The US Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday unveiled a pilot program for the National Institutes of Health to tap into Medicare and Medicaid data in its search for the root causes of a

HHS said it intends to create a database of enrolled Medicare and Medicaid patients to support a study aimed at identifying the “root causes” of autism.

By Ahmed Aboulenein and Sriparna Roy WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Federal health agencies will create a database of autism patients enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid that researchers will use to study the causes of autism spectrum disorder,

This is as a new report out Wednesday from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that millions of Americans would lose Medicaid coverage under the various proposals being circulated by Republicans as cost-saving measures.

According to the poll, three-quarters of the public are broadly opposed to major Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security cuts.