HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of the nation's most publicly recognized vaccine skeptics, took a softened approach on vaccines when he answered questions before a House committee Wednesday morning, saying, 'I don't think people should be taking medical advice from me.'
Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced legislation Wednesday afternoon containing cuts to Medicaid and healthcare provisions — some of the most controversial and contentious provisions that will be included in the 'big, beautiful bill' of President Trump's ambitious legislative agenda. The panel voted along party lines 30-24 after a marathon meeting that lasted more than 26 hours with just two breaks for House votes. The bill now heads to the House Budget Committee, which will meet Friday morning to combine it with legislation from other committees advancing Trump's priorities — namely the extension of tax cuts and new tax breaks for tips and overtime pay.
The Department of Justice is carrying out a criminal investigation into UnitedHealth Group for possible Medicare fraud, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The company's stock slipped 8% in after-hours trade following the report, which follows a series of problems at the insurer. While the exact nature of the criminal allegations is unclear, the probe by the healthcare fraud unit of the DOJ's criminal division has been active since at least last summer.
The Medicaid portion of the House GOP's massive domestic policy bill would result in 10.3 million people losing Medicaid coverage by 2034 and 7.6 million people going uninsured, according to a partial Congressional Budget Office estimate. Republicans released the estimates just ahead of the start of Tuesday's markup of the Energy and Commerce portion of the party-line legislation, which is key to enacting President Trump's agenda. The uninsured numbers include 1.4 million people without verified citizenship who would be removed from the program and 4.8 million people who would lose coverage because of work requirements, the committee said.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will testify before Congress today for the first time since taking the role of U.S. health secretary, and will face questions over the firing of thousands of health agency employees and a fast-growing measles outbreak.
CMS said on Monday that it would announce a list of 15 drugs eligible for a third round of Medicare price negotiations by early February next year. For the first time, the list would include drugs payable under Medicare Part B - which covers medicines administered in a doctor's office or hospital - in addition to prescription drugs covered under Medicare Part D, CMS said.