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Tony Leys/KFF Health News/TNS

Many people with disabilities risk losing their Medicaid if they work too much

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

PLEASANTVILLE, Iowa — Zach Mecham has heard politicians demand that Medicaid recipients work or lose their benefits. He also has run into a jumble of Medicaid rules that effectively prevent many people with disabilities from holding full-time jobs.

“Which is it? Do you want us to work or not?” he said.

Mecham, 31, relies on the public ...Read more

Oona Zenda/KFF Health News/KFF Health News/TNS

'I am going through hell': Job loss, mental health, and the fate of federal workers

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

The National Institutes of Health employee said she knew things would be difficult for federal workers after Donald Trump was elected. But she never imagined it would be like this.

Focused on Alzheimer’s and other dementia research, the worker is among thousands who abruptly lost their jobs in the Trump administration’s federal workforce ...Read more

Kevin Richardson/Baltimore Sun/TNS

Legionella unregulated in Maryland despite regular Baltimore outbreaks

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

BALTIMORE — Offices, courthouses, a jail and a psychiatric facility throughout Maryland — most in downtown Baltimore — all found Legionella bacteria in their water systems last year, but state law doesn’t have any regulations to address it on a large scale. One group hopes to change that next legislative session.

Legionella is the ...Read more

‘Everyday discrimination’ linked to increased anxiety and depression across all groups of Americans

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

People who most frequently encounter everyday discrimination – those subtle snubs and slights of everyday life – are more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression.

What’s more, that finding remains true no matter the person’s race, gender, age, education, income, weight, language, immigration status or where they live.

...Read more

Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal Constitution/TNS

Bill restricting puberty blockers for transgender youth in Georgia advances

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

ATLANTA — Legislation regulating the prescription of puberty blockers for transgender minors and banning use of the State Health Benefits Plan for gender-affirming care were approved by House panels this week.

Both bills were approved on party-line votes, with Republicans supporting the measures, putting them in position to reach the floor ...Read more

Chronic kidney disease often goes undiagnosed, but early detection can prevent severe outcomes

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

For a disease afflicting 35.5 million people in the U.S., chronic kidney disease flies under the radar. Only half the people who have it are formally diagnosed.

The consequences of advanced chronic kidney disease are severe. When these essential organs can no longer do their job of filtering waste products from the blood, patients ...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

On Nutrition: Corny food jokes, 2025 edition

Health Advice / Nutrition /

No joke, I look forward to this column every year. And I cherish the contributions from you readers.

Terry W. from St. Louis writes: “I so enjoyed your column about corny jokes. My mom loved puns and would use them as often as she could. One that has to be heard instead of read is ‘I thought it was an oyster but it’s not!”

Lori M. in ...Read more

Leon Bennett/Getty Images North America/TNS

Party with gas, play with fire: the dangerous renaissance of 'whippets' in the music scene

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

LOS ANGELES — In November, Bob Bryar, the 44-year-old former drummer for the emo band My Chemical Romance, was found dead in his Tennessee home.

Months later, Bryar's autopsy raised a possible contributing factor in his death — three canisters of nitrous oxide found next to his corpse, with tubing for inhalation still attached.

Nitrous ...Read more

New Cell-Free DNA Testing Not Recommended For P. Vera Patient

Health Advice / Keith Roach /

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am 85 and healthy apart from polycythemia vera, for which I take aspirin. I was interested in the new blood test for cancer. Is it worthwhile? -- M.N.

ANSWER: When screening patients for cancer, the goal is to find a test that leads to a beneficial outcome for the person being screened -- ideally an outcome where they are less...Read more

What happens when you cut your intake of ultra-processed foods?

More than half of the calories consumed by the average American are from nutritionally empty, sugar-, fat- and salt-loaded, artificially manufactured, ultra-processed foods, defined as "industrial formulations with five or more ingredients." That adds up to a hugely increased risk for heart disease, stroke, erectile dysfunction, obesity, ...Read more

Liz Rymarev/The Dallas Morning News/TNS

Measles cases in Kansas more than double in one week; Most involve children under 18

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

The number of measles cases reported in Kansas more than doubled in the past week, and the outbreak may have a possible link to the outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico, a state health official spokesperson said Thursday.

As of Wednesday, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment is reporting 23 positive cases of measles, up from 10 they ...Read more

Keith Bell/Dreamstime.com/TNS

NC Senate passes healthcare overhaul that would crack down on 'surprise billing'

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

The North Carolina Senate passed a comprehensive bill Thursday aimed at increasing transparency in healthcare billing, lowering costs, and speeding up the process of prior authorization for medical services.

Senators gave the Republican proposal overwhelmingly bipartisan approval in a 44-2 vote, sending it to the House.

Republicans in both ...Read more

Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Palisades and Eaton firefighters had elevated blood levels of mercury and lead, according to an early study

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

LOS ANGELES — The immediate risks faced by the firefighters who were on the front lines battling the Palisades and Eaton fires that tore through Los Angeles County may have abated, but long-term health concerns remain.

A team of researchers tested the blood of a group of 20 firefighters who were called to duty when the wildfires hit Los ...Read more

Losing your job is bad for your health, but there are things you can do to minimize the harm

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

The Trump administration’s firing and furloughing of tens of thousands of federal workers and contractors have obviously caused economic hardship for Americans employed in national parks, research labs and dozens of government agencies.

As a professor of social work who studies how people’s finances affect their physical and ...Read more

Shawn Lockhart/CDC/TNS

Deadly, drug-resistant fungus CDC calls 'urgent threat' is spreading in hospitals

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

LOS ANGELES — A deadly, drug-resistant fungus that preys on the sick and old is continuing to spread in hospitals and senior care facilities across the country, killing more than 1 in 3 infected.

Candida auris, a type of yeast that can cause life-threatening illness, was first identified in the U.S. in 2016 with 52 infections reported across ...Read more

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/TNS

Dengue fever on the rise. What to know about the mosquito-borne illness in Florida

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

MIAMI — The U.S. is on alert for dengue fever during the busy spring break season as cases of the mosquito-borne illness continue to rise globally.

Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Cuba, Colombia, and Mexico are some of the places that have seen a rise in dengue cases, an illness that is known to cause flu-like symptoms, including fever,...Read more

Dominic Gwinn/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Commentary: Don't take health care hope away

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Evenings in our house oscillate between routine and existential. I prefer the ones where we mostly muddle through the mundane, and the ever-present threat to health and to normalcy goes largely unobserved, acknowledged only in the subtle ticking of insulin metered out by my 6-year-old daughter’s pump into her body.

Every few nights we change ...Read more

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images North America/TNS

In New York, providers must put patient costs on the table

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

The routine is familiar for most people: When checking in for an appointment with a doctor or other health care provider, patients typically complete and sign a pile of paperwork, including a form that contains some version of the statement, “I agree to pay for all charges not covered by my insurance company.”

Patients may not feel ...Read more

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America/TNS

States try to rein in health insurers' claim denials, with mixed results

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Health insurance companies are under increasing scrutiny for allegedly using artificial intelligence bots and algorithms to swiftly deny patients routine or lifesaving care — without a human actually reviewing their claims.

The high-profile killing late last year of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has focused even more attention on so-...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

How's your balance? Here's what that could mean for heart and brain health

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

It's an ability and skill often taken for granted. It affects quality of life and has been linked to heart disease and stroke. As we age and our muscles weaken, balance becomes crucial to staying active and supporting a healthy heart and brain.

"Balance is important because it's one of the attributes that allows you do to physical activity," ...Read more

 

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