Virginia recently took another step forward in improving care for mothers and infants with a set of new laws signed in April. These laws expand on last year’s "Momnibus" package, which was the first major effort to tackle long-standing issues in maternal and infant health across the state. While the
School districts in Maine are facing a sharp rise in health insurance expenses. In one district with more than 600 staff members, premiums have climbed by over $1 million, pushing the total employer outlay to nearly $10 million. These figures only represent the portion paid by schools; employees the
How are life-saving treatments chosen? When governments decide which medicines to evaluate, they often overlook rare diseases. Most health plans focus on treatments that help large groups, leaving small patient communities behind. Rare disease drugs, called orphan medicinal products, rarely get fair
AI isn’t replacing doctors, but it’s becoming a helpful tool in cancer care. A big study looked at how AI helps with something called "organ at risk contouring" – basically drawing clear maps around healthy parts of the body that shouldn’t get too much radiation during treatment. These maps are cruc
In a month devoted to mental health, people from many walks of life shared how the current political climate feels like a constant pressure on their minds. The stories show that for many, politics takes up most of the time they spend in therapy or counseling. Parents say their anxiety has wors
People often keep their wills and trusts hidden, but this can cause big problems later. When a parent dies, children sometimes cannot find the documents they think exist. They may discover an unsigned will or a reference to a trust that is lost. The main reason for keeping a trust is to ski
Alabama lands at the bottom of the country for young people’s mental health care, according to the latest national rankings. The state sits in 50th place—just one spot above last—when looking at how often mental health struggles appear in youth and how easy it is to get help. Alabama isn’t alone in
A deal was struck just in time to avoid a walkout by hospital technicians who handle everything from X-rays to breathing machines. The agreement gives around 230 techs a raise of at least 3% over three years, plus extra pay for experience and limits on last-minute schedule changes. Most workers—96%—
"The largest children’s hospital in the United States is set to open a new clinic that will help kids reverse gender‑affirming treatments, after the state’s attorney general decided to settle a long investigation. The settlement also means five doctors who performed such procedures will lose their l
The U. S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared a new artificial‑intelligence system that can spot sepsis much faster than clinicians normally do. Developed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, the software scans patients’ electronic health records and flags possible infection signs up to
