ArcaMax

They’re the fixers, the ones who step in when Affordable Care Act enrollees have a problem with their coverage, like a newborn incorrectly left off a policy or discovering that a rogue broker had signed them up or switched their plan without consent.

Specially trained caseworkers help resolve such issues, which might otherwise cause consumers...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I'll admit I tend toward negative self-talk, and I'm frequently stressed out about work, family and health concerns. I know other people have problems too, but I feel like they handle it better. What can I do to help myself and be a role model for my children?

ANSWER: Resilient people are made, not born. There isn't a gene or ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California has halted a court-ordered medical parole program, opting instead to send its most incapacitated prisoners back to state lockups or release them early.

The unilateral termination is drawing protests from attorneys representing prisoners and the author of the state’s medical parole legislation, who say it ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Medi-Cal, California’s complex, $174.6 billion Medicaid program, provides health insurance for nearly 15 million residents with low incomes and disabilities. The state enrolls twice as many people as New York and more than three times as many as Texas — the two states with the largest number of Medicaid participants ...Read more

While the most serious measles epidemic in a decade has led to the deaths of two children and spread to 27 states with no signs of letting up, beliefs about the safety of the measles vaccine and the threat of the disease are sharply polarized, fed by the anti-vaccine views of the country’s seniormost health official.

About two-thirds of ...Read more

Q: Can alcohol fit into a healthy eating plan?

A: Alcohol can be part of a healthy eating pattern when consumed appropriately. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, moderate drinking is defined as up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men. A standard drink is typically 5 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of ...Read more

Eating healthy isn’t always easy. Eating a diet rich in vegetables helps provide the necessary vitamins and minerals to keep our bodies healthy, but doing so can be difficult when vegetables are expensive, out of season, or quick to spoil in the fridge. To combat this, many experts recommend using frozen vegetables instead, which can actually ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My sister was just diagnosed with breast cancer and will have a double mastectomy. What types of reconstruction could she have, and when can the reconstruction be done? Are there any new reconstruction options that she should be aware of? I’ve heard about 3D tattooing. Is that an option?

ANSWER: Breast reconstruction is a ...Read more

In adults under age 50, strokes caused by clots are on the rise – and many happen without a clear link to a traditional cause such as high blood pressure. A new study suggests the underlying reason for these unexplained, or cryptogenic, strokes could hinge in part on whether someone has a type of hole between the upper chambers of the heart. ...Read more

Getty Images According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 700 confirmed measles cases have been reported in at least 25 states as of mid-April — and that number continues to grow. Most cases are among people who are unvaccinated, have an unknown vaccination status or are children. The highly contagious disease ...Read more

Janelle Zeihen worried she’d have to file for bankruptcy after learning she owed $250,000 for her Crohn’s disease treatment.

The Milwaukee nursing home worker thought her insurance was covering the infusions as part of a complex arrangement. Through a middleman, her benefit plan was trying to use a charity program to get her the medication...Read more

DAVIS, Calif. -- For weeks, no one could tell Dr. Charles DeCarli whether the $53 million grant powering his lab’s ambitious dementia research project would be renewed.

“It was horrible,” the neurologist said. “It was really hard to face the potential of losing all of it, the money, everything I’d worked so hard for.”

Then came the...Read more

Even by rural hospital standards, Keokuk County Hospital and Clinics in southeastern Iowa is small.

The 14-bed hospital, in Sigourney, doesn’t do surgeries or deliver babies. The small 24-hour emergency room is overseen by two full-time doctors.

CEO Matt Ives wants to hire a third doctor, but he said finding physicians for a rural area has ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A looming Supreme Court decision could result in Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wielding more control over the body that recommends preventive health services insurers must fully cover — a possibility that alarms health advocates.

The Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in Kennedy v. Braidwood ...Read more