health care

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

Hack Gives Patients, Providers a Big Insurance Headache

Ransomware attack against UnitedHealth's Change Health unit cripples services for more than a week

(Newser) - Across the US, health care providers are contending with a payment issue wrought by a ransomware strike that went down last month. The Washington Post reports that, for more than a week, those providers, including hospitals and pharmacies, have had trouble processing insurance claims and filling prescriptions due to the...

Major Errors Climbed After Equity Firms Bought Hospitals

Research is the first to document decline in care after a sale to investors

(Newser) - Private equity firms own only a small percentage of US hospitals, but they've been working to increase their share for two decades. They've pooled money from institutional investors and individuals to build investment funds that buy up hospitals and related health care entities, often intending to sell them...

Next Strike Begins, With 75K Workers in 5 States
Kaiser Permanente Reaches
Deal With 75K Workers
UPDATED

Kaiser Permanente Reaches Deal With 75K Workers

Health care staffers already staged one strike and had threatened another

(Newser) - Unions representing 75,000 health care workers who recently held a strike against industry giant Kaiser Permanente over wages and staffing shortages have reached a tentative agreement with the company, per the AP . The three-day strike last week involving 75,000 workers in multiple states officially ended last Saturday, and...

There's a Rising Crisis in Giving Birth in Rural US

Many maternity centers are closing, leading women to have to travel or depend on alternatives

(Newser) - A growing number of rural hospitals have shuttered their delivery units, forcing pregnant women to travel for care or face giving birth in an emergency room, reports the AP . Fewer than half of rural hospitals now have maternity units, prompting government officials and families to scramble. One solution gaining ground...

Older and About to Become an Ex? Think Health Insurance

If you're about to divorce in your 50s, 60s, or older, think ahead so you're not left in the lurch

(Newser) - More than 1 in 3 people who divorce in the United States are age 50 or older, and 1 in 4 are 65 or older, according to a 2022 analysis published in the Journals of Gerontology. Divorcing as you near retirement—or after you've retired—comes with considerations: Are...

This Is the Best State in America for Health Care

Minnesota tops WalletHub's list, with West Virginia coming in last

(Newser) - Health care in the US before COVID was already a prime political topic—and after the pandemic hit, it became even more so. WalletHub wanted to see which states offered the best, most affordable services, so it looked at all 50 states and Washington, DC, using more than 40 metrics...

Researchers Call Misdiagnoses a Public Health Emergency

Hundreds of thousands in US die or are disabled each year because of errors, report says

(Newser) - Medical researchers who dug deeper into data have found that the number of misdiagnoses of patients and the harm done are greater than previously understood, rising now to the level of a public health emergency. "Diagnostic errors are, by a wide margin, the most under-resourced public health crisis we...

For Trans Advocates, Victory in This State

Federal judge strikes down ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors in Indiana

(Newser) - A federal judge issued an order Friday stopping an Indiana ban on puberty blockers and hormones for transgender minors from taking effect as scheduled July 1. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana sought the temporary injunction in its legal challenge of the Republican-backed law, which was enacted this spring...

'Rampant' Health Problem: an Escort to the Clinic

It can be a significant burden for many, and may cause them to skip outpatient procedures

(Newser) - Anyone who's had an outpatient medical procedure involving anesthesia knows the drill: Their clinic or doctor probably requires them to have an escort bring them to the procedure and take them home. Sometimes, they even require the escort to wait there during the procedure itself. As a story in...

For Nurses, the Problem Is Staffing
Those Heroic
Nurses Need
More Help
OPINION

Those Heroic Nurses Need More Help

Biggest issue in strikes is staffing, Lydia Polgreen writes

(Newser) - Nurses were praised and universally thanked for their work early in the pandemic—applauded nightly in New York, for example, in a show of support for essential health care workers, per NPR . But the appreciation and the pizza didn't last, and nurses remain shortchanged and taken for granted, Lydia...

Survey: 1 in 7 Doctors Uses Alcohol or Drugs at Work

Almost half of health care workers are approaching 'breaking point'

(Newser) - America's doctors are so stressed out that many of them can't make it through their working day without using alcohol or drugs, according to a survey from mental health company All Points North . The company says its survey of 1,000 health care workers found more than a...

This State's Health Care Ranks No. 1

Rhode Island tops WalletHub's list; Mississippi comes in last

(Newser) - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services estimates that the average American spends more than $12,000 annually on health care—and that's not even counting the costs incurred by COVID. That's why it's beneficial, if possible, to set down roots in a place where you can...

Dentist Who Purposely Broke Patients' Teeth Hears His Fate

Scott Charmoli of Jackson, Wis., found guilty of health care fraud, making false statements

(Newser) - Update: A Wisconsin dentist has been found guilty of purposely breaking his patients' teeth so he could rake in millions from insurance companies to fix them. Per the Washington Post , 61-year-old Scott Charmoli of Jackson was convicted on Thursday of five counts of health care fraud and two counts of...

Idaho Bill on Trans Youth Could Send Parents to Prison for Life

They could be hit with felony for seeking gender-affirming medical care for kids, even in other states

(Newser) - As parents of transgender children in Texas grapple with the state's new law over providing gender-affirming medical care, Idaho parents are now facing similar issues, with even more restrictions piled on. The Idaho Statesman reports that on Tuesday, the Idaho House of Representatives passed a bill barring such medical...

Humanitarian Doctor 'Didn't Take No for an Answer'
Humanitarian Doctor 'Didn't
Take No for an Answer'
OBITUARY

Humanitarian Doctor 'Didn't Take No for an Answer'

Partners in Health co-founder Paul Farmer, who helped impoverished people worldwide, dies at 62

(Newser) - Dr. Paul Farmer, a US physician, humanitarian, and author renowned for providing health care to millions of impoverished people worldwide, and who co-founded the global nonprofit Partners in Health, has died. He was 62. The Boston-based organization confirmed Farmer's death on Monday, calling it "devastating" and noting he...

Calif. Lawmakers Want to Abolish Private Health Insurance Market

But the bill has a long way to go

(Newser) - California Democrats on Tuesday took their first step toward abolishing the private health insurance market in the nation’s most populous state and replacing it with a government-run plan that they promised would never deny anyone the care they need. But the proposal that cleared a legislative committee in the...

At Elizabeth Holmes Trial, a 'Sudden,' Maybe Risky Move

In 'surprising' development, defense team brings Theranos founder herself to the stand

(Newser) - The criminal trial of Elizabeth Holmes is set to enter its 12th week, and it ended the 11th week with a "sudden and surprising move" by the defense, which started making its case Friday. To wit: The 37-year-old Theranos founder herself took the stand, striding "confidently" to the...

One of America's Oldest Companies Is Splitting Up

GE to become 3 public companies focused on aviation, health care, energy

(Newser) - General Electric will divide itself into three public companies focused on aviation, healthcare and energy, reports the AP . The storied American company, founded in 1892, has refashioned itself from the sprawling conglomerate created by Jack Welch in the 1980s to a much smaller and more focused entity after it was...

Major Medical Groups Just Issued a Big Call on Vaccines

AMA, dozens of others say health care workers should be required to get vaccinations

(Newser) - As pushback continues against requiring coronavirus vaccines on cruise ships , in the NF L, and on college campuses , there's a new lobby for mandatory vaccination. The Washington Post and CNN report that 50-plus medical groups representing millions of health care professionals released a statement Monday calling for health care...

'They Do Not Care': Hackers Love Hospitals as Targets

Security is lax and the stakes are high, explains Wall Street Journal in an investigation

(Newser) - Last week, the FBI chief put the threat posed by ransomware on par with the 9/11 attacks. If that seemed like hyperbole, an investigation by the Wall Street Journal might shed some light on his thinking. The newspaper catalogs 235 attacks on hospitals and psychiatric centers in the US since...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>