PBS Newshour - Health

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSWhat 2014 conflicts and challenges will carry over into the new year? Getting ‘to zero’ in the fight against Ebola Ebola fighters are TIME’s ‘Person of the Year’ GWEN IFILL: With the death toll in West Africa now over 8,000, government and humanitarian organizations are reassessing the most effective way to tackle the deadly Ebola virus. From launching new drug trials to building new clinics, the United Nations, the United States and...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSFor some wounded veterans, strong prescription drugs can be cause of more drugs New rule to ease safe disposal of unwanted prescription drugs Do you think you are paying a fair price for prescription drugs? JUDY WOODRUFF: Each day, 46 people die in this country after overdosing on prescription painkillers. In 2012 alone, the CDC says 259 million prescriptions were written for painkillers, enough to supply every American adult with a bottle of...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSHow doctor-owned outpatient medical centers differ from hospitals Hospitals consider free healthcare for those who could not be insured High-deductible plans a ‘quiet revolution in health insurance’ JUDY WOODRUFF: The White House said this week that more than 6.4 million people have signed up for health insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act’s federal marketplace so far during this year’s open enrollment season. But even more people,...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSUsing Medicaid dollars to expand long-term care choices in Michigan Slipping through the system: Are mentally ill Americans getting adequate health care? Fixing the disconnect between Medicare and Medicaid to serve the most vulnerable Americans JUDY WOODRUFF: Since the federal health care law expanded Medicaid in some states, about seven million low-income Americans have gained new health insurance. But, in Los Angeles, health officials say...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSEbola outbreak is latest example of globalization’s risks In Sierra Leone village, Ebola aid appears ‘too little, too late’ 12 steps to safely bury Ebola victims HARI SREENIVASAN: Now: the continuing fight to combat Ebola. Hospital officials in Omaha, Nebraska, are preparing for a new case this weekend. The patient is a surgeon who is a national from Sierra Leone and a permanent resident of the United States. He reportedly was infected while...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSSoldiers and civilians face different Ebola protocols 5 everyday items that are helping in the fight against Ebola Doctors face tough treatment choices in the midst of the Ebola crisis JUDY WOODRUFF: In West Africa, Ebola has had a fatality rate of nearly 50 percent. In the U.S., there have been only a handful of cases so far, and the death rate has been far less. Nine people have been treated. Seven have recovered. One died, Thomas Eric...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSThis is how you get Ebola, as explained by science Keeping safe in Ebola territory Ebola outbreak started with funeral in Guinea, report finds JUDY WOODRUFF: Now: how hospitals are preparing for possible Ebola cases in this country. A judge in Maine ruled today against state officials who sought to quarantine nurse Kaci Hickox, who returned from West Africa after working with Ebola patients. Hickox has no symptoms and has refused to observe a...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioGWEN IFILL: The Ebola death rate in West Africa may be slowing. The World Health Organization reported today that total cases now top 13,700, but fatalities remain at just under 5,000. That’s partly due to the death toll in Liberia being revised downward. Meanwhile, President Obama renewed his warning that quarantine policies that might discourage doctors and nurses from volunteering in West Africa. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: We can’t hermetically seal...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSThis is how you get Ebola, as explained by science Why it’s hard to keep Ebola from spreading Nurse allowed to leave New Jersey after Ebola quarantine The potential downside of mandatory quarantines JUDY WOODRUFF: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control sought to give new guidance today on the issue of Ebola quarantines. That came as New York and New Jersey pulled back from mandatory measures that triggered a weekend of wrangling. JOSH EARNEST,...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSThe potential downside of mandatory quarantines This is how you get Ebola, as explained by science Why it’s hard to keep Ebola from spreading Nurse allowed to leave New Jersey after Ebola quarantine JUDY WOODRUFF: A short time ago, I spoke with Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health about the guidelines and quarantines. Dr. Tony Fauci, thank you very much for joining us. These now CDC guidelines recommend a voluntary at-home...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioHARI SREENIVASAN: You’ve heard assurances from public health officials the last several weeks about the Ebola scare. Tonight, we want to go into much greater detail about when the disease is dangerous and when it’s not. For more, we are joined by Dr. Stephen Morse. He is a professor of epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University here in New York. First, let me I guess start with the news from yesterday when the two governors...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSSpace-inspired safety gear, contamination-cleaning robots: How innovation could aid Ebola New 21-day Ebola monitoring period for visitors from West Africa Ebola sounds scary, but these diseases are the real health threat JUDY WOODRUFF: The governors of New York and New Jersey announced today that all travelers coming from Ebola-affected countries will face a new mandatory quarantine when they arrive at airports in those two states. Governors...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSFreezing Human Eggs for In Vitro Fertilization No Longer Experimental Procedure Cancer and Infertility: Dodging the ‘Double Blow’ Facebook and Apple will pay for employees to freeze their eggs GWEN IFILL: For decades, medical advances have made it possible for women to postpone or extend their ability to have children. Now two big tech firms, Apple and Facebook, say they will pay up to $20,000 to allow employees to freeze their eggs for later...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSThese six diseases should worry you more than Ebola This is how you get Ebola, as explained by science On campus, fight Ebola panic with information Ambulance nurse confronts death and desperation in the heart of the Ebola epidemic GWEN IFILL: The government’s latest steps illustrate again just howmuch anxiety remains about the prospect of Ebola’s spread. But as public health officials continue to emphasize, the real risk to most Americans...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSParalyzed patients successfully move legs after breakthrough treatment Paralyzed Woman Powers Robotic Arm With Her Mind Paralyzed Mice Able to Regain Movement, Study Reveals GWEN IFILL: A man paralyzed from the chest down is now able to walk again, thanks to a pioneering transplant using cells from his nose. The 38-year-old was treated by surgeons in Poland and is the first known patient to ever recover from a complete severing of the spinal...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSWhy Ebola runs a different course in different people 70 percent Ebola death rate? Here’s how they calculate it Ambulance nurse confronts death and desperation in the heart of the Ebola epidemic GWEN IFILL: Now to an update on the Ebola crisis. As more potentially infected individuals have emerged from quarantine and treatment in the U.S., in recent days, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a new set of protocols designed to...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSThis is how you get Ebola, as explained by science These six diseases should worry you more than Ebola Self-quarantined reporter: U.S. must ‘strike balance between caution and panic’ on Ebola GWEN IFILL: The headlines on Ebola in the U.S. were more hopeful today. They included news that the pool of potential Ebola cases is shrinking. JUDGE CLAY JENKINS, Dallas County: It’s somewhat of a happy press conference for us GWEN IFILL: After weeks of...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSThis is how you get Ebola, as explained by science These six diseases should worry you more than Ebola Self-quarantined reporter: U.S. must ‘strike balance between caution and panic’ on Ebola GWEN IFILL: Now: an intimate look at the front lines in the fight to contain Ebola in hard-hit Liberia. An estimated 4,200 people have contracted the virus since the outbreak began; 2,500 people have died. In this report produced by The New York Times, video...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioHARI SREENIVASAN: For more about West Africa’s fight against Ebola, we are now joined from Washington via Skype by Helene Cooper of The New York Times. She recently returned from Liberia. So, I understand you were out and about when you first got home. In fact, we saw you on “Meet the Press” last Sunday. And now you’re on some sort of self-imposed quarantine. Tell us about that? HELENE COOPER, The New York Times: It is sort of a modified quarantine as well. I...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioEditor’snote: An earlier version of this piece appeared on our website in August — this version has been updated to reflect new information. STEPHEN FEE: Gail Davis is 52 years old and lives on Chicago’s SouthSide. Every day she prepares lunch for her 82 year old mother whosuffered a stroke. Gail is her mom’s primary caregiver — yet Gail herself has struggledfor decades with mental illness. GAIL DAVIS: “I was like that I guess before — when I come into...