Health & Safety

Some employers said that leaving out hospital coverage helped protect low-wage workers from big deductibles.

Employers Can't Skip Insurance Coverage For Hospitalization

11:02am February 23, 2015

by Jay Hancock

Many companies planned to offer health insurance without hospital coverage because it met requirements of a "minimum value" formula. But the Treasury Department says those plans aren't legal.

Is health insurance that doesn't cover hospital care worth having?

Health & Safety

Administration Bars Health Plans That Won't Cover Hospital Care

11:01am February 23, 2015

by Jay Hancock

Companies mainly in lower-wage industries that hadn't previously offered health coverage had been flocking to the stripped-down plans for 2015.

Mamuedeh Kanneh was married to Laiye Barwor, the man who brought Ebola to Barkedu, Liberia. He died of the virus. She now cares for her children as well as children who lost their parents to the disease.

Life After Ebola: What It Takes For A Village To Be Resilient

9:18am February 23, 2015

by Laura Starecheski

Some think of resilience as a solo act. But the villagers of Barkedu are helping each other move forward in the wake of tragedy. Psychologist Jack Saul shares insights into "community resilience."

Health & Safety

NC Hospitals Reduce Suits Against Patients

5:10am February 23, 2015

by Michael Burke

North Carolina hospital patients are not being taken to court as often as they were in the past.

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Measles is highly contagious, and it produces fever and rash in susceptible people who become infected.

Health & Safety

Why A Court Once Ordered Kids Vaccinated Against Their Parents' Will

8:14pm February 21, 2015

by Anders Kelto

Measles infected hundreds of children at a Philadelphia church whose members didn't believe in modern medicine. In a rare step, health officials moved to compel the families to vaccinate the kids.

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A mother holds her ailing son at a special clinic for malaria in Myanmar.

The World Could Be On The Verge Of Losing A Powerful Malaria Drug

7:21pm February 20, 2015

by Jason Beaubien

Malaria parasites in Myanmar are learning how to fend off the incredibly effective drug called artemisinin. That could cause a lot of problems there — and beyond.

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A particularly nasty family of gut bacteria with the nickname CRE is resistant even to carbapenems, a family of last-resort antibiotics.

Why California's Superbug Outbreak Isn't As Scary As It Seems

5:49pm February 20, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

The outbreak of drug-thwarting bacteria that contributed to the deaths of two patients at a UCLA hospital isn't likely to spread further, doctors say. Still, drug resistance is trouble nationwide.

The rapid Ebola test from Corgenix Medical Corporation is small and easy to use. But because it involves blood, health workers would still need to run the test at a lab to stay safe.

15-Minute Ebola Test Approved For Fighting The Epidemic

4:57pm February 20, 2015

by Michaeleen Doucleff

The test is as simple as a pregnancy test. So it could help health workers find and stop new outbreaks more quickly. But it doesn't catch every case and still requires some lab equipment.

Mattheos Koffas (left), a biochemical engineer at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Andrew Jones, a graduate student in his lab, with a flask of microbe-produced antioxidants.

Who Made That Flavor? Maybe A Genetically Altered Microbe

3:42pm February 20, 2015

by Dan Charles

Biotech companies are inserting new genes into microorganisms, turning them into tiny factories to produce valuable nutrients and flavors. But many of the companies don't want to talk about it.

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Why Is Nearsightedness Skyrocketing Among Chinese Youth?

3:24pm February 20, 2015

by Frank Langfitt

More than 80 percent of high school students in Shanghai are myopic. A new study finds a link between higher income and poor eyesight. But the root cause is still hotly debated.

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