Health & Safety

Patient one: A businessman brought the Middle East respiratory syndrome to South Korea in early May. Since then, he has likely spread the virus to more than 20 other people. Several of those have passed the virus onto others.

Viral Superspreader? How One Man Triggered A Deadly MERS Outbreak

10:02pm June 08, 2015

by Michaeleen Doucleff

In the past week, cases of the Middle East respiratory syndrome have more than tripled in South Korea. Researchers now have a clue to why the outbreak has grown so large, so quickly.

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The staff at the Charlotte Community Health Clinic: Nancy Hudson (left), Maria Elena Solanilla, Tonya Luna, Lisa Ortiz-Fraticelli, Charm May Agustin, Martha Brinsko and Tamara Withers-Thompson.

More Patients, Not Fewer, Turn To Health Clinics After Obamacare

7:46pm June 08, 2015

by Michael Tomsic

Patients are flocking to community health clinics for care. Obamacare advertising brought a lot of people out of the woodwork who wanted health insurance but didn't qualify for it.

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People protesting against the Affordable Care Act rallied outside the Supreme Court in March, before arguments in the second major challenge to the law.

5 Questions Answered On The Legal Challenge To Obamacare Subsidies

3:09pm June 08, 2015

by Julie Rovner

If the court rules against the Obama administration, health insurance subsidies could be eliminated for more than 6 million people in states that use HealthCare.gov, the federal exchange website.

Physician-Assisted Death Legislation Moves Forward In California

6:21pm June 07, 2015

California's Senate approved the End of Life Option Act, a bill that would allow doctor-assisted suicide for some terminally ill patients. The bill had been stalled for years, in part because doctors opposed it. But last month the California Medical Association dropped its opposition, becoming the first state medical association to do so. NPR's Arun Rath talks to Dr. Theodore Mazer, a member of the association's executive board, about the decision.

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When Cambodia's government closed the brothels, sex workers in Phnom Penh scattered to bars and entertainment venues.

The Hidden World Of Cambodia's Sex Workers: New Risks, New Hope

2:20pm June 07, 2015

by Steve Sapienza

The government closed brothels to clamp down on human trafficking. But that move put the country's prostitutes in grave danger.

The experimental drug flibanserin, made by Sprout Pharmaceuticals, is at the center of a regulatory controversy.

Health & Safety

Advisers To FDA Recommend Agency Approve Drug To Boost Female Libido

4:13pm June 05, 2015

by Rob Stein

Proponents claim the Food and Drug Administration is applying a double standard to its review of a drug some call the female Viagra. Critics say flibanserin hasn't been proved safe or effective.

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Pills are made from dehydrated placenta.

Placenta Pills Gain Fans Among New Moms, But Benefits Are Elusive

4:13pm June 05, 2015

by Tara Haelle

If Kourtney Kardashian and Mayim Bialik do it, is it good for you? Pills made from a woman's placenta are being promoted for postpartum depression. But there's no evidence they help, a review finds.

How Many Viruses Have Infected You?

4:12pm June 05, 2015

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Most tests for viruses aim to detect only one or two. But researchers can now check a drop of blood for antibodies to hundreds of viruses, tracing the history of a lifetime of infections, old and new.

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If you're at high risk of hepatitis B infection, your insurance company should pay for testing for the virus without passing any of the cost on to you.

Health & Safety

More Preventive Health Services Approved For No-Cost Coverage

4:02pm June 05, 2015

by Michelle Andrews

The newest recommended services are hepatitis B screening for adolescents and adults at high risk for infection and low-dose aspirin for pregnant women who are at high risk for preeclampsia.

Nicholas Wildman and his mom, Mary, in 2015.

Are The Vaccine Court's Requirements Too Strict?

2:31pm June 05, 2015

by Anders Kelto

Before awarding compensation, the court wants a "preponderance of evidence" that a vaccine caused the injury. Some years, the nearly $4 billion fund earns more interest than it pays out in claims.

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