If the Affordable Care Act's protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions are struck down in court, residents of the Republican-led states that are challenging the law have the most to lose.

"These states have been opposed to the ACA from the beginning," said Gerald Kominski, a senior fellow at the UCLA Center for Health Policy ...Read more

Profit jumped by 28 percent at UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter as the nation's largest health insurer topped earnings estimates and once again boosted financial guidance for the year.

The Minnetonka, Minn.-based health care giant posted earnings of $2.92 billion on $56.1 billion in revenue, which was about 12 percent ahead of ...Read more

Dear Mayo Clinic: My grandson was born with an atrial septal defect and already has had surgery. His health care provider says he shouldn't have any lasting problems; yet, he'll need to have regular checkups with a cardiologist until he is an adult. Why is this necessary? What will the cardiologist be looking for?

A: There are several reasons ...Read more

The Trump administration's decision last week to slash funding to nonprofit groups that help Americans buy individual health insurance coverage sparked outrage from advocates of the Affordable Care Act. Using words like "immoral" and "cold-hearted," they saw it as the Republicans' latest act of sabotage against the sweeping health law.

But as ...Read more

Q: What causes tinnitus, and is there anything that can be done to get rid of it?

A: Tinnitus -- the sensation of hearing a sound when no external sound is present -- often is described as a ringing, buzzing, roaring, clicking, humming, pulsing, or hissing sound, or any combination of these sounds. You may hear it in one or both ears. The sound...Read more

Eating nuts as part of a regular diet significantly improves the quality and function of human sperm, researchers in Spain found.

During a 14-week randomized clinical trial, 119 healthy and apparently fertile young men ages 18-35 were put into two groups. One followed their usual western-style diet supplemented with 60 grams -- roughly a half ...Read more

LOCKPORT, Ill. -- In her children's pediatrician's office two years ago, Lockport mother Kelly DiFilippo declined the HPV vaccine for her oldest daughter, and "no one batted an eye," she said.

But when it was time for her second daughter's sixth-grade physical last winter, DiFilippo's refusal of the vaccine was met with a different reaction ...Read more

CHICAGO -- When Melanie Perry peers out the seventh-floor window of her Kenwood high-rise, she has a clear view of the helicopter pad at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

"It's as if God is telling me your kidney is in your view," she said. "God is keeping me. He can move mountains."

Perry, 34, has spent most of her life hoping for ...Read more

On bright summer days we may remember to apply the sunscreen, but we may not remember to give the heat the full respect it deserves. When temperatures soar, Mayo Clinic experts say we need to take precautions. We also need to be on guard for the warning signs of overheating. Family medicine physician Jennifer Nordstrom, M.D., at Mayo Clinic ...Read more

More than 350,000 people had sudden cardiac arrest outside of a hospital in 2017. Those who received CPR were two to three times more likely to survive.

Joshua Moeckly, a Mayo Clinic cardiac nurse, explains the five steps you should go through in an effort to save a life.

It's a moment everyone hopes they never experience, but it could happen ...Read more

It boils down to what's in the term sunburn: "sun" and "burn." Simply put, the sun burns your skin. And the result can be pain, redness, blisters and peeling skin.

"Prevention is the key," says Dr. Cindy Kermott, a Mayo Clinic preventive medicine physician. "But if you've already been sunburned, taking a cool shower or bath can be a helpful ...Read more

Taking a cool, refreshing dip in a lake or swimming pool is one of summer's enjoyments and sometimes a necessary escape from the stifling heat.

But two recent federal health studies found that some waters is better than others, at least when it comes to avoiding waterborne illnesses.

Of 633 outbreaks nationwide caused by bacteria, viruses or ...Read more

At first, the medics thought the West Philadelphia man was having a heart attack. He had clutched his chest and passed out, they had been told at the scene, and now he was at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, intubated and still unresponsive.

Peter Sananman, the doctor on duty in the emergency room that day, took a look at the man's pupils. ...Read more

The White House's plan to indefinitely detain immigrant families together threatens the care of young children, experts worry, by placing them with an agency with little experience in handling such complex needs.

Previously, the administration's "zero tolerance" immigration stance meant splitting children from parents, including 2,322 children ...Read more

WASHINGTON--Even as many Republicans continue to back a repeal of the Affordable Care Act, a majority of GOP voters want to retain a core consumer protection of the law that prohibits insurers from denying care or charging more to people with histories of health problems, according to a poll released Wednesday.

The requirement that insurers ...Read more