BALTIMORE — Since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its initial report on a recent outbreak of a strain of Salmonella linked to raw oysters, cases and hospitalizations in Maryland have seen a slight increase.

On Dec. 23, the CDC reported one Maryland resident as having fallen ill after being infected with the strain. In ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Health care policy will be top of mind when Congress returns to Washington in January, with lawmakers acknowledging that escalating insurance premiums are hitting millions of Americans.

That’s about where the agreement ends. The parties and even the factions within them are sharply divided on the path forward — with several ...Read more

The Trump administration on Monday announced that all 50 states will receive proceeds from a $50 billion rural health fund, the creation of which helped secure the support for President Trump’s tax cuts law from Republican senators worried about the impact of Medicaid cuts in their states.

In 2026, the first year of the program, states will ...Read more

DENVER — Colorado is coming closer to universal access to overdose-reversing medication as residents snap up an over-the-counter version and hospitals offer it to more patients.

Naloxone, sold under the brand name Narcan, counters the effect of opioids so that a person who is overdosing doesn’t stop breathing. For the last decade, Colorado ...Read more

She went by Dr. Mary, and her promise was a tantalizing medical breakthrough.

At clinics operated in Arizona and several other states, Mary Blakley and her husband, Fred, told patients that for just $300, they could provide a full-body scan that utilized a proprietary "smart chip" to detect a variety of potential illnesses, including cancer.

...Read more

Kentucky will receive $212.9 million from President Donald Trump’s administration over the next five years to improve rural health care, state officials said Monday.

The money will be used to address stubborn, long-term rural health care problems including maternity care deserts, limited access to mental health professionals and gaps in oral ...Read more

The Trump administration is announcing awards to states from a rural healthcare fund, with the threat that some of that money can be clawed back if jurisdictions fail to embrace policy initiatives backed by the president.

The discretionary grants for 2026 range from $145 million to $281 million for states, according to Mehmet Oz, the head of ...Read more

The federal government is awarding Illinois $193 million next year to support rural healthcare — money that’s part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but not enough to make up for Medicaid cuts from the measure, state health leaders say.

Illinois asked the federal government for $200 million a year for each of the next five years in its ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Maryland will receive $168 million to bolster its rural healthcare services, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced on Monday.

The money will be allocated from CMS’ Rural Health Transformation Program. The program is a five-year, $50 billion health care fund that was included in the One Big, Beautiful Bill to ...Read more

The cost of employer-sponsored health insurance in California rose at twice the pace of inflation over the past three years, squeezing workers’ paychecks and small businesses alike.

More than 17 million Californians have health insurance through their job, according to a survey released in November by the health information group KFF. The ...Read more

Every day, thousands of kids suffer the fear, shame and frustration of being bullied. More than 19% of children aged 12 to 18 say they have been targeted by peers, with a frightening number of cases happening online. Here's what every parent needs to know about bullying and the actions that can help stop it.

Kids can be cruel, as the old saying...Read more

If a can of coconut water and a banana smoothie had a baby, it might be banana water. The latest plant-based hydration beverage on the market is being touted as "the peel good beverage" that offers "a bunch of nutrients." And it's drumming up attention on social media.

"Boyfriend says it has aromatics of slightly overripe banana," one Reddit ...Read more

At first, Everly Green’s parents didn’t understand why her doctors wanted genetic testing. Their daughter was behind on her milestones at 18 months, but was gradually making progress, and they expected that to continue.

Then, when she turned 2, the seizures started. She suddenly began to lose skills. Three months later, Everly needed a ...Read more

WASHINGTON — There is still hope for getting help with health care premiums for Obamacare policies next year.

Though enhanced subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, policies are ending Wednesday, there’s a possibility Congress and President Donald Trump can apply them in 2026 so they wind up helping people all year.

“While ...Read more

BALTIMORE — A Maryland resident is among at least 64 people in 22 states who have fallen ill after being infected with the same strain of salmonella linked to raw oysters, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Of those sickened nationwide, 20 people were hospitalized as of Tuesday. No deaths have been reported. Federal ...Read more

ATLANTA — By New Year’s Eve, the Trump administration is scheduled to award one-time grants to states to “transform” their rural health care, and Georgia is asking for $1.4 billion.

Gov. Brian Kemp’s administration has submitted an application with a long list of proposed pilot projects, including drop-in telehealth “pods,” health...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Leon Harris, 35, is intimately familiar with the devastation guns can inflict. Robbers shot him in the back nearly two decades ago, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. The bullet remains lodged in his spine.

“When you get shot,” he said, “you stop thinking about the future.”

He is anchored by his wife and child ...Read more

Lawmakers in several states are working to expand medical debt protections for patients, even after the Trump administration reversed course and told states they don’t have authority to take action on credit reporting.

In Alaska and Michigan, legislators are nonetheless advancing bills to keep medical debt off consumer credit reports.

The ...Read more

The year 2025 has been one of the most turbulent years in modern U.S. health care. The headlines were explosive, the rhetoric dramatic, and the controversies nonstop. Yet for all the hoopla and upheaval, the medical care Americans receive now, month in and month out, looks no better than what they experienced on Jan. 1 — but far more expensive...Read more