health care

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.

Anti-abortion activists protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, May 23.

Abortion bans with no exceptions may be politically risky

11:41am June 01, 2022

by Julie Rovner

Some conservative states pressing for abortion bans with no exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother. But public opinion polls suggest those limits could cause blowback.

Fentanyl took root in Montana and in communities across the Mountain West region during the pandemic, and overall drug overdose deaths are disproportionately affecting Native Americans.

Tribal leaders sound the alarm after fentanyl overdoses spike at Blackfeet Nation

5:08am June 01, 2022

by Aaron Bolton

After 17 overdoses — including four deaths — this spring, Indigenous leaders in Montana and surrounding states look for ways to stop the fentanyl crisis and provide more treatment and care.

Preventive care should be free to patients under the Affordable Care Act, but Elizabeth Melville of Sunapee, NH., was charged $2,185 for a colonoscopy in 2021.

Health & Safety

Cancer screenings like colonoscopies are supposed to be free. Hers cost $2,185

5:28pm May 31, 2022

by Michelle Andrews

Preventive care, like screening colonoscopies, is supposed to be free of charge to patients under the Affordable Care Act. But some hospitals haven't gotten the memo.

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Henry Jones, who kept getting sicker after 11 years of homelessness, was admitted in 1991 into Christ House, one of the first medical respite programs in the country.

Medical respite offers refuge for homeless people recovering from illness

10:12am May 30, 2022

A growing number of private insurance companies are starting to invest in medical respite — a decades-old way of caring for homeless people. Here's what's driving the trend.

People walk past a COVID testing site on May 17 in New York City. New York's health commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, has moved from a "medium" COVID-19 alert level to a "high" alert level in all the five boroughs following a surge in cases.

The real COVID surge is (much) bigger than it looks. But don't panic

8:04pm May 27, 2022

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

Thanks to at-home testing, official reports are missing a lot of the COVID cases circulating now. Is the U.S. in the midst of an invisible surge? Here's how to assess the situation where you live.

Relatives sit outside the Abdoul Aziz Sy Dabakh Hospital in Tivaouane, Senegal, a town 75 miles northeast of Dakar Thursday, May 26, 2022.

11 babies die in a fire at a Senegalese hospital

2:36am May 27, 2022

by The Associated Press

The deadly fire comes a year after four other newborns died in a hospital fire in Senegal, a nation known for having some of the best hospitals in the region.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt speaks after signing into law a bill making it a felony to perform an abortion, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, on April 12, 2022, in Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma governor signs the nation's strictest abortion ban

6:33am May 26, 2022

by The Associated Press

Oklahoma now becomes the first state in the nation to effectively end availability of the procedure.

Nancy Rose, right, who contracted COVID-19 in 2021 and continues to exhibit long-haul symptoms including brain fog and fatigue, cooks for her mother, Amy Russell, left, at their home, Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022, in Port Jefferson, N.Y. Researchers are trying

Health & Safety

What's ailing long COVID patients? A new federal study looks for clues

4:03pm May 24, 2022

by Rob Stein

The first results from an in-depth investigation of long COVID produced provocative results. Researchers don't understand the mechanism behind the lingering symptoms but found a link with anxiety.

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