Health | Covering health care and health policy in Southern California

A 'potentially powerful model' for treating sickle cell

A sickle cell clinic in South L.A. is believed to be the first of its kind: It brings primary and specialty care providers under one roof to treat the disease. Rebecca Plevin
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High-Deductible Health Policies Linked To Delayed Diagnosis And Treatment

Erika Stallings | NPR |

Her employer offered only a high-deductible health plan; that meant she'd have to pay up to $6,000 out of pocket each year. Advocates for patients say this sort of underinsurance is snatching lives.

Gene Therapy Advances To Better Treat 'Bubble Boy' Disease

Richard Harris | NPR |

The latest advance is not only encouraging news for patients with severe compromised immunodeficiency. It's a test case for all those scientists working to develop better gene therapy techniques.

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Scientists Restore Some Function In The Brains Of Dead Pigs

Nell Greenfieldboyce | NPR |

The cells regained a startling amount of function, but the brains didn't have activity linked with consciousness. Ethicists see challenges to assumptions about the irreversible nature of brain death.

How Well Do Workplace Wellness Programs Work?

Julie Appleby | NPR |

These job-based programs can motivate employees to make some changes in behavior, research finds, but they don't seem to move the dial on workers' health status or employer spending on health care.

First U.S. Patients Treated With CRISPR As Gene-Editing Human Trials Get Underway

Rob Stein | NPR |

This could be a crucial year for the powerful gene-editing technique CRISPR as researchers start testing it in patients to treat diseases such as cancer, blindness, and sickle cell disease.

Measles Outbreak 'Accelerates,' Health Officials Warn

Michaeleen Doucleff and Patti Neighmond | NPR |

This year, the U.S. has confirmed 550 measles cases so far. A recent spike is connected to outbreaks in New York, but there are outbreaks in four other states too.

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Teen Dating Violence Can Lead To Homicide — Girls Are The Most Common Victims

Rhitu Chatterjee | NPR |

A study finds that about 7 percent of all teen homicides between 2003 and 2016 were committed by a romantic partner. The majority of victims were teen girls.

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High Stress Drives Up Your Risk Of A Heart Attack. Here's How To Chill Out

Allison Aubrey | NPR |

A study of siblings finds those who have a stress-related disorder have a 60 percent higher risk of heart attack or other cardiovascular event, compared to their less-stressed brothers and sisters.

Republican State Lawmakers Split Over Anti-Abortion Strategy

Blake Farmer and Jackie Fortier | NPR |

Ohio is the latest Republican-led state to pass a ban on abortion once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. But Tennessee this week backed off on a similar bill, fearing costly legal battles. What now?

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As Sanders Calls For 'Medicare-For-All,' A Twist On That Plan Gains Traction

Shefali Luthra | NPR |

"Medicare for America" would stop short of a full-blown expansion of Medicare. It would include copays from patients and a role for insurers. Could it survive health care's politics?

When A Nurse Is Prosecuted For A Fatal Medical Mistake, Does It Make Medicine Safer?

Mara Gordon | NPR |

A nurse was charged with reckless homicide and abuse after mistakenly giving a patient a fatal dose of the wrong medicine. Patient safety experts say this may actually make hospitals less safe.

How HHS Secretary Alex Azar Reconciles Medicaid Cuts With Stopping The Spread Of HIV

Ari Shapiro and Selena Simmons-Duffin | NPR |

As head of the Department of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar is charged with making Trump's plan to end HIV in the U.S. by 2030 work. "We have an historic opportunity," he tells NPR.

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Drug Industry Middlemen To Be Questioned By Senate Committee

Alison Kodjak | NPR |

The Senate Finance Committee will hear Tuesday from executives from the biggest pharmacy benefit managers. Confidential rebates paid to the PBMs are expected to draw scrutiny.

Facing Escalating Workplace Violence, Hospitals Employees Have Had Enough

Marlene Harris-Taylor | NPR |

U.S. hospitals are under mounting pressure to address violence against health care staff by patients and visitors. Nearly half of emergency doctors say they've been physically assaulted at work.

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Seasonal Sniffles? Immunotherapy Tablets Can Replace Allergy Shots For Some Allergens

Allison Aubrey | NPR |

Many allergists have started to prescribe immunotherapy tablets to some of their patients. They're safe and convenient, and like allergy shots, they treat the root cause of your allergic misery.

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1st Living HIV-Positive Organ Donor Wants To Lift 'The Shroud Of HIV Related Stigma'

Michel Martin and Emma Bowman | NPR |

Last month, surgeons at Johns Hopkins Hospital made a medical breakthrough when they transplanted a kidney from Nina Martinez, who has HIV, to an HIV-positive person.

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