A California bill would have made free condoms available for high schoolers, but it was vetoed Sunday by Gov. Gavin Newsom because of cost.
California has a budget deficit of $30 billion, Newsom noted in his
Pharmaceutical companies that make the 10 prescription drugs chosen to be the first for price negotiations for Medicare patients have agreed to talks with the government.
The Biden administration announced Tuesday that the drugmakers, including Merck, Bristol Myers Squib...
The Biden administration is allocating $232.2 million in grants to help stem suicides and improve behavioral health care for at-risk groups.
Suicide is happening at an "alarming"rate, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Last year al...
A new survey of U.S. doctors specializing in the care of transgender kids finds they're alarmed by pressure to limit patient care, threats to personal and patient safety, and the possibility of legal action.
"The increasing number of bans on gender-affirming care in...
The two "freezing" episodes that Sen. Mitch McConnell experienced recently weren't strokes or seizures, the Capitol physician said in a new letter released Tuesday.
"My examination of you following yo...
The Biden administration on Tuesday named the first 10 medicines that will be subject to price negotiations between Medicare and participating drug companies.
The list represents the first step in a landmark program aimed at reducing the government's drug spending, and p...
The federal government recently stopped pandemic-related emergency food aid, leaving perhaps 2 million more Americans without enough to eat.
Emergency allotments in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, ended in March in all sta...
Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo was named on Wednesday to become the next head of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a job most recently held by
The President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a program that's long successfully provided relief to people with AIDS around the world, will now be housed within the U.S. State Department.
The move comes after years of pressure by anti-abortion groups and s...
Airlines will now be required to make bathrooms on their planes more accessible for the disabled, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Wednesday.
When they need health care, Americans can be slapped with surprise medical costs because of loopholes in the law and "junk fees,"according to the White House.
The Biden administration is taking action on several fronts to deal with these unexpected costs.
"Evading ...
New federal initiatives could help save Americans money on health care costs.
President Joe Biden announced plans Friday to target surprise medical bills, scam insurance and third-party credit cards and loans that carry high interest charges, the Associated Press
An Arkansas law banning gender transition care for minors, which has been on pause since 2021, was struck down on Tuesday after a U.S. federal judge ruled that it discriminated against transgender people.
The ruling applies only in Arkansas, but it is the first of what ...
The White House announced Friday that a former Obama administration official with extensive experience in federal and state health services will be named the next leader of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A former Obama administration official with extensive experience in federal and state health services could be the next leader of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Americans will continue to be able to get free preventive health care services -- at least for now.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans temporarily blocked a lower court decision on Monday, pausing a ruling that challenged an Affordable Care A...
The U.S. National Institutes of Health could get a new leader in Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, the Boston cancer surgeon who's led the U.S. National Cancer Insti...
Artificial intelligence (AI) research and development should stop until its use and technology are properly regulated, an international group of doctors and public health experts said.
Certain types of AI pose an "existential threat to humanity,"the experts wrote in the ...
The U.S. federal government has committed $5 million to study three existing and planned safe drug injection sites to see if they help prevent overdoses and whether they may offer savings in the health and criminal justice systems.
At these overdose prevention centers (O...
In U.S. states that provide financial assistance for low-income families, the difference is evident in children's brains, researchers report.
Their study found disparities in brain structure between children from high-income households compared to low-income households....
When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a woman's constitutional right to abortion in June, internet searches for information related to abortion and contraception surged.
Searches for abortion-related terms increased much more in U.S. states where access to reproductive...
The U.S. National Institutes of Health could get a new leader in Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, the Boston cancer surgeon who has led the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) since last fall.
Could taxing soda cut down on the consumption of sugary drinks?
That's exactly what happened when a local "soda tax"was launched in Oakland, Calif., according to researchers from the University of California, San Francisco.
Purchases of sugar-sweetened beverages dr...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants to put the pedal to the metal in America's transition to clean electric vehicles.
The EPA today announced proposed federal emissions standards aimed at accelerating the move to electric cars and trucks.
Once adopted, t...
A proposed bill in Florida would prevent children from learning about menstruation in elementary school, even though some girls get their first periods in those years.
The bill would also ban other sex education topics through the fifth grade.
Sponsored by Republic...
Since it began in 2004, a global effort led by the United States to combat HIV has dramatically increased the number of people it helps, a new government report shows.
In its report, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the number of people ...
U.S. water utilities will be required to remove certain "forever chemicals"from drinking water as the Biden administration sets first-ever limits on perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl compounds, better known as known as PFAS.
Nearly all Americans have PFAS in their blood...
The United States is one of the few developed nations without federal paid sick leave protection, owing at least in part to concerns about potential harms to business, according to a new study.
Yet, researchers studying the issue found that access to paid sick leave coul...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's heavily criticized tobacco program promised changes on Friday, including a five-year strategic plan to better outline priorities.
"As we enter this era of declining use of combustible tobacco and continued innovation in the e-ciga...
Changes in U.S. abortion laws have prompted confusion among women about medication abortion and emergency contraception, or the "morning-after"pill.
A new poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) underscores this lack of awareness about what's legal or not from state t...
To fight an urgent opioid overdose crisis, a Canadian province took an unusual step on Tuesday.
British Columbia decriminalized small amounts of several hard drugs.
This includes up to 2.5 grams of cocaine, heroin and fentanyl, the province's Ministry of Mental He...
Stung by recent food safety scandals -- most notably last year's infant formula shortage, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it is creating a new unit devoted to food safety.
The newly dubbed Human Foods Program will wield wide-ranging powers.<...
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration official who has led the agency's food policy efforts since 2018 announced his resignation on Wednesday.
Frank Yiannas was also among the top of...
When it comes to tobacco control, some states do a far better job than others of preventing and reducing smoking.
A new report from the American Lung Association (ALA) notes that California, Maine, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., are doing the best job of putting pro...
The pandemic brought the utility of testing wastewater to gauge viral spread to the fore.
Now, experts at the independent National Academies of Sciences (NAS) have issued a report out...
The number of Americans who had trouble paying their medical bills dropped precipitously between 2019 and 2021, and funds from the American Rescue Plan and other federal pandemic relief programs may have been a reason why.
Overall, 10.8% of Americans responding to a fede...
Gas stoves could face new emissions standards or even be banned because of their link to indoor air pollutants and childhood asthma, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
The federal agency will open public comment on gas cooking stoves and the...
Medicare Advantage ads that are confusing or misleading could be banned under a new rule that was proposed Wednesday by the Biden administration to protect seniors.
Nearly half of all seniors or people with disabilities who are enrolled in the Medicare program through th...
The state of California is suing several companies for their role in manufacturing "forever chemicals."
The lawsuit filed Thursday also claims that...
U.S. voters spoke up for abortion rights Tuesday through ballot measures in four states in what was seen as a win for abortion rights supporters.
In Michigan, California and Vermont, voters approved measures that would amend their state constitutions to protect abortion,...
Transgender minors in Florida are now one step closer to not being able to get medical care to affirm their gender.
In a heated hearing on Friday, the Florida Board of Medicine voted to begin drafting a rule banning puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgeries for tra...
Child tax credits had a huge impact in U.S. households that struggle to afford food.
The federal government is pumping millions more dollars into an effort to expand the United States' network of community mental health centers.
Up to 15 states now can apply for $1 million grants to help plan new
Do the majority of Americans want government to make sure the products they buy are free of harmful chemicals?
Yes, a new survey shows, and they are even willing to pay more to g...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken a major step to curb the largest remaining source of airborne lead pollution.
The agency has proposed a so-called endangerment finding that aircraft that use leaded fuel cause or contribute to
The U.S. government will invest $266 million to shore up the community and public health workforce using American Rescue Plan funding.
About $225.5 million will go to 83 recipients to support...
To help consumers ascertain the nutritional value of foods more easily, the Biden administration said Tuesday it will propose putting nutrition labels...
The White House on Tuesday released a national plan to end hunger by 2030, an ambitious goal that would be accomplished largely by expanding monthly food benefits for poor Americans.
Consumers should immediately stop using HECOPRO digital display carbon monoxide (CO) detectors because they can fail to warn about the presence of the dangerous gas, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said.
The CPSC issued the warning Thursday after detec...
New federal safety standards announced Wednesday aim to keep kids and teens safe from serious or life-threatening injuries from accidental swallowing of high-powered magnets.
The new standards require that certain products with loose or separable magnets contain only tho...