Health

Medicare to cover more home care services and safety devices

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press

The changes are a sign of growing recognition that practical help can have a meaningful impact on patients' well-being and reduce costs for taxpayers.

Low income explains poorer survival after a heart attack more than race, study finds

By Elizabeth Cooney, STAT

A new study examining how long black or white people survive after a heart attack concludes that it’s socioeconomic status, far more than race, that explains who fares better.

Voters don’t like ‘Big Pharma.’ But they could soon elect a Senate that includes two pharma lobbyists and a CEO

By Lev Facher, STAT

If Republicans prevail in just two races on Tuesday, the Senate’s ranks would suddenly include two former drug industry lobbyists and a pharma CEO.

Hospitals help patients get out the vote while stuck in bed

By Kristen de Groot, Associated Press

For those in the hospital unexpectedly, that process isn't exactly simple.

Heroin, fentanyl remain among nation’s greatest drug threats, federal report says

By Michael Balsamo, Associated Press

But federal officials are concerned that methamphetamine and cocaine are being seen at much higher levels in areas that haven't historically been hotspots for those drugs.

HHS secretary on Medicare drug pricing, gender definitions

President Trump has announced several proposed changes to how Medicare buys certain expensive prescription drugs, relying in part upon a benchmark price index of other developed countries, who negotiate lower prices. But critics wonder why the U.S. government doesn't do…

Continue watching

How should doctors and nurses screen patients for intimate partner violence in the #MeToo era?

By Laura Santhanam

The best estimates likely under-represent the true scope and scale of intimate partner violence because victims often are afraid to disclose what has happened to them.

First new type of flu drug in 2 decades approved by U.S.

By Linda A. Johnson, Associated Press

Wednesday's approval of Xofluza for people age 12 and older comes ahead of the brunt of this winter's flu season.

As voters worry about health care, Trump administration relaxes Obamacare rules

With only weeks before the midterms, the Trump administration announced plans to consider state requests that would further loosen Affordable Care Act restrictions, offer less comprehensive health plans and use Obamacare subsidies to pay for them. William Brangham asks Margot…

Continue watching

The medical mystery that helped make Thomas Edison an inventor

By Dr. Howard Markel

Deafness allowed Edison to shut himself off from “all the meaningless sound that normal people hear.” But what caused his deafness is still debated by doctors and hearing experts to this day.