At 83, and legally blind, I could use some assistance. I didn’t see what the problem was. I’m a perfectly respectable woman who knows what she wants and has the ability to pay for it. At 83, I may be a little older than most, and legally blind, but generally speaking, people are pleased to …
Is the Forced Contraception Alleged by Britney Spears Legal?
The United States has a dark history of court-sanctioned sterilization, but more recent rulings and legislation suggest it would violate a basic right. Among the stunning assertions that the pop star Britney Spears made to a Los Angeles probate judge this week, as she sought to end her protracted conservatorship, was one that shook experts …
Discretamente, Biden está transformando la red de seguridad de Medicaid
La administración Biden está diseñando en silencio una serie de expansiones de Medicaid que pueden reforzar las protecciones para millones de estadounidenses de bajos ingresos y sumar más personas al programa. Los esfuerzos de Biden, que han sido eclipsados en gran medida por otras iniciativas económicas y de salud, representan un cambio abrupto en contra …
La esperanza de vida de los hispanos y afroamericanos ha sufrido la peor baja desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial
Aunque James Toussaint nunca ha tenido covid, la pandemia está afectando profundamente su salud. Primero, en la primavera de 2020, el hombre de 57 años perdió su trabajo entregando repuestos para una concesionaria de automóviles de Nueva Orleans, cuando la economía local se congeló. Luego, se atrasó en el pago del alquiler. El mes pasado, …
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: How to Expand Health Coverage
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Democrats in Congress and several states are making it a priority to try to boost health insurance coverage, but they have very different ideas. Some are working …
What to Look For in a Meditation App
What to Look For in a Meditation App Alex ArpaiaReporting for Wirecutter ��♀️ Michael Hession Meditation apps can make big claims about reducing stress and even pain, but not everything that you’ll find in the App Store can necessarily restore your sense of calm. Here’s what to keep in mind →
How Can I Tell My Mother-in-Law to Buzz Off?
Nothing like a non-blood relative who won’t stay away. My partner and I live on the West Coast; our families live on the East Coast. When we go home, we make detailed plans for seeing our parents to keep our visits evenly divided and fair. Over the past few years, though, when we’re visiting my …
Hold the Tequila. The Sunrise Is All Some Travelers Need.
As vaccination levels rise and Americans head back to the roads and skies, sober travel, a subset of vacations once relegated to 12-steppers and recovering addicts, is going mainstream. One year into the coronavirus pandemic, after months of gaining weight and feeling groggy, Mayra Ramirez stopped drinking. And this summer, she’ll mark a new milestone …
‘Death Doulas’ Provide Aid at the End of Life
As parents of a child with a progressive and potentially fatal illness, Maryanne and Nick O’Hara lived on hope. Hope that their daughter, Caitlin, who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at age 2, would prove the statistics wrong and live longer than the 46 years expected. Hope that she would receive the lung transplant she …
Weekly Health Quiz: Morning People, Hot Weather Exercise and Cognitive Super-Agers
Biden Quietly Transforms Medicaid Safety Net
The Biden administration is quietly engineering a series of expansions to Medicaid that may bolster protections for millions of low-income Americans and bring more people into the program. Biden’s efforts — which have been largely overshadowed by other economic and health initiatives — represent an abrupt reversal of the Trump administration’s moves to scale back …
Black and Hispanic Americans Suffer Most in Biggest US Decline in Life Expectancy Since WWII
Although James Toussaint has never had covid, the pandemic is taking a profound toll on his health. First, the 57-year-old lost his job delivering parts for a New Orleans auto dealership in spring 2020, when the local economy shut down. Then, he fell behind on his rent. Last month, Toussaint was forced out of his …
Calming Computer Jitters: Help for Seniors Who Aren’t Tech-Savvy
Six months ago, Cindy Sanders, 68, bought a computer so she could learn how to email and have Zoom chats with her great-grandchildren. It’s still sitting in a box, unopened. “I didn’t know how to set it up or how to get help,” said Sanders, who lives in Philadelphia and has been extremely careful during …
What It Feels Like to Live With Parkinson’s
It was a year ago, to the day. I noticed how far down the floor had gotten. At the same time, I had lost elbow room — particularly when trying to maneuver a forkful of peas into my mouth. As for folding my underwear, it was frustrating: like trying to catch a fish in a …
When Summer Begins
Inside and out. Welcome. Here in New York, it’s officially summer. If it’s hot where you are, your exercise regimen may need some modifications. Gretchen Reynolds has ideas — including freezing your underwear. Sam Sifton is fishing for fluke, a highlight of his summer meals. And Concepción de León has information on how the Delta …
Miles de niños perdieron a sus padres por covid. ¿Adónde está la ayuda?
Cinco meses después de que su esposo muriera por covid-19, Valerie Villegas puede ver cómo el duelo ha marcado a sus hijos. Nicholas, el bebé, que tenía 1 año cuando murió su padre y casi desteta, ahora quiere tomar la teta a toda hora, y llama a cada hombre alto de cabello oscuro “Dada”, la …
Turn Tech to Your Advantage in the New Hybrid Workplace
With people splitting work hours between office and home, it can be a challenge to figure out what tools to use in which situation. When the pandemic blended our professional and personal lives by forcing many of us to work from home, we learned a valuable lesson about tech. It can be an incredibly useful …
Are There More Moths This Year?
Advice from an army of very busy exterminators. “I’m not gentle with them anymore,” said Laura Love. “I see one and I’m like, ‘I’m coming for you.’” Ms. Love, 29, a model in Los Angeles, has waged war against the webbing clothes moths that she recently discovered during a quarantine closet clean, finding the pests …
How to Exercise in the Summer Heat
As record high temperatures batter much of the country, expert advice on staying active this summer. The summer of 2021 came in sizzling, with June temperatures in many parts of the United States shattering records, baking landscapes and prompting those of us who usually exercise outside to question when, how — and if — we …
Thousands of Young Children Lost Parents to Covid. Where’s Help for Them?
Five months after her husband died of covid-19, Valerie Villegas can see how grief has wounded her children. Nicholas, the baby, who was 1 and almost weaned when his father died, now wants to nurse at all hours and calls every tall, dark-haired man “Dada,” the only word he knows. Robert, 3, regularly collapses into …
At Texas Border, Pandemic’s High Toll Lays Bare Gaps in Health and Insurance
EL PASO, Texas — Alfredo “Freddy” Valles was an accomplished trumpeter and a beloved music teacher for nearly four decades at one of the city’s poorest middle schools. He was known for buying his students shoes and bow ties for their band concerts, his effortlessly positive demeanor and a suave personal style — “he looked …
Covid’s Delta Variant: What We Know
The variant is gaining traction worldwide. But vaccines are driving down coronavirus case numbers in the U.S., and it’s unclear whether Delta will reverse that trend. The super-contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus is now responsible for about one in every five Covid-19 cases in the United States, and its prevalence has doubled in the …
Tiny Love Stories: ‘Brave Enough to Unearth What’s Buried’
Modern Love in miniature, featuring reader-submitted stories of no more than 100 words. Only Looking at You We met in the South at a Starbucks, where I made Hannah an iced tea. Trained to be friendly, I asked her questions. We started dating before I graduated high school. Just two young women from poor Alabamian …
How to Have the Hard Vaccination Conversations
Asking someone if they’ve had a Covid shot can be tricky. Here’s how to navigate the new norms of health disclosure. Ashley Z. Ritter’s vaccination conflict came to a head in April. She’d hired a part-time babysitter for her three kids just as the family moved to a new home in Yardley, Pa., last August. …
It’s Summer in the Ski Towns, 2.0
Last year, mountain resorts were overrun by travelers in search of space and fresh air. The visitors are expected back, but now the towns have expanded activities and plans in place to deal with the crowds. For their vacation this summer, Susan Tyler and her husband have booked a house in the small ski resort …