Jul 15 Long-term care costs vary greatly by state and type By Laura Santhanam, Megan Crigger It's not a surprise that long-term care can be expensive, but the cost differences based on location, level of care and comfort are staggering, according to recent reports. Continue reading
Jul 15 California, Oregon first to allow birth control pills without prescription By Barbara Feder Ostrov, Kaiser Health News California and Oregon will be the first states in the nation to allow women to get birth control pills and other hormonal contraceptives directly from their pharmacists -- without a doctor’s prescription. Continue reading
Jul 13 Watch 8:36 Telemedicine puts a doctor virtually at your bedside By PBS News Hour Video conferencing technology can now connect patients and physicians almost instantaneously, offering convenience, efficiency and savings. But what happens to the doctor-patient relationship if you're never in the same room? Hari Sreenivasan reports. Continue watching
Jul 13 Officials propose new rules for nursing home care By Susan Jaffe, Kaiser Health News After nearly 30 years, the Obama administration wants to modernize the rules nursing homes must follow to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid payments. Continue reading
Jul 11 Just how accurate are online symptom checkers? By Andrew Mach A new study published this week found that online symptom checkers often give inaccurate diagnoses. Continue reading
Jul 09 Once politically toxic, Medicare plans to cover end-of-life counseling By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Matt Sedensky, Associated Press WASHINGTON — Six years ago, a proposal for Medicare to cover end-of-life counseling touched off a political uproar that threatened to stall President Barack Obama's health care law in Congress. This week, when Medicare finally announced it would make the… Continue reading
Jul 09 FDA delays calorie labels on menus until 2016 By Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press WASHINGTON — Diners will have to wait until the end of 2016 to find calorie labels on all chain restaurant menus. Continue reading
Jul 07 Under health law, women save hundreds each year on birth control, study finds By Julie Rovner, KFF Health News Women are saving a lot of money as a result of a health law requirement that insurance cover most forms of prescription contraceptives with no additional out-of-pocket costs, according to a study released Tuesday. But the amount of those savings… Continue reading
Jul 07 What are Quaaludes, and how do they work? By Larisa Epatko Actor and comedian Bill Cosby admitted in a 2005 civil lawsuit that he got Quaaludes to have sex with at least one woman, the Associated Press reported Monday. But what are Quaaludes and are they still available today?… Continue reading
Jul 07 WHO’s 21-step program to better tackle Ebola-level health crises By Larisa Epatko A panel of health experts recommended a top-to-bottom restructuring of the World Health Organization on Tuesday in light of its failure to quickly respond to the Ebola crisis. Continue reading