Mayor Lightfoot called the life expectancy gap between Black and White residents “unacceptable,” as the Chicago Department of Public Health issued a new report that found systemic racism pervades nearly every aspect of civic life.

The west suburban community is full of history, with monuments to WWI and WWII veterans, and home to a legendary musician. It has struggled with higher rates of poverty and lack of access to health care, making it particularly susceptible to COVID-19.

The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted both the importance of access to health care and disparities in access to it, which is why residents who live near Mercy Hospital and Medical Center say they’re furious about its plans to close next year.

In Cook County, Black people are 26% more likely to get colon and rectum cancer than white people, according to the CDC. “Screening rates a bit lower, but they’re not that much lower,” said Dr. Ed McDonald, a gastroenterologist. “There’s something else going on.”

As protests and rallies sprung up across the U.S. in the wake of George Floyd’s death, health care workers showed their support for the movement by volunteering as street medics to treat protesters. 

The inaugural $10 million Chicago Prize grant was awarded last week to a team from Auburn Gresham, which has ambitious plans to bring transformational change to the community.

The Auburn Gresham Healthy Lifestyle Hub and the North Lawndale Surgical and Ambulatory Care Center will address structural disparities in health care, which have been exacerbated by COVID-19. 

Coronavirus-related shutdowns of businesses, schools and community organizations has led to massive cancellations of blood drives, leading to a nearly 60% drop in collections, according to the Illinois Coalition of Community Blood Centers.

As companies start setting their premiums for the coming year, what can consumers expect — and will health care system see lasting changes prompted by the pandemic?

In a move applauded by President Donald Trump’s conservative religious base, his administration on Friday finalized a rule that overturns Obama-era protections for transgender people against sex discrimination in health care.

The coronavirus outbreak has fueled attempts to ban abortions in some states, but providers where the procedure remains available report increased demand, often from women distraught over economic stress and health concerns linked to the pandemic.

A coalition of health care institutions and professionals awarded dozens of businesses on the city’s West Side $500,000 in small business grants last year, doubling the goal it had set to achieve by 2021.

According to a new survey, four out of five Illinois residents are concerned about being able to afford some aspect of health care in the future, such as prescription drugs and health insurance.

Shoddy record-keeping and the degraded condition of more than 2,400 sets of fetal remains that were found in the Illinois garage and a car of a late Indiana abortion doctor mean those remains cannot be identified, according to a preliminary report released Tuesday by Indiana’s attorney general.

A federal appeals court on Wednesday struck down “Obamacare’s” now-toothless requirement that Americans carry health insurance but sidestepped a ruling on the law’s overall constitutionality. The decision means the law remains in effect for now.

Medical providers at Catholic hospitals face multiple barriers to providing contraceptive care to women, and such restrictions have prompted workarounds that can be harmful to patients, a new report from the University of Chicago finds.