Health Care
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Health Care
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Dems demand answers on workforce safety cuts |
The top Democrats on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce want answers from the Department of Health and Human Services about staff cuts at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) |
NIOSH, which is housed within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is a research agency focused on the study of worker safety and health.
“As news reports circulate about staffing cuts at CDC, in addition to a host of reports about stalled contract and grant payments throughout the federal government, we need a focused accounting on the cost to NIOSH overall so that we can assess the consequences for NIOSH’s capacity to get things done for American workers,” Reps. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) wrote to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr in a letter first shared with The Hill.
Committee staff said they heard reports that at least a dozen people in the agency were fired as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to drastically shrink the size of the federal government.
The letter asked Kennedy for a specific accounting of the number of NIOSH staff who have been terminated since Trump took office, as well as any grants or contracts that have been stopped. The fear is losing out on institutional knowledge, which is fairly limited in a field like occupational safety and health, committee staff said, as well as a lack of capacity for the agency to do its job effectively.
“Everybody that goes to work for a living benefits from the work that NIOSH does,” a committee staffer said. |
Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.
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How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond: |
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Ozempic and Wegovy, the widely popular forms of semaglutide sold to treat diabetes and obesity, have officially been removed from the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) drug shortage list nearly four months after the agency found the drugs to be available. The FDA’s drug shortage list now states that as of Feb. 21, 2025, the shortages of Ozempic and Wegovy injections are over. The shortages were first declared … |
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Arizona state lawmakers advanced a bill Thursday that would ban the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to deny medical claims. The Arizona House of Representatives passed the legislation 58-0, with two lawmakers sitting out the vote, and it now heads to the state senate for consideration. The bill, which was sponsored by state Rep. Julie Willoughby (R), requires a health care provider to review a claim or prior … |
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Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins defended the Trump administration’s recent layoffs at the department, arguing Thursday that cuts have not been made to “critical health care” or other benefits. “We’re not cutting critical health care. We’re not cutting health care benefits. We’re not cutting benefits,” Collins said Thursday evening on NewsNation’s “The Hill.” … |
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Branch out with a different read: |
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Why the Texas measles outbreak was ‘inevitable’ |
An outbreak of measles is wreaking havoc in the South Plains region of Texas, where nearly 60 children have been confirmed to be infected. Physicians in the state say the current situation was “inevitable” due to the low rates of vaccination among the largely Mennonite community. As of Feb. 21, the Texas Department of State Health Services has confirmed 90 cases of measles with 16 patients hospitalized. Five of … |
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Local and state headlines on health care: |
- Trial that could permanently remove Missouri’s abortion ban set for 2026 (STLPR)
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Colorado bill protecting disabled people from institutionalization advances (CBS)
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Immigrant hospital workers in NYC receive over $640K after wage theft settlement (Documented)
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Health news we've flagged from other outlets: |
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Trump administration ceases 9/11 health program cuts after backlash, NY lawmakers say (Gothamist)
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Emergency food, TB tests and HIV drugs: vital health aid remains frozen despite court ruling (The New York Times)
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Federal judge extends restraining order on Trump administration’s cap on NIH indirect costs (Stat)
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Most read stories on The Hill right now: |
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Enrique Tarrio, the former national chairman of the Proud Boys, was arrested by U.S. Capitol Police on Friday following a press conference with other … Read more
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon is preparing for a hiring freeze and an “aggressive” effort to fire civilian employees as the Trump … Read more |
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Opinion related to health submitted to The Hill: |
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You're all caught up. See you next week! |
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