Robert Kennedy Jr. should not be confirmed to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, over 75 Nobel laureates urged Monday. In a letter published by the New York Times, the esteemed scientists took issue with Kennedy’s lack of experience and controversial stands. “In addition to his lack of credentials or relevant experience… read on > read on >
Over 3 million Americans with asthma can’t afford to take their medications as prescribed, a new poll estimates. In total, about 1 in 6 folks with asthma are struggling to cover the costs of inhalers and other medications, according to survey results published Dec. 9 in the journal Thorax. The findings are troubling because people… read on > read on >
If Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is approved to head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, he will be free to revisit a long-debunked link between autism and childhood vaccines, President-elect Donald Trump said Sunday. The remarks came during an exclusive interview with “Meet the Press.” “I think somebody has to find out,” Trump… read on > read on >
Long COVID is placing a financial strain on many Americans, a new study reports. People with Long COVID have a harder time paying their bills, buying groceries and maintaining utility service, researchers reported recently in the journal Health Services Research. Much of this financial hardship is the result of lost jobs and reduced working hours,… read on > read on >
Shingles can strike anyone who had chickenpox when they were young, and the intense pain that can accompany this body rash has sidelined many a senior. Here, one expert explains how and why shingles can surface, and what you can do to treat it, or better yet, avoid it. Shingles can happen at any age,… read on > read on >
Americans are falling farther behind the rest of the developed world when it comes to health and life expectancy, a new study shows. Life expectancy in the United States is expected to increase to 79.9 years in 2035 and 80.4 years by 2050, up from 78.3 years in 2022, researchers reported. That sounds good, but… read on > read on >
The advent of GLP-1 weight-loss medications such as Wegovy and Zepbound has spurred debate as to whether the drugs’ cost should be covered by Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers. Late last month, the Biden administration proposed that the drugs be covered by Medicare and Medicaid, a move that would have to be approved by the… read on > read on >
Hospitals across America are shuttering their obstetric units, and the issue is most acute for women served by rural hospitals, a new study finds. By 2022, a majority (52%) of rural U.S. hospitals no longer had any maternity ward, compared to 36% of urban hospitals, according to a study from the University of Minnesota. Study… read on > read on >
Access to psychotherapy has increased substantially among Americans, particularly young adults, a new study has found. About 12% of young adults received psychotherapy in 2021, followed by 8% of the middle-aged and 5% of seniors, researchers found. Overall, the percentage of U.S. adults receiving psychotherapy rose from about 7% in 2018 to 9% in 2021,… read on > read on >
About a third of America’s pharmacies have closed since 2010, amounting to an “unprecedented decline” in neighborhood drug stores, a new study finds. The drop began in 2018, primarily driven by store closures among chain pharmacies during a period of consolidation in the industry, researchers found. This has made it much more difficult for people… read on > read on >
