The future of Hims & Hers — a digital-first health platform that offers content, telehealth and drug treatments related to skin care, sexual performance and mental health — may be more hers than hims.
Cutting-edge medical devices will be eligible for Medicare coverage while manufacturers continue to gather data on how they perform under a new plan finalized by the Biden administration Wednesday.
Why it matters: The long-awaitedplan offers America's seniors access to new technologies that have been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration but still have outstanding questions.It also gives manufacturers a streamlined pathway to having devices covered by Medicare, which other insurers often follow.
The Centers for Disease Control on Wednesday alerted doctors to be on the lookout for a deadly new strain of mpox spreading through parts of Africa while U.S. officials committed $424 million to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is the epicenter of the outbreak.
Why it matters: The so-called clade I virus is more virulent and deadly than the clade II variety that caused a global outbreak in 2022.
Community health centers' staffing shortages are getting worseas the demand for their care grows.
Why it matters: The federally funded clinics play a crucial role in the American health care safety net because they're required to care for patients regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay.
For insurers like UnitedHealth Group and Cigna, the road to ever-larger profits increasingly leads through anything but health insurance.
Why it matters: A host of earnings reports in recent weeks reinforce how much pharmacy, physician networks and other non-core products are driving the bottom lines of health behemoths with big insurance units — a situation that is grabbing the attention of regulators and Congress.
The number of women getting abortions in the U.S. continued to climb in early 2024, surpassing the number of abortions performed before Roe v. Wade was overturned, according to a national report released Wednesday.
The big picture: The increase is partly driven by access to abortions via telehealth, which allows patients to circumvent state laws banning the procedure, according to a quarterly #WeCount report from the Society of Family Planning nonprofit.
The U.S. has over two dozen silver medals going into the final week of the Olympics but whether second place is considered a win or loss is complicated for athletes.
Why it matters: Athletes who spend years preparing for their moment at the Olympics often find that second place is the hardest position to be in, if not in their own minds then from the reaction of fans and the media.
In tapping Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, Kamala Harris added to the ticket a staunch supporter of reproductive rights who has expanded access to abortion in Minnesota — and who has a personal story with in vitro fertilization.
Why it matters: Democrats plan to make reproductive rights a top issue again this year after their 2022 successes up and down the ballot.
Discharged hospital patients can carry superbugs home and infect relatives or caregivers, even if they weren't sickened by the bacteria, per a study in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.
Why it matters:The findings put an exclamation point on the concerns about the role hospitals play in the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections — and need to play in prevention, the authors say.
Lobbying around using ecstasy to treat PTSD is reaching a fever pitch this week ahead of a Food and Drug Administration deadline that could be a milestone for psychedelic drugs.
Why it matters: Psychedelics — combined with psychotherapy — have shown promise for treating a range of addictions and mental health disorders and attracted billions of dollars in investment. But no treatment has won the FDA's approval yet.
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