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Young adults seem to be taking advantage of health coverage. But they're still skipping the flu shot.Image Source/Corbishide caption

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Policy-ish

With Obamacare, More Millennials Are Going To The Doctor, Sort Of

By Maanvi Singh

Once young adults started getting coverage through their parents, they started getting checkups more often, a study finds. But they still may need help filling a prescription.

Don't Miss

Magnified 25,000 times, this digitally colorized scanning electron micrograph shows Ebola virus particles (green) budding from an infected cell (blue).CDC/NIADhide caption

i toggle captionCDC/NIAD

Blood Test For Ebola Doesn't Catch Infection Early

Caltech biochemical engineer Frances Arnold was awarded a National Medal of Technology and Innovation by President Obama in 2013.Jason Reed/Reuters/Landovhide caption

i toggle captionJason Reed/Reuters/Landov

Is 'Leaning In' The Only Formula For Women's Success In Science?

Caribous doing their business in mountain ice have left a viral record hundreds of years old.Courtesy of Brian Moormanhide caption

i toggle captionCourtesy of Brian Moorman

Ancient Viruses Lurk In Frozen Caribou Poo

Getting stronger before surgery has been shown to help cancer patients do better long term. iStockphoto hide caption

itoggle caption iStockphoto

Patients Do Better After Surgery If They Do 'Prehab' First

by Katherine Hobson

October 29, 2014 • Patients are often sent for rehabilitation after surgery. But starting those exercise and healthy eating programs before the surgery might help even more. It's not rehab, it's "prehab."

Ebola patient Amber Vinson arrived by ambulance at Emory University Hospital on Oct. 15. Now healthy, Vinson was discharged from the hospital Tuesday. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Emory Hospital Shares Lessons Learned On Ebola Care WABE-FM

by Jim Burress

October 29, 2014 • The same Atlanta hospital that treated the first U.S. Ebola patient in August discharged its fourth patient Tuesday. All survived. Patients in isolation need extra emotional support, the team says.

Listen Loading… 3:55

Home health care workers Jasmine Almodovar (far right) and Artheta Peters (center) take part in a Cleveland rally for higher pay on Sept. 4. Sarah Jane Tribble/WCPN, Ideastream hide caption

itoggle caption Sarah Jane Tribble/WCPN, Ideastream

Home Health Workers Struggle For Better Pay And Health Insurance WCPN

by Sarah Jane Tribble

October 28, 2014 • Home health care aides often toil for low pay and in jobs without benefits, including health insurance. A million more home health care workers will be needed to meet demand over the next decade.

Listen Loading… 4:03

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Magnified 25,000 times, this digitally colorized scanning electron micrograph shows Ebola virus particles (green) budding from an infected cell (blue). CDC/NIAD hide caption

itoggle caption CDC/NIAD

Blood Test For Ebola Doesn't Catch Infection Early

by Richard Harris

October 28, 2014 • A highly sensitive blood test for Ebola exists, so why isn't it being used to test all returning health workers from West Africa? Because the virus isn't in the blood in the first stages of infection.

Listen Loading… 2:02

Gilead's once-a-day pill for hepatitis C is the latest expensive and effective treatment that insurers say is a business challenge. Courtesy of Business Wire hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of Business Wire

Insurers May Cover Costly Hepatitis C Drugs Only For The Very Ill

by Michelle Andrews

October 28, 2014 • Many insurers are restricting access to new drugs that are easier to take and that promise higher cure rates because the price tags can run $95,000 or more.

Young adults seem to be taking advantage of health coverage. But they're still skipping the flu shot. Image Source/Corbis hide caption

itoggle caption Image Source/Corbis

With Obamacare, More Millennials Are Going To The Doctor, Sort Of

by Maanvi Singh

October 28, 2014 • Once young adults started getting coverage through their parents, they started getting checkups more often, a study finds. But they still may need help filling a prescription.

Caltech biochemical engineer Frances Arnold was awarded a National Medal of Technology and Innovation by President Obama in 2013. Jason Reed/Reuters/Landov hide caption

itoggle caption Jason Reed/Reuters/Landov

Is 'Leaning In' The Only Formula For Women's Success In Science?

by Kelly McEvers

October 27, 2014 • A science superstar at Caltech advises young women to not wait for encouragement to succeed. Just go do it, she says. But her admiring students say that approach doesn't work for everybody.

Listen Loading… 5:08

A woman on the L train in New York City last week covers her face, fearful because a doctor with Ebola rode the train days earlier. Epidemiologists say people on the subway were not at risk. Stephen Nessen /WNYC hide caption

itoggle caption Stephen Nessen /WNYC

Public Health

New York's Disease Detectives Hit The Street In Search Of Ebola WNYC

by Fred Mogul

October 27, 2014 • When a New York City doctor was diagnosed with Ebola, the epidemiologists knew just what to do: search the city for potential contacts.It's a gig they perform daily with far more contagious diseases.

Listen Loading… 3:28

Caribous doing their business in mountain ice have left a viral record hundreds of years old. Courtesy of Brian Moorman hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of Brian Moorman

Treatments

Ancient Viruses Lurk In Frozen Caribou Poo

by Geoff Brumfiel

October 27, 2014 • A 700-year-old caribou dropping from northern Canada holds surprisingly well-preserved viruses. There's no evidence the viruses are dangerous, but they are scientifically interesting.

Listen Loading… 2:33

A legally blind woman in Vermont who has led a fight to make Medicare pay for care even when patients' medical conditions don't improve is in court to get Medicare payment for her own home care.

iStockphoto

Policy-ish

Disabled Vermont Woman Who Led Class-Action Suit Sues Medicare Again

by Susan Jaffe

October 27, 2014 • A legally blind woman who has led a fight to make Medicare pay for care even when patients' medical conditions don't improve is in court to get Medicare payment for her own home care.

Dr. Angela Alday talks with Isidro Hernandes, via a Spanish-speaking interpreter, Armando Jimenez. Both patient and doctor say they much prefer an in-person interpreter to one on the phone. Jeff Schilling/Courtesy of Tuality Healthcare hide caption

itoggle caption Jeff Schilling/Courtesy of Tuality Healthcare

Policy-ish

In The Hospital, A Bad Translation Can Destroy A Life OPB

by Kristian Foden-Vencil

October 27, 2014 • When patient and doctor don't speak the same language, it's not enough to have an ad hoc interpreter. You need an adult fluent in both languages — who can also cut through medical jargon.

Listen Loading… 4:40

A corneal inlay next to a contact lens. Courtesy of John Vukich hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of John Vukich

Your Health

Corneal Implants Might Make Reading Glasses Obsolete

by Patti Neighmond

October 27, 2014 • For most people, the need for reading glasses is as inevitable as gray hair and wrinkles. Companies are experimenting with corneal implants to improve the ability to focus close up.

Listen Loading… 3:41

The Appalachian Medicinal Herb Growers Consortium's goal is to raise plants that meet the quality standards demanded by clinical practitioners. Blue Ridge Center for Chinese Medicine hide caption

itoggle caption Blue Ridge Center for Chinese Medicine

Fresh From Appalachia: Chinese Medicinal Herbs WVTF

by Robbie Harris

October 26, 2014 • As alternative medical treatments gain traction in the U.S. and the demand for Chinese herbs grows, farmers in Appalachia are responding.

Listen Loading… 3:52

Maria Fabrizio for NPR

Your Health

A Diary Of Deaths Reminds Doctor Of Life

by John Henning Schumann

October 25, 2014 • In everyday medical care, the practice of reflection is too often overlooked. Remembrance is what makes us human. Keeping tabs on who has died over the years keeps one doctor humble.

Listen Loading… 2:58

This matters a lot, even if there's not an Ebola patient at the hospital. Wavebreak Media LTD/Wavebreak/Corbis hide caption

itoggle caption Wavebreak Media LTD/Wavebreak/Corbis

Public Health

For Hospitals, Doing More On Ebola May Mean Less Elsewhere

by Alison Bruzek

October 24, 2014 • The majority of hospitals are training their staff to care for Ebola patients, a survey finds. But infection control specialists say that can mean losing the capacity to handle more common infections.

A lone Mayo Clinic wheelchair sits on the Cascade Creek walking trail near Kutzky Park in Rochester, Minn. Elizabeth Baier/MPR News hide caption

itoggle caption Elizabeth Baier/MPR News