MIAMI -- As Florida leads the nation once again in sign-ups for Affordable Care Act plans, experts say the health insurance marketplace known as Obamacare has stabilized in part because the Trump administration's efforts to undermine the law have backfired and made coverage more affordable for many.

After years of political wrangling, the ...Read more

It was a promise Matt Perrin wasn't able to keep.

"I'll never take away your independence," he'd told his mother, Rosemary, then 71, who lived alone on Cape Cod, Mass., in a much-loved cottage.

That was before Rosemary started calling Perrin and his brother, confused and disoriented, when she was out driving. Her Alzheimer's disease was ...Read more

A former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver was among 10 former NFL players indicted for allegedly defrauding one of the league's health care benefit programs, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

Tamarick Vanover, who played for the Chiefs from 1995 to 1999, is among the defendants alleged to have submitted false claims to a plan created to help ...Read more

Dear Healthy Men: Do women really find men with beards more attractive than clean-shaven guys?

A: According to the old story, in 1860, Abraham Lincoln grew a beard in response to a suggestion from an 11-year-old girl who said it would make him a more attractive presidential candidate. She was right. About 140 years later, another 11-year-old ...Read more

Researchers at the University of Maryland's medical school are testing a potential vaccine for E. coli and other diarrheal diseases.

In a news release, the university wrote that Dr. Wilburn Chen and Dr. Eileen Barry will test a vaccine developed at the School of Medicine's Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health.

The testing is being ...Read more

HIV prevention advocates say widespread social media advertisements that misrepresent side effects of a preventative drug could do serious harm in the fight to eliminate the disease, especially among those most at risk who also might not trust the medical community.

"It's causing undue duress and alarm and frankly could result in people ...Read more

Intermittent fasting has shown success in helping people lose weight, but some people can find it difficult to eat normally most days and then severely restrict their food intake other days.

A new study published in the journal Cell Metabolism offers an alternative -- time-restricted eating.

Time-restricted eating allows you to eat the same ...Read more

Dear Mayo Clinic: What is the best long-term treatment for vaginal prolapse? I am in my late 50s.

A: There are nonsurgical and surgical treatment options for vaginal prolapse, and the treatment that is best usually depends on the severity of the condition and how much the symptoms are bothering you. Surgery often is recommended to repair the ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court gave a sympathetic hearing Tuesday to health insurers who were promised their losses would be covered if they expanded coverage under the Affordable Care Act, only to have the Republican-controlled Congress later refuse to pay.

"This case involves a massive government bait-and-switch and the fundamental question ...Read more

Almost 15.7 million people in the U.S. report they've been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One of the most common forms of COPD is emphysema. Symptoms include breathing difficulty, cough, mucus production and wheezing.

But a minimally invasive procedure is...Read more

A lonely and anxious Rebecca Massie first called the Mental Health Association of San Francisco "warmline" during the 2015 winter holidays.

"It was a wonderful call," said Massie, now 38 and a mental health advocate. "I was laughing by the end, and I got in the holiday spirit."

Massie, a San Francisco resident, later used the line multiple ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- More than $12 billion is at stake for the nation's health insurers Tuesday when the Supreme Court hears another Affordable Care Act case.

For the federal government, the potential damages could be far greater, as its reputation as a reliable partner to private businesses is on the line.

Unlike earlier Obamacare cases before the ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- When Mary Prehoden gets dressed for work every morning, her eyes lock on the bite-shaped scar on her chest.

It's a harsh reminder of one of the worst days of her life. Prehoden, a nurse supervisor at Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego, was brutally attacked last year by a schizophrenic patient who was off his medication. He lunged at...Read more

Caring for someone with a serious illness stretches people spiritually and emotionally, often beyond what they might have thought possible.

Dr. Arthur Kleinman, a professor of psychiatry and anthropology at Harvard University, calls this "enduring the unendurable" in his recently published book, "The Soul of Care: The Moral Education of a ...Read more

More than two years after California's surprise-billing law took effect, there's one thing on which consumer advocates, doctors and insurers all agree: The law has been effective at protecting many people from bills they might have been saddled with from doctors who aren't in their insurance network.

But the consensus stops there.

"In general,...Read more

A large study led by government scientists is renewing concern about whether chemicals used to dye and straighten hair raise the risk of cancer.

National Institutes of Health researchers found an increased chance of breast cancer among women who regularly used permanent hair dye, particularly African-Americans. Black women who used dye at least...Read more

Loneliness kills. According to former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, isolation and weak social connections "are associated with a reduction in lifespan similar to that caused by smoking fifteen cigarettes a day and even greater than that associated with obesity." Even when it's not fatal, loneliness makes life a lot less pleasant. We'll talk...Read more

The one thing we know about health care in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary race is that it's a top issue for voters.

The latest Tracking Poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation found 24% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said they want to hear the candidates discuss health care. That's twice the total for the next top ...Read more