The rapidly spreading wildfires that have transformed much of Los Angeles County into a raging hellscape are not only upending the lives of tens of thousands of residents and business owners, but also stressing the region’s hospitals, health clinics, first responders, and nursing homes.

At least one medical clinic burned down. Senior patients...Read more

In states where both medical and recreational marijuana are legal, fewer patients are filling prescriptions for medications used to treat anxiety. That is the key finding of my recent study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

I am an applied policy researcher who studies the economics of risky behaviors and substance use ...Read more

Many people use the new year to reflect on their relationship with alcohol. Just-released government guidelines are giving Americans another reason to consider a “dry January.”

Over the past few decades, mounting scientific evidence has shown that as little as 1-2 alcoholic drinks per day can lead to increases in the likelihood of...Read more

You don’t have to actually freeze to death in order to die of cold.

And according to the Mayo Clinic, people who are dying of cold usually don’t realize it.

As sleet, snow or cold rainfall is expected in metro Atlanta on Friday amid freezing temperatures, Southerners who aren’t used to these conditions need to be careful to protect their...Read more

A new study has revealed a significant link between a common pregnancy complication and early heart disease in women.

Researchers found that women with a history of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) were at higher risk of developing coronary artery disease at an earlier age. In addition, they found that women with these disorders were ...Read more

A disability rights group is suing Maryland’s health secretary and health department in federal court for leaving mentally ill people accused of crimes to languish in jail rather than admitting them to psychiatric hospitals as required by state law.

Filed Thursday, the lawsuit by Disability Rights Maryland claims Health Secretary Dr. Laura ...Read more

Following the Dobbs Supreme Court decision ending the national protections for abortion rights, more young Americans are seeking options for permanent contraception, a new study has found.

Researchers saw an increase in two medical procedures for permanent sterilization among adults ages 19 to 26 following the leaked ruling in May 2022, ...Read more

Patients are piling up in Minnesota emergency rooms once again, but it’s not just from COVID-19.

State health officials say influenza is making a comeback, combining with COVID, norovirus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to put more pressure on Minnesota hospitals than they’ve faced since the end of the pandemic. Thursday’s weekly ...Read more

BALTIMORE — The first two district courthouses in Baltimore found to have water contaminated with Legionella bacteria since November have now been cleared after the latest round of remediation and retesting.

Results received Wednesday from the tests conducted at the 5800 Wabash Ave. and 700 E. Patapsco Ave. courthouses on Dec. 30 have found ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — At a CVS store in a racially diverse neighborhood in Brooklyn Center, the only devices available to shoppers to measure their blood-oxygen levels are virtually unregulated fingertip oximeters that may be less accurate in people with darker skin.

So-called “health and wellness” pulse oximeters available online and at ...Read more

Many of us resolve to do better, live better and be better in January, a time when we set goals and intentions for the future.

For that reason, I’ve always looked forward to January. But lately, the first month of the year has started to feel different.

Dry January. Veganuary. No spend January.

Everyone is swearing off some perceived vice �...Read more

Using computers to make a digital replica of the heart – a digital heart twin – can successfully identify problem areas deep in the heart muscle of people with a serious heart rhythm disorder, a new study finds. The research lays the groundwork for a new way of treating a life-threatening condition often caused by prior heart attacks or ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Six years after he entered office vowing to be California’s “health care governor,” Democrat Gavin Newsom has steered tens of billions in public funding to safety net services for the state’s neediest residents while engineering rules to make health care more accessible and affordable for all Californians.

More ...Read more

When Michael Adams was researching health insurance options in 2023, he had one very specific requirement: coverage for prosthetic limbs.

Adams, 51, lost his right leg to cancer 40 years ago, and he has worn out more legs than he can count. He picked a gold plan on the Colorado health insurance marketplace that covered prosthetics, including ...Read more

In Pawtucket, Rhode Island, near a storefront advertising “free” cellphones, J.R. sat in an empty back stairwell and showed a reporter how he tries to avoid overdosing when he smokes crack cocaine. KFF Health News is identifying him by his initials because he fears being arrested for using illegal drugs.

It had been several hours since his ...Read more

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — More than three years have passed since federal health officials arrived in central Appalachia to assess an alarming outbreak of HIV spread mostly between people who inject opioids or methamphetamine.

Infectious disease experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made a list of recommendations following ...Read more

Bird flu is increasingly sparking concern across the country and in Illinois, following news this week of the first human death from the virus in the U.S., and of birds found throughout Illinois with suspected cases of the illness.

Doctors, however, say there’s no need to panic at this point — though they’re watching the virus’s ...Read more

Lots of people who vape want to quit, but there’s very little guidance on how best to do so.

In the U.S., recent reports estimate that 5.9% of youth and 4.5% of adults currently vape. This proportion varies worldwide, however. In Britain, an estimated 7.8% of youth and 11% of adults vape. Vaping nicotine is addictive, and more and ...Read more

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey signed two major health care reform bills Wednesday — one that looks to increase hospital oversight in the wake of the Steward Health Care meltdown and another that attempts to tackle prescription drug costs.

And it was clear from at least one top Democrat’s remarks that lawmakers who negotiated the two ...Read more