Fentanyl and other painkillers marketed as safer than Purdue Pharma’s blockbuster drug left their own trail of overdose deaths.
Category: Public Health
For Many College Students, Hunger Can ‘Make It Hard To Focus In Class’
With rising college costs, up to half of college students’ finances are stretched so tight they report that they were either not getting enough to eat or were worried about it, studies find.
Medicare Reconsiders Paying For Seniors’ Spine Operations At Surgery Centers
After a USA Today Network-Kaiser Health News investigation, Medicare announced last week that it is re-evaluating whether these procedures “pose a significant safety risk” to patients.
Community Frets As Buyer For Cherished Rural Hospital Slips From View
Some residents of remote Surprise Valley in Northern California fear their hospital will close like so many others around the country, as hope wanes for financial support from a Denver entrepreneur. The businessman, Beau Gertz, had planned to raise money through lab billing for faraway patients.
A Transgender Woman’s Quest For Surgery Caught In Political Crosswinds
Dramatic policy swings, from an unprecedented expansion of transgender rights under the Obama administration to the unpredictable reduction of trans rights under President Donald Trump, have left many trans Americans feeling the whiplash.
A Transgender Woman’s ‘Bait-And-Switch’ $92,000 Surgery Bill
After being promised a significant discount for paying cash upfront and forgoing insurance, a Wisconsin patient gets caught in the middle between hospital and insurer — and feels snookered by a last-minute surprise and billing snafu.
How Soon Is Soon Enough To Learn You Have Alzheimer’s?
Only about half of people with Alzheimer’s symptoms get a diagnosis, partly out of fear of an incurable decline, doctors suspect. But Jose Belardo says facing the future allows him to plan for it.
No Gaps In Understanding: Here’s Your Primer On Medigap Coverage
Seniors often don’t realize that private insurers are required to offer Medigap policies, or supplemental insurance, only when people first sign up for Medicare.
How To Save A Choking Senator: Heimlich Heirs, Red Cross Disagree On Technique
The Red Cross and some other organizations suggest that first aid for choking begin with five slaps on the back. The family of Dr. Henry Heimlich, who developed the abdominal thrusts to dislodge objects that prevent breathing, is launching a campaign to demand proof of why back slaps should come first.
Purdue Pharma Edits Public Service Ad In Washington Post
Did OxyContin maker admit opioids can be dangerous even when patients take them as prescribed — then walk it back?
