Jan 05 CDC plans session on preparing for a nuclear detonation By Helen Branswell, STAT With this week’s bellicose boasting about who has the bigger red button on his desk, an alert Thursday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention felt more than a bit on the nose. Continue reading
Jan 04 Trump administration proposes interstate sale of health insurance By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press The new rule would make it easier for groups, or associations, to sponsor health plans that don't have to meet all consumer protection and benefit requirements of the Obama law. Those requirements improve coverage, but also raise premiums. Continue reading
Jan 04 Analysis: The devastating stigma of fistula and the surgery that can help By Fred de Sam Lazaro Fistula, once a common occurrence in the United States, continues to be an unfortunate reality for many of the world’s poorest women around the world. Continue reading
Jan 03 Watch 8:41 This new treatment could make your next trip to the dentist more bearable By Cat Wise A new method of treating tooth decay using silver nitrate may make the pain, and expense, of traditional treatments obsolete. Special correspondent Cat Wise has the story. Continue watching
Jan 03 Satellites predict a cholera outbreak weeks in advance By Sarah Derouin, Scientific American Back in May 2017 a team of scientists used satellite information to predict an outburst of cholera in Yemen. Continue reading
Jan 02 Too many cancer screens skew how we understand risk factors, study says By Sharon Begley, STAT Widespread screening for "scrutiny-dependent" cancers — those for which the harder you look the more you find, and the more of what you find is harmless — causes another problem, two leading cancer experts argue in a paper published on… Continue reading
Dec 30 Sickle cell patients, families and doctors face a 'fight for everything' By Jenny Gold, Kaiser Health News Premature death, a dearth of treatments, mistreatment in emergency rooms and a woeful lack of funding are just a few of the problems. Continue reading
Dec 28 Watch 9:10 Why Maine's governor and voters are in a fight over Medicaid expansion By Sarah Varney, Jason Kane Voters in Maine overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure to expand Medicaid to most low-income adults -- that's at least 70,000 residents who stand to gain health insurance. But the law's fate is still unclear because Gov. Paul LePage says lawmakers… Continue watching
Dec 28 Maine voted to expand Medicaid. Will the governor stand in the way? By Jessica Yarvin As a rural state with low wages and an aging population, Medicaid expansion would provide coverage to some 70,000 additional Mainers, starting July 2. Continue reading
Dec 27 Watch 6:56 Erasing the pain and taboo of this female injury By Fred de Sam Lazaro Roughly one million women in the developing world suffer from obstetric fistula, an injury that results from inadequate medical care and causes incontinence. But beyond the physical effects, the condition can subject them to shame and isolation from their families. Continue watching