Health & Safety

Health & Safety

A new approach to schizophrenia keeps young people in school, but insurance won't pay

12:35pm December 30, 2023

by April Dembosky

A new approach to schizophrenia involves managing early psychosis symptoms and keeping young people in school or jobs. The treatment is effective, but private insurance plans usually won't cover it.

Doctors and medical societies are suggesting patients who rely on Flovent take action now to ensure they can get the medication in 2024.

Health & Safety

A popular asthma inhaler is leaving pharmacy shelves. Here's what you need to know

7:01am December 30, 2023

by Sydney Lupkin

Flovent — a common asthma inhaler — will be discontinued in 2024. There will be a generic version available, but the change could make it hard for some patients to get their medication.

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Smoke from wildfires turned the skies orange behind New York's Chrysler Building in June 2023. The smoke affected millions across the central and eastern U.S.

Wildfire smoke this year woke up places unaccustomed to its effects. Now what?

5:55pm December 29, 2023

by Alejandra Borunda

Wildfires worsened by climate change spewed smoke over much of North America this year. It's a new reality Americans haven't yet processed: how dangerous the smoke is for human health.

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Civil rights leader removed from movie theater for using his own chair

12:31pm December 29, 2023

by Associated Press

A civil rights leader was escorted by police out of a North Carolina movie theater after he insisted on using his own chair for medical reasons, prompting an apology from the nation's largest movie

For transgender youth in crisis, hospitals sometimes compound the trauma

9:19am December 29, 2023

by Associated Press

A North Carolina hospital network is referring transgender psychiatric patients to treatment facilities that do not align with their gender identities.

Health & Safety

Winston-Salem's Behavioral Evaluation and Response Team is showing results

6:00am December 29, 2023

by David Ford

The city of Winston-Salem launched a new program to address non-emergency calls earlier this year. It aims to support beleaguered police and fire departments, and the program is showing results.

Health & Safety

Problems are expected after an asthma inhaler is replaced with generic version

5:07am December 29, 2023

A popular asthma inhaler is being discontinued. Although there is a generic version, the switch could lead to disruptions in care because not all insurance companies are covering it.

Immigrants wait to be processed after they crossed the border into the U.S. in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Dec. 22. Eleven states and D.C. offer taxpayer-funded health insurance to some immigrants without legal status.

Health & Safety

More states extend health coverage to immigrants even as issue inflames GOP

5:00am December 29, 2023

by Phil Galewitz

More than 1 million immigrants, most lacking permanent legal status, are covered by state health programs. Several states, including GOP-led Utah, will soon add or expand such coverage.

Matt Capelouto, whose daughter died from a fentanyl overdose, speaks at a news conference outside the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, April 18, 2023. Capelouto is among dozens of protesters who called on the Assembly to hear fentanyl-related bills as tension mounts over how to address the fentanyl crisis. (AP Photo/Tran Nguyen)

In 2023 fentanyl overdoses ravaged the U.S. and fueled a new culture war fight

2:26pm December 28, 2023

Fentanyl fueled unprecedented carnage with 112,000 fatal overdoses. The nation is increasingly divided over how to respond.

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Terminally ill hospice resident Evelyn Breuning, 91, right, sits with music therapist Jen Dunlap in her bed in August 2009 in Lakewood, Colo. The nonprofit hospice, the second oldest in the United States, accepts the terminally ill regardless of their ability to pay, although most residents are covered by Medicare.

Health & Safety

What is hospice care? 6 myths about this end-of-life option

1:52pm December 28, 2023

by Diba Mohtasham

Recently ex-President Jimmy Carter went into hospice, which often is for patients in the last stages of incurable diseases. Contrary to popular belief, starting hospice doesn't mean giving up on life.