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In a nation growing hostile toward drugs and homelessness, Los Angeles tries leniency

Inside a bright new building in the heart of Skid Row, homeless people hung out in a canopy-covered courtyard — some waiting to take a shower, do laundry, or get medication for addiction treatment.

8 Jul 2025

Most Medicaid plans cover naloxone but barriers still exist

A new study found that almost all plans in 40 states and Washington, DC covered at least one form of the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone, although certain restrictions and quantity limits may still prevent people from accessing this life-saving drug.

27 Jun 2025

New toolkit aims to transform opioid education through patient collaboration

It's difficult to overstate the corrosive impact of Canada's ongoing opioid crisis. Since 2016, there have been over 40,000 opioid-related deaths across the country, devastating Canadian families from all walks of life. Opioid-related hospitalizations and calls to paramedics have ballooned.

20 Jun 2025

Cardiovascular deaths surge among less educated Americans

About 525,000 more deaths occurred among US adults in 2023 than would be expected had pre-2010 mortality trends continued. More than 90 percent of these deaths occurred among individuals without a Bachelor's degree and were largely caused by cardiovascular diseases, underscoring how educational attainment can influence individuals' health opportunities and outcomes.

14 Jun 2025

Green light activates modified penicillin to target bacterial infections

To treat bacterial infections, medical professionals prescribe antibiotics. But not all active medicine gets used up by the body.

12 Jun 2025

Mount Sinai receives NIH grant to study overdoses linked to synthetic opioids

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has been awarded a $3.8 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a division of the National Institutes of Health, to study drug overdose cases linked to novel synthetic opioids.

10 Jun 2025

Two patients faced chemo. The one who survived demanded a test to see if it was safe.

JoEllen Zembruski-Ruple, while in the care of New York City's renowned Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, swallowed the first three chemotherapy pills to treat her squamous cell carcinoma on Jan. 29, her family members said. They didn't realize the drug could kill her.

4 Jun 2025

Study finds strong connection between incarceration and early death

This study shows individual incarceration rates and rates at the county level (the number of incarcerated individuals per 100,000 residents) are strongly associated with increased mortality in the United States.

3 Jun 2025

Native Americans hurt by federal health cuts, despite RFK Jr.’s promises of protection

Navajo Nation leaders took turns talking with the U.S. government's top health official as they hiked along a sandstone ridge overlooking their rural, high-desert town before the morning sun grew too hot.

3 Jun 2025

Study reveals continuing and worrying trend in excess US deaths

There were over 1.5 million "missing Americans" in 2022 and 2023, deaths that would have been averted if US mortality rates matched those of peer countries.

23 May 2025

3 things to watch on mental health in Trump’s early budget proposals

Since President Donald Trump released his 2026 budget blueprint in early May, calling for $163 billion in federal spending cuts, much of the attention has focused on his slashing of foreign aid and boosting of border security.

21 May 2025

Experimental drug could offer pain relief without the side effects of opioids

An experimental drug developed at Duke University School of Medicine could offer powerful pain relief without the dangerous side effects of opioids.

19 May 2025

Readers scrutinize federal cuts and medical debt

The recent KFF Health News article "Beyond Ivy League, RFK Jr.'s NIH Slashed Science Funding Across States That Backed Trump" (April 17) struck a nerve.

13 May 2025

Study reveals low rate of opioid addiction medications after overdose

Medications proven to effectively treat opioid addiction are rarely given after emergency department visits for overdose, and who gets them varies, sometimes greatly, depending on race, ethnicity or geography, University of Michigan researchers say.

12 May 2025

Effects of practice standards on opioid prescribing and chronic pain management

In an effort to curb misuse of opioids and prevent overdose deaths, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia released a legally enforceable practice standard, Safe Prescribing of Drugs with Potential for Misuse/Diversion, in 2016.

12 May 2025

Illicit fentanyl use in the U.S. far higher than previously reported

More Americans use illicit opioids such as fentanyl than previously estimated, highlighting the need for better methods to understand the depths of the opioid crisis, according to a new study.

10 May 2025

Medicaid unwinding may have put opioid recovery care at risk

The massive national effort to return the Medicaid enrollment process to its pre-pandemic rules starting in April 2023 may have disrupted the care of people receiving treatment for opioid addiction, a new University of Michigan study suggests.

3 May 2025

Machine learning provide new insights into how the brain responds to heroin use

Object recognition software is used by law enforcement to help identify suspects, by self-driving cars to navigate roadways and by many consumers to unlock their cell phones or pay for their morning coffee.

30 Apr 2025

Buprenorphine improves outcomes for pregnant women with opioid use disorder

Pregnant women living with opioid use disorder (OUD) and their infants had significantly better health outcomes when treated with buprenorphine, according to a new study at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health.

25 Apr 2025

Moms in crisis, jobs lost: The human cost of Trump’s addiction funding cuts

When the Trump administration cut more than $11 billion in covid-era funds to states in late March, addiction recovery programs suffered swift losses.

25 Apr 2025