Health & Safety

Health & Safety

Future Of Surprise Medical Billing Legislation Remains Uncertain

5:42pm November 28, 2019

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

The summer kicked off with a blitz of government activity to end surprise medical billing, but lobbying, impeachment, and policy arguments have left the future of the legislation up in the air.

A World Health Organization medic prepares a vaccination dose for a front-line aid worker earlier this year in the small town of Mangina, Democratic Republic of Congo. Four Ebola response workers were killed and six others injured in two attacks overnight

'It Was Unmistakably A Directed Attack': 4 Ebola Workers Killed In Congo

2:26pm November 28, 2019

by Colin Dwyer

The two overnight assaults on Ebola response teams also injured at least six people, according to the World Health Organization. The attacks come at a pivotal time for the fight against the disease.

Study: For HIV-Infected Babies, Treatment Should Start At Birth

7:30am November 28, 2019

by Pien Huang

Every day, as many as 500 babies in sub-Saharan Africa are born with HIV. A study out of Botswana finds that if newborns are given treatment right away, the virus becomes almost undetectable.

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If you don't have a steady source of healthy food, it's hard to manage chronic conditions. That's why health care providers are setting up food pantries — right in hospitals and clinics.

'Food Pharmacies' In Clinics: When The Diagnosis Is Chronic Hunger

6:50am November 28, 2019

by Blake Farmer

It's hard to manage chronic conditions without a steady source of healthy food. That's why health care providers are setting up food pantries — right inside hospitals and clinics.

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We're tethered to our brothers and sisters as adults far longer than we are as children; our sibling relationships, in fact, are the longest-lasting family ties we have.

Health & Safety

Here's To Grown-Up Siblings And The Ties That Bind

5:00am November 28, 2019

by Robin Marantz Henig

Though she and her younger brother are very different, he's the one, in a way, she knows best. Sibling relationships, in fact, are the longest-lasting family ties we have, transcending time and loss.

Jennifer Brooks, who had repeatedly visited the emergency room at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, was sued by Southeastern Emergency Physicians for $8,500 in unpaid medical bills.

Health & Safety

A Private Equity-Owned Doctors' Group Sued Poor Patients Until It Came Under Scrutiny

7:57pm November 27, 2019

After the Blackstone Group acquired a large national physician staffing firm in 2017, low-income patients faced far more debt collection lawsuits. They stopped only after news media investigated.

The newly signed law is set to take effect on June 1, 2020. A temporary blanket ban on all vaping products will remain in place until Dec. 11.

Massachusetts Governor Signs Law Severely Restricting Flavored Tobacco, Vape Products

3:32pm November 27, 2019

by Vanessa Romo

The legislation is not a blanket ban. Instead, it limits the sale of flavored nicotine vaping products, including menthol, "to licensed smoking bars where they may only be smoked on-site."

Health & Safety

Who Doesn't Like Sweet Potatoes? This Kenyan Researcher, For One

1:41pm November 27, 2019

by Esther Ngumbi

True confession: I will not eat sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving. Or any other time of the year. It all has to do with my Kenyan childhood.

That Year I Cooked Spaghetti Omelets In Benin For Thanksgiving

1:30pm November 27, 2019

by Abby Reilly

The Peace Corps volunteer thought she would miss her family and the traditional holiday fixings. But she found new reasons to be thankful during her time in the West African nation of Benin.

Health & Safety

Amazon Warehouse Employees Face Serious Injuries, Report Says

12:02pm November 27, 2019

A report from the Center for Investigative Reporting and The Atlantic reveals how Amazon warehouse employees are dealing with crippling injuries. NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to reporter Will Evans.

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