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President Trump plans to declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency. What would that do?

Oct 20, 2017
Next week, President Donald Trump has said he plans to officially declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 91 Americans die from an opioid overdose every day. States were given nearly $500 million in additional funding for opioid addiction treatment earlier this year – so what would […]

The experience of getting older will be very different for today’s young people

Oct 19, 2017
A new Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development report said that as younger generations are getting older, their experience of aging is dramatically different to those who came before. One big difference — growing inequality between the affluent and less well off. Click the audio player above to hear the full story.

Cost of military transgender care in the spotlight

Oct 10, 2017
The future of transgender members of the military remains unclear after President Donald Trump signed a memo barring transgender recruits from serving in the military. The Department of Defense is now reviewing the issue.
39-year-old transgender veteran Ashley Register stands outside her Dover, Delaware home.

 
Megan Pauly/ Delaware Public Media

Is the Trump administration aiming for a “synthetic repeal” of Obamcare?

Oct 9, 2017
For the time being at least, Congress is not going to repeal Obamacare. But President Trump knows there’s a lot he can do on his own. There are reports that he’s going to issue an executive order this week, making it easier for insurers to sidestep ACA regulations and sell more bare bones, cheaper plans […]

With mass trauma victims, Las Vegas hospitals are put to the test

Oct 3, 2017
After Sunday night’s shooting in Las Vegas, emergency responders rushed hundreds of people to hospitals in and around the city. Most hospitals in the country are built to provide elective, predictable care. Few in the country have the capacity to handle that sort of surge – so how does a hospital prepare for mass trauma? […]

HHS documents show Obamacare marketing was working in 2016

Sep 20, 2017
Under the Obama administration, health officials not only invested in an ACA media blitz, but also in measuring its efficacy, according to the former chief marketing officer for the federal health insurance exchange HealthCare.gov.
An Obamacare logo is shown on a clinic in Miami, Florida on Jan. 10.
RHONA WISE/AFP/Getty Images

So just what is a single-payer system?

Sep 13, 2017
Sarah Kliff of Vox explains Bernie Sander's new universal health care plan, Medicaid for All.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, introduces the Medicare for All legislation, his plan for government-sponsored universal health care, on Capitol Hill today.
JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

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Notice less candy around CVS cash registers? You're right

Sep 13, 2017
CVS wants to be known for improving health, so it's making subtle changes.
A display at CVS touting healthy snacks.
Sally Herships/ Marketplace

Mosquitoes drawn by lingering hurricane waters could boost West Nile cases

Sep 11, 2017
After a hurricane, mosquitoes, drawn to standing water, can be a big problem. The accelerated spread of Zika isn’t likely, but cases of West Nile could spike. Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

Anesthesia providers turn to opioid alternatives during surgery

Sep 11, 2017
Easing opioids out of the operating room is one tactic for fighting the opioid abuse epidemic.
An anesthesiologist looks at equipment.
Carsten Koall/ Getty Images