Health Care
U.S. Senate passes major health, tax and climate bill in boost for Democrats
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate, along party lines, passed a sweeping energy, health care, climate and tax package Sunday afternoon, following an overnight marathon of votes that resulted in just a handful of notable changes to the legislation. The 755-page bill was passed after Vice President Kamala Harris broke a 50-50 tie in the evenly […]
Traverse County Attorney attempts to intervene in Minnesota abortion rights ruling
A county attorney in west-central Minnesota filed a motion Thursday to appeal a ruling that strengthened Minnesota abortion rights. Traverse County Attorney Matthew Franzese — through the law firm the Thomas More Society — said the motion to intervene comes after Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced last week that he will not appeal a […]
Federal officials declare a public health emergency for monkeypox
WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announced Thursday a public health emergency for the monkeypox virus, which means the federal government can more quickly assist states with distributing vaccines and conducting testing and public health campaigns. “We’re prepared to take our response to the next level in addressing this […]
U.S. Senate in turnaround backs aid for veterans exposed to burn pits
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Tuesday passed bipartisan legislation that would provide health care and benefits to millions of veterans exposed to toxic substances while deployed overseas, after many Republicans switched their votes and decided to once again back the legislation. The shift came after days of protest and vigils outside the U.S. Capitol, […]
Q&A with Dr. Nathan Chomilo, Medicaid medical director
As a kid, Nathan Chomilo watched his parents — a nurse and pharmacist who immigrated from Cameroon to Minnesota — give health advice to people while out at community events. “They were always wearing their pharmacist or nurse hat,” said Chomilo. “I really respected that and looked for my own way to help folks and also be […]
U.S. Senate Democrats dive into details of surprise 725-page reconciliation bill
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden took a preliminary victory lap Thursday to celebrate Democrats striking a surprise deal on a sweeping legislative package that renewed hopes of historic action on the party’s health care, tax and climate goals. But just down Pennsylvania Avenue, Senate Democrats said they needed to read through the bill text to […]
Ellison declines to appeal state abortion rights ruling, cementing expanded access in Minnesota
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said on Thursday that he will not appeal a judge’s ruling that expanded abortion access in the state, effectively strengthening rights for people to receive the procedure in Minnesota with fewer restrictions. A district court judge earlier this month struck down laws related to parental notification, hospitalization, mandated physician care […]
Nurses vote to get rid of union at Mayo Clinic’s Mankato hospital
Nurses at the Mayo Clinic’s Mankato hospital voted 213 to 181 to decertify their union on Monday in a significant blow to Minnesota’s powerful nurses’ union, and a victory for anti-union activists who have focused their efforts on health care workers. The decision to sever ties with the Minnesota Nurses Association, which represents about 22,000 […]
Nurses vote on getting rid of union at Mayo Clinic’s Mankato hospital
MANKATO — Five-hundred nurses at the Mayo Clinic’s Mankato hospital will decide on Monday whether or not to get rid of their union after more than seven decades. If the nurses vote to dissolve the union, they would deliver one of the most significant blows in recent memory to the powerful Minnesota Nurses Association and […]
More than 400 Planned Parenthood workers unionize across five states
Frontline health care workers at Planned Parenthood North Central States voted overwhelmingly to unionize, they announced Thursday, with 90% of ballots cast in favor of a union. “This victory is a huge turning point for us and reproductive health care workers everywhere. Because it’s us who actually makes these clinics run,” said Sage Shemroske, a […]
Minnesota’s racial disparities on drug overdose are the worst in the nation
New data released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that drug overdose deaths are rising more rapidly among Black and Indigenous Americans than they are among white people — and Minnesota’s disparities are the worst in the nation. From 2019 to 2020, according to the analysis, fatal overdoses increased by […]
Conservative blocs unleash litigation to curb public health powers
Through a wave of pandemic-related litigation, a trio of small but mighty conservative legal blocs has rolled back public health authority at the local, state and federal levels, recasting America’s future battles against infectious diseases. Galvanized by what they’ve characterized as an overreach of COVID-19-related health orders issued amid the pandemic, lawyers from the three […]