In April 2021, FEMA offered to reimburse funeral expenses for COVID victims - up to $9,000 - and though the federal government has paid more than $2 billion to cover funeral costs, fewer than half of eligible families have started applications. Read more»

The 2020 census missed nearly 1 of every 17 Native Americans who live on reservations, an undercount that could lead to insufficient federal funding for essential health, nutrition, and social programs in remote communities with high poverty rates. Read more»

After a draft opinion from the Supreme Court indicating that Roe v. Wade would be overturned, people were expressing concerns about the privacy of period-tracking app information - now, experts answer questions on data access and usage. Read more»

As COVID hospitalization rates stabilize, at least for now, and federal and state COVID relief funding dries up, travel nurse contracts that were plentiful and lucrative are vanishing and hospitals nationwide are focused on recruiting full-time nurses. Read more»

As early as three weeks after Medicare’s drug plan enrollment period ends on Dec. 7, insurance plans can change what they charge for prescription drugs - and they can do it repeatedly, leaving recipients in the dark on their monthly out-of-pocket cost. Read more»

The website launched in 2019 to help hundreds of thousands of Americans affected by addiction has critical flaws - inaccurate information, lack of filtering options, and little guidance on how to identify high-quality treatment - that are overdue for attention. Read more»

Nurse RaDonda Vaught was prosecuted this year in an extremely rare criminal trial for a medical mistake, but the drug mix-up at the center of her case is anything but rare and the technological vulnerability that made the error possible still persists. Read more»

They are among the more than 520 vaccine-related bills introduced in statehouses nationwide since Jan. 1 - with 66 specifically relate to childhood vaccine requirements in 25 states - as the anti-vaccine movement gained momentum amid the pandemic. Read more»

En los últimos años, los suplementos de melatonina se han convertido en una ayuda para dormir cada vez más común en los niños, pero la Academia Estadounidense de Medicina del Sueño recomienda no usar melatonina para el insomnio crónico. Read more»

In recent years, melatonin supplements have become an increasingly common child sleep aid that in the U.S. requires no prescription - but the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends against the use of melatonin for chronic insomnia. Read more»

A growing coalition of epidemiologists and aerosol scientists say that improved ventilation could be a powerful tool against the coronavirus — if businesses are willing to invest the money. Read more»

Public health experts worry the ruling that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had overstepped its authority in requiring masks on public transportation, unless overturned, will hamper the agency’s ability to respond to future virus outbreaks. Read more»

A wave of health care providers are getting licensed in multiple states so they can use telemedicine and mail-order pharmacies to help more women get medication abortions - but they’re increasingly being stymied by state regulations. Read more»

Staffing shortages in Medicaid agencies around the country come as states will soon need to review the eligibility of tens of millions of people enrolled in the program - a herculean effort that will kick off once the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration expires. Read more»

RaDonda Vaught, a former nurse criminally prosecuted for a fatal drug error in 2017, was convicted of gross neglect of an impaired adult and negligent homicide - and medical professionals across the country worry it could set a precedent of criminalizing medical mistakes. Read more»