The law requires insurers that provide state-regulated health care plans to cover pregnancy and postpartum services for covered individuals, including midwife services, doula visits, and lactation consultants for up to 12 months after the end of a pregnancy.

The legislation puts new controls on the state’s health insurance industry, including bans on certain practices companies have used to reduce costs by controlling the amount of health care services a patient receives.

Timely care is essential for many nursing home residents. New federal staffing standards from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are aimed at improving access to care, but some advocates say the measures don’t do enough.

Some of the city’s most vulnerable populations are still facing barriers of access when it comes to receiving equitable health care. The Black community faces notable obstacles when it comes to addressing mental illness.

There is an ongoing shortage of several prescription drugs used to treat ADHD, including Adderall. The CDC urged people to avoid using medication acquired from anyone other than a licensed clinician and pharmacy.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a military veteran who has used the fertility treatment to have her two children, has championed the bill, called the Right to IVF Act. The bill would have also expanded access through insurance as well as for military members and veterans.

Three-quarters of the patients served by the Carbondale clinic have come from out of state, the organization said in numbers released Monday. Of those out of state patients, 88% reside in states where abortion access is restricted, including Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and Missouri.

A major long-term study launched by the American Cancer Society aims to better understand cancer risk factors and outcomes for Black women in the U.S, who continue to face disparities in cancer prevention, detection, treatment and survival.

The Illinois House gave final approval Saturday to a pair of bills that limit the ability of insurance companies to deny coverage or steer individuals toward lower cost, and sometimes less effective, treatments and medications, strategies sometimes referred to as “utilization management.”

The programs rolled out during the pandemic, providing benefits for immigrant adults and seniors. They offered health coverage for low-income individuals who did not qualify for Medicaid because of their immigration status.

Nyla was delivered on Nov. 17 at just 22 weeks after her mother, NaKeya, was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, a dangerous high-blood pressure condition. 

World-renowned soprano Renée Fleming has a new book called “Music and Mind” – a collection of essays curated and edited by the operatic superstar exploring the healing power of music and the arts, and what modern science is uncovering about that connection.

Pharmacy benefit managers have received growing scrutiny on both a state and national level for the effect many claim they have on driving up drug prices. Local pharmacy owners testified at recent committee hearings that they are being squeezed through the price of acquiring drugs wholesale and dispensing them.

The vast majority of Alzheimer’s cases occur after age 65. But research published Monday suggests that for people who carry not one but two copies of the gene, it’s more than a risk factor, it’s an underlying cause of the mind-robbing disease.

Currently, doctors say it can sometimes be difficult for medical personnel to access those forms, especially if a patient is incapacitated or having an emergency away from their medical home.

Walmart had made a big push into health care in recent years, opening clinics next to its superstores that offered primary and urgent care, labs, X-rays, behavioral health and dental work.