health care

Pope Francis Announces Window To Forgive Women Who Had Abortions

4:11pm September 08, 2015

by Sylvia Poggioli

Pope Francis is giving all priests a window of discretion to forgive women who have had abortions. The window is during the upcoming holy year, which will begin in December.

Queue Listen Now

Dr. David Burkons holds the licensing certificates that allowed him to open a clinic that provides medical and surgical abortions. It took about 18 extra months of inspections, he says, to get the approval to offer surgical abortions.

Bucking Trend, Ohio Doctor Opens Clinic That Provides Abortion Services

4:04pm September 08, 2015

by Sarah Jane Tribble

Ohio has put many restrictions on abortion. Since 2010, about half the clinics performing the procedure in the state have closed. But Dr. David Burkons sees offering abortion as part of patient care.

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In a previously unreleased letter, Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan told the Dept. of Health and Human Services to devise an action plan for reducing wasteful Medicare and Medicaid payments.

Health & Safety

White House Takes Aim At Medicare And Medicaid Billing Errors

4:34pm September 04, 2015

by Fred Schulte

Improper payments by Medicare and Medicaid are wasting billions of dollars a year, the White House budget director said. He called for urgent corrective action in a letter that is now public.

Outreach coordinator Sonny Weahkee (left) talks with a restaurant customer about health insurance for Native Americans in Shiprock, N.M., in early August.

Spreading The Word: Obamacare Is For Native Americans, Too

6:16pm September 03, 2015

by Anna Gorman

Many Native Americans rely entirely on free care from the financially strapped Indian Health Service. Advocates say signing up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act can broaden their choices.

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Illinois Rep. Louis Lang, D-Skokie speaks with colleagues on the House floor after the passage of a veto override on his heroin bill at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield.

Illinois House Leaders Override Governor's Veto On Heroin Addiction Bill

1:32pm September 03, 2015

by David Schaper

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner partially vetoed the Heroin Crisis Act, which would have cleared the way for Medicaid to fund addiction treatments.

Most Health Savings Account Owners Stick With Conservative Options

10:29am September 03, 2015

by Michelle Andrews

People who have had health savings accounts open longer are more likely to invest their contributions. But only about 5 percent of all account holders do so.

California Moves To Stop Misuse Of Psychiatric Meds In Foster Care

12:02pm September 02, 2015

by Elaine Korry

There's ample evidence that children in foster care often get powerful psychiatric medications when other treatments would be safer and more effective. But those treatments can be hard to get.

Valerie Davidson, Alaska's health and social services commissioner, drives her 1983 Chevy truck to pick up salmon for a dinner party for 50 people.

Fishing, Cooking And A Yup'ik Upbringing Made Alaska's Health Commissioner

8:55am September 02, 2015

by Annie Feidt

Alaska's health commissioner spends her summers working on policy issues by day and fishing for salmon for the winter on nights and weekends with her family who belong to the Yup'ik people.

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Dr. Bill Mahon says a gorgeous coast and the chance to practice a more personal style of community medicine lured him to remote Fort Bragg, Calif., 35 years ago.

Help Wanted: Last Pediatrician On Mendocino Coast Retires

8:27am August 31, 2015

by Farida Jhabvala Romero

For 35 years, Dr. Bill Mahon has tended newborns and broken bones, given kids checkups and spinal taps. But luring new doctors with big debt and urban dreams to the redwoods is harder than it sounds.

Health & Safety

Poll Finds Most Women Believe Mammograms Should Be Done Annually

8:26am August 31, 2015

by Scott Hensley

While the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says most women should get screening mammograms every two years, an NPR-Truven Health Analytics poll finds women think they should go every year.