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Out-of-Pocket Costs for Medicare Recipients Will Rise in New Year

Seniors on Medicare are going to take a hit to the pocketbook in 2020, with premiums...
Heart Medicines Priced Out of Reach for Many Americans

Many working-age Americans struggle to pay for the heart medications that protect them from heart attack,...
Survey Shows Americans Feel Stressed

Mass shootings, health care and the 2020 presidential election are significant causes of stress for American...

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Health Tip: Service Animal Rights
Service animals, typically dogs, are trained to perform tasks for people with a disability....
- Posted September 18, 2019
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Colon Cancer Screenings Increase When Medicaid Arrives
There were greater increases in colon cancer screening rates in states that expanded Medicaid...
- Posted May 24, 2019
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Most Americans Hit Hard by Medical Bills
Nearly 6 in 10 Americans say they have suffered financial hardship due to health...
- Posted May 2, 2019
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Medicaid Could Save $2.6 Billion a Year With Dip in Smoking
Just a 1% decrease in the number of Medicaid recipients who smoke could save...
- Posted April 19, 2019
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Insurers Making It Harder to Treat Opioid Addiction: Study
Insurance rules that limit access to the addiction treatment medication buprenorphine may be worsening...
- Posted February 15, 2019
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Food or Heart Meds? Many Americans Must Make a Choice
Millions of Americans with heart disease say they face financial strain because of their...
- Posted February 12, 2019
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Many Middle-Aged Americans Worried About Health Insurance: Poll
Many middle-aged folks nearing retirement have serious concerns about their health insurance coverage, a...
- Posted January 3, 2019
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‘Deaths of Despair’ May Have Helped Fuel Trump’s Victory: Study
U.S. voters’ despair over poor health and premature deaths might have tipped the 2016...
- Posted September 5, 2018
- 10
As Opioid Epidemic Rages, Painkiller Prescriptions Don’t Drop
In a sign that the U.S. opioid epidemic is still not under control, a...
- Posted August 2, 2018
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Wait Times for Obesity Surgery Are Growing
People who want to have weight-loss surgery are facing much longer wait times now...
- Posted August 1, 2018
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Are You Living with Psoriasis?

A growing knowledge of the skin disease called psoriasis is leading to greater treatment choices, including personalized therapies, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports.

Psoriasis is an immune system disorder that causes overproduction of skin cells, resulting in scaling, pain, swelling, redness and heat. The condition affects about 7.5 million Americans.

“As we better understand the disease, researchers know more about what specific factors to target in order to develop effective treatments,” FDA dermatologist Dr. Melinda McCord said in an agency news release.

There is no cure for psoriasis, so the main goals of treatments are to stop skin cell overproduction and reduce inflammation. Current therapies include medicines applied to the skin (topical), light treatment (phototherapy), or drugs taken by mouth or given by injection.

Doctors used to take a step-by-step approach, starting patients with mild to moderate psoriasis on topical therapy. If that was ineffective, doctors moved on to phototherapy or drug treatment.