Shots - Health News NPR's online health program.
Shots - Health News

Shots

Health News From NPR

On the last full day of a Bahamas excursion, Vincent Wasney had three epileptic seizures. While being evacuated, he received a bill for expenses incurred during the cruise. Kristen Norman for KFF Health News hide caption

toggle caption
Kristen Norman for KFF Health News

He fell ill on a cruise. Before he boarded the rescue boat, they handed him the bill

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1252428534/1252770392" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

A large new study shows people who bike have less knee pain and arthritis than those who do not. PamelaJoeMcFarlane/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
PamelaJoeMcFarlane/Getty Images

Like to bike? Your knees will thank you and you may live longer, too

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1251561467/1252397446" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

In Europe, sunscreens are often made with ingredients that do a better job at protecting against UVA rays. Iana Kunitsa/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Iana Kunitsa/Getty Images

Mifepristone and misoprostol inside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Fairview Heights, Ill. in 2021. The drugs are used after miscarriage and for bleeding and other obstetrical procedures and problems. In combination, they can also induce an early abortion. Lawmakers in Baton Rouge are considering a bill to reclassify the medications as controlled dangerous substances. Jeff Roberson/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Jeff Roberson/AP

Louisiana may reclassify drugs used in abortion as controlled dangerous substances

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1251965020/1251965084" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

A coalition of advocates call for full Medicaid expansion in Mississippi at a rally at the State Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, April 17, 2024. The gathering drew supporters from throughout the state representing religious, social and human service organizations, medical professionals and legislators. Rogelio V. Solis/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Rogelio V. Solis/AP

Fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills are flooding U.S. streets, but other street drugs, including methamphetamine and cocaine, are killing more and more people. U.S. Attorney's Office for Utah /AP hide caption

toggle caption
U.S. Attorney's Office for Utah /AP

In college, Amylyx cofounders Josh Cohen and Justin Klee dreamed of finding a treatment for diseases like ALS. When their drug's promise did not pan out, they pulled it voluntarily from the market. Amylyx Pharmaceuticals hide caption

toggle caption
Amylyx Pharmaceuticals

Lots of drug companies talk about putting patients first — but this one actually did

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1251409920/1251419014" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Alondra Mercado, a community health worker with the Central California Asthma Collaborative, helps provide services through an ambitious California Medicaid initiative. On a recent morning in March, she visited a family in Turlock to teach a mother how to control in-home asthma triggers that cause flare-ups in her young son. Angela Hart/KFF Health News hide caption

toggle caption
Angela Hart/KFF Health News

Abortion rights activists at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on March 26, the day the case about the abortion drug mifepristone was heard. The number of abortions in the U.S. increased, a study says, surprising researchers. Drew Angerer/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Drew Angerer/AFP via Getty Images

Despite state bans, abortions nationwide are up, driven by telehealth

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1251086997/1251408188" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Dr. Thorsten Siess shows the Impella. Annegret Hilse/Reuters hide caption

toggle caption
Annegret Hilse/Reuters

He invented a successful medical device as a student. Here's his advice for new grads

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1250576706/1251200164" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Research shows kids who spend two hours a day outside are less likely to develop myopia. nazar_ab/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
nazar_ab/Getty Images

Want to protect your kids' eyes from myopia? Get them to play outside

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1250555639/1250855261" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Edward Peter-Paul is chief of the Mi'kmaq Nation in Maine. Decades ago, a sweat ceremony helped him improve his relationship with drugs and alcohol. He hopes the new healing lodge can do the same for other tribal citizens. Aneri Pattani/KFF Health News hide caption

toggle caption
Aneri Pattani/KFF Health News

A tribe in Maine is using opioid settlement funds on a sweat lodge to treat addiction

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1250379089/1250805146" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Medical debt is as much a hallmark of having children as long nights and dirty diapers. The Crivilare family, Andrew, Heather and Rita, 2, are pictured at their kitchen table in Jacksonville, Ill. Neeta Satam for KFF Health News hide caption

toggle caption
Neeta Satam for KFF Health News

Their first baby came with medical debt. These Illinois parents won't have another.

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1250233411/1250321384" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

The Match Day ceremony at the University of California, Irvine, on March 15. Match Day is the day when medical students seeking residency and fellowship training positions find out their options. Increasingly, medical students are choosing to go to states that don't restrict abortion. Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group via Getty Images

Medicaid plans aren't required to cover Wegovy for weight loss and obesity, but some do and others are considering adding it for those uses. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Decades-old law limits access to Wegovy for Medicaid beneficiaries

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1249933035/1249934121" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Traveling internationally with a dog — or adopting one from abroad — just got a bit more complicated. The CDC issued new rules intended to reduce the risk of importing rabies. mauinow1/Getty Images/iStockphoto hide caption

toggle caption
mauinow1/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Esther Nesbitt lost two of her children to drug overdoses, and her grandchildren are among more than 320,000 who lost parents in the overdose epidemic. Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
Shots - Health News

Shots

Health News From NPR

About