Officials are warning that millions of Americans could lose their insurance under changes in the law — including 330,000 people in Illinois who could be impacted by changes to Medicaid. However, Republican lawmakers say the changes are aimed at eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in the system.

Hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans could lose benefits from a federal food assistance program while the state will be required to cover more costs under changes passed in the latest domestic policy plan.

The bill, passed late last week and signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4, will bar Medicaid users from coverage with a health care provider that also provides abortion services.

Congress on Thursday passed President Donald Trump’s so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which the president is expected to sign into law. The tax and spending plan cuts federal funding for services such as food aid and Medicaid, as well as Planned Parenthood.

Unpermitted fireworks and sparklers are illegal in Chicago. That doesn’t stop residents from putting on DIY firework displays in city streets, backyards and alleys every year.

The 6-3 ruling comes in a lawsuit over how the government decides which health care medications and services must be fully covered by private insurance under former President Barack Obama’s signature law, often referred to as Obamacare.

The preservative, thimerosal, has long been used in certain vaccines that come in multi-dose vials, to prevent contamination as each dose is withdrawn.

Gavi is a public-private partnership including WHO, UNICEF, the Gates Foundation and the World Bank, and it is estimated that the vaccination programs have saved 18 million lives. The United States has long been one of its biggest supporters.

The American Academy of Pediatrics announced Wednesday that it would continue publishing its own vaccine schedule for children but now will do so independently of the ACIP, calling it “no longer a credible process.”

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) said the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline will close its specialized services program for LGBTQ+ youth on July 17.

One trial is seeking to discover whether the drug metformin could help prevent lung cancer. Another trial is testing a vaccine combination to prevent cancer in people with Lynch syndrome.

The administration said in its statement that everyone who contacts the 988 lifeline will continue to receive access to crisis counselors who can help with suicidal, substance misuse or mental health crises, or any other kind of emotional distress, but there will no longer be the LGBTQ+ specialized services.

The COVID-19 variant that may be driving a recent rise in cases in some parts of the world has earned a new nickname: “razor blade throat” COVID.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last week announced he would “retire” the entire panel that guides U.S. vaccine policy.

Hippotherapy is a type of physical, occupational and speech therapy where the movement of a horse is used to treat a patient’s specific disability or disorder.

The Illinois Department of Public Health this week issued a statement after Kennedy removed all volunteer members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.