NPR Topics: Health Care

Five days after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in Manhattan, police arrested 26 year old Luigi Mangione in Pennsylvania. He’s facing charges including murder, the illegal possession of a firearm, and lying about his identity.

Authorities believe they have arrested the person responsible for gunning down the CEO of a health insurance company. What have we learned about Luigi Mangione, and his possible motivations?

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This week President-elect Donald Trump announced Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his nominee to run the Department of Health and Human Services.

The nomination comes after Trump promised to let Kennedy “go wild on health” during the campaign.

Kennedy holds a number of controversial opinions on health, and promotes a number of scientifically debunked claims like vaccines cause autism, fluoride is poisoning the public water system and AIDS isn’t caused by the HIV virus.

Kennedy has long wanted to remake health and healthcare policy in the United States. Soon, he may get his chance.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

For about three weeks in 2000, there were zero measles cases in the United States. It was declared eradicated.

Fast forward to 2024, and measles cases are surging, especially in Oregon where the state is facing the worst outbreak since the early 1990s.

This is happening as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the vaccination rate among kindergartners is dropping, and more and more parents are seeking exemptions to school vaccine requirements.

People are vaccinating their children at lower and lower rates. What does that mean for kids as they head back to school, and for infectious and deadly diseases like measles?

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

A new study finds telehealth for cancer treatment could make a big difference in reducing carbon footprint of health care. Health care generated 8.5% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and there’s a growing effort in medicine to find ways to reduce this impact.

From Florida to Arizona, reproductive rights supporters seek to add abortion access to state constitutions after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion in 2022.

The state currently bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. That will drop to six weeks, with a few exceptions — a timetable that abortion rights advocates say is hard to meet

NPR’s Scott Detrow spoke with the former director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis Collins, about his recent prostate cancer diagnosis.

We hear from Lost Patients, a podcast that tries to make sense of the U.S. mental health care system.

This week marks four years since the outbreak of Covid-19 was officially declared a pandemic. One of the most vexing legacies — one that science still hasn’t solved — is long Covid. That’s the debilitating condition that can develop in the aftermath of an infection.

Millions of Americans are living with the often debilitating symptoms that can include brain fog, shortness of breath, and low energy. Some struggle with simple daily living tasks like laundry and cooking.

Four years since the pandemic hit, patients with long Covid are still fighting for answers.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

NPR’s A Martinez visits a clinic in Reno to explore the issues residents of northern Nevada face accessing health care.