U.S. Department of Health and Human Services News

Kentucky to Receive Nearly $31.5M in Federal Funds to Combat Opioid Abuse

Kentucky will receive a big infusion of federal funds to reinforce efforts to combat the state’s addiction woes from the opioid epidemic. The assistance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services comes a few weeks after Kentucky officials …

Vanderbilt University Hospital Sued for $25M for Operating on Wrong Kidney

A Tennessee woman says Vanderbilt University Medical Center operated on the wrong kidney during her surgery in what federal officials call a “never event.” The Tennessean reports Carla Miller says the error damaged her urinary system and she now needs …

West Virginia to Receive $14.6M in Federal Funds to Fight Opioid Addiction

West Virginia will receive $14.6 million in federal funds to fight opioid addiction. U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito announced the funding in a news release Thursday from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The grant …

Feds Fine Texas Cancer Center $4.3M for Data Breaches

Federal health officials have ordered the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to pay a $4.3 million fine for failing to secure health records stemming from data breaches. The Houston Chronicle reports the U.S. Department of Health and Human …

Feds Grant $5.9M to West Virginia for Drug Addiction Fight

West Virginia will receive $5.9 million from the federal government to help fight drug addiction. U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins and Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin announced the grant Thursday from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. …

Midwest Health Plan Sues Feds for Back ACA Payments

Sanford Health Plan, which serves South Dakota, North Dakota and Iowa, is suing the federal government, saying it owes nearly $9 million in payments under a program included in the Affordable Care Act. The Argus Leader reports the program, which …

State Regulators Say Pennsylvania Health Insurance Premiums to Rise

State regulators say the cost of health insurance premiums will be going up sharply next year for residents who buy individual plans. The state Department of Insurance said Monday that insurance company rates, based on requests for 2017, include an …

Workers’ Comp Disability Guidelines Withdrawn from Guidelines.gov

The Work Loss Data Institute (WLDI) has withdrawn its Official Disability Guidelines from the National Guideline Clearinghouse, a public resource for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. WLDI describes the ODG as …

U.S. Wants Supreme Court to Take up Hobby Lobby Case

The federal government has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby and a Christian bookstore chain have to provide a wide range of birth control options for workers as part of the federal health care …

Idaho State University To Pay $400K For Medical Records Breach

Idaho State University is paying a $400,000 to the federal government to settle allegations it improperly exposed confidential medical records. In August 2011, ISU told the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of a breach of its unsecured electronic …