Health Care

Hobby Lobby co-founders David and Barbara Green praised God and thanked the Supreme Court for its ruling in favor of religious freedom. The high court ruled on Monday that the company can refuse to provide insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs based on their religious belief.

"The Supreme Court re-affirmed what our family has always believed – that America is a country founded on and sustained by religious liberty. It's been a long journey, but an important one for our family and for those who wish to be guided in all areas of life, including their businesses, by faith and conscience," Barbara Green said in a video message posted on The Becket Fund For Religious Liberty website.

"We are truly thankful for a decision that allows us to continue operating our family business according to our principles," Green continued. "One of those principles is gratitude, and we are deeply grateful to our employees, to our customers, to the many individuals from all walks of life who have shown their support through word, action and prayer. We thank God for His many blessings and ask for His continued grace to shine on our nation." more >>

The Obama administration has responded to Monday's Supreme Court decision to allow for-profit corporations with certain religious convictions like Hobby Lobby to opt-out of part of the "Obamacare" birth-control mandate, by arguing that it jeopardizes women's health.

"President [Barack] Obama believes that women should make personal health care decisions for themselves rather than their bosses deciding for them," White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters.

"Today's decision jeopardizes the health of women who are employed by these companies. As millions of women know firsthand, contraception is often vital to their health and wellbeing. That's why the Affordable Care Act ensures that women have coverage for contraceptive care, along with other preventative care like vaccines and cancer screenings." more >>

A months-long measles outbreak in multiple Amish communities in Ohio has sparked local health officials to set up clinics so members of the religious group may receive the vaccination for the first time in their lives.

As NPR reports, nurse Jacqueline Fletcher of the Knox County Health Department was sent out to take samples from a local Amish community after the department received a phone call indicating two families had measle-like symptoms. When Fletcher arrived the next day to collect blood and nasal samples, she found the beginning of what could be an epidemic.

"The very next morning we were out to collect samples, collect nasal swabs and also draw blood. And it was just textbook measles," the nurse told NPR. "The rash. They had the conjunctivitis in the eyes, their eyes were red," she says. "They don't want the light, they sit in the darkened room, wear dark glasses. I mean they were just miserable. High temperatures, 103, 104 temps. So this was the measles." more >>

A new report on the ongoing Veterans Affair scandal has revealed that another 18 veterans who were kept off an official electronic appointment list have since died.

According toFox News, Acting V.A. Secretary Sloan Gibson, who replaced Eric Shinseki following his resignation last week, said that the inspector general is going to investigate whether these deaths were related to the long wait times.

"The President expects us to move out, and that is what we're going to do, and whether I am here for a week, or a month, or two years," Gibson said Thursday, according to MyFoxPhoenix.com. "Every day, every minute, that I am here we are going to make dust." more >>

Close to 2.2 million people who signed up for Obamacare have inconsistent data issues that could lead to problems with coverage, a report on Wednesday revealed.

Reuters reported that officials have promised that the problems, which stem from consumers imputing data on income, citizenship and immigration questions that is more up to date than federal records, will be sorted out by the end of the summer.

Errors in data that are unaddressed can sometimes lead to demands for repayment and even coverage cancellations, the report by U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said. It specified that 1.2 million people who have filed applications for Obamacare have questionable income data, while 461,000 had issues with citizenship and 505,000 with immigration. more >>

People seeking sex-reassignment surgeries may now be able to have the procedure covered by Medicare, following a groundbreaking decision by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services review board on Friday.

The ruling in question came in favor of 74-year-old Army veteran Denee Mallon, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, who was born as a man but now identifies as a woman, The Associated Press reported. The vet applied for genital reconstruction surgery two years ago through Medicare, the national social insurance program, but was denied because the program automatically excludes such surgeries.

"Sometimes I am asked aren't I too old to have surgery. My answer is how old is too old?" Mallon stated in an email before Friday's decision. "When people ask if I am too old, it feels like they are implying that it's a 'waste of money' to operate at my age. But I could have an active life ahead of me for another 20 years. And I want to spend those years in congruence and not distress." more >>