The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
Heidi de Marco was a reporter and producer for 51ÊÓƵ Health News until March 2023.
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Hospitals and nursing homes in California and Illinois hope that regional cooperation — and a special soap — will help them gain the upper hand against deadly antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
With mental health beds in short supply, emergency rooms increasingly have become the care of first and last resort for people in the grips of a psychiatric episode. Now, hospitals around the country are opening emergency units that calmly cater to patients with mental health needs.
Outbreaks of infectious diseases such as typhus and hepatitis A are resurging in California and around the country, particularly among homeless populations. Public health officials warn that such diseases could spread broadly.
The Food and Drug Administration has let medical device companies file reports of injuries and malfunctions outside a widely scrutinized public database, leaving doctors and medical sleuths in the dark.
At one Seattle public school, students earn their diplomas while attending daily support groups and meeting with counselors to help them stay off drugs and alcohol. There are about 40 similar schools around the country, both public and private, and more are on the drawing board.
The Food and Drug Administration is supposed to inspect all factories, foreign and domestic, that produce drugs for the U.S. market. But a KHN review of thousands of FDA documents — inspection records, recalls, warning letters and lawsuits — reveals how drugs that are poorly manufactured or contaminated can reach consumers.
Managed-care plans, which reap billions in taxpayer dollars to coordinate care for low-income Americans on Medicaid, outsource crucial treatment decisions to subcontractors that aren’t directly accountable to the government. In California, health officials say one firm improperly withheld or delayed care for hundreds of people.
An Arizona couple played by the rules and bought employer-provided health insurance. But after they had a baby this year, their out-of-pocket hospital costs and doctors’ bills climbed to more than $12,000 — and medical debt now threatens their new family.
Insurance companies profit from government contracts but are subject to little oversight of how they spend the money or care for patients. The expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act has only exacerbated the problem.
When a young Navy lieutenant died following low-risk childbirth, her husband claimed military doctors botched her care. But his wrongful death claim was dismissed because of a 1950 ruling that bars active-duty service members from suing the U.S. government — for any reason.
Despite the growing epidemic of Americans misusing opioids and overdosing on the job, many employers turn a blind eye to addiction within their workforce — ill-equipped or unwilling to confront an issue they are at a loss to handle.
A clinic in El Cajon, Calif., treats patients recovering from anything from gunshot wounds to PTSD and anxiety about family left behind.
Rather than go cold turkey, inmates increasingly have the option to take medication to help beat addiction to opioids and other substances. But some warn these substitute drugs serve as another crutch — and a costly one at that.
As new federal policies make it harder to gain asylum in the U.S., foreign applicants try to improve their chances by having doctors evaluate their conditions — perhaps bolstering their stories of torture and violent persecution back home.
Some firefighters, emergency medical providers and law enforcement officers say recent mass shootings and other calamities — disturbing enough in themselves — have brought to the surface trauma buried over years on the job. Many are reluctant to seek help, though some employers are trying to change that.
A father and son suffered serious hand injuries nine days apart. They both needed surgery and lots of follow-up occupational therapy to rehab their hands. But insurance paid for just a fraction of those OT bills, and the family owed more than $8,500.
As more Americans are diagnosed with dementia, families who have firearms struggle with ways to stay safe. A KHN investigation uncovered dozens of cases of deaths and injuries.
One in 5 Medicare patients who leave the hospital for a nursing home end up back in the hospital. To discourage this, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will soon give bonuses and penalties to facilities based on their rehospitalization rates.
The community of Surprise Valley, Calif., wrestled with the idea of selling its tiny, long-cherished hospital to a Denver entrepreneur who sees a big future in lab tests for faraway patients. Last summer, another exec had a similar idea but left town.
Even under a decent plan, you’ll have to dig deep in your pocket for crowns, bridges and implants. The mouth isn’t covered by insurance the same way as the rest of the body, and this division has deep roots in history and tradition.
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