U.S. District Court Hands Down Victory in Tennessee-Led Case Challenging HHS Rule on Gender Identity Under the Affordable Care Act

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi has halted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from implementing its final rule which redefines the Affordable Care Act’s prohibition against discrimination based on “sex” to include “gender identity” at the request of Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti.

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South Carolina Agency Changes Name and Doubles Down on Mission

Alan Wilson

A partially federally funded South Carolina Agency is changing its name as it doubles down on its enforcement of crimes targeting the state’s vulnerable adult population.

South Carolina’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is changing its name to the Vulnerable Adults and Medicaid Provider Fraud Unit. State officials said the agency experienced a 30% increase in reports from law enforcement thanks to an outreach effort targeting local agencies over the past two years.

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Tennessee Attorney General Leads Lawsuit Challenging HHS Final Rule on Gender Identity Under the Affordable Care Act

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch led a coalition of 13 other states in filing a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) final rule, which redefines the Affordable Care Act’s prohibition against discrimination based on “sex” to include “gender identity.”

As of May 6, HHS’ final rule requires medical providers to perform surgeries and administer hormone drugs to both children and adults for the purpose of gender transition, without regard for a doctor’s medical judgment as to whether that treatment was appropriate.

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Texas Sues Biden over ‘Gender Identity’ Guidance in Workplace

Business Meeting

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued three federal agencies Tuesday to “stop an unlawful attempt to redefine federal law through agency guidance” that mandates “gender identity” accommodation in the workplace.

Paxton sued the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and other federal officials to block April 29 EEOC guidance that redefines the meaning of “sex” in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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Kentucky AG Investigates Company at Center of $200,000 Payment to Bidens

Russell Coleman

Kentucky’s attorney general is investigating a health care company that wired $200,000 to James Biden the same day he wrote a check for that amount to his brother and future president Joe Biden.

James Biden worked as a consultant for Americore Holdings LLC, a Florida-based hospital chain that later collapsed. Americore declared bankruptcy in Kentucky in 2022 under federal law amid reports of massive staff departures, poor patient care, and poor equipment at one of the hospitals in the state.

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Federal Audit Finds Florida Didn’t Document Prescriptions for Foster Care Kids

A report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General says Florida failed to comply with state requirements for its foster care system regarding prescription drugs.

According to the report, Florida failed to comply with requirements for documenting psychotropic and opioid medications prescribed to children living in the Florida Safe Families Network (FSFN), which is also a federal requirement in order to receive funding.

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Biden Admin to Use Former North Carolina Boarding School Campus to House Migrant Children: Report

The Biden administration is planning to use a former North Carolina boarding school campus to house hundreds of migrant children, according to CBS News.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement will open the doors of what used to be the American Hebrew Academy in Greensboro, North Carolina, to house up to 800 migrant children between the ages of 13 and 17 who crossed the southern border illegally, according to CBS News, citing a U.S. official familiar with the plan. The facility is intended to serve as “influx care” to provide emergency housing, which HHS uses when it expects a surge in child migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border.

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HHS Audit Finds Florida’s Foster Care System Didn’t Properly Report Missing Children

An audit recently released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General gave the state of Florida low marks for its stewardship of children in its foster care system.

The OIG audit found that state agencies were failing to properly report missing foster care children in accordance with federal law and some didn’t report them missing at all.

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Documents: U.S. and UK Had ‘Confidentiality Agreement’ to Hide Vaccine Adverse Events

Newly obtained documents from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reveal that before the FDA approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 shots, the United States and United Kingdom health regulators struck a deal to keep information about vaccine injuries hidden from the public.

Judicial Watch obtained the 57 pages of heavily redacted records through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against HHS.

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Ohio Awards Multi-Million Dollar Grant to Ensure Kindergarten Readiness

Ohio will soon receive an influx of federal funding intended to improve kindergarten readiness.

According to a statement from Governor Mike DeWine’s Office, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services will receive a total of $48 million over three years to support and increase access to quality early childhood care and education as part of the Preschool Development Grant Birth to Five from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families.

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Tennessee Will Receive $82.2 Million Towards Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program

Memphis-area Rep. Steve Cohen (R-TN-09) announced on Wednesday that Tennessee will receive $82.2 million towards the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which is administered through the Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

In a statement made to The Tennessee Star, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) said, “It’s a shame the Democrats’ reckless spending and war on domestic energy production is causing our energy prices to skyrocket. More East Tennesseans will be dependent on these funds this year because the Biden administration’s policies caused a problem that was avoidable from the start.”

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Report: 78 Percent of Georgia Hospitals Are Not Following Federal Accurate Pricing Law

A year-and-a-half after a law requiring hospitals to post accurate prices online went into effect, roughly three-quarters of Georgia hospitals continue to hide the cost of care from consumers.

That’s according to a new report from PatientRightsAdvocate.org. The organization reviewed 2,000 of the 6,000 accredited hospitals nationwide and found that a mere 16% complied with a federal hospital price transparency rule that took effect on Jan. 1, 2021.

In Georgia, 78% of hospitals are non-compliant.

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Connecticut AG Leads Bipartisan Coalition Alleging in Amicus Briefs Big Pharma Violates Affordable Drug Mandates

Connecticut’s attorney general is leading a nationwide charge against big pharma for violating mandates of a federal drug program and to secure affordable prescription drug prices for low-income Americans.

AG William Tong announced that a pair of amicus briefs have been filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit and District of Columbia. The briefs defend actions taken by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in cases files by Sanofi SA, Novartis Pharmaceutics, United Therapeutics Corp, and NovoNorisk.

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Arizona Attorney General Brnovich Leads Lawsuit Challenging COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Health Care Workers

Mark Brnovich

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is suing the Biden administration again over its COVID-19 mandates, this time leading a coalition of other Attorneys General against the mandate for health care workers, known as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services mandate. He took the lead along with the Attorneys General of Montana and Louisiana in a 69-page complaint, which was joined by 13 other states.

Brnovich said in a statement, “The unlawful mandate for facilities that receive Medicare or Medicaid funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is ‘causing havoc in the healthcare labor market’ across the nation – especially in rural communities – and does not account for the pandemic’s changing circumstances.”

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Biden Administration Has Lost Track of 45,000 Unaccompanied Minors Who Entered Illegally

The Biden-Harris administration has lost track of at least 45,000 unaccompanied minors who were brought across the southern border illegally — and President Joe Biden has yet to issue a statement about it.

So far this year, unaccompanied minors arriving at the border have hit record numbers. In June, there were 15,234 encounters with unaccompanied children, in July, 18,958 encounters, and in August, there were 18,847 encounters, according to Customs and Border Patrol data.

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Florida Gov. DeSantis Sends Fundraising Email in Response to Biden Administration Handling of Monoclonal Antibody Treatments

Gov. Ron DeSantis speaking at a conference on the COVID-19 antibody treatments

After his administration bashed President Biden for cutting the supply of monoclonal antibody treatments (mAB’s) being sent to Florida, DeSantis sent a mass email to his supporters Thursday night to encourage them to help “fight back” by way of donation.

The email comes hours after data analyst for the Governor’s Office, Kyle Lamb, tweeted a statement from DeSantis that said, “‘We’re going to work like hell to overcome the restrictions and obstacles the HHS and Biden administration have put on us (with mABs distribution).'”

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Ohio Appeals Biden Administration’s Nixing Work, Training Requirement to Receive Medicaid

Unemployment line

The State of Ohio has asked the Biden Administration to reconsider its Aug. 10 squelching of an Ohio Medicaid pilot program designed to encourage Medicaid recipients to work or receive job training in order to keep their government-funded healthcare.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services  (CMS)((cq)) on Aug. 10 withdrew its earlier approval for the demonstration program first approved under the administation of President Donald Trump that would have allowe the Ohio Department of Medicaid to require recipients ages 19 to 50 to either find work, join a job-training program, or find other “community engagement such as volunteering for at least 80 hours per month to remain covered.

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Pediatricians Sue Biden Administration for Requiring Doctors to Perform Trans Surgeries Against Beliefs

Medical professionals are suing President Joe Biden’s administration over a mandate requiring doctors to perform transgender surgeries in violation of their religious beliefs or medical judgement.

Represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, the American College of Pediatricians, the Catholic Medical Association and an OB-GYN doctor specializing in adolescent care filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Chattanooga Thursday against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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DeSantis Seeks Approval of Importation of Canadian Prescription Drugs

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is asking the Biden administration to approve a plan that would allow for the importation of FDA-approved Canadian drugs to the Sunshine State, which would lower costs, according to the governor. 

“Today, Governor Ron DeSantis called on the Biden Administration and leadership at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to approve Florida’s Section 804 Importation Proposal (SIP) for Florida’s Canadian Prescription Drug Importation Program,” a Friday press release said

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Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine 94.5 Percent Effective in Phase Three Study

Biotech company Moderna announced Monday that its new COVID-19 vaccine has proven to be 94.5 % effective.

The company said it intends to submit for an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the coming weeks and expects the EUA to be based on the final analysis of 151 cases and a median follow-up of more than two months.

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Mayor Cooper’s Policing Policies Commission Says Crime Isn’t Criminals’ Fault – Need to Minimize the Police

Nashville Police

During a meeting last week, Mayor John Cooper’s Policing Policies Commission (PCC) Policies Group indicated aims to diminish police and stated that criminals aren’t entirely at fault for their crimes.

Gideon’s Army Founder and CEO Rasheedat Fetuga was the main guest speaker. Vice Chair Amanda Lucas brought on Fetuga to speak, calling her a “visionary.” 

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