Latest U.S. Department of Health and Human Services News

State rejects health insurers' pleas to halt plan that will shake up coverage for 1.8 million Texans

Jun. 07, 2024 16:41 PM EDT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas officials have rejected attempts by several major insurers for needy families to cancel a proposal that would drop them from the state Medicaid program and shake up the coverage of nearly 2 million low-income Texans. At issue are some $116 billion in...

Supreme Court sides with Native American tribes in health care funding dispute with government

Jun. 06, 2024 16:03 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court sided with Native American tribes Thursday in a dispute with the federal government over the cost of health care when tribes run programs in their own communities. The 5-4 decision means the government will cover millions in overhead costs that...

West Virginia's first ombudsman for state's heavily burdened foster care system resigns

May. 29, 2024 17:40 PM EDT

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The first ombudsman of West Virginia's heavily burdened foster care system has resigned. Pamela Woodman-Kaehler’s resignation will take effect June 6, the state Department of Health announced in a statement. Woodman-Kaehler said she was “choosing to...

Top US drug agency a notable holdout in Biden's push to loosen federal marijuana restrictions

May. 20, 2024 20:58 PM EDT

In an isolated part of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters known as the 12th-floor “bubble,” chief Anne Milgram made an unusual request of top deputies summoned in March for what she called the “Marijuana Meeting”: Nobody could take notes. Over the next half...

Justice Department formally moves to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug in historic shift

May. 16, 2024 15:59 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Thursday formally moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic shift in generations of U.S. drug policy. A proposed rule sent to the federal register recognizes the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledges it has...

Editorial Roundup: Texas

May. 13, 2024 15:31 PM EDT

Dallas Morning News. May 9, 2024. Editorial: Texas agency botched multibillion-dollar Medicaid bid Texas Health and Human Services’ gave Aetna a boost and must start over. In Texas, millions of low-income residents are dependent on Medicaid for their...

4/20 grew from humble roots to marijuana's high holiday

Apr. 19, 2024 19:58 PM EDT

SEATTLE (AP) — Saturday marks marijuana culture’s high holiday, 4/20, when college students gather — at 4:20 p.m. — in clouds of smoke on campus quads and pot shops in legal-weed states thank their customers with discounts. This year’s edition provides an occasion for...