Health Care
Home health care workers among most in-demand Minnesota jobs — and lowest paid
Damon Leivestad, a 50-year-old mechanical engineer with spinal muscular atrophy, has struggled to find personal care assistants for years. Leivestad uses a wheelchair and needs help moving between his bed and wheelchair, getting dressed, and doing everyday tasks like shopping and food preparation. His condition is deteriorating while his parents age, and hiring people to […]
Study cited by Texas judge in abortion-pill case under investigation
Pharmaceutical sciences professor Chris Adkins was perusing news on his computer in December when he came across an item that fascinated him: Anti-abortion groups had sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to force a recall on a commonly used abortion drug. Adkins teaches future pharmacists at South University School of Pharmacy in Savannah, Georgia. […]
Red Lake Nation considers new approach to devastating fentanyl epidemic: harm reduction
REDBY — Whenever his phone rings in the middle of the night, Red Lake Nation Chairman Darrell Seki Sr. fears it’s because a loved one has overdosed. Probably everyone on the reservation knows someone who’s died from opioids. It’s becoming increasingly common despite the tribe’s best efforts to bust dealers and channel users into treatment. “We’ve […]
U.S. House spending bill for the VA renews fight over abortion access, transgender care
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans approved their first government spending bill Thursday, following tense debate about whether the Department of Veterans Affairs should provide abortions in limited circumstances and the GOP’s decision to cut military construction funding. The 219-211 mostly party-line vote on the Military Construction-VA appropriations bill sends the measure to the Senate, where […]
CVS hellth: Corporate consolidation is ruining pharmacies and hurting patients
If you spent any time in a pharmacy on July 10 or 11, you may have noticed prescriptions were delayed, and the staff seemed even more stressed than usual. CVS Caremark, the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) component of CVS Health, was non-operational for multiple days, meaning when the pharmacy tried to electronically submit a claim […]
Anti-abortion religious leaders advocate for murder charges for pregnant women at national event
An all-male panel of anti-abortion religious leaders from around the country met Friday night to discuss the strategies that should be used to end abortion in every state at any stage of pregnancy, without exceptions for rape and incest, and with criminal punishment for the pregnant person in line with existing criminal penalties for murder, […]
Allina flu vaccine mandate struck down for some workers after union challenge
Allina Health may not mandate the flu vaccine for some of its employees after the workers’ union challenged the policy and won a favorable ruling from an arbitrator this month, ending for now a 15-year battle over the policy. Jamie Gulley, president of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa, said the union supports vaccines and vaccine […]
FDA approves first over-the-counter oral contraceptive
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday it has approved the country’s first daily birth control pill that can be used without a prescription, a move that reproductive health advocates celebrated after more than 20 years of advocating for an over-the-counter option. The contraceptive, called Opill, is a progestin-only oral pill that could soon […]
Red Lake Nation to begin selling recreational marijuana Aug. 1
RED LAKE — The Red Lake Nation’s tribal council voted on Tuesday to legalize recreational marijuana and begin selling it — to both tribal and non-tribal members — on Aug. 1. The move could make Red Lake Nation the first entity to operate a recreational dispensary in the state, and gives the tribe a significant […]
Overuse of antibiotics leading to dangerous ‘superbugs’ examined by U.S. Senate panel
WASHINGTON — Experts on antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections on Tuesday urged Congress to pass legislation that would address the issues that lead to so-called superbugs. Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, the top Republican on the panel and an OB-GYN, said the issue is critically important for Congress because more than 3 million Americans will be diagnosed this […]
White House rolls out strategy to battle deadly drug mixture of fentanyl and xylazine
WASHINGTON — The White House is unveiling a plan to combat the growing threat of drug overdose deaths involving the combination of illicitly manufactured fentanyl and the powerful sedative xylazine, approved only for veterinary use. The plan comes ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris’s meeting with state attorneys general next week to discuss the staggering […]
Biden administration to crack down on ‘junk’ health insurance plans, surprise billing
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced new initiatives Friday that could reduce health care costs, though none will take effect immediately. The changes include a proposed rule that would reduce the amount of time short-term health insurance plans can last and require companies that offer the plans to be more transparent about what is covered […]