Health

WASHINGTON — A House bill generally supported by congressional Republicans and manufacturers to phase out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) nevertheless raised a few red flags when it came up before a House subcommittee last week. HFCs are a class of chemicals primarily... Read More

CHICAGO — Since recreational weed went on sale in Illinois three weeks ago, long lines have formed outside dispensaries, stores have established buying limits, and some have run out of product. All that was expected, based on what’s happened as... Read More

A man in Washington state has been sickened by the new coronavirus spreading through Asia, marking the first confirmed case in the United States, experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday. The patient, a resident of... Read More

Jan. 22 marks the 47th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that legalized abortion nationwide. Those on both sides of the furious debate say this could be the year when everything changes. In March, the Supreme Court will... Read More

The U.S. Supreme Court will review a Philadelphia federal judge’s decision last year to block new Trump administration rules that would have let almost any employer deny female workers no-cost birth control coverage by citing religious and moral objections. In... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a request that it resolve a dispute over the authority of a judge to order the disclosure of secret grand jury material in rare circumstances. The underlying case stems from a researcher's... Read More

WASHINGTON — More local and state officials are working to ensure that low-income residents stay on Medicaid when they go to jail. Federal law bars Medicaid recipients from accessing their full federal health benefits while incarcerated. But officials from both... Read More

WASHINGTON - A bipartisan bill intended to close gaps in the care of public school students with asthma and food allergies is "an important step" in promoting the health of the 11.5 million American children who suffer from these conditions,... Read More

WASHINGTON — More than 200 lawmakers, mostly Republicans, filed an amicus brief Thursday urging the Supreme Court to upend the precedents set by two landmark abortion rights cases, elevating abortion as a campaign issue ahead of this fall’s elections. The... Read More

ORLANDO, Fla. — Not everyone’s New Years celebration is happy and healthy as a study finds the day to be the deadliest holiday of the year behind the wheel. Nearly 1,000 people died on U.S. roadways over a three-day period... Read More

COLUMBUS, Ohio — It was 7:30 a.m. inside a nearly vacant Giant Eagle grocery store in New Albany, but in the back corner there were 18 people standing outside the shuttered liquor section. The liquor store didn’t open until 9... Read More

Multiple travelers passed through five U.S. airports while infected with measles in December and may have exposed countless other passengers to the infectious disease, according to health officials. According to the Chicago Department of Public Health, a person infected with... Read More

WASHINGTON - Rep. Henry Cuellar had no sooner returned to his native Texas, then he was being asked to reflect on one of the busiest and most consequential Decembers in the history of the U.S. Congress. In the three days... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration Wednesday announced plans that would pave the way for Americans to begin purchasing lower priced prescription drugs imported from Canada. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar described two ways in which the administration proposes... Read More

A tidal wave of fat, and the ailments that come with it, now appears virtually inevitable in the United States. New research finds that by 2030, nearly half of American adults — 49.2% to be exact — will be obese.... Read More

Any day now, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans could rule the entire Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. At least it seemed that two of the three appeals court judges were leaning that way during oral arguments in... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Problem Solvers Caucus is throwing its support behind legislation that would update allergen labeling laws, and provide increased funding for research and treatment of food allergies. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 32... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court gave a sympathetic hearing Tuesday to health insurers who were promised their losses would be covered if they expanded coverage under the Affordable Care Act, only to have the Republican-controlled Congress later refuse to pay.... Read More

HAMBURG, Germany — In 2016, 10 times as many Americans as Germans died as a result of drug overdoses, mostly opiates. Three times as many Americans as Germans experienced opioid addiction. Even as the rates of addiction in the U.S.... Read More

WASHINGTON — More than $12 billion is at stake for the nation’s health insurers Tuesday when the Supreme Court hears another Affordable Care Act case. For the federal government, the potential damages could be far greater, as its reputation as... Read More

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court left intact a Kentucky law that forces doctors who perform abortions to first show the woman an ultrasound and give her a detailed description of the fetus, even if she doesn’t want to listen.... Read More

WASHINGTON — Key House and Senate committee leaders announced a bipartisan agreement Sunday on draft legislation to prohibit surprise medical bills and raise the legal age to purchase tobacco to 21. The agreement raises the odds of Congress clearing measures... Read More

WASHINGTON — A mountain of evidence proves it: Good health translates to better student performance. Children who have high blood pressure or are obese perform worse academically than others. Children with asthma miss far more school. Students who have healthy... Read More

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs has established a National Artificial  Intelligence Institute in an effort to further advance the health and well-being of veterans. In a statement, the department said the new Institute will incorporate input from veterans... Read More

WASHINGTON - Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., joined with Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Annie Kuster, D-N.H., to re-introduce the Road to Recovery Act, a bill that would improve addiction treatment options under Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Specifically,... Read More

CHICAGO — An opioid overdose can be a lonely death. People who use drugs often do so in private, and should they get a dose stronger than they can tolerate, no one will be there to save them with the... Read More

WASHINGTON - In many ways, Jeremy Butler is the perfect interview subject. It doesn't take much to encourage him to talk about topics he's passionate about. And as the newly appointed CEO of Iraq Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Butler... Read More

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas’ bipartisan effort to shield patients from surprise medical bills could be weaker than lawmakers intended when it takes effect Jan. 1. Earlier this year, lawmakers from both parties came together on legislation to protect people in... Read More

It’s official: Americans are dying much sooner in life. Preliminary signals of declining health were neither a false alarm nor a statistical fluke. A reversal of American life expectancy, a downward trend that has now been sustained for three years... Read More

Lawmakers in New Jersey voted overwhelmingly Monday to provide more than $9 million to organizations like Planned Parenthood, which said they had to turn down federal money after President Donald Trump instituted a so-called “gag rule” forbidding them from making... Read More