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☆ Biden to appoint Mandy Cohen to lead the CDC
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Dr. Mandy Cohen speaks at a news conference at the Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, Nov. 10, 2021. "Dr. Cohen is one of the nation's top physicians and health leaders with experience leading large and complex organizations, and a proven track-record protecting Americans' health and safety," Biden said in a statement Friday. President Joe Biden on Friday said he will appoint Dr. Mandy Cohen to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She led the CDC through the Covid vaccine rollout, as well as the delta and omicron waves of Covid. Walensky cited the end of the Covid emergency in her resignation letter to Biden.

Persons: Mandy Cohen, Dr, Cohen, Biden, Joe Biden, Rochelle Walensky, Walensky, Ashish Jha, Monica Bertagnolli, Sen, Bernie Sanders Organizations: Emergency, Center, Congress, North, North Carolina's Department of Health, Human Services, Medicare, Services, for Disease Control, CDC, White, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Washington Post Locations: Raleigh , North Carolina, North Carolina's, U.S

☆ Dr. Mandy Cohen: Biden chooses the next CDC director
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Betsy Klein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

And as Cohen takes on what’s become an increasingly politicized role at the CDC, Biden heralded her capacity to work across the aisle. I look forward to working with Dr. Cohen as she leads our nation’s finest scientists and public health experts with integrity and transparency,” the president said. Cohen will hit the ground running as leader of the world’s finest public health organization saving lives every day. Walensky announced her departure from her government role last month in the days before the Covid-19 public health emergency lifted. As she prepares to step into the role, Cohen inherits an agency wracked with challenges and low morale.

Persons: Joe Biden, Mandy Cohen, Rochelle Walensky, Dr, Cohen, ” Biden, what’s, Biden, Jeff Zients, Zients, “ Dr, ” Cohen, Walensky, –, Obama, ”, Andy Slavitt, “ She’s, Slavitt, Republican Sen, Richard Burr of, she’s, … I’ve, Mandy, ” Burr, Burr, “, ” Slavitt, Roy Cooper, Cohen “, Trump, Cooper, she’ll Organizations: CNN, US Centers for Disease Control, White House, CDC, North, North Carolina’s Department of Health, Human Services, Trump, Biden, Centers, Medicare, Medicaid Services, Yale School of Medicine, Harvard, of Public Health, The Washington Post, Center for Strategic, Studies, America’s Health Security, Republican, White, Democratic North Carolina Gov, Center for Health Sector Management, Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business Locations: North Carolina’s, Chan, “, North Carolina, Richard Burr of North Carolina, North Carolinians

☆ This U.S. stock has risen 10% every year for the past decade — and analysts see more upside ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. health insurance firm Humana is the only major stock from around the world to have risen by more than 10% every year for the past decade. Here's what some are saying: Deutsche Bank Equity analyst George Hill bumped up the bank's price target to $568 (10% upside) on April 26. RBC Capital Markets Ben Hendrix retired the bank's outperform rating and price target of $637 on April 27. The investment bank maintains an "in-line" or hold rating on the stock with a price target of $637. Jefferies' analysts raised their price target to $614 with a buy-rating on April 27.

Persons: —, Humana's, George Hill, JP Morgan Lisa Gill, HUM, UBS Kevin Caliendo, Ben Hendrix, Morgan Stanley's, Jefferies Organizations: Humana, CNBC Pro, Affordable, NYSE, Deutsche Bank Equity, MLR, UBS, Swiss, Medicare, RBC Locations: Kentucky, U.S

☆ Obamacare Mandate for Preventive Care Is Restored, for Now
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Sarah Kliff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Lawyers reached a deal on Monday to keep the Affordable Care Act’s mandate requiring health plans to cover preventive care at no cost to patients. A district court in Texas ruled in March that part of the requirement was unconstitutional. The decision took effect immediately, meaning insurers no longer had to cover certain types of preventive care, including a pill to prevent the spread of H.I.V. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily stayed the ruling last month, bringing the health law’s provision back into effect. The deal they reached leaves the provision almost fully in tact, requiring a vast majority of health plans to continue providing preventive care at no charge.

Persons: —, Biden Organizations: Fifth Circuit Locations: Texas

The deal would preserve the mandate nationwide while appeals play out, but allow the employer challenging the mandate, Texas-based Braidwood Management, to stop covering pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV and other preventive services without co-pays for its employees for now. The preventive care mandate, part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) often referred to as Obamacare, covers services recommended by a federal task force. The ruling does not apply to services the task force recommended before the ACA was enacted in 2010, including breast cancer screening. More than 150 million people were eligible for preventive care free of charge as of 2020 under the ACA, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Biden administration has said O'Connor's ruling threatens public health.

Persons: Biden, District Judge Reed O'Connor, O'Connor, Brendan Pierson, Alexia Garamfalvi, Bill Berkrot Organizations: U.S, Circuit, Appeals, Braidwood Management, Affordable, PrEP, HIV, District, . Constitution, U.S . Senate, U.S . Department of Health, Human Services, Major, Thomson Locations: Texas, Braidwood, U.S, Fort Worth , Texas, ., New York

☆ Chris Christie Is Running for the Nomination of a Party That Doesn’t Exist - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Michelle Goldberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

But my enjoyment of his newfound Resistance shtick doesn’t bode well for Christie. The people he needs to win over are not liberal New York Times columnists, but voters who hate liberal New York Times columnists. The trick, for a Republican, is going to be painting Trump as a weak loser who will sabotage right-wing priorities. At times Christie tried to do this, as when he criticized Trump for his failure to build the border wall and repeal the Affordable Care Act. presidential nomination, would he be willing to accept the role of the presidential candidate of a 2024 center-right independent party?” Steinberg wrote in April.

Persons: Christie, ”, Trump, Alec Baldwin, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner —, you’ll, —, Kushner, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, doesn’t bode, “ idolizing ” Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden, John McCain, pander, filleting, Marco Rubio, he’s, Alan Steinberg, Bush, ” Steinberg Organizations: Trump, State, New York Times, Republican, “ Locations: State of New Jersey, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, Europe

☆ Opinion: The biggest lesson from the debt ceiling fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( John | Opinion John Avlon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

In 2011, many Republicans were enthralled with the Tea Party, and they seemed dead set against any raising of the debt ceiling. He cobbled together a majority by relying on Democratic House votes to pass a clean lift of the debt ceiling. The final tally was 193 Democratic House votes and 28 Republican House votes – including Boehner and one of his top lieutenants, a representative from Bakersfield named Kevin McCarthy. These debt ceiling hostage debates only seem to happen in recent decades when a Democrat is president. Remember, the debt increased by $7 trillion under President Donald Trump – and the debt ceiling was raised three times during his tenure without a major fight.

Persons: John Avlon, “, Joe Biden, Kevin McCarthy, Biden, doesn’t Biden, Pramila, Barack Obama, Republican Sen, Ted Cruz, John Boehner, Boehner, Paul Ryan, Donald Trump –, Fareed Zakaria, Trump, –, Ryan Organizations: CNN, America, Senate, Republican, Progressive Democrats, Congressional, Office, Tea Party, Democrats, Affordable, Democratic House, Republican Party, Democratic Party, Republicans, White, Democratic, Democrat, Twitter, GOP Locations: “ Lincoln, Washington, cobbling, Ted Cruz of Texas, Bakersfield, American

☆ The Most Expensive and Most Affordable Cities for Childcare in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Jeremy Ney | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

The most expensive counties generally have fewer childcare workers or the state doesn't provide enough financial support for low-income families. The US Department of Health and Human Services considers childcare "affordable" if it costs less than 7% of a family's income. The pandemic provided a perfect example of this dynamic: 2 million women left the workforce and haven't returned, citing childcare costs as the No. Counties with higher levels of poverty often lack affordable care as childcare workers themselves can't afford to live on the industry's low wages. In Canada, where childcare workers make more, that ratio is six to one.

Persons: haven't, It's, Joe Biden, doesn't, Annie Lowrey, Grant, Jeremy Ney Organizations: Department of Labor, US Department of Health, Human Services, New, Bay State, University of Massachusetts Amherst, US, Preschool, America, Federal Reserve Bank of New Locations: Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York City, America, Kings County, Brooklyn, Queens County, Bronx County, Bronx, Bay, While Massachusetts, California, . Mississippi, New York, Canada, Portland , Oregon, Portland, Michigan, The, Federal Reserve Bank of New York

☆ New Oral History Peers Back at Obama, His Era and the Tradeoffs He Made
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The first tranche of interviews being made available does not include those of the former president, first lady or other major recognizable figures from the Obama era. Instead, it is tightly focused on one issue that the researchers deemed vital to his presidency, a wonk’s feast of policy discussion rather than a broader look at Mr. Obama himself or his overall eight years in power. As he sucked down his favorite Fiji water, Mr. Obama would tease scientists and engineers. We don’t need to look at any more of those.”The focus on climate change in the first set of interviews also highlighted the larger trade-offs Mr. Obama made between competing priorities. At one point as he was expending all of his influence to pass the Affordable Care Act, he ruefully explained his priorities to Mr. Chu.

Persons: Obama, “, ”, I’m, Steven Chu, Steve, we’ve, We’ve, ruefully, Chu Organizations: “ Energy Locations: Fiji

☆ Lazard's new CEO once inspired a fan blog called Orszagasm.com. Here are 5 fascinating facts about Peter Orszag, Wall Street's newest chief.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Kaja Whitehouse | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Peter Orszag has been named CEO of investment bank Lazard, effective October 1. Orszag is best known as Barack Obama's director of Office of Management and Budget. Investment bank Lazard announced on Friday that Peter Orszag, CEO of its financial advisory business, would replace Kenneth Jacobs as CEO. But he is also no ordinary Wall Street CEO. He only made the switch to Wall Street from Washington in 2011.

☆ Janet Yellen on the U.S. Economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Nancy Pelosi on Crafting a Career With PurposeIn 35 years on Capitol Hill, the former top Democrat made history as the first female speaker of the House, shepherding the Affordable Care Act and passing the biggest climate bill to date. She discusses her path to the top and advice for women in any occupation.

☆ Democratic Sen. Tom Carper says he won't seek re-election in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Summer Concepcion | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) speaks during a news conference after the first Democratic luncheon meeting since COVID-19 restrictions went into effect on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 13, 2021. Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., announced Monday that he will not seek re-election next year after more than 20 years in the Senate. During his time in the Senate, Carper served as the chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and as a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee. Delaware hasn't had a Republican hold statewide office since 2018, when long-time GOP auditor Tom Wagner declined to seek re-election. Dianne Feinstein of California and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan have announced their plans to not to seek re-election next year.

☆ Medicare is prohibited from paying for weight-loss drugs. These are the 3 potential ways to change that.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

There are three routes lawmakers and regulators could use to add coverage for weight-loss drugs. Older Americans hoping to get their hands on powerful weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy may find it impossible to access them. Should Medicare cover weight loss medication, it could also unlock access for people who have private coverage. "A decision by Medicare to cover weight-loss drugs would put pressure on employers and other private insurers to cover weight-loss drugs too," said Tricia Neuman, a senior vice president at KFF who co-authored a recent brief on the subject. There are three potential strategies that could be used to expand Medicare coverage to weight-loss drugs.

☆ Opinion | How to Use the Debt Ceiling to Inflict Cruelty on the Poor
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( David Firestone | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

In 2021, 61 percent of the 25 million people on Medicaid were working in full- or part-time jobs. The bill would also require many adults 19 to 55 to work 80 hours a month to receive federally subsidized health coverage from Medicaid. Republicans couldn’t repeal the act through the front door, so they are using the leverage provided by the debt ceiling to try to achieve their ideological aim. It’s been clear for years that these kinds of work requirements don’t actually put people back to work; they just pry people away from the benefits they need. In 2018, Arkansas became the first state to impose very similar work requirements on Medicaid, before a federal judge ended the experiment the next year.

Circuit Court of Appeals panel that will hear the Biden administration's appeal to keep the abortion pill mifepristone on the market are staunchly conservative, with a record of opposing abortion rights. - In 2019, she co-authored a majority opinion for the full 5th Circuit that upheld a Texas law that effectively banned the most common abortion procedure for terminating second-trimester pregnancies. - Also in 2019, she wrote a majority panel 5th Circuit opinion invalidating the Affordable Care Act's mandate requiring individuals to purchase health insurance. - In 2019, he was part of a 5th Circuit panel that rejected Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban, but in a concurring opinion argued against the constitutional right to abortion. - In 2018, he voted to uphold a Texas law requiring burial or cremation of fetal remains.

☆ CNN's CEO stands by Trump town hall but acknowledges production weaknesses, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Nearly a week after CNN's town hall with Donald Trump, CEO Chris Licht has acknowledged internally there are some things he wished the network had done differently. Licht continues to stand by the concept of the town hall, telling people both inside and outside of CNN that history will look kindly on the network's decision to interview Trump in front of cheering supporters in a live town hall format. That way, CNN could draw the audience's focus to the substance of the question rather than the spectacle of Trump. CNN could have also graphically shown each question while Trump spoke, emphasizing his answers didn't always match the topic at hand. NBC isn't likely to do a Trump town hall, given how CNN's went, said the person.

May 15 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court has temporarily halted a federal judge's ruling that struck down the Affordable Care Act's mandate requiring insurers to cover preventive care, the New York Times reported on Monday. The ruling stems from one of several legal challenges Republicans have brought against the 2010 healthcare law, former President Barack Obama's signature domestic achievement popularly known as "Obamacare." U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in March struck down the Affordable Care Act's mandate that health insurance plans cover preventive care, including screenings for certain cancers and pre-exposure prophylaxis against HIV, or the so-called PrEP mandate, at no cost to patients. Reed ruled that the PrEP mandate violated a federal religious freedom law and that other no-cost preventive care mandates were based on recommendations by an illegally appointed task force. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans put Reed's decision on hold, the Times reported, leaving the mandate in place for now.

☆ Appeals court pauses ruling that could end Obamacare's preventative care mandate
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Circuit Court of Appeals issued an "administrative stay" of the March 30 ruling issued by U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor of Texas. Administration lawyers said in court filings that O'Connor's decision would affect preventive care for 150 million people. In his March ruling, O'Conner blocked only the requirement that most insurers cover a range of preventive care. The appeal is in the early stages and the appeals court has not yet set a date for arguments. O'Connor ruled that enforcing the recommendations violated constitutional language on how government officials can be appointed.

☆ Biden's budget vs. House debt limit bill on spending, deficits, taxes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his fellow Republicans' "Limit Save and Grow Act" is a spending reduction bill that would cut 2024 federal discretionary spending to fiscal 2022 levels and rescind signature Biden programs already approved by Congress. Republicans: The House bill would cut 2024 U.S. discretionary spending back to the 2022 level of $1.664 trillion and limit subsequent annual increases to 1% for a decade. The discretionary spending proposals would add $2.23 trillion to deficits over 10 years, offset by tax increases. Biden: Full enactment of the fiscal 2024 budget request would reduce deficits by $2.857 trillion, according to the White House. Estimates for Biden's budget request are from the White House, as CBO has not yet issued a score.

☆ Appeals Court Pauses Ruling That Threatened Free Preventive Health Care
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Emily Baumgaertner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The NewsA federal appeals court on Monday temporarily blocked a lower court decision that overturned the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that all health plans fully cover certain preventive health services. The Justice Department had appealed the decision, and the appeals court’s stay will stand while the appeals process plays out. Why It Matters: Preventive health services are popular. While the case is under review, full coverage for preventive services will be legally required. For now, employers will still be required to provide no-cost coverage for preventive services.

☆ After prison, getting banking services is hard. This startup wants to change that.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

FRSH is a banking solution for the formerly incarcerated community. "We are justice-impacted and we know this is the best solution," Sam told Insider. FRSH offers banking products and services to help returning citizens — those who have been released from jails and prisons, per the US Department of Justice — establish financial stability. Sam, Daniel Feldman, and Chris Heckler, all of whom were formerly incarcerated, founded the fintech. The startup also trains caseworkers and case managers to teach financial-education courses and offer FRSH as a banking solution for returning citizens.

☆ Social Security, Medicare, federal salaries: What payments may be delayed in debt ceiling standoff
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Among the ramifications of a debt ceiling standoff, any payment issued by the federal government — like Social Security, Medicare, tax refunds, military paychecks and ample others — may be delayed. Alex Wong | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesThe U.S. is in this situation due to a political standoff tied to the debt ceiling, also known as the debt limit. Congress periodically raises or temporarily suspends the debt ceiling to avoid the other scenario: a default on the national debt and other federal payments. Here's the current problem: The country hit the debt ceiling — currently $31.4 trillion — in January. Federal Reserve officials alluded to the likelihood of prioritizing bondholders in a 2011 meeting that followed an earlier debt ceiling episode.

WASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden picked a senior aide, Neera Tanden, to replace Susan Rice as his domestic policy adviser, the White House said in a statement. As Biden's staff secretary, Tanden already played a major role in the West Wing, controlling the schedules, briefing books and other paperwork that reach the president's desk. Stefanie Feldman, an aide to Rice who has long been a top policy mind in Biden's orbit, will replace Tanden as staff secretary. "Neera oversaw decision-making processes across my domestic, economic and national security teams," Biden said in a statement touting 25 years of public policy experience. Tanden's predecessor at the domestic policy council, Susan Rice, departed after a two-year term that included wrangling over tense issues from immigration to healthcare, guns and police reform.

☆ CVS beats on earnings and revenue but lowers profit outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

CVS Health on Wednesday reported first-quarter results that beat earnings and revenue expectations, but the company lowered its full-year profit guidance due to costs related to recent acquisitions. CVS reported total revenue of $85.28 billion, an 11% increase over the $76.83 billion a year earlier. CVS' health services segment booked revenue of $44.59 billion, a 12.6% increase over sales of $39.62 billion in the same quarter last year. CVS' health insurance segment generated revenue of $25.88 billion, a 12% increase from the year before. And CVS' retail segment booked revenues of $27.92 billion, and increase of 7.8% compared to sales of $25.89 billion in the first quarter of 2022.

Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. Justice Department said the order, from U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, "has no legal justification and threatens the public health." It asked the court to stop the order from taking effect until it can fully hear the administration's appeal. He found that the federal task force that decides what preventive care must be covered under the federal healthcare law, also known as Obamacare, was unlawfully appointed, voiding all of that task force's determinations since 2010. More than 150 million people were eligible for preventive care free of charge as of 2020 under Obamacare, according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services data. Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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