Care

• Insurance giant Cigna announced it will exit the Affordable Care Act individual market in 2027, impacting 369,000 members amid reports of millions dropping Obamacare coverage due to higher long-term costs. • State officials and industry analysts note surging premiums are driving enrollment declines, exacerbating access issues for remaining policyholders. • Cigna reported a $1.65 billion profit while making the exit, highlighting tensions between profitability and marketplace sustainability.

• The American Heart Association released a Presidential Advisory on April 30, 2026, declaring U.S. health care affordability at a crisis point due to rising costs driven by chronic diseases. • Costs are forcing Americans to delay or avoid care, worsening health outcomes and increasing medical debt; a Gallup survey shows widespread worry about accessing affordable care. • A McLaughlin & Associates poll found 51% of voters cite health insurance as their top concern, followed by hospital bills (11%) and medicine costs (10%).

• Nearly two-thirds (64%) of U.S. adults worry about affording health care costs, with 30% very worried, topping affordability concerns over gas prices. • Health care affordability remains the public's primary worry despite other economic pressures. • Poll highlights ongoing financial strain on households amid rising medical expenses.

Charity says starting specialised care after first miscarriage instead of third reduces risk of future lossesGiving women access to specialised care after their first miscarriage could prevent about 10,000 pregnancy losses a year across the UK, according to a study.Currently, women in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are eligible for specialist care on the NHS for early baby losses after they have had a minimum of three miscarriages. Continue reading...

• A majority of Americans express concern over rising healthcare costs and support increased federal tax spending to address these challenges, according to the Axios/Ipsos American Health Index released March 17, 2026. • The poll demonstrates bipartisan support for government action on healthcare affordability, reflecting widespread concern among the U.S. public about escalating medical expenses. • Americans also show increased trust in government handling of childhood vaccination decisions, signaling broader public confidence in health policy interventions.

• Medicare underpayments to hospitals totaled more than $100 billion in 2024, according to testimony provided to the House Ways and Means Committee by the American Hospital Association. • Hospitals are managing significant cost pressures while treating a sicker, more medically complex, and aging patient population, with persistent misalignments between care provision and reimbursement rates. • The financial strain reflects broader healthcare system challenges as providers struggle with inadequate government reimbursement alongside rising operational costs.

CCTV footage circulating on social media showed children at the Little Aresha daycare centre in Yogyakarta, most under two, lying on the floor wearing only diapers with their hands and feet bound with rags.

Federal raids unfold in Twin Cities amid ongoing tensions between the Trump administration and Minnesota officialsSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxFederal agents under the command of the Trump administration have descended on Minnesota’s Twin Cities again to primarily target alleged fraud at daycares after the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s so-called “Operation Metro Surge” all but wound down earlier in the year.“Today the FBI with federal, state and local law enforcement is involved in court-authorized law enforcement activity as part of an ongoing fraud investigation,” the US justice department told the Guardian in a statement on Tuesday. Continue reading...

• The Alabama Department of Corrections terminated its $1 billion health care contract with Tennessee-based YesCare for failure to adequately fulfill contractual duties. • The contract, awarded in 2023 as a 5-year agreement, was dissolved due to the company's inability to meet performance standards for prison health services. • The termination raises questions about oversight of private contractors providing essential health care services within the correctional system.

• CrowdStrike disclosed on April 25, 2026, a sophisticated cyberattack via compromised third-party software affecting 2.5 million patient records at UnitedHealth's Change Healthcare subsidiary. • Attackers, linked to North Korean Lazarus Group, exfiltrated data over 72 hours before detection, demanding $22 million ransom. • Incident highlights vulnerabilities in US healthcare IT supply chains, prompting HHS emergency directives for 500+ providers.

Campaign is said to be first time Labour-affiliated Unison is lobbying en masse against a key party policyMigrant workers and the UK’s largest union will carry out a mass leafleting campaign in Shabana Mahmood’s Birmingham constituency to protest against a planned change in immigration policy.The Labour-affiliated Unison union says the changes will adversely affect migrant care workers. About one-third of all care workers and one-fifth of all NHS workers are migrants. Continue reading...

Mathieu Kassovitz, who is currently working on an AI-enabled film, also dismisses concerns over copyright His hit film was a masterpiece capturing the gritty truth of the Paris suburbs, but the director of La Haine is now sold on an AI-generated future for cinema.Mathieu Kassovitz has called the technology the “the last artistic tool we need” and dismissed concerns about AI stealing other artists’ intellectual property, telling the Guardian: “Fuck copyright”. Continue reading...

British singer and guitarist wrote and performed Traffic classics including Feelin’ Alright? before platinum-selling solo albums and work with Jimi Hendrix, Fleetwood Mac and moreDave Mason, the co-founder of rock band Traffic who also collaborated with Jimi Hendrix, Fleetwood Mac and many other A-list musicians, has died aged 79.A statement from his representative said he died peacefully on Sunday at his home in Gardnerville, Nevada, having settled in the US in 1969. “Dave Mason lived a remarkable life devoted to the music and the people he loved,” the statement added. Continue reading...

Experts say regulation of child influencers sits in a legal grey area as children promote products on social media#ToddlerSkincare: the ‘dark and exploitative’ world of children’s beauty videos on TikTokIn a TikTok video a young girl – her age anywhere between 10 and 15 – sits unboxing package after package of products she says were sent to her by skincare brands. She calls it a “PR haul”.In another video, a 16-year-old opens a box of products she received from a well known brand. She says: “I know I have younger people watching,” before reading out a note from the brand that says: “Can’t wait for you to share your thoughts.” Continue reading...

Labor says cuts to disability scheme mean elderly will get more help. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then Nick Visser will be your guide through the morning.Today the health minister, Mark Butler, will detail major changes to the NDIS including significant funding “savings”. The government says the savings, in part, from the national disability insurance scheme will go to funding improved aged care including showering and dressing. Continue reading...

Growing use of AI tech comes at expense of workers’ rights, protections and pay, report warnsBillion-dollar tech platforms are aggressively pushing for deregulation of the “Uber for nursing” industry in an effort to expand gig work in the healthcare sector, according to a report published Tuesday.The report from the AI Now Institute, Uber for Nursing Part II: How Gig Nursing Companies Are Lobbying States to Deregulate Healthcare, examines the use of artificial intelligence to staff hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Continue reading...

Vulnerable children placed in caravans, Airbnbs and holiday camps, with children’s commissioner saying practice must stopMinisters must get to grips with the “national scandal” of England’s shadow child social care system, the children’s commissioner has warned, as a shocking new report reveals the number of children in unregulated settings has increased by more than 370% in five years.Some of the most vulnerable children in England are being temporarily placed in unregulated caravans, Airbnbs and holiday camps, which risk the “accumulation of increasing levels of harm for children who have already faced enough distress for several lifetimes”, according to a new report. Continue reading...

Noah Sibanda died after he was physically restrained while being put to sleep at Fairytales Day Nursery in DudleyA nursery worker has been sentenced to more than three years in prison and the nursery fined £240,000 after a 14-month-old boy was restrained and died in their care.Noah Sibanda died after he was physically restrained face-down with a blanket over his head while being put to sleep at the Fairytales Day Nursery in Dudley in December 2022. He was left unchecked for two hours before he was found unresponsive. He was pronounced dead an hour later in hospital. Continue reading...

America First Policy Institute, which boasts close ties to president, discussed transgender policy ‘reform’ at DC eventChildren are the “low-hanging fruit” in a longer effort to end gender-affirming care for all Americans, an official at a Trump administration-aligned thinktank recently said.Bans on medical transition comprise just one part of the larger, unprecedented assault on transgender rights mounted by a coordinated campaign of mostly conservative activists and policymakers in the US in recent years. So far, these restrictions have primarily affected minors. But leaders in the emboldened movement have begun to more openly admit their desire to attempt to end gender-affirming care for adults, too.This article was produced in partnership with Documented, an investigative watchdog and journalism project. Phoebe Petrovic is a senior democracy researcher with Documented Continue reading...

Man initially charged in July but Australian federal police uncovered dozens more alleged offences after reviewing files on his devicesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA former childcare employee accused of abusing children in his care has been hit with another 129 charges after investigators say they identified more victims.The man, aged in his 30s, was initially charged with eight counts of online child abuse material offences in July 2025 after years of alleged offending. Continue reading...

New York mayor, ‘C-list rapper’ who went by Mr Cardamon and Young Cardamon, collected $1,643 in royalties last yearThe New York mayor Zohran Mamdani is still making money from his short-lived career as a multilingual rapper, tax filings show.But the 34-year-old Democrat’s meteoric rise as a celebrity politician has brought only a modest increase in hip-hop profits: he took home $1,643 in music royalties last year, up only slightly from $1,267 in 2024, according to the filings. Continue reading...

• Gallup survey of over 5,500 U.S. adults from Oct-Dec 2025 finds 25% use AI for health info, with 59% researching before doctor visits. • About 14 million adults skipped provider visits in past 30 days after AI advice, though only 4% strongly trust its accuracy. • Low trust levels (33% trust, 34% distrust) raise concerns on AI's role in U.S. healthcare decisions amid access barriers.

Exclusive: It follows numerous complaints made to Guardian Australia, politicians and advocacy organisations about the Integrated Assessment ToolGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe commonwealth ombudsman is investigating the government’s algorithm-based aged care assessment tool, which has been described by assessors as “cruel” and “inhumane” in its determination of home support funding for elderly Australians.It follows hundreds of complaints made to Guardian Australia, politicians and advocacy organisations about the Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT), made mandatory in November by the Albanese government as part of aged care reforms. Continue reading...

• Thomas Jefferson University launched a multicenter clinical trial led by Manisha Verma, MD, and Victor Navarro, MD, at Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital to improve palliative care for advanced liver disease patients. • Advanced liver disease causes significant scarring and loss of function, leading to serious health challenges with limited quality-of-life support. • Funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and published in JAMA Internal Medicine, the trial addresses a major care gap for ALD patients nationwide.

Ministers admit carer’s allowance penalties will continue while review of more than 200,000 cases is carried outThousands of unpaid carers will continue to be hit with hefty and potentially unfair benefit repayment demands, it has emerged, as a government initiative gets under way to fix welfare injustices that have drawn comparison to the Post Office scandal.Ministers will on Monday launch an audit of more than 200,000 historical carer’s allowance benefit cases, with an estimated 25,000 carers issued with unlawful overpayments since 2015 likely to see their repayment debts cancelled or reduced as a result. Continue reading...

Do No Harm activist group alleges ‘racial discrimination’ in program designed to support under-served communitiesSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxConservative campaigners are targeting a decades-old federal scholarship program designed to provide Native Hawaiian students with funding to pursue healthcare careers and place practitioners in the state’s most medically under-served communities.Do No Harm, a Virginia-based advocacy group for healthcare clinicians “focused on keeping identity politics out of medical education, research, and clinical practice”, filed its federal lawsuit challenging the US health department’s Native Hawaiian Health Scholarship Program (NHHSP) last week. Continue reading...

• Golf legend Jack Nicklaus, 86, warns fans to 'look out' following a close call with health issues, shared via social media today. • The Masters Tournament icon emphasizes vigilance amid his ongoing recovery, resonating with sports entertainment followers. • Nicklaus's message underscores aging athletes' influence in US pop culture as Augusta National events approach.

Pakistan’s PM had said the ceasefire would cover Lebanon; Iran says passage through the strait of Hormuz will be allowed for the next 2 weeks. Follow the latest newsUS and Iran agree to provisional ceasefire with Tehran saying it will reopen strait of HormuzIran war ceasefire announcement – what we know so farIsrael supports Donald Trump’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks, but said the ceasefire does not include Lebanon, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday.The office said Israel backed the US move, provided Tehran immediately opens the strait of Hormuz and stops attacks against the United States, Israel and countries in the region.Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said it had conditionally accepted a two-week ceasefire if attacks agains Iran are halted.Iran’s foreign minister said passage through the strait of Hormuz will be allowed for the next 2 weeks under Iranian military management.Iranian state media said negotiations with the US would be held in Islamabad to finalise details of an agreement, with the aim of “confirming Iran’s battlefield achievements”. Talks will begin on Friday 10 April and may be extended, state media reported. State media also reported that talks with the US do not amount to the end of the war.Pakistani prime minister Shebaz Sharif announced that Iran, the US and their allies agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon. Sharif has been a key figure in attempting to reach a diplomatic solution between the two warring parties. In his statement, Sharif invited delegations to Islamabad on “Friday, 10th April 2026, to further negotiate for a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes”.Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli welcomed the ceasefire but said fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon was not part of it.Trump said Iran had proposed a “workable” 10-point peace plan. According to Iranian state media, the ten-point proposal includes a number of conditions that the US has in the past rejected. Among them are controlled transit through strait of Hormuz coordinated with Iranian armed forces and withdrawal of all US forces from regional bases. The plan would also require the lifting of all primary and secondary sanctions, payment of full compensation to Iran and release of all frozen Iranian assets.Iranian state media also said the 10-point plan for securing an end to the war would require Washington to accept its uranium enrichment program, a previous red line for the Trump administration.Even as the ceasefire was proposed, missile alerts continued in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Israel. Continue reading...