PBS NewsHour - Health

Since Medicaid was created 60 years ago, it's been expanded again and again. Now, it's the U.S. government's biggest public health insurance program. For our series "America's Safety Net," John Yang reports on efforts to expand it even further with a visit to Georgia, the only state with a work requirement for Medicaid coverage. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Currently, 1 in 6 Americans is older than 65, a number that's projected to rise to 1 in 4 by 2050. As older Americans' needs for medical care and other support grow, women bear the biggest part of the burden of caring for them. Ali Rogin speaks with some women about their experiences and author Emily Kenway about the often unseen costs of caregiving. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Medicaid is the nation's largest health insurance program, covering nearly 80 million people, or more than 1 in 5 Americans. For many people who have low incomes or a disability, or who are either very young or very old, it's a vital government program. John Yang reports from Georgia for our series, "America's Safety Net." PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Tuesday in a case challenging FDA rules that make it easier to get mifepristone, the medication that accounts for more than half of all U.S. abortions. John Yang speaks with legal historian Mary Ziegler about the role executive branch agencies can play in a post-Roe world and the potential consequences of the 2024 election for reproductive rights. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

According to KFF Health News, more than half a million babies are delivered each year in Catholic-run hospitals across the United States. In most cases, there are no complications, but during an emergency, patients can find themselves caught between accepted medical standards and these facilities' religious-based policies. KFF Health News correspondent Rachana Pradhan joins John Yang to discuss. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

The all-Republican Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February that embryos created using in-vitro fertilization are legally children, a move that was hailed by many in the anti-abortion movement. John Yang speaks with Julie F. Kay, a human rights attorney who defends reproductive rights in cases globally, to learn more about a recent legislative push to give fetuses the legal rights of a person. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Mexico City, one of the world's most populous cities, could be just months away from running out of water. It's a crisis brought on by geography, growth and leaky infrastructure, all compounded by the effects of climate change. Journalist Emily Green joins John Yang to discuss the situation. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Crisis pregnancy centers provide counseling and other prenatal services from an anti-abortion perspective. Supporters say they help ensure that pregnant people know the risks of abortion, but abortion rights advocates say the information that they provide can have no scientific basis. The Guardian reporter Carter Sherman joins Ali Rogin to discuss the debate over federal aid for these facilities. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

The end of pandemic-era protections has meant the end of Medicaid coverage for more than 17 million low-income Americans so far. Now, Florida is considering other changes to how it provides health insurance to children from low- to moderate-income families, expanding access for some and limiting it for others. KFF Health News correspondent Daniel Chang joins Ali Rogin to discuss what's happening. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Vaccines have been proven to be an effective weapon against many diseases. Measles, for instance, was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000, and more recently, vaccines helped curb the spread of COVID. But both of those diseases are on the rise in 2024. PBS NewsHour digital health reporter Laura Santhanam joins John Yang to discuss why cases are climbing. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

According to the American Psychiatric Association's latest monthly poll, 1 in 3 Americans said they felt lonely at least once a week over the past year, with younger people more likely to report these feelings than other age groups. Edward Garcia, head of the nonprofit Coalition to End Social Isolation and Loneliness, joins Ali Rogin to discuss the cause and how communities can work to combat it. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

For years, eating disorders were thought to predominantly affect women and girls. But it's estimated that 1 in 3 people with the condition is male, and that 10 million American boys and men will struggle with it at some point in their lives. John Yang speaks with Dr. Jason Nagata, a pediatrician specializing in eating disorders at the University of California, San Francisco, to learn more. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

In our news wrap Saturday, Alexei Navalny's mother is pressing for details of how the Russian opposition leader died in an Arctic penal colony, outnumbered Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from the devastated eastern city of Avdiivka, U.S. Secretary of State Blinken met with Israeli officials to discuss hostage negotiations, and the FDA approved a novel type of cancer treatment for melanoma. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

The number of syphilis cases in the United States is the highest it's been since the 1950s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Philip Chan, chief medical officer for Open Door Health and an associate professor at Brown University, joins Ali Rogin to discuss what's behind the surge and what public health officials are doing about it. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Dr. Uché Blackstock has seen firsthand how medical racism shapes health care in America. She's dedicated her career to work at the intersection of medicine, health equity and systemic racism. Her new memoir, "Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine," details both historic health care inequities and her own family history. She joins John Yang to discuss her work and experiences. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

The 2024 Australian Open was an example of a growing trend in women's professional sports: eight players in the tournament had returned to tennis after pausing their careers to have children. USA outdoor track champion and Olympic medalist Alysia Montaño, who heads &Mother, a nonprofit focused on removing systemic barriers to allow mothers to succeed in sports, joins Ali Rogin to discuss. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Heman Bekele spent the last year developing a bar of soap that could treat skin cancer. It was the winning entry at the annual 3M Young Scientist Challenge, considered one of the top science and engineering competitions for fifth through eighth graders. For our Weekend Spotlight, John Yang speaks with Bekele about his work. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

The effects of an Oct. 2023 recall of applesauce pouches with high concentrations of lead are widening, raising questions about how food reaches store shelves, who watches over it and how far that oversight extends. Helena Bottemiller Evich, founder and editor of Food Fix, a publication that focuses on food policy, joins Ali Rogin to discuss the unfolding recall and its impact. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

More than 50,000 Americans took their own lives in 2023, the nation's highest yearly rate of suicide on record. Farmers are 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide than the general population, according to the National Rural Health Association. Special correspondent Megan Thompson reports from Wisconsin on the burden farmers often deal with and what's being done to help them. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

The U.S. and other parts of the world are in the midst of another COVID-19 wave. Infections and hospitalizations are on the rise this winter and a new variant is responsible for most of those cases. John Yang discussed these current trends and if the approach to the virus needs to change with Dr. Eric Topol. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

In 2021, a widely used breathing device manufactured by Philips was the subject of a safety recall. Now, new reporting shows that the replacement machines sent out to customers might also pose dangerous problems. Ali Rogin speaks with Debbie Cenziper, one of the leaders of the ProPublica and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette investigation, to learn about the latest developments. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

The U.S. is experiencing another uptick in COVID infections after the holidays, with hospitalizations rising for the eighth week in a row. A new dominant variant, JN.1, has quickly spread to account for more than 60 percent of cases. John Yang speaks with epidemiologist Jessica Malaty Rivera to learn more about the surge and what it tells us about how we deal with COVID moving forward. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

The number of Americans experiencing homelessness is now at its highest since records started being kept in 2007, according to estimates in a new report from the federal government. 2023 saw a 12 percent increase in homelessness over the previous year, the biggest one-year jump on record. John Yang speaks with Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, to learn why. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Many people try all sorts of things to have long and healthy lives, from complex diet plans to expensive supplements. But in the Netflix series "Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones," bestselling author Dan Buettner says a lot of that is misguided. He traveled to places where people live much longer than average to figure out how they're doing it. John Yang speaks with Buettner about the series. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders