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Alisha Jucevic/KFF Health News/TNS

Medicaid health plans step up outreach efforts ahead of GOP changes

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

ORANGE, Calif. — Carmen Basu, bundled in a red jacket and woolly scarf, stood outside the headquarters of her local health plan one morning after picking up free groceries. She had brought her husband, teenage son, and 79-year-old mother-in-law to help.

They grabbed canned food, fruit and vegetables, and a grocery store gift card. And then ...Read more

Cathie Anderson/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

Why even unsubsidized Californians could pay more for health insurance

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — At first glance, it sounds like a problem that shouldn’t exist.

Since Congress allowed enhanced federal health insurance subsidies to expire, you might expect only people who receive those subsidies to be hurt. After all, Californians who don’t receive federal premium subsidies already pay full price for their ...Read more

Christina House/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Flu is hitting California early. Why doctors worry this year will be especially hard on kids

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

SAN FRANCISCO — Fueled by a new viral strain, flu is hitting California early — and doctors are warning they expect the season may be particularly tough on young children.

Concentrations of flu detected in wastewater have surged in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the test positivity rate is rising in Los Angeles County and Orange County, ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

2 men guilty of fleecing $17 million from Medicare in South Florida, jury says

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

MIAMI — A South Florida man who owned a chain of medical equipment companies and an associate were found guilty on Monday of committing healthcare fraud by paying bribes to generate patients so they could bill $34 million to the federal Medicare program for unnecessary services.

Michael Kochen, 42, of Aventura, and Sandro Herek, 55, of Coral ...Read more

Katie Linsky Shaw/KFF Health News/TNS

FDA panelists questioned antidepressants in pregnancy. But doctors call them a lifeline.

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

If you are pregnant or a new mother who is struggling with depression or anxiety, you can call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline, 24/7: 833-TLC-MAMA (833-852-6262). Postpartum Support International can help connect you with a local mental health provider at 800-944-4773 or psidirectory.com.

____

Before giving birth to her ...Read more

Teeing up a cuppa tea

January is Hot Tea Month, so let's look at the health benefits that come from having a cup of fresh-brewed black and green tea. (No tea bags please; they often contain micro- and nanoplastics that are released in hot water.)

A new review in a journal called (I kid you not) Beverage Plant Research says there is solid evidence that regularly ...Read more

Kidney Function Becomes Abnormal After Starting Lisinopril

Health Advice / Keith Roach /

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have suffered from high blood pressure since I was a young man in my early 20s. I recently turned 70 years old. My blood pressure has been controlled by various medications. Most recently, I have been taking 20 mg of lisinopril once each day. I also take amlodipine.

Recently, my primary care physician spotted some abnormal ...Read more

Why Washington state is building 'stepdown' mental health facilities

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

SEATTLE — Four people sat at a table, coloring with crayons and singing along as rock music played from a TV behind them. First Lynyrd Skynyrd, then The Eagles.

The calm, soothing repetition of coloring and the upbeat music was meant to help them practice mindfulness, one of the therapy activities for residents at the Lacey-based mental ...Read more

Legionnaires' disease warnings appear at Orange federal courthouse

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Signs posted around the George C. Young Federal Annex Courthouse in downtown Orlando warn court staff and visitors to be wary of the water because of the presence of the bacterium which causes Legionnaires’ disease — the latest incident in Orange County, which has the state’s highest tally of confirmed cases of the potentially deadly ...Read more

Aubin Mukoni/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Health officials confirm mpox in Anchorage adult who traveled out of state

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

State health officials this week confirmed a case of mpox in an adult Anchorage resident with a history of recent out-of-state travel.

The Alaska Section of Epidemiology said no additional cases or evidence of local community transmission were identified as of Monday, according to a public health alert.

The patient, who is isolating and ...Read more

Dorothy Merrimon Crawford/Dreamstime/TNS

Second bird flu case confirmed on Queen Anne's County farm

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Maryland officials confirmed a second positive test for bird flu at a commercial poultry operation in Queen Anne’s County last week, the 10th detection in the state this year, as public health experts warn the virus continues to pose a serious threat to animals — but remains a low risk for most people.

State health and agriculture officials...Read more

María G. Ortiz-Briones/Fresno Bee/TNS

As health care premiums soar, Calif. Democrats are eager to blame Republicans

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

California’s endangered House Republicans have spent December trying to show how they understand, and are trying to ease, the pain constituents feel as they confront skyrocketing health care costs.

But those Republicans are feeling political pain, as the enhanced federal premium subsidies for tens of thousands of Californians end next week.

...Read more

Prot Tachapanit/Dreamstime/TNS

Is it too late to get your COVID or flu shot? We asked a doctor at UK HealthCare

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Health experts typically advise getting your COVID-19 and flu vaccine by the end of October. However, if you’ve missed that window, you can still get them well into the respiratory virus season and see a benefit.

Flu activity, particularly flu A, is on the rise across the U.S. this month, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

On Nutrition: Recipe for healing

Health Advice / Nutrition /

I chose early December for my knee surgery, assuming I’d be up and at ‘em in time for all the holiday activities. Yeah, well, maybe not.

My surgeon said the procedure went well. And my physical therapist says I’m tracking as expected. She also told me to expect a few ups and downs on this road to recovery. Right.

Let’s face it. That ...Read more

Mario Tama/Getty Images North America/TNS

Commentary: US needs immigrants to sustain the health care workforce

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

As Americans gather for holiday celebrations, many will quietly give thanks for the health care workers who keep their families and friends well: the ICU nurse who stabilized a grandparent, the doctor who adjusted a tricky prescription, the home health aide who ensures an aging relative can bathe and eat safely.

Will most of us notice how many ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Ask the Pediatrician: Medication safety tips for families

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Each year, about 50,000 children under age 5 end up in emergency departments for poisoning after swallowing medicine unintentionally.

Medications are meant to improve and save lives. But when a medicine gets into the wrong hands and is taken by a child or teen, the results can be deadly. That’s why all prescription drugs, over-the-counter ...Read more

Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

The Minnesota mom who ignited RFK's vaccine concerns and today's MAHA movement

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

MINNEAPOLIS — The coastal sun was shining on Sarah Bridges, she recalled, when she decided to stage a one-person protest on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s porch in Hyannis Port.

The Minnesota mom would sit there — after showing up unannounced in 2005 with an 18-inch stack of documents — until the famed environmental attorney agreed to read the...Read more

A new approach to easing chronic pain

Every day, around 60 million U.S. adults wake up to (or never slept because of) chronic pain. If you're one of these folks, you know that while physical therapy can make you feel better, it can often be a temporary solution, and pain meds, even non-opioids, have drawbacks.

Now, a study out of China shows that when chronic pain is caused by ...Read more

Getting Vaccines In The Same Day Or Arm Is Up To Preference

Health Advice / Keith Roach /

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have notes from friends at home who are getting their COVID vaccines and high-dose flu shots on the same day in the same arm. They talk about being completely wiped out and the cons of having two sore arms. Does it matter if you get the shots in one arm or the other? I suspect that it's fine to do them both in one arm, and ...Read more

Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Flu season could get a lot worse in the coming weeks, experts say

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

NORFOLK, Va. — This flu season has been relatively mild so far but medical experts expect it to intensify in the coming weeks due to a new strain that emerged after the current vaccine’s production — though that inoculation remains the best form of protection.

Data out of the United Kingdom indicates the new strain has resulted in the ...Read more

 

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