GOP senators seem to be embracing the potential for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead HHS, despite his controversial views on vaccines and pro-abortion record. Kennedy was initially thought to have a difficult path to confirmation, but after meeting with some two dozen senators this week, many seemed ready to look past his political baggage and focus on areas of shared interest.
A string of healthcare bankruptcies has ignited a wave of public fury at financial dealmakers in the industry, prompting lawmakers in state houses around the country to draft tough new curbs. The would-be crackdown is fizzling.
When Virginia Mason merged with Catholic Health Initiatives in 2021, becoming Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, some employees were told that the only changes to care would be related to the delivery of abortion and medical-aid-in-dying services, which are typically stopped following mergers of secular and Catholic health systems. But the week of Sept. 17, two months before the birth center was shuttered, Virginia Mason employees were told their insurance benefits would be changing "to align" with those of CommonSpirit, the largest national Catholic hospital chain, itself the product of a merger of Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Americans lived slightly longer in 2023 as compared to 2022, according to a new mortality report from the CDC. Last year, life expectancy at birth was 78.4 years for the total U.S. population, an increase from 77.5 in 2022, the CDC report said. For men, life expectancy increased by a year from 74.8 in 2022 to 75.8 in 2023. For women, life expectancy increased 0.9 of a year from 80.2 in 2022 to 81.1 in 2023. The report presents final 2023 U.S. mortality data on deaths and death rates by demographic and medical characteristics, the CDC said.
Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a busy sidewalk in Midtown Manhattan, was escorted into a New York courtroom Monday where he pleaded not guilty to state murder and terror charges. The hearing marked Mangione’s first opportunity to formally address the accusations brought by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. The 26-year-old faces 11 counts in New York, including one of murder in the first degree and two of murder in the second degree, along with other weapon and forgery charges.
Ascension, a healthcare company that operates 140 hospitals and 40 senior care facilities throughout the country, disclosed that it had suffered a data breach going back to May of 2024 affecting 5.6 million of its patients and employees. Ascension was hacked through a social engineering email from a ransomware gang that lured an employee of Ascension to download malware that enabled the hacker to steal Ascension's data.