Articles written by Ricardo Alonso-zaldivar
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Lawyers: Investigators recommend whistleblower is reinstated
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal investigators have found "reasonable grounds" that a government whistleblower was punished for speaking out against widespread use of an unproven drug that President Donald Trump touted as a remedy for COVID-19, his...
Social Security and Medicare funds at risk even before virus
WASHINGTON (AP) — The financial condition of the government's two biggest benefit programs remains shaky, with Medicare expected to become insolvent in just six years, while Social Security will be unable to pay full benefits starting in 2035, the...
Administration offers plan to cover COVID care for uninsured
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration announced a plan Wednesday to start paying hospitals and doctors who care for uninsured patients with COVID-19, but Democratic lawmakers and health industry groups are likely to press for more. Under the...
Virus coordinator Birx is Trump's data-whisperer
WASHINGTON (AP) — For many in the public health and political worlds, Dr. Deborah Birx is the sober scientist advising an unpredictable president. She's the data whisperer who will help steer President Donald Trump as he ponders how quickly to...
Trump vs Fauci: President's gut sense collides with science
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a clash of gut instinct versus science, President Donald Trump and the government's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, are politely but publicly sparing over whether a malaria drug would work to treat people...
Feds: Virus frauds spread, preying on Medicare recipients
WASHINGTON (AP) — Scam artists are preying on older people's fears by peddling fake tests for the coronavirus to Medicare recipients, a federal law enforcement agency warned on Monday. And moving separately on another law enforcement priority, Pres...
Straight-talking Fauci explains outbreak to a worried nation
WASHINGTON (AP) — If Dr. Anthony Fauci says it, you'd be smart to listen. As the coronavirus has upended daily life across the globe, Fauci has become the trusted voice in separating fact and fiction. The fear and confusion of outbreaks aren't new...
States to get virus testing kits as White House urges calm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials said Friday they're scrambling to get coronavirus testing up and running in every state, as President Donald Trump's chief economic adviser urged Americans not to overreact to plunging financial markets....
Trump says US 'very ready' for virus; Pence to lead response
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump declared Wednesday that the U.S. is "very, very ready" for whatever the coronavirus threat brings, and he put his vice president in charge of overseeing the nation's response. Trump sought to minimize fears...
AP FACT CHECK: Dems skew health care, Iraq facts in debate
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic presidential contenders stretched beyond the facts on policy and sometimes on their own records Friday in their New Hampshire debate. Amy Klobuchar called out Pete Buttigieg for an evolution on health care that he...
Major doctors' group calls for US to assure coverage for all
WASHINGTON (AP) — With health care an election-year priority, a major doctors' organization on Monday called for sweeping government action to guarantee coverage for all, reduce costs and improve the basic well-being of Americans. Declaring that...
'Obamacare' mandate: hot for lawyers, ho-hum to consumers
WASHINGTON (AP) — The repeal of an unpopular fine for people without health insurance has had little impact on "Obamacare" sign-ups or premiums, a gap between the real world and legal arguments from conservatives again challenging the Affordable...
Obamacare sign-ups steady as debate persists over its future
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 8 million people have signed up for coverage next year under former President Barack Obama's health care law, the government said Friday, a sign of continued demand for the program amid persistent uncertainty over its...
Budget deal puts access to health care above curbing costs
WASHINGTON (AP) — The bipartisan budget deal announced in Congress protects access to health care under the Affordable Care Act but it also ditches one of that law's main cost controls. The deal would repeal a cost-control measure in "Obamacare"...
Medicare drug plan finder can steer seniors to higher costs
WASHINGTON (AP) — Medicare's revamped prescription plan finder can steer unwitting seniors to coverage that costs much more than they need to pay, according to people who help with sign-ups as well as program experts. Serving some 60 million...
White House and Pelosi part ways on relief for drug prices
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Tuesday signaled President Donald Trump's blunt thumbs-down to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's plan allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices. Her office's sharp retort: "Working people won't like it if he sells t...
Warren vows no middle class tax hike for $20T health plan
WASHINGTON (AP) — Elizabeth Warren on Friday proposed $20 trillion in federal spending over the next decade to provide health care to every American without raising taxes on the middle class, a politically risky effort that pits the goal of...
Study: 'Medicare for All' not only way to universal coverage
WASHINGTON (AP) — Health care memo to Democrats: There's more than one way to get to coverage for all. A study out Wednesday finds that an approach similar to the plan from former Vice President Joe Bide n can deliver about the same level of...
Overhaul is proposed for decades-old Medicare fraud rules
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Wednesday proposed overhauling decades-old Medicare rules originally meant to deter fraud and abuse but now seen as a roadblock to coordinating better care for patients. The rules under revision were...
'This ain't your mother's marijuana,' surgeon general says
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials issued a national warning Thursday against marijuana use by adolescents and pregnant women, as more states legalize the increasingly potent drug for medicinal and recreational use. Health and Human...
For Democrats, a shift toward the middle on health care
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Rank-and-file Democrats appear to be shifting to the middle on health care, worried about what's politically achievable on their party's top 2020 issue. While "Medicare for All" remains hugely popular, the majority say they'd...
Planned Parenthood leaves federal family planning program
NEW YORK (AP) — Planned Parenthood said Monday it's pulling out of the federal family planning program rather than abide by a new Trump administration rule prohibiting clinics from referring women for abortions. Alexis McGill Johnson, Planned...
Trump administration moves to enforce abortion restriction
WASHINGTON (AP) — Moving ahead despite objections, the Trump administration on Friday set a timetable for federally funded family clinics to comply with a new rule that bars them from referring women for abortions. The action is part of a series...
Despite calls to start over, US health system covers 90%
WASHINGTON (AP) — America's much-maligned health care system is covering 9 out of 10 people, a fact that hasn't stopped the 2020 presidential candidates from refighting battles about how to provide coverage, from Bernie Sanders' call for replacing...
Administration pauses enforcement of abortion restriction
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is giving taxpayer-funded family planning clinics more time to comply with its new rule that says they no longer can refer women for abortions. A notice sent Saturday night to representatives of the...
