September 2012 - NPR Health Blog - The Network of Care

Detergent Packs Lead To Injuries Overseas, Too

A Scottish cluster of injuries caused by kids swallowing liquid detergent packs highlights risks from the popular products. In August, there were 735 calls to U.S. poison control centers about children under 5 being exposed to laundry packs, up from 725...

Published Thu, Sep 06 2012 6:53 AM by Shots - Health Blog

How Broken Is The U.S. Health Care System? Let's Count The Ways

Nearly a third of spending on health care in the U.S. is wasted. There's lots of inefficiency, excess overhead and some outright fraud, too. But the biggest slice of the waste pie is unnecessary care. Read More...

Published Fri, Sep 07 2012 1:40 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Medicaid Helps Washington, D.C., Clinic Care For Ex-Prisoners

After they are released, former prisoners often don't have jobs or health insurance. The federal health law's Medicaid expansion could change that soon, though. Some states and the District of Columbia are getting a head start. Read More...

Published Mon, Sep 17 2012 1:25 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Link Between BPA And Childhood Obesity Is Unclear

In a study, researchers found that among white kids and teens, higher BPA levels were associated with more than twice the risk of obesity. But higher BPA levels didn't affect childhood obesity risk for blacks and Hispanics. Read More...

Published Tue, Sep 18 2012 1:48 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Subsidies Help Get Modern Malaria Drugs To Millions In Africa

An experimental program by the Global Fund brought more than 100 million malaria treatments to people in sub-Saharan Africa last year, a panel of public health experts said on Monday. But time may have run out for the program to prove it's worth continuing...

Published Wed, Sep 19 2012 2:31 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Challenges To Health Law Just Keep Coming

Oklahoma's attorney general claims that an IRS rule to implement the federal health overhaul law's subsidies for some insurance exchanges exceeds the agency's authority. The Congressional Budget Office says more people than previously estimated...

Published Thu, Sep 20 2012 1:29 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Mitt Romney's Shifting Stance On Health Care

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said Sunday that he might not want to repeal the entire Affordable Care Act after all. He said he supports the provision that assures people with pre-existing health conditions can get coverage. Read More.....

Published Mon, Sep 10 2012 2:34 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Insurance Costs Rise, But More Slowly

Annual family health insurance premiums rose about 4 percent to an average of $15,745 this year, a new survey finds. While the increase is less than the one seen last year, it exceeds both inflation and wage gains. Read More...

Published Tue, Sep 11 2012 1:02 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Portland, Ore., Becomes Latest Fluoride Battleground

Portland, Ore., is the largest American city not to add fluoride to its drinking water. Activists have been vocal, for and against a proposal to change that. The science shows that fears of side effects from small amounts of fluoride to protect teeth...

Published Wed, Sep 12 2012 1:58 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Death Toll Climbs In Congo Ebola Outbreak

The number of deaths from an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo surged in the past week, prompting concern that the outbreak was spreading. A spokesman from the World Health Organization says the outbreak is not out of control. Read More...

Published Thu, Sep 13 2012 1:54 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Experimental Drug Is First To Help Kids With Premature-Aging Disease

The new drug reversed changes in blood vessels that usually lead kids with the rare genetic disease progeria to have heart attacks and strokes. Research on the toxic protein responsible for progeria is also changing scientists' understanding of how...

Published Mon, Sep 24 2012 12:19 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Insurance Picks At Work Will Cost You More

Health premiums are going up for 2013, though not quite as much as in 2012. Even so, the tab will likely be bigger for most people who get health coverage at work. Employers are asking workers to shoulder a bigger portion of the costs. Read More...

Published Tue, Sep 25 2012 8:42 AM by Shots - Health Blog

A Peace Corps For Doctors, Built By A Senator's Daughter

Vanessa Kerry, a daughter of Sen. John Kerry, has created a nonprofit to partner with the Peace Corps in sending doctors and nurses abroad. In return, the organization pays off a portion of the volunteers' school loans. The goal is to reduce the severe...

Published Wed, Sep 26 2012 6:57 AM by Shots - Health Blog

Medical Electronics Built To Last Only A Little While

Using silicon, magnesium and a special type of silk, scientists have created electronic circuits that dissolve in liquid. Electronics like these could be useful in future implantable medical devices. Read More...

Published Thu, Sep 27 2012 11:28 AM by Shots - Health Blog

Can We Learn To Forget Our Memories?

Our capacity to forget is as important, and certainly as interesting, as our ability to remember. But can we train ourselves to suppress certain memories, or the meaning we attach to life events? Read More...

Published Mon, Sep 03 2012 1:02 AM by Shots - Health Blog

September 2012 - NPR Health Blog

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