Dec 18 Federal appeals court rules Obamacare ‘individual mandate’ is unconstitutional By Rebecca Santana, Mark Sherman, Associated Press A federal appeals court says the “individual mandate" of former President Barack Obama’s health care law is invalid, but other parts of the law need further review. Continue reading
Dec 18 Column: Insurance carriers may worsen rural disparities in health care By Simon F. Haeder, The Conversation In a recent study, researchers found that as distance from cities increased, access worsened significantly. Consumers had fewer providers to choose from, and had to travel further to see them. Continue reading
Dec 18 Trump administration wants to import cheaper prescription drugs from abroad By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press Health officials unveiled a proposed regulation that would allow states to import many brand name drugs from Canada, with federal oversight. Continue reading
Dec 17 Watch 6:12 Mass. attorney general on ‘outrageous’ Purdue Pharma settlement offer Newly released court documents reveal that the family behind Purdue Pharmaceuticals, maker of highly addictive painkiller OxyContin, withdrew over $10 billion from the company as the opioid epidemic grew worse. The developments are increasing scrutiny of the Sackler family and… Continue watching
Dec 17 Watch 7:12 Why reducing toxic stress can improve the health of an unborn child By Stephanie Sy Researchers are trying to better understand the biology of stress and its impact on child health. Now, data suggests those connections may form as early as the womb, with studies indicating frequent and prolonged adversity for pregnant women can affect… Continue watching
Dec 17 Column: What’s being left out of the Medicare for All debate By Philip Moeller Consumers already are upset about growing difficulties paying for health care. Imagine how they’d take to the streets – or perhaps the voting booth -- if they knew the real size of their health care bill. Continue reading
Dec 17 Michigan sues opioid distributors, likens to drug dealers By David Eggert, Associated Press The companies each distributed more than 10% of the opioids sent to pharmacies nationwide from 2006 to 2012. Continue reading
Dec 17 Proposed rules could shorten patient wait times for organ transplants By Lauren Neergaard, Associated Press The rules proposed Tuesday aim to ease an organ shortage so severe that more than 113,000 Americans linger on the transplant waiting list — and about 20 die each day. Continue reading
Dec 17 What caused Beethoven’s deafness? By Dr. Howard Markel It is a query that has invited many diagnoses over the last 200 years. Continue reading
Dec 16 Why your cosmetics don’t have to be tested for safety By Bella Isaacs-Thomas The regulations that guarantee the safety of cosmetic products you use everyday haven’t been updated since 1938. Continue reading