Health

The Hill -  Hospitals and doctors that perform gender-affirming care surgery on minors will have to forgo federal Medicare and Medicaid funding under new rules proposed by the Trump administration Thursday, even in states where the procedures are legal. 

The multi-pronged plan from the Department of Health and Human Services is part of the administration’s efforts to curtail gender-affirming care, and if made final, could essentially ban the practice nationwide. 

“The Trump administration will not stand by while ideology, misinformation and propaganda push vulnerable young people into decisions they cannot fully understand and that they can never reverse,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said during a press conference announcing the regulations. “This is not medicine. It is malpractice.” 

President Trump made ending gender-affirming care a campaign priority, and the rules reflect the administration’s efforts to eliminate funding and programs that recognize gender dysphoria among children, and that there are genders other than male or female. 

As measles continues to spread in the U.S., it's likely that the outbreaks that broke records in 2025 will continue into the new year. 

The Guardian -  Officials are urging doctors to vaccinate their patients and provide flu antivirals after deaths among children reached record highs and as a concerning mutation of the virus circulates in the US.

“Influenza activity is increasing in the US. The time to get vaccinated for this season is now,” Timothy Uyeki, the chief medical officer of the influenza division at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said in a call with clinicians last week.

The message comes amid diminishing access to and flourishing rumors about vaccines under Robert F Kennedy Jr, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, who has made false claims about the ineffectiveness of flu vaccines and overseen limitations on routine vaccines.

NPR - The House of Representatives voted yesterday on a Republican-led health care plan that did not include extending enhanced health care subsidies. Over 20 million Americans rely on the subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this month. Several Republicans went against party leadership and joined Democrats to force a vote on a three-year extension of the subsidies. 

The House speaker now has a decision to make on whether to move the vote sooner, NPR’s Barbara Sprunt says. If the vote doesn’t happen by the end of this week, it won’t take place until next year, as lawmakers are leaving for the holidays. Sprunt says some Republicans could be shifting their stance on these subsidies because next year is a midterm year. Lawmakers recognize what is important to their constituents — in this case, the impact of expiring subsidies on insurance premiums.