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Surprise! Plans To Resolve High Medical Bills Are Still a Mess

From: Tradeoffs

Patients are now mostly protected from surprise bills, but doctors and insurers are still fighting about the prices.

Vets who were exposed to chemicals in the Panama Canal Zone want to be included in the PACT Act

Caption: Steven Price served in the Army in the Panama Canal Zone. He says he was exposed to Agent Orange, DDT, and other toxins. He later developed chronic B-cell leukemia., Credit: Courtesy Steven Price

People who served in the Canal Zone were left out of a law that made it easier to get care and benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Bought by WRFA-LP, KTEP, and WHRV

The Marine Corps says its pandemic-related uniform shortage is easing and should end by mid-summer

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: Marine Corps recruits get sized during their first uniform fitting at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, April 11, 2023., Credit: Jacob Hutchinson / U.S. Marine Corps

The Marine Corps says the private companies that make military uniforms fell behind because of inflation and COVID-related labor shortages.

Bought by KPBS, KUT, WRFA-LP, and KTEP

One Doctor’s Quest to Improve Health Care for People with Disabilities

From: Tradeoffs

Caption: Kevin Carlson ringside at Monday Night Raw., Credit: Tradeoffs/Leslie Waker

As adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities strive to live more freely and fully than ever before, many of America’s doctors, hospit...

Can Washington Make Medicare and Medicaid Work Better Together?

From: Tradeoffs

A bipartisan bill takes aim at a $500 billion health care problem that few people have ever heard of. Will it make care better for some of the coun...

How Pushing Hospitals to Give Away More Free Care Could Backfire

From: Tradeoffs

With high health bills drowning patients in debt, some lawmakers want nonprofit hospitals to give away more free care. But experts warn that could ...

‘She Didn’t Want to Die. But She Didn’t Want to Suffer’

From: Tradeoffs

Caption: Steven Petrow (R) and Jay Petrow (L) kiss their sister Julie Petrow-Cohen. Julie used New Jersey’s medical aid in dying law after a six-year battle with ovarian cancer., Credit: Courtesy of the Petrow family

A handful of states allow terminally ill people to take life-ending medications prescribed by a doctor instead of waiting for death. This week, we ...

A lack of base housing is forcing Navy sailors to live on ships, even when they're home in the U.S.

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: Commander Robert Molinaro, Executive Officer of the USS Ramage, inspects the ship's sleeping quarters March 22, 2023. Though the Ramage is back in port in Norfolk, Virginia, some sailors have to live on the ship because of a shortage of barracks space on, Credit: Adriones Johnson / U.S. Navy

A lack of barracks space - as well as poor living conditions in some barracks buildings - are contributing to complaints about sailors' quality of ...

Bought by KMXT, WRFA-LP, KUT, KPBS, WHRV and more

Hope, Hype or Harm? What We Know About New Cancer-Screening Tools

From: Tradeoffs

Companies claim they can catch cancer sooner with new blood tests and full-body MRI scans. What are the risks and benefits?

Bought by RadioFreePalmer

Veterans who need financial fiduciaries can lose their gun rights. Critics say that's unfair.

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: Sgt. Corey Briest (left) poses with his son Connor and wife Jenny, as Connor joins the South Dakota Army National Guard in Sioux Falls, March 11, 2022., Credit: South Dakota Army National Guard

Congress is considering whether to override a VA policy that says veterans who need financial fiduciaries may be reported to the FBI’s background c...

Bought by WRFA-LP, KPBS, WHRV, and KUT

5 ways America's Courts Could Change Health Care in 2024

From: Tradeoffs

Key court decisions in 2024 about prescription drug prices, abortion bans, gender affirming care and the Affordable Care Act could change the way h...

Why Are People Afraid of the Most Popular Opioid Addiction Treatment?

From: Tradeoffs

Fentanyl killed 75,000 people in 2022. Now it’s making one of the few treatments for opioid addiction harder to use.

A new lawsuit says the VA has failed to live up to its promises about gender-affirming care

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough (right) talks with VA social worker Art Akkerman at a June 2022 LGBTQ Pride event in Denver, Colorado., Credit: Elaine Buehler / U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

The Transgender American Veterans Association is suing the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, two years after the department said it would provid...

Bought by KPBS, WRFA-LP, Texas Public Radio, KUT, and WHRV

A Pentagon report finds that troops' suicides are often preceded by legal or administrative troubles

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: Chief Aviation Boatswain's Mate Ryan Cuppernall leads SafeTALK suicide training in Norfolk, Va. on Aug. 9, 2023. SafeTALK is a three-hour course that trains sailors and civilians how to prevent suicide., Credit: Jacqueline R. Ramos / U.S. Navy

About a quarter of all suicide deaths occur among troops caught up in legal or administrative battles - sometimes for minor infractions.

Bought by North Country Public Radio, KTEP, Texas Public Radio, KPBS, KUT and more

Doctors turn to AI and wearable monitors to measure the effects of burn pits on veterans' health

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: At his office on Long Island, New York, Dr. Anthony Szema models the smart ring that tracks health data for veterans who were exposed to fumes from toxic burn pits overseas., Credit: Desiree D'Iorio / American Homefront

A long-term study hopes to shed light on an array of vague symptoms that can affect veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bought by KTEP, Texas Public Radio, KPBS, WHRV, KUT and more

Despite policy changes, critics say the Army doesn't do enough to find soldiers who go missing

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: Kevin and Lisa Bushling - the parents of Joseph Bushling - take a break during a 2012 search for their son near Dugway, Utah. The search, conducted mainly by volunteers, was one of several unsuccessful attempts to find Kevin, who disappeared in 2011 and w, Credit: Tooele (Utah) Transcript Bulletin

After a string of high-profile deaths and disappearances, the Army is trying harder to find soldiers who fail to report for duty.

Bought by KTEP, KRPS, North Country Public Radio, KMXT, KUT and more

More Hospitals Move to Confront Medical Errors Head On

From: Tradeoffs

One out of every four Medicare patients in the hospital is the victim of a medical error. Over the past 20 years, a growing number of hospitals hav...

Can the U.S. Put an End to Surprise Ambulance Bills?

From: Tradeoffs

Caption: Precious Mae Clark reviews her medical bills.

Congress banned most surprise medical bills back in 2020, with one major exception: ambulance rides. Most people agree that patients should be shie...

To create more resilient warriors, Air Force training is emphasizing wellness and stress management

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: Air Force recruits at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland prepare to leave a classroom after listening to a lecture on resilience, which included tips on self-control, keeping a positive mindset, and relaxation., Credit: Vanessa Adame / U.S. Air Force

The new basic training curriculum aims to better prepare recruits for the uncertainties of war.

Bought by KMXT, KPBS, WRFA-LP, KRPS, WHRV and more

Growing Pains as California Adds Social Services to Medicaid

From: Tradeoffs

California’s Medicaid program is two years into the nation’s most ambitious effort yet to cover non-traditional health care services like housing a...

With the last of nine base renamings, the Army helps cast aside the myth of the Confederacy

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: Retired Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Gregg stands in front of the newly named Gregg-Adams Club at the former Fort Lee, Virginia in April 2023. The club was off limits to Gregg and other Black Soldiers when he became an officer in 1950. Gregg now shares the new name, Credit: Terrance Bell / U.S. Army

Historians said the renamings – like the removal of many Confederate statues in recent years – are part of a more accurate understanding of the Con...

Bought by KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio, Texas Public Radio, KRPS, WRFA-LP, North Country Public Radio and more

Medical or recreational? States Debate where Psychedelics Belong

From: Tradeoffs

A wave of new research is showing the promise of psychedelics to help with mental health conditions —- like depression and post traumatic stress di...