Conservative groups are working to undermine support for Montana’s Medicaid expansion in hopes the state will abandon the program. The rollback would be the first in the decade since the Affordable Care Act began allowing states to cover more people with low incomes.

Montana’s expansion, which insures roughly 78,800 people, is set to expire...Read more

ST. LOUIS — Voters in Missouri, Nebraska and Alaska will soon decide whether workers in those states should be entitled to paid sick leave.

If approved, the ballot measures would allow many workers to accrue paid time off, a benefit supporters say means workers — especially those with low-paying jobs — would no longer have to fear losing ...Read more

Maria Sanchez immigrated to the Chicago area from Mexico about 30 years ago. Now 87, she’s still living in the U.S. without authorization. Like many longtime immigrants, she has worked — and paid taxes, including Medicare taxes — all that time.

But Sanchez never had health insurance, and when she turned 65, she couldn’t enroll in ...Read more

Exactech, a Florida device manufacturer that faces more than 2,000 state and federal lawsuits from patients who allege the company sold defective hip and knee implants, filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday.

The Gainesville-based company said in a statement it was restructuring and would be sold to an investor group of private equity and “...Read more

When open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, starts nationwide this week, a group that had previously been barred from signing up will be eligible for the first time: The “Dreamers.” That’s the name given to children brought to the United States without immigration paperwork who have since qualified for the Deferred ...Read more

Each year, an estimated 15 million people around the globe experience stroke, according to the World Health Organization, with one-third resulting in death. That's why immediate stroke treatment is crucial.

When the symptoms of stroke present, calling 911 and seeking care immediately is the most crucial step to prevent disability or death.

“...Read more

Rural adults are more likely to smoke than their urban counterparts. Enhancing digital literacy and improving access to the internet and digital devices may make it easier for rural smokers to quit. These are the findings of a randomized, controlled pilot clinical trial Mayo Clinic researchers published in Nature Communications Medicine.

...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My dad was diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis shortly after his 70th birthday. It's difficult to pronounce let alone understand. What is cardiac amyloidosis? Am I at risk if it is genetic?

ANSWER: Amyloidosis is a rare condition defined by the abnormal production of proteins that bind together to form amyloid proteins. These ...Read more

Hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. have a first stroke each year. Newly updated recommendations spell out methods for changing that.

The new guidelines from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association, published in the journal Stroke, aim to prevent stroke throughout a person's life via preventive care and healthy ...Read more

On learning last year she was pregnant with her second child, Cailyn Morreale was overcome with fear and trepidation.

“I was so scared,” said Morreale, a resident of the small western North Carolina town of Mars Hill. In that moment, her joy about being pregnant was eclipsed by fear she would have to stop taking buprenorphine, a drug used ...Read more

Oregon state and federal officials confirmed Wednesday that H5N1 bird flu was found in a pig living Crook County — the first such swine infection reported in the current outbreak.

The strain of bird flu virus in the pig is slightly different than the one that has been plaguing dairy cows in California and other states, which is known as B3.13...Read more

Salad dressings are an important part of the taste and nutrition of your salad. But with countless varieties of salad dressings on store shelves, picking out a healthy one can feel overwhelming. Here’s how to choose a healthy salad dressing, including what ingredients to look for and avoid, and nutrition stats to be aware of.

What makes salad...Read more

Social media has a way of making the ho-hum seem fresh and novel. Case in point: exfoliation, the process of removing dead cells from the skin’s outer layer. Anyone scrolling through TikTok might be convinced this longtime skin care approach can transform something old — let’s say our aging epidermis — into like-new skin.

But a Harvard ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: During warm weather months, I find myself eating less formal meals and, instead, reaching for more snacks. I also tend to exercise less when it’s hot outside. Do you have advice on how to ensure I’m snacking healthfully as I realize the potential to overeat and not be as active?

ANSWER: Regardless of the time of year, ...Read more

CUTHBERT, Ga. — While customers at Adams Family Pharmacy picked up their prescriptions on a hot summer day, some stopped in for coffee, ice cream, homemade cake, or cookies.

It wasn’t a bake sale, but the sweets bring extra revenue as pharmacist and co-owner Nikki Bryant works to achieve profitability at her business on the town square.

...Read more

Cold and flu season is upon us, and with it comes a new round of COVID-19 booster shots.

The new 2024-2025 shots were recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in June, approved and authorized by the Food and Drug Administration in August and rolled out to doctors offices and pharmacies in September.

Expecting an increase ...Read more

When Lyft driver Tramaine Carr transports seniors and sick patients to hospitals in Atlanta, she feels like both a friend and a social worker.

“When the ride is an hour or an hour and a half of mostly freeway driving, people tend to tell you what they’re going through,” she said.

Drivers such as Carr have become a critical part of the ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- As poultry farms and dairies across California battle bird flu outbreaks, some are wondering if their food is safe to eat.

Since highly pathogenic avian influenza surfaced in the United States in January 2022, the virus has been detected in wild birds and domestic poultry, according to the federal Centers for Disease ...Read more