Healthcare

Reuters reports: U.S. Dietary Guidelines are expected to eliminate the long-standing recommendation that adults limit alcohol consumption to one or two drinks per day, according to three sources familiar with the matter, in what could be a major win for an industry threatened by heightened scrutiny of alcohol’s health effects. The updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which could be released …

NewsNation reports: About 1.7 million window air conditioning units have been recalled in the U.S. after 17 customers reported getting sick from fungal growth in the appliance. The Midea U and U+ window air conditioners may fail to drain quickly, causing mold growth that “poses risks of respiratory issues or other infections to some consumers,” according to the U.S. Consumer …

Because the screaming about Medicaid wasn’t enough: Senate Republicans are eyeing possible Medicare provisions to help offset the cost of their megabill as they try to appease budget hawks who want more spending cuts embedded in the legislation. Making changes to Medicare, the federal health insurance program primarily serving seniors, would be a political longshot: It would face fierce backlash …

Politico reports: Private insurers and state officials are warning of utter chaos in the insurance markets if a last-minute change to the House GOP’s megabill survives in the Senate. The policy could lead to higher premiums for people who shop for plans on the Obamacare exchanges and cause massive turmoil for actuaries, and leave brokers and state officials with little …

CBNC reports: Shares of UnitedHealth Group plunged more than 18% on Thursday following a report that the Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation into the health-care giant over possible Medicare fraud. The DOJ is focusing on the company’s Medicare Advantage business practices, but the exact nature of the potential criminal allegations is unclear, the Wall Street Journal reported late …

US News reports: As part of the 2025 Best States rankings, U.S. News evaluated adult obesity rates for all 50 states based on self-reported survey data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a partnership between the CDC and state health departments. Thirty-nine states with data available for 2023 posted age-adjusted obesity rates of 30% or more, with three hitting …

The Associated Press reports: A coalition of state attorneys general sued the administration Tuesday over its decision to cut $11 billion in federal funds that go toward COVID-19 initiatives and various public health projects across the country. Officials from 23 states filed the suit in federal court in Rhode Island. They include New York Attorney General Letitia James, Kentucky Gov. …

The Associated Press reports: Employees across the massive U.S. Health and Human Services Department began receiving notices of dismissal on Tuesday in an overhaul ultimately expected to lay off up to 10,000 people. The notices come just days after President Donald Trump moved to strip workers of their collective bargaining rights at HHS and other agencies throughout the government. Health …

UnitedHealth Group’s CEO writes for the New York Times: We greatly appreciate the enormous outpouring of support for Brian Thompson, who ran our health insurance business, UnitedHealthcare, as well as for our wider company, which I lead. Yet we also are struggling to make sense of this unconscionable act and the vitriol that has been directed at our colleagues who …

The Washington Post reports: The Supreme Court appeared deeply divided along ideological lines Wednesday in a historic case involving gender transition care for transgender minors, with key conservative justices expressing concern about courts intervening in an evolving nationwide debate over access to treatments for young people. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh repeatedly suggested that …

The New York Times reports: The Department of Health and Human Services said on Monday that hospitals must obtain written informed consent from patients before they undergo sensitive examinations — like pelvis and prostate exams — especially if the patients will be under anesthesia. A New York Times investigation in 2020 found that hospitals, doctors and doctors in training sometimes …

The Associated Press reports: Attorneys general in 20 conservative-led states warned CVS and Walgreens on Wednesday that they could face legal consequences if they sell abortion pills by mail in those states. A letter from Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey to the nation’s largest pharmacy-dispensing companies was co-signed by 19 other attorneys general, warning that sale of abortion pills …

Iowa Starting Line reports: Iowa House Republicans would make it a felony to “manufacture, distribute, prescribe, dispense, sell or transfer” abortion drugs in Iowa. Despite abortion being legal in Iowa until the 20th week of pregnancy, the bill would make it a crime for someone to provide the most common method of abortion in the country. The penalty would mean …

Minnesota Public Radio reports: Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday signed into law a proposal that guarantees in state law the right to abortion and other reproductive health care options. The move backstops the current right to an abortion laid out in a 1995 Minnesota Supreme Court decision, and it expands that to include access to birth control, sterilization, family planning …

Via email from the Family Research Council: As the Biden administration expanded the distribution of abortion-inducing drugs, 75 pro-life lawmakers have demanded the FDA take pills off the market altogether. “We call on the FDA to remove mifepristone from the market, or, at minimum, promptly restore and further strengthen the initial basic health and safety requirements for abortion drugs, and …

ABC News reports: Twenty-six Delaware nurses were informed that their nursing license was annulled as part of a fraudulent nursing diploma scheme uncovered by the Department of Justice. “All of us feel this is egregious,” said Dr. Pamela Zickafoose, the Executive Director of Delaware’s Board of Nursing. On Wednesday, the Justice Department released details of what’s been dubbed Operation Nightingale, …