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The agreements, covering issues like drug pricing, reducing the use of synthetic food dyes, and cutting back on insurance prior authorization rules, were announced with fanfare and touted as victories. But it鈥檚 not clear whether they鈥檒l result in lasting change.
A new rule from the Justice Department upends a 25-year-old interpretation of federal disability law. Advocates fear it could result in cuts to services that help many disabled Americans live at home instead of in institutions.
The Trump administration is working to implement the president鈥檚 new order on childhood vaccines, which he publicly faulted for a rise in autism 鈥 even as health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.鈥檚 closed-door research has yet to produce evidence linking them.
The Department of Justice in June issued a legal opinion saying states aren鈥檛 required to provide services that help people with disabilities remain in their homes. The new position has added momentum to states鈥 existing legal challenges to the requirement and triggered worries among people who rely on these services.
The recent outbreak of a foodborne parasite sickened thousands and hospitalized hundreds across the U.S. before federal investigators identified the suspected source. Food safety experts say cuts to the public health system hobbled the response 鈥 and that the next outbreak could be much worse.
From screwworm to flesh-eating bacteria, mounting public health risks are emerging in the wake of deep cuts to federal health agencies and programs.
Infectious disease specialists say the viruses are unlikely to become pandemics, but some are still raising concerns about the federal health response and what it portends should a pandemic similar to or worse than covid occur.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is trying to address the interests of his MAHA supporters, who view him as their hope for the future, while being a good soldier in the eyes of the Trump White House, which has been stepping back from some of the movement鈥檚 core priorities.
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The backlash was immediate after the Trump administration served notice that hospitals and nursing homes should limit sugary drinks and dietary supplements in favor of what the Department of Health and Human Services terms 鈥渞eal food.鈥
Even as the Trump administration publicly embraces the Make America Healthy Again movement and its ideals about reducing corporate harm to the environment, it has taken steps to stall environmental protections that MAHA followers hold dear.
A top GOP pollster has said anti-vaccine policies could create risks for the Trump administration in the midterm elections. But backing away from those policies 鈥 and other initiatives that have been high on the Make America Healthy Again to-do list 鈥 threatens to upset a key voting bloc.
A growing body of evidence indicates that immigrants in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement face medical consequences because of serious gaps in basic health care services. It鈥檚 adding to the political backlash against the Trump administration鈥檚 aggressive deportation policies.
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Studies increasingly offer insights into the health risks and burdens faced by people who have had covid infections. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has narrowed covid vaccine recommendations and cut research.
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As fractures emerge in the Make America Great Again movement, some Republicans see its health-focused "MAHA" counterpart as the party鈥檚 next big thing. But doubts abound.
The administration鈥檚 embrace of the pronatalist movement often doesn鈥檛 include support for programs traditionally associated with the health and well-being of women, children, and families.
As voters feel financial pressure from runaway health care costs and crave innovations that would provide relief, the standoff in Congress has been firmly rooted in the status quo 鈥 keeping an existing provision of the Affordable Care Act alive.
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