Health

Hospitals Halt Youth Transgender Care Amid Federal Pressure

J and her son, nicknamed Bug, share a hug at home in western Massachusetts. Karen Brown/New England Public Media hide caption toggle caption Karen Brown/New England Public Media When Bug got home from school one winter afternoon in late 2024, his mother was on the couch, watching 30 Rock re-runs.

Germany Unveils Major Cuts to Stabilise Health Insurance

German Health Minister Nina Warken, of the ruling conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), has outlined key features of the government's planned reforms for ailing health care system. Warken's draft legislation, on track to be passed this summer, aims to prevent further increases to the health insurance contributions.

From Stroke to Triple-Olympian: Kathrin Marchand's Comeback

A little tired but with a smile on her face, Kathrin Marchand arrives for her first training session of the day. Together with her rowing partner Valentin Luz, the para-athlete will spend the first few hours of the day on the water in a double scull. A few quick stretches, and then they're off.

Rural Dialysis Closure Forces Lengthy Travel

Mark Pieper sits in his pickup after receiving one of his last dialysis treatments in Chadron, Nebraska, before the rural hospital there shut down that service due to financial challenges. "I guess I'll just bloat up and die in a month," Pieper remembers thinking when he heard the news.

Stopping and Restarting GLP‑1s Despite Potential Harms

Wegovy and Zepbound are GLP-1 weight loss treatments. They are available by prescription. JoNel Aleccia/AP hide caption toggle caption JoNel Aleccia/AP It's quite common for people to start on GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Zepbound, especially as the diabetes and obesity treatments become more ubiquitous.

Keytruda's Breakthrough and Global Access Gap

A yearlong international investigation into one of the world's most important cancer drugs shows how a medical breakthrough has also become a fault line in global health, exposing how pricing systems, patent protections and regulatory frameworks determine who can access life-saving treatment and who cannot.

Zambia: Is US Health Aid Tied to Mineral Access?

More than a million people in Zambia are living with HIV, one of several African countries where the United States' President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program has been a cornerstone for the financing of life-saving medical treatment for more than two decades.

Dealer of Ketamine Linked to Matthew Perry Sentenced to 15 Years

A woman who sold the drugs that caused the 2023 death of Canadian-American actor Matthew Perry has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. Jasveen Sangha, a 42-year-old dual British-American citizen dubbed the "Ketamine Queen," had pleaded guilty to five felony drug charges in September.

Make a High-Deductible Plan and HSA Work for You

Oona Zenda/KFF Health News An elementary school teacher chose a low-price health insurance plan but soon realized she wasn't clear about what it would mean for her family's finances.

U.S. Teen Birth Rate Falls to Historic Low in 2025

A woman at an abortion-rights protest in New York in 2023 holds a pregnancy test. The U.S. teen pregnancy rate in 2025 was 11.7 births per 1,000 females ages 15 to 19, according to provisional data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday.

Urgent Care Steps In as Abortion Clinics Close Nationwide

Marquette Medical Urgent Care in Michigan started offering medication abortion to patients last summer. The physician who owns the urgent care started the service after Planned Parenthood closed a clinic, leaving the remote Upper Peninsula without in-person options for abortion care.