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Medicare Advantage company pays $342M to government in midst of billing probe
A major Medicare Advantage company has paid the government more than $342 million to help settle allegations that it overcharged the federal healthcare program for years.
Elevance Health, which covers about 2 million people on Medicare, sent the money to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services via wire transfer on May 27, court records ...Read more
Despite Mayor Brandon Johnson campaign promise, 911 mental health response team flounders
Throughout his 2023 mayoral campaign, Brandon Johnson championed a progressive vision of sending teams of mental health clinicians instead of police officers to help people suffering from psychiatric emergencies.
But since he took office and started phasing cops out of the city’s Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement program, those teams ...Read more
Rutgers Women's Brain Health Initiative will explore how hormonal changes affect the brain
PHILADELPHIA -- A group of Rutgers researchers led by neuroscientist Ioana Carcea want to learn more about how women’s brains are affected by pregnancy, motherhood, menopause, and other hormonal changes that they say have been under studied.
The Women’s Brain Health Initiative at the Rutgers Brain Health Institute in Piscataway will focus ...Read more
Opioid settlement money pays for services to battle addiction in rural Kentucky
WHITESBURG, Ky. — Drugs and the consequences of addiction are woven into the fabric of Jamie Madden's life.
Her earliest memory is of standing on the passenger seat of her dad's car as a toddler, wearing a peach-colored blouse, while he drove from their Kentucky home to Florida to pick up drugs. On a stop for a burger, she met Ronald McDonald...Read more
Ask the Pediatrician: Baby sunburn prevention tips
Sunny days invite outdoor family fun. When heading out with your little ones, keep in mind that babies need extra protection from sunburn. With a few simple precautions, you can help keep their skin healthy now and in the future.
Babies are more at risk of sunburn because their skin is thinner and more delicate than adult skin. They can burn ...Read more
It's no lie, A-Fib can be prevented or controlled
Updated estimates out of the University of California San Francisco tell us that around 10 million Americans contend with A-Fib (aka atrial fibrillation). Two decades ago, it was estimated to affect about 3 million folks. And for 63% of those who are told they have the condition, it comes as a complete surprise, according to the American Heart ...Read more
Leg Cramps And Digit Spasms Occur Due To Lactose Intolerance
DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a 74-year-old woman who's quite healthy (I am active and don't take any medications), but I have a history of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-C). Recently, I experienced bad-smelling gas, leg cramps, and finger and toe spasms. I quit eating milk products, and my symptoms almost immediately disappeared. My question is: Do food...Read more
Could bees help relieve stress? A Temple researcher thinks so
Dozens of bees crawled along the frame in Frances Ratay’s hands as she looked down at the colony in awe.
The 70-year-old retiree from South Philadelphia ordinarily would avoid bees out of fear, but this spring she suited up for a study on therapeutic beekeeping at the Half Mad Honey apiary in the Navy Yard. Led by Temple University ...Read more
Maryland health insurance rates could rise 13.7% in 2027 under proposal
BALTIMORE — Maryland residents who buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace could see higher premiums next year, with insurers requesting an average rate increase of 13.7% for 2027, according to filings submitted to the Maryland Insurance Administration.
The proposed increases would affect about 482,000 Marylanders ...Read more
Even in blue states, hospitals have continued to drop gender-affirming care for youths
One afternoon in late 2024, a sixth-grader nicknamed Bug came home from school with an announcement to make. Bug, who was assigned female at birth, told his parents he was a boy — and would be using he/him pronouns.
"OK, cool," his mother, J, remembered saying. (J asked to be identified by only her first initial, and Bug by his nickname, ...Read more
Venezuela quakes push fragile health system to the brink
Earthquake victims are overwhelming healthcare centers in Venezuela’s coastal state of La Guaira and beyond, pushing an already fragile health system past its limits.
Two powerful 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck within a minute of each other on Wednesday evening, toppling buildings and severely damaging the country’s main international ...Read more
As recoveries rise, doctors are finally learning how Bundibugyo Ebola behaves
As more patients recover from the world’s largest recorded Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak, doctors are beginning to piece together how the rare virus behaves — offering the clearest picture yet of one of the disease’s least-studied strains.
The number of recoveries reported by Congolese health authorities almost doubled in a week, rising to ...Read more
For Haitian women in Florida, the loss of TPS is more than an immigration law issue
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 25, 2026, that the Trump administration may revoke the temporary protected status of 350,000 Haitians.
This is not the first time a legal challenge to TPS has held Haitians’ future in the balance: During his first administration, President Donald Trump attempted to terminate Haitian TPS but was ...Read more
4 years after Dobbs, advocates clash over how far to take fight for later abortion access
Kate Dineen assumed she would always have access to reproductive healthcare because of where she lived. It came as a shock when she was denied an abortion in 2021 because of gestational limits to the procedure in Massachusetts law.
Dineen was 33 weeks into her pregnancy, the third trimester, when a routine ultrasound detected a problem with the...Read more
The US healthcare system is an embarrassment. Americans need a public option
Long ago, when most Americans left the house for mass entertainment, they flocked to carnivals that crisscrossed the country to delight small towns and big cities. Shows typically included a barker whose steady stream of superfluous oratory enticed folks to spend their hard-earned cash on sometimes dubious performances.
Too often today, our ...Read more
On Nutrition: Red, white and blue foods
I tend to get a bit overenthusiastic about decorating for holidays. And the proof of that addiction is found in a big closet downstairs in our house.
This year's special Fourth of July celebration has drawn out red, white and blue wherever I can place it. Pillows on the couch. Flowers on the porch (red, white and blue-ish purple, close enough)....Read more
TikTok is reinventing healthcare; should you trust it?
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Monica Carter, a nurse practitioner specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, appears on a TikTok screen, saying she is seeing so much “trich” in her clinic.
Trichomonas is a sexually transmitted infection caused by a parasite, not a virus, she tells her 15,000 followers.
“It is supercurable, and it’s rampant...Read more
Low Ferritin Level Might Be The Cause Of Fatigue And Dizziness
DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a 62-year-old woman in fairly good health. I'm currently on Wellbutrin, carvedilol, Farxiga, Entresto and spironolactone, and my blood pressure is very well-controlled. I also recently started Zoloft. About eight months ago, I started feeling bad and spoke to my doctor about it. She wasn't concerned at the time and said ...Read more
Understanding the new colon cancer screening guidelines
Colon cancer is now the number one cancer killer in the U.S. of people ages 50 and younger, and yet many folks (at any age) are reluctant to get a colonoscopy -- the gold standard for detection of precancerous polyps and cancer. Fully 30% of you who are eligible for a screening test haven't had one. Doctors are desperate to have more folks ...Read more
Measles detected in two more counties in Pennsylvania as health department recommends early vaccination
Pennsylvania health officials have now detected measles cases in York and Northumberland Counties as cases in Lancaster County, the center of an ongoing outbreak, continued to rise.
And the state health department is now recommending early measles vaccinations for infants beginning at six months in affected areas in an effort to protect them ...Read more
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Popular Stories
- Rutgers Women's Brain Health Initiative will explore how hormonal changes affect the brain
- Despite Mayor Brandon Johnson campaign promise, 911 mental health response team flounders
- Ask the Pediatrician: Baby sunburn prevention tips
- Could bees help relieve stress? A Temple researcher thinks so
- Opioid settlement money pays for services to battle addiction in rural Kentucky






















