RFK Jr: Starbucks will ‘further MAHA its menu'; Heinz, Kraft removing artificial dyes

Robby Soave and Niall Stanage discuss how Starbucks is planning to implement HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s, "MAHA."

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Politico

6 hours ago

• Politico

RFK Jr. goes after immigrants to cut health insurance costs

The Trump administration is tightening eligibility for Obamacare coverage in what it says is a bid to combat a 'surge of improper enrollments' and to lower insurance costs broadly. Critics say the rule changes will cause eligible people to miss out on a chance at subsidized health insurance and increase the uninsured rate. 'With this rule, we're lowering marketplace premiums, expanding coverage for families, and ensuring that illegal aliens do not receive taxpayer-funded health insurance,' HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a press release that projects $12 billion in savings from the rule changes next year. Those changes include reducing the enrollment period for plans by two weeks, adding paperwork requirements for some enrollees, ending the use of federal subsidies to help cover the cost of transgender people's transition-related medical care, and barring Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients from purchasing insurance on the exchanges. Those are immigrants brought to the country without documentation when they were children whom President Barack Obama protected from deportation. The final rule also repeals a special enrollment period for individuals in households earning less than 150 percent of the federal poverty level. CMS estimates about 725,000 to 1.8 million people will lose coverage as a result of the final rule. In January, CMS said about 24 million people had signed up for Obamacare coverage for 2025. Many of those will lose coverage because enrollment will be less consumer-friendly, said Larry Levitt, who advised President Bill Clinton on health policy and is now executive vice president for health policy at KFF, a health care think tank. 'I think the combination of the shorter open enrollment period and the more complex income verification rules will result in more people falling through the cracks,' Levitt said. Levitt noted that many policies in the final rule are effective only for the 2026 plan year, but that could change if Congress codifies them. The House last month included some of the changes in its version of President Donald Trump's megabill. The Senate hasn't yet voted on its version of the bill, which aims to extend Trump's 2017 tax cuts but needs budget savings to do it. The final rule shortens the annual open enrollment period from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31. The previous enrollment period ran from Nov. 1 to Jan. 15. The regulation also eliminates a policy under which individuals with low incomes who are eligible for premium-free plans are automatically re-enrolled in them. Under the new rule, they will be re-enrolled with a $5 monthly premium in plan year 2026. If the individual files paperwork showing they are still eligible for a no-premium plan, they'll be re-enrolled in one. Taken together, CMS estimates the changes will cause individual health insurance premiums to drop by an average of 5 percent.

The Hill

8 hours ago

• The Hill

HHS investigating Michigan healthcare system over alleged conscience rights violation

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is investigating whether an employee at a Michigan hospital system was fired for refusing to use a patient's preferred pronouns and assisting in 'sex trait modification' procedures, the agency's Office of Civil Rights announced Friday. The healthcare worker allegedly requested religious accommodations from certain employment practices like using a patient's preferred pronoun even if they do not match with their sex and from helping with 'certain sex trait modification procedures,' according to a press release from HHS. An HHS spokesperson has yet to respond to questions from The Hill on the name of the health care system under investigation. If the employee was fired for this reason, the press release states, the termination was a violation of federal conscience laws. The investigation will look into whether the health system has policies that align with federal conscience laws, also known as Church Amendments, that seek to accommodate healthcare workers with religious beliefs that conflict with certain healthcare procedures. The investigation will also examine the specific circumstances related to the healthcare workers' firing. 'OCR is committed to enforcing Federal conscience laws in health care,' said Paula M. Stannard, OCR Director. 'Health care workers should be able to practice both their professions and their faith.' This is the third investigation regarding conscience rights in health care the department has launched since President Trump returned to office in late January. 'Today's announcement is part of a larger effort to strengthen enforcement of laws protecting conscience and religious exercise,' the agency said in a statement.

10 hours ago

Starbucks testing new protein cold foam, here's what to know

Starbucks announced a new product being developed that taps into the growing consumer obsession with protein-packed diets, this time in the form of foam. The Seattle-based coffee company first shared the news of a protein cold foam innovation earlier this month at its 2025 Leadership Experience conference. The company said it's reimagining its beverage and food offerings to build a more modern and hype-worthy global menu in an effort to resonate with customers. Starbucks introduced its new approach for testing menu items in the U.S. that -- the Starting Five process -- in which it will consider employee and customer feedback before a national launch. Starbucks tests new banana protein cold foam One such relevant health trend-informed products that's quickly drawing online attention from protein and coffee consumers that will be using this test to market model is a new banana protein cold foam. While the protein foam currently being tested contains 15 grams of protein, the company suggested that the beverages may continue to evolve.