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Section: Health

Researcher Gets $4 M to Study Pre-Term Birth Disparities

A researcher at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine has received nearly $4 million from a division of the National Institutes of Health to address minority health disparities related to preterm birth. Dr. Tracy Manuck, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and maternal-fetal medicine specialist, received $3.8 million over five years from the National Institute […]

November 6, 2017

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Telehealth Fills Voids During Weather Emergencies

When Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, Nemours Children’s Health System was eager to help out through its CareConnect virtual care platform. All it needed was the green light for Nemours providers, who aren’t licensed in Texas, to practice medicine in the state. Then Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of emergency. “Once that [barrier] was lifted, […]

November 6, 2017

House GOP Might Repeal Health Mandate in Tax Bill

WASHINGTON — Republicans are weighing a repeal of a key tenet of the Obama-era health care law in their tax overhaul as the House’s tax-writing committee begins work on shaping the bill. Speaker Paul Ryan said Sunday Republicans are discussing whether their tax plan should include a repeal of the Obama health law’s requirement that […]

November 6, 2017

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Outreach Reduced as ACA Enrollment Begins

In preparation for the Affordable Care Act’s latest enrollment season, the Trump administration sent notices about the sign-up options to millions fewer Americans than in past years and deleted themes known to be most effective in motivating consumers to sign up. Emails went in advance only to people with current health-care plans through marketplaces created […]

November 6, 2017

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Shaky Ground

On Wednesday, open enrollment begins for the fifth time under Obamacare. There is much uncertainty in the insurance market and premiums are expected to continue to rise. According to Gallup, the uninsured rate rose to 13 percent, up from 10 percent last year — most experts attribute the rise to ballooning individual insurance costs, diminished […]

November 1, 2017

Notre Dame Will End Free Contraceptive Coverage

SOUTH BEND — University of Notre Dame employees will no longer be eligible for no-cost contraceptive coverage through a third party starting Jan. 1, 2018. The change also applies to students covered under the university’s health care plan. Read More

November 1, 2017

Opioid Panel Will Recommend Tighter Restrictions

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s commission on combating the opioid epidemic plans to encourage the federal government to establish drug courts in every federal judicial district, adjust reimbursement rates for addiction treatment, and streamline federal funding used by state and local governments to implement drug treatment and prevention programs, according to a draft of the panel’s […]

November 1, 2017

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Program Pairs Students with Medical Role Models

Abigail Sapp’s Saturday mornings are usually reserved for basketball practice, but the opportunity to meet with professionals doing the work she aspires to do was tempting enough to draw her off the court. “I want to be a doctor to help people,” the 12-year-old said. Read More

November 1, 2017

HBCU Gets $16.3 M to Examine Disparities

The grant comes courtesy of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, a division of the National Institutes of Health. It will go toward a new Research Center in Minority Institutions meant to elevate the university’s health disparities research program. The grant will support health disparities research across the NCCU campus, one of […]

November 1, 2017

Yale Leads Study on Disparities Among Seniors

A research team led by F&ES Professor Michelle Bell has received a $4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to examine environmental health disparities within the U.S. senior population. Using a wide range of data sets, including Medicare claims, Bell and colleagues from Rice and Harvard universities will investigate how environmental and […]

November 1, 2017

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Trump to Gut Obamacare Benefit Rules

In the wake of the collapse of Republican efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare, the Trump administration is testing the legal limits of what it can do to reshape — or some would say gut — the Affordable Care Act using, ironically, the regulatory tools the ACA gave the executive branch. The president’s suspension of […]

November 1, 2017

Power Outage Strains P.R. Healthcare System

Forty days after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, most of the U.S. territory remains without power. Over the weekend, the island’s power company fired a key contractor working to restore electrical service. The cancellation of the $300 million contract with Whitefish Energy, after the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other agencies expressed significant concerns about […]

November 1, 2017

Notre Dame Ends Free Contraceptive Coverage for Employees

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame is ending no-cost contraceptive coverage for employees and students. The South Bend Tribune reports that an email set by the Catholic university on Friday to faculty and staff shows that coverage will end for employees on Jan. 1. Students under the school’s insurance plan will be […]

October 31, 2017

University of Hawaii Closing State’s Only Public Hyperbaric Treatment Center

KAIULA-KONA, Hawaii — Hawaii’s only means of treatment for divers with decompression sickness is remaining closed through November. The University of Hawaii at Manoa announced Oct. 20 that its public hyperbaric treatment center is closed due to “unforeseen circumstances,” West Hawaii Today reported. Decompression sickness, also known as the bends, is the result of gases […]

October 31, 2017

Jane Doe’s Ordeal

Last night was the first night in a month that I was able to fall asleep without worrying about whether Jane Doe would get the medical care she needs. Jane, a 17-year-old unaccompanied immigrant minor, received her abortion yesterday after being held hostage by our federal government for over a month. But while the legal […]

October 30, 2017

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WWII Vet Gets Benefits for Mustard Gas Exposure

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. —A World War II veteran who says he was exposed to mustard gas experiments at a former southwest Missouri military camp has been awarded federal benefits. Missouri U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill announced October 23 that the Department of Veterans Affairs is granting Arla Harrell monthly benefits. He’s also getting back-benefits from the […]

October 30, 2017

Q &A on Breast Cancer Disparities

Dr. Peggy Porter, head of the Breast Cancer Research Program at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, studies the molecular details of different types of breast tumors and the characteristics — such as age, ethnicity and environmental exposure — that can alter an individual’s cancer risk. With this information, she aims to help make breast cancer […]

October 30, 2017

Disabled Have Worst Outcomes and Access to Care

People with disabilities may have less access to care and worse health outcomes than individuals without physical or mental challenges, two recent studies suggest. One study found that people with disabilities in the UK have worse access to care largely due to struggles with transportation, costs and long waiting lists for appointments. The other study […]

October 30, 2017