On Disabilities

People living with schizophrenia or other serious mental illnesses say a pet can be not just a comforting companion but a reason to stay engaged with other people — and with life.

Nick Fugate has a cognitive disability, but held a job and was independent for years. Then he lost his dishwashing job and learned there are long delays getting help he needs from Medicaid in Kansas.

Members of the military are more than twice as likely to have hepatitis C as the general public. For many, including Jim McGough, the virus takes its final toll decades after they are first infected.

State lawmakers cut $350 million in Medicaid funding to early childhood intervention therapists last year to help pay for tax cuts. Now rural toddlers are finding it hard to get vital treatment.

The lower premiums that come with bronze plans, plus Obamacare's caps on out-of-pocket spending, can make these plans the best deal for people who have very few medical expenses — or very many.

More than 35 million eligible voters in the U.S. have a disability. And in the last presidential election, almost a third of voters with disabilities reported having trouble casting their ballots.

People with serious disabilities and their caregivers often struggle to find dentists who have the ability and desire to take care of their teeth. Cost is another issue.

Toyota announced this year that it's backing the return of the iBOT, which went out of production in 2009. Inventor Dean Kamen says a reboot would include improvements using the latest technology.

A mind-controlled robotic arm has pressure sensors in each fingertip that send signals directly to a paralyzed man's brain. It's still experimental, but could eventually help thousands, engineers say.

Colorado is the latest state to consider legalizing aid in dying. Residents find themselves struggling with whether assisted death is an act of mercy or a moral slippery slope.

Some people are born with anosmia — the inability to smell. Others lose their sense of smell later in life. That makes it hard to taste food, detect threats, or even savor memories.

Most potential Alzheimer's drugs are tested on mice. But rats may be a better choice because they seem to have a type of memory that's more like ours, and also are highly vulnerable to Alzheimer's.