Insights

For one mental health counselor in Washington state, Obamacare has improved mental health care for many of her clients. With some providers seeing an uptick in newly insured clients, more adults and children are getting long-needed care.

The American Pharmacists Association is looking for a reporter to write policy, practice, and clinical news and features for pharmacist.com, Pharmacy Today, and other APhA periodicals, websites, and social media.

The 2014 KIDS COUNT Data Book reminds us of how much progress we've made in 25 years to assure that children grow up healthy and cared for. But there is still much work to be done.

Baby boomers are five times as likely to have chronic hepatitis C as any other age group. That's why the CDC launched a public health campaign to encourage boomers to get screened for the disease. And so, in honor of World Hepatitis Day, I invite — no, I encourage — boomers to get tested.

Can doctors learn to use patients’ newly available consumer data to improve care while maintaining a bedside manner that effectively communicates the steps a patient should take to realize a healthier future? It's a delicate challenge.

Futuristic data-mining experiments could give providers new ways of preventing health problems. But the latest digital tools won't lessen the importance of good old-fashioned face-to-face conversations with one's doctor.

Obamacare's enrollment period largely overlaps with the holidays, when potential enrollees' budgets and mental resources are stretched. So why not schedule enrollment season after the holidays, when tax refunds could give low-income consumers an extra nudge?

POLITICO Pro is looking a health care reporter, and so is The Bismarck Tribune and the St. Louis Dispatch. Radio health reporters should check out the opportunity at Louisville Public Media. U.S. News & World Report has openings for interns. Check out all this week's opportunities.

A bill that would have required warning labels on sugary beverages died in the California legislature. Meanwhile, evidence continues to link such drinks to chronic diseases.

For babies, healthy brain development is like a tennis game. A caregiver "serves" up an interaction, like a facial expression, a coo, or a word, and the infant "returns" that serve, imitating the expression or sound. That "serve and return" dynamic is key.