When you think of arthritis, chances are good that your first thought is of your grandparents, parents — or even your own aging joints! Most of us view this medical condition as something that only old people get, yet the truth is that anyone can be diagnosed with arthritis. This is particularly true if a….
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GOP lawsuit hasn’t shoved health care off a cliff — not yet. But ACA in limbo helps nobody.
Insurers feast on uncertainty the way most of us attack a holiday spread. They can relish risk because they know it can mean higher premiums and profits for their dealing with clients’ risks. This is one point to keep in mind while reading the abundant coverage of the latest step in Republicans’ decade-long assault on….
Continue ReadingGun violence is a public health crisis. Research and treatment are needed now.
With back-to-back-to-back incidents of mass gun violence killing almost three dozen children, women, and men, can this nation muster the political courage to treat this lethal scourge as a public health menace? Can it, finally, green light and fund rigorous research that could inform public policies that both could protect Americans’ Second Amendment rights while….
Continue Reading$14k to treat iron-poor blood? That’s rich. As is politicians’ health care frenzy.
Iron poor blood? For many of a certain age, mere mention of that phrase conjures the major advertising campaigns of yore for a popular, over-the-counter nostrum called Geritol. The tonic is still around and sells for less than what a first-run movie ticket costs. Which leads to a different question that may burn many patients:….
Continue ReadingCase by case, constitutional rights are lost to corporations and forced arbitration
When older Americans suffer major injury or illness, their loved ones may find themselves under the gun, making expensive and complex decisions about their care. They’re likely to be slammed, too, with stacks of paperwork from caregiving facilities. It’s tough stuff to take in — and it too often ask them to sign documents that….
Continue ReadingFor diabetics and dialysis patients, glimmers of better news on costs of care
Diabetics and those with failing kidneys may have gotten a glimmer of relief from the staggering costs of caring for their conditions, as Big Pharma relented a tad with news it will put out a less-costly insulin product and federal officials suggesting Uncle Sam soon may be upsetting the flush profits of the dialysis industry.
Continue ReadingWith FDA chief gone, doubts rise on battles on nicotine, opioids, drug costs
The Trump Administration has lost yet another top health official: So, what happens now with key policies pushed by Scott Gottlieb, the departing federal Food and Drug Administration commissioner, to battle teen nicotine abuse, cut skyrocketing drug costs, and attack the opioid crisis? Administration officials insist Gottlieb wasn’t ousted, and the physician and onetime Big
Continue ReadingCatching up on your sleep this weekend? It doesn’t work, researchers find
Americans may put off to the weekend catching up on sports scores, store sales, the latest news and more. But there’s a health essential that new research suggests cannot be put off for the weekend: a good night’s sleep. The study, conducted at the University of Colorado and published in the science journal “Current Biology,”….
Continue ReadingIf a news reporter can get named a ‘Top Doctor,’ how do patients find reliable info on good MDs?
Truth can be stranger than fiction, and for an investigative journalist covering the outrages of health care costs, ProPublica reporter Marshall Allen had a dream medical story call him on his phone: A well-known New York company reached out and told him he had been “honored” as one of the nation’s Top Doctors. Not bad
Continue ReadingFor soaring drug costs and overdoses, officials offer blame and shame
As tens of thousands of Americans die from overdoses and many millions struggle with skyrocketing prescription medication costs, lawmakers and regulators in the nation’s capital plodded along with procedural steps they claimed would help attack what voters insist are some of their top public policy priorities. On Capitol Hill, seven of Big Pharma’s top executives…
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