US boosts monkeypox testing, 142 cases confirmed
The Biden administration has started shipping testing kits for monkeypox to commercial laboratories, in a bid to speed diagnostic tests for suspected infections for the virus that has already infected at least 142 people in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sending tests to commercial labs, including Aegis Science, Labcorp, Mayo Clinic Laboratories, Quest Diagnostics and Sonic Healthcare, which it said would significant expand the nation’s health system’s capacity to...
Medicare recipients to see premium cut — but not until 2023
Medicare recipients will get a premium reduction — but not until next year — reflecting what Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said Friday was an overestimate in costs of covering an expensive and controversial new Alzheimer's drug. Becerra’s statement said the 2022 premium should be adjusted downward but legal and operational hurdles prevented officials from doing that in the middle of the year. Medicare Part B premiums jumped by $22 a month, to $170.10, for 2022, in part because of the cost of the drug Aduhelm, which was approved despite weak evidence that it could slow the progression of Alzheimer's.
news.yahoo.comThe AP Interview: Health chief warns of COVID funds shortage
With the nation yearning for a new normal after its long struggle with the coronavirus, U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra is warning that vaccines, tests and treatments will be “stuck on the ground” unless Congress provides additional funds the White House has demanded.
Feds say no taxpayer money for safer drug-smoking pipes
Following outrage on the political right, the Biden administration said Wednesday that a grant program to help prevent additional harm to people who use illicit drugs will not pay for safer pipes to smoke crack or meth. “No federal funding will be used directly or through subsequent reimbursement of grantees to put pipes in safe smoking kits,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and White House drug policy adviser Rahul Gupta said in a statement. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said separately that was never the intention, complaining that impression was created by “inaccurate reporting.”
news.yahoo.comMedicare told to reassess premium hike for Alzheimer's drug
U.S. health secretary Xavier Becerra on Monday ordered Medicare to reassess a big premium increase facing millions of seniors this year, attributed in large part to a pricey new Alzheimer's drug with questionable benefits. Becerra's directive came days after drugmaker Biogen slashed the price of its $56,000-a-year medication, Aduhelm, to $28,200 a year — a cut of about half. “With the 50% price drop of Aduhelm on Jan. 1, there is a compelling basis ... to reexamine the previous recommendation,” Becerra said in a statement about his directive to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
news.yahoo.comA retro feel to Biden's plan for covering OTC virus testing
The Biden administration’s plan for health insurers to reimburse consumers for over-the-counter COVID-19 tests is recalling the model of a bygone era when the companies processed large volumes of claims from individuals — with paper receipts.
Medicare urged to flex its power and slash back premium hike
The head of a Senate panel that oversees Medicare says the Biden administration should use its legal authority to cut back a hefty premium increase soon hitting millions of enrollees, as a growing number of Democratic lawmakers call for action amid worries over rising inflation. Last month, Medicare announced one of the largest increases ever in its “Part B” monthly premium for outpatient care, nearly $22, from $148.50 currently to $170.10 starting in January. The agency attributed roughly half the hike, about $11 a month, to the need for a contingency fund to cover Aduhelm, a new $56,000 Alzheimer's drug from Biogen whose benefits have been widely questioned. “Rather than assessing the current $21.60 per month ... premium increase in full, I urge you to reduce the amount,” Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., wrote health secretary Xavier Becerra.
news.yahoo.comReadout of Justice Department, HHS Listening Session on the Bipartisan COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act with Organizations Representing Communities Impacted by Hate
Yesterday, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra co-hosted a listening session with stakeholders on the bipartisan COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which was signed into law by President Biden on May 20. The session was moderated by Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. The diverse set of stakeholders represented the wide impact of increased hate and bias, and mutual support among impacted communities. Secretary Becerra, Attorney General Garland and Associate Attorney General Gupta closed the listening session by thanking the advocacy organizations for their participation, thoughtful dialogue, and commitment to advancing justice. Stakeholders who would like to provide recommendations on the guidance are encouraged to submit their public comments to the Justice Department and HHS at COVID19HateCrimesGuidance@hhs.gov.
justice.govBiden administration unveils plans to lower prescription drug costs in the U.S.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra speaks to the press after taking a tour of a vaccination site at Community of Hope, a community heath center, on May 5, 2021 in Washington, DC. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on Thursday unveiled the Biden administration's road map to lowering the cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. The plan, summarized in a 29-page document, supports legislation that allows the U.S. government to negotiate lower prices on the costliest drugs each year and pass those savings on to private insurers. Current rules prohibit the HHS from negotiating drug prices on behalf of Medicare — the federal government's health insurance plan for the elderly. It would reduce regulatory barriers to getting a new drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration and incentivize drugmakers to develop medications that are already on the U.S. market, ensuring competition and forcing other companies to lower prices, according to the administration.
cnbc.com‘It is absolutely our business' to know who gets vaccinated, Biden health secretary says
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra argued that the federal government is entitled to know who in the United States has been vaccinated, responding to anger from GOP House members who say the Biden administration is infringing on personal liberty.
news.yahoo.com‘We’re worried.’ Gov. Cooper, US HHS Secretary share COVID Delta variant concerns in NC
While visiting an uptown Charlotte vaccination site with Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Gov. Roy Cooper said the state’s slight uptick in COVID-19 cases is likely due to the variant.
news.yahoo.com‘We’re worried.’ Gov. Cooper, US HHS Secretary share COVID Delta variant concerns in NC
While visiting an uptown Charlotte vaccination site with Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Gov. Roy Cooper said the state’s slight uptick in COVID-19 cases is likely due to the variant.
news.yahoo.com‘We’re worried.’ Gov. Cooper, US HHS Secretary share COVID Delta variant concerns in NC
While visiting an uptown Charlotte vaccination site with Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Gov. Roy Cooper said the state’s slight uptick in COVID-19 cases is likely due to the variant.
news.yahoo.comAs variant rises, vaccine plan targets ‘movable middle’
Thrown off-stride to reach its COVID-19 vaccination goal, the Biden administration is sending A-list officials across the country, devising ads for niche markets and enlisting community organizers to persuade unvaccinated people to get a shot. The focus is a group health officials term the “movable middle” — some 55 million unvaccinated adults seen as persuadable, many of them under 30. “We’re not just going to do the mass vaccination sites," said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.
news.yahoo.comHHS secretary dismisses reports of unsanitary conditions, distressed migrant kids at massive emergency shelter
Attorneys who’ve been able to visit migrant children at emergency shelters opened by the Biden administration told Yahoo News they are especially concerned about conditions at Fort Bliss, a U.S. Army base where thousands of kids are being housed in massive tents.
news.yahoo.comThe Latest: Washington Gov criticized for reopening plan
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is receiving criticism from lawmakers in his own party over his shifting economic reopening plan, with a group of Democrats from the state’s second most populous county threatening the possibility of a special legislative session.
Biden taps Sen. Manchin's wife to co-chair Appalachian board
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., leaves the Senate chamber following a procedural vote on the nomination of Xavier Becerra, President Joe Biden's pick to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, March 11, 2021. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden is nominating Gayle Manchin, the wife of West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, to be the co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission, an economic development partnership involving the federal government and 13 states. Gayle Manchin, 73, has held multiple government positions linked to education in a state where her husband is a political force. A former teacher, she was on the West Virginia Board of Education from 2007 to 2015 and served a two-year term as its president. Manchin was also the state's secretary of education and the arts in 2017 and 2018, but was removed from the post by West Virginia Gov.
California high court: Judges must weigh ability to pay bail
The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday, March 25, 2021, that judges must consider suspects' ability to pay when they set bail, essentially requiring that indigent defendants be freed unless they are deemed too dangerous to be released awaiting trial. The court’s ruling allows cash bail, so long as defendants can afford it. Previously, judges set bail based on suspects’ criminal records and pending charges. AdWhile it considered the case, the high court in August took the extraordinary step of requiring California judges to follow a lower court ruling and set bail amounts based on what suspects can afford to pay. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday nominated Assemblyman Rob Bonta, a leading proponent of ending cash bail.