Aug 05 Watch 4:01 Hundreds of toxic sites await cleanup under Superfund program By PBS News Hour In 1980, the Congress approved the Superfund program, generating money to clean up the country’s most hazardous toxic sites by imposing a tax on industries that polluted the most. Since 2000, the program’s purchasing power has declined by 40 percent… Continue watching
Aug 05 As calls to the Suicide Prevention Lifeline surge, under-resourced centers struggle to keep up By Vivekae Kim More people than ever are calling the Lifeline—but some crisis center directors and suicide prevention advocates say the system is overwhelmed and underfunded. Continue reading
Aug 03 Most babies aren't breastfed in their critical first hour of life, study shows By Laura Santhanam “These low global rates of early initiation of breastfeeding are evidence of a massive missed opportunity worldwide,” the report said. Continue reading
Aug 02 HHS says 96 organizations will get family planning funding amid battle over program's future By Associated Press The list of grantees comes amid a major battle over the future of Title X, with women's rights groups and medical societies pushing back on a Trump administration proposal to bar taxpayer-funded clinics from referring women for abortions. Continue reading
Aug 01 Trump lifted restrictions on 'short term' health insurance plans. Here's what that means for consumers By Laura Santhanam Some health care experts caution that these plans, while cheaper, may ultimately lead to dropped coverage or none at all, if the person is confronted by an unexpected illness or accident. Continue reading
Aug 01 Watch 5:51 Short-term health plans allowed by Trump come with a major caveat The Trump administration took another step toward eliminating the Affordable Care Act by changing rules that will allow consumers to buy cheaper, shorter-term health insurance and for longer. But insurers would not have to cover pre-existing conditions or offer the… Continue watching
Aug 01 Why families need to pay close attention to these revised nursing home ratings By Philip Moeller New ratings now reflect staffing levels based on objective payroll records and not on nursing homes’ self-assessment of staffing adequacy. Continue reading
Jul 31 Trump's proposed changes to Title X could limit access to abortion By Laura Santhanam Here’s a look at these Title X programs, how the government wants to change them and what advocates plan to do next. Continue reading
Jul 28 New Ebola species is reported for first time in a decade By Helen Branswell, STAT The family of Ebola viruses has just gotten a bit bigger. The government of Sierra Leone has announced that a new species of Ebola, the sixth, has been discovered there in bats. Continue reading
Jul 27 Why aren't more Americans getting screened for these cancers? By Laura Santhanam Breast, cervical, colorectal and prostate cancer accounted for four out of 10 new cancer diagnoses and a fifth of all cancer deaths in recent years, the CDC says in a new report. Continue reading