Gov. Mike Braun rolled out a sweeping health and government assistance initiative Tuesday, backed by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz.

The "Make Indiana Healthy Again" program seeks to reduce welfare spending, increase work participation among benefit recipients, and launches new health studies. Braun signed several executive orders to overhaul the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. He said the changes require work participation for able-bodied adults, reinstate income and asset checks, and end the use of SNAP dollars to buy some sugary items.

"Today's first executive order removes candy and soft drinks from taxpayer funded SNAP benefits," Braun stated. "More SNAP money is spent on sugar drinks and candy than on fruits and vegetables. That changes today."

The governor also ordered studies into diet-related chronic illness in children and the health risks of food dyes. The Indiana Department of Health will lead the research and recommend policy changes based on its findings.

One of Braun's orders targets Medicaid eligibility, aiming to reduce improper payments by ending self-attested applications and requiring hospitals to meet stricter standards.

"A study found 28% of Indiana Medicaid spending - our largest budget line item - was improper spending mostly due to eligibility errors," Braun noted. "Today we're taking action to make sure everyone on Medicaid is eligible for it in the first place."

Other directives promote physical activity and improve local food access, including a new Governor's Fitness Test for students and a review of how to expand direct-to-consumer sales from Indiana farms.


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California lawmakers are considering a bill to ease regulations on birth centers at a time when maternity wards are closing in many counties. Assembly Bill 55 would streamline the licensure process, which allows a birthing center to accept Medi-Cal, making midwifery care available to low-income families.

Sandra Poole, health policy advocate with the Western Center on Law and Poverty, said the bill would also no longer require a birthing center to be within 30 minutes of a hospital.

"Of course, if you're in an area where the labor and delivery has closed, that's going to be impossible," she explained. "I will say there are 12 counties in the State of California that have absolutely no labor and delivery works at all in the county."

Birthing centers are non-hospital, homelike facilities for low-risk pregnancies. At least 40% of California's birthing centers have closed since 2020, and just four of the 37 remaining centers are licensed, because the current licensing process is unnecessarily burdensome, according to a study published today by the Western Center on Law and Poverty, the California Black Women's Health Project and the Black Women for Wellness Action Project.

The study also surveyed patients on the merits of birthing centers. Holly Drayton is a mother and former doula from the Santa Barbara area.

"For people to have that option would really give them the opportunity to choose the birth that they want in an environment where they do feel comfortable to labor in the way that they're supported, to make it the best possible outcome," Drayton said.

Sarah Archer, a mother who supports birthing centers, said they are an important part of the state's health care system, and are proved to reduce pre-term births.

"People deserve choices in the way they want to give birth, not just in a sterile hospital," she explained. "It's a very safe, very quiet, beautiful, serene environment versus a medical setting."

The bill has passed the State Assembly and is now before the Senate Health Committee.

The Illinois Department of Public Health said the first positive test for West Nile virus in 2025 has been detected in Winnebago County near Rockford.

Health officials warned people in the infected area and elsewhere to take precautions to avoid the mosquito-borne disease, which is expected to spread across the state. Last year, Illinois reported 69 cases of West Nile, with 13 reported human deaths.

Sameer Vohra, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said evidence of the disease usually emerges this time of year.

"In Illinois, we typically see the first environmental positive test for West Nile in mid- to late May," Vohra explained. "Mosquitoes typically emerge in the spring and are active until the first hard frost of the year."

Vohra noted West Nile virus is an endemic disease in Illinois, meaning it is commonly found in the state. Public health officials are highlighting the importance of taking action to "Fight the Bite" during National Mosquito Control Awareness Week, which runs from June 18-24.

Vohra pointed out most people who are bitten by infected mosquitoes do not contract the disease but one in five will show symptoms ranging from mild discomfort to a serious and possibly fatal illness.

"Right now, there's no treatment for West Nile virus," Vohra emphasized. "But supportive care is really important, especially if you're developing symptoms or you're that one of 150 people that can develop severe illness."

Public health officials have advised Illinoisians to wear long sleeves and pants outdoors, use Environmental Protection Agency-approved insect repellent and stay indoors during peak mosquito hours at dawn and dusk. They also recommend trying to keep mosquitoes from breeding.

"One way to do that is to dump any standing water," Vohra advised. "Examples of that include flowerpots, children's toys, pet bowls, bird baths, buckets, used tires, abandoned swimming pools, any place where you can get standing water."


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As Memorial Day kicks off summer across Indiana, Hoosiers will flock to lakes, rivers and pools, and safety should be on everyone's mind.

William Ramos, associate professor in the School of Public Health at Indiana University in Bloomington, said water safety depends on layers of protection, including attentive supervision, knowing CPR, using life jackets -- not inflatables -- and securing barriers like fences or locked doors around home pools.

Ramos encouraged families to assign one person to watch the water.

"One that we like to mention is designating a 'water-watcher,'" Ramos recommended. "This is a person almost to the level of a lifeguard who has no other duty than to watch the water and has the skills and knowledge to act if necessary."

He pointed out the highest risk for unintentional drowning is among children between the ages of one and four and teen boys and adults. He added safety around home pools should be treated as seriously as public water parks by planning, staying alert and making sure everyone leaves the area together.

Ramos noted alcohol is another major safety concern especially on boats and at parties near water. He warned drinking can impair judgment and reaction time, increasing the risk of drowning.

"It's an interesting situation in the United States, somewhere in our history, we've tied alcohol use and boating together and it's actually farthest from the truth," Ramos cautioned. "They really don't go together at all, so make sure you have somebody who isn't engaging, especially, the person who might be driving or operating the vehicle."

He urged boaters to assign a sober driver and keep alcohol away from anyone expected to supervise swimmers or operate watercraft.