health care

Memphis Hospitals Suspend Debt Collection Suits, Including Suits Against Employees

7:27pm July 03, 2019

by Wendi C. Thomas

After an investigation by journalists found the Methodist hospital system had filed 8,300 lawsuits in five years, the hospital announced it will be "reviewing" its policies in the next 30 days.

Health & Safety

NC Law Allows More Donated Medication To Help Uninsured

4:18pm July 03, 2019

by Keri Brown

New legislation will give charitable health care clinics more resources to help uninsured and underinsured patients get the medication they need.

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Alison Beyea of ACLU of Maine speaks during an abortion-rights rally at Congress Square Park in Portland, Maine, in May. Democrats elected last November have pushed through two laws that expand access to abortion in the state.

Newly Blue, Maine Expands Access To Abortion

5:04pm July 02, 2019

by Patty Wight

Maine elected a wave of Democratic women to state office in 2018. They've pushed Maine to join a handful of other states shoring up the right to an abortion ahead of expected Supreme Court challenges.

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Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris was founder and CEO of the Center for Youth Wellness in San Francisco before becoming California's surgeon general this year.

California's 1st Surgeon General Spotlights Health Risks Of Childhood Adversity

10:08am July 02, 2019

by Erika Stallings

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris has spent much of her career alerting the medical community to health damage that adverse childhood experiences can wreak. Now she aims to protect and heal California's kids.

A Trump administration rule has been delayed by courts. It was intended to protect health care workers who refuse to be involved in procedures they object to for moral or religious reasons.

Health & Safety

Courts Order Delay Of Trump Administration's Health Care 'Conscience Rights' Rule

4:27pm July 01, 2019

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

The rule was intended to protect health care workers who refuse to assist in procedures like abortion because of religious or moral beliefs. Plaintiffs argue the rule could put patient safety at risk.

Judge Cites Poor Care In Ordering Release Of Inmate With Cancer

12:05pm July 01, 2019

by Neal Charnoff

A Surry County woman will soon be granted an early release from federal prison. A judge ordered Angela Beck's release because of her breast cancer and the poor medical care she received during

A 5ml dose of liquid oxycodone, an opioid pain relief medication, sits on a table in Washington, D.C., March 29, 2019. During the opioid epidemic, roughly 218,000 Americans have died from overdoses tied to prescription pain pills, according to the Centers

Health & Safety

Politicians, Government Agencies Feud Over Payouts Tied To Opioid Epidemic

11:25am June 30, 2019

by Brian Mann

Drug companies are paying hundreds of millions of dollars to end lawsuits tied to the opioid epidemic. As payouts grow, government leaders are fighting over where the money should go.

An employee at a Methodist University Hospital is being sued by her employer for unpaid medical bills incurred before they hired her.

Health & Safety

A Tennessee Hospital Sues Its Own Employees When They Can't Pay Their Medical Bills

5:10pm June 29, 2019

by Wendi C. Thomas

A nonprofit hospital network in Memphis has taken its own workers to court over unpaid medical bills. Some of them earn as little as $12.25 an hour but still see their wages garnished.

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When the cancer clinic at Mercy Hospital Fort Scott closed in January, Karen Endicott-Coyan and other cancer patients had to continue their treatments out of town.

Health & Safety

Have Cancer, Must Travel: Patients Left In Lurch After Town's Hospital Closes

10:29am June 29, 2019

by Sarah Jane Tribble

As the rural town of Fort Scott, Kan., grapples with the closure of its hospital, cancer patients bear a heavy burden. They now have to go elsewhere for treatments they used to get locally.

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Democrats Try To Distinguish Themselves On Health Care

8:03am June 29, 2019

NPR's Sarah McCammon speaks with Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News about the Democratic presidential candidates' health care policies.