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Adolescent, Anxiety, Depression, Lgbtq, mental health, Parenting, Parenting teens, Policy, Research, Stress, Transgender
Conversion Therapy Is Discredited and Increases Risk of Suicide – yet Fewer Than Half of US States Have Bans in Place
Read More: Conversion Therapy Is Discredited and Increases Risk of Suicide – yet Fewer Than Half of US States Have Bans in PlaceJune is Pride Month. By Donna Sheperis, Palo Alto University and Carl Sheperis, Texas A&M-San Antonio Pride Month is being marked by some lawmakers in Kentucky with a renewed push to ban “conversion therapy – the discredited practice of trying to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. If successful, the bill, which aims to…
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Access, Access to health care, Affordability, Health care, Health disparities, Health insurance, Keep the care, Medicare, Policy, Research
Some Hospitals Kept Suing Patients Over Medical Debt Through the Pandemic
Read More: Some Hospitals Kept Suing Patients Over Medical Debt Through the Pandemicby Jenny Deam, ProPublica This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. Last year as COVID-19 laid siege to the nation, many U.S. hospitals dramatically reduced their aggressive tactics to collect medical debt.…
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Access, Access to health care, Chronic conditions, Kidney, Policy, Racial disparities, Research, Urinary tracts conditions
Kidney Experts Say It’s Time to Remove Race From Medical Algorithms. Doing so Is Complicated.
Read More: Kidney Experts Say It’s Time to Remove Race From Medical Algorithms. Doing so Is Complicated.By Rae Ellen Bichell and Cara Anthony, Kaiser Health News Alphonso Harried recently came across a newspaper clipping about his grandfather receiving his 1,000th dialysis treatment. His grandfather later died — at a dialysis center — as did his uncle, both from kidney disease. “And that comes in my mind, on my weak days: ‘Are…
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Access, Access to health care, Chronic conditions, Depression, exercise, Health care, Health care professionals, Health disparities, Healthy Eating, mental health, Nutrition, Obesity, Policy, Preventive health, Weight Loss, Weight management
Weight Stigma Is a Burden Around the World – and Has Negative Consequences Everywhere
Read More: Weight Stigma Is a Burden Around the World – and Has Negative Consequences EverywhereBy Rebecca Puhl, University of Connecticut Lazy. Unmotivated. No self-discipline. No willpower. These are just a few of the widespread stereotypes ingrained in American society about people who have a higher body weight or larger body size. Known as weight stigma, these attitudes result in many Americans being blamed, teased, bullied, mistreated and discriminated against.…
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Access, Access to health care, Affordability, Affordable care act, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Health care, Health insurance, Keep the care, Policy, Preventive health
Time to Say Goodbye to Some Insurers’ Waivers for Covid Treatment Fees
Read More: Time to Say Goodbye to Some Insurers’ Waivers for Covid Treatment FeesBy Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News Just as other industries are rolling back some consumer-friendly changes made early in the pandemic — think empty middle seats on airplanes — so, too, are health insurers. This story also ran on NBC News. It can be republished for free. Many voluntarily waived all deductibles, copayments and other…
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Access, Access to health care, Affordability, Health care, Health disparities, Health insurance, Keep the care, Policy, Preventive health, Racial disparities
Declaring Racism a Public Health Crisis Brings More Attention to Solving Long-Ignored Racial Gaps in Health
Read More: Declaring Racism a Public Health Crisis Brings More Attention to Solving Long-Ignored Racial Gaps in HealthBy Paul K. Halverson, IUPUI The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has joined hundreds of cities and counties across the country in declaring racism a public health threat. On April 8, 2021, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky called racism an epidemic that affects “the entire health of our nation.” Declaring racism a public…
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Access, Access to health care, Affordability, Affordable care act, Endometriosis, Health care, Health insurance, Keep the care, Medicare, Multiple sclerosis, Opioid use disorder, Policy, Preventive health
Prior Authorization Doesn’t Have to Be a Barrier to Care
Read More: Prior Authorization Doesn’t Have to Be a Barrier to CareEven after menopause, Gail Weiss had severe endometriosis that caused her excruciating pain. Weiss researched her options and found a surgeon out of state who performed specialized excision surgery. Her insurance company would only pay for a more standard surgery performed by an in-network doctor. The company claimed her local doctor could perform a comparable…
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1 in 3 College Students Face Food Insecurity – Expanding Snap Benefits on Campus Will Help Stave Off Hunger
Read More: 1 in 3 College Students Face Food Insecurity – Expanding Snap Benefits on Campus Will Help Stave Off HungerBy Anastasia Snelling, American University and Rebecca Hagedorn, Meredith College It’s harder to learn when you are suffering from hunger or searching for your next meal. But while around 30 million K-12 students in public schools are eligible for free or reduced lunch, it is a different matter when they leave. Many of those who…
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Chronic conditions, chronic pain, Headache & migraine, Health disparities, Medication safety, Migraine, Opioid use disorder, Pain, Pain management, Policy, Prescription drugs
Breaking Barriers to Pain Treatment
Read More: Breaking Barriers to Pain TreatmentTen years ago, Jaime Sanders launched The Migraine Diva, a blog to chronicle her experiences as a young Black woman living with chronic migraine headaches. Her vulnerability and transparency about her life — including battles with chronic pain, depression and anxiety, along with managing a household that includes her husband and children — garnered a…
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Access, Access to health care, Affordability, Affordable care act, Chronic conditions, chronic pain, Health care, Health insurance, Keep the care, Medication safety, Pain, Pain management, Policy, Preventive health
Learn More About Chronic Pain
Read More: Learn More About Chronic PainReference: Chronic Pain Graphic
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Access, Access to health care, Affordability, Affordable care act, Budget, Financial health, Health care, Health insurance, Keep the care, Policy, Preventive health
What the American Rescue Plan Says About President Biden’s Health Care Priorities – and What They Mean for You
Read More: What the American Rescue Plan Says About President Biden’s Health Care Priorities – and What They Mean for YouBy Zack Buck, University of Tennessee As millions of Americans receive COVID-19 vaccines, the Affordable Care Act just got a booster shot of its own. After 11 years of existential threat and months after an argument before the Supreme Court, the ACA has been strengthened under President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, the US$1.9 trillion…
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Access, Affordability, Anxiety, Chronic conditions, chronic pain, Depression, Endometriosis, Health disparities, Medication safety, Opioid use disorder, Pain, Pain management, Policy, Prescription drugs
For Millions of Americans Enduring Chronic Pain, Support Is Overdue
Read More: For Millions of Americans Enduring Chronic Pain, Support Is OverdueCindy Steinberg was seriously injured in an accident 20 years ago, but she still lives with pain every day. “I didn’t know there was such a thing as living in pain all the time,” she said. When Steinberg had to stop working because of her pain, she started an informal pain support group at a…
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Chronic conditions, chronic pain, Endometriosis, Health disparities, Medication safety, Opioid use disorder, Pain, Pain management, Policy, Prescription drugs
Fast Facts: 10 Things to Know About Women and Chronic Pain
Read More: Fast Facts: 10 Things to Know About Women and Chronic PainAn estimated 50 million Americans live with chronic pain — pain every day or on most days over the last six months. Of these, nearly 20 million have “high-impact” chronic pain that interferes with daily life or work. Women are more likely to experience chronic pain and more acute pain than men. Often, women’s pain…
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Chronic Pain Is a Disease — and It Should Be Treated Like One
Read More: Chronic Pain Is a Disease — and It Should Be Treated Like OneMore than 20 years ago, a heavy filing cabinet fell on Cindy Steinberg at her office and caused nerve and ligament damage to her back. The pain never went away. In the years after, she became an advocate for people who experience chronic pain and is currently the national director of policy & advocacy for…
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COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects Are Rare, but Here’s How To Report Them if You Have Them
Read More: COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects Are Rare, but Here’s How To Report Them if You Have ThemNow that COVID-19 vaccines have been authorized for use by the FDA, many questions surround their risks. The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are currently available in two-dose vaccines, while Johnson & Johnson has just submitted its one-dose vaccine to the FDA for regulatory approval. As these vaccines are being rolled out across the country, a…
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Access, Arthritis, Bone joint health, Cardiovascular disease, Chronic conditions, Diabetes, Health disparities, Heart disease, Heart health, Obesity, Osteoarthritis, Policy, Rheumatoid arthritis
Clinical Trials Need a Broader Approach to Improve Osteoarthritis Outcomes
Read More: Clinical Trials Need a Broader Approach to Improve Osteoarthritis OutcomesAs the most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis affects more than 32 million adults. The disease is characterized by a gradual breakdown of the cushions between bones, which can lead to joint pain and stiffness in the hands, knees, hips, lower back and neck. Some osteoarthritis improves with physical therapy, but if it doesn’t, the…
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Access, Affordability, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Health care, Health insurance, Health policy, mental health, Policy
4 Vital Health Issues — Not Tied to Covid — That Congress Addressed in Massive Spending Bill
Read More: 4 Vital Health Issues — Not Tied to Covid — That Congress Addressed in Massive Spending BillBy Emmarie Huetteman, Kaiser Health News This story also ran on NPR. It can be republished for free. Late last month, before President Joe Biden took office and proposed his pandemic relief plan, Congress passed a nearly 5,600-page legislative package that provided some pandemic relief along with its more general allocations to fund the government…
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Why Clinical Trials Need to Emphasize Function Over Pain Measurement
Read More: Why Clinical Trials Need to Emphasize Function Over Pain MeasurementEveryone perceives pain differently. Whether they’re in pain from injury or illness, the amount of pain a person experiences is unique to the individual experiencing it. Levels of pain can also be influenced by genetic, cultural, social and psychological factors. This high degree of variability makes measuring pain on a clinical scale a challenge. That’s…
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Why a Stimulus Package Matters to Women
Read More: Why a Stimulus Package Matters to WomenIf you’re a woman, you probably know what it feels like to juggle work, childcare, housework and your own well-being. It’s a lot all at once. But, what can be even harder is if you no longer have to juggle work as part of your responsibilities, but you still need income. Since the beginning of…
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Global Disabilities Map Visualizes the Strength and Power of Millions of Athletes Around the World
Read More: Global Disabilities Map Visualizes the Strength and Power of Millions of Athletes Around the WorldBy Sarah Hillyer, University of Tennessee and Carolyn Spellings, University of Tennessee When the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law in 1990, it became illegal to restrict access – to employment, education or federally funded institutions – based on disability. The ADA made it easier for wheelchair users, senior citizens or a disabled…
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Access, Affordability, Health care, Health disparities, Health insurance, Health policy, Keep the care, Policy, Research
Why Women’s Health Should Be a Priority for the New Congress
Read More: Why Women’s Health Should Be a Priority for the New CongressSoon after the new year, a new presidential administration will take office. We’ll also have a new Congress, the 117th, with a Senate currently composed of 50 Republicans and 48 Democrats — with two Georgia Senate seats to be determined in runoffs in early January — and the House of Representatives composed of 222 Democrats…
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The Biden Administration Needs to Wage War Against Antimicrobial Resistance Starting on Day One
Read More: The Biden Administration Needs to Wage War Against Antimicrobial Resistance Starting on Day OneTrillions of microscopic bacteria, viruses and fungi live on our skin, in our mouths, in our guts and throughout our bodies. Most of them are harmless and some are beneficial, but a handful of them are pathogenic, meaning they produce diseases or infections. The discovery of antimicrobial drugs, a group of drugs that includes antibiotics…
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HealthyWomen Joins National Health Organizations in Letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar About Access to COVID-19 Treatment
Read More: HealthyWomen Joins National Health Organizations in Letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar About Access to COVID-19 TreatmentNovember 11, 2020 The Honorable Alex Azar U.S. Department of Health & Human Services 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20201 Dear Secretary Azar: The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed deep and systemic inequities in our health care system. Not only are members of minority and under-served communities more likely to suffer serious health consequences from…
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The CRISPR Nobel Prize Is a Win for Female Scientists: Will It Be a Win for Women’s Health?
Read More: The CRISPR Nobel Prize Is a Win for Female Scientists: Will It Be a Win for Women’s Health?Genes are like a recipe for a soufflé: If one instruction is missing, it can cause a big problem. But with genes, the stakes are much higher than just being embarrassed in front of your mother-in-law. A single error in the double helix of the human genome’s four-letter DNA alphabet can cause a debilitating disease.…
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Access, Access to health care, Affordability, Chronic conditions, chronic pain, Health care, Keep the care, Policy, Telehealth
Managing Chronic Pain in Rural America
Read More: Managing Chronic Pain in Rural AmericaGinger Nord likes to look people in the eye when she walks down the street in her rural Indiana town; it makes her feel in control. But with two diseases that affect her nerves, muscles and joints, she has to keep her eyes on the ground to avoid tripping on even small sidewalk cracks. Nord…
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On Screen and on Stage, Disability Continues to Be Depicted in Outdated, Cliched Ways
Read More: On Screen and on Stage, Disability Continues to Be Depicted in Outdated, Cliched WaysBy Magda Romanska, Emerson College The #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements have forced Hollywood and other artists and filmmakers to rethink their subject matter and casting practices. However, despite an increased sensitivity to gender and race representation in popular culture, disabled Americans are still awaiting their national (and international) movement. “Disability drag” – casting…
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‘All You Want Is to Be Believed’: The Impacts of Unconscious Bias in Health Care
Read More: ‘All You Want Is to Be Believed’: The Impacts of Unconscious Bias in Health CareIn mid-March, Karla Monterroso flew home to Alameda, California, after a hiking trip in Utah’s Zion National Park. Four days later, she began to develop a bad, dry cough. Her lungs felt sticky. The fevers that persisted for the next nine weeks grew so high — 100.4, 101.2, 101.7, 102.3 — that, on the worst…
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HealthyWomen Statement on Proposal to Withdrawal Only FDA-Approved Treatment Option for Preterm Birth
Read More: HealthyWomen Statement on Proposal to Withdrawal Only FDA-Approved Treatment Option for Preterm BirthHealthyWomen urges the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to maintain patient access to Makena (hydroxyprogesterone caproate or 17P), an important therapy health care providers say can help protect the health of mothers and babies from preterm birth, following an FDA announcement proposing it and all generic forms of 17P be withdrawn from the market.…
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Access, Access to health care, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Health disparities, Health insurance, Policy, Prevention, Preventive health
Black Doctors Work to Make Coronavirus Testing More Equitable
Read More: Black Doctors Work to Make Coronavirus Testing More EquitableBy Nina Feldman, WHYY, Kaiser Health News When the coronavirus arrived in Philadelphia in March, Dr. Ala Stanford hunkered down at home with her husband and kids. A pediatric surgeon with a private practice, she has staff privileges at a few suburban Philadelphia hospitals. For weeks, most of her usual procedures and patient visits were…
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Why the COVID-19 Vaccine Approval Process Should Be Driven by Science, Not Politics
Read More: Why the COVID-19 Vaccine Approval Process Should Be Driven by Science, Not PoliticsBefore a vaccine for measles was developed, I nearly died as a youngster from the disease. That personal experience, along with over 30 years working in women’s health, leads me to believe that vaccines are generally overwhelmingly safe and effective, saving millions of lives around the world every year. Yet, according to a recent survey…
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Chronic conditions, chronic pain, Headache & migraine, Health care, Health disparities, Migraine, Pain, Pain management, Policy
Suffering From Chronic Pain as a Black Woman
Read More: Suffering From Chronic Pain as a Black WomanEvery time Jaime Sanders visits an urgent care clinic, she makes sure she brings the three-ring binder that details her comprehensive medical care plan, including lists of medications, allergies and records of past doctors’ visits. Sanders knows she’s never guaranteed to find doctors who will take her migraine pain seriously and carries the binder as…
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Access, Affordability, Affordable care act, Birth control, Contraception, Health, Health care, Policy
Without Ginsburg, Judicial Threats to the ACA, Reproductive Rights Heighten
Read More: Without Ginsburg, Judicial Threats to the ACA, Reproductive Rights HeightenBy Julie Rovner, Kaiser Health News On Feb. 27, 2018, I got an email from the Heritage Foundation, alerting me to a news conference that afternoon held by Republican attorneys general of Texas and other states. It was referred to only as a “discussion about the Affordable Care Act lawsuit.” I sent the following note…
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The Death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Puts the Affordable Care Act in Danger
Read More: The Death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Puts the Affordable Care Act in DangerWith the recent death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the fate of health insurance coverage for millions of Americans — already hanging in the balance — is under even greater threat. On June 25, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic was spreading across the U.S., the Trump Administration filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court…
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Lessons From How the Polio Vaccine Went From the Lab to the Public That Americans Can Learn From Today
Read More: Lessons From How the Polio Vaccine Went From the Lab to the Public That Americans Can Learn From TodayBy Carl Kurlander, University of Pittsburgh and Randy P. Juhl, University of Pittsburgh In 1955, after a field trial involving 1.8 million Americans, the world’s first successful polio vaccine was declared “safe, effective, and potent.” It was arguably the most significant biomedical advance of the past century. Despite the polio vaccine’s long-term success, manufacturers, government…
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How a New Way Of Parsing COVID-19 Data Began to Show The Breadth Of Health Gaps Between Blacks and Whites
Read More: How a New Way Of Parsing COVID-19 Data Began to Show The Breadth Of Health Gaps Between Blacks and WhitesBy David R. Buys, Mississippi State University Physicians and public health experts know that older adults are more susceptible to the flu than those in other age groups. We also know the health of Black Americans is worse than that of almost all other groups for not only flu, but for chronic conditions and cancer.…
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COVID Exodus Fills Vacation Towns With New Medical Pressures
Read More: COVID Exodus Fills Vacation Towns With New Medical PressuresBy Markian Hawryluk and Katheryn Houghton and Michelle Andrews, Kaiser Health News The staff at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital is accustomed to the number of patients tripling or even quadrupling each summer when wealthy Manhattanites flee the city for the Hamptons. But this year, the COVID pandemic has upended everything. The 125-bed hospital on the…
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With No Legal Guardrails for Patients, Ambulances Drive Surprise Medical Billing
Read More: With No Legal Guardrails for Patients, Ambulances Drive Surprise Medical BillingBy Laura Ungar, Kaiser Health News School librarian Amanda Brasfield bent over to grab her lunch from a small refrigerator and felt her heart begin to race. Even after lying on her office floor and closing her eyes, her heart kept pounding and fluttering in her chest. The school nurse checked Brasfield’s pulse, found it…
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What’s in Your Medicine May Surprise You – a Call for Greater Transparency About Inactive Ingredients
Read More: What’s in Your Medicine May Surprise You – a Call for Greater Transparency About Inactive IngredientsBy Yelena Ionova, University of California, San Francisco There are many more ingredients in every pill you take than what is listed on the bottle label. These other ingredients, which are combined with the therapeutic one, are often sourced from around the world before landing in your medicine cabinet and are not always benign. Earlier…
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Addiction Treatment Shrinks During the Pandemic, Leaving People With Nowhere To Turn
Read More: Addiction Treatment Shrinks During the Pandemic, Leaving People With Nowhere To TurnBy Elizabeth Chiarello, Saint Louis University COVID-19 has overshadowed the U.S. opioid crisis, but that doesn’t mean opioid addiction has gone away. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid crisis has gotten worse. Drug overdose death rates rose 13% in the first half of 2020. COVID-19 threatens to dismantle an already frayed addiction treatment system, creating…
