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In 1 decade, 170 babies, kids and teens died in NC after fentanyl encounters
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One hundred and seventy babies, kids and teens in North Carolina died after fentanyl exposure between 2015 and 2024, new state data shows.
Infants, children younger than 5 and teenagers aged 13 to 17 were the most likely to die after fentanyl exposure here during the past decade, according to updated data from the Office of ...Read more
Native Americans are dying from pregnancy. They want a voice to stop the trend
Just hours after Rhonda Swaney left a prenatal appointment for her first pregnancy, she felt severe pain in her stomach and started vomiting.
Then 25 years old and six months pregnant, she drove herself to the emergency room in Ronan, Montana, on the Flathead Indian Reservation, where an ambulance transferred her to a larger hospital 60 miles ...Read more
GOP cuts will cripple Medicaid enrollment, warns CEO of largest public health plan
When the head of the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan worries about the looming federal cuts to Medicaid, it’s not just her job. It’s personal.
Martha Santana-Chin, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, grew up on Medi-Cal, California’s version of Medicaid, the government-run health care program for people with low incomes ...Read more
Statins' expanding powers
In 2019, around 92 million Americans reported that they'd taken a statin at one time or another. And today, according to the American Medical Association, more than 46 million Americans could cut their risk of cardiovascular disease by taking a statin -- but only about half of them are doing that regularly! That's a shame, because anyone with ...Read more
Prognosis For Patient With 'Wet Brain' Doesn't Look Promising
DEAR DR. ROACH: How is "wet brain" (or Wernicke encephalopathy, WE) diagnosed? My son has been in the hospital, a rehab facility, and now an assisted living facility. Is there hope that he may walk again? He does not have any motivation and stays in bed most days playing on his phone. He hates being at a retirement home because he is 45, but he ...Read more
9/11 WTC Health Program workforce cut by 25% under Kennedy as patient count rises, advocates say
NEW YORK — The staff running the federal World Trade Center Health Program has been cut by 25% as the number of sick 9/11 survivors the group treats is expected to increase by 10,000 this year, the Daily News has learned.
Survivor advocates are demanding U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lift the ...Read more
Minnesota bags almost all of requested $200 million federal grant to boost rural health care
MINNEAPOLIS — Fearing political reprisals from President Donald Trump’s administration, Minnesota leaders were relieved late last month when they received almost all of the $200 million in federal grants they requested to boost rural health care in the state in 2026.
Now they have precious few months to invest the $193 million in areas such...Read more
Ask the Pediatrician: Dealing with warts
Warts are small, firm bumps on the skin caused by viruses from the human papillomavirus (HPV) family. Warts are common among school-aged children but can affect people of any age.
The good news is, many kinds of warts often go away on their own without treatment. But they can become painful if they are bumped, and some children are embarrassed ...Read more
Families at Mayo Clinic explore how a smartwatch can give early warnings of severe tantrums
Evenings in the Staal household often carried a delicate unpredictability. After a full school day — and as Ethan's medication began to wear off — the shift from playful to overwhelmed could happen in seconds. Ethan has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, a condition that can make emotional regulation especially challenging.
Ethan's ...Read more
States race to launch rural health transformation plans
Imagine starting the new year with the promise of at least a $147 million payout from the federal government.
But there are strings attached.
In late December, President Donald Trump’s administration announced how much all 50 states would get under its new Rural Health Transformation Program, assigning them to use the money to fix systemic ...Read more
Defeat sore feet
You may walk more than 100,000 miles in a lifetime -- maybe double that if you get 10,000 steps a day. No wonder your feet feel sore sometimes. Foot woes, from ingrown toenails to plantar fasciitis, osteoarthritis, fallen arches and bunions, are incredibly common, but only about 25% of folks have seen a doctor about their discomfort or pain, and...Read more
Understanding Why People Can Still Die From Pneumonia
DEAR DR. ROACH: Why do people still die of pneumonia? With all the advances that we have seen in modern medicine, losing anyone to this ailment seems like such a waste. Is it a question of pneumonia being difficult to pin down because of the root cause, whether it's bacterial, viral or fungal? Is it due to a delayed diagnosis and/or delayed ...Read more
'Largest outbreak that we've seen in California': Death cap mushrooms linked to deaths, hospitalizations
An exceptionally wet December has contributed to an abundance of death cap mushrooms, or Amanita phalloides, on the Central Coast and Northern California, causing what officials describe as an unprecedented outbreak of severe illness and death among people who consume the fungi.
Public health officials are issuing a second warning this winter, ...Read more
Kaiser Permanente to pay $556 million in record Medicare Advantage fraud settlement
In the largest Medicare Advantage fraud settlement to date, Kaiser Permanente has agreed to pay $556 million to settle Justice Department allegations that it billed the government for medical conditions patients didn’t have.
The settlement, announced Jan. 14, resolves whistleblower lawsuits that accused the giant health insurer of mounting a ...Read more
On Nutrition: The food pyramid
The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans have been announced … and there are some surprises.
What’s changed in these updated recommendations for how Americans should eat? For one, the previous document from five years ago was a whopping 164 pages. Our current document has been simplified to a mere 10 pages.
Another big change: The ...Read more
Tamsolusin And Finasteride Work Well When In Combination
DEAR DR. ROACH: I have benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). In one of your recent columns, you touched upon the long-term use of tamsolusin. I, too, tried tamsolusin, and after several months, I saw no significant improvement to my symptoms. My primary care physician switched me to finasteride, and after three months on this new medication, I ...Read more
What's love got to do with it?
Tina Turner may have thought love was not good for her heart when she declared, "What's love got to do with it? Who needs a heart, when a heart can be broken?" But a new study in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology confirms previous findings: When folks are recovering from a broken heart, AKA heart attack or stroke, or working to manage ...Read more
Trump health plan asks Congress for drug, insurance legislation
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday released a health care plan that calls on Congress to end negotiations over Affordable Care Act subsidies and instead enact bipartisan legislation on drug and health insurance costs.
Trump’s proposal, which he calls “The Great Healthcare Plan,” touts the potential to lower drug prices and ...Read more
Trump's 'Great Healthcare Plan' aims to lower drug prices and insurance premiums
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is asking Congress to pass legislation to implement health care reforms he unveiled Thursday aimed at lowering drug prices and insurance premiums, as he moves to address one of his party’s political liabilities ahead of midterm elections.
“I’m calling on Congress to pass this framework into law ...Read more
UNC Health will no longer provide gender-affirming medical care to 18-year-olds
RALEIGH, N.C. — UNC Health will no longer provide gender-affirming medical services to 18-year-old transgender patients, even though North Carolina’s ban applies only to minors.
Alan Wolf, a spokesperson for UNC Health, confirmed to The News & Observer that the organization decided last year to raise the age limit to 19.
“While state law...Read more
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Popular Stories
- Environmental Nutrition: Make your diet less inflammatory
- Ask the Pediatrician: Dealing with warts
- 9/11 WTC Health Program workforce cut by 25% under Kennedy as patient count rises, advocates say
- Minnesota bags almost all of requested $200 million federal grant to boost rural health care
- GOP cuts will cripple Medicaid enrollment, warns CEO of largest public health plan






















