News and reports from the Department of Health and Human Services.

On May 28, 2024, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra addressed the 77th World Health Assembly, emphasizing the importance of global collaboration in addressing health threats. Reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic, Becerra noted that "the world emerged from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to unprecedented collaboration that brought governments, the private sector, and civil society together around a common goal: to save lives."

On May 21, 2024, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra issued a statement regarding the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) new request for information. The NIH has introduced a draft policy proposal aimed at promoting equitable access to products derived from NIH-owned inventions.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has introduced a new feature on CMS.gov to facilitate the filing of complaints under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). This initiative is part of the Biden-Harris Administration's broader strategy to inform the public and ensure patient access to emergency medical care as mandated by federal law.

On Thursday, May 16, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra participated in the second meeting of the Federal Interagency Working Group on Arts, Health, and Civic Infrastructure. Founded in 2024, the Working Group facilitates the exchange of insights and information about arts and cultural resources across federal agencies to improve individual and community health.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra issued a statement in response to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The data revealed that the uninsurance rate remains steady at 7.7 percent.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has expressed satisfaction with the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) issued by the Justice Department (DOJ). The HHS stated, “The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is pleased that the NPRM issued by the Justice Department (DOJ) is consistent with our scheduling recommendation."

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made significant strides in the field of mental health, with several accomplishments to its credit. The administration launched 988, a helpline that has received over 9.5 million calls since July 2022. In addition to this, HHS invested more than $1.5 billion, improved answer rates to over 90 percent across all modalities, and introduced nationwide text and chat services in English and Spanish.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra issued a statement on the release of new drug overdose death data. "When President Biden took office in January 2021, the overdose death rate was increasing 31% year-over-year. Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that drug overdose deaths fell 3% over the past year—the first decline in more than five years," he said.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has unveiled a national strategy, developed by the Task Force on Maternal Mental Health, to address the urgent public health crisis of maternal mental health and substance use issues. The strategy includes recommendations that are part of broader federal efforts to improve women's overall health, particularly maternal health, across the nation.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), has issued a Special Emphasis Notice (SEN) under the Leading Edge Acceleration Projects (LEAP) in Health Information Technology (Health IT) funding opportunity for fiscal year 2024. The ONC is inviting applications for projects focusing on two specific areas.

A joint investigation by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS OCR) and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island has determined that the State of Rhode Island violated federal civil rights laws. The state was found to have unnecessarily segregated children with mental health and/or developmental disabilities at Bradley Hospital, an acute-care psychiatric hospital. The announcement was made by HHS OCR Regional Manager Susan Rhodes and United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced the winners of the FentAlert Challenge today. The challenge was aimed at inspiring innovative ideas from U.S. youth, aged 14-18, to develop a community strategy for educating their peers about fentanyl and counterfeit pills, thereby preventing drug overdose deaths. This initiative supports primary prevention efforts prioritized in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Overdose Prevention Strategy, a key component of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Unity Agenda’s focus on combating...

On March 25, 2024, following the first detection of H5N1 in dairy cattle in the Texas panhandle region, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) began working to understand the origin of the emergence and its potential impact on bovines and humans. USDA experts took swift action to trace animal movements, assess disease prevalence in herds, and initiate testing activities to confirm the safety of meat and milk supplies.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), via the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), has unveiled a new regulation designed to broaden access to legal representation for children eligible for title IV-E foster care, their parents, kinship caregivers, Indian custodians, and tribes. This will be achieved by permitting state and tribal child welfare agencies to utilize federal funds in providing legal representation.

On National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families (ACF) unveiled new policy guidance and resources to broaden access to legal representation for children eligible for title IV-E foster care, their parents, kinship caregivers, Indian custodians, and tribes. The initiative allows state and tribal child welfare agencies to use federal funds to provide legal representation. This move aligns with President Biden’s Unity Agenda priority of addressing the mental health crisis and...