Feb 20 5 medical stories you might have missed By Dr. Amber Robins, Laura Santhanam It’s easy for politics to dominate our news feeds these days. But there are many important stories in the health and medical communities, too. Here’s what we’re reading now. Continue reading
Feb 20 Trump administration unveils short-term medical plans with cheaper premiums, fewer benefits By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press The plans would come with a disclaimer that they don't meet the Affordable Care Act's consumer protections, such as guaranteed coverage, or the requirement to offer robust benefits. Continue reading
Feb 19 Trump said mental illness leads to gun violence. Here's why doctors disagree By Associated Press Mental health professionals welcome more resources and attention, but they say the administration is ignoring the real problem — easy access to guns, particularly the kind of high-powered highly lethal assault weapons used in many of the most recent mass… Continue reading
Feb 19 Analysis: How defeatism undermines tougher gun laws By Alec MacGillis, ProPublica Congress has failed repeatedly to pass any gun-control measures after past calamities, even the 2012 massacre of 20 first-graders and six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Continue reading
Feb 17 This year's awful flu season may have just hit a plateau By Helen Branswell, STAT It’s too soon to say the flu season has peaked, but it’s at least possible it may have plateaued. Continue reading
Feb 16 Analysis: 10 ways we can prevent school shootings right now By Elizabeth Englander, Bridgewater State University Because educators observe students’ emotional and behavioral development daily, they are best positioned to detect troubled behaviors and intervene. Continue reading
Feb 13 Watch 9:50 Indiana Medicaid work requirements fuel worries for the poor By Sarah Varney, Jason Kane Indiana is one of the states poised to enact work requirements for some citizens with Medicaid coverage -- a controversial policy and long-sought goal for Republicans. But advocates for the poor have protested loudly in recent months, saying many will… Continue watching
Feb 12 Opioid makers gave $10 million to advocacy groups that promoted use of their pills, report says By Matthew Perrone, Geoff Mulvihill, Associated Press The investigation by Missouri's Sen. Claire McCaskill sheds light on the opioid industry's ability to shape public opinion and raises questions about its role in an overdose epidemic that has claimed hundreds of thousands of American lives. Continue reading
Feb 12 Donald Trump Jr.'s wife hospitalized after she opened an envelope with white powder By Associated Press Police say Vanessa Trump called 911 Monday morning after opening a letter addressed to Donald Trump Jr. at their midtown Manhattan apartment. Police say she said she was coughing and felt nauseous. Continue reading
Feb 11 Watch 3:29 OxyContin maker Purdue will stop selling doctors on opioids By PBS News Hour Amid several lawsuits that accuse manufacturing giant Purdue Pharma of contributing to the country’s opioid epidemic, the company announced Saturday it will cut sales staff by more than half and stop marketing opioids to doctors. Reporter Lev Facher, who wrote… Continue watching