Millions of Americans in the past few years have run into this experience: filing a health care insurance claim that once might have been paid immediately but instead is just as quickly denied. If the experience and the insurer’s explanation often seem arbitrary and absurd, that might be because companies appear increasingly likely to employ computer algorithms or people with little relevant...
The immune cells that fight bacteria and viruses are well-known. But some scientists think we should devote more attention to a second prong of defense: one that allows our bodies to more harmlessly live with pathogens until they’re cleared from our systems. When people think about infectious diseases — as many have, these last three years — they think mainly about the immune system. The...
Thousands of cannabis-derived products are now on the market. skodonnell/E+ via Getty Images ~~~~~~ These days you see signs for delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC and CBD, or cannabidiol, everywhere – at gas stations, convenience stores, vape shops and online. Many people are rightly wondering which of these compounds are legal, whether it is safe to consume them and which of their supposed medicinal...
ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. For years, U.S. pharmaceutical companies have relied on drugs produced overseas to meet Americans’ medical needs. And for years, it’s been clear that federal drug regulators couldn’t keep up with inspections of the plants that made those drugs. But a...
Amyloid plaque can build up in body organs other than the brain. The resulting diseases — AL amyloidosis, ATTR amyloidosis and more — cause much suffering. Isabelle Lousada was in her early 30s when she collapsed at her Philadelphia wedding in 1995. A London architect, she had suffered a decade of mysterious symptoms: tingling fingers, swollen ankles, a belly distended by her enlarged liver. The...
This article was published in partnership with the Miami Herald. The glass outside the Pregnancy Help Medical Clinics location in North Miami reads: “FREE pregnancy Testing, Walk-Ins Welcome, Ultrasound Verification, Confidential.” Inside, it looks like a medical office: fake plants, a generic painting of an ocean and a TV tuned to a cooking show channel. There is a reception desk with a...
