While many are familiar with Medicare coverage, understanding Medicare tax, which involves everything from mandatory payroll deductions to additional taxes for high earners, is important for all workers, including those who are self-employed.

With that in mind, here are five things you need to know about Medicare tax, including what it is, who ...Read more

When you’re choosing pizza for dinner, sometimes it’s nice to have a little something extra. The usual options include various types of bread and meatballs. Sometimes you can find more variety including fried mozzarella, poppers or fries. The addition of garlic butter and cheese is common as well. Basically, the majority of pizza sides are ...Read more

Beans are getting a lot of love on social media — for good reason. They’re versatile (hello, pizza beans?!), packed with fiber, and relatively affordable. And beans can make a quick and convenient meal, depending on whether you choose dried or canned. When it comes down to it, is one better than the other? We asked dietitians about the ...Read more

A nationally representative survey found that about one in four adults over age 50 take at least one supplement to improve their brain health with the promise of enhanced memory and sharper attention and focus.

The problem? There’s no solid proof any of them work.

“There’s no evidence to suggest there’s an ingredient in supplements ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I’ve been having some symptoms, like needing to urinate a lot and feeling pressure in my pelvis. I’m wondering what’s going on. Can you help?

ANSWER: You’re experiencing some form of pelvic health dysfunction. But you’re not alone. Nearly 1 in 3 women have pelvic issues. Pelvic floor conditions are more common in ...Read more

Stigma is fading and new laws are passing that will help increase access to menopause treatment.

When Jacqueline Perez started experiencing symptoms of menopause in her early 50s, the brain fog was so severe, she thought she had early onset dementia.

Perez, who founded a website dedicated to normalizing aging for women, said she gained more ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor, and I'm terrified of the idea of brain surgery. Are there less invasive treatment options available, and how do doctors decide which one is the best?

ANSWER: It's completely understandable to feel nervous or afraid. A brain tumor diagnosis is overwhelming on its own, and many people...Read more

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bill Cassidy’s loss in the Louisiana Republican primary over the weekend puts the future of the powerful Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in flux.

During his tenure as HELP chair, Cassidy has pushed legislative priorities such as a proposal to establish pre-funded health savings accounts for people on the ...Read more

Memorial Day is an apt time to reflect on the long-term consequences of war. Among them are substance use, mental health problems, homelessness and jail time for those who served in the military.

About 8% of all Americans in prisons or jails are veterans, according to the Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan think tank. Veterans...Read more

LOS ANGELES — California and a coalition of other Democratic-led states are suing the Trump administration over new limits on federal borrowing by aspiring nurses, physician’s assistants, therapists, social workers, mental health practitioners and other healthcare workers, arguing the changes will further reduce a struggling but vital ...Read more

DETROIT – A series of salmonella outbreaks linked to baby poultry is sickening residents across the country, including 21 people in Michigan, health officials said Monday.

“While raising baby chicks and ducks can be fun and educational, poultry owners should be aware that chickens and other birds can carry germs that can impact human ...Read more

Enrollment in the Affordable Care Act continues to erode as some customers struggle to make premium payments, with the declining numbers churning market uncertainty for insurers. In response, insurers are likely to raise rates again next year, following this year’s larger-than-typical hikes.

Sign-ups were already down in January by about 1.2 ...Read more

CHICAGO -- Brooke Loughman knows that when she opens a social media app, she’ll be flooded with posts, whether she wants to see them or not. Lately, the first-year DePaul University student has found herself scrolling quickly through her feed, trying to avoid information about hantavirus and the wave of anxiety she experiences thinking about ...Read more

Paul Boyer, a psychotherapist for Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California, is experiencing the AI revolution firsthand. He’s a little underwhelmed.

The health giant has rolled out a new suite of note-taking software, made by healthcare AI pioneer Abridge, intended to summarize a patient’s visit at supersonic speed. For many clinicians, the...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Kaiser Permanente is still trying to determine the source of bacteria responsible for 19 recent cases of Legionella infection identified at a hospital in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The 19 infections were linked to Kaiser's medical center in Santa Clara. Most of those who fell sick are recovering at home, Kaiser said in a recent...Read more

You’ve likely heard about vitamin D’s important role in maintaining strong bones and teeth. But it also plays several other important roles to keep your body healthy – including the function of your gut.

As part of our research on how a dietary fiber supplement affects bone mass in children and adolescents, the MetA-Bone Trial, ...Read more

As a deadly outbreak of Ebola virus spreads in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on May 17, 2026, that it is transferring “a small number of Americans” who were in Congo and who were exposed to the virus.

Some of these exposures are classified as high-risk, and ...Read more

A U.S. missionary has tested positive for the Ebola virus after being exposed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday.

Satish Pillai, incident manager for the CDC’s Ebola response, said on a call with reporters that the missionary is showing symptoms and has been sent to ...Read more

The resignation of Marty Makary, commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, on May 12, 2026, brought to the forefront a heated controversy over fruit-flavored nicotine vapes.

Rumors had been circulating for weeks that President Donald Trump was planning to fire Makary, in large part due to Makary’s disagreement with ...Read more