When are families notified of COVID-19 cases in schools and what happens when a child gets sent home due to possible exposure? More than a week into school reopening in Chicago, parents and educators are asking those questions and taking to social media to report incidents of quarantined classrooms at their schools. As of Tuesday […]
Many Americans breathed a sigh of relief when the Supreme Court left the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in place following its third major legal challenge in June 2021. This decision left widely supported policies in place, like ensuring coverage regardless of preexisting conditions, coverage for dependents up to age 26 on their parents’ plan and removal of annual and lifetime benefit limits. But […]
An active monsoon season has brought relief from the summer heat, but Arizona officials are warning the rains have resulted in a spike of mosquito-borne illnesses. Two residents have died as a result. The Maricopa County Department of Public Health is cautioning residents to take preventative measures to deter mosquitoes in announcing the first death […]
Maine Gov. Janet Mills is giving health care workers more time to get vaccinated for COVID-19 with the state facing a legal challenge over the new mandate. Doctors, nurses, dental workers and others in the state’s health care system now have until Oct. 29 to get a jabbed under the extended timeline for enforcing the […]
Maine Gov. Janet Mills is bumping up Medicaid reimbursement rates for substance use disorder treatment as the state battles a rise in opioid related overdose deaths. Beginning Nov. 1, the rate for detox providers will increase by 77%, to $385 per day, the Mills administration said, while the rate for halfway house service will increase […]
The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has changed the way people live around the world. As of late August 2021, more than 630,000 people have died in the United States alone. Health experts agree that COVID-19 vaccines are one important way to help bring an end to the pandemic. But getting a vaccine can be scary for […]
After a decade of living with chronic kidney disease, Vonita McGee knows her body is wearing out. At 63, McGee undergoes dialysis sessions three times each week at a Northwest Kidney Centers site near her Burien, Washington, home to rid her blood of waste and water. She has endured the placement of more than a […]
Nearly 16,000 Montanans who purchased Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance through the marketplace are set to receive partial reimbursement for premiums paid between 2018 and 2020. The Affordable Care Act requires insurers selling plans on the marketplace to spend a certain percentage of the premiums they collect on medical or health-related expenses like doctor visits, […]
It is not unusual to hear an elderly person say, “it’s just part of getting older,” when asked about Insomnia. To that end, studies show that over 50% of people 65 years and older report trouble falling and staying asleep. “Too often, the sleep complaints of our senior citizen patients are ignored or undertreated. This […]
When we first met Rafi, then a 9-year-old boy, at our clinic a decade ago, he and his family faced multiple daunting challenges. Rafi had been diagnosed with autism at age 2 but had received no behavioral therapies. Rafi was nonverbal, not toilet-trained and needed help eating, dressing and bathing. He watched videos obsessively, and […]
Most of us get slightly anxious about going to the general practitioner. What if it turns out that nothing’s wrong? Or perhaps there’s something seriously wrong? Despite these minor concerns, most of us are happy to book an appointment, turn up at the practice and talk to a doctor about our health problem. But what […]
A small study suggests that baby teeth may afford a way to explore environmental risk factors for autism. The study analyzed baby teeth from 13 sets of twins in which at least one of the twins has autism, and 19 sets of neurotypical twins. The researchers found that the children with autism have less zinc […]
