The bond between people and their pets is stronger than ever. About 87 million people in the U.S. have a pet and a staggering 95% of pet parents globally consider their pets to be integral members of their families.
But when it comes to the costs of caring for pets, Synchrony's Lifetime of Care study found that one-third of pet parents will face an unexpected vet bill that causes financial worry.
Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, announced in a video message shared Monday that she has completed chemotherapy.
The big picture: The princess revealed in March that she had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatments following an abdominal surgery months prior.
The DeSantis administration is escalating its war on Amendment 4, using state agencies to combat the abortion rights referendum on November's ballot.
Why it matters: Gov. RonDeSantis' use of state resources to oppose a ballot initiative in Florida is unusual, and critics argue it violates a statute that prohibits the state from "influencing" a person's vote.
🏈 Philadelphia mental health therapists are bracing for more cases of stress and anxiety as Eagles fans' moods swing with the fortunes of the NFL team. (Axios)
📉 Half a million fewer teens said they used e-cigarettes this year compared to last, bringing use to its lowest level in a decade. (Axios)
💼 Health care continues to add jobs in a slowing labor market ahead of a highly anticipated interest rate cut later this month. (Axios)
🥚 A salmonella outbreak linked to eggs sold in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois has resulted in hospitalizations in nine states. (Axios)
The personal information of nearly 1 million Medicare beneficiaries may have been exposed in a data breach last year, when an unauthorized third party accessed a file transfer system used to handle medical claims.
Why it matters: It was part of a pattern in which hackers target vulnerabilities in outside vendors' systems — in this case, the popular file-transfer program MOVEit — and use them to steal customer information.
Driving the news: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it is notifying 946,801 beneficiaries in Wisconsin that their names, Social Security numbers, hospital account numbers, and insurance claim information could have been stolen between May 27 and May 31, 2023, before the flaw was discovered and patched.
CMS and its contractor, the Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corp., said they're not aware of any reports of identity fraud or improper use of the personal information. But they're offering beneficiaries 12 months of free credit monitoring and other identity protection services.
Those whose Medicare Beneficiary Identifier numbers were affected will get new Medicare cards with new numbers.
WPS is one of many organizations in the U.S. that have been hit by the MOVEit vulnerability, which allowed intruders to bypass an authentication process that enables encrypted file transfers, per Axios' Sam Sabin.
What's next: CMS said it's continuing to investigate the breach with law enforcement and cybersecurity consultants.
Giving birth became measurably riskier during the pandemic, as factors causing complications — from obesity and diabetes to mental health issues — rose 20% between 2020 and 2023, according to a FAIR Health analysis shared first with Axios.
Why it matters: The findings, gleaned from a database of roughly 47 billion commercial insurance claims, bring into better focus the COVID-era spike in pregnancy complications that not only contributed to the maternal mortality crisis but also drove up health costs.
The Biden administration today is taking new steps to make insurers cover mental health on a par with physical health, rekindling a fight with health plans that say such requirements are unworkable amid a shortage of providers.
Why it matters: The coverage requirements mark the most significant action on mental health parity in a decade and address persistent complaints that insurers are dodging existing regulations.
