Category: NPR

Workers have few job protections during the trauma of a miscarriage

About a quarter of all pregnancies end in miscarriage. Despite the large number of workers affected, no national laws protect them when they need time off to deal with the loss.

Vaccinate and test. That advice isn’t much help to parents who have kids under 5.

Parents of children too young for vaccines are exhausted. As omicron surges, they keep trying to protect their kids. But some feel isolated and even forgotten by those who just want to move on.

Seniors are at high risk of COVID, but Medicare doesn’t pay for rapid tests

The laws governing Medicare don’t provide coverage for self-administered diagnostic tests, including rapid antigen tests. Here’s how older adults can get free tests anyway.

The doctor didn’t show up, but the hospital ER still billed $1,012

A toddler burned his hand on the stove. The pediatrician told mom over the phone to take him to the emergency room. But after a long wait for a doctor who never showed, they left. Then the bill came.

A medical ethicist weighs in on how to approach treating unvaccinated people

Sarah McCammon speaks with doctor and ethicist Carla Keirns of the University of Kansas Health Center about how best to treat unvaccinated people who fall ill with COVID-19.

Thousands gather for the March for Life protest, as Supreme Court weighs Roe v. Wade

The annual march in Washington, D.C., occurs around the anniversary of the Roe decision. This year, as the Supreme Court considers overturning some of its protections, protesters say they feel hope.

Americans are divided on abortion. The Supreme Court may not wait for minds to change

Public opinion remains bitterly divided on the issue, but an imminent Supreme Court decision could overturn or dramatically undercut Roe v. Wade.

The nursing home staffing crisis right now is like nothing we’ve seen before

COVID cases and deaths are rising again in nursing homes across the country due to the highly contagious omicron variant. Staffing shortages are adding to strain and workers report “moral distress.”

Patients are dying while waiting for specialized care because hospitals are full

Massachusetts hospitals have been struggling for weeks in a coronavirus-driven surge. Now, there are reports of patients dying because they couldn’t be transferred to higher-level care.

Doctors called 17 hospitals looking for an ICU bed. He died waiting for a transfer

A beloved pizzeria owner in Brimfield, Mass., had COVID-19 and needed dialysis, but it wasn’t available at the hospital where he died. The health system is “breaking down,” a hospital CEO says.