Americans age 65 and older who are insured by Medicare logged about 60 million telehealth visits annually between 2021 and 2023 – about 31 million for mental health and 29 million for other health issues. That’s the key finding in a new study I co-authored in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

We also found that people with ...Read more

Since early 2025, several large federal health grants to states have been suspended and then restored after legal challenges. On Feb. 13, 2026, for example, the federal government moved to suspend about US$600 million in public health grants to four states before a federal court temporarily blocked the action. Hundreds of millions of dollars ...Read more

A Los Angeles courtroom is hosting what may become the most consequential legal challenge Big Tech has ever faced.

This is an inflection point in the global debate over Big Tech liability: For the first time, an American jury is being asked to decide whether platform design itself can give rise to product liability – not because of ...Read more

Marian Houk was rehabbing from a major spinal surgery in 2022 when her physical therapist at UCHealth in Aurora, Colorado, recommended she try electrical stimulation to manage the pain.

Like many providers around the country, UCHealth sent Houk to Zynex Inc., an Englewood, Colorado-based medical device company that manufactures and sells ...Read more

Cancers of the reproductive and urinary organs, known as genitourinary cancers, affect millions of people worldwide each year. At Mayo Clinic, Yousef Zakharia, M.D., a medical oncologist and chair of the Genitourinary Disease Group at the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, leads clinical research aimed at improving outcomes for patients ...Read more

Nearly three times as many Pennsylvania adults gamble online today than just a few years ago.

And as online platforms make gambling easier and more convenient, some Pennsylvanians are gambling more often and may be more prone to developing problems.

We are researchers at Penn State’s Criminal Justice Research Center and the ...Read more

In Greek mythology, King Sisyphus was condemned by the god Zeus to spend eternity rolling a boulder up a hill only to have it roll back down, having to start anew every day.

His story captured our attention as researchers studying neglected tropical diseases – a collection of conditions that primarily affect poor people in low-...Read more

Colorado has its first measles outbreak of 2026, with three cases linked to students at Broomfield schools.

Measles symptoms can take up to three weeks to appear and initially are nonspecific: a fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes.

The rash, which typically starts at the hairline and moves down, appears about four days after someone becomes ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County banned sales of kratom and 7-OH in November following overdose deaths, but experts question whether the drugs alone caused the fatalities.

Residents who relied on kratom for chronic pain and opioid withdrawal now struggle to access the substance, turning to online orders and black markets.

The crackdown ...Read more

Families of Idahoans with disabilities say their lives could be upended as lawmakers in the state’s Republican-dominated legislature mull sweeping cuts.

Services at risk include the 24/7 care that allows a 39-year-old with cerebral palsy to live independently; the in-home caregiving that lets a 26-year-old with brain damage from a hemorrhage ...Read more

Nearly two decades ago, progressives fought to include a so-called public option — a government-run health plan — in the broad health care overhaul known as Obamacare. That effort failed, defeated by heavy lobbying from the insurance industry and opponents who decried it as a government takeover of health care.

But the final Affordable Care...Read more

Generative artificial intelligence has already reshaped industries such as computer programming, retail, and manufacturing. In medicine, however, fears of clinical error have slowed adoption.

At present, two-thirds of doctors report using GenAI tools in practice, though half insist that stronger safeguards are needed.

This split — between ...Read more

BALTIMORE -- A prescription fruit-and-vegetable program seeks to stave off illnesses caused by poor nutrition and diet in Maryland’s food-insecure communities. Backed by a $480,000 grant from the National Institute for Food and Agriculture, the program will be developed and tested by researchers from the University of Maryland, College Park.

...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — When Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear ran for reelection in 2023, a reoccurring Republican line of attack was that he’d allow minors to undergo gender-affirming surgeries.

Now, as the governor builds his national name ID ahead of a potential 2028 presidential run, Republicans in Kentucky and beyond are re-upping that line of ...Read more

A patient of mine, a veteran who had tried to quit smoking for over a decade, told me that after he started a GLP-1 drug for his diabetes, he lost interest in cigarettes. He didn’t use a patch. He didn’t set a quit date. He simply lost interest. It happened without effort.

Another patient on one of these drugs for weight loss told...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A respiratory virus that doesn’t have a vaccine or a specific treatment regimen is spreading in some parts of California — but there’s no need to sound the alarm just yet, public health officials say.

A majority of Northern California communities have seen high concentrations of human metapneumovirus, or HMPV, detected in ...Read more

Zinc is considered a “trace mineral” because the body requires it in such small amounts, but it is found in cells throughout the body. While it is required in small amounts, only iron is a more concentrated mineral in the body. It is available in supplement form, in some cold lozenges, and in certain fortified foods. Zinc supplements are ...Read more

Though convenient, is cereal actually a healthy choice? Those brightly colored boxes are often the source of added sugars and are lacking in substantial nutritional value, says Patricia Bannan, RDN. But this doesn’t mean you should avoid cereal altogether. We spoke to registered dietitians about what to look for.

The healthiest cereals are ...Read more

Beloved by smoothie shops and influencers alike, pitaya — a.k.a. dragon fruit — is increasingly popular. And there’s no denying this dramatic-looking fruit has an alluring Game-of-Thrones-esque name and appearance. But is it also the nutritional powerhouse some are claiming?

What is dragon fruit?

A cactus plant native to Central and ...Read more