Health
Biden administration asks state, local officials to boost monkeypox vaccine outreach
WASHINGTON — Federal public health officials said Thursday they are working with state and local health departments to boost messaging and vaccinations for those most likely to contract monkeypox, including at large-scale events. But Biden administration officials at a press briefing also struggled to explain differing statements about how the vaccines should be administered, a […]
Idaho Health Data Exchange files for bankruptcy, with $4 million owed to creditors
A small organization that operates a massive database of Idaho patient medical records filed for bankruptcy Friday, reporting it owes creditors $4 million and is defending itself in three lawsuits. Chapter 11 bankruptcy would allow the Idaho Health Data Exchange to keep operating while it pays creditors and works through litigation, according to its bankruptcy […]
Biden signs into law Democrats’ wide-ranging climate change, health care and tax bill
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed his party’s signature climate, health care and tax package into law Tuesday, capping off more than a year of tumultuous negotiations that saw his original proposal to Congress slimmed down considerably. Flanked by a handful of Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn and […]
Twenty states, D.C. join in opposing Texas lawsuit on emergency abortion care
WASHINGTON — Attorneys general from 20 states and the District of Columbia filed a brief in federal court on Tuesday challenging Texas’ assertion that states shouldn’t have to comply with a federal law that protects doctors who end a pregnancy to save the patient’s life. The brief argues the judge in the case shouldn’t grant […]
With Oregon hospitals in crisis, state will seek ‘significant’ funds for stopgap measures
The hospital crisis in Oregon is playing out in emergency rooms around the state. Patients in pain wait in lobbies for hours. Some end up on gurneys in hallways while waiting for a room. After they’re treated and ready to leave, they can end up stuck in the hospital for days because rehabilitation and other […]
U.S. House Democrats send sweeping climate, health and tax legislation to Biden
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Friday cleared Democrats’ long-sought climate, health care and tax package, sending it to President Joe Biden for his signature. The roughly $750 billion measure is much smaller than the $2 trillion reconciliation package the House originally sent to the Senate in November. The final product left out dozens of […]
Idaho rural health clinics to receive $3.6 million in USDA emergency grants
Five health clinics that serve rural Idaho communities will receive a total of about $3.6 million in emergency grants to use for costs related to COVID-19 and to continue providing medical care to rural Idahoans, according to a news release Thursday from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Terry Reilly Health Services will receive $1 million […]
‘We can do better for moms’: Advocates focus on maternal health amid Idaho’s abortion debate
Shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision in June to overturn 50 years of case law and hand abortion regulation back to the states, Idaho Gov. Brad Little issued a statement welcoming the change. But he added that such a monumental moment in U.S. history also meant confronting the reality that the decision […]
Biden signs landmark bill aiding veterans exposed to burn pits overseas
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed legislation into law Wednesday that will provide health care and benefits to veterans exposed to burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq, achieving a long-term, personal goal. “I was in and out of Iraq over 20 times,” Biden said of prior trips to the war zone he took as a […]
Dr. Ryan Cole’s journey from Boise to Nashville to France. His new focus? Monkeypox.
State lawmakers in Tennessee were considering a bill to put “natural immunity” on equal footing with vaccinated immunity for COVID-19. Health care workers and anyone else required to have COVID-19 vaccination for work or school could be exempt from vaccines, as long as they’d already been infected with the coronavirus and recovered. That week in […]
Biden administration proposes changing how monkeypox vaccine is administered
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration began encouraging health care providers Tuesday to change the way they’re administering vaccines to protect against monkeypox, in an attempt to stretch out doses fivefold. The latest shift in strategy comes as the administration races to curtail the spread of the virus, which jumped from 778 cases one month ago […]
Idaho Rep. Russ Fulcher joins House members’ letter opposing major banks’ abortion policies
Rep. Russ Fulcher, R-Idaho, joined 43 other U.S. House members to send a letter to the CEOs of eight major banks expressing opposition to the companies’ established policies of paying travel expenses for employees seeking abortions in other states. Members of Congress sent the letter on July 20 to the CEOs of Bank of America, […]