Category: Health

Olivia Scholes, 28, of Vancouver, British Columbia, has polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS. She is among the estimated 1 in 10 women globally who are diagnosed with this hormonal condition, which can cause multiple ovarian cysts, infertility, weight gain, and other issues. After being diagnosed with PCOS about 10 years ago, Scholes managed her condition […]

Erica Zurek Tens of millions of Americans use menstrual products, and while manufacturers contend they are safe, most disclose little about the chemicals they contain. Now, amid calls for more disclosure and research into the health effects of these products, some states require more transparency. The manufacture and sale of period and related products is […]

Arielle Zionts GILLETTE, Wyo. — Sandra Lane said she has been to the emergency room about eight times this year. The 62-year-old has had multiple falls, struggled with balance and tremors, and experienced severe swelling in her legs. A paramedic recently arrived at her doorstep again, but this time it wasn’t for an emergency. Jason […]

Samantha Young SACRAMENTO — Carolina Reyes, a Harvard-trained physician who specializes in high-risk pregnancies, got into medicine to help women obtain health care, especially underserved or marginalized people who face systemic racism. She’s seen progress, albeit slow, over three decades, yet the number of maternal deaths each year continues to rise. Luckily, she’s got the […]

SANDPOINT, Idaho — At a brewery in this northern Idaho city, hundreds of people recently held a wake of sorts to mourn the closure of Sandpoint’s only labor and delivery ward, collateral damage from the state’s Republican-led effort to criminalize nearly all abortions. Jen Quintano, the event’s organizer and a Sandpoint resident who runs a […]

Opioid painkillers have left millions of Americans addicted or dead over the past three decades. Now, state and local governments are receiving more than $50 billion in settlement funds from the companies accused of aggressively promoting those medications. Many people see the money, which will be distributed over the next 15 years, as an opportunity […]

Every day, Adrienne Grimmett and her colleagues at Evara Health in the Tampa Bay area see stories of inequity in their patients’ teeth, gums, and palates. Marked in painful abscesses, dangerous infections, and missing molars are tales of unequal access to care. All of these ailments — which keep patients out of work because of […]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Summer Oriyavong first heard the ringing bells and tapping sounds in her head when she was in middle school. Whispering voices and shadowy visions, ones that made her feel superior and special, soon followed. It wasn’t until Oriyavong ran out of her classroom in terror one day that her teachers and parents […]

KFF Health News former senior editor Andy Miller discussed long covid, telehealth, and health care worker shortages on WUGA’s “The Georgia Health Report” on April 21. He also discussed cancer treatment for the uninsured on WUGA’s “The Georgia Health Report” on April 14. Click here to hear Miller on “The Georgia Health Report” on April 21 […]

Letters to the Editor is a periodic feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We edit for length and clarity and require full names. Patients as Educators I read, with interest, your article about the difficulties that adults with Down syndrome face in the medical world (“People With Down Syndrome Are Living Longer, but the […]