New Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley is promising to change how the agency reclaims billions of dollars it wrongly pays to beneficiaries, saying the existing process is “cruel-hearted and mindless.”
Category: Public Health
Child mortality reaches record low: UN group
A higher percentage of children worldwide are living beyond their fifth birthdays as childhood mortality rates hit a record low in 2022, according to a joint report published by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation.
FDA seeks $7.2B for 2025 budget: 3 healthcare notes
The FDA has requested $7.2 billion from the president’s proposed budget for next year — funding the agency says will bolster the nation’s supply chain, support infrastructure upgrades and expand the public health workforce.
New Mexico reports 1st bubonic plague death in 4 years
Officials with the New Mexico Department of Health confirmed that a man has died following hospitalization with the bubonic plague.
Concerns Grow Over Quality of Care as Investor Groups Buy Not-for-Profit Nursing Homes
For-profit groups own more than 70% of U.S. nursing homes. Industry leaders and researchers wonder whether corporations and investors can succeed where not-for-profit organizations have struggled. Or, will quality of care suffer in the name of making money?
More parents are delaying pediatric vaccines, pediatricians say
Pediatricians in California are noticing a concerning trend of more vaccine-hesitant parents delaying their child’s routine immunizations, The Los Angeles Times reported March 11.
18 states where virus levels are high as flu holds steady
Key metrics for COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus continue to fall, though flu activity is still elevated, CDC data for the week ending March 2 shows.
An Arm and a Leg: The Medicare Episode
On this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann breaks down the complicated and expensive world of Medicare with practical tips to pick the right plan and avoid penalties.
Why Covid Patients Who Could Most Benefit From Paxlovid Still Aren’t Getting It
Price worries, bureaucratic obstacles, and “I’m-over-covid-itis” slow uptake of a drug that’s complicated to take but often effective.
US measles cases tick up: 4 updates
Measles activity continues to rise in the U.S., with Illinois becoming the latest state to confirm infections this year, CDC data shows.
