DON'T EVER GIVE UP
2023-03-18 The US Remains a Grim Leader in Preterm Births. Why? And Can We Fix It? Sarah Varney, Kaiser Health News Tamara Etienne’s second pregnancy was freighted with risk and worry from its earliest days — exacerbated by a first pregnancy that had ended in miscarriage. A third-grade teacher at an overcrowded Miami-Dade […]
2023-03-17 Two Counties Square Off With California Over Mental Health Duties Angela Hart SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento and Solano counties are in a standoff with the state over mental health coverage for a portion of Medicaid patients in those counties — a dispute that threatens to disrupt care for nearly 50,000 low-income residents […]
2023-03-16 New CDC Opioid Guidelines: Too Little, Too Late for Chronic Pain Patients? Sam Whitehead and Andy Miller Jessica Layman estimates she has called more than 150 doctors in the past few years in her search for someone to prescribe opioids for her chronic pain. “A lot of them are straight-up insulting,” said […]
2023-03-15 Pandemic Stress, Gangs, and Utter Fear Fueled a Rise in Teen Shootings Liz Szabo, Kaiser Health News Diego never imagined he’d carry a gun. Not as a child, when shots were fired outside his Chicago-area home. Not at age 12, when one of his friends was gunned down. Diego’s mind changed at […]
2023-03-14 Seniors With Anxiety Frequently Don’t Get Help. Here’s Why. Judith Graham Anxiety is the most common psychological disorder affecting adults in the U.S. In older people, it’s associated with considerable distress as well as ill health, diminished quality of life, and elevated rates of disability. Yet, when the U.S. Preventive Services Task […]
2023-03-13 Girls in Texas Could Get Birth Control at Federal Clinics, Until a Christian Father Objected Sarah Varney, Kaiser Health News AMARILLO, Texas — On the vast Texas Panhandle, raked by wind and relentless sun, women might drive for hours to reach Haven Health, a clinic in Amarillo. One of more than 3,200 […]
2023-03-12 Jimmy Carter Took on the Awful Guinea Worm When No One Else Would — And Triumphed Jason Beaubien, NPR and Sam Whitehead Jimmy Carter took great pride in pointing out that the United States didn’t start any new wars during his term as president. But after he left office, he launched a […]
2023-03-11 Medicaid Health Plans Try to Protect Members — And Profits — During Unwinding Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Health News The federal covid-19 pandemic protections that have largely prohibited states from dropping anyone from Medicaid since 2020 helped millions of low-income Americans retain health insurance coverage — even if they no longer qualified — […]
2023-03-10 Why Does Insulin Cost So Much? Big Pharma Isn’t the Only Player Driving Prices Arthur Allen Eli Lilly & Co.’s announcement that it is slashing prices for its major insulin products could make life easier for some diabetes patients while easing pressure on Big Pharma. It also casts light on the profiteering […]
2023-03-08 Despite Pharma Claims, Illicit Drug Shipments to US Aren’t Full of Opioids. It’s Generic Viagra. Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Health News For years, the FDA has defended its efforts to intercept prescription drugs coming from abroad by mail as necessary to keep out dangerous opioids, including fentanyl. The pharmaceutical industry frequently cites such […]