An Associated Press analysis has found that hospitals are rarely fined for violating a federal law that is supposed to guarantee that patients with medical emergencies get the treatment they need.

Health reporter Haley Hernandez explains the drama unfolding that may put your health in jeopardy

The Biden administration is telling emergency room doctors they must perform emergency abortions when necessary to save a pregnant woman’s health.

Many states are failing to track how frequently children in foster care facilities are abused, sexually assaulted or improperly restrained, leaving them vulnerable to mistreatment.

The Biden administration is canceling student loans for another 160,000 borrowers through a combination of existing programs.

The Biden administration plans to partially end the 27-year-old court supervision of how the federal government cares for child migrants, shortly after producing its own list of safeguards against mistreatment.

The early release of documents meant a single competitor got an early look at the other bidders’ playbooks before final winners were announced.

Texas’ recent unwinding of Medicaid and CHIP has been criticized, dropping more than a million people eligible for the health insurance programs. Decades ago, Texas officials got kids health insurance in record time.

Groups representing Alabama doctors and hospitals are urging the state Supreme Court to revisit a decision equating frozen embryos to children.

Alabama lawmakers have moved closer to approving protections for fertility clinics.

More than 200 in vitro fertilization patients have gathered at the Alabama Statehouse to urge lawmakers to find some way to restore IVF services in the state.

The Biden administration is sending the nation’s top health official to meet with patients and doctors in Alabama to discuss a controversial court ruling that upended in vitro fertilization treatment in the state.

In a new twist in the abortion access fight, congressional Republicans are trying to block a Biden administration spending rule that they say will cut off millions of dollars to anti-abortion counseling centers.

A Biden administration plan could increase salaries for hundreds of low-paid early childhood teachers caring for the country’s poorest children.

Dozens of Democratic lawmakers are urging President Joe Biden to take steps to protect Palestinians in the United States as the Israel-Hamas war continues.

Paperwork problems and procedural issues are the driving force behind a surge of people losing Medicaid health care coverage in states.

The Biden administration is urging states to slow down their efforts to remove people from Medicaid.

The Biden administration says it is creating a new task force to crack down on an explosion of the illegal exploitation of migrant children for labor in the U.S. Hundreds of companies that employed nearly 4,000 children last year were found in violation of federal labor laws, a dramatic increase in the last five years.

The Biden administration is estimating that it could collect as much as $4.7 billion from insurance companies with newer and tougher penalties for submitting improper charges on the taxpayers’ tab for Medicare Advantage care.

The federal government plans to end in January the public health emergency it declared earlier this year after an outbreak of mpox left more than 29,000 people across the U.S. infected.

The federal government wants to expand all-hours mental health and substance abuse care in communities around the country.

The number of people living in America without health insurance coverage hit an all-time low of 8 percent this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday.

Attorney General Merrick Garland headlined a White House event bringing together pro bono lawyers, bar associations and public interest groups to discuss how best to offer legal services and protections for women seeking abortions.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Friday ordered an additional 2.5 million doses of Bavarian Nordic’s JYNNEOS, an FDA-licensed vaccine indicated for prevention of smallpox and monkeypox, for use in responding to current or future monkeypox outbreaks and as part of U.S. smallpox preparedness.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of America’s pandemic response through two White House administrations, has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Medicare recipients will get a premium reduction — but not until next year.

The Biden administration says it has purchased enough doses of a yet-to-be approved antibody drug to treat 600,000 patients with COVID-19.

The Biden administration says a government grant program to help prevent additional harm to people who use illicit drugs will not pay for safer pipes to smoke crack or meth.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announced Friday that resources and actions would be placed in effect as a federal response to Texas’ new abortion law, SB8.

The Biden administration is putting into place consumer protections against “surprise” medical bills enacted in bipartisan legislation signed last year by former President Donald Trump.

As soon as the sun sets, at least 100 migrants crossed through the Rio Grande river by smugglers into the United States. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)ROMA, Texas – As darkness sets on the Rio Grande, U.S. Border Patrol agents hear pumps inflating rafts across the river in Mexico. Roma, a town of 10,000 people with historic buildings and boarded-up storefronts in Texas' Rio Grande Valley, is the latest epicenter of illegal crossings, where growing numbers of families and children are entering the United States to seek asylum. More than 16,000 unaccompanied children were in government custody as of Thursday, including about 5,000 in substandard Customs and Border Protection facilities. A group of Republican senators on Friday visited the Rio Grande Valley, which is the busiest corridor for illegal crossings, and toured a holding facility.

ROMA, Texas – As darkness sets on the Rio Grande, U.S. Border Patrol agents hear pumps inflating rafts across the river in Mexico. More than 16,000 unaccompanied children were in government custody as of Thursday, including about 5,000 in substandard Customs and Border Protection facilities. Unaccompanied children are supposed to be held by CBP no more than 72 hours, but they are often held longer because U.S. Health and Human Services lacks space. A group of Republican senators on Friday visited the Rio Grande Valley, which is the busiest corridor for illegal crossings, and toured a holding facility. CBP reported that it took 681 unaccompanied children into custody Wednesday, a total that excludes Mexicans, who are typically returned immediately.

President Joe Biden speaks with Vice President Kamala Harris about the southern border during a meeting in the State Dining Room of the White House, Wednesday, March 24, 2021, in Washington. In delegating the matter to Harris, Biden is seeking to replicate a dynamic that played out when he served as President Barack Obama's vice president. As the first Black woman elected vice president, Harris arrived on the job as a trailblazer. The Biden administration has in recent weeks moved to open more than 10,000 new beds across the Southwest in convention centers and former oilfield camps. The White House faced criticism for limiting media access to Wednesday’s tour, keeping it to just one TV crew.

In delegating the matter to Harris, Biden is seeking to replicate a dynamic that played out when he served as President Barack Obama's vice president. Obama turned to Biden in his first term to lead the White House effort to draw down U.S. troops in Iraq and oversee implementation of stimulus in response to the Great Recession. As the first Black woman elected vice president, Harris arrived on the job as a trailblazer. The Biden administration has in recent weeks moved to open more than 10,000 new beds across the Southwest in convention centers and former oilfield camps. The White House faced criticism for limiting media access to Wednesday’s tour, keeping it to just one TV crew.

In delegating the matter to Harris, Biden is seeking to replicate a dynamic that played out when he served as President Barack Obama's vice president. As the first Black woman elected vice president, Harris arrived on the job as a trailblazer. And Gore faced headwinds from Republicans in Congress who were reluctant to give him a win ahead of his unsuccessful 2000 run for the White House. The Biden administration has in recent weeks moved to open more than 10,000 new beds across the Southwest in convention centers and former oilfield camps. The White House faced criticism for limiting media access to Wednesday’s tour, keeping it to just one TV crew.

A surge of migrants on the Southwest border has the Biden administration on the defensive. President Joe Biden’s administration has been sharply criticized for its response to a surge in crossings of unaccompanied immigrant children. “I feel like I have to wait and try again.”The Biden administration is not expelling immigrant children unaccompanied by a parent or legal guardian. But Pfluger and other Midland officials said the Biden administration wasn’t answering their questions or giving them assurance that officials would keep the surrounding community safe. HHS opened the Midland site without notifying some top local officials who say many of their questions aren't being answered.

FILE - In this March 31, 2020 file photo, a leaning sign sits in front of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas. “There’s no other way to claim it than a Biden border crisis.”Texas Gov. The memo sent to Dallas City Council members says the Federal Emergency Management Agency and HHS will “be responsible for providing shelter management and contracts” for food, security, cleaning, and medical care at the convention center. Dallas previously offered space to HHS during the 2014 surge of crossings of immigrant children. HHS also has said it will house immigrant youths in Midland.

The lawyers interviewed more than a dozen children Thursday in Donna, Texas, where the Border Patrol is holding more than 1,000 people. The Border Patrol currently has a record high of more than 3,000 children in detention, according to government data obtained by AP. More children are waiting longer in Border Patrol custody because long-term facilities operated by U.S. Health and Human Services have next to no capacity. AdMost Border Patrol stations were designed for short-term detention of adults, with cold, concrete cells with the lights always on. One died of the flu at the Border Patrol station in Weslaco, Texas, where minors are currently being held.

Also pictured is Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second from right, and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, third from right. Among Biden’s 23 nominees with Cabinet rank, just 13 have been confirmed by the Senate, or a little over half. On Tuesday, Biden's Cabinet was thrown into further uncertainty when his nominee to lead the White House budget office, Neera Tanden, withdrew from consideration after her nomination faced opposition from key senators on both sides of the aisle. That must change.”The Biden administration has prioritized confirming those nominees who are key to national security, the economy and public health decisions. The Biden administration has not been completely hamstrung by the slow pace of confirmations, however.

Also pictured is Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second from right, and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, third from right. Among Biden’s 23 nominees with Cabinet rank, just 13 have been confirmed by the Senate, or a little over half. On Tuesday, Biden's cabinet was thrown into further uncertainty when his nominee to lead the White House budget office, Neera Tanden, withdrew from consideration after her nomination faced opposition from key senators on both sides of the aisle. That must change.”The Biden administration has prioritized confirming those nominees who are key to national security, the economy and public health decisions. The Biden administration has not been completely hamstrung by the slow pace of confirmations, however.

With its long-term facilities for immigrant children nearly full, the Biden administration is working to expedite the release of children to their relatives in the U.S. Under the agency's current guidelines, sponsors can be charged for those flights and required to pay before the government will release children, even if the sponsors have been vetted by the government. Nearly all of the department’s 7,100 beds for immigrant children are full. Meanwhile, Border Patrol agents are apprehending an average of more than 200 children crossing the border without a parent per day. But experts on the detention of immigrant children say HHS needs to change how it works to relieve pressure on the overall system.

The House Democrats charged that Trump incited the violent insurrection, which left five dead, and the former president appeared to side with the rioters on the call. A few hours later, the Senate voted to acquit Trump, 57-43, the majority falling short of the two-thirds needed for conviction. The momentary chaos, and the House Democrats’ eventual retreat on witnesses, was emblematic of the prosecutors’ challenge throughout the trial. But “we overwhelmingly proved our case.”Several senators agreed — three of the seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump had voted not to call witnesses. “The House managers did a masterful job,” he said after the final vote.

(Al Drago/Pool via AP, File)VANCOUVER, Wash. – Jaime Herrera Beutler has spent a decade in Congress as a low-key moderate Republican who largely avoided heated partisan battles. Herrera Beutler has worked to help other families facing long-term medical crises and has pushed legislation to make child care more affordable. Like other Republicans who broke with Trump, Herrera Beutler was condemned by her local and state party. Herrera Beutler said people should not be surprised by her recent statements surrounding impeachment and her conversation with McCarthy. ___This story has been corrected to reflect that Herrera Beutler represents Washington's 3rd Congressional District.

A court-appointed committee has yet to find the parents of 628 children separated at the border early in the Trump administration. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)WASHINGTON – The Justice Department rescinded a Trump-era memo that established a “zero tolerance” enforcement policy for migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, which resulted in thousands of family separations. Most families have not been prosecuted under zero tolerance since 2018, when the separations were halted, though separations have continued on a smaller scale. Prosecutions had dropped sharply after the Trump administration declared a pandemic-related health emergency that allows them to immediately expel Mexicans and many Central Americans without applying immigration laws. The “zero tolerance” policy was one of several increasingly restrictive policies aimed at discouraging migrants from coming to the Southern border.

A court-appointed committee has yet to find the parents of 628 children separated at the border early in the Trump administration. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)WASHINGTON – The Justice Department on Tuesday rescinded a Trump-era memo that established a “zero tolerance” enforcement policy for migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, which resulted in thousands of family separations. Most families have not been prosecuted under zero tolerance since 2018, when the separations were halted, though separations have continued on a smaller scale. Prosecutions had dropped sharply after the Trump administration declared a pandemic-related health emergency that allows them to immediately expel Mexicans and many Central Americans without applying immigration laws. The “zero tolerance” policy was one of several increasingly restrictive policies aimed at discouraging migrants from coming to the Southern border.

HOUSTON – Texas Senator Borris Miles, who is the highest-ranking Democratic member of the State Senate’s Health and Human Services committee, responded to a KPRC investigation into foreign nationals traveling to Houston to get vaccinated. The vaccines should go to the people of the State of Texas,” Miles said. Governor Dan Patrick told KPRC 2 Thursday the system isn’t perfect. Florida is already shutting down what’s been called “vaccine tourism.”“It’s not for people that are just visiting,” said Gov. An approach State Senator Miles is in agreement with.

(AP Photo/Mark Baker)CANBERRA, Australia — Australia is advancing the start of its coronavirus vaccination program to mid-February, with plans to inoculate 15% of the population by late March. Mexico’s vaccination effort continues at a glacial rate, with about 7,500 shots administered Wednesday, a rate similar to previous days. John Bel Edwards and public health officials said Wednesday that efforts are being made to speed up vaccinations for the coronavirus. So far, state officials have administered 126,602 of the 522,550 doses the state has received. More than 329,000 people have been vaccinated in Florida — or about 1.5% of the population — almost all of them either health care workers, residents in care homes, or people over the age of 65.

(Youngrae Kim/Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool)WASHINGTON – Pfizer said Wednesday it will supply the U.S. government with an additional 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine under a new agreement between the pharmaceutical giant and the Trump administration. The government also has an option to purchase an additional 400 million doses. The cost to taxpayers: $1.95 billion for the additional 100 million doses. To aid vaccine production, the government said it is using its authority under a Cold War-era law that allows it to direct private manufacturing. The government began shipping the Pfizer vaccine to states last week, and the one from Moderna this week.

Trump administration political appointees tried to block or change more than a dozen government reports that detailed scientific findings about the spread of the coronavirus, according to a House panel investigating the alleged interference. New York political operative and Trump loyalist Michael Caputo was installed as the department's top spokesman during a period of high tension between White House officials and Azar. — Intensely challenged articles that detailed scientific findings on the spread of COVID-19 among children. The HHS public affairs office that Caputo once headed “is not a science or medical program office," wrote Hall. Redfield responded at the time that he had told CDC staffers to ignore Alexander's email, and that he is fully committed to maintaining the independence of the MMWR health reports.

But when the latest shortfall hit the local allotment of new COVID-19 vaccine doses, Washington's neighboring states pitched in to help make up the difference. In a heartening demonstration of interstate collectivism, Maryland and Virginia are each sending 8,000 vaccine doses, more than tripling the amount available for health care workers in the nation's capital. The dosage allotments were based on population, but many of Washington's health care workers live in the intertwined neighboring communities of Maryland and northern Virginia. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had sent a letter to U.S. health officials claiming the “one-size-fits-all formula for distribution” would prove “woefully insufficient.”Govs. None of the three jurisdictions will receive anywhere close to enough doses in the first batch to cover all their health care workers.

Operation Warp Speed has financed the development, manufacture and distribution of millions of doses, with the goal of providing a free vaccine to any American who wants one. Pfizer was not as closely involved with Operation Warp Speed as other manufacturers, preferring to retain control over its own development and manufacturing. But the government did enter into a contract to buy 100 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the first of which were shipped this week. At issue is the purchase of another 100 million doses for delivery as early as the middle of next year. “We of course would welcome having another 100 million doses,” said Slaoui, adding that it's his expectation that negotiations with Pfizer will be successful.

At issue is what happened last summer to an email sent to the CDC from a now-departed HHS adviser, Dr. Paul Alexander. She said she was ordered to delete it the following day, a Sunday. Kent testified that she believed the order to delete the email came from Redfield. Redfield said Thursday in a statement that “regarding the email in question, I instructed CDC staff to ignore Dr. Alexander’s comments. “I considered this to be very unusual,” she said, according to the partial transcript released by Clyburn.

“It's extremely unusual for there to be simultaneous contrary messaging,” said John Auerbach, who heads the nonpartisan Trust for America's Health. But Trump continues to ridicule masks and mask-wearing as he insists the U.S. has turned the corner on the virus. “How about California ... where you are supposed to eat with the mask (and) can’t take it off?” Trump said. The health officials do not invoke Trump in their warnings, and they sidestep questions that might lead them into anything that could be perceived as a direct criticism. But their message reflects a different view of reality than what's coming from the president and senior White House officials.

Documents in the report suggest Health and Human Services officials weren't told by the Department of Homeland Security why shelters were receiving more children taken from their parents in late 2017. Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee released the report Thursday with emails obtained from government agencies. The report outlines discussions since the start of the Trump administration of family separation as a law enforcement tactic. Documents in the new report suggest CBP did not communicate with HHS about why shelters were receiving more separated children. The email notes “the increase in referrals” of children unaccompanied by a parent “resulting from separation of children from parents.” White sent McAleenan a chart of all the children HHS had received.

Trying to pull back the veil on health costs to encourage competition, the Trump administration on Oct. 29, will finalize requirements for insurers to tell consumers up front the actual prices for common tests and procedures. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)WASHINGTON – Trying to pull back the veil on health care costs to encourage competition, the Trump administration on Thursday finalized a requirement for insurers to tell consumers up front the actual prices for common tests and procedures. A related Trump administration price disclosure requirement applying to hospitals is facing a federal lawsuit from the industry, alleging coercion and interference with business practices. The idea behind the new regulations on insurers is to empower patients to become better consumers of health care, thereby helping to drive down costs. The Trump administration's initiative drills down more deeply to try to get at the prices actually paid by insurers.

The comments came a day after Azar accused China of failing to warn the rest of the world about the coronavirus. He abandoned the millions of people who are struggling with illness and visited Taiwan instead to stage a political show, Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a daily briefing. The Trump administration has repeatedly accused China of withholding information from the World Health Organization and the international community as the virus began to take hold. Azar's trip to Taiwan angered China because it considers the self-governing island part of its territory. On Wednesday, Azar visited a face mask factory and paid respect to the recently deceased former Taiwanese president, Lee Teng-hui, before leaving Taiwan.

(AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)TAIPEI Taiwan sent COVID-19 assistance to foreign countries surreptitiously to avoid protests from China, its foreign minister said Tuesday during a meeting with the highest-level American official to visit the island in four decades. China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has sought to isolate it diplomatically, including barring its participation in forums such as the World Health Assembly. Just 15 countries maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and China has sought to peel away its remaining allies. While the U.S. maintains only unofficial ties with Taiwan in deference to Beijing, it remains the island's most important ally and provider of defensive arms. Thus, Azar is the highest-level American official to visit Taiwan since their break in formal diplomatic ties in 1979.

TAIPEI U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday during the highest-level visit by an American Cabinet official since the break in formal diplomatic ties between Washington and Taipei in 1979. Azar is due to hold consultations with health officials and deliver a speech later in the day. Azars visit was facilitated by the 2018 passage of the Taiwan Travel Act, which encouraged Washington to send higher-level officials to Taiwan after decades during which such contacts were rare. That, in turn, has increased already considerable bipartisan sympathy for Taipei in Washington and prompted new measures to strengthen governmental and military ties. Taiwan, an island of 23 million people, moved swiftly and aggressively to contain COVID-19 and has recorded just 277 cases and seven deaths from the illness.

TAIPEI U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar arrived in Taiwan on Sunday in the highest-level visit by an American Cabinet official since the break in formal diplomatic relations between Washington and Taipei in 1979. Beijing has already protested Azars visit as a betrayal of U.S. commitments not to have official contact with the island. China claims Taiwan as its own territory, to be brought under its control by military force if necessary. Azar is the first health secretary to visit Taiwan and the first Cabinet member to visit in six years. That, in turn, has increased already considerable bipartisan sympathy for Taipei in Washington and prompted new measures to strengthen governmental and military ties.

HOUSTON – Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo discussed a plan aimed at dealing with a surge in coronavirus testing and speeding up results from those tests. According to Hidalgo, Harris County (outside city limits) has seen the highest case count for a single day since the pandemic started with 700 new cases. To be able to do a follow up with those folks and to do the contact tracing,” Hidalgo said. You’ve already had many many contacts for that one person that has the virus.”People can begin signing up for the surge tests starting Wednesday. In addition to the testing sites, Harris County Public Health teams can also take testing to your front door.

NEW YORK Tackling a lower-profile issue for the White House, President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday aimed at strengthening child-welfare programs nationwide. The executive order envisions three basic areas of reform:Creating robust partnerships between state agencies and public, private, faith-based and community organizations. For the fiscal year 2019, it expects that entries into foster care will total about 250,000 down 9% from 2016. Some family court proceedings have been disrupted, at times delaying a childs exit from foster care to return home. Many biological parents have been denied normally routine in-person visits with children placed in foster care.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar called the decision in federal court in Washington, D.C., a resounding victory" for President Donald Trump's efforts to open up the convoluted world of health care pricing so patients and families can make better-informed decisions about their care. Industry argues that forcing the disclosure of prices negotiated between hospitals and insurers amounts to coercion. It also imposes significant burdens on hospitals at a time when resources are stretched thin and need to be devoted to patient care, Hutton said. Nonetheless, patient advocate Cynthia Fisher said the judge's decision will help demystify health care costs and is in line with what most people want to see. Americans want hospitals and insurance companies to reveal their hidden prices and believe that it will lower prices, said Fisher.

The Trump administration will use funds from the $2 trillion federal stimulus package to pay hospitals for treating uninsured coronavirus patients, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Friday. The money will come from a $100 billion fund set up to reimburse hospitals and other health care providers for their coronavirus expenses, he said. Using stimulus funding to pay for treating the uninsured will divert funds that hospitals say they desperately need for other coronavirus-related expenses, such as personal protective equipment for their workers and additional ventilators and beds. The legislation set up a $100 billion fund aimed at reimbursing hospitals, health care providers and others for expenses and lost revenue related to the pandemic. And an earlier stimulus package gave states the option of covering testing for the uninsured through Medicaid, with the federal government picking up the tab.