HHS News

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced the release of $131 million in energy assistance to help eligible low income homeowners and renters meet home energy costs. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds are expected to provide states with heating assistance for the fall and winter months ahead.

Sixteen states and Puerto Rico have just been awarded nearly $52 million to fund research and design in new ways to improve Medicaid efficiency, economy and quality of care, Secretary Mike Leavitt announced.

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt announced today that more than 90 percent of Medicare beneficiaries in a stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan (PDP) will have access to at least one plan in 2008 with premiums lower than they are paying this year. The open enrollment period for 2008 begins Nov. 15th and ends Dec. 31st.

Following the President’s signature of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Amendments Act, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt praised the bill as an important step forward in ensuring the safety of drugs and medical devices.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced health care facilities partnership program grants to eleven health care partnerships totaling $18.1 million. Selected through a competitive process each grantee presented a program designed to enhance community and hospital preparedness for public health emergencies.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today awarded $5 million health care partnership emergency care grants to five health care partnerships. The recipients were selected via a competitive process aimed at improving hospital surge capacity, emergency care system capability, and community and hospital preparedness for public health emergencies.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today the purchase of 18.75 million doses of BioThrax (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed, AVA) from Emergent Biodefense Operations of Lansing, Mich., at a total of $449 million.

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced an $8.8 million investment to help states provide more affordable choices to individuals struggling to remain in their homes and communities as they age.

This week in Beijing, a delegation of senior HHS and Food and Drug Administration officials, led by my Chief of Staff, Rich McKeown, held a series of initial negotiations with senior officials from a number of agencies in the Government of the People’s Republic of China. These agencies included the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration; the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine; the Ministries of Health and Agriculture; and the Certification and Accreditation Administration.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today announced $98 million in new Access to Recovery (ATR) grants to provide people seeking drug and alcohol treatment with vouchers allowing them a greater range of choice in selecting the services most appropriate for their needs.

Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt today released the first department-wide report on the goal of personalized health care and said work in biomedical science, health information technology and health care delivery should be aligned to produce “the right treatment, at the right time” for each individual patient.

I am pleased that Bob has taken on this position, having served as Deputy Director of the Indian Health Service (IHS) since February 2005.

Tomorrow my Chief of Staff, Rich McKeown, returns to Beijing as the head of a U.S. delegation comprised of policy and technical experts from my Department, to begin formal negotiations on two binding Agreements between the United States and China, one on the safety of food and feed, and one on the safety of drugs and medical devices. This trip follows a previous visit by this delegation in August and signifies another important step in addressing problems with food and other imports from China.

I am pleased to have two outstanding individuals on board to lead CMS at this important time.

I commend Charles for his dedication and commitment as IHS Director for the last four years. The American Indian and Alaska Native people have benefited greatly from his service and promotion of health care, disease prevention and treatment programs

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced that the Department is making available another $75 million to states, territories and four metropolitan areas to help strengthen their capacity to respond to a pandemic influenza outbreak.

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced that 12 states will be given $50 million in emergency energy assistance. The funds from the federal government’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) are targeted to states that have experienced much hotter than normal conditions in recent weeks.

Important steps toward widespread public reporting of quality and price in health care have been achieved in the year since President Bush issued an Executive Order mandating action by federal health agencies, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt said today.

Stops Include Communities Benefiting from U.S. Government Funding in Fight Against HIV/AIDS and Malaria

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced an initiative designed to protect Medicare beneficiaries from fraudulent providers of infusion therapy. This two-year project will focus on preventing deceptive providers from operating in South Florida. Providers there will be required to reapply to be a qualified Medicare infusion therapy provider.