Department of Health and Human Services

Trump Issues Memo Ordering Comprehensive Review of Childhood Vaccine Schedule, Elevating Political Control Over Medical Science

| Importance: 9/10

President Donald Trump issues a Presidential Memorandum ordering the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct a comprehensive review of the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule and align it with “best practices from …

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Trump Signs Pediatric Cancer AI Executive Order After Cutting Billions in Research Funding

| Importance: 6/10

President Trump signed an executive order on September 30, 2025, titled ‘Unlocking Cures for Pediatric Cancer with Artificial Intelligence,’ committing an additional $50 million to explore AI applications in pediatric cancer research. The order directs the MAHA Commission to coordinate …

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2.4 million Americans projected to lose SNAP benefits from expanded work requirements

| Importance: 6/10

Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” signed July 4, 2025 expanded SNAP work requirements to ages 18-64, affecting parents with children 14+, veterans, homeless individuals, and former foster youth. CBO projects 2.4-3 million Americans will lose benefits. Simultaneously …

Trump Administration USDA Department of Health and Human Services snap food-assistance work-requirements head-start project-2025
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HHS Inspector General Christi Grimm Reports Severe Hospital Shortages, Trump Attacks Her Credibility

| Importance: 8/10

Principal Deputy Inspector General Christi Grimm of the Department of Health and Human Services released a report on April 6, 2020, documenting “severe shortages” of COVID-19 testing supplies and “widespread shortages” of personal protective equipment at hospitals nationwide. …

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Trump Administration Expands 'Junk Insurance' Short-Term Plans to Undermine ACA

| Importance: 7/10

The Trump administration finalized regulations expanding short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans from a maximum 3-month term (set by Obama in 2016) to 364 days with renewability up to 3 years total. These plans—derided by critics as ‘junk insurance’ and ’the Trump …

Trump Administration Department of Health and Human Services Department of Labor Department of Treasury America's Health Insurance Plans +2 more healthcare aca-sabotage trump-administration insurance-regulation junk-insurance +2 more
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HHS Inspector General Finds Tom Price Violated Federal Travel Rules, Wasted $341,000 on Private Jets

| Importance: 8/10

On July 13, 2018, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General released a report finding that former HHS Secretary Tom Price violated federal travel regulations on 20 of 21 trips reviewed, wasting at least $341,000 in taxpayer funds through improper use of chartered …

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Alex Azar Confirmed as HHS Secretary After Doubling Insulin Prices at Eli Lilly

| Importance: 9/10

On January 24, 2018, the Senate confirmed Alex Azar as Secretary of Health and Human Services by a vote of 55-43, installing as the nation’s top healthcare regulator a pharmaceutical executive who had overseen dramatic insulin price increases during his decade at Eli Lilly. As President of …

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Trump Declares Opioid Public Health Emergency Without Requesting Any New Funding

| Importance: 7/10

On October 26, 2017, President Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency—but the declaration provided no new funding and stopped short of the national emergency designation Trump had promised in August. The move was widely criticized as a hollow gesture that failed to match the …

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HHS Secretary Tom Price Resigns After $1 Million Private Jet Scandal

| Importance: 8/10

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price resigned after revelations he spent over $1 million in taxpayer funds on private jets and military aircraft for travel that included personal business. Price took at least 26 private charter flights costing over $400,000, often to places where he had …

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Marco Rubio's Risk Corridor Amendment Triggers ACA Insurance Market Destabilization

| Importance: 8/10

Senator Marco Rubio successfully inserted a provision into the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015 that prohibited the Department of Health and Human Services from using general appropriations to fund the ACA’s risk corridor program, limiting payments to only user …

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