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Spurred on by opposition to pandemic-related health mandates, a coalition of religious liberty groups, conservative think tanks, and Republican state attorneys general has filed a cascade of litigation seeking to rein in the powers of public health authorities.
Existing drugs still treat most infections. But that has discouraged investment in new drugs that will be needed when — not if —the old ones fail.
A new federal rescue program that pays rural hospitals to shutter underused inpatient units and focus solely on emergency rooms and outpatient care hasn’t generated much interest yet.
The FDA has approved a cannabis-derived drug, Epidiolex, to treat some forms of epilepsy. Now people who have other forms of the condition are using over-the-counter CBD products in hopes of taming their seizures. But doctors and patients worry about the unregulated world of CBD, in which product ingredients can be a mystery.
A network of organizations help women use medication to end early pregnancies safely. But it’s a legal gray area in Tennessee and other states that restrict abortion.
Hospital-acquired pneumonia not tied to ventilators is one of the most common infections that strike within health care facilities. But few hospitals take steps to prevent it, which can be as simple as dutifully brushing patients’ teeth.
The surge of calls for special legislative sessions to pass abortion laws is an unusual occurrence in modern U.S. history, according to experts — one caused by the Supreme Court’s decision to give states more power to regulate abortion.
University of Texas researchers are testing a program that would allow harm reduction groups to crowdsource data on fatal and nonfatal drug overdoses statewide. While the data relies on word of mouth, they say, it is more comprehensive than anything that exists now and can be used immediately to prevent overdoses.
Drug-related mortality rates have increased in prisons and jails even as the number of people incarcerated for drug offenses has dropped. The pandemic lockdowns on visitors didn't eliminate the problem, showcasing that guards have been a source of the contraband.
About 930,000 abortions occurred in the U.S. in 2020, an 8% increase from 2017. But that nationwide figure belies dramatic variation among states — disparities expected to magnify in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe v. Wade.
By undoing that landmark decision, the law of the land since 1973, the court has empowered states to set their own abortion restrictions — so where people live will determine their level of access.
Abortion will almost certainly face new restrictions in Georgia. Patients will have a harder time finding services, and providers will have to figure out how to navigate the new landscape. Meanwhile, abortion opponents see the moment as an opportunity to put further restrictions on the procedure.
The notion that Native American nations could use tribal sovereignty to bypass state restrictions on abortion if Roe v. Wade falls is an idea largely proposed by non-Native groups.
A bipartisan U.S. Senate agreement on guns that focuses on mental health raises hopes and doubts in rural Western states with high suicide rates and easy access to guns.
Medical debt is most prevalent in the Southeast, where states have not expanded Medicaid and have few consumer protection laws. Now, North Carolina is considering two bills that could change that, making the state a leader in protecting patients from high medical bills.
The landmark Roe v. Wade decision could soon be overturned. Two Knoxville-based providers of reproductive health care wonder how — and if — they will continue to serve their patients.
Most of the dozen states that haven’t fully expanded eligibility for Medicaid have extended or plan to extend the postpartum coverage window for new mothers. That could mean improved maternal health, but it’s only part of the puzzle when it comes to reducing the number of preventable maternal deaths in the U.S.
An article in the New England Journal of Medicine takes a sweeping look at how heat — which can be a byproduct of air pollution and climate change — adversely affects people’s health, especially that of kids.
People talk about the sacrifices they made when health care forced them into debt.
The Biden administration’s latest plan to address opioid overdose deaths includes $30 million for harm reduction measures, but many conservative states don’t allow them.
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