Health

PHILADELPHIA — For years, Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood has been the epicenter of a huge open-air drug market where illicit drugs were bought and used in plain sight. But more than a decade ago, in the earliest days of what would... Read More

WASHINGTON — Most Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents would prefer to expand the Affordable Care Act rather than replace it with a “Medicare for All” plan, according to a new tracking poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The poll, released Tuesday,... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Tuesday unveiled a new initiative that aims to connect the dots between a patient’s health records held by different providers. The Data at the Point of Care, or DPC, demonstration... Read More

SEATTLE — Federal officials said Tuesday they would not block a proposed copper and gold mine near Alaska’s Bristol Bay despite objections by critics who contend it would imperil a fishery and harm wetlands and streams. The U.S. Environmental Protection... Read More

Last week, a bipartisan, bicameral coalition led by freshman Representative Sean Casten D-Ill., introduced legislation aimed at encouraging innovation that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from industrial sources. Casten and his counterparts in the Senate, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and... Read More

When Ebola broke out in the Democratic Republic of the Congo a year ago, the global stockpile of a long-anticipated vaccine was 300,000 doses. At the time, that seemed like plenty. But as the virus spreads from the epicenter and... Read More

Nearly each day reports chronicle the catastrophic ramifications of climate change, as well as the effects of poverty and hunger on growing children. The National Institutes of Health just released a study explaining that eating an unprocessed diet triggers an... Read More

SAN JOSE, Calif. — California’s sweeping deal with four major automakers last week to boost gas mileage standards and cut tailpipe emissions wasn’t the first time the Golden State has outmaneuvered the Trump administration, which has been planning instead to... Read More

Clearly concerned about what will happen if a federal appeals court upholds a lower court ruling overturning the Affordable Care Act, Democrats at the National Governors Association summer meeting said Thursday that rolling back the health care law would be... Read More

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Billions of pain pills distributed, more than a million years of life lost, thousands of deaths by overdose. Reports and data released last week offered a breathtaking view of the numbers behind Ohio’s epidemic of drug addiction,... Read More

BALTIMORE — Scampering around the floor of her father’s family room in Cherry Hill, 1-year-old Syah Weddington is quicker on four limbs than two. After a few passes crawling from one end of the room to the other, her mom... Read More

Ford, Volkswagen, BMW and Honda have reached a deal with California to increase gas mileage standards and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, setting a national standard, a longtime auto industry goal. The deal between the four automakers and the California Air... Read More

WASHINGTON - Representatives Rodney Davis, R-Ill., and Angie Craig, D-Minn., proposed Wednesday to create a low-interest loan program administered by FEMA for states to fund projects that reduce the risks and costs of natural disasters. “Helping communities prepare for disasters... Read More

NEW YORK — Congress can never do anything about the growing numbers of people still dying from 9/11, but the Senate voted Tuesday to ensure the words “Never Forget” will never be just a slogan for the cops, firefighters and... Read More

In the middle of a work project at a global corporate consulting firm, Katherine Switz was gripped with a debilitating bout of anxiety. Her body froze, her heart raced, her chest tightened, and her mind went blank, which made it... Read More

Some of the deadliest cancers — such as colorectal, ovarian and lung cancers — receive the lowest amounts of nonprofit funding, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study. The researchers found that breast cancer, leukemia, pediatric cancers and lymphoma were... Read More

WASHINGTON — Denise Wall, a Fresno-area schoolteacher with more than $2,000 in medical bills, was outraged to hear she could get free care if she quit her job and enrolled her family in Medicaid. Brenda Bartlett, a factory worker in... Read More

First-term Representatives Lucy McBath, D-Ga., and Greg Steube, R-Fla., have introduced legislation aimed at protecting disabled veterans and their families who are experiencing financial hardship. Introduced in May, the bipartisan Honoring American Veterans in Extreme Need (HAVEN) Act, H.R. 2938,... Read More

WASHINGTON - Members of the New Democrat Coalition's Healthcare Task Force asked the House leadership on Wednesday to hold a floor vote on drug pricing bills with bipartisan support as early as next week. The request was made in a... Read More

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Bryan Ruiz’s hands were still shaking an hour after he learned the $300,000 in medical school loans he took out to become a dentist were being wiped away by California taxpayers. A year out of medical school,... Read More

Six years ago, Erin was a newly minted graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, working three part-time jobs and adjusting to life as a non-student. She stopped in for a drink one night at a restaurant... Read More

CHICAGO — Over the Fourth of July holiday, Felix Kombwa brought the children he mentors to a festival where a law-enforcement exhibit allowed visitors to sit in a squad car, try on police gear and chat with officers. But the... Read More

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Saturday pressing for added funds to help veterans see private doctors as part of any deal to raise the debt ceiling and tight appropriations caps. Pelosi’s letter... Read More

WASHINGTON - The House overwhelmingly approved a bill Friday ensuring that a victims compensation fund for first responders to the Sept. 11 attacks never runs out of money. Following the 402-12 vote, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said the... Read More

CHICAGO — Shortly after nightfall, the 17-year-old girl joined her mother in the back seat of an unfamiliar car driven by a stranger to an undisclosed location on the South Side of Chicago. It was a summer weekend in 1966.... Read More

In a sit-down interview with CNN, 2020 Democratic presidential primary candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden touted the Obama administration’s passage of the Affordable Care Act, asserting that this law evened out the playing field when it came to... Read More

In our new series, Freshmen Get it Done, The Well News will be highlighting legislative accomplishments by freshman Members of Congress from both parties. *** Representatives Mike Levin, D-Calif., and Chris Pappas, D-N.H., are pressing Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie... Read More

In our new series, Freshmen Get it Done, The Well News will be highlighting legislative accomplishments by freshman Members of Congress from both parties. *** WASHINGTON - A bill sponsored by freshman Representative Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, D-Ill., to provide funding... Read More

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed several pieces of legislation this past week, including bills that expand patient access to medical marijuana, ensure the health benefits and compensation to 9/11 responders, and prohibit utilities from cutting the power off on... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump outlined an agenda to improve preventive treatment of kidney disease Wednesday, zeroing in on a condition that afflicts more than 30 million Americans and costs more than $100 billion in annual Medicare spending. The executive... Read More