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
Dec 16 Spending deal ends two-decade freeze on gun safety research By Matthew Daly, Associated Press The bill would provide $25 million for gun violence research, divided evenly between the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A law adopted in the 1990s has effectively blocked such research and prohibits federal… Continue reading
Dec 12 Watch 8:51 Should the federal government be able to negotiate the prices of prescription drugs? Americans spend more on prescription drugs than any other country in the world: about $1,200 per person every year. One in four say the cost is problematic, and some say they haven’t taken their medicine as directed as a result. Continue watching
Dec 12 Watch 6:37 Ambitious Louisville study seeks to understand impact of trees on our health By John Yang Trees can add beauty and serenity to a neighborhood -- but can they also improve the health of its residents? In Kentucky, the University of Louisville — with help from the National Institutes of Health and The Nature Conservancy —… Continue watching
Dec 12 700 new moms die each year in the U.S. Could Medicaid help? By Laura Santhanam The United States ranks as one of the most dangerous developed nations to become pregnant and give birth, especially for women of color -- and data shows the life-threatening risk doesn’t end once mom and baby have left the hospital. Continue reading
Dec 12 FCC votes to set up 3-digit suicide hotline number like 911 By Mae Anderson, Associated Press Once it's implemented, people will just need to dial 988 to seek help, similar to calling 911 for emergencies or 311 for city services. Continue reading