health care

Courts
LGBTQ

Judge: NC health plan must cover transgender treatments

12:17pm June 14, 2022

The North Carolina state employee health plan unlawfully discriminates by excluding treatments for transgender people by refusing to pay for hormone therapy and surgeries, as it once did briefly, a

US Forces in Afghanistan work with a German Shepherd to inspect a vehicle for explosives. IEDs and other bombs led to brain injuries in service people but appear so far to not increase their risk of CTE.

CTE is rare in brains of deceased service members, study finds

9:51am June 14, 2022

by Jon Hamilton

Despite a high risk of brain injuries, military personnel rarely develop a disabling brain condition often found in former boxers and football players.

Queue Listen Now

Health-care staff in remote clinics in Ecuador have struggled to provide pandemic resources for their patients.

Health & Safety

Young doctors spend a year caring for rural folks in Ecuador. Here's what they find

12:19pm June 13, 2022

by Kata Karáth

For millions in remote areas, health-care is barebones. The health-care team may be a long canoe ride away. Supplies are meager. Electricity comes and goes. And the pandemic made things worse.

Some medical tests, such as MRIs done early for uncomplicated low back pain and routine vitamin D tests "just to be thorough," are considered "low-value care" and can lead to further testing that can cost patients thousands of dollars.

When routine medical tests trigger a cascade of costly, unnecessary care

5:00am June 13, 2022

MRIs done early for uncomplicated low back pain and routine vitamin D tests "just to be thorough" are considered "low-value care" and can lead to further testing that can cost patients thousands.

A Google search for Obamacare plans can direct consumers to a series of "lead-generating" websites: nongovernmental webpages that connect insurance brokers to consumers.

They thought they bought Obamacare plans. What they got wasn't insurance

7:09pm June 07, 2022

by Bram Sable-Smith

Some consumers sign up for Obamacare and find out later they actually purchased a membership to a health care sharing ministry. But regulators and online advertising sites don't do much about it.

Health & Safety

Inaccurate pulse oximeter measurements delayed COVID treatment for people of color

8:34am June 05, 2022

by Ayesha Rascoe

Ayesha Rascoe speaks to Dr. Ashraf Fawzy about a study that shows how inaccurate measurements by pulse oximeters lead to delays in COVID treatment for people of color.

A baby receives care in the neonatal intensive care unit of the government hospital in Tripoli, Lebanon. Because of the lack of prenatal care amid the country's massive economic crisis, medical staff members say more newborns are born sick and weak. From

Health & Safety

Lebanon's hospitals are running out of medicine and staff in ongoing economic crisis

5:00am June 05, 2022

by Arezou Rezvani

Hospitals are running out of medicines. Staff members are leaving. And some parents will even leave a newborn stranded in the intensive care unit if they can't afford the fees for additional care.

California Assembly member Buffy Wicks, a Democrat, speaks on the chamber floor in January 2020. In 2019, on the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, she told the story of her own abortion.

Health & Safety

California lawmakers ramp up efforts to become a sanctuary state for abortion rights

10:32am June 02, 2022

by April Dembosky

California lawmakers are considering 13 bills that would expand access to abortion and welcome women from states where abortion is being banned or restricted.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling in an abortion case later this month. A leaked draft opinion showed the court's conservative justices are likely to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Health & Safety

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, what happens next? Your questions answered

10:10am June 02, 2022

After the leak of the draft opinion in which the Supreme Court appears ready to overturn Roe, we asked for your questions about the future of abortion care in the U.S. Here's what our experts said.

Female community health care workers protest in New Delhi, India, in August 2020. The women are part of a government program called Accredited Social Health Activists — and are demanding higher pay and better working conditions. In May, the program won

These female health-care workers won a huge WHO honor. They'd like a raise, too

9:54am June 02, 2022

by Sushmita Pathak

India's all-female task force of community health-care workers won the World Health Organization's Global Health Leaders Awards. But instead of recognition, some want a better salary and benefits.