Tag Archives: US Department of Health and Human Services

Whooping cough is way up in Texas this year

Posted on May 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is what happens when vaccine rates decline. Amid the worst measles outbreak Texas has seen in over 30 years, pertussis cases are spiking as well. Also known as whooping cough, pertussis is surging across Texas and the nation. Already … Continue reading →

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It’s the Hotze Show again

Posted on April 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, my God. For over a decade, Americans with private health insurance have enjoyed free access to dozens of types of preventive health care: cholesterol medication, prenatal care, and many types of cancer screenings, as well as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), the “miracle … Continue reading →

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It’s not just measles

Posted on April 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome back, whooping cough. We didn’t miss you, but here you are again. In the past six months, two babies in Louisiana have died of pertussis, the disease commonly known as whooping cough. Washington state recently announced its first confirmed … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over still-blocked federal funds for refugee resettlement

Posted on March 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s get a quick win on this, please. Catholic Charities Fort Worth is accusing the federal government of unlawfully withholding more than $36 million in refugee resettlement funds, leading to staff layoffs and program cuts across Texas. The charity, which … Continue reading →

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I guess we have to talk about fluoride again

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

deep sigh Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, is taking a swing at fluoride in drinking water. In a post earlier this month, Kennedy said the Trump administration … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS leaves Texas anti-EMTALA ruling in place

Posted on October 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Another reminder of what the stakes are this election, in case you needed it. The Supreme Court on Monday refused to require doctors in Texas to perform certain emergency abortions when the procedure would conflict with the state’s strict abortion … Continue reading →

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Paxton sues to block rule protecting abortion information

Posted on September 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I feel like this should be bigger news. Texas sued the Biden administration in an effort to block a new rule that seeks to protect the privacy of women living in states that ban abortion who travel out of state … Continue reading →

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Another complaint filed over abortion denial

Posted on August 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Not a lawsuit but a federal complaint about improper emergency care. Two women have filed complaints with the federal government alleging that Texas hospitals denied them abortion care necessary to treat their ectopic pregnancies. The complaints were filed August 6 … Continue reading →

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Another Tuesday Beryl roundup

Posted on July 23, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Hurricane Beryl killed at least 22 people in the Houston area. More than half were heat-related deaths. Hurricane Beryl claimed at least 22 lives in the Houston area. Recent additions to the list include 11 people who died from hyperthermia, … Continue reading →

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The leaked EMTALA draft is not a victory

Posted on June 27, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This hit the internet like a thunderstorm yesterday. The US Supreme Court is poised to allow abortions in medical emergencies in Idaho, according to a copy of an opinion that was briefly posted on the court’s website. The decision would … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS hears the EMTALA case

Posted on April 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst. The Supreme Court appeared split Wednesday in a case over whether a federal law requiring hospitals to provide appropriate stabilizing medical treatment for patients could in some cases overrule a … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit mostly upholds that wingnut anti-birth control ruling

Posted on March 15, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A tale as old as time, the Fifth Circuit doing terrible things. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Texas law requiring parental consent to obtain contraception for minors. The decision from a three-judge panel of the federal appeals … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS to hear Idaho EMTALA appeal

Posted on January 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This does sound ominous. The Supreme Court announced Friday that it would take up a case centered on abortion care in emergency medical situations, leapfrogging the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which was scheduled to hear arguments later this month. … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit rules EMTALA doesn’t apply to abortions

Posted on January 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A typically crappy ruling from our least favorite appeals court. Federal regulations do not require emergency rooms to perform life-saving abortions if it would run afoul of state law, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. After the overturn of Roe … Continue reading →

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Idaho appeals EMTALA injunction to SCOTUS

Posted on November 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Brace yourselves. Idaho asked the Supreme Court Monday to stay a lower court injunction, or to take up its case directly, as it attempts to fend off the Biden administration’s challenge of the state’s abortion ban. The government filed suit … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit hears wingnut anti-contraception appeal

Posted on November 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but don’t get your hopes up. In fact, keep them down. For almost a year, Texas teens have been shut out of a federal program that allows minors to access birth control … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit hears EMTALA appeal

Posted on November 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Keep your expectations very low. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Tuesday about whether the federal government can require Texas hospitals to perform life-saving abortions, despite the state’s near-total ban on the procedure. After the overturn of … Continue reading →

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Texas clinics begin compliance with that wingnut anti-birth control court order

Posted on January 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Infuriating but expected. Texas teens will now need their parents’ permission to get birth control at federally funded clinics, following a court ruling late last month. These clinics, funded through a program called Title X, provide free, confidential contraception to … Continue reading →

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You can be gay, you just can’t act gay

Posted on October 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

So rules a notoriously anti-gay Trump judge, narrowing a SCOTUS ruling from just two years ago at the behest of the usual suspect. A federal judge has ruled that Biden administration guidelines requiring employers to provide protections for LGBTQ employees … Continue reading →

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A different EMTALA ruling in Idaho

Posted on August 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. You know where this goes from here. A federal judge on Wednesday blocked Idaho from enforcing a ban on abortions when pregnant women require emergency care, a day after a judge in Texas ruled against President Joe Biden’s … Continue reading →

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Restraining order granted in Paxton’s EMTALA lawsuit

Posted on August 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. Texas hospitals will not be required to provide emergency abortions after a federal judge ruled the Biden administration was unauthorized to enforce such a rule. U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix in Lubbock ruled that the guidance by the … Continue reading →

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More dimensions for privacy in the post-Roe world

Posted on July 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The fall of Roe is a big boon for cyberstalkers. All too frequently, people monitor our intimate lives in betrayal of our trust—and it’s often those we know and love. They don’t even need to be near us to capture … Continue reading →

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Paxton sues over emergency guidance to doctors

Posted on July 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is what “leaving it to the states” looks like. Texas is suing the Biden administration over guidance released Monday telling the nation’s doctors they’re protected by federal law to terminate a pregnancy as part of emergency treatment — and … Continue reading →

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Biden signs executive order to protect trans kids

Posted on June 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good. President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday to enhance protections for transgender children and take steps to ban conversion therapy as efforts continue in Texas and other states to restrict gender-affirming medical care. The executive order calls on … Continue reading →

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Texas sues to keep federal funds that would be denied for bullying trans kids

Posted on March 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The utter gall, it’s breathtaking. Texas is worried it could lose over a billion dollars in federal funding over Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive requiring medical professionals to report transgender children receiving gender-affirming health care as potential child abuse. Texas Attorney … Continue reading →

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Paxton appeals gender affirming care order

Posted on March 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Of course he did. Attorney General Ken Paxton filed for an appeal Thursday after a state judge blocked Texas’ child protection agency from investigating the parents of a transgender teenager who received gender-affirming medical care. District Judge Amy Clark Meachum … Continue reading →

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A broader look at the Houston project to track COVID in wastewater

Posted on December 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The DMN tells me things I did not know about my current favorite public works project. The [Houston] health department is conducting the wastewater surveillance for COVID-19 in partnership with researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine. Wastewater … Continue reading →

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From the “ounce of prevention” department

Posted on September 25, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

What is that worth, again? It’s right on the tip of my tongue. Accessing a critical COVID-19 therapy could soon be tougher in Texas as the federal government moves to ration the treatment amid the spread of new variants. The … Continue reading →

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More federal support for emergency contraception

Posted on September 25, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The federal government announced Friday it is providing additional funding to Austin nonprofit Every Body Texas to address a potential increase in clients’ need for emergency contraception and family planning services now that Texas prohibits abortions as early as … Continue reading →

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The nursing home vaccination mandate

Posted on August 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This just seems obvious to me. President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that he is directing all nursing homes to require their staff be vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to continue receiving Medicare and Medicaid funding. Biden said he is directing the Department … Continue reading →

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Here comes President Biden

Posted on February 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Visiting next week for disaster-related matters, itinerary TBD. President Joe Biden said Friday that he’ll sign a major disaster declaration for Texas after millions in the state suffered power outages and water disruptions during prolonged freezing temperatures. He’s also expected … Continue reading →

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“Nobody is getting enough”

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Pretty much says it all. As Texans scramble for appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine, federal data helps explain why: Relative to its population, the Lone Star State ranks near the bottom in the country in number of doses received. Texas … Continue reading →

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Culberson’s stock purchase

Posted on May 20, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. In a heated confirmation hearing for then-Georgia U.S. Rep. Tom Price for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Democrats raised pointed questions about the congressman’s trading in stocks of companies regulated by the House committees he serves on. One … Continue reading →

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If we really cared about improving mental health in Texas

Posted on April 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We would have expanded Medicaid at our first opportunity. Federal health officials say people with mental illness and addictions are being left behind in Texas because the state hasn’t expanded Medicaid to more low-income adults. The health care program for … Continue reading →

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