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Figures, Dobson clash in congressional debate
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Congressional hopefuls Shomari Figures and Caroleene Dobson clashed in a debate Wednesday punctuated by policy differences and verbal swipes at each other’s resume. Figures, a Democrat, and Dobson, a Republican are running to represent Alabama’s 2nd...
Walmart employees to get expanded cancer treatment options with the Mayo Clinic
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart's employees and their dependents are being offered expanded cancer treatment with doctors at the Mayo Clinic through the retailer's insurance coverage. The nation’s largest private employer said Wednesday that those covered by the insurance and diagnosed...
California expands access to in vitro fertilization with new law requiring insurers to cover it
Having a baby via in vitro fertilization is about to become more accessible for many Californians after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law requiring certain health insurers to cover the fertility treatment. IVF is a process in which eggs are retrieved from the ovaries and fertilized by...
Abortion pills will be controlled substances in Louisiana soon. Doctors have concerns
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — On Tuesday, Louisiana will become the first state in the U.S. to categorize two widely used abortion pills as “controlled dangerous substances.” Opponents argue the classification could have catastrophic impacts in a state that already has a near-total...
Medicare Advantage shopping season arrives with a dose of confusion and some political implications
Thinner benefits and coverage changes await many older Americans shopping for health insurance this fall. That’s if their plan is even still available in 2025. More than a million people will probably have to find new coverage as major insurers cut costs and pull back from markets...
Maternal deaths surged in Texas in 2020, 2021
The rate of Texas women who died because of pregnancy or childbirth rose sharply in 2020 and 2021 to the highest since the state started tracking maternal deaths in 2013. Even excluding deaths related to COVID-19, the numbers were worse than usual, reversing two years of progress in driving the...
Florida hospitals ask immigrants about their legal status. Texas will try it next
McALLEN, Texas (AP) — For three days, the staff of an Orlando medical clinic encouraged a woman with abdominal pain who called the triage line to go to the hospital. She resisted, scared of a 2023 Florida law that required hospitals to ask whether a patient was in the U.S. with legal permission. ...
Italian army will guard a hospital after attacks on medical workers
ROME (AP) — Italy's army will guard medical staff at a hospital in the southern Calabria region starting Monday, after a string of violent attacks on doctors and nurses by enraged patients and relatives across Italy, local media reported. Prefect Paolo Giovanni Grieco approved a...
Limits to anti-nausea pill coverage wear on cancer patients and doctors
Cancer patients can ward off waves of vomiting after treatment with a relatively cheap anti-nausea pill, but some are running into coverage limits. Doctors say restrictions on the number of tablets patients receive can hurt care. Pharmacy benefit managers say their limits guard...
Report calls for Medicaid changes to address maternal health in Arkansas
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A panel formed by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders to address maternal health on Thursday called for several changes to Medicaid, including quicker coverage for pregnant women and providing reimbursement to doulas and community health workers. But the...
