Author's posts
How Lunchables ended up on school lunch trays
Today, “Post Reports” goes back to school, to the cafeteria, where something has changed. Reporters Lenny Bernstein and Lauren Weber bring us the backstory of how ultra-processed foods ended up on lunch trays, amid growing concerns about child nutritio…
How red-state politics are shaving years off American lives
Along Lake Erie, three states show how Republican lawmakers’ decisions over decades on cigarettes and seat belts are shortening life spans.
Documents show how conservative doctors influenced abortion, trans rights
The American College of Pediatricians gained outsize political influence in recent years, promoting views rejected by the medical establishment as scientific fact.
Unpacking the flawed science cited in the Texas abortion pill ruling
Texas judge ignored scientific evidence of abortion pill’s safety, citing statistics that overstate the negative physical and psychological effects of mifepristone.
Conservative covid backlash handcuffs public health, pandemic response
Lawsuits and legislation fueled by covid backlash have stripped public health officials of powers, leaving the United States unprepared for the next pandemic.
Doctors who touted ivermectin as covid fix now pushing it for flu, RSV
This group of doctors championed ivermectin as a covid “miracle” drug without scientific evidence. Now they’re pushing the anti-parasitic for flu and RSV.
Medical bills remain inaccessible for many visually impaired Americans
When health bills aren’t legible — via large-print, Braille or other adaptive technology — blind patients can’t know what they owe, and are too often sent to debt collections, an investigation finds.
Thousands of Experts Hired to Aid Public Health Departments Are Losing Their Jobs
As the covid-19 pandemic raged, an independent nonprofit tied to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hired an army of seasoned professionals to fill the gaps in the country’s public health system. Now, the money has largely run out, and state and local health departments are again without their expertise.
Shattered Dreams and Bills in the Millions: Losing a Baby in America
On top of fearing for their children’s lives, new parents of very fragile, very sick infants can face exorbitant hospital bills — even if they have insurance. Medical bills don’t go away if a child dies.
The heartbreak and cost of losing a baby in America
Even after their babies died, hospital bills kept coming. These parents of fragile, very sick infants faced exorbitant bills — though they had insurance. “The process was just so heartless,” one says.
