The Host The midterm elections are months away, yet changes at the Department of Health and Human Services suggest the Trump administration is focusing on how to win on health care, which remains a top concern for voters. Facing growing concern about the administration’s actions on vaccines in particular, the Food and Drug Administration this week reversed course and said it would review a new mRNA-based flu vaccine after all. And some top HHS officials are changing seats as the Senate prepares for the long-delayed confirmation hearing of President Donald Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, Casey Means. This week’s panelists…
Author: Awais
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser has requested federal support as the region continues to deal with a January 19 pipe break that sent sewage flowing into the Potomac River northwest of Washington. Bowser has asked for a Presidential Emergency Disaster Declaration. The mayor is seeking 100% reimbursement for costs incurred by the District and the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water). The ruptured pipe, known as the Potomac Interceptor, is part of the DC Water utility based in Washington that is federally regulated and under the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). While the EPA serves as…
The Delaware Supreme Court, on February 16, declined to hear an appeal from the four carriers – XL Specialty Insurance Company, Homeland Insurance Company of New York, Travelers Casualty & Surety Company of America, and Admiral Insurance Company. The insurers had challenged a ruling that a Justice Department demand for information should be treated as a covered insurance claim rather than an excluded government investigation.
The Texas Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit last week against Dow Chemical Co., North America’s largest chemical manufacturer, describing hundreds of water pollution violations from its industrial complex on the rural Gulf Coast in Seadrift. While the state’s 46-page lawsuit followed a 60-day notice of intent to sue filed in December by a local environmental activist, the lawsuit could actually shield Dow and two other companies by superseding litigation by the citizen group seeking tougher cleanup provisions under the Clean Water Act. The state’s lawsuit said Dow, its subsidiary Union Carbide and the Brazilian petrochemical manufacturer Braskem “have been…
Recent decisions by Congress and the Trump administration are making it harder for Americans to enroll in health insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces. Congress’s refusal to preserve enhanced premium tax credits for marketplace enrollees has made coverage dramatically more expensive. Meanwhile, federal regulatory changes and last year’s tax and spending law, known as H.R. 1 or the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” have shortened enrollment periods, added administrative barriers to signing up, and cut funding for community groups that help people navigate the enrollment process.As enrollment in ACA-compliant coverage becomes more challenging, insurance products and insurance-like arrangements…
A fast-moving wildfire on Oklahoma’s panhandle has doubled in size as it presses into Kansas, as firefighters contend with days of dry heat and gusting winds across the Great Plains. The Ranger Road Fire had consumed more than 280,000 acres as of Wednesday evening, nearly 20 times the size of the island of Manhattan. In all, more than 300,000 acres have burned in Oklahoma this week as temperatures soar roughly 15F (8C) above average. State officials have received 33 reports of fires and hotspots spanning nearly two dozen counties. Oklahoma’s Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry warned that Thursday will…
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is seeking to temporarily halt incentives for data centers in a bid to contain soaring power bills. Pritzker, a Democrat seeking his third term as governor, wants to implement a two-year moratorium on new state-issued tax credits for data centers, he said during his budget address on Wednesday. He also urged the PJM Interconnection LLC, the largest grid operator in the US, to take steps to make large energy customers such as data centers pay their fair share. Ensuring a reliable electricity supply has become key to a world where more and more people charge their…
Largest US military buildup in Middle East since 2003 forces insurers to reassess war, political violence, marine and aviation exposures
Since 2023, the share of telehealth visits has held steady at around 6% to 7%, suggesting the sector has reached a new balance between virtual and in-person care, according to Epic Research.
Marsh Risk, a business of broker Marsh, announced the launch of Nimbus Casualty, a new insurance facility providing clients with excess general liability protection during the construction phase of US-based digital infrastructure projects. The facility offers up to $75 million in capacity, with a minimum attachment point of $25 million, and is supported by a panel of Lloyd’s and London insurers. Leveraging Marsh Risk’s proprietary XSellence excess casualty form, Nimbus Casualty delivers follow-form coverage across a client’s excess casualty program, enhancing coverage certainty and streamlining claims negotiation. The launch of Nimbus Casualty follows the recent expansion of Marsh Risk’s market-leading…
Intrauterine devices (IUDs) are one of the most effective forms of reversible contraception. IUDs, along with implants, are known as long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs) because they can be used to prevent pregnancy for several years. IUDs have been used in the U.S. for decades, but a safety controversy in the 1970s prompted the removal of all but one IUD from the U.S. market by 1986. The first new generation IUD was introduced to the U.S. market in 1988, following revised Food and Drug Administration (FDA) safety and manufacturing requirements. Recent controversies have focused on the mechanism of action of IUDs, the high upfront…
US insurer Allstate has announced estimated pre-tax catastrophe losses of $175 million for January 2026, primarily related to recent winter storm Fern in the United States, which has lifted the total for the current annual aggregate risk period for the firm’s catastrophe bonds to $2.932 billion.This loss event could further erode the aggregate retention of some of Allstate’s Sanders Re catastrophe bonds, increasing the potential exposure of those layers to further activity before the risk period ends. As we reported last month, investment manager Twelve Securis had warned that the winter storm event and freezing temperatures could contribute to the…
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, has filed a $250,000 negligence lawsuit against her suburban hometown north of New York City and a power utility after claiming she tripped and fell while out walking. Pirro said she tripped over a large wooden block protruding from a steel plate in a roadway on Aug. 28 in the Westchester County city of Rye, just weeks after she was confirmed as the Trump administration’s top prosecutor for the District of Columbia. The plate was covering excavation related to gas-main work for Consolidated Edison, according to an amended complaint filed…
A judge agreed with Palantir Technologies Inc. that a trio of former employees likely violated confidentiality and non-solicitation agreements in founding their artificial intelligence startup but stopped short of halting their work at the new company, Percepta. Palantir sued Percepta co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Hirsh Jain last year, claiming he “began an aggressive campaign to recruit numerous Palantir employees” after leaving the company in August 2024. The firm also named two other former Palantir executives who moved to Percepta as defendants, claiming Radha Jain worked to poach co-workers and Joanna Cohen stole confidential documents. US District Judge J. Paul…