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Billions of dollars are headed to state and local governments to address the opioid crisis. Policy experts and advocates expect the federal government to play a role in overseeing the use of the money. Failure to do so, they say, could lead to wasted opportunities. And, since Medicaid helps pay health care costs, the feds could have a claim to portions of states’ opioid settlements.
KFF Health News and CBS News recently reported that multiple lawsuits allege the device has led to grievous injuries to patients’ mouths, resulting in loss of teeth.
A KHN and CBS News investigation found that a dental appliance called the AGGA has been used by more than 10,000 patients, and multiple lawsuits allege it has caused grievous harm to patients.
A Florida woman tried to dispute an emergency room bill, but the hospital and collection agency refused to talk to her — because it was her child’s name on the bill, not hers.
Doctors have no national standards on when to order urine tests to check whether adult ADHD patients are properly taking their prescription stimulants. Some patients are subjected to much more frequent testing than others.
More than 10,000 dental patients have been fitted with an Anterior Growth Guidance Appliance, or AGGA, according to court records. But the unproven and unregulated device has not been evaluated by the FDA, according to a months-long joint investigation by KHN and CBS News.
A dental device called AGGA has been used on about 10,000 patients without FDA approval or proof that it works. In lawsuits, patients report irreparable harm. The AGGA’s inventor and manufacturer have denied all liability in court.
Mayor Eric Adams’ announcement this year to provide abortion pills free of charge at four of New York’s sexual health clinics is the city’s latest move on abortion access. Other jurisdictions are also taking steps.
Tennessee posts the names and photos of people arrested for alleged Medicaid fraud on a government website and social media. Some people even wind up on a "most wanted" list.
As a money-saving strategy, emergency rooms are turning to nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other staffers who earn far less than physicians.
Missouri and Montana are the only states without distracted driving laws for all drivers. With traffic fatalities rising significantly nationwide, some Missouri lawmakers and advocates for roadway safety are eyeing bills in the new legislative session that would crack down on texting while driving in the Show Me State.
Private equity groups are cashing in on rising rates of alcohol and drug addiction in the U.S. But they aren’t necessarily investing in centers with the best treatment standards, and they often cut extra services.
Many health professionals in rural areas don’t know how to provide gender-affirming care, leaving transgender patients with few options.
Noise pollution is a growing problem that isn’t confined to the ears: It can cause harm throughout the body. California is taking baby steps to address the increasing din from traffic and illegally modified cars, but public health experts urge lawmakers to act more boldly.
Some insurers and employers are tapping into assistance programs meant for individual patients. The concern: Some costly drugs could be harder for patients to access.
With a dearth of evidence on effective treatments for long covid, patients and doctors in 400 clinics around the country still rely on trial and error.
Low-income residents in states that haven’t expanded Medicaid are in a tough spot: They don’t qualify for the subsidies that people with slightly higher incomes get to buy marketplace plans because of a glitch in the federal health law. But a court decision last year makes it easier for them to make good-faith estimates of a pay increase, and there is no financial penalty if they don’t hit that figure.
Many Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities do not have long-term plans for when family members can no longer care for them. Families, researchers, and advocates worry that has set the stage for a crisis in which people with disabilities could end up living in institutional settings.
Even some medical experts who are skeptical of gender-affirming care say the White House is not promoting breast removal and genital surgery for teens. But that’s not what an ad, funded by a group led by a former adviser to President Donald Trump, would have you believe.
The nation’s largest private health system, HCA Healthcare, has faced years of scrutiny over its share of emergency room patients who are admitted to the hospital. And now U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, a Democrat from New Jersey, is calling for a federal investigation, prompting an escalating defense by the hospital system, based in Nashville, Tennessee.
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