On Disabilities

Rep. Peter King, a Republican representing Long Island, has been heavily lobbied by groups on both sides of the GOP health care bill who are intent on getting him to vote their way.

As House GOP Struggles With A Health Care Bill, Republican Options Narrow

5:03pm May 03, 2017

by Julie Rovner

Despite pressure from the White House and GOP leaders, Republicans have not yet secured enough votes to get health care replacement through the House, let alone the Senate. So, what are their choices?

At Gerald Chinchar's home in San Diego, Calif., Nurse Sheri Juan (right) checks his arm for edema that might be a sign that his congestive heart failure is getting worse.

For Some, Pre-Hospice Care Can Be A Good Alternative To Hospitals

5:00am April 28, 2017

by Anna Gorman

Through home visits, very ill people get help with pain, stress and symptoms. Medical centers, initially skeptical, now embrace the program because it helps patients and makes financial sense.

Companies are trying to make hearing aids more chic and less cumbersome.

Is It Time For Hearing Aids To Be Sold Over The Counter?

2:18pm April 24, 2017

About 35 million Americans suffer some hearing loss, but most don't do anything about it. There's a growing effort to make hearing aids easier and cheaper to buy.

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Small pulses of electricity to the brain have an effect on memory, new research shows.

Electrical Stimulation To Boost Memory: Maybe It's All In The Timing

6:20pm April 20, 2017

by Jon Hamilton

Research in epilepsy has found a key to why small pulses of electricity to the brain sometimes help and sometimes hurt a failing memory. Brains hurt by physical trauma or dementia might benefit, too.

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Carl Goulden, of Littlestown Pa., developed hepatitis B 10 years ago. Soon his health insurance premiums soared beyond a price he and his wife could afford.

U.S. Health Care Wrestles With The 'Pre-Existing Condition'

8:04am April 15, 2017

by Elana Gordon

Insurers and politicians struggle constantly to thread the needle between making sure people have good health insurance and figuring out who should pay, especially for those who need a lot of care.

Coalition forces fire a Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle during a training exercise in Afghanistan's Helmand province in 2013.

Do U.S. Troops Risk Brain Injury When They Fire Heavy Weapons?

8:11am April 05, 2017

by Jon Hamilton

Some modern shoulder-fired weapons produce blast waves powerful enough to rattle the brain. A $30 million study aims to help the military figure out how much blast exposure, over time, is too much.

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Bill Kochevar received an implanted brain-recording and muscle-stimulating system that allowed him to move limbs he hadn't been able to move in eight years.

Paralyzed Man Uses Thoughts to Control His Own Arm And Hand

7:44pm March 28, 2017

by Jon Hamilton

A spinal injury severed the connection between Bill Kochevar's brain and everything below his shoulders. But technology has given him a new way to control one arm and hand.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, says the latest version of the GOP bill would let states decide on required benefits.

Letting States Decide Health Coverage Could Make It Harder To Buy

3:17pm March 24, 2017

by Jay Hancock

House Republicans altered their health care bill to let states decide what coverage is required. That would make it harder to buy coverage for childbirth or chronic illness, analysts say.

Maysoon Zayid: Should Humor Make Us Uncomfortable?

9:10am March 24, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

Maysoon Zayid teases herself for all the ways she's different: she has cerebral palsy, she's Muslim, she's Palestinian. By making us laugh at it, she gets us to think about acceptance.

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The American Iron and Steel Institute is one of the trade groups that wants Congress to undo the stronger safety regulation enacted in 2016 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Congress May Undo Rule That Pushes Firms To Keep Good Safety Records

4:39pm March 20, 2017

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Labor statistics specialists under George W. Bush and Barack Obama warn that if the safety regulation is repealed, record keeping on worker injuries will become less accurate and less reliable.

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