alex azar

Southern states slowly embracing harm reduction to curb opioid epidemic

By Max Blau, Stateline

In the Bible Belt, many Southerners who held conservative views often criticized harm reduction as something that encouraged — not ended — the use of drugs. But attitudes have shifted.

WATCH: HHS Secretary Azar defends proposed cuts to Medicare hospital payments

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Catherine Lucey, Associated Press

The administration argues that the budget doesn't cut Medicare benefits to seniors but makes better use of taxpayers' dollars and helps reduce Medicare spending by lowering prescription drug costs.

Some hospital prices rose over 40 percent in less than a decade. Will this new rule help?

By Laura Santhanam

A new study finds that prices for services at hospitals rose far more than those by physicians during the same time period.

Health Secretary Alex Azar unveils plan to revamp prescription drug discounts

By Associated Press

A day after unveiling the plan as a proposed regulation, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar raised the stakes by calling on Congress to make it law and broaden it to include people covered by employer health insurance, not…

U.S. health chief says overdose deaths beginning to level off

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Carla K. Johnson, Associated Press

The number of U.S. drug overdose deaths has begun to level off after years of relentless increases driven by the opioid epidemic, health secretary Alex Azar said Tuesday, cautioning it's too soon to declare victory.

Premiums to drop for popular Affordable Care Act plan, Azar says

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said premiums for a popular type of "silver" health plan under the Affordable Care Act will edge downward next year in most states.

5 numbers to watch on family separations

By Joshua Barajas

There hasn't always been clear data on how many children have been separated from their parents at the border since the Trump administration rolled out its "zero tolerance" policy a few months ago. Numbers matter, and here are a few…

Family separation lawsuit offers chilling details as Trump administration says it will fulfill federal court order

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar says that the Trump administration is working to comply with a federal court order deadline to reunite immigrant families separated at the border. Meanwhile, 17 states and the District of Columbia…

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17 states sue Trump administration over family separations

By Michael Balsamo, Will Weissert, Gene Johnson, Associated Press

States, including New York and California, sued the Trump administration Tuesday to force it to reunite the thousands of immigrant children and parents it separated at the border, as pressure mounted to reconnect families more quickly.

Column: Not sure what to make of Trump’s drug prices plan? Here’s where to start

By Philip Moeller

Rushing to judgment is misguided. There are no quick fixes here, and while the Trump proposals are viewed as fatally flawed by many experts, they also include some worthy ideas.