In another Trump administration move to boost transparency and roll back regulations, the Department of Health and Human Services issued two statements of policy on Tuesday that will affect any future imposition of regulations going forward.
The first policy requires the department and its agencies to demonstrate to the public how they reached a conclusion on the economic cost of a regulation.
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Department of Health and Human Services Sec. Alex Azar said Wednesday that he expects a coronavirus vaccine to be available for vulnerable Americans by January 2021.
The Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary said that vaccines will be immediately be offered to seniors, health care workers and first responders once hospitals are able to administer it, according to The Hill. Sec. Alex Azar’s comments came at press briefing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters.
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The Trump administration won a court ruling Tuesday upholding its plan to require hospitals and insurers to disclose the actual prices for common tests and procedures in a bid to promote competition and push down costs.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar called the decision in federal court in Washington, D.C., “a resounding victory” for President Donald Trump’s efforts to open up the convoluted world of health care pricing so patients and families can make better-informed decisions about their care.
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Attorney General Keith Ellison said a federal ban on using aborted fetal tissue for research is “hampering” the nation’s ability to respond to COVID-19 in a letter sent to the Trump administration.
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Fever, cough and shortness of breath are symptoms to watch for with the coronavirus, the CDC says.
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Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN-04) said this week that President Donald Trump is “willfully ignorant” regarding the threat of a coronavirus outbreak in the United States.
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Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN-02) recently issued a joint letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar in response to his department’s decision to allow a South Carolina foster-care agency to refuse housing children with same-sex couples. In January, Azar granted a waiver to Miracle Hill Ministries, a Christian agency that requires foster parents to be Christian and of the opposite sex. President Donald Trump said during last week’s National Prayer Breakfast that his administration would continue to provide agencies such as Miracle Hill Ministries with federal funding so that they can “help vulnerable children find their forever families while following their deeply held beliefs.” Craig and fellow LGBTQ colleague Rep. Sean Maloney (D-NY-18) sent a letter to Azar on February 13 to protest his decision. “We write to you to express strong opposition to a waiver you department granted to South Carolina from nondiscrimination requirements for its state-contracted child welfare agencies,” the letter begins. “This harmful decision allows federally-funded child welfare agencies in South Carolina to discriminate on the basis of religion—an egregious violation of the very principles our nation and our child welfare system were founded upon.” The letter was co-signed by 95 House members, and concludes by…
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