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Latest Health News

Outreach workers leave pamphlets about MassHealth enrollment on the doors in Revere. (Jesse Cista/WBUR)

Local Coverage

Nov 29, 2023

88,000 people dropped from MassHealth in October

October saw the largest monthly decline in MassHealth coverage yet in the year-long effort to reassess eligibility for 2.4 million members. Most of those losing coverage to date have been dumped for procedural reasons.

Overdose deaths rose for pregnant people and people in the first few months after giving birth between 2018 and 2021. (JGI/Jamie Grill/Getty Images)

Overdose deaths rose among pregnant people, postpartum parents

Health

Nov 22, 2023

The anti-viral drug Paxlovid and its packaging. (Stephanie Nano/AP)

From Paxlovid to Spikevax: Inside the 'intensive' process of naming drugs

Local Coverage

Nov 21, 2023

Men gather in a common room at Pine Street Inn in Boston while they await beds for the night. This room and the shelter dining room are being used as overflow shelter spaces, where men sleep on rollaway cots, mats and chairs. (Lynn Jolicoeur/WBUR)

With adult shelters in Mass. overflowing, advocates worry about winter

Local Coverage

06:31Nov 20, 2023

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Massachusetts' State Transportation Building in Boston, where T officials said they'll temporarily house families waitlisted as they seek shelter through the state's overburdened system. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

State to house migrant families in government conference rooms amid shelter crisis

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More Health News

Ken Feldstein at his office in Abington. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

'I landed on love': Families try a different approach to addiction

The success of addiction treatment often depends on the person struggling. But there may be a crucial — and often overlooked — factor. Some experts say loved ones can play...

Health

05:23Nov 20, 2023

Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of HIV-1 virions as green round bumps budding from the surface of a cultured lymphocyte cell, 1985. Image courtesy CDC/C. Goldsmith, P. Feorino, E.L. Palmer, W. R. McManus. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

Hundreds of Salem Hospital patients warned of possible exposure to hepatitis and HIV

Salem Hospital in Massachusetts says hundreds of patients may have been exposed to hepatitis and HIV over a two-year period but that the infection risk is extremely low.

Health

Nov 18, 2023

A mother plays with her two-year-old daughter on an airplane spring rocker in the play yard at the family shelter where they are staying. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

State senator who serves in National Guard sees family shelter crisis from 2 vantage points

Sen. John Velis, a Democrat who represents parts of Hampden and Hampshire counties, was activated with the Massachusetts National Guard to serve for two weeks in hotels and motels that...

Local Coverage

04:28Nov 17, 2023

2 reports urge better access to maternal care and other medical services in Mass.

Gov. Maura Healey ordered the review of maternal health access across the state, as well as medical services in northern Worcester County, following the controversial decision to close a Leominster...

Health

Nov 15, 2023

Cigarette butts in an ashtray in New York in 2019. (Jenny Kane/AP)

Mass. is first in nation for lung cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment, per ALA

Still, advocates with the American Lung Association say more can be done to improve access to screenings. Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths in Massachusetts and the...

Local Coverage

Nov 14, 2023

View of the Massachusetts State House from the corner of Tremont and Park Streets. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

What the State House is doing about the Mass. family shelter system

Massachusetts' emergency family shelter system will begin turning away eligible families for the first time Friday. The moment has also opened up a divide between Gov. Maura Healey and some...

Local Coverage

Nov 10, 2023

The Massachusetts State House and Flag. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Mass. House approves $250 million for shelter system in broader budget bill

The House approved $250 million for the state's emergency shelter system Wednesday as part of a larger budget bill. Senate leaders said that branch will take up its own version...

Local Coverage

Nov 9, 2023

An empty hospital bed in a patient room. (Thomas Barwick/Getty Images)

Largest Mass. health insurer moves to reduce red tape clogging hospitals

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts plans to stop requiring hospitals to get prior approval for certain services, in an effort to speed up discharges for patients stuck in hospitals.

Health

Nov 8, 2023

Lieutenant General Leon Scott Rice tells reporters Tuesday that Massachusetts is activating more National Guard members to assist with the family shelter system's needs. (Gabrielle Emanuel/WBUR)

As family shelter system nears capacity, Mass. deploys more National Guard members

The Healey administration said it expects to start implementing a waitlist in the state-funded family shelter system on Wednesday or Thursday. It is taking steps to create short-term overnight accommodations...

Health

Nov 7, 2023

Sunset over Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge and the Sudbury River. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Daylight saving time ends this weekend. Here are 3 tips to prepare for the shift

New England's cold, dark afternoons may make you feel like huddling up in bed. Here are tips to keep you afloat amid the switch back to standard time.

Local Coverage

Nov 4, 2023