Patients still have no protection against surprise ambulance bills. And there's no solution in sight

In a cruel twist, ground ambulances were excluded from the federal law that banned most types of surprise medical bills starting in 2022 — even though roughly 85% of all emergency ambulance rides are out-of-network. And there is no traction in Congress to craft a solution anytime soon. Read more.

By Bob Herman

Molly Ferguson for STAT

Current treatments for cramps aren't cutting it. Why aren't there better options?

An estimated 1 in 5 people with period pain don't get relief from existing treatments. But research into better options has faltered. Studies of treatments that looked promising have all but stalled for lack of investment or participation from patients. Read more.

By Calli McMurray

Adobe

Opinion: The X-waiver for buprenorphine prescribing is gone. It's time to spread the word

Signing into law a change that can prevent thousands of Americans from dying of opioid overdoses should have been met with fanfare. Instead, it not only slid under the media radar but hasn't been communicated to the people who need to know about it. Read more.

By Beth S. Linas and Benjamin P. Linas

More great reads from STAT this week

Can food be medicine? Will insurers cover it? And other big questions about a new health movement
With $520 million in hand, two entrepreneurs try to upend the biotech funding model
How a Black veteran desegregated a Texas medical school
Watch: Blockbuster drug Humira has new competition. Here's why that matters
Ginkgo chief Jason Kelly is chairing a federal biotech advisory group. Is that a conflict of interest?
Opinion: The haunting brain science of long Covid