Aug 02 Watch 7:06 CDC plans to send 'surge' of staff to Africa as two Ebola-infected Americans return for treatment By PBS News Hour Two American aid workers infected with Ebola in Liberia will be sent back for care at Emory University hospital in Atlanta -- the first time any Ebola patient has been transferred to the U.S. for treatment. Hari Sreenivasan talks to… Continue watching
Jul 31 Obama overhauls poultry inspections for the first time in decades By Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press The Obama administration is overhauling poultry plant inspections for the first time in more than 50 years, a move it says could result in 5,000 fewer foodborne illnesses each year. Continue reading
Jul 31 WHO launches $100 million response effort as Ebola virus deaths top 700 By Joshua Barajas The World Health Organization announced a $100 million response plan Thursday to control the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which is now responsible for more 700 deaths. Continue reading
Jul 30 How Medicare came to be, thanks to Harry S. Truman By Dr. Howard Markel Forty-nine years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson found himself in Independence, Missouri. Although he was surrounded by a gaggle of politicians, distinguished guests and Secret Service agents, the president was armed only with a fountain pen, a bottle of ink… Continue reading
Jul 29 $1,000 Sovaldi now hepatitis treatment of choice By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press The price is sky-high, but so is demand. A new $1,000-per-pill drug has become the treatment of choice for Americans with hepatitis C, a liver-wasting disease that affects more than 3 million. Continue reading
Jul 29 Affordable Care Act challenge shot down by appeals court By Associated Press WASHINGTON — In the latest effort to sidetrack Obamacare, a federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected a challenge by a conservative group that said Congress imposed new taxes unconstitutionally when it created the Affordable Care Act. Continue reading
Jul 28 Watch 5:20 Faced with challenging Ebola outbreak, medical workers use education to combat fear By PBS News Hour The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has killed more than 670 people and spread to four countries. Among those now infected are two American aid workers and the lead Ebola doctor in Sierra Leone. Gwen Ifill interviews Dr. Estrella Lasry… Continue watching
Jul 28 Watch Lawmakers announce bipartisan breakthrough on VA health care reform By PBS News Hour Continue watching
Jul 28 Next time you see him, give your doctor a fist-bump By Travis Daub Scientists at Aberystwyth University in the United Kingdom tested the germ-exchange rates of handhakes, fist bumps and high-fives to determine which mode of mano-to-mano contact spreads the most bacteria. In the study, one participant wore a sterile glove and exchanged… Continue reading
Jul 28 Marketplace shoppers discover new health plans have many limitations By Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News Nationally, regulators and insurance agents are inundated with complaints, while state lawmakers are considering rules to ensure consumers’ access to doctors. For 2015 plans which will be on sale beginning in November, the federal Department of Health and Human Services… Continue reading