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Denied coverage for preventive care? You鈥檙e not powerless. In this new episode of NPR鈥檚 鈥淟ife Kit鈥 podcast, 吃瓜不打烊 reporter Jackie Forti茅r explores why denials happen and how to avoid common pitfalls.
Whistleblower lawsuits alleged that Exactech covered up defects in knee implants while patient injuries mounted.
A lack of faith in the soundness of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention鈥檚 new direction has led states to explore enacting their own vaccine policies. A patchwork of divergent recommendations and requirements could result.
Doctors need to know when to screen for tick-borne diseases in their communities. But it鈥檚 getting harder for local health departments to get funding for tick surveys as federal public health grants from agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dry up.
In a rural, largely Republican region of California, homegrown efforts to bolster the medical workforce face an uphill battle, in part because of federal health care cuts approved by the GOP Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in July, as well as a state budget deficit.
Susan Monarez and former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief medical officer Debra Houry described turmoil in an agency dominated by anti-vaccine political officials nominated by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
In South Texas鈥 Rio Grande Valley, many people go without health insurance, and the health system struggles as a result. Similar communities dot the nation, and more could face such difficulties under President Donald Trump鈥檚 tax-and-spending law.
Montana has a waitlist for people with disabilities who need vocational training, even as schools and disability advocates are concerned about how federal cuts will affect those programs.
Tens of millions of people face sticker shock enrolling in Affordable Care Act insurance for 2026. To save money, the Trump administration wants them to consider less generous coverage.
Public health experts and advocates say the outbreak has been fueled by a confluence of local factors, including the sweeping of a homeless encampment and shuttering of a sterile-syringe program. But those issues may not remain local for long. The Trump administration is leading efforts to promote similar tactics nationwide.
A federal vaccine panel, recently reshaped by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is expected to vote on delaying the hepatitis B shot for newborns. Pediatricians warn that could open the door to a comeback for a disease virtually eradicated among U.S. children.
While patients wait to hear back from their doctors about test results, many turn to AI assistants for answers despite cautions over privacy and accuracy.
Some researchers suspect that rising prescription drug use may explain a disturbing trend.
The Education Department鈥檚 civil rights office often intervenes when students face discrimination based on race, sex, religion, or disability and their families can鈥檛 resolve complaints locally. Parents fear the effort to gut the federal agency will leave them with nowhere to seek justice.
吃瓜不打烊 journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
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A 22-year-old was shot in the head in St. Louis. As a surgical team prepared him for organ harvesting, his neurosurgeon raced to the operating room to stop it, saying that his patient had a chance at life. Today, the man is alive, sharing his story.
吃瓜不打烊 video producer Hannah Norman breaks down why new parents are getting billed thousands of dollars for births.
Advisory committee meetings help FDA scientists make decisions and increase public understanding of drug regulation, and abandoning them doesn鈥檛 make sense, former officials said.
