health care

Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared that racism is a serious threat to a person’s health. It’s a threat that even shows up in doctors’ offices and hospitals. For Black women, that experience can be especially fraught in pregnancy and childbirth.

If the report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General is sustained, Humana Inc. could face a record penalty for overcharges in a Medicare Advantage plan.

Long-term care options are expensive and often out of reach for elders and people with disabilities. Part of the president's proposed infrastructure plan would help fund home-based health services.

A medical team in New York City says it has performed the first complete surgical transplant of a trachea. These kinds of transplants are one of the last big transplant challenges.

"I think people fear what they don't understand," says Levine, assistant secretary for health and the first openly transgender person to serve in a Senate-confirmed position.

States are considering a record number of anti-transgender bills, including many that prohibit gender-affirming medical care for trans youth. Alabama's bill would make providing such care a felony.

The bill is called the Parents Bill of Rights and it gives parents ultimate say in the direction of their child’s education and healthcare planning. Supporters argue the bill clarifies what’s already supposed to happen, but opponents worry the measure may open the door to discriminate against LGBTQ and minority students and allow parents to opt out of immunizations and health exams.

The president touted the success of the Affordable Care Act on Tuesday and urged struggling Americans to enroll in the plan.

The Tuskegee syphilis study is often cited as a reason why Black Americans might hesitate on the COVID-19 vaccine. But many say it's current racism in health care and Tuskegee is used as an excuse.

In many states, there are racial disparities in who has received a COVID-19 vaccine. A public health advocate says lack of health care access is a bigger impediment than a hesitancy to get vaccinated.

Two bills being considered by Florida lawmakers would make it harder for people to sue health care providers in COVID-19-related cases. Opponents say nursing homes should be held accountable.

As cities offer vaccine appointments for people with a BMI of at least 30 — the medical benchmark for obesity — Dr. Fatima Stanford pushes back against the shame faced by those with the disease.