(Deanne Fitzmaurice / For NPR)
More than 1 in 5 Americans had a problem getting insurance to pay for a hospital, doctor or other health care in the past year, according to a new poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health.
(POM Wonderful)
A federal judge says POM Wonderful violated the law by making claims that led people to believe the juice could treat, prevent or reduce the risk of certain diseases. But the company is claiming victory because it will not have to clear its future marketing plans with the FDA.
Over the past decade or so, sigmoidoscopy has been largely abandoned by doctors in the U.S. in favor of colonoscopy to detect and prevent colon cancer. But sigmoidoscopy is easier on patients and is also effective in finding precancerous polyps.
(Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Dept. / AP)
Shuai, a Chinese immigrant who lives in Indiana, is still facing charges of murder and feticide following a failed suicide attempt in Dec. 2010, when she was 33 weeks pregnant.
(CDC)
From 20 to 42 percent of the malaria medicines examined in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa were crummy or counterfeit. The poor quality of the medicines threatens people's health and raises the odds for drug-resistant disease.
Faced with growing shortages of organs, a majority of Americans in an NPR-Thomson Reuters poll say they favor compensating donors in specific circumstances. Federal law currently bans any form of payment and many doctors worry about issues of fairness, exploitation and access.
Author Alice Randall recently raised eyebrows when she wrote in an op-ed, "black women are fat because we want to be." This comes after the release of her new novel Ada's Rules where a preacher's wife takes care of everyone but herself, until she realizes she's gained 100 pounds. Host Michel Martin speaks with Randall and regular moms contributors.
(iStockphoto.com)
Data from a mobile phone app shows that people all over the world eat less healthy foods later in the day and at night. Is it a lack of healthy options? A lack of willpower? Whatever the answer, it's not good for our health.
(iStockphoto.com)
Though they may be well-meaning, not to mention more affordable than trained interpreters, relying on accidental interpreters, such as family members, during medical treatment isn't the best idea, research has found.
(iStockphoto.com)
More than 40 Catholic educational, charitable and other entities filed a dozen lawsuits in federal court around the nation Monday, charging that the Obama Administration's rule requiring coverage of birth control in most health insurance plans violates their religious freedom.
(John Poole / NPR)
Katie Beckett, 34, died Friday morning in the same hospital where she once made history. Beckett spent most of the first three years of her life in an Iowa hospital because she needed to breathe on a ventilator much of the day. Medicaid would only pay for the expensive treatment if she stayed in the hospital. Her case led to a change in that rule.
(Jose Luis Magana / AP)
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says the testing doesn't save enough lives to justify the risk of unnecessary surgery and radiation. But one testing supporter says, "If all PSA screening were to stop, there would be thousands of men who would unnecessarily suffer and die from prostate cancer."
Three out of four people who've been sick in the past year said cost is a very serious problem, and half said quality is a very serious problem. Those are among the striking findings from the latest survey on health from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health.
(Ricardo Reitmeyer / iStockphoto.com)
In 2010, health spending rose fastest among people 18 and under, according to an analysis of data from private insurers. It's just one finding made possible by a new database.
(Brittney Lohmiller for NPR)
Our call-out on Facebook for people to share their experiences of the health care system yielded close to 1,000 responses. From Oregon to Florida, respondents told wrenching tales of bankruptcies, medical errors, and treatment delayed or foregone because of cost.
(M. Spencer Green / AP)
The proportion of 12- to 19-year-olds who report having diabetes or "prediabetes" increased from 9 percent in 1999 to 23 percent in 2008, according to a paper published in the journal Pediatrics. "This report really sounds the alarm," says one researcher.
(Deborah Kogan)
Not a lot is known about Kawasaki disease. It affects children under 4 and is more common in Asia, particularly Japan, but more than 4,000 American children contract it every year. One of its secrets may now be revealed, but it took climate researchers to help spot it.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is best-known for affecting football players; repeated bangs to the head can hurt the parts of the brain that direct impulse, memory and emotion. Now, scientists are finding evidence of CTE in the brains of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. Dr. Bob Stern from Boston University School of Medicine talks to weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz.
If life is a ballgame, then NPR's Mike Pesca is the guy in the stands, carrying his own stat-sheet and searching out empirical evidence. Host Rachel Martin speaks with Pesca about what the numbers have to say about injuries.
Massachusetts has 41.1 injury-related deaths per 100,000 people. That’s below the national average of 57.9 injury-related deaths per 100,000.
RAYNHAM, Mass. — A study on eastern equine encephalitis shows the number of people in Massachusetts who have contracted the mosquito-borne virus has been rising.
BOSTON — In a near unanimous vote the state Senate on Thursday night passed a major health care cost control bill that legislators estimate will save $150 billion over the next 15 years.
BOSTON — The bill, which passed 35-2, aims to reduce projected health care costs in the state by $150 billion over the next 15 years.
BOSTON — Synthetic marijuana is legally available in Greater Boston and can be anywhere from two to more than 500 times stronger than THC.
BOSTON — The blizzard of health care terminology out there can be perplexing, so we invited stand-up comedian Steve Macone to our studios to help make sense of the jargon.
The Massachusetts Senate on Tuesday began debating a bill that sets an ambitious goal of reducing projected health care costs in the state by $150 billion over the next 15 years.
BOSTON — State health officials say about one in five employees at the state’s acute care hospitals didn’t get flu shots during the most recent season, exposing patients to a heightened risk of infection.
BOSTON — The House and Senate now have competing versions of legislation aimed at bringing down health care cost increases in the state.
BOSTON — This year’s 4 percent rise is relatively modest. Annual increases have averaged 6 percent since Fidelity made its initial $160,000 calculation in 2002.
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Senate rolled out its proposal for health care cost control Wednesday. It follows a similar plan the House released Friday.
The family of Junior Seau, the one-time Patriots linebacker who committed suicide, reportedly says it is rethinking its decision to donate his brain to researchers.
BOSTON — The opening of three medical marijuana dispensaries in Rhode Island has been stalled due to concerns that federal authorities will shut them down.
BOSTON — One provision in the House’s health cost control bill touches on a controversial issue — the wide range in prices that different medical providers charge for the same service.
BOSTON — House Speaker Robert DeLeo said Friday that with health care spending now representing about 40 percent of the state budget, lawmakers needed to take action.
BOSTON — The latest effort to reform health care in Massachusetts takes center stage on Beacon Hill today.
BOSTON — The Legislature is expected to roll out separate bills soon based on movements that are already underway: global payments, electronic health records and increased focus on primary care.
BOSTON — The thinking behind medical apologies is that when a doctor says “I’m sorry,” patients are less likely to sue — and everyone benefits. But one Boston law professor has a contrarian view.
BOSTON — A new study of drug treatment for children with Type 2 diabetes came up with discouraging findings.
