Category: Public Health

New Contractor For Food Stamps Upsets Cart For Farmers Markets

If a popular app used by many farmers markets to process federal supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) benefits is no longer offered next spring, consumers’ access to fresh produce may be stalled.

Soda Industry Steals Page From Tobacco To Combat Taxes On Sugary Drinks

Voters in Oregon and Washington will decide whether to strip cities of the ability to tax sugary drinks.

Tobacco Tax Battle Could Torch Montana Medicaid Expansion

A ballot initiative in Montana would tax cigarettes $2 a pack to help pay for the state’s Medicaid expansion. But the tobacco industry has spent more than $17 million fighting the effort.

New Heart Drug Spotlights Troubling Trends In Drug Marketing

Critics worry the marketing of Vascepa, a purified fish oil product, could prove a fish story.

Gavin Newsom Is Bullish On Single-Payer — Except When He’s Not

The front-runner in the California governor’s race, known for his political audacity, has officially endorsed the controversial move to create one public insurance program for all Californians. Yet he also faces formidable challenges, and liberal critics fear he’ll retreat.

Primary Care Doctors ‘Not Doing Enough’ To Curb STDs

As rates of sexually transmitted diseases surge, public health officials want physicians to step up screening and treatment of patients.

Health Care Tops Guns, Economy As Voters’ Top Issue

Nearly three-quarters of voters say that health care is the most important issue for them, but fewer than half are hearing much from candidates about it, according to a poll released by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

GOP Gubernatorial Candidate John Cox: Limit Government In Health Care

John Cox, California’s Republican candidate for governor, contends that policies on abortion, health insurance and health care access should be guided by the conservative ideals of free market competition and personal responsibility. He hasn’t offered specific policy positions on health care, except that government should largely stay out of it.

Mysterious Polio-Like Illness Baffles Medical Experts While Frightening Parents

Federal health officials are investigating 127 cases of the disease, called acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM.

States Act To Safeguard Young Cancer Patients’ Chances To Have Children

Fighting cancer often involves toxic therapies that can cause infertility. In the past couple of years, five states have moved to require that plans pay for services such as egg removal and storage.