health care

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Ex-Cigna Bigwig: I Left Insurer After 'Crisis of Conscience'
Ex-Cigna Exec: What I Saw
'Shook Me to My Core'
OPINION
Dec 18, 2024 12:55 PM CST

Ex-Cigna Exec: What I Saw 'Shook Me to My Core'

In op-ed for NYT , Wendell Potter talks of time with health insurer, leaving due to 'crisis of conscience'

(Newser) - The gunning down of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has busted open an often-angry conversation about the state of health insurance in the United States, and now, an ex-exec with one of the country's biggest insurers is adding fuel to that fire. "What I saw made me quit,"...

Mike Johnson Causes a Stir With ObamaCare Comments
House Speaker on
Defense After
'No ObamaCare'
Remark
THE RUNDOWN
Oct 31, 2024 10:45 AM CDT

House Speaker on Defense After 'No ObamaCare' Remark

Mike Johnson's comments on ACA sets off Dems, though Johnson says reaction is off the mark

(Newser) - President Biden isn't the only big name in DC who's catching flak for remarks made in the final stretch of Election 2024. Appearing at a GOP campaign rally on Monday in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, House Speaker Mike Johnson broached the subject of 2010's Affordable Care Act, aka ObamaCare,...

In 53-Year First, Senate Holds Person in Criminal Contempt

Health care CEO Ralph de la Torre 'is not above the law,' Bernie Sanders says

(Newser) - Democratic and Republican senators were united Wednesday in voting to hold Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre in criminal contempt of Congress. After the unanimous vote, lawmakers said it was the first time since 1971 that the chamber had held a person in criminal contempt and asked the...

In This Catholic Hospital System, 'Unusual Activity'

Cyberattack fells Ascension, diverting ambulances and wreaking havoc across the US

(Newser) - A cyberattack on the Ascension health system operating in 19 states across the US forced some of its 140 hospitals to divert ambulances, caused patients to postpone medical tests, and blocked online access to patient records. An Ascension spokesperson said it detected "unusual activity" Wednesday on its computer network...

In Hack Update, UnitedHealth Reveals Ransom Was Paid

It says a 'substantial proportion' of Americans possibly had data stolen

(Newser) - Hackers stole health and personal data from what could amount to a "substantial proportion" of Americans, UnitedHealth said in a Monday update on the February cyberattack on its Change Healthcare subsidiary. UnitedHealth also confirmed that it paid a ransom "as part of the company's commitment to do...

In Haiti, 'Everything Is Crashing'
In Haiti, 'Everything Is Crashing'
Apr 24, 2024 8:29 AM CDT

In Haiti, 'Everything Is Crashing'

Health care system nears collapse as gangs attack hospitals, medical supplies dwindle

(Newser) - On a recent morning at a hospital in the heart of gang territory in Haiti's capital, a woman began convulsing as a doctor and two nurses raced to save her. They stuck electrodes to her chest and flipped on an oxygen machine while keeping their eyes on a computer...

Major Errors Climbed After Equity Firms Bought Hospitals

Research is the first to document decline in care after a sale to investors

(Newser) - Private equity firms own only a small percentage of US hospitals, but they've been working to increase their share for two decades. They've pooled money from institutional investors and individuals to build investment funds that buy up hospitals and related health care entities, often intending to sell them...

Next Strike Begins, With 75K Workers in 5 States
Kaiser Permanente Reaches
Deal With 75K Workers
UPDATED
Oct 13, 2023 9:03 AM CDT

Kaiser Permanente Reaches Deal With 75K Workers

Health care staffers already staged one strike and had threatened another

(Newser) - Unions representing 75,000 health care workers who recently held a strike against industry giant Kaiser Permanente over wages and staffing shortages have reached a tentative agreement with the company, per the AP . The three-day strike last week involving 75,000 workers in multiple states officially ended last Saturday, and...

There's a Rising Crisis in Giving Birth in Rural US

Many maternity centers are closing, leading women to have to travel or depend on alternatives

(Newser) - A growing number of rural hospitals have shuttered their delivery units, forcing pregnant women to travel for care or face giving birth in an emergency room, reports the AP . Fewer than half of rural hospitals now have maternity units, prompting government officials and families to scramble. One solution gaining ground...

Older and About to Become an Ex? Think Health Insurance

If you're about to divorce in your 50s, 60s, or older, think ahead so you're not left in the lurch

(Newser) - More than 1 in 3 people who divorce in the United States are age 50 or older, and 1 in 4 are 65 or older, according to a 2022 analysis published in the Journals of Gerontology. Divorcing as you near retirement—or after you've retired—comes with considerations: Are...

This Is the Best State in America for Health Care

Minnesota tops WalletHub's list, with West Virginia coming in last

(Newser) - Health care in the US before COVID was already a prime political topic—and after the pandemic hit, it became even more so. WalletHub wanted to see which states offered the best, most affordable services, so it looked at all 50 states and Washington, DC, using more than 40 metrics...

Researchers Call Misdiagnoses a Public Health Emergency

Hundreds of thousands in US die or are disabled each year because of errors, report says

(Newser) - Medical researchers who dug deeper into data have found that the number of misdiagnoses of patients and the harm done are greater than previously understood, rising now to the level of a public health emergency. "Diagnostic errors are, by a wide margin, the most under-resourced public health crisis we...

For Trans Advocates, Victory in This State

Federal judge strikes down ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors in Indiana

(Newser) - A federal judge issued an order Friday stopping an Indiana ban on puberty blockers and hormones for transgender minors from taking effect as scheduled July 1. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana sought the temporary injunction in its legal challenge of the Republican-backed law, which was enacted this spring...

'Rampant' Health Problem: an Escort to the Clinic

It can be a significant burden for many, and may cause them to skip outpatient procedures

(Newser) - Anyone who's had an outpatient medical procedure involving anesthesia knows the drill: Their clinic or doctor probably requires them to have an escort bring them to the procedure and take them home. Sometimes, they even require the escort to wait there during the procedure itself. As a story in...

For Nurses, the Problem Is Staffing
Those Heroic
Nurses Need
More Help
OPINION
Jan 18, 2023 4:09 PM CST

Those Heroic Nurses Need More Help

Biggest issue in strikes is staffing, Lydia Polgreen writes

(Newser) - Nurses were praised and universally thanked for their work early in the pandemic—applauded nightly in New York, for example, in a show of support for essential health care workers, per NPR . But the appreciation and the pizza didn't last, and nurses remain shortchanged and taken for granted, Lydia...

Survey: 1 in 7 Doctors Uses Alcohol or Drugs at Work

Almost half of health care workers are approaching 'breaking point'

(Newser) - America's doctors are so stressed out that many of them can't make it through their working day without using alcohol or drugs, according to a survey from mental health company All Points North . The company says its survey of 1,000 health care workers found more than a...

This State's Health Care Ranks No. 1

Rhode Island tops WalletHub's list; Mississippi comes in last

(Newser) - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services estimates that the average American spends more than $12,000 annually on health care—and that's not even counting the costs incurred by COVID. That's why it's beneficial, if possible, to set down roots in a place where you can...

Dentist Who Purposely Broke Patients' Teeth Hears His Fate

Scott Charmoli of Jackson, Wis., found guilty of health care fraud, making false statements

(Newser) - Update: A Wisconsin dentist has been found guilty of purposely breaking his patients' teeth so he could rake in millions from insurance companies to fix them. Per the Washington Post , 61-year-old Scott Charmoli of Jackson was convicted on Thursday of five counts of health care fraud and two counts of...

Idaho Bill on Trans Youth Could Send Parents to Prison for Life

They could be hit with felony for seeking gender-affirming medical care for kids, even in other states

(Newser) - As parents of transgender children in Texas grapple with the state's new law over providing gender-affirming medical care, Idaho parents are now facing similar issues, with even more restrictions piled on. The Idaho Statesman reports that on Tuesday, the Idaho House of Representatives passed a bill barring such medical...

Humanitarian Doctor 'Didn't Take No for an Answer'
Humanitarian Doctor 'Didn't
Take No for an Answer'
OBITUARY
Feb 22, 2022 10:20 AM CST

Humanitarian Doctor 'Didn't Take No for an Answer'

Partners in Health co-founder Paul Farmer, who helped impoverished people worldwide, dies at 62

(Newser) - Dr. Paul Farmer, a US physician, humanitarian, and author renowned for providing health care to millions of impoverished people worldwide, and who co-founded the global nonprofit Partners in Health, has died. He was 62. The Boston-based organization confirmed Farmer's death on Monday, calling it "devastating" and noting he...

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