Opioid settlement payouts are now public — and we know how much local governments got
Public art in Altoona, Penn., one of many cities hit hard by the opioid epidemic. Marianne Sinisi organized the installation after her son died of an overdose. State and local governments have received about $3 billion so far out of $50 billion total in settlements from national lawsuits. Nancy Andrews/KFF Health News Thousands of local […]
Gen Z workers are exhausted — and seeking solutions
In a 2023 Deloitte survey, nearly half of Gen Zs and four in 10 millennials said they feel stressed all or most of the time. Luis Alvarez | Getty images My generation, Generation Z, is apparently experiencing an early life crisis. Researchers say younger generations deal with an ongoing wealth inequality. They see senior executives […]
Pfizer warns of a looming penicillin supply shortage
The Pfizer logo is displayed on the exterior of a former Pfizer factory, on May 4, 2014, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Mark Lennihan/AP Pfizer is facing a shortage of penicillin due to increased demand and more diagnoses of syphilis, the company said in a letter to its customers this week. The company […]
FDA advisers back updated COVID shots for fall vaccinations
The COVID-19 vaccine will be updated in hopes of targeting the strains of omicron that will be circulating later this year. Esteban Felix/AP A panel of expert advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously Thursday to recommend that the COVID-19 vaccine be updated to target emerging subvariants of omicron. The COVID shot that’s […]
As smoky skies clear, experts say Minnesotans should prepare for more bad air
Updated: 5:30 p.m. First, the good news: the worst of this latest band of thick, choking wildfire smoke is finally ending across the state, says Minnesota Pollution Control Agency air quality meteorologist David Brown. “Still a little hazy out there, you’re still gonna see the smoke a little bit, you might smell it a little […]
Abortion care training is banned in some states. A new bill could help OB-GYNs get it
Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin in Washington, D.C., in 2019. Her state of Wisconsin now has near total ban on abortion under an 1849 law. Mark Wilson/Getty Images Sami Stroebel, an aspiring obstetrician-gynecologist, started medical school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison last summer within weeks of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the constitutional […]
Some cancer drugs are in short supply, putting patients’ care at risk. Here’s why
Toni Dezomits’ advanced ovarian cancer responded well to earlier rounds of chemo, but this spring, her doctors told her there was a shortage of a key chemo drug. Toni Dezomits Toni Dezomits is used to facing death. She served in the Gulf War and later as a police officer, becoming a police chief in North […]
VA hospitals are outperforming private hospitals, latest Medicare survey shows
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs takes care of about 9 million veterans at 1,255 facilities. It is the nation’s largest integrated health care system. Charles Dharapak/AP A nationwide Medicare survey released today found that veterans rated Veterans Affairs hospitals higher than private health care facilities in all 10 categories of patient satisfaction. The VA […]
Liquid cremation may be a greener alternative
For accuracy and time, the audio above is an edited version of what aired. When the time comes, you’ve got options for how you want to go. In Minnesota, the typical options are: a traditional burial, donating your body to science or flame-based cremation. A method pioneered by the Mayo Clinic and legalized in Minnesota […]
Clinic, physicians challenge revised North Dakota abortion laws in ongoing lawsuit
A former North Dakota abortion provider challenged one of the nation’s strictest abortion laws Monday, arguing the law “fragrantly violates” a court ruling supporting the right of patients in the state to obtain the procedure to preserve their life or health. The lawsuit initially filed last year by what was the conservative state’s sole abortion […]