HHS Violated Law by Withholding Head Start Program Funding: GAO Report
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in its report that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) violated the law by 'withholding funds from expenditure' for the program between Jan. 20 and April 15, 2025.
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San Francisco Chronicle
6 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Thousands of DACA recipients in California to lose health insurance
More than 2,300 Californians enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program will lose their health insurance next month due to a change in federal policy, state officials announced Thursday. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently revised its rules to exclude DACA recipients from the definition of 'lawfully present' under the Affordable Care Act. As a result, they are no longer eligible for coverage through federal health insurance programs. Covered California, the state's health insurance marketplace, said it will terminate coverage for affected enrollees on Aug. 31. 'Covered California is deeply disheartened by the updated rule issued by this federal administration, which targets DACA recipients who are working to provide for their families and secure access to essential health insurance,' said Jessica Altman, the agency's executive director. 'The decision is deeply unfair to hard-working, tax-paying individuals in California who trusted that they would have health insurance for 2025, only to have it stripped away eight months later.' The change is part of a series of recent actions by the Trump administration aimed at restricting benefits for DACA recipients, also known as Dreamers. Earlier this summer, the Department of Health and Human Services barred them from the federal healthcare marketplace, and the Department of Education launched investigations into colleges offering them financial aid. Covered California said it is reaching out to all impacted individuals and providing guidance on alternative coverage options, including Medi-Cal, employer-based plans and private insurance. Legal aid organizations and immigrant advocacy groups are also offering support. The policy shift has intensified fear and uncertainty among many DACA recipients, most of whom have lived in the U.S. since childhood and remain ineligible for permanent legal status.
The Hill
19 hours ago
- The Hill
Warren questions HHS general counsel nominee about vaccines, abortion
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) on Thursday will press West Virginia state Senator Mike Stuart (R) about how his beliefs on topics like vaccines and abortion will impact how he potentially serves as general counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services. Stuart supported a state bill that would have allowed for exemptions in West Virginia's school vaccination policy. He has also referred to himself as 'unapologetically pro-life' and has been proud to be endorsed by West Virginians for Life in a post on X. President Donald Trump tapped Stuart to serve as the top lawyer for the agency in February, and the Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to consider his nomination Thursday at 10 a.m. If confirmed, Stuart will be responsible for giving legal advice to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neil, who have already instituted numerous changes to the agency, like sweeping layoffs and firings. 'Your interpretation of the law plays a critical role in ensuring that HHS is achieving its goal of 'protecting the health of all Americans,'' Warren wrote in a letter to Stuart shared first with The Hill. 'But given your ideological views, zealous for restrictions on abortion, and record of anti-vaccine skepticism, I am concerned that, rather than faithfully following the law, you will greenlight Trump Administration policies that will endanger public health, strip Americans of their abortion rights, and cause millions of Americans to lose their health insurance.' In the letter, Warren asks Stuart to come to the hearing with written answers to more than 70 questions on vaccines, abortion access, staffing cuts, Medicaid and the implementation of the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act.' 'HHS carries an enormous responsibility as its services and programming touch millions of American lives every day,' Warren's letter reads. 'The chief legal adviser to the Secretary of HHS must be able to, without bias, effectively advise the Secretary to ensure that all actions by HHS are in accordance with the law.'
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
FDA vaccine chief leaving agency after less than 3 months
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration's polarizing vaccine chief is leaving the agency after a brief tenure that drew the ire of biotech executives, patient groups and conservative allies of President Trump. Dr. Vinay Prasad 'did not want to be a distraction' and was stepping down from his role as the FDA's top vaccine regulator 'to spend more time with his family,' a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement late Tuesday. Two people familiar with the situation told the Associated Press that Prasad was ousted following several recent controversies. The people spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal personnel matters. Prasad did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday morning. Prasad joined the FDA in May after years as an academic researcher at UC San Francisco, where he frequently criticized the FDA's approach to drug approvals and COVID-19 vaccines. His contrarian approach appeared to match FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, who repeatedly praised Prasad's work and intellect. But in recent weeks, Prasad became a target of right-wing activists, including Laura Loomer, who flagged Prasad's past statements criticizing Trump and praising liberal independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. 'How did this Trump-hating Bernie Bro get into the Trump admin???' Loomer posted on X last week. Trump previously fired several national security officials a day after Loomer raised concerns about their loyalty. Prasad also attracted scrutiny for his handling of a recent safety issue surrounding the only approved gene therapy for Duchenne's muscular dystrophy. Under his direction, shipments of the therapy were briefly halted after a series of patient deaths, then resumed late Monday following vocal pushback from families of boys with the fatal muscle-wasting disorder. Prasad has long been skeptical of the therapy and other muscular dystrophy drugs sold by the drugmaker, Sarepta Therapeutics. As an academic, Prasad gained prominence by attacking the FDA for being too lenient in its standards for approving cancer drugs and other new therapies. That approach is at odds with Trump's Republican supporters, who generally favor speedier approvals and unfettered access to experimental treatments. During Trump's first term, he signed the 'Right to Try' law, a largely symbolic piece of legislation that won popular support from conservatives seeking to give dying patients expanded access to unproven drugs. Prasad's decision to pause Sarepta's therapy was criticized last week by a columnist and the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal. Separately, Prasad's division issued rejection letters this month to three small biotech firms seeking approval for new gene therapies. Those therapies have been vigorously embraced many of the antiabortion groups in Trump's base for their potential to address intractable diseases that sometimes lead parents to terminate pregnancies. Prasad's predecessor in the role, Dr. Peter Marks, oversaw a dramatic rise in approvals for new gene therapies, which aim to treat or prevent disease by replacing or modifying a portion of patients' genetic code. Prasad has been an outspoken critic of Marks' leadership at the FDA, which included overseeing the approval of the first COVID vaccines and therapies. Perrone writes for the Associated Press. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
