HHS could implement new rules to protect reproductive health information under HIPAA

by Avani Kalra | Mar 2, 2023 | Featured, Health & Science

WASHINGTON — Abortion-rights lawmakers in Congress are aiming to close loopholes that may force providers and hospitals to disclose a patient’s medical records if they are subpoenaed or requested by law enforcement.  These exceptions have become especially worrisome...

‘Perilously short of nurses’: Senate examines ways to address nationwide nursing shortage

by Joanna Hou | Feb 16, 2023 | Featured, Health & Science

WASHINGTON — Frontline nurses faced challenges including understaffing, burnout and underappreciation, driving thousands to quit their jobs during the pandemic, several experts told members of Congress on Thursday. A McKinsey report from May found that by 2025, the...

Sanders, Braun press on railroads to guarantee 7 days of paid sick leave

by Shannon Tyler | Feb 9, 2023 | Featured, Living

WASHINGTON – Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) on Thursday demanded that railroad companies guarantee seven days of paid sick leave for their employees — something Sanders had on his agenda last Congress without much success.   “We are here today to...

Advocates call for simplification of veterans’ toxic exposure health care coverage

by Charlotte Varnes | Jan 19, 2022 | Featured, Health & Science, Topics

WASHINGTON –– Health care coverage for veterans exposed to toxins needs to be streamlined, advocates told lawmakers on Tuesday. “We are a country that loves its veterans — certainly, we purport to,” actor and veterans advocate Jon Stewart told the House Committee on...

Hospitals decry funding cuts in Build Back Better act

by Hannah Zhihan Jiang | Nov 23, 2021 | Health & Science

WASHINGTON — Hospital groups and some members of Congress are demanding Democrats drop the proposed reduction in federal funding for some hospitals that serve large numbers of uninsured patients in the Biden administration’s $1.7 trillion social spending bill,...