Health & Safety

It's often hard to tell which brain-injured patients will recover from a coma and which won't. New research uses EEG to test for hidden consciousness in patients' brains.

Health & Safety

A New Way To Test For Signs Of Consciousness In Unresponsive, Brain-Injured Patients

2:23pm June 27, 2019

by Luisa Torres

Scientists are investigating a better test of consciousness in brain-injured patients. If it becomes widely available, it could help with agonizing decisions about withdrawal of life support.

Democrats Debate Health Care And Other Issues At Miami Forum

11:42am June 27, 2019

by Danielle Kurtzleben

At the first night of the debate, one issue where there were clear differences was where the Democratic presidential contenders stood on health care.

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Arrow, a heroin user since the 1970s, is a client of Florida's first clean needle exchange, a pilot program in Miami that has proved so successful that conservative Republicans want to expand it.

Key Florida Republicans Now Say Yes To Clean Needles For Drug Users

11:30am June 27, 2019

by Sammy Mack

Florida has struggled for years with opioid overdoses — and the highest rate of HIV infection in the U.S. Lawmakers now hope needle exchanges and a "harm reduction" approach could help save lives.

Border Patrol is refusing to accept donations like toothpaste and soap to its detention centers.

People Are Trying To Donate To Detained Migrants. Border Patrol Won't Accept It

7:31pm June 26, 2019

by Ryan Poppe

After hearing claims that detention centers are housing migrant children in unsanitary conditions, people are attempting to provide them with supplies.

Health & Safety

Louisiana's Novel 'Subscription' Model For Pricey Hepatitis C Drugs Gains Approval

5:28pm June 26, 2019

Certain high-cost drugs are straining state budgets. A new deal approved Wednesday allows Louisiana to spend a fixed amount for unlimited access to a costly cure. Other states may try to follow suit.

Marchers at a candlelight vigil in San Francisco, Calif., carry a banner to call attention to the continuing battle against AIDS on May 29, 1989. The city was home to the nation's first AIDS special care unit. The unit, which opened in 1983, is the subjec

1st AIDS Ward '5B' Fought To Give Patients Compassionate Care, Dignified Deaths

2:48pm June 26, 2019

by Terry Gross

A new documentary tells the story of America's first inpatient unit dedicated to the care of people with AIDS. Nurse Cliff Morrison helped create 5B in 1983, and worked on it with Dr. Paul Volberding.

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Saleh Abbas, deputy grand imam of Egypt's Al-Azhar University, is second from the left in this photo of members of the university delegation to the African Summit on Female Genital Mutilation and Child Marriages.

How A Former Child Bride Got A Fatwa Against Child Marriage

1:02pm June 26, 2019

by Susie Neilson

It happened in Senegal last week, at a conference organized by young Africans to address the issues of child marriage and female genital mutilation. Here's the story behind the fatwa.

Study Says 634,000 More North Carolinians Would Be Covered Under Medicaid Expansion

11:14am June 26, 2019

by Neal Charnoff

A new report

Nearly 9 in 10 Americans say people are more likely to express anger on social media than in person.

Health & Safety

Poll: Americans Say We're Angrier Than A Generation Ago

10:26am June 26, 2019

by Scott Hensley

The latest NPR-IBM Watson Health poll found that 29% of people said they were often angry when checking the news. Another 42% said the news sometimes made them angry.

Daisha Smith says she only realized she had been sued over her hospital bill when she saw her paycheck was being garnished. "I literally have no food in my house because they're garnishing my check," she says.

Health & Safety

Hospitals Earn Little From Suing For Unpaid Bills. For Patients, It Can Be 'Ruinous'

10:32pm June 25, 2019

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

When patients can't afford to pay their medical bills, many hospitals offer a payment plan — or free or discounted care. But some try to collect by suing patients and garnishing their wages.

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