Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a new autism research initiative using insurance claims and medical records from Medicare and Medicaid. The project, a collaboration with the NIH and CMS, aims to create a "real-world platform" for studying autism causes. This follows earlier controversial proposals for an autism registry that sparked privacy concerns. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker issued an executive order protecting the privacy of autistic residents, highlighting national anxieties about such databases.

Prepared by Olivia Bennett and reviewed by editorial team.