Politics

The measure also allows states to opt out if they take action before the federal law is enacted.

Former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has secured enough support to avoid a runoff in Georgia's closely watched Democratic primary for governor, CBS News projects

The Justice Department is seeking voter registration list data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia over the past year.

This is a MedPage Today story. Thousands of employees of federal health agencies have been let go in a chaotic and slow-rolling Trump administration purge over the holiday weekend. While the total number of dismissed employees appears to be smaller than originally expected, the changes sowed confusion as some staffers received termination notices over the weekend, while others waited for expected firings that never came. This includes members of CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service, a 2-year fellowship program that trains the next generation of "disease detectives." One employee from an agency within HHS who asked to remain anonymous described "chaos and confusion" as leadership "tries to sort this all out." Initial reports suggested about 5,200 employees across HHS agencies -- among about 80,000 total employees -- would be let go, but on Tuesday the totals were unclear. The focus was on "probationary" employees, or those generally within the first year of their...

This is a MedPage Today story. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s statements before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday revealed a concerning lack of knowledge about the major health programs he'd oversee, should he be confirmed as HHS secretary. On several occasions during the 3.5-hour hearing, Kennedy seemed to conflate Medicare, Medicaid, and Medicare Advantage, and appeared to mistakenly refer to the Affordable Care Act health exchanges. "Medicaid is not working for Americans, and it's specifically not working for the target population," he said in response to questions from Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.), a physician, who asked him in what ways he would improve the healthcare delivery system. "I'm on Medicare Advantage and I'm very happy with it," Kennedy replied. "Most people who are on Medicaid are not happy. The premiums are too high, the deductibles are too high, the networks are narrow." In fact, Medicaid plans generally do not have premiums, or if they do, under federal law...