Health & Safety

Low-income adults formerly had few options for free health care. Leah Sessor had her blood pressure taken on April 14, 2012, during a free clinic at a racetrack in Bristol, Tenn.

Medicaid Enrollment Is Brisk Despite HealthCare.gov Troubles

11:16pm November 20, 2013

by Julie Rovner

If you advertise it, they will come. Sign-ups for Medicaid are brisk, even in states that haven't expanded their programs with an infusion of federal dollars. Experts call that the "woodwork effect" — getting the word out to people who were already eligible.

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Health & Safety

State Expedites 2014 Health Insurance Rates to Stave Off Cancelations

12:10pm November 20, 2013

State Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin is taking steps to reduce the number of health insurance cancelations as a result of the Affordable Care Act. More than 473,000 North Carolinians have received notice from their insurance companies that their plans have been terminated. Goodwin announced last week an expedited review for insurers to speed up the 2014 rates.

The authors of the Affordable Care Act included ways to offset the anticipated cost of subsidies.

How The Affordable Care Act Pays For Insurance Subsidies

3:44pm November 19, 2013

by John Ydstie

The health care law is helping low- and middle-income Americans pay for their insurance. Where does that money come from? In part, it is a matter of the well-off helping pay for those who have less. But that's not the full answer.

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Health & Safety

Antibiotic-Resistant Bugs Turn Up Again In Turkey Meat

5:29pm November 18, 2013

Turkey producers contend that they use antibiotics judiciously to help keep their flocks healthy.

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These pigs, newly weaned from their mothers, are at their most vulnerable stage of life. They're getting antibiotics in their water to ward off bacterial infection.

Are Antibiotics On The Farm Risky Business?

5:25pm November 18, 2013

by Dan Charles

Farmers give antibiotics routinely to pigs, beef cattle and poultry. They say the drugs help keep animals healthy and get them to market faster. Others say this practice practically guarantees that bacteria will develop resistance to these antibiotics more quickly, endangering human lives and the long-term viability of the drugs.

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Health & Safety

New Cancer Resource Center Provides Free Financial Services to Cancer Patients in Rockingham County

4:41pm November 18, 2013

by Keri Brown

A Rockingham County man lost his battle with prostate cancer in 2001, but his vision to help fellow cancer patients financially still lives on today.

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Health & Safety

Laboring In The Shadows To Keep The Web Free Of Child Porn

6:10pm November 17, 2013

by Rebecca Hersher

The rise of pornography online has created a new industry of people whose job it is to screen vast numbers of images of exploited children.

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Pansy Greene, 73, is in the early stages of Alzheimer's. She and her husband, Winston, have been married for 57 years. She says her secret to maintaining a normal life is to stay active and positive.

Despite Early Stages, Alzheimer's Affects Couple's Big Picture

11:22am November 16, 2013

by Ina Jaffe

Winston and Pansy Greene are getting on with their lives despite Pansy's Alzheimer's disease. In the three years since her diagnosis, little has changed, though the couple is starting to have different takes on the future. Pansy has remained positive; Winston says with no cure, he has to be realistic.

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President Obama met at the White House with CEOs from across the health insurance industry on Friday. Insurers, he says, will be allowed to renew for one more year health policies that don't meet the new national standards set by the Affordable Care Act.

Health & Safety

Can You Keep Your Old Health Plan? It May Depend On Where You Live

8:36pm November 15, 2013

by Julie Rovner

President Obama's proposal — designed to help reverse the recent cancellation of some health policies — seems to leave the decision up to insurance companies. But there are other decision-makers in the mix who are just as important: state regulators.

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The plate on the left contains about equal numbers of colonies of two different bacteria. After the bacteria compete and evolve, the lighter ones have taken the lead in the plate on the right.

Bacterial Competition In Lab Shows Evolution Never Stops

10:49am November 15, 2013

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Day after day, workers at Michigan State University care for and feed colonies of evolving bacteria. The original microbes have produced more than 50,000 generations in the 25 years since the experiment began. Despite predictions the bacteria might someday reach a point where they would evolve no more, the results show they keep changing.

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