LEWISTOWN, Pa. — The floats had been decorated, the public officials assembled, and now the parade was underway — a convoy of colorful trailers and pickup trucks rolling slowly through downtown.

Firetrucks passed grandmothers in lawn chairs and young children, squealing with delight as they fetched candy tossed by the fistful from passing ...Read more

A group of Democratic senators is demanding that the federal agency overseeing Medicaid — the health coverage program for people with low incomes or disabilities — institute tougher standards for government contractors running complex computer systems that millions of people rely on to get benefits.

Three Democratic senators issued ...Read more

Medicare provides health insurance to over 70 million Americans. During Medicare open enrollment, which runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 this year, people can enroll in the program or change plans.

You can also switch from original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan (or vice versa), and weigh your Part D prescription drug plan coverage against ...Read more

Start the day with the delicious flavors of the Mediterranean — fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, lean proteins, healthy fats — and you’re doing it right. Eating a Mediterranean style breakfast is not only nourishing and satisfying, it’s important for health, performance, mindset, and the environment.

The Mediterranean-...Read more

Q: I’ve been hearing more about doctors who specialize in helping people live longer. What’s involved, and what should I look for?

A: A longevity (or healthspan) specialist focuses on preventing age-related disease and extending healthy years rather than waiting to treat illness once it appears. In practice, that means a strong grounding in...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I’m suffering from another urinary tract infection, which seems to be happening a lot. Why do I keep getting UTIs, and what can I do about them?

ANSWER: Recurrent urinary tract infections, or UTIs, can be frustrating and uncomfortable. But not all urinary symptoms come from an infection. Understanding what’s really ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My mother was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Given my family history, when should I consider preventive surgical options, and what do those look like? Are there other risk factors I should be aware of?

ANSWER: Given your family history, it's understandable to think proactively about your breast cancer risk. The good ...Read more

ROCHESTER, Minnesota — You probably know that a lump in the breast may be a symptom of breast cancer. But what about breast cancer that develops without that warning sign? Inflammatory breast cancer is a fast-moving cancer that doesn't usually form a lump; instead, the skin on one breast changes rapidly, explains Tina Hieken, M.D., a surgical ...Read more

Seven missing women have been linked to the house that was shared by 44-year-old Eugene Horsch and his late father, Raymond “R.C.” Horsch, in the Olney section of Philadelphia.

With five of the seven women feared dead, Philadelphia police and the FBI are conducting a massive investigation of the home. Law enforcement has said ...Read more

Legalizing sports betting is associated with an increase in the number of workers in a state receiving treatment for anxiety or depression, according to a recent Johns Hopkins study.

Johns Hopkins researchers looked at anonymized insurance claims from 30 states that legalized online sports betting between 2016 and 2023. They analyzed the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Emmy winner Christina Applegate's health journey has taken an unexpected turn, years into her public battle with a condition she thought was multiple sclerosis.

Applegate, 54, is "back at square one" after learning she was misdiagnosed with MS, the "Dead to Me" and "Samantha Who?" TV star revealed in Tuesday's episode of her "...Read more

Five years ago, youth mental health was at a tipping point. Pediatricians, child and adolescent psychiatrists and children’s hospitals saw this crisis playing out on the frontlines and our organizations took the step together to declare a national emergency in youth mental health.

While we’ve seen some bright spots of progress, children ...Read more

Experimental peptides have become darlings among influencers, chiropractors, and doctors focused on longevity, antiaging, or “body optimization,” even though the FDA hasn’t approved them for safety or effectiveness. Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other leaders of the Make America Healthy Again movement have pushed to make ...Read more

DENVER — Over the next few weeks, Coloradans will decide whether to ban gender-affirming surgeries for minors, though available data suggests few teens receive such procedures in this state.

Proposition 135 would outlaw surgeries to change a minor’s sexual characteristics for gender-affirming purposes. Currently, 26 states outlaw both ...Read more

As the fall and winter respiratory virus season arrives, simple but important hand hygiene remains a core line of defense.

Hand-washing is a simple habit that helps prevent the spread of germs and keeps seasonal illness at bay.

After coughing, sneezing or blowing your nose, respiratory droplets easily transfer to your hands, making hand-...Read more

Many popular nicotine vapes are now banned in Pennsylvania, with only six companies approved to sell their products in the state after a legal ban went into effect on Oct. 19, 2026.

I am a health law professor at Villanova University outside Philadelphia.

Here’s how Pennsylvania’s new law works and what to expect as ...Read more

Heading into the midterm elections, high healthcare costs rank among voters’ biggest concerns. But lately, there’s a twist giving the issue new momentum on campaign agendas: a focus on fraud in government health programs.

The administration of President Donald Trump has used claims of widespread wrongdoing to justify investigations, ...Read more

In March 2025, when California ran out of Medicaid funds to pay doctors and hospitals, the state borrowed $3.4 billion to keep the program afloat. It was, as a spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom insisted, nothing new. Indeed, a handful of times over the years, the state had taken out internal, short-term loans to sustain its healthcare program ...Read more

Late last month, the Trump administration announced that it had cut 760,000 people from the Affordable Care Act rolls, claiming fraud and improper enrollments and touting billions in potential taxpayer savings.

Not all of those kicked off were fraudulently enrolled, KFF Health News has learned. Insurance industry sources said the Centers for ...Read more

Ultraprocessed foods have a terrible reputation.

Studies have linked them with multiple chronic diseases. Journalists and health influencers characterize them as poison. Some public health experts call for a global halt to producing and consuming them.

But the debate around ultraprocessed foods is not nearly as settled as it ...Read more