Tips for Calling Your Health Insurance Company

Whether you’re questioning how much you owe on a doctor’s bill or confirming whether a specific treatment or drug is covered, there are plenty of reasons that you may need to call your health insurance company. Unfortunately, that can be a frustrating process. More than half of consumers are dissatisfied with experiences they’ve had with…

Monkeypox Treatment in Limited Supply as Cases Soar

July 14, 2022 – People with monkeypox face a wide range of symptoms, from mild skin lesions to severe, debilitating pain. And experts have no reliable way yet to predict who will have the worst symptoms. There is an antiviral treatment, tecovirimat (TPOXX), but it’s only available from the Strategic National Stockpile at the moment….

Scientists Create Artificial Muscle That’s Stronger Than Human Muscle

July 14, 2022 – Scientists from UCLA and nonprofit SRI International are experimenting with a strong, stretchy polymer to create an artificial muscle they describe as stronger and more flexible than human muscle. Polymers are natural or synthetic substances made up of large molecules and are building blocks of many minerals and human-made materials. In…

Lead Exposure Is Still a Problem for Kids, and the Pandemic Has Made It Worse

The good news – if it’s possible to describe a slow, insidious, and permanent poisoning as “good news” – is that the blood lead levels of children in the United States have dropped steadily over the past half-century. The bad news is, the pandemic may have erased some of those gains. During the pandemic, and…

This Teen Helped Newborns During the Early Pandemic Days

July 13, 2022 — When Bryn Hammock learned that the babies in her local hospital’s NICU could only spend 2 hours a day with their parents due to COVID-19 restrictions early in the pandemic, the 18-year-old, who lives in Atlanta, wanted to find a way to help. Her first step: Speaking with her grandmother, Deanna…

What Happens When You Contact 988 About Suicide?

Beginning on July 16, you can call or text 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. It’s a new way to reach free, live support if you or someone you know has thoughts of suicide, a mental health or substance use crisis, or any other kind of emotional distress. The Lifeline has been around since 2005…

U.S. Has Tools to Manage BA.5, White House Says

July 12, 2022 – The BA.5 Omicron subvariant is dominating now and accounts for 65% – or about two-thirds – of the virus causing COVID-19 in the United States, federal officials said on Tuesday. Although no evidence yet points to BA.5 causing more severe disease, hospitalization numbers are up in the past few months and…

Digital Mental Health Companies Draw Scrutiny and Growing Concerns

By Harris Meyer Friday, July 08, 2022 (Kaiser News) — When Pat Paulson’s son told her he was feeling anxious and depressed at college, Paulson went through her Blue Cross Blue Shield provider directory and started calling mental health therapists. No providers in the Wisconsin city where her son’s university is located had openings. So…

Breastfeeding: What Are the Alternatives

All moms want the best for their babies, but the best choices aren’t always black and white. You’ve probably heard the saying “breast is best,” right? The truth is that breastfeeding can be difficult for some moms and babies. That’s OK. There are a number of good, safe, and healthy alternatives to breastfeeding. “Fed is…

3D ‘Bioprinting’ Could Help With Child Heart Defects and More

July 11, 2022 – Nearly 1 out of every 100 children in the United States are born with heart defects. The effects can be devastating, requiring the child to rely on implanted devices that must be changed over time. “Mechanical solutions don’t grow with the patient,” says Mark Skylar-Scott, PhD, a professor of bioengineering at…