Memo. Did an issue besides tax problems arise? Was the decision really Daschle’s, or the administration’s? Some other big issues:
  1. How many Obama nominees will
...

Daschle Withdraws Cabinet Bid

Tax flub claims another Obama nominee

(Newser) - Tom Daschle withdrew today from consideration for secretary of health and human services over controversial unpaid taxes, the Boston Globe reports. Daschle had retained the support of the Obama administration despite the flub, but quit seeking the post so as not to be a distraction, he said. President Obama regretfully...

White House Stacked With Daschle Alums
White House Stacked With Daschle Alums
ANALYSIS

White House Stacked With Daschle Alums

Former senator is well-connected in Obama administration

(Newser) - Nobody is wired into Washington like Tom Daschle. If he survives the controversy, he’ll enter office with a web of allies and former aides inside the Beltway and the White House, the Washington Post reports. During Daschle’s 30 years in Congress, including 10 as Senate Democratic leader, a...

Times to Daschle: Go Home
 Times to 
 Daschle: 
 Go Home 
OPINION

Times to Daschle: Go Home

Tax, conflict-of-interest issues should disqualify ex-Senate leader

(Newser) - In the wake of revelations about his tax oversights and industry ties, the New York Times is calling on Tom Daschle to step aside and let Barack Obama pick a “less-blemished” Health and Human Services secretary. Daschle’s $128,000 tax lapse dwarfs even Tim Geithner’s. “The...

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