Two transgender residents sue Wisconsin over discriminatory Medicaid rule

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) refused to cover Cody Flack’s top surgery.

Top surgery, a common reference for chest reconstruction surgery for transgender patients, is a widely accepted and effective surgical procedure for treating gender dysphoria. But DHS told Flack, who was born female but identifies as male, last summer that the procedure isn’t covered by Wisconsin’s Medicaid program. The state contends the surgery is “medically unneces...

Medicare change to give greater dialysis access to remote Indigenous Australians

Move is welcomed as a lifeline for the growing health crisis of Indigenous kidney disease

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The federal government has added dialysis services to the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) to provide remote-living Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people better access to lifesaving treatment.

The sector has welcomed the move as a lifeline for the growing health crisis of Indigenous kidney disease, which has had to rely on private donations and fundraising to provide care because of inadequate government funding.

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US conservatives use case of terminally ill child Alfie Evans to criticize NHS

Ted Cruz and others have called the legal battle over British child’s treatment a ‘grim reminder’ of socialized medicine

A legal fight in the United Kingdom over whether a terminally ill child should be allowed to leave the country for medical treatment has captured the attention of American conservatives.

The case of Alfie Evans, a 23-month-old child with a neurodegenerative disease that has left most of his brain destroyed, has received extensive coverage from outlets like Fo...

Arizona election results provide further optimism for 2018’s crop of Democratic candidates

Conservatives nationwide breathed a sigh of relief following Tuesday night’s special election for Arizona’s Eighth Congressional District, as former State Sen. Debbie Lesko clinched a hard-fought victory over Democratic candidate Hiral Tipirneni — but they may not want to get too comfortable.

Lesko won the seat vacated by former Republican Congressman Trent Franks, who resigned in December amid allegations that he had offered $5 million to a former aide and repeate...

Years of inaction and thousands of deaths later, Congress finally addresses maternal mortality

Each year about 700 to 900 mothers die, and thousands more nearly die, due to pregnancy or childbirth complications, many of which are preventable — and this year, there’s finally appetite among lawmakers to do something about it.  

The Senate Health committee will vote on a bill next month that addresses the country’s soaring maternal mortality rate, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) announced on Tuesday. Congress has never passed legislation directly focused on this public health cri...