Health

What can be done about Americans’ declining life expectancy?

Don’t do away with drug rebates.

What do most people do when they see a naked or nearly naked person in public? Most probably experience a moment of shock, point and laugh, call the police, or all of the above. Ask Eric Stagno. After seeing him parade around naked in a Planet Fitness gym doing “yoga-like” exercises, alarmed gym…

Once upon a time, before the advent of Google and WebMD, medical information was dispensed by medical professionals in doctor’s offices. These were dark times, at least if you believe fans of the infamous “women’s health bible,” Our Bodies, Ourselves.

If you've ever thought that sitting at a bar and watching sports on TV is too boring or that barroom billiards or darts lacks excitement, don’t fear—there’s a new trend popping up in cities around the country.

In December 2016, President Obama signed into law the 21st Century Cures Act, which contained a laundry list of regulatory reforms and new funding. One of the most controversial sections wasn’t about cancer, Alzheimer’s, AIDS, or drug prices. It was about Lyme disease.

In December 2016, President Obama signed into law the 21st Century Cures Act, which contained a laundry list of regulatory reforms and new funding. One of the most controversial sections wasn’t about cancer, Alzheimer’s, AIDS, or drug prices. It was about Lyme disease.

Margaret Chan was quite taken by what she saw on her visit to Pyongyang in 2010. North Koreans had "something which most other developing countries would envy," she noted: a first-rate medical system with plenty of doctors and nurses. Not only that, there were no obesity problems, she enthused,…

In March, Arizona became the first state to pass a bill allowing the free flow of medical information between drug companies and physicians. The Free Speech in Medicine Act, which was passed unanimously in both state houses, may seem curiously innocuous: It simply permits pharmaceutical companies…

California politicians aren't sitting around waiting to see what becomes of Obamacare reform on Capitol Hill; the state Senate Health Committee voted 5-2 in favor of a single-payer bill for Californians on Wednesday.

One of the conservative sticking points in judging the House GOP's health plan has been the measure's treatment of "non-budget"-related items. Under the legislative mechanism Republicans are using to move the American Health Care Act, the bill's particulars must have an impact on spending and…

The Congressional Budget Office on Monday dropped its highly-anticipated analysis of the House Republicans' healthcare plan, arming all sides with results that can back up their favorite talking points on healthcare. The CBO report, on the one hand, says that millions more people will be uninsured…

In 2014, a little-known nutritionist in Milwaukee, one of the more portly cities in America, developed an ingenious system to get his clients to lose weight and keep it off for good. He told his morbidly obese clients to pair each pound with a descriptive adjective, noun, or euphemism they hated,…

In 2014, a little-known nutritionist in Milwaukee, one of the more portly cities in America, developed an ingenious system to get his clients to lose weight and keep it off for good. He told his morbidly obese clients to pair each pound with a descriptive adjective, noun, or euphemism they hated,…

Last Friday the FDA decided to remove the black box warning it places on the smoking cessation drug Chantix. That the black box itself existed was a source of great frustration to me, because it represented the triumph of narrative over rational economic analysis. A few compelling stories,…

American life expectancy has fallen for the first time since 1993. Here's the Washington Post:

It's impossible to pick up a newspaper or magazine without finding another story about Fox News journalist Megyn Kelly. Ms. Kelly secured her place in the pantheon of star reporters/pundits/celebrities by her fearless grilling of Donald Trump and, lately, by helping to unseat Fox supremo Roger…

When FDA officials can't agree, who gets the last say? For individuals afflicted with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), this question has had life-altering consequences, and the answer is still unclear.

Back in the 2004, a brash state senator from Illinois lit a fire at the Democratic National Convention with his soaring rhetoric. One of Barack Obama's goals was to deliver a message of unity during a divisive campaign season, a message that Americans were more alike than they're dissimilar:

If there were any doubts whether Team Trump would make a campaign issue of Hillary Clinton's maladies, they were dispelled today with a new fundraising pitch.

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on the media coverage of Hillary Clinton's health, and why the press should stop talking about "the narrative" and start reporting what Clinton has actually said and done.

Mexico has a serious obesity problem, with seventy percent of adults and thirty percent of children overweight or obese. Indeed, Mexico recently surpassed the United States to become the fattest major country in the world. We don't win anymore!

The top Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, is pledging to find a cure Alzheimer's disease. Clinton, who is 68 years old, wants the federal government to spend $2 billion a year until a cure is found.

Take that, Gerald Ford. Donald Trump, if he becomes president, would be the "healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency." His blood pressure and lab test results are "astonishingly excellent." His most recent medical exam showed only "positive results."

In the near future, 18-year-olds in Cleveland, Ohio, will be able to vote and enlist in the military. But they won't be old enough to buy a pack of smokes.

Ed Feulner, the former president of the Heritage Foundation, writes about our culture's double standards for tobacco cigarettes and for marijuana. Here's an excerpt:

When Jenny McCarthy was fired from The View last year, The Scrapbook let out a sigh of relief. Her position on the ABC gabfest meant the former Playboy model could preach her antivaccination gospel to an audience of millions, five days a week. Now we fear deadly but preventable diseases like…

The president of Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards, dismissed recent videos showing Planned Parenthood doctors preparing to harvest and sell parts of aborted babies. Richards claimed this morning in interview with George Stephanopoulos that the videos had been edited, and besides, she said, "the…

From Brussels to Chicago to the headquarters of the Food and Drug Administration in White Oak, Maryland, public health officials, antismoking crusaders, and mayors are waging a battle against flavorings for both tobacco cigarettes and newer e-cigarettes. 

If the world is looking for a go-to expert on links between Twitter and heart health, the University of Pennsylvania might just be the place. Earlier this year, The Telegraph reported on a study entitled "Psychological Language on Twitter Predicts County-Level Heart Disease Mortality" conducted at…

It’s been said that the terminally ill can hear music just before slipping away. I’ve always imagined these souls listening to angels strumming their harps. I never thought it might be “Hey Jealousy” by the Gin Blossoms. But that’s what I heard as I lay in my hospital bed last month while battling…

The White House will host a "Summit on Climate Change and Health" tomorrow, according to a press release. The event is supposed to "stimulate a national dialogue on climate change and public health," the White House says.

Thanks to Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan, salad may soon be added to the list of government-enshrined responsibilities.  

In at least one respect, visiting China is a little bit like traveling back in time to America in, say, 1957. (Or so I gather.) That is, people routinely smoke cigarettes in shopping malls, elevators, lines, apartment building hallways, schools, and yes, even hospitals. (Oh, and of course bars and…

First Lady Michelle Obama has been trying to promote healthy living. But now she's aiming at something different -- promoting "pollinator health."

Legendary investor Warren Buffett was asked this morning in an interview whether he'd still bet money on Hillary Clinton being the next president of the United States. Yes, he said, he still think it's "very likely" she'll be the next president. But he warned in the CNBC interview: "things could…

In a press conference with reporters today on Capitol Hill, Harry Reid described what he's been up to since injuring his face and ribs in an exercising accident:

Along with the primary goal of expanding the availability of health insurance, the Affordable Care Act aims to make the use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) universal. This plan actually began with the 2009 stimulus (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act), which included the Health…

Dr. Nancy Snyderman is NBC’s chief medical editor. So for anyone getting their information on diseases, drugs, and breakthrough treatments from the Today show, she is the go-to person.

President Obama appeared to criticize Australian prime minister Tony Abbott for closing borders to Austrlia due to concern over Ebola.

The Obama administration is suddenly a champion of states' rights when it comes to the Ebola quarantine controversy.

Dr. Mary T. Bassett, commissioner of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, claimed in a press conference last night that the latest Ebola patient had self-isolated since returning from Africa. Later, she admitted that in fact the patient had spent a lot of time in public and with other…

President Obama discussed the proposal to institute a travel ban to protect America from the grown Ebola crisis, but suggested he wasn't in favor of it because it might make Americans less safe:

New York governor Andrew Cuomo talked about Ebola this morning and said that "a little anxiety can be healthy."

President Barack Obama addressed the growing Ebola crisis today in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.

President Obama addresses the "people of West Africa" in a video posted Tuesday by the U.S. State Department regarding the growing threat of the Ebola virus, which Centers for Disease Control director Tom Friedman just declared on CNN "completely out of control" in Africa (via HotAir). The…

The Department of Health and Human Services is looking to school the entertainment industry media when it comes to reporting on substance abuse and mental health disorders. In a notice posted this week on behalf of HHS's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the agency…

Michael M. Grynbaum of the New York Times reports a court has ruled in favor of individual freedom.  

Hillary Clinton tells ABC's Diane Sawyer that she's probably on blood thinners for the rest of her life:

The administration for children and families, part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), issued guidance in a memo on Wednesday regarding application of the federal government's policy on same-sex spouses/marriages to all Head Start and Early Head Start programs.  

The Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA) posted three notices on fbo.gov in 2013 regarding the agency's intent to purchase appointment scheduling software to correct problems with preparation and delivery of appointment notices to veterans for the VA's compensation and pension clinics. The…

President Obama has been briefed on mystery virus MERS, White House spokesman Jay Carney said at today's briefing.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is looking for custom-made chairs, but not just any chairs. Although the notice uses the euphemistic term "Non-Human Primate," the intended occupants are monkeys, baboons, or other primates used in the "ongoing behavioral experiments" the NIH is conducting.…

The government is putting its (big) foot down.  No more junk food in schools.  As Danica Lo of Epicurious writes:

The Department of Defense (DOD) has just announced that the public will be invited to vote in a video competition called "Fight the Enemy."  In this case, the enemy is tobacco.  The innovation office of the military's assistant secretary of defense for health affairs is sponsoring the competition…

In a routine, short-run economic downturn, people tend to adopt more healthy behaviors.  You quit smoking and cut back on the drinking because … well, maybe to save money and maybe because you tend to focus more on the essentials and live less indulgently.  But our current long, lingering economic…

Scott Johnson calls attention to a column in the Roanoke Times by Sharon Ingerson, a registered nurse in Salem, Virginia.

An Allentown, Pennsylvania TV station reports that, because of Obamacare, one mother is forced to choose between a "new health plan or putting food on the table":

The office of the vice president announced last night that Joe Biden's son, Beau Biden, is in Houston being evaluated after "an episode of disorientation and weakness."

Smokeless, odorless, and, indeed, tobacco-less, electronic cigarettes, or “e-cigarettes,” in common parlance, are projected to become a $1 billion industry this year. Yes, that’s “electronic” cigarettes: battery-powered gadgets that convert liquid nicotine into vapor, which the user inhales. The…

"Because of the way in which baseball links the generations it has been a channel through which vital traits of American character are instilled. The health of baseball concerns all of America, and the health of ­America — perhaps especially the American family — finds itself reflected in the state…

Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) today agreed to be the lead sponsor of a Senate bill to ban abortion after an unborn child is 20 weeks old.  A similar measure passed the House last month and a state version is now being debated in the Texas legislature, where it is likely to be approved.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) website Healthfinder.gov even has a selection of over 100 eCards that can be sent to friends and family to encourage them to lose weight, quit smoking, get screened for various diseases, and even stop bullying.

The New York City health department reports an all time high for diabetes-related deaths in the City, according to a press release announcing a new report.

If you have been worrying that you consume too much salt, then you might want to give that one a rest.  As Gina Kolata reports in the New York Times:

President Obama ended his address to the largest abortion provider in the U.S., Planned Parenthood, by saying, "God bless you."

A restaurant where President Obama took winners of his 2012 campaign’s “Dinner with Barack” contest was forced to close this week because it was cited for failing to comply with Washington, D.C.’s health and sanitation regulations.

The federal government will now allow companies that sell "nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products," such as Nicorette, not to put warning labels on their merchandise, the Food and Drug Administration announced. The change, the FDA now admits, is because the warnings, which were mandated for…

First Lady Michelle Obama is continuing her road trip celebrating the 3rd anniversary of her “Let's Move” initiative, appearing on Good Morning America with Robin Roberts on Tuesday and at an event with Rachael Ray on Wednesday. The initial press release last week gave “Let's Move” credit for…

Hillary Clinton talked about her health briefly this evening on 60 Minutes. "I still have some lingering effects from falling on my head," she said. Clinton added, "The doctors tell me that will all recede."

Joe Biden will head down to Richmond, Virginia on Friday to give a "gun safety" roundtable discussion. The vice president will be accompanied by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has been in the hospital the last couple days with a blood clot in her head, released a statement yesterday. But it had nothing to do with her health. Instead, the statement was on "Haiti's Independence Day."

Josh Rogin of Foreign Policy reports:

First Lady Michelle Obama will hold a large event for her health intiative Let's Move in London tomorrow. The White House announced: 

"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test, the first over-the-counter, self-administered HIV test kit to detect the presence of antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and type 2 (HIV-2). HIV is the virus that causes acquired immune…

While most of Washington is waiting around, nervously chewing on its fingernails in anticipation of the Supreme Court's Obamacare decision (may I have the envelope, please), there are some who are still in the fight. As Melissa Healy writes in the Los Angeles Times:

The mayor of New York does not believe that a willing buyer in search of a 32-ounce soft drink and a willing seller of the same should be allowed to make the deal. This, in a city that is famous for deals that involve quite a bit more than a few pints of sugar water and do a whole lot more societal…

A new Gallup poll shows that Americans want repeal and that about two-thirds of those who want repeal think it’s “very important.”