TheRepublic.com - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services News

Consumer group flags high SPF ratings on sunscreen

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:47:12 -0400

WASHINGTON - Sunbathers headed to the beach this summer will find new sunscreen labels on store shelves that are designed to make the products more effective and easier to use. But despite those long-awaited changes, many sunscreens continue to carry SPF ratings that some experts consider misleading and potentially dangerous, according to a consumer watchdog group.

Lawsuit in Ohio cancer cluster will take years

Sun, 19 May 2013 15:49:11 -0400

TOLEDO, Ohio - The wait for answers is far from over for parents who for years have lived with the worry of not knowing what's behind the mysterious cancers that have sickened dozens of children in a rural area of northern Ohio.

FDA tobacco chief speaks at industry meeting

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:52:12 -0400

WILLIAMSBURG, Virginia - Changes in the marketplace have forced the public health community to wrestle with the idea that some tobacco products may pose less of a health risk than others, the new head of the Food and Drug Administration's tobacco control efforts told an industry group on Thursday.

AP Exclusive: Health reforms penalize some Indians

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:44:43 -0400

SAN FRANCISCO - When Liz DeRouen needs any kind of health care services, from diabetes counseling to a dental cleaning, she checks into a government-funded clinic in Northern California's wine country that covers all her medical needs.

Study questions how sharply US should cut the salt

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:09:28 -0400

WASHINGTON - A surprising new report questions public health efforts to get Americans to sharply cut back on salt, saying it's not clear whether eating super-low levels is worth the struggle.

Idaho spud giant bets on biotech potatoes

Tue, 14 May 2013 14:26:08 -0400

BOISE, Idaho - A dozen years after a customer revolt forced Monsanto to ditch its genetically engineered potato, an Idaho company aims to resurrect high-tech spuds.

Corbett aide can't see Medicaid expansion in 2014

Mon, 13 May 2013 18:54:21 -0400

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania - A top aide to Gov. Tom Corbett said expanding Medicaid eligibility in Pennsylvania under a sweeping federal health care law probably would not take effect before January 2015, even if the governor embraces the idea that would provide taxpayer-paid health care insurance to hundreds of thousands of residents.

Former Gov. Bowen honored in Indiana hometown

Fri, 10 May 2013 19:58:31 -0400

BREMEN, Indiana - The flag-draped casket of former Indiana Gov. Otis Bowen, a small-town doctor who became one of the nation's top health officials, was carried to a cemetery by a horse-drawn caisson Friday as hundreds of people lined the streets of his northern Indiana hometown.

Fundraising from HHS secretary draws scrutiny

Fri, 10 May 2013 19:52:25 -0400

WASHINGTON - A fundraising push by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is drawing criticism from a key Senate Republican who questions whether she has a conflict of interest.

FDA denies request to block generic painkiller

Fri, 10 May 2013 17:56:42 -0400

WASHINGTON - In a surprise move Friday, federal health regulators denied a request by Endo Health Solutions to block generic versions of its painkiller Opana ER, which the company argued are more easily abused than its branded product.

Utah to be first to use dual-model health exchange

Fri, 10 May 2013 17:56:27 -0400

SALT LAKE CITY - The federal government has approved Utah to become the first state to have a dual-model health insurance exchange in which the state and the federal government divide responsibilities.

Health centers to get $6M to help enroll uninsured

Fri, 10 May 2013 04:09:25 -0400

CHICAGO - More than 40 health centers throughout Illinois will be able to apply for $6 million in federal funding to help people sign up for insurance under the new health care law.

Report: Oklahoma should expand insurance program

Thu, 09 May 2013 21:43:11 -0400

OKLAHOMA CITY - A consulting firm hired by Oklahoma to help answer the question of how to insure 200,000 people without health coverage told the state's Medicaid board Thursday that an existing program could be used to build a broader system by 2015.

$1.1 million for Hawaii health centers

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:58:23 -0400

HONOLULU - Hawaii's community health centers can receive about $1.1 million from the federal government to help uninsured residents enroll in health insurance coverage under the Affordable Health Care Act.

State pharmacy boards back more FDA oversight

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:49:41 -0400

WASHINGTON - State pharmacy officials on Thursday threw their support behind a proposal giving the Food and Drug Administration authority over large compounding pharmacies, in an effort to head off more outbreaks tied to contaminated medications.

Wrigley takes new caffeinated gum off market

Thu, 09 May 2013 03:01:37 -0400

WASHINGTON - A Food and Drug Administration investigation into the safety of caffeine-added foods has prompted Wrigley to take its new caffeinated gum off the market for the time being.

APNewsBreak: Wrigley halts caffeinated gum

Wed, 08 May 2013 17:33:18 -0400

WASHINGTON - Wrigley says it is taking a new caffeinated gum off the market temporarily as the Food and Drug Administration investigates the safety of added caffeine.

FDA inspection triggers recall by Florida pharmacy

Wed, 08 May 2013 15:00:20 -0400

WASHINGTON - The Food and Drug Administration warned doctors and pharmacists Wednesday to avoid drugs made by a Florida specialty pharmacy called The Compounding Shop, due to potential safety problems uncovered by health inspectors.

Feds say Insure Oklahoma program must change

Wed, 08 May 2013 14:04:19 -0400

OKLAHOMA CITY - The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services say an Oklahoma state program that uses Medicaid funding to provide insurance to 30,000 low-income Oklahomans must change in order to keep its funding.

FDA wants cancer warnings on tanning beds

Mon, 06 May 2013 17:37:44 -0400

WASHINGTON - Indoor tanning beds would come with new warnings about the risk of cancer and be subject to more stringent federal oversight under a proposal unveiled Monday by the Food and Drug Administration.

San Francisco city attorney sues Monster Beverage

Mon, 06 May 2013 15:51:14 -0400

NEW YORK - San Francisco's city attorney is suing Monster Beverage for marketing its energy drinks to children, saying the products pose severe health risks.

FDA warns pregnant women of migraine drug risk

Mon, 06 May 2013 14:44:17 -0400

WASHINGTON - U.S. health regulators are warning doctors and women of child-bearing age that half-a-dozen medications used to treat migraine headaches can decrease children's intelligence if taken while their mothers are pregnant.

Ex-Ind. governor, HHS head Otis Bowen dies at 95

Sun, 05 May 2013 17:53:05 -0400

INDIANAPOLIS - Otis R. Bowen, who overhauled Indiana's tax system as governor before helping oversee the federal response to the burgeoning AIDS epidemic during President Ronald Reagan's second term, has died. He was 95.

Obama OK with morning-after pill sales at age 15

Fri, 03 May 2013 00:29:26 -0400

MEXICO CITY - President Barack Obama said Thursday he was comfortable with his administration's decision to allow over-the-counter purchases of a morning-after pill for anyone 15 and older.

Decades-old question: Is antibacterial soap safe?

Thu, 02 May 2013 23:06:38 -0400

WASHINGTON - It's a chemical that's been in U.S. households for more than 40 years, from the body wash in your bathroom shower to the knives on your kitchen counter to the bedding in your baby's basinet.