Martha Bebinger

From heat-related illness to mosquito-borne infections, physicians are seeing the effects of a warming planet in the exam room. There's a growing push to teach doctors-in-training how to respond.

Health care is taking a bigger role in down-ballot races this fall, especially as the Supreme Court is set to hear another case that could determine the fate of the Affordable Care Act.

A survey of 17 cities found more than 50,000 pandemic-related eviction filings. Housing advocates worry that increased housing instability will lead to more COVID-19 and other illnesses.

More than 200,000 people in the U.S. have died of COVID-19. We hear from three areas of the country about how the pandemic has affected life there.

Doctors are researching why some patients remain unconscious for days or weeks, even after sedating drugs are withdrawn. They also worry that these patients aren't being given time to recover.

Doctors are studying a troubling development in some COVID-19 patients: They survive the ventilator, but don't wake up. The persistent, coma-like state can last for weeks.

The state offers support and resources for people isolating because of COVID-19 — helping them make choices that keep everyone safe. It's work more states need to fund, experts say.

Nationwide, coronavirus infection numbers are trending down, but several states are seeing upticks, with the heaviest impact falling on communities of color and nursing home residents.

Without a cure for COVID-19, doctors are desperately trying to figure out the best treatment regimen for patients. And what they're trying, may look very different depending on the hospital.

"I know we will succeed somewhat and we will fail somewhat," says one of the plan's chief architects. "We won't be able to find every single person — but we will hopefully prevent a lot of deaths."

The CDC says reopening the U.S. economy during the coronavirus pandemic will require very aggressive contact tracing. WBUR health reporter Martha Bebinger talks about what that entails.

As the health industry focuses on COVID-19, there has been a big drop in nonurgent visits for primary care and specialty care. Medical practices are being forced to furlough or lay off staff.

People in recovery from opioid or alcohol addiction are weathering a new storm of depression, anxiety and isolation these days, as 12-step programs move online and detox centers close their doors.

Sobriety programs are delivering services virtually, but the coronavirus pandemic is causing a lot of difficulties for people relying on services to continue their recovery from addiction.

Despite Trump's public remarks, infectious disease experts say it's premature to think hydroxychloroquine will help against COVID-19. And patients with lupus or rheumatoid arthritis rely on the drug.

When patients need long-term treatment with IV antibiotics, hospitals usually let them do it at home — but not if they have a history of injection drug use. A Boston program wants to change that.

Ex-opioid users on long-term antibiotics often have to stay in the hospital longer, lest they be tempted to inject illegal drugs into their IV line. A new approach built on trust could change that.

The state now requires women and girls under 18 to obtain permission from their parents or a judge. But in a recent poll, most Massachusetts voters favored letting minors decide on their own.

Public health officials are adopting a law-enforcement tool, the mass spectrometer, to instantly identify potentially deadly levels of opioids in local drug supplies.

Calming techniques officers learn during training for intervening in a mental health crisis don't seem to work as well when a suspect is high on meth. Police say meth calls can be much more dangerous.