President Trump's former surgeon general blasted HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to fire the entirety of a federal advisory committee on vaccine guidance, saying the move jeopardizes public health and threatens public trust in health institutions. In an op-ed published by Time, former Surgeon General Jerome Adams wrote that Kennedy’s recent actions cast doubt over his pledge that, "We won’t take away anyone’s vaccines."
Veterans' advocates have worked for years to stop unaccredited consultants from charging vets thousands of dollars for help filing disability claims, but setbacks in court and on Capitol Hill indicate their quest to ban the deep-pocketed companies could be in peril. With Republicans in control of Congress, a bill legalizing for-profit claims consultants nationwide will advance to a full House of Representatives vote, the first time such a measure has made it out of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Meanwhile, a competing bill introduced by a Democrat, which would crack down on for-profit companies by imposing criminal penalties, has not advanced.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan on Thursday announced that more than 500 employees have taken buyouts, and another 600 positions are being eliminated as the state's largest health insurance company looks to shed $285 million in administrative costs by year's end following two consecutive years of losses. The Detroit-based insurer said it eliminated more than 600 nonunion positions across the organization this week, laying off 220 employees and axing more than 400 open jobs.
Corporate investors hoping to take over local healthcare facilities in Oregon could soon face one of the hardest markets nationwide. Senate Bill 951, which was quietly signed into law by Gov. Tina Kotek this week, sets the strongest regulations on private and corporate control of medical practices in the nation. A similar effort failed in the Legislature last year amid pushback from Republicans that prevented the bill from meeting key legislative deadlines.
Medtronic has announced that its planned spinoff diabetes business will be named MiniMed, reviving the original name of the company acquired by Medtronic in 2001. The separation is expected to complete within 18 months, subject to various conditions.
The bots encouraged him to “get rid of” his parents and to join the bot in the afterlife to “share eternity.” They often tried to convince him that they were licensed human therapists and encouraged him to cancel appointments with actual psychologists. They also crossed the line into sexual territory, with one bot suggesting an intimate date as an “intervention” for violent urges.