Category: Public Health

Social Security Chief Testifies in Senate About Plans to Stop ‘Clawback Cruelty’

Commissioner Martin O’Malley testifies to two Senate panels that his agency will stop the “injustices” of suspending people’s monthly benefits to recover alleged overpayments. The burden will be on the Social Security Administration to prove the beneficiary was to blame.

Rapid Rise in Syphilis Hits Native Americans Hardest

With U.S. syphilis rates climbing to the worst level in seven decades, public health experts and the federal Indian Health Service are scrambling to detect and treat the disease in Native American communities, where babies are infected at a higher rate than in any other demographic.

NIH sunsets COVID treatment guidance

Four years after COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, the National Institutes of Health is sunsetting its COVID-19 treatment guidelines, NPR reported March 19. 

Researchers issue call to action on drug-resistant fungi

A team of researchers at Cleveland-based Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine is urging the medical community to prioritize enhanced awareness and education on drug-resistant fungi as the number of global fungal infections grows. 

CDC issues health alert on measles outbreak

The CDC has issued a health alert as the U.S. faces a growing tally of measles cases this year, urging clinicians to ensure children are up to date on their measles-mumps-rubella vaccinations. 

How National Political Ambition Could Fuel, or Fail, Initiatives to Protect Abortion Rights in States

As money flows to abortion rights initiatives in states, some donors focus on where anger over the “Dobbs” ruling could propel voter turnout and spur Democratic victories up and down the ballot, including in key Senate races and the White House.

Health Workers Fear It’s Profits Before Protection as CDC Revisits Airborne Transmission

Four years since the covid pandemic emerged, health care workers want rules that protect them during outbreaks. They worry the CDC is repeating past mistakes as it develops a crucial set of guidelines for hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and other facilities that provide health care.

Amid Mental Health Staffing Crunch, Medi-Cal Patients Help One Another

Peer leaders can help ease the shortage of mental health providers and build trust through shared experiences, state health officials say. In 2022, California started allowing counties to use Medicaid dollars to pay them for their work.

US bans asbestos

The Environmental Protection Agency banned ongoing uses of asbestos, a carcinogen that is linked to more than 40,000 annual deaths, the White House said March 18. 

CDC responds to maternal death rate study, refutes claims

CDC experts are defending how the agency calculates maternal deaths after researchers from several universities have said the CDC’s method inflates numbers, according to Politico’s reporting.