Latest Xavier Becerra News

'Obamacare' enrollment opens, as Republicans threaten the health insurance program used by millions

Oct. 31, 2024 13:47 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans can start signing up Friday for health care coverage offered through the Affordable Care Act marketplace for 2025, days before a presidential election that could threaten eligibility and raise costs for millions of those in the program. The future of...

White House says health insurance needs to fully cover condoms, other over-the-counter birth control

Oct. 21, 2024 15:09 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of people with private health insurance would be able to pick up over-the-counter methods like condoms, the “morning after” pill and birth control pills for free under a new rule the White House proposed on Monday. Right now, health insurers must...

Feds rarely punish hospitals for turning away pregnant patients

Sep. 26, 2024 15:09 PM EDT

As the pregnant woman's contractions rolled in every two minutes, staff at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, dispatched an ambulance to send her elsewhere. Just two minutes later, she gave birth to a 6-pound baby girl in the cab of the ambulance...

Brett Favre to appear before US House panel looking at welfare misspending

Sep. 20, 2024 19:19 PM EDT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre, who has repaid just over $1 million in speaking fees funded by a welfare program in Mississippi, is scheduled to appear before a Republican-led congressional committee that's examining how states are falling short on using welfare to help...

Biden administration hikes pay for Head Start teachers to address workforce shortage

Aug. 16, 2024 16:35 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is hiking pay for educators in the early childhood program Head Start as part of an effort to retain current employees and attract new ones in the midst of a workforce shortage. The administration's new rules, published Friday, will...

Top US health official acknowledges more federal money for utility help is needed for extreme heat

Aug. 07, 2024 23:51 PM EDT

PHOENIX (AP) — Visiting Phoenix amid triple-digit temperatures, the U.S. government's top health official acknowledged on Wednesday that a federal program that helps low-income people pay their utility bills needs to focus more on cooling homes in the summer instead of overwhelmingly on...