Cardiac mortality rates have increased in Massachusetts annually since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with exaggerated seasonal patterns and upticks in at-home deaths, according to new population-based data. The findings stand somewhat in contrast to reports showing a downward trend for cardiac hospitalizations over the same time period but bolster the notion that some patients who need care aren't being treated properly.
Former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra blasted the Trump administration’s handling of public health since taking office, warning that its actions are a precursor of "how public health collapses." Writing on the social media platform X, Becerra, who's running for California governor, said, "I've held back. Gave this administration a chance to settle in. But after this MAHA report fiasco, the vaccine rollbacks, and the silencing of public health experts—I'm done holding back. We have an obligation to speak up. And I will."
Senate Republicans on Wednesday discussed the need to cut out waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare to achieve more deficit reduction in President Trump's landmark bill to extend the 2017 tax cuts, provide new tax relief, secure the border and boost defense spending.
Luigi Mangione, charged in the December ambush shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is indeed a terrorist, a New York prosecutor said in a court filing Wednesday night. Some 40 UHC executives were so afraid after the murder that they enlisted bodyguards, the prosecutor argued in an 82-page rebuke of defense lawyers' efforts to get Mangione's state terrorism charge dropped. One exec who received death threats dyed her hair and moved to a temporary home out of fear she might be harmed next, the new court filing said.
While it is 'impossible to say how much of the current challenges facing UnitedHealthcare are due, entirely, or even partly, to the murder of this executive,' Dr. Howard P. Forman, a professor of radiology, economics and public health at Yale School of Management, told Newsweek, 'it has changed some of the behaviors of the company and how they approach their work.'
Aveanna Healthcare Holdings has finalized its acquisition of Thrive Skilled Pediatric Care. Thrive SPC operates 23 locations across seven states and provides skilled private duty nursing, pediatric therapy, and services from licensed health aides and certified nurse assistants. This strategic acquisition broadens Aveanna's operational footprint in its current markets and introduces its specialized care services into two additional states, enhancing their overall service capabilities and market presence.