Health & Safety

Pig farm workers push live pigs into a large grave in Nipah in 1999. To stop the outbreak, the Malaysian government culled almost 1 million pigs, nearly destroying the country's pork industry.

A Taste For Pork Helped A Deadly Virus Jump To Humans

10:00am February 25, 2017

People were dropping dead in Malaysia, and no one could figure out why their brains were swelling. A young scientist solved the mystery. Then he had to get people to believe him.

Some environmental justice advocates say California's cap-and-trade program hasn't done anything to clean up the air in low-income communities like Wilmington, where refineries are located near residential neighborhoods.

Environmental Groups Say California's Climate Program Has Not Helped Them

7:57pm February 24, 2017

by Emily Guerin

California's signature climate plan is under attack from environmental justice groups. Some say the cap-and-trade program hasn't done anything to clean up the air in low-income communities.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., responds to constituents concerned about their coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

GOP Health Bill Draft Would Cut Medicaid, Emphasize Tax Credits

5:08pm February 24, 2017

by Alison Kodjak

The plan would replace insurance subsidies for low-income families with tax credits for everyone, eliminate the requirement to buy health care, and end taxes on medical devices.

Health & Safety

Heightened Patient Visitor Screening During Flu Season

4:28pm February 24, 2017

by David Ford

It's peak flu season in the Piedmont, and some local hospitals are will begin limiting patient visits starting Friday in a coordinated effort to prevent the spread of the bug.

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Nancy Roach at a conference in 2016. She's long worked as a patient's advocate and recently teamed up with scientists to help improve the design of studies, as well as to improve clinical care.

Advice From Patients On A Study's Design Makes For Better Science

3:18pm February 24, 2017

by Richard Harris

Increasingly, advocates for patients are in the room when big medical studies are designed. They demand answers to big questions: "Will the results of this study actually help anybody?"

Kevin Jones on the TED Stage in Salt Lake City

Kevin Jones: Can Embracing Uncertainty Lead To Better Medicine?

3:02pm February 24, 2017

by NPR/TED STAFF

Sometimes, doctors just don't have the answers. Surgeon Kevin Jones says having the humility to acknowledge this leads to better medicine.

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#CuriousGoat: What's A Good Exit Strategy For A Charity?

9:19am February 24, 2017

by Diane Cole

It's easy for a humanitarian group to go into a country with ambitious goals. It's tougher to figure out how to walk away.

Then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence announces that the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services has approved the state's waiver request for its Medicaid plan in 2015.

Indiana's Claims About Its Medicaid Experiment Don't All Check Out

6:31am February 24, 2017

by Jake Harper

Indiana's health program for low-income people is experimental, and needs federal approval to continue. The state says its program is working, but some claims lack much-needed context.

A demonstrator at a marijuana legalization rally in Washington, D.C., on Inauguration Day 2017.

White House Spokesman Predicts More Federal Action Against Marijuana

10:28pm February 23, 2017

by Nathan Rott

Press secretary Sean Spicer comments on Thursday came as a poll indicated a majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana.

Lucia Adeng Wek holds her 3-year-old son, Wek Wol Wek, who suffers from malnutrition. They're at a clinic in South Sudan run by Doctors without Borders and were photographed on October 11, 2016.

Health & Safety

Who Declares A Famine? And What Does That Actually Mean?

9:19pm February 23, 2017

by Nurith Aizenman

Just as we rank hurricanes and earthquakes, officials have developed a five-phase scale to rank food crises.

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