WASHINGTON - U.S. employers, battered by rising hospital and pharmaceutical prices, are increasingly open to a bigger government role in healthcare, including regulating prices and expanding Medicare to more working Americans.

In one recent survey, more than three-quarters of responding employers said government regulation of drug prices and ...Read more

Q. My son and daughter-in-law have been separated for a year. They have shared custody of their 4-year-old son. My son was very unhappy but chose to put up with it until he met someone else. Daughter-in-law did not handle the break-up well. There was lots of crying, screaming, threats, accusations, and harassment by phone, text and email. As a ...Read more

DENVER - For Laura Stoutingburg and her family, Halloween has always been a monthlong celebration of corn mazes, pumpkin patches and, of course, trick-or-treating in their suburban Denver neighborhood.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the mother of two to change their plans.

"Traditional trick-or-treating house to house does not feel ...Read more

We knew in March that students wouldn't learn much during lockdown, and they seem to be in for more of the same this fall. The problem isn't just that teachers lack experience with remote instruction. For reasons scientists only partially understand, it's demonstrably harder to learn via video than in person. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and ...Read more

There are two kinds of grandparents in this world-those who love personalized gifts emblazoned with adoring messages and those who do not. Naturally, the husband and I are opposites on this matter. I believe the Bible refers to this as "iron sharpening iron."

Yesterday, the husband opened the kitchen cabinet, coffeepot in hand, and announced ...Read more

Q. My son and daughter-in-law have been separated for a year. They have shared custody of their 4-year-old son. My son was very unhappy but chose to put up with it until he met someone else. Daughter-in-law did not handle the break-up well. There was lots of crying, screaming, threats, accusations and harassment by phone, text and email. As a ...Read more

FORT WORTH, Texas - Willie Brown carefully guided his cart of groceries off the Trinity Metro Bus. The cart thumped on the ground, and he slowly pushed it across an empty parking lot toward home.

Thirty years ago, that empty parking lot would have been filled with shopping carts and families buying groceries. It would have been where Brown ...Read more

Q: My husband and I are not on the same page when it comes to our just-turned 4-year-old son. He thinks our son's behavior is a phase that he will outgrow. To me, his defiance and tantrums are alarming and need to be dealt with now to prevent them from getting worse. Most recently, he has started hitting and kicking us when he doesn't get his ...Read more

When it comes to health care, President Donald Trump has promised far more than he has delivered. But that doesn't mean his administration has had no impact on health issues - including the operation of the Affordable Care Act, prescription drug prices and women's access to reproductive health services.

In a last-ditch effort to raise his ...Read more

Local and world events have brought out strong emotions and stressors this year, often one right after another. They include COVID-19, social distancing, quarantines, stay-at-home orders, furloughs, job loss, masking, racial injustice, protests and demonstrations. There's no question 2020 has been a year full of change and trauma.

In addition ...Read more

The diagnosis of "bipolar disorder" is tossed around these days with alarming regularity. Declaring with great seriousness that someone is bipolar now means that because their moods change rapidly they will be treated for a serious mental illness they likely do not have.

The truth may be more complex, but is usually much simpler. Unfortunately,...Read more

Yes, it's safe to get a flu shot during pregnancy. In fact, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that all women who are pregnant during flu season get a flu shot, regardless of their trimester.

A flu shot during pregnancy can help:

Prevent the flu and maternal complications. The flu is more likely to cause severe ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I'm a 49-year-old man, and I've played tennis for many years without any injuries. But a few weeks ago, I developed pain in my shoulder during a match and was diagnosed with a rotator cuff tear. My doctor recommended rest and ice. That doesn't seem to be helping much, and the pain is keeping me awake at night. What other ...Read more

LOS ANGELES - During the second week of distance learning, 6-year-old Ezra Karpf clicked the "unmute" button on his computer screen so he could ask his teacher a question. It didn't work.

Ezra's frustration simmered. Then it peaked. Then it exploded.

"I can't unmute myself! I can't unmute myself!" he shouted repeatedly until his mother rushed ...Read more

As a painter, I like to think I have something in common with Picasso, mainly because we both had blue periods, mine coming several years ago when I used that color to paint the bathroom.

But I pale (my beige period, when I did the soffits in the kitchen) compared to my granddaughters Chloe and Lilly, who not only deserve to have a brush with ...Read more

The prospect of having a COVID-19 vaccine raises expectations and plenty of questions. While no one can pinpoint the elusive question of when there will be a vaccine, there are some questions that can be answered now.

Dr. Andrew Badley, head of Mayo Clinic's COVID Research Task Force, recently shared his expertise in this Q&A, starting with ...Read more

With some gyms closed and a number of people working from home, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it more difficult for many people to get in their daily workout. Sedentary behavior, including sitting for long periods of time, can contribute to adverse health effects, including something referred to as "sitting disease."

In this Mayo Clinic Minute...Read more

PHILADELPHIA - News articles containing misinformation about fentanyl - falsely suggesting that people can overdose and die from simply touching the synthetic opioid - are shared and spread far more widely on social media than stories that attempt to correct such myths, a new study from researchers at Northeastern University finds.

Fentanyl has...Read more