Sick, uninsured and in debt: One man's health care crisis

One afternoon, Kirk Miller, a 26-year-old with an easy smile and a quick wit, sat at his coffee table trying to make sense of the medical debt he has accumulated in the last few years. - 03/15/2010

• Don't put off dealing with unpaid medical bills

• Forum: Join the discussion in News Talk

Obama seeks to reassure seniors on health care

Strongsville, Ohio-- With a fresh sense of urgency, President Barack Obama sought to reassure seniors Monday about health care legislation approaching a final vote in Congress, pledging it would make preventive care cost-free and close a gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage. - 03/15/2010

Study: Clip rivals heart-valve surgery

Atlanta -- Many Americans with leaky heart valves soon might be able to get them fixed without open-heart surgery. A study showed that a tiny clip implanted through an artery was safer than surgery, and nearly as effective, doctors reported Sunday. - 03/15/2010

Don't put off dealing with unpaid medical bills

Dealing with medical debt can be a harrowing experience, especially when the bills keep piling up and the tab runs into thousands of dollars. - 03/15/2010

• Sick, uninsured and in debt: One man's health care crisis

Israeli organ donation plan resisted

Jerusalem -- Israel is launching a potentially trailblazing experiment in organ donation: Sign a donor card, and you and your family move up in line for a transplant if one is needed. - 03/15/2010

Heart disease treatments for diabetics fail to reduce risks

Three aggressive treatment strategies doctors had expected would prevent heart attacks among people with Type 2 diabetes and some who are on the verge of developing it have proved to be ineffective or even harmful, new studies show. - 03/15/2010

Dr. Paul Donohue

A person can be saved even if both of the lungs collapse

Dear Dr. Donohue: What happens to a person when his lungs collapse? Can he stay alive? Can the lungs be blown up like the inner tube of a wheel? - 03/15/2010

Court rejects link between autism, vaccine

Los Angeles -- The federal "vaccines court" ruled Friday in three separate cases that the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal does not cause autism, a finding that supports the broad scientific consensus on the matter but that greatly disappointed parents who are convinced that their child's illness was caused by vaccines. - 03/13/2010

Fed issues warning for baby slings after deaths

Washington -- The government warned Friday that those chic baby slings that hip moms and dads are sporting these days can be dangerous, even deadly for their little ones. - 03/13/2010

Experts: Health tests, care outpace need

Chicago -- Too much cancer screening, too many heart tests, too many cesarean sections. A spate of recent reports suggest that too many Americans -- maybe even President Barack Obama -- are being overtreated. - 03/13/2010

Dr. Paul Donohue: Your health

Exercise can bring on asthma

Dear Dr. Donohue: At age 35 and in the wintertime, I decided to get into shape. I joined two others in daily jogging. Things went well until the end of December, when I started to cough while jogging. Sometimes the coughing was so bad that I had to stop. The coughing cleared enough to allow me to resume running, but it didn't go away entirely. One of my buddies thinks I have asthma. Could that be? - 03/13/2010

Prescription drug discount card offered for Detroit residents

Detroit -- City residents can cut their prescription drug bill by an average of 20 percent through a new program announced today by Council President Charles Pugh and City Clerk Janice Winfrey. - 03/12/2010

FDA warning: Some patients cannot process Plavix

Washington -- The Food and Drug Administration is adding its strongest warning to the label for Plavix after reports that some patients cannot process the blockbuster blood thinner. - 03/12/2010

Experts say doctors are overtesting, overtreating

Chicago -- Too much cancer screening, too many heart tests, too many cesarean sections. A spate of recent reports suggest that too many Americans -- maybe even President Barack Obama -- are being overtreated. - 03/12/2010