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Dr. Laurie Punch, a trauma surgeon at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, is adamant that violence is a true medical problem doctors must treat in both the operating room and the community.

Trauma Surgeon Battles Bullets In The Operating Room And The Community

Weary of losing neighbors and patients to gunfire, St. Louis trauma surgeon Laurie Punch has a message: Gun violence is contagious, but so is healing. Doctors who teach can be part of the solution.

In 2015, the New York legislature in Albany passed a law to end the practice of surprise medical billing. Research suggests overall health care costs have risen as a result.

To End Surprise Medical Bills, New York Tried Arbitration. Health Care Costs Went Up

As Congress considers legislation to end surprise medical billing, some are looking at lessons learned from New York's experiment with "baseball-style" arbitration.

Colorado estimates that about 15% of the 12 million letters it sends to beneficiaries of public assistance programs each year are returned unopened, left to pile up in county offices like this one in Colorado Springs. That amounts to about 1.8 million pieces of undelivered mail each year statewide.

Return To Sender? Just One Missed Letter Can Be Enough To End Medicaid Benefits

Colorado, like a number of states, is struggling with huge piles of returned mail linked to public aid programs such as Medicaid or food stamps. But is dropping people from such assistance the answer?

Vaping devices now come in many shapes and sizes; these were confiscated from students by a high school principal in Massachusetts in 2018.

As Vaping Devices Have Evolved, So Have Potential Hazards, Researchers Say

The technology behind e-cigarettes has changed over the years, and researchers are now finding evidence that the way different sorts of vaping devices and e-liquids interact could harm consumers.

Lucy Branson, now 4, holds Polly Pocket shoes like the ones she put in her nose.

Nothing To Sneeze At: $2,659 Bill To Pluck Doll's Shoe From Girl's Nose

A young girl put matching doll shoes up her nose. One came out easily. The second required a trip to the hospital emergency department and led to a bill that isn't child's play.

Outside of risks from the fire's heat — and any health risks related to a long-term power outage — the main health concern in wildfire conditions is smoke, which produces particulate matter that can penetrate deep into the lungs, increasing the risk of respiratory diseases and asthma, as well as heart problems.

Smoke And Power Outages Near California Wildfires Hit Farmworkers Hard

October marks not only fire season in California, but also the peak of the grape harvest. In areas not imminently threatened, some workers labor through heat and smoke to save harvests and paychecks.

An unexpected charge related to a biopsy threatened the financial security of Brianna Snitchler and her partner.

A Biopsy Came With An Unexpected $2,170 'Cover Charge' For The Hospital

After a test to rule out cancer, Brianna Snitchler faced a facility fee for use of the hospital's radiology room. She wasn't told in advance about the charge, which strained her tight budget.

Cameron and Katlynn Fischer celebrated their April wedding in Colorado. But the day before, Cameron was in such bad shape from a bachelor party hangover that he headed to an emergency room to be rehydrated. That's when their financial headaches began.

The Real Bachelor Party Hangover: A $12,460 ER Bill

The high ER charge for treating one Colorado groom's hangover the day before his wedding illustrates how emergency room bills have become major headaches for many Americans.

If a doctor is found to be ordering too many MRI or CT scans or other imaging tests for Medicare patients, a federal law is supposed to require the physician to get federal approval for all diagnostic imaging. But the Trump administration has stalled the law's implementation.

Trump Team Hits Brakes On Law That Would Curb Unneeded Medicare CT Scans, MRIs

Critics worry that the administration's delays come at a steep cost: Medicare continues to pay for millions of unnecessary exams and patients are being subjected to radiation for no medical benefit.

While prescriptions for durable medical equipment, such as orthotic braces or wheelchairs, have long been a staple of Medicare fraud schemes, some alleged scammers are now using telemedicine and unscrupulous health providers to prescribe unneeded equipment to distant patients.

Phone Scammers And 'Teledoctors' Charged With Preying On Seniors In Fraud Case

Officials warn that schemes devised to steal from Medicare have embraced telemedicine. One man was prescribed $4,000 of medical equipment he didn't need and never asked for.

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