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The Trump administration is forging ahead with a controversial plan to collect the medical records of millions of federal workers and retirees, as well as their family members. The Office of Personnel Management said in a notice posted last month that it will begin routinely collecting identifiable, personal health information on more than 8 million people — despite concerns from privacy advocates and Democrats, who have demanded the agency drop the plan. The notice will go into effect July 24, allowing OPM to begin its collection at any point afterward. In reaction to privacy concerns raised by insurers and others,…

Although deaths from road traffic crashes have been reduced globally, six countries have recorded substantially increases – including the United States. World leaders recommitted to reducing road traffic deaths and injuries by at least 50% by 2030 at the United Nations High-Level Meeting (HLM) on Road Safety this week – including by introducing measurable national targets, timelines and budgets.  However, the United States voted against the UN consensus progress declaration adopted on Monday afternoon, while all the other 162 countries present voted in favour. The US delegate claimed that the declaration was “mandate creep”, complaining that it called for road…

Companies accused of recklessly marketing and distributing prescription opioid painkillers are paying roughly $58 billion to settle lawsuits over their role in fueling the addiction crisis. It’s a pot of gold eyed by addiction treatment providers, companies creating the latest opioid-related products, and government officials struggling to balance budgets. Nearly half of that money is going to local governments, to be distributed by county commissioners and city councilors. The idea is that local leaders know their communities best and can do justice to these payouts, often described as “blood money” by people who’ve lost loved ones to an overdose. But…

Marie Noon takes eight medications a day. One keeps her heart rate from spiking to avoid a stroke. One prevents debilitating headaches. Another ensures she doesn’t retain excess fluid. More than a decade ago, Noon said, she was diagnosed with adult-onset Still’s disease, a rare type of inflammatory arthritis that can cause rashes, debilitating pain, and fevers. The disease upended her life. She had been living a typical suburban life in Michigan, shuttling her two kids to activities like cheerleading, choir practice, and track. She was active in the PTA. She managed a bank. She went from that to crawling…

The Business of Health with Chip Kahn July 21, 2026 Video About this Episode Episode 13, AI Series: AI is racing into everyday medicine. The rules of the road are still being written. Dr. Michelle Mello of Stanford, professor at both the Law School and the School of Medicine, and co-leader of its Healthcare Ethical Assessment Lab for AI, joins Chip to address the questions that trail every advance this series has covered: who makes the rules, who ensures the technology gets it right — and who answers when it doesn’t? The Host Charles N. Kahn III is a senior…

ʻAIEA, Hawai‘i — Christian Alameda used a cane to push himself up out of bed in his cell at the Halawa Correctional Facility in Honolulu. He has been recovering in the prison’s medical infirmary since a January stroke left the right side of his body mostly paralyzed. In February, Hawai‘i’s parole board granted the now-52-year-old compassionate release, which allows prisoners to receive early probation to seek medical attention for severe conditions. But without a long-term care facility willing to accept him, Alameda has not been able to leave. As of June, at least three other prisoners granted release to tend…

The Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) on the WHO Pandemic Agreement is negotiating a pathogen access and benefit-sharing (PABS) annex. Two practical – and contrary – proposals were tabled at pandemic talks last week, detailing how information about dangerous pathogens should be shared. Health Policy Watch is sharing the two options – Africa’s Federated Model and the European Union’s Hybrid Model – to enable all interested parties to interrogate them before the next round of talks from 14-18 September. The nitty-gritty details about a pathogen access and benefit-sharing (PABS) system – the last outstanding piece of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Pandemic Agreement –…

At Unitaid and Global Fund headquarters on the outskirts of Geneva, agency leaders are struggling to adapt their work to a global health landscape dominated by the largest funding crisis in decades.  Last week, one phrase — “self-reliance” — did more work in global health than any medicine, as global agencies continue operationalising donor retreats they can no longer disguise. The strategy’s real-world test is unfolding in eastern Congo, where the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record is outrunning a struggling response. The institutions of global health spent the week managing their own diminishment, and the language they used to describe…

Sam Ato Timaloa, a paroled sex offender who also served time for attempted murder, had dementia and an acute intolerance of noise — especially from roommates at Sunrise Post Acute, a nursing home in Banning, California. Over four months in 2025, a state investigative report found, Sunrise switched Timaloa’s room eight times, the last into one occupied by Attilio Cecchetto, 92, a retired tile installer whose dementia led him to frequently moan, mumble, and yell. Overnight, a nurse aide walked into their room and saw blood splattered on the floor, walls, and ceiling, according to a grand jury transcript. Cecchetto’s…

CAF’s Sean Maguire and the World Bank’s Francis V Fragano urging African nations to make an investment case. PRETORIA, South Africa – Multilateral agencies and funders urged African nations at last week’s Africa Clean Air Forum to speak the language of finance to attract investment in improving the continent’s air quality.  Air pollution is the second leading risk for death in Africa after malnutrition. Four African countries feature in the top 10 most polluted countries: Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda and Egypt.  Yet Africa only gets a sliver of international funding for air quality programmes – which itself…

Alice Thornton has spent more than two decades treating people living with HIV in Lexington, Kentucky. Her team tends to “cringe” anytime they hear about patients having to fill out lots of paperwork, like when applying for Social Security Disability payments, because it can be a difficult, burdensome process. Thornton tries to support her patients, she said, but understands the limits of her training. “A lot of times the forms are so complex that I don’t really know what’s the true definition of what this form is asking me,” she said. “We refer them to a disability provider.” Doctors including…

BELZONI, Miss. — Harmony Ball-Stribling’s path to pregnancy had been turbulent, from an endometriosis diagnosis to an arduous in vitro fertilization process and sky-high blood pressure. But as her due date approached in the summer of 2021, her health improved and those storm clouds seemed to scatter. “It was just too perfect,” said her mother, Shenelle Ball-Green, of those calm, hot weeks. Then, early on July 5, four days shy of her scheduled cesarean section, Ball-Stribling began experiencing complications from preeclampsia, a potentially life-threatening blood pressure disorder. Speeding up to 110 mph, her husband drove her to the nearest hospital…

Céline Gounder, KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, discussed the Department of Health and Human Services’ plan to offer compensation for automatic covid vaccine injuries and the drop in enrollment in Affordable Care Act health plans on CBS’ The Takeout With Major Garrett on July 10 and 9, respectively. KFF Health News Southern correspondent Sam Whitehead discussed abortion telehealth on WUGA’s The Georgia Health Report on July 10. KFF Health News On Air,Abortion,HHS,Obamacare Plans,Telemedicine,VaccinesAbortion,HHS,Obamacare Plans,Telemedicine,Vaccines#Journalists #Dig #HHS #Covid #Injury #List #ACA #SignUps #Telehealth1784367526

Algeria, speaking for the Africa Plus Group. Two largely opposing proposals for a pathogen access and benefit-sharing (PABS) system – the last outstanding piece of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Pandemic Agreement – were tabled during the seventh round of negotiations, which ended on Friday. Africa consolidated behind a “federated” model, while the European Union and its developed-country allies backed a “hybrid” model. The PABS annex aims to set out how dangerous pathogens are shared (access) during public health emergencies and how to share any medical products (benefits) produced as a result of manufacturers getting access to this information. Speaking…

Budget shortfalls and political pressures threaten Unitaid’s unique market-shaping mandate in the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), malaria, and cervical cancer. Unitaid is quietly searching for its next leader behind closed doors amidst growing demands for transparency. Whoever takes the helm of the market-shaping agency will inherit an organisation that faces acute financial shortfalls and mounting pressure for institutional reform. As Unitaid celebrates its 20th anniversary, severe cuts to the agency’s funding threaten to disrupt the downstream rollout of its market-shaping breakthroughs. Founding member France emphasises its continued support, with French Minister Éléonore Caroit assuring Health Policy Watch that this…

Infants and young children are among hundreds of patients set to receive new life-saving drugs for rare blood cancers. Around 200 patients a year will benefit from the 2 new cutting-edge treatments approved by NHS England, offering fresh hope to families when other therapies have failed. Dabrafenib is a tablet that treats histiocytic neoplasms – rare and potentially deadly blood cancers. Without effective treatment, around 1 in 10 children with high-risk disease die within a year of diagnosis, while 7 in 10 adults die within 5 years. The potentially lifesaving treatment works by blocking proteins that help cancer cells grow,…