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Health Care

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The Big Story

Global HIV program a potential speedbump in recissions process

President Trump’s request to claw back billions in federal funding that’s already been apportioned by Congress could run into some hurdles as lawmakers waffle over a decades-old, bipartisan HIV program.

In his recissions request last month, Trump asked that $900 million be rescinded from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), considered one of former President George. W. Bush’s landmark accomplishments.

Since it was launched in 2003, the program says it has saved 26 million lives and allowed for nearly 8 million babies to be born HIV-free. The program’s authorization lapsed in March this year, after having only received a one-year authorization when it had historically been reauthorized in five-year increments.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine.) told CBN News that she would not be voting for the recissions package due to the steep cuts to PEPFAR.

“It’s hard to think of a more pro-life program than PEPFAR when you think about how many babies’ lives have been saved as a result,” said Collins.

GOP appropriators on Capitol Hill say the program remains an ongoing topic of discussion while they’re still looking into the finer details of any potential changes to PEPFAR’s funding.

Proponents of PEPFAR have called for the funds to remain untouched but acknowledged some changes may be warranted.

“Rather than rescinding FY25 funds, these funds should be used to strengthen the data systems and independent community surveys that measure progress and trigger needed adjustments,” David J. Kramer, executive director of the George W. Bush Institute, said in a statement.

“Details on what exactly would be affected by the proposed rescissions remain unclear, but should they weaken the core mission of PEPFAR, or its ability to collect necessary data, they would place lives in danger and jeopardize the tremendous progress made over more than two decades,” he added.

Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.

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Essential Reads

How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond:

FDA gives full approval to Moderna COVID shot for at-risk kids

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval on Thursday to Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for children, making it the first COVID shot for kids aged 6 months to 11 years old that is no longer administered under an emergency authorization. Infants younger than 6 months old are too young to be vaccinated. But the vaccine is only available for children with at least one underlying condition that puts them at high …

Full Story

RFK Jr. bans Head Start, health clinic access for people in US illegally

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Thursday it was rescinding a nearly 30-year interpretation of legislation that allowed immigrants without legal status to access certain federal public benefits. HHS said it was officially rescinding a 1998 interpretation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), which allowed immigrants without legal status to access services …

Full Story

Challenge to Michigan ban on taxpayer-funded abortions rejected

A Michigan judge rejected a challenge to the state’s longtime ban on taxpayer-funded abortions for low-income residents. The lawsuit argued that the ban had no standing after Michiganders voted in 2022 to pass a constitutional amendment ensuring the right to an abortion. Judge Brock A. Swartzle ruled the group that filed the lawsuit had no standing to file the challenge. The Michigan American Civil Liberties …

Full Story

In Other News

Branch out with a different read from The Hill:

Most say child care costs are ‘major problem’: Survey

Most Americans said the costs of child care are a “major problem,” and most are in favor of efforts to provide free or low-cost day care, according to a survey released Thursday. The new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that most Americans surveyed, 76 percent, agreed that the cost of child care is a major issue, while 18 percent said it is a “minor” problem. Some 5 percent said it is …

Full Story

Around the Nation

Local and state headlines on health care:

Life expectancy in California has not rebounded after COVID (The New York Times)
New Jersey government workers, teachers, police may see up to 36 percent increase in health premiums (Bergen Record)
Trump funding cuts kill crucial health care program to thousands in South Texas (MySA.com)

What We’re Reading

Health news we’ve flagged from other outlets:

Nearly 1-in-3 teens have prediabetes, CDC finds, in ‘wake-up call’ (Stat)
Why a new opioid alternative is out of reach for some pain patients (NPR)
New research questions severity of withdrawal from antidepressants (The New York Times)

What Others are Reading

Most read stories on The Hill right now:

Judge orders Jan. 6 rally organizer to pay $2K daily until compliance with subpoena

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered an organizer of President Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, rally at the Ellipse to pay $2,000 per day until she complies … Read more

Dershowitz says he knows Epstein client list names: ‘But I’m bound by confidentiality’

Lawyer Alan Dershowitz on Thursday said he knows the list of names in the Jeffrey Epstein files regarding alleged clients in his international sex … Read more