health care

Health & Safety

A medical ethicist weighs in on how to approach treating unvaccinated people

9:20am January 23, 2022

by Sarah McCammon

Sarah McCammon speaks with doctor and ethicist Carla Keirns of the University of Kansas Medical Center about how best to treat unvaccinated people who fall ill with COVID-19.

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People attend the March for Life rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Friday. The march, in its 49th year, comes as a Supreme Court decision on abortion rights could unravel Roe v. Wade.

Thousands gather for the March for Life protest, as Supreme Court weighs Roe v. Wade

4:47pm January 21, 2022

The annual march in Washington, D.C., occurs around the anniversary of the Roe decision. This year, as the Supreme Court considers overturning some of its protections, protesters say they feel hope.

Demonstrators gathered in front of the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices heard arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, a case about a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks, on December 01, 2021. Experts believe a ruling on this ca

Americans are divided on abortion. The Supreme Court may not wait for minds to change

5:00am January 21, 2022

by Julie Rovner

Public opinion remains bitterly divided on the issue, but an imminent Supreme Court decision could overturn or dramatically undercut Roe v. Wade.

The nursing home staffing crisis right now is like nothing we've seen before

9:13pm January 20, 2022

by Rhitu Chatterjee

COVID cases and deaths are rising again in nursing homes across the country due to the highly contagious omicron variant. Staffing shortages are adding to strain and workers report "moral distress."

A photo of Tony Tsantinis hangs in a collage set up for a celebration of his life on the final day that Athens Pizza in Brimfield, Mass., was open for business.

Doctors called 17 hospitals looking for an ICU bed. He died waiting for a transfer

4:14pm January 19, 2022

by Martha Bebinger

A beloved pizzeria owner in Brimfield, Mass., had COVID-19 and needed dialysis, but it wasn't available at the hospital where he died. The health system is "breaking down," a hospital CEO says.

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President Biden speaks about the government's COVID-19 response on Thursday. Experts say his administration's efforts have yielded mixed results in the first year Biden's been in office.

A year in, experts assess Biden's hits and misses on handling the pandemic

6:57pm January 18, 2022

When he came into office, Biden launched an ambitious seven-point plan for defeating the virus. Here's how experts score his results.

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Original Caption: Businessman standing on computer phishing stealing network information

Health & Safety

Some insurance brokers enroll people in ACA plans without consent

5:00am January 17, 2022

by Julie Appleby

Some consumers "have gone months" without realizing someone had improperly enrolled them in ACA health plans, with tax credits that may need repaying. A proposed new rule would stop the practice.

Health & Safety

How health workers are getting through the day in the face of surging COVID cases

8:18am January 16, 2022

by Sacha Pfeiffer

NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer speaks to Duke University Hospital emergency physician Dr. Daniel Buckland about the state of his hospital as the Omicron variant surges.

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Health & Safety

The Red Cross says the supply of blood for medical use is dangerously low

8:18am January 16, 2022

by Sacha Pfeiffer

Blood supplies are low at hospitals across the country, and the American Red Cross hopes people will continue to donate blood in order to bolster supplies.

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As demand for testing ramps up, community clinics and nonprofits struggle to keep up with the need. These groups have run testing sites throughout the pandemic in low-income and minority neighborhoods, like this one in the Mission District of San Francisc

Essential workers face a tough choice: Find a test or miss work

7:00am January 16, 2022

by Raquel Maria Dillon

Facing lost wages if they can't work, essential workers struggle to get timely COVID tests amid a nationwide testing crunch. Community clinics are struggling to meet the need.