Healthcare

The Obama administration wants higher standards for federally funded child care.

A proposed rule from the Department of Health and Human Services issued on Thursday would strengthen standards for the 1.6 million children who are served by providers that get money from the Child Care and Development Fund, a federal program to aid low-income children under the age of 13.

The administration claims that current regulations resemble a patchwork of regulations for child care centers, with state laws varying on whether providers need background checks or first aid and CPR training. One in 10 children who are served by the program are cared for in totally unregulated facilities, the department asserts in the proposal, which "can leave children in unsafe conditions, even as their care is being funded with public dollars."

The Obama administration is taking steps to codify looser regulations on "smart pills" that transmit messages from inside a patient's stomach.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is formally classifying the miniature medical device in a way that relaxes the government's control over the technology. The device can be attached to pills and send time-stamped messages about how drugs are being ingested.

Federal regulators issued the highest amount warning letters to medical device companies in 2012 than over the last seven years, according to a new study.

An Affordable Care Act tax on health insurance providers “scares the daylights” out of some small-business owners, The Washington Post reports.

Some states are also lining up in opposition to the health insurance providers fee, according to The Hill's RegWatch. Read more...

Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) is worried that unaccountable and overly aggressive regulators will undermine the Affordable Care Act.

The Obama administration announced new funding Thursday for efforts to help the uninsured find coverage through ObamaCare.

The Health and Human Services (HHS) Department will spend $150 million on enrollment assistance through community health centers, which serve an estimated 21 million patients annually.

The funding comes as Democrats are expressing concerns about implementation of the landmark law. Polls show that few people understand it, or how they might benefit. 

Republicans have requested state health agencies provide records of regulators' dealings with abortion clinics since 2008. 

A line of caffeinated gum was pulled from production on Wednesday after a consultation with federal regulators.

Reps. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) are calling for a speedy release of federal guidelines to reduce the amount of arsenic in fruit juice.

The two lawmakers pushed the White House budget office to release industry guidance on arsenic now under consideration from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"It is inexcusable that these guidelines are stalled while consumers continue to be exposed to potentially dangerous levels of arsenic," Pallone and DeLauro wrote. 

Complying with President Obama's healthcare law will take nearly 190 million hours per year, according to a new tally released by House Republicans.

The GOP reached that total by adding together the compliance burden in each regulation implementing part of the healthcare law.

They said the annual burden to comply with ObamaCare is enough time to build Mount Rushmore more than 1,500 times over, or to build the Empire State Building 27 times.