Abortion Rights Advocates Slam New Oklahoma Law
Abortion rights advocates are decrying a law passed by the Oklahoma legislature last week that would ban all abortions in the state from the moment of fertilization, with exceptions for rape and incest only if they are reported to law enforcement. “Without abortion access at the local level, people will lose the ability to make […]
New Surprise Billing Arbitration Guidance May Give Docs More Wiggle Room
Last week, CMS updated guidance on the heavily disputed aspects of an arbitration process for resolving payment disagreements between insurers and providers under the No Surprises Act. The updates to this guidance were made in response to a Texas ruling that compelled HHS to change how dispute resolution entities would approach the pricing benchmark known […]
Scientific-Integrity Watchdog Slaps Lawsuit on Maker of Homeopathic Pills
A nonprofit scientific advocacy group sued Boiron last week for deceptively marketing its homeopathic products, legal documents show. The Center for Inquiry (CFI) filed the lawsuit Thursday against Boiron, a Pennsylvania-based manufacturer that sells homeopathic treatments, claiming that the company deceives customers about the nature and effectiveness of its products. The complaint alleges that Boiron […]
Kansas State Senator Implies Bill on Controversial COVID Therapies Passed
In a letter sent to hospitals and healthcare clinics earlier this week, Mark Steffen, MD, a state senator from Kansas, seemed to suggest a bill that would remove restrictions on the use of treatments like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 had already passed. “With the recent passage of Senate substitute for HB 2280 … there […]
WHO: COVID Cases And Deaths Continue To Fall Globally
GENEVA (AP) — The number of coronavirus cases reported globally has dropped for a second consecutive week and confirmed COVID-19 deaths also fell last week, according to a World Health Organization report issued Wednesday. In its latest pandemic report, WHO said 9 million cases were reported, a 16% weekly decline, and more than 26,000 new […]
Physician Advocates for Immigrants, Asylum Seekers Celebrate End of ‘Title 42’
Last week, the CDC announced the end of an emergency public health order that was used over a million times to prevent both children and adult migrants, including asylum seekers, from entering U.S. borders since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy, known as “Title 42,” allowed federal health officials expanded leeway to prevent […]
Public Health Experts Pitch Their Own Path to the ‘Next’ Normal
Less than a week after the White House released its updated COVID-19 preparedness plan, a group of 24 public health experts issued a white paper with their own ideas for moving the nation into what they call the “next” normal. While there’s quite a bit of overlap between the two plans, the 132-page document by […]
COVID Cases, Deaths Continue To Fall Globally, WHO Reports
GENEVA (AP) — The number of new coronavirus cases reported globally dropped by 16% last week, marking a month-long decline in COVID-19 infections, according to figures from the World Health Organization. In its weekly report on the pandemic issued late Tuesday, the U.N. health agency also said that deaths fell by 10%, continuing a drop […]
Low-meat and meat-free diets associated with lower overall cancer risk
Eating meat five times or less per week is associated with a lower overall cancer risk, according to a study published in the open access journal BMC Medicine. Cody Watling and colleagues from the University of Oxford, UK investigated the relationship between diet and cancer risk by analysing data collected from 472,377 British adults who […]
Even light drinking can be harmful to health: Research reveals cardiovascular risk of consuming small quantities of alcohol
Drinking less than the UK’s recommended limit of 14 units of alcohol per week still increases the risk of cardiovascular issues such as heart and cerebrovascular disease, according to new research published in the journal Clinical Nutrition. Academics from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) examined hospitalisations related to cardiovascular events among more than 350,000 UK residents […]