Legal Pot Is More Potent Than Ever 鈥 And Still Largely Unregulated
As marijuana has become far more mainstream, potent, and sometimes dangerous, uneven regulation at the state and federal levels leaves consumers at risk.
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As marijuana has become far more mainstream, potent, and sometimes dangerous, uneven regulation at the state and federal levels leaves consumers at risk.
At least eight states have implemented or are considering limits on what patients can be billed for the use of a hospital鈥檚 facilities even without having stepped foot in the building.
Doctors have no national standards on when to order urine tests to check whether adult ADHD patients are properly taking their prescription stimulants. Some patients are subjected to much more frequent testing than others.
More than 600,000 people are released from prisons every year, many with costly health conditions but no medications, medical records, a health care provider, or insurance.
While Medicare was designed as health insurance for those 65 and older, it also covers people with disabilities who are young enough to still get pregnant. Yet they often struggle to get their birth control covered and end up with large medical bills 鈥 or instead opt for hysterectomies or tubal ligations, which Medicare sometimes will cover.
After almost every mass shooting, a debate is renewed over whether to publish the photos of the carnage the guns have inflicted.
Taxpayers had to foot the bills for care that should have cost far less, according to records released after KHN filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act. The government may seek to recover up to $650 million as a result.
Spurred on by opposition to pandemic-related health mandates, a coalition of religious liberty groups, conservative think tanks, and Republican state attorneys general has filed a cascade of litigation seeking to rein in the powers of public health authorities.
Trauma surgeons say that the weapons used in mass shootings are not new but that more of these especially deadly guns are on the street, causing injuries that are difficult to survive.
Loan closets are playing an important role as supply chain issues and the rising price of aluminum have led to shortages in medical equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, and knee scooters.
In Hartford, Connecticut, public health leaders engage barbers and faith leaders to combat vaccine skepticism in the Black community.
Connecticut residents who learned how to communicate with family and friends through digital technology when their nursing homes closed to visitors last year used that skill to testify remotely during legislative hearings on bills affecting them.
Health providers are seeing the consequences of pandemic-delayed preventive and emergency care, from longer hospital stays to more root canals.
On Monday, Connecticut will be the first state to begin vaccinating anyone from age 55 to 64 鈥 instead of people with chronic health issues and essential workers.
A KHN investigation found covid vaccine registration and information websites at the federal, state and local levels are flouting disability rights laws and limiting the ability of people who are blind or visually impaired to sign up for shots.
A handful of states are making dentists a lower priority than other health professionals for inoculations, even though they have their hands in people鈥檚 mouths and are exposed to aerosols that spray germs in their faces.
鈥淭he awful truth is families have no control over what鈥檚 happening,鈥 one advocate says.
Even in a solidly blue state where voters were demanding relief from high health care costs, the idea of a government-run public option for health insurance faced a 鈥渟team train of opposition.鈥
Deaths from opioid overdoses are on the rise, and we know that because of data on death certificates. States determine who fills them out and what information they record. And that can vary widely.
Advocates emphasize peer support and community reintegration for people with behavioral health problems.
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