Department of Health news stories on Newser

White House: We've Recovered $5.6B in Fraud

Matt Cantor — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:21:53 CST

The Justice Department has managed to recover some $5.6 billion lost to fraud over the 2011 fiscal year, officials will announce today. Civil fraud accounted for some $3.4 billion, with the rest attributable to criminal fraud, insiders tell the Washington Post . Much of the money was recovered by...

Feds Wants Diseased Lungs, Corpses on Cigarettes

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 11:52:56 CST

Corpses, cancer patients and diseased lungs: These are some of the images the federal government plans for larger, graphic warning labels that will take up half of each cigarette package. The images are part of a new campaign announced by the FDA and health department today to reduce tobacco use,...

ERs Grab Organs Faster From Accident Victims

Nick McMaster — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:38:01 CDT

A federal project exploring the securing of donor organs from patients who die in emergency rooms is raising questions of medical ethics. Traditionally, organs are not taken from ER patients and are removed only after all brain activity has ceased. The project, under way at two Pittsburgh hospitals, aims to...

US May Lift Ban on HIV-Positive Travelers

Matt Cantor — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:50:02 CDT

The CDC is considering ending the rule forbidding HIV-positive foreigners from entering the US, MSNBC reports. Congress voted last year to dump 1987 restrictions on entry to those with the condition, but the exclusion policy will remain in place until the department of health and human services lifts it. “We’re...

Senate Confirms Sebelius as Health Secretary

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:00:41 CDT

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius won Senate confirmation today to serve as the nation's health and human services secretary. She already has a public health emergency on her hands with the swine flu sickening dozens of Americans. The 65-31 vote came after Democrats urged quick action so Sebelius could get to...

Obama Lacks Health Team as Swine Flu Spreads

Ambreen Ali — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 01:53:07 CDT

With key health posts in the Obama administration still vacant, the swine flu outbreak is being handled by a counter-terrorism specialist and a former governor, Politico reports. The administration still lacks a surgeon general and chiefs for the Food and Drug Administraion and Centers for Disease Control, and needs to...

GOP Blocks Sebelius' Confirmation

Rob Quinn — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 03:47:31 CDT

President Obama will have to wait until at least next week to have a complete Cabinet after Senate Republicans blocked the immediate confirmation of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius yesterday, AP reports. A vote on the Health and Human Services Secretary nominee—whose appointment is fiercely opposed by anti-abortion groups—will...

Senate Panel Clears Sebelius for HHS Post

John Johnson — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:56:45 CDT

It looks like President Obama will finally get his full Cabinet. A Senate panel today approved his pick of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be director of Health and Human Services, the Hill reports. The vote, largely along party lines, all but assures that Sebelius will be approved by the...

HHS Nominee Sebelius Pays $7K in Back Taxes

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:54:16 CDT

See if this sounds familiar: Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius has corrected three years worth of tax returns after finding "unintentional errors." In a letter to senators, Sebelius said the changes involved charitable contributions, the sale of a home, and business expenses. She and her husband paid a...