Martha Bebinger
-
The overdose antidote naloxone could soon be available in more public places. The Veterans Administration is adding it to its automated defibrillator cabinets. Other institutions are following suit.
-
People who abuse opioids are well aware of the risk posed by fentanyl, a powerful anesthetic that's increasingly slipped into heroin and other drugs. They're coming up with new tactics to survive.
-
Law enforcement is scrambling to get ahead of the opioid, which is far more chemically potent than heroin. Most illegal fentanyl is made in China. As soon as one version is outlawed, another pops up.
-
Studies suggest that smoking heavily in adolescence may affect brain function in adulthood, but there's a dearth of hard evidence for voters contemplating pot's long-term effects.
-
Nationwide veteran benefits data show a huge variation in coverage from state to state, and even within states. In Massachusetts, access to VA services changes dramatically from Boston to Cape Cod.
-
A state law now requires insurers to reveal prices of their medical tests, and the variation is amazing, bargain hunters say. An MRI of the back is $614 at one place, $1,800 at another.
-
Some nursing home patients can go home again if they get the right, customized support. But making it happen takes time, even with organizational help from the pros. Some people need home renovations and rides to appointments. Others may need a guard dog — or a new home.