Author: Carla K. Johnson
-
Trump declares opioids a public health emergency
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday declared the opioid crisis a nationwide public health emergency — a step that won’t bring new dollars to fight a scourge that kills nearly 100 Americans a day but will expand access to medical services in rural areas, among other changes. “This epidemic is a national health emergency,”…
-
Pre-existing conditions complicate health care replacement
CHICAGO — As Republicans try to unite around a replacement for the Affordable Care Act, one of the most popular parts of the law will be among the most difficult to replace: the guarantee of health coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. The challenge of providing insurance for Americans who have no other alternative has…
-
Hate-crime charges filed in attack on mentally disabled man
This image posted on the Chicago Police Department’s Twitter page shows a frame from a video that was broadcast live on Facebook in which a man is assaulted. The video shows the man with his mouth taped shut as a woman and other people cut off his shirt and hair with a knife, and…
-
Mystery at island resort: Why did 2 sisters, one from Colorado, die?
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save The mystery of what led to the deaths of two vacationing American sisters in their tropical island villa likely won’t be solved until investigators see the results of toxicology tests. The question that keeps arising…
-
Victim vignettes: All described as kind, loving, full of joy
A gunman wielding an assault-type rifle and a handgun opened fire inside Pulse, a crowded gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, early Sunday, leaving at least 49 people dead in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Here are stories of some of the victims. ___ Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24, was out for a night…
-
Prince autopsy report hints at puzzling painkiller mystery
The report from the medical examiner who conducted Prince’s autopsy is tantalizing for what it doesn’t say. The single-page document lists a fentanyl overdose as the cause of death, but it offers few clues to indicate whether the musician was a chronic pain patient desperately seeking relief, a longtime opioid user whose habit became an…
-
St. Louis area faces big cleanup effort after flooding
As the Mississippi River and its tributaries retreated from historic winter levels that flooded towns, forced evacuations and killed two dozen people, residents in the St. Louis area were facing a massive cleanup and recovery effort that will likely last weeks. “The healing process, the restoration process has begun,” Chris Greenhagen, pastor of the Central…
-
Selling insurance like soda: Ad campaigns push health coverage under Obamacare
CHICAGO – It will make you stronger. It will give you peace of mind and make you feel like a winner. Health insurance is what the whole country has been talking about, so don’t be left out. Sound like a sales pitch? Get ready for a lot more. As President Barack Obama’s health care law…
-
70 degrees in March? Warm spell expected to last across U.S.
CHICAGO — Break out the beach towels, flip-flops and baseball bats: Warm weather is arriving early across much of the U.S., even in northern states where perplexed residents are swapping their snow shovels for golf clubs. The unseasonably warm weather was pushing throngs of people outside to play Tuesday from the Plains to New England,…
-
Medicaid cuts: teeth pulled, transplant called off
CHICAGO — In Illinois, a pharmacist closes his business because of late Medicaid payments. In Arizona, a young father’s liver transplant is canceled because Medicaid suddenly won’t pay for it. In California, dentists pull teeth that could be saved because Medicaid doesn’t pay for root canals. Across the country, state lawmakers have taken harsh actions…