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A new bill from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) would allow workers to take unpaid leave when same-sex partners, grandparents and other family members face illness.

The legislation loosens rules established by the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act, which allows unpaid leave when workers are caring for a new baby, spouse, child or parent. Other family members are excluded, even when facing serious health conditions. 

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A group of more than two dozen lawmakers who are military veterans sent a letter to President Obama Wednesday urging him to personally get involved in the problems at the Veterans Affairs Department.

The 26 lawmakers wrote that Obama should step in to address the VA’s disability claims backlog.

“The VA is clearly on the wrong track,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter, headed by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.).

GOP critics of the Senate’s immigration bill warn Congress risks a rerun of ObamaCare if it approves the measure.

President Obama will speak to Planned Parenthood on Friday instead of Thursday to accommodate his trip to Texas, officials announced.

Obama was originally scheduled to provide the keynote address at Planned Parenthood's annual gala on Thursday night.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday that delaying the speech will allow Obama to spend more time with people affected by the recent fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Wednesday released updated standards on providing cultural and language-appropriate healthcare services.

The blueprint, officially called the national Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) standards, intends to provide a universal framework for effective healthcare regardless of race, ethnic, sexual orientation or language factors. The 15 standards, first developed in 2000, guide healthcare organizations in adopting services and policies that respect cultural and language differences.

The Obama administration released a new drug control strategy on Wednesday that seeks a middle ground in the war on drugs.
   
The strategy "rejects the opposing extremes of legalization or a law enforcement-only," according to a 104-page document that spells out the administration’s plans.

"Rather, the strategy pursues a 21st century approach to drug policy that balances public health programs, effective law enforcement, and international partnerships. This 'third way' is rooted in the knowledge that drug addiction is a disease of the brain — one that can be treated, recovered from, and, most importantly, prevented."

Hospitals send hundreds of immigrants back home and a look at immigrant patients deported by hospitals

New website will disclose payments to doctors

Day centers lure fit elders and cost Medicaid

Dozens of House Democrats on Monday introduced a resolution that rejected President Obama's proposal for calculating growth in Social Security benefits.

The resolution, H.Con.Res. 34, was sponsored by Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), and co-sponsored by 81 other Democrats. It says it is the sense of Congress that "the Chained Consumer Price Index should not be used to calculate cost of living adjustments for Social Security benefits."

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) wants to change the way it calculates how much veterans are able to pay for extended care.

In a proposal to be unveiled on Monday, the VA will announce its desire to use a different calculation method to determine whether veterans are able to cover their copayments.

For non-service-related disabilities, veterans can pay up to $97 per day for extended care. However, the copayments only apply “to the extent the veteran and the veteran's spouse have available resources,” according to the law.

A victim of the Boston bombing who provided key information to the FBI is crowdfunding his medical bills because he lacks health insurance, according to reports.

Jeff Bauman, the subject of an iconic photo taken in the bomb's aftermath, lost both legs in the blast.

The 27-year-old is recovering at Boston Medical Center and seeking to raise $300,000 through an online fundraising tool called GoFundMe.